I've been a Spurs fan since 1967 and...

[Mark_Falco]

...this is without a doubt the best Spurs side I've seen in all that time. My family hail from North London and supporting Spurs runs in our DNA - I just wish I could resurrect my Grandparents to see this Spurs team this season, they would be so chuffed and so proud.

I have seen some great Spurs teams win plenty of trophies in those nearly 40 years, FA cups, UEFA cups and league cups. I've seen some incredible stars wearing the famous lily-white shirt including players that are still household names even today, but I've never seen a TEAM like this one; the power and the aggression, the incredible work ethic and sheer fitness of this team, the youth and the vitality and sheer dynamism is superlative.
I've never seen a team that makes the game look so easy.

I am utterly convinced that had it not been for that obnoxious, festering excuse of a competition; the Europa League, we'd already have the title in our grasp. What did for us was the slightly inferior quality of our bench to cope with that poison chalice of a tournament. Liverpool have a bit more strength in depth at the moment.

This manager, coach, call him what you will (I prefer God!) is simply the best thing to happen to this club in 40 years. With this young team coached by this amazing guy we have a dynasty in the making. We MUST take advantage of this opportunity to dominate for the next few seasons and beyond. Our owners MUST give this guy whatever he wants and support him as if their lives depend on it.

It's high time that my dreams that have flickered on and off for 40 odd years are fulfilled, and if my dreams are fulfilled then yours are too! This is just the beginning.

 

[coldasice199]

well said

 

[Gassin's finest]

Sorry, don't buy the Europa League excuse.

Setting aside that we pretty much threw it this year anyway, its been a great competition for us to be in. Pochettino has used it over the last two seasons to blood the young players we see in our team today. And that consistent European presence over the last 10 years, since that first 5th place from Jol, has sustained us a high enough profile to have prevented us from dropping back down the table. And nights like that Fiorentina game this season make going along and supporting this club so special.

Agree with everything else... this will be our first 2nd place finish since 1963, and hopefully our first title since the glory, glory double.

 

[Japhet]

Don't agree about the Europa League. At the start of the season it looked our most likely route into the Champions League and I was glad to be in it. It only became a hindrance when the race for the title unfolded which was pretty much when we dropped it from the priority list. It's given quite a bit of high level experience to a lot of youngsters and I think the competition as a whole has been very good for the development of the squad.

 

[Drink!Drink!]

Don't agree about the Europa League. At the start of the season it looked our most likely route into the Champions League and I was glad to be in it. It only became a hindrance when the race for the title unfolded which was pretty much when we dropped it from the priority list. It's given quite a bit of high level experience to a lot of youngsters and I think the competition as a whole has been very good for the development of the squad.

Love the optimism of the first post. Really enjoying watching this team develop. But one caveat, I want to see some silverware before I can agree they are better than the team of the early 80s.

As for the EL, I don't think that has harmed us. Our slow start left us with this gap to close. We had already drawn 3 and lost 1 before we had even kicked a ball in the EL

 

[Nigel Spinal]

The peak seasons of the Burkinshaw and Pleat sides strike me as about comparable:

81-82 - won FA, r/u LC, 1/2 ECWC, 4th league
86-87 - r/u FA, 1/2 LC, 3rd league

 

[Mark_Falco]

Don't agree about the Europa League. At the start of the season it looked our most likely route into the Champions League and I was glad to be in it. It only became a hindrance when the race for the title unfolded which was pretty much when we dropped it from the priority list. It's given quite a bit of high level experience to a lot of youngsters and I think the competition as a whole has been very good for the development of the squad.

Whilst I enjoy the later stages of the Europa I can't say the same for the group stages which are a massive distraction IMO. Aside from Liverpool this year, English teams have found it very hard going and there is not much doubt in my mind that travelling to the back of beyond to play some team that nobody has heard of in Kazakhstan or in the arctic circle or somewhere, and then having to fly back to England late on Thursday night before having to play a match on Sunday lunchtime - especially an away match that involves travelling, would take it out of most teams.
Liverpool have coped better than us but then they probably have more strength in depth, in addition they weren't in the title hunt. Would you have been so keen on the EL if our injuries had piled up? Also to say that we were going for it early on, and that we only gave up when the title looked on, is a little confusing because had we not been in the darn thing to begin with, then the title could have looked on MUCH earlier in the season - and I believe WOULD have been on!

 

[yiddopaul]

European football, in all it's guises, is also part of our DNA... glory glory nights n' all that!

 

[Dougal]

'86-'87, that horrible season that promised much and delivered little. And yet it stands head and shoulders over other seasons in recent memory as we fought on 3 fronts and came up short on all. Cup wins have been good but this could be the best season in over 50 years, even if we finish second. Raising the bar on something like that by finishing as Champions would be *insert any number of superlatives here*.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Whilst I enjoy the later stages of the Europa I can't say the same for the group stages which are a massive distraction IMO. Aside from Liverpool this year, English teams have found it very hard going and there is not much doubt in my mind that travelling to the back of beyond to play some team that nobody has heard of in Kazakhstan or in the arctic circle or somewhere, and then having to fly back to England late on Thursday night before having to play a match on Sunday lunchtime - especially an away match that involves travelling, would take it out of most teams.
Liverpool have coped better than us but then they probably have more strength in depth, in addition they weren't in the title hunt. Would you have been so keen on the EL if our injuries had piled up? Also to say that we were going for it early on, and that we only gave up when the title looked on, is a little confusing because had we not been in the darn thing to begin with, then the title could have looked on MUCH earlier in the season - and I believe WOULD have been on!

If we had not been it in the first place, that would mean we finished about 7th or 8th last season, meaning we possibly wouldn't have signed someone like Toby, kept Hugo/Jan/etc...

This discussion has been had a thousand times, but I can never understand people wishing for less success as a way of gaining it. Because all of those teams in mid table compete for the title next season don't they?

 

[Mark_Falco]

The peak seasons of the Burkinshaw and Pleat sides strike me as about comparable:

81-82 - won FA, r/u LC, 1/2 ECWC, 4th league
86-87 - r/u FA, 1/2 LC, 3rd league

Happy days for sure, I remember playing footie with some workmates at lunchtime in St James Park, Westminster (a big no no!) when a load of City fans arrived in the park, of course I and a couple of others were wearing our Spurs shirts (Holstein if I recall correctly?) and we had an impromptu game - they were dirty gits too, but we ended up in the pub anyway.
But IMO that side, great side that it was, was a cup side.It had plenty of flair players and was probably as imaginative going forward, but defensively inferior to this current team.
There was always a feeling back then that Spurs were a side that would gift the opposition goals but would expect to score more them selves. Sometimes they did, and sometimes they didn't. I remember we had the tag "southern softies" back then and to a certain extent it was true. Certain teams always relished playing us.
But this team has an edge, it has controlled aggression, but most of all it has power. It can still attack with menace and speed, but defensively this team is in a different category. The proof being our goal difference stats. Sky did a graph last night on various attributes to be a top team in the PL, there were 6 categories and we topped all 6. Back in the 80's a team like this Stoke team would have bullied us and the game would probably have finished 3-3. Not any more.

 

[cliff jones]

...this is without a doubt the best Spurs side I've seen in all that time. My family hail from North London and supporting Spurs runs in our DNA - I just wish I could resurrect my Grandparents to see this Spurs team this season, they would be so chuffed and so proud.

I have seen some great Spurs teams win plenty of trophies in those nearly 40 years, FA cups, UEFA cups and league cups. I've seen some incredible stars wearing the famous lily-white shirt including players that are still household names even today, but I've never seen a TEAM like this one; the power and the aggression, the incredible work ethic and sheer fitness of this team, the youth and the vitality and sheer dynamism is superlative.
I've never seen a team that makes the game look so easy.

I am utterly convinced that had it not been for that obnoxious, festering excuse of a competition; the Europa League, we'd already have the title in our grasp. What did for us was the slightly inferior quality of our bench to cope with that poison chalice of a tournament. Liverpool have a bit more strength in depth at the moment.

This manager, coach, call him what you will (I prefer God!) is simply the best thing to happen to this club in 40 years. With this young team coached by this amazing guy we have a dynasty in the making. We MUST take advantage of this opportunity to dominate for the next few seasons and beyond. Our owners MUST give this guy whatever he wants and support him as if their lives depend on it.

It's high time that my dreams that have flickered on and off for 40 odd years are fulfilled, and if my dreams are fulfilled then yours are too! This is just the beginning.

Good on yer. Nice read. I started going in the year we went down, season ticket from the season in div 2, we've always had great players even when we were shit but this team indeed does feel different. I'm still not convinced by the owners though. We could have juggled both competitions and done better In the domestic cups had we added the cm and cf we were bidding on just before the deadline last August. But I'm not greedy, I don't want it all and now, to finish runners up with such a young squad is a massive achievement in itself.

Will the owners pull out the wedge nice and early, paying the early summer premium for two quality additions in these positions,,which should help us keep it up in the league next year and at least get out of our group in the cl?? As you say this coach certainly deserves such investment, and confidence, and a preseason to put the new arrivals through their paces. Will he get it? I'm not sure...

Obviously we are still dreaming of the title but I cant see Swansea doing us any favours so I think it will be as we are going into the last three. Tall order, but possible...

 

[Japhet]

Whilst I enjoy the later stages of the Europa I can't say the same for the group stages which are a massive distraction IMO. Aside from Liverpool this year, English teams have found it very hard going and there is not much doubt in my mind that travelling to the back of beyond to play some team that nobody has heard of in Kazakhstan or in the arctic circle or somewhere, and then having to fly back to England late on Thursday night before having to play a match on Sunday lunchtime - especially an away match that involves travelling, would take it out of most teams.
Liverpool have coped better than us but then they probably have more strength in depth, in addition they weren't in the title hunt. Would you have been so keen on the EL if our injuries had piled up? Also to say that we were going for it early on, and that we only gave up when the title looked on, is a little confusing because had we not been in the darn thing to begin with, then the title could have looked on MUCH earlier in the season - and I believe WOULD have been on!

There's a lot of hypotheticals and crystal ball gazing in there. Being in the title hunt is very much linked to the failures of the traditional contenders IMO and I don't think anyone would have predicted that they would all crash at the same time. The one thing I do agree with is the bit about travelling to Kazakhstan - thought the clue was in the EUROPA bit of the title.

 

[cliff jones]

Happy days for sure, I remember playing footie with some workmates at lunchtime in St James Park, Westminster (a big no no!) when a load of City fans arrived in the park, of course I and a couple of others were wearing our Spurs shirts (Holstein if I recall correctly?) and we had an impromptu game - they were dirty gits too, but we ended up in the pub anyway.
But IMO that side, great side that it was, was a cup side.It had plenty of flair players and was probably as imaginative going forward, but defensively inferior to this current team.
There was always a feeling back then that Spurs were a side that would gift the opposition goals but would expect to score more them selves. Sometimes they did, and sometimes they didn't. I remember we had the tag "southern softies" back then and to a certain extent it was true. Certain teams always relished playing us.
But this team has an edge, it has controlled aggression, but most of all it has power. It can still attack with menace and speed, but defensively this team is in a different category. The proof being our goal difference stats. Sky did a graph last night on various attributes to be a top team in the PL, there were 6 categories and we topped all 6. Back in the 80's a team like this Stoke team would have bullied us and the game would probably have finished 3-3. Not any more.

Haha, I used to play over Green Park in the evenings. Only took one complaint from a fellow park user, some old bat swigging wine on a deck chair usually, for plod to ensure we disbanded and fooked off early to the pub.

 

[Nigel Spinal]

Without the EL, we'd've started the season with about 4 or 5 less senior players. We went into the season with a 4-competitions sized squad, whereas Leicester don't.

 

[cliff jones]

There's a lot of hypotheticals and crystal ball gazing in there. Being in the title hunt is very much linked to the failures of the traditional contenders IMO and I don't think anyone would have predicted that they would all crash at the same time. The one thing I do agree with is the bit about travelling to Kazakhstan - thought the clue was in the EUROPA bit of the title.

We went to Azerbaijan? Kazakhstan is even further. If we'd played there I would have nipped over (from China).

 

[Nigel Spinal]

There's a lot of hypotheticals and crystal ball gazing in there. Being in the title hunt is very much linked to the failures of the traditional contenders IMO and I don't think anyone would have predicted that they would all crash at the same time. The one thing I do agree with is the bit about travelling to Kazakhstan - thought the clue was in the EUROPA bit of the title.

It's been proven that CL clubs travel an average further distance than EL clubs, so that whole thing is a myth. We might have drawn Qarabag, but by pay-off you can virtually see Anderlech from the top of the Shard.

 

[Mark_Falco]

If we had not been it in the first place, that would mean we finished about 7th or 8th last season, meaning we possibly wouldn't have signed someone like Toby, kept Hugo/Jan/etc...

This discussion has been had a thousand times, but I can never understand people wishing for less success as a way of gaining it. Because all of those teams in mid table compete for the title next season don't they?

I think 'Arry had the right idea the last time we looked a capable team - he gave the EL a very low priority and played the youngsters (I know that could apply to the first 11 but you know what I mean), hence the kids back then got much needed experience and the first string didn't have to suffer the exhaustion of the group stages. That worked reasonably well because despite having an inferior team back then we got two top 4 finishes. Arguably if 'Arry had applied MoPo's thinking of this season, then we would never have achieved that, nor the amazing run to CL quarter finals.

I just don't think we have a strong enough bench right now to have taken the EL and CL qualification as a combined goal. Look at Liverpool's squad and they haven't been able to. Top 4 should have been priority from word go IMO and the EL group stages should have been used instead to blood some of our youth squad. Who knows had we done that then some of them might have advanced even more than they currently have?

It's not wishing for less success it's being realistic and prioritising targets. EL winners or CL qualification with a chance of the title thrown in? Look at the most succesfull teams in the EL in recent years and I think there you have the answer.

Mate don't worry the silverware will come, you don't honestly believe that this season is our only chance do you?

 

[Mark_Falco]

It's been proven that CL clubs travel an average further distance than EL clubs, so that whole thing is a myth. We might have drawn Qarabag, but by pay-off you can virtually see Anderlech from the top of the Shard.

I believe Turkey is about as far as you would have had to go in the CL in recent seasons? The EL certainly seems less palatable to English teams than the CL as far as success goes, for some reason. Maybe it's the poor quality of the pitches too? I don't see how it can "be proven" when everybody has had different draws anyway!

 

[CosmicHotspur]

I've been a Spurs fan since the 1950s and this is the best, most exciting team we've had since the glory days of the 60s imo. Remember that we did it back then without subs, just a core team of 11 and a couple of reserves to cover injuries and being in Europe didn't affect us adversely at all.

Just saying.