Race for the Top 4 - 2017/18

[Graysonti]

We are still well in this.

10 out of 12 over Xmas - good return.

 

[Jody]

Our central midfield options are a million miles away from being good enough. That's not a knee-jerk reaction to tonight's match, I've been saying it since the summer. We can't move the ball with any semblance of tempo and it's absolutely no surprise whatsoever that we have dropped more points against the dregs of the league than any of our rivals.

It's exceedingly difficult to create chances against teams parking the bus when you spend the better part of 75 minutes passing the ball side to side at a glacial pace. With the relegation battle as tight as it is this season, and with as many points as we have dropped against teams that deploy defensive tactics against us, I'm guessing we'll see virtually every team in the bottom half of the table set up exactly the way for the rest of the season.

I can't see the situation changing in the January window, so it's very difficult to see us finishing ahead of two of United, Chelsea, and Liverpool.

We only need to finish above 1 of them though...

 

[SugarRay]

We are still well in this.

10 out of 12 over Xmas - good return.

We are, no doubt, it’s the away games at Liverpool and Chelsea with no real home advantage over the other decent sides or at all, this season that makes me think we will fall short.

Hurry up and get to May and out of Wembley. Can see this ending up something of a waste of a season, certainly domestically.

Get in our new ground, freshen up the squad a touch and add one or two with the right mindset and attacking impetus and we’ll be grand.

 

[jackson]

As I mentioned a couple of pages ago, I won't be disappointed if we finish in 5th above Arsenal at this stage. Not because I wouldn't be much happier finishing in the top 4, but rather because I think that we can't rule out the possibility that we could easily finish outside the CL places AND below Arsenal.

Do you think we'll hold on to our better players finishing outside the top four? that's the worry for me

 

[JayB]

We only need to finish above 1 of them though...

True, I guess I was including Arsenal in my mind but didn't include them. Regardless, you'd have to say that from what we have seen so far this season we are the most likely to finish last among those four.

We haven't managed to pick up points against bottom feeders, and have a years-long record of dropping points in away matches to our rivals (every team obviously struggles to pick up points in those matches, but our record is poor even relative to the rest of the top six). In order to finish fourth you'd think we would need to turn at least one of those two things around, and neither look particularly likely IMO.

 

[SugarRay]

In essence its saying they a one man team, which they clearly not. Sure they would miss him but not to the extent that it would derail their season. Too much weight is being placed on him leaving.

If they lose a Coutinho and only sign VVD they’ll be weaker overall. That’s not even debatable imo.

Their defensive issues is a system thing. Maldini himself couldn’t rescue that, let alone a fancy looking, yet mistake prone big centre half who Harry Kane destroys every time he comes up against.

 

[SugarRay]

Do you think we'll hold on to our better players finishing outside the top four? that's the worry for me

I think we’ll hold on to who we want to.

Over the past couple of months, certain undroppables who can be deemed our better players have actually gone completely missing and reverted to their old selves. I actually think we could improve our first XI despite finishing 5th

 

[Guntz]

We are still well in this.

10 out of 12 over Xmas - good return.

Look at the teams we've played... Burnley, Southampton, Swansea, and West Ham.

We SHOULD be getting at least 10 points out of those games. We still have to go away to Chelsea and Anfield which are awful grounds for us.

Games like tonight are one's we will regret not winning when we don't finish in the top 4 come May.

 

[scat1620]

Do you think we'll hold on to our better players finishing outside the top four? that's the worry for me

I think there's every chance we could get some agitation from the likes of Alli and Eriksen if we finished outside of the top four, yes. Not as a certainty, but yeah it's definitely something to worry about.

But my expectations are perhaps lower than others: I started watching Spurs in 1995/96 and last year was my first ever year seeing us finish above Arsenal, with at least half of that 20 years spent watching us range from mediocre-at-best to abject-at-worst. That personal history for me, plus a decade of everyone on SC reminding us at every turn that we are the poor kid at the rich kid's party, means that I'm still in a headspace where I think we're punching above our weight, and although I would obviously love us to keep doing that I think that if the worst we have to endure in a season is finishing outside the top 4 but above Arsenal, that's still not something to get too upset about. But that's just me and my own personal experience of being a Spurs fan: expecting the worst, but hoping for the best.

 

[Dov67]

the main difference from last year is this in my opinion

1 Dele has not been at his best, though is starting at last to hit his stride
2 Sisoko is getting more game time and sisoko is shit
3 until jan last year we were playing his huge amount of pace down the wings in Walker and Rose - we have no pace! NONE!!

 

[dricha1]

Cole and Sherwood implied if an English team won the UCL then 5th place would get a UCL spot next season...that’s not right is it??

 

[tttcowan]

Perspective. People need some.

In all likelihood of we best Everton we'll be 1 point off them as they've got City. We slashed our distance to man united over the festive period. Can we all just chill out and not panic.

Having said all that. Fuck Wembley. Fuck it.

 

[Led's Zeppelin]

If we fail to finish in the top 4, for me I would still see finishing above Arsenal as something to enjoy and be happy with.

*Again, for the hard-of-thinking reading this (not you, Shady), that's not me saying that I wouldn't like to finish in the top 4.

I really don't think anyone, not even the "hard of thinking", has suggested that you might not like us to finish in the top four. I assume we all would.

The question that was being debated is what will constitute success for this team this season, and I'm not convinced that finishing 5th will. It wouldn't be terrible, but not really success on the basis of what we probably think we should be capable of.

Anyway, I remain optimistic and believe we'll finish above both Liverpool and Arsenal.

 

[rossdapep]

Cole and Sherwood implied if an English team won the UCL then 5th place would get a UCL spot next season...that’s not right is it??

Yeah that's because we'll finish 5th.........and win the CL!!!

 

[dricha1]

Yeah that's because we'll finish 5th.........and win the CL!!!

Well that is definetly one way to qualify!! ;-)

But I actually think they were implying if City or United won it then 5th place in PL would qualify....which I don’t think is correct?

 

[coys200]

We need a real dribbler like a sterling for these type of games. Non of eriksen dele Lamela Son id really class as a dribbler closest maybe Son. You can say it’s crazy for just a specific type of game but I’d now say half the games we play this season will be against a parked bus. Zaha is actually perfect he’d make things happen. But it’s a very specific type of player we need.

 

[Lighty64]

If we fail to finish in the top 4, for me I would still see finishing above Arsenal as something to enjoy and be happy with.

*Again, for the hard-of-thinking reading this (not you, Shady), that's not me saying that I wouldn't like to finish in the top 4.

but I'm sure if my memory serves me right, last season was your 1st time seeing that happen. annoyingly it should of happened on 3-4 occasions before, but that was just the way our luck fell the worst being 2015/16.

I'll be happy to finish above the goons if we don't get top 4, but won't see it as a success unless we at least nick the FA Cup or CL

 

[tiger666]

We need a real dribbler like a sterling for these type of games. Non of eriksen dele Lamela Son id really class as a dribbler closest maybe Son. You can say it’s crazy for just a specific type of game but I’d now say half the games we play this season will be against a parked bus. Zaha is actually perfect he’d make things happen. But it’s a very specific type of player we need.

Zaha is very far from perfect.

 

[noggen]

Can not beat the bus teams and can not beat the other top 6 teams. Sorry, I can't see us in the top 4 this season. If we're lucky we can nick the fifth spot ahead of Arse.

I'm trying to be optimistic but no.. can't see it happen.

 

[St José Dominguez]

Only teams we've beaten at Wembley this season that I'd describe as being decent defensively are Brighton (helped by lucky Aurier goal) and Palace by one goal which took a long time to come. All the other teams with decent, organised defences who don't make stupid mistakes have done a number on us. Allardyce's Everton looks a nightmare game considering the clear trend that's occurred this year at "home".