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Are we cursed?

Sweetsman

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2011
6,673
6,588
Our aim should be to be better than we were last season and so should aim to win the last game to get a record points total. We are a better team than last year even if we end up fifth. Context is everything and to invoke it is not to indulge in excuses. Our manager has done a fantastic job, no argument. I truly believe we will be higher up the table next season.
 

will8587

Well-Known Member
Jul 17, 2006
1,342
419
Meh.. The typical Spurs-fashion in my view would be arsenal loosing by a couple of goals v newcastle an us leading through the entire game v sunderland just to let in a cheap goal at the end so they just beat us on goal-difference.

It would have to be a bit more than a couple... They'd have to lose 15-0 to Newcastle for goal differential to enter the equation....
 

mil1lion

This is the place to be
May 7, 2004
42,344
77,596
I'll put a curse on ya!

20120522-133829.jpg
 

pundits folly

Active Member
Aug 2, 2012
322
354
No, we're not cursed. How about the "what if's".
  • What if we were able to hold on to the West Brom & Norwich game. 4 extra points
  • What if Ade wasnt sent off after 10mins when 1-0
  • What if we didnt throw away the lead against Everton in the last 2 minutes and lose
  • What if we didnt play school boy football against Liverpool and throw away the game when cruising
And that's just to name afew that spring to mind1 But, It's not about the "What If's" or us being cursed, it's just one of those things about being a Spurs fan! On the whole we've had a pretty successful season and assuming the likes of Bale stay with us and we shift some more of the deadwood, next season can only be better and the pain of this season will be forgotten....saying that though, we could still get 4th! (y)

If you play that game we'd have been top without losing a game.

The point is that since the Jol era we have had a decent shout at three appearances in the CL. One was denied by lasagne, one by Chelsea's CL win and now despite a potential 72 point finish we'll be denied again.
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
Any statto's out there know what they highest point tally for a fifth place finish is? I'd be surprised if it's more than 72 when it's been a 38 game season, as it's been nowhere near that in the last 5 years.

67, as you found.

67 is also the average number of points garnered by clubs that finish 4th in the history of the 20 team Premiership. The minimum number of points to finish 4th is 60. That gives you an idea how anomalous this situation is.

The reason the bar is set so high this season is mainly because of the huge gaps between 5th & 8th. It's thrown the usual distribution off. All those points that would have been won by clubs from West Brom on down are sitting in the coffers of the top 5.
 

tomo

Well-Known Member
Jun 12, 2003
1,094
425
I do sometimes feel we are cursed. Don't know what it is but we just don't seem to get the rub of the green. Arse being awarded a penalty by a linesman 50 yards away when 1-0 down sums it up for me. They tend to get the breaks. Sandro getting injured didn't help either as he was improving with every game and was looking a class player. Parker has been poor compared to last season although his attitude and effort can't be faulted.

The thing that guts me is that I think on paper our first X1 is stronger than the Goons but we have still somehow managed to end up in this predicament. Same as last season (Chavski winning CL shouldn't have even been an issue for us). Everyone goes on about how we are over reliant on Bale but if you take Walcott and Cazorla out of their team then I can't see too much.

Overall a decent season though and AVB has been a good move. The guy is going places and hopefully so are we.
Please though DL whatever business we do this summer then get it done as early as possible and stop pissing around in August!!
 

Innes

New Member
Dec 7, 2006
19
1
In preparation to ease the pain in the likelihood Spurs will finish 1 place below the Arse again for the 6th time in 8 seasons, I looked at a key factor in where we really stand in relation to the others around us - goal difference.
Our inferior goal difference actually shows we’ve overachieved big-time (along with Everton) in relation to the number of points secured.
We secure far more 1 or 2 goal wins than the Arse or Chelsea. Despite being close to Arsenal on the table over the past 8 seasons (starting from 2005-06 lasagna-gate) their average goal-difference is 33.6. Spurs is 12.75. It's a 20-goal difference which indicates they not only win games by greater margins but drop points when they're not expected to more often than Spurs, whose scorelines are generally far tighter.
Spurs best season for goal difference was in 2009-10 with 26. Arsenal's worst is 25 (last season) and in 5 of the 8 seasons Arsenal's GD been 31 goals or higher (btw Chelsea's is +41.75 & Man U + 49.25). Even though Liverpool have finished below is in the last 4 seasons, their goal difference from 2010-13) is similar to ours. During the prior 4 seasons (2006-09) Liverpool's was + 37.75, showing how firmly cemented the top 4 was then.
 

stonecolddeanaustin

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2011
1,623
2,598
67, as you found.

67 is also the average number of points garnered by clubs that finish 4th in the history of the 20 team Premiership. The minimum number of points to finish 4th is 60. That gives you an idea how anomalous this situation is.

The reason the bar is set so high this season is mainly because of the huge gaps between 5th & 8th. It's thrown the usual distribution off. All those points that would have been won by clubs from West Brom on down are sitting in the coffers of the top 5.

I think that's definitely the case for the cluibs around usbut not so much Spurs after throwing points away to Norwich, West Brom, Stoke, Fulham, Wigan and probably a few others I can't think of right now.
 

Pedro

Blue & Yellow
Jan 4, 2005
2,039
1,355
It's almost as if there is some sort of hidden hand controlling events... Oh wait.

Last season missing out on cl due to a rule change and technicality. Lasagnagate. This season potentially missing out due to cheating, flukey arsenal scum.

All this in addition to man city coming from nowhere to be title contenders after we finally got our noses in front of Liverpool of the old sky 4.

Not a single penalty this season in the league, bale continuously booked for diving when genuinely fouled, Defo a couple of those were pens.

Not very lucky are we!
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
I think that's definitely the case for the cluibs around usbut not so much Spurs after throwing points away to Norwich, West Brom, Stoke, Fulham, Wigan and probably a few others I can't think of right now.

It wasn't a point about specific clubs and matches - it doesn't matter whether Spurs beat West Brom or Everton or Liverpool. It's a statistical thing and has nothing to do with named clubs.

More points are required to finish 1st to 4th because of the large size of the gap between 5th and 8th. If we win on Sun and finish with 72 points - or even if we lose and finish with 69 points - my point remains valid. Points that would usually have been won by the teams in upper mid table are nestling in the points totals of the teams in the top 5 places.
 
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