March

[nightgoat]

Yes I keep trying to remain positive about the results, but the thing that worries me is that under Sherwood (and indeed under AVB before him this season) we've been pretty repeatedly tonked by the good teams, and I haven't seen much to suggest we can turn that around.

The only tonkings we've had were City and Liverpool, and two of those were only once we were down to ten men.

Wildly Optimistic Run

Chelsea (a) D
Benfica (h) W
Arsenal (h) W
Benfica (a) D
Southampton (h) W
Liverpool (a) D

Massively Pessimistic Run

Chelsea (a) L
Benfica (h) D
Arsenal (h) L
Benfica (a) L
Southampton (h) D
Liverpool (a) L

 

[Mr Pink]

7 points is good for me, with one of the wins being against Arsenal

This for me. We have to beat Arsenal, that's the most significant game of the lot.

I'm slightly more optimistic than most - not confident though, but I retain some hope and here's why:

1) the magnitude and difficulty of these games will force Sherwood to be more prudent in approach. We'll see similar set ups to those at Swansea and Newcastle away and they simply suit our players much more. That increases our chances of not being spanked considerably IMO.

2) Sandro being back is massive. Our back four need proper protection in these games were we'll be up against quality attacking players. That protection could be pivotal to our chances.

3) a big performance and result in either of the next two League games would be a massive boost psychology for the squad and the Club - belief and momentum are never to be underestimated.

4) Soldado getting that goal yesterday was very timely. Obviously he needed it desperately as it was and whilst he won't be starting every up coming game in all likelihood it should take the pressure off and how big would it be to our chances if he started to knock them in regularly now as we enter the business end of the season. And God forbid anything happens to Adebayor we wouldn't have another forward devoid of any confidence whatsoever.

5) and this might be the biggest of the lot - we're chasing, and although its bloody difficult as this League is very unforgiving the psychology is very different to that of being ahead and being hunted down. Imagine we beat Arsenal, it could be massive in terms of a psychological swing - add to that, they get knocked out of the cup and Europe and their confidence could be on the floor. They're still quite fragile mentally at the end of the day.

So, its going to be incredibly difficult but we're just about hanging in there.

If Arsenal beat us its sure as hell over but until that game is decided I'm still retaining a little hope.

 

[SpursDave88]

Let's be honest here, unless we magically morph back into a top level team, we will get well and truly spanked by Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. We have shown nothing this season to suggest we can legitimately share a pitch with them.

 

[nightgoat]

I think everyone has Chelsea and Liverpool away down as losses but you never know, the games still have to be played and won by them and the results aren't a foregone conclusion. Suddenly a game becomes much more winnable if an opposition player gets sent off early or there is a dodgy refereeing decision in our favour for example.

Since when have we ever had a dodgy decision go in our favour against Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal?

 

[XSuicideBunnyX]

This is what the Premier League is about.

This is the time for players and teams to stand up and be counted. Remember when we got 4th place in 2010? We had to beat Arsenal. Danny Rose played left wing and scored from miles away. Jermain Defoe passed, and it led to a goal. Gomes was actually decent and stopped RVP in his tracks. We beat Chelsea at White Hart Lane, in one of my favourite ever games.

Then we faced Man City. It was us or them. It looked like it was going down to the last game of the season until Younes Kaboul got the ball down the right, swung it into Crouchy and he bundled it into the net, sealing Champions League football for Spurs for the first time.

We beat the big teams when it mattered (then lost to Burnley on the last day haha) and we got Champions League. Unless we beat every single small team, we're gonna have to take points off the big ones if we want to get to where we want to be.

Now is the time when heroes are made, when legends are created. Now is the time to prove that Spurs are good enough to play top European football. Now is the time to beat the Liverpools, the Chelseas, the Arsenals (unless they cheat of course, which they always do).

The only thing we can do as fans is support. So even if you don't believe we can beat the Chelseas and Arsenals and Liverpools, at least make the players believe they can.

This league season is going down the the wire, I can tell you that much.

 

[Pedro]

The biggest positive I can find is that in theory we could conceivably win all our games in April and May. As long as we are not completely out of it by the end of march we could storm to the finish and surprise a lot of people.

I'm clutching at straws here. But think back to when we did qualify for the champs league, we had three of our hardest games in a row that normally we expect no points from and we ended up with 7 iirc. That was at a similar stage of the season, probably a bit later. At the time people were panicking because palacios was banned for all three and that season he was probably our most important player.

With spurs expect the expected. Now where are those rainbows...

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

Who knows.

Who cares.

Season's over.

Basically this. I have actually given up caring this season.

We're not going to make top 4. We're not going to win the Europa. So i'm just watching games without any emotion.

I can't even bothered to take part in the usual pro/anti Sherwood and pro/anti AVB arguments anymore.

Fuck it. Roll on next season.

 

[Spurger King]

Let's be honest here, unless we magically morph back into a top level team, we will get well and truly spanked by Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. We have shown nothing this season to suggest we can legitimately share a pitch with them.

Unfortunately I think this is the case. The team looks completely clueless game after game. No style, no tactics, no real plan....unless you can call Dawson punting the ball in the general direction of Adebayor a plan.

There's an outside chance that the ego of our players might make them raise their game against better opposition, but I think there's more chance of a repeat of the Oil Money and Liverpool thrashings. We'll do well to get a single point from the chavs, the gooners, and Liverpool.

 

[XSuicideBunnyX]

Unfortunately I think this is the case. The team looks completely clueless game after game. No style, no tactics, no real plan....unless you can call Dawson punting the ball in the general direction of Adebayor Crouch a plan.

Got us Champions League last time didn't it?

 

[balalasaurus]

What are you lot worrying for? We'll win them all

 

[teok]

It does look pretty brutal.

 

[nasescoba1985]

The spurs way - do the unexpected and actually come out with an excellent points total of 7 from those 3 difficult games..... Then go on and lose the 1st of the winnable games gifting Arsenal 4th again you know the drill boys

 

[al_pacino]

In the previous games against the tougher teams we face we managed one point, I think that just about shows where we are. We need to beat Soton and a win against the Arse would be excellent but being honest they are better than us.

 

[SEANSPURS1975]

There is nothing in our form to suggest anything but a very unhappy March.
But with Tottenham you just never know and on that basis I'm going for :-

Chelsea - D
Benfica - W
Arsenal - W
Benfica - L (Go through away goals)
Southampton - W
Liverpool - W

 

[Flightrisker]

We are nailed on to win the Uefa only due to the fact from from next season the winner gets a CL spot so it'd be fucking typical. So yeah, go through against Benfica.

We need to beat Arsenal and Southampton. Anything from Chelsea / Liverpool is a bonus. Arsenal's equivalent run is Us, City, Chelsea, Everton (with cup ties v Bayern and Everton in between).

 

[JimmyG2]

The important thing is
that if we park the bus against say Chelsea, Liverpool and Benfica away
we leave the engine running.
I'm not sure we passed the parking bit of the test anyway.

 

[DiscoD1882]

I went to see Julius cesars Soothsayer this morning and she told me to "Beware the (s)ides of March."

Dont know what she means. but im shitting it.

EDIT: @monkeyboy beat me to it DAM IT!!

 

[tototoner]

Aren't we the best away team in the league, so we shouldn't fear Chelsea or Liverpool and the players will be well up for the NLD

Benfica will be tough though, especially with the 2nd leg away

 

[The Scarecrow]

With Liverpool, we can always hope they have a shit day, but that's the game I fear the most. Chelsea will be hard, but we have a decent record against them, and if Adebayor has a good day, I think there might be a point in it for us. Arsenal is an absolute must win, and so is Southampton unless we get something form Liverpool and Chelsea.

If we end up with 7 points and the quarter final of EL, I'll be very satisfied as long as those 7 points include 3 against Arsenal.

 

[shelfboy68]

So we are now entering the run of games that will very likely define our season, and I was wondering how confident people are following our form since the New Year.

Before the month is out we have:

Chelsea (a)
Benfica (h)
Arsenal (h)
Benfica (a)
Southampton (h)
Liverpool (a)

To me that looks fookin terrifying and I can't see us getting many points/wins other than maybe against Southampton, although even we'll be coming off a knackering run of games so I wouldn't be 100% confident.

I can't see us getting anything from the Chelsea or Liverpool away games the way both those teams are playing, and I'm concerned that we'll put out a weakened side against Benfica ahead of the Arsenal game.

Maybe Arsenal will continue their slide which makes that game a lot more winnable than it looked a few weeks ago, but they did completely take us apart earlier this year in the FA Cup.

So is anyone feeling a bit more optimistic? I'm looking for positives, and there are a few. Southampton appear to be pish at the moment, and Arsenal are hopefully hitting that stage in the season when it all falls apart for them.

But I need more than that SCers...so is anyone feeling positive about March?

Sorry can only see pain and misery ahead and being spurs we will heap more shit than normal