Race for the Top 4 - 2018/19

[Mr Pink]

So what we are punching above our weight,

We get ALOT of praise considering teams like arsenal and chelsea often get none now and teams like liverpool didn't get much before after Suarez left except from their homer pundits

We have never put a real challenge to the title despite finishing 2nd or 3rd. Leicester were punching above their weight and more so than us but they overcame that barrier that we haven't shown it yet.

Until we do, no one will praise more than more than we already get, which is a lot but people focus on the negative praise

People on putting us down but we have never proved them wrong. Cant just always point at the wage bill.

Whatever

 

[Wig]

It’s because we’re clearly not going to win it as much as it hurts

We're 6 points off Liverpool at the top with 17 games left to play including against them and City. Anything can happen and we should get behind the team with a winning mentality!

 

[Wig]

Easily could have been sent off for two yellows in the first 10 mins. He gets away with murder!

He does that almost every game... an incredible player who has just the right level of aggression to stay in the good books with the referees

 

[beats1]

To be fair they, much like us before we left WHL, they don’t lose many at Anfield fullstop. So it’s not just us who hasn’t won there recently.

Maybe its me but a lot bad memories of us playing liverpool, even at WHL our record wasn't great or even our performances

I disagree. We have come through those tough high pressure periods. The week of the NLD we had beaten both Chelsea and inter when not in our best form, had the scum game been first we would have torn them to shreds!

The wolves game had nothing to do with pressure, it was fatigue. We have played so many games and been unable to rest players. Our central midfield killed us that day. Had poch been able to bring on fresh legs in the second half we would have managed the game far better.

So no, I disagree!

I personally believe we lost the wolves match to tactical naivety. My family who are wolves just mentioned they couldn't understand why we never reacted to their fullbacks and happy for them to go running down the wing. Personally I think we should have gone 5 at the back and matched up.

However considering our record over the last 4 years when we have had the opportunity to capitalise on another teams poor form we have often fallen short

I want us to succeed more than anyone but I do think we have a mental block/hurdle we cant overcome

Its crazy to think, that our most successful manager under ENIC in terms of trophies is Ramos. He is also the only manager we had, who had won trophies at a high level consistently for years prior to joining us.

 

[Primativ]

Fernandinho was just amazing. Magnificent. Well deserved 3 points and for the first time this season I really saw some chinks in Liverpool’s armour.

Great news for us. We have a big game coming up v. Rejuvenated United so let’s see how we do. 3 points is a must.

We need Dembele and Dier back badly. Wanyama too

 

[danielneeds]

Fernandinho was just amazing. Magnificent. Well deserved 3 points and for the first time this season I really saw some chinks in Liverpool’s armour.

Great news for us. We have a big game coming up v. Rejuvenated United so let’s see how we do. 3 points is a must.

We need Dembele and Dier back badly. Wanyama too

City won the ball back brilliantly. They choked the life out of Liverpool. It reminded me of a couple of our performances at Anfield or the Etihad where we lost our confidence in the face of ferocious pressing and visibly wilted.

 

[danielneeds]

Fernandinho was just amazing. Magnificent. Well deserved 3 points and for the first time this season I really saw some chinks in Liverpool’s armour.

Great news for us. We have a big game coming up v. Rejuvenated United so let’s see how we do. 3 points is a must.

We need Dembele and Dier back badly. Wanyama too

We don’t know if we’ll ever get back 16/17 Dembele and Wanyama, so it’s a moot point really. Given that both are reputedly for sale, it seems unlikely.

 

[Shadydan]

Whatever

 

[Primativ]

Neville’s really let himself down with that remark about our squad depth.

We are 6 points off the top despite regularly having to play 4th and 5th choice CMs for half the season and having both CBs injured at different times.

I’ve not seen Liverpool or city have that type of injury crisis. It’s just really fucking tiresome trotting out the same argument when it isn’t backed up by any evidence.

It probably doesn’t suit his narrative for Poch to United which is why he won’t put us in the race.

 

[Lilbaz]

Neville’s really let himself down with that remark about our squad depth.

We are 6 points off the top despite regularly having to play 4th and 5th choice CMs for half the season and having both CBs injured at different times.

I’ve not seen Liverpool or city have that type of injury crisis. It’s just really fucking tiresome trotting out the same argument when it isn’t backed up by any evidence.

It probably doesn’t suit his narrative for Poch to United which is why he won’t put us in the race.

Don't expect pundits to know as much about what's happening at a club as fans do.

 

[noiseboy55]

I would absolutely love it if one of them finish third in this two horse race. I hope Poch is printing out Nevilles words and putting them up in the changing room, pure motivation.

 

[JCRD]

Neville’s really let himself down with that remark about our squad depth.

We are 6 points off the top despite regularly having to play 4th and 5th choice CMs for half the season and having both CBs injured at different times.

I’ve not seen Liverpool or city have that type of injury crisis. It’s just really fucking tiresome trotting out the same argument when it isn’t backed up by any evidence.

It probably doesn’t suit his narrative for Poch to United which is why he won’t put us in the race.

I didn't agree with the tone of his remarks... His instant without a second thoufht dismissal of us being the third rubber in this race pissed me off...

However

I do understand why he said what he said. We lost against wolves for example I think due to fatigue, our squad depth is good but our injuries really hampered us which has meant more games for the players. Liverscum do have a deeper squad but we have suffered heavily with injuries this season.

 

[Spursh]

As amazing as it is frustrating, if we had held onto our leads vs Watford & Wolves, we’d be joint top. And playing City and Liverpool at home with most of our star players suffering from a WC hangover left us always playing catch-up.

Football is like that, but it shows yet again how extraordinary Poch is as a manager. We’ve not spent a penny and have played away from home all season, and we’re still within shooting distance of two teams who’ve invested hundreds of millions into their squads.

 

[TheChosenOne]

I didn't agree with the tone of his remarks... His instant without a second thoufht dismissal of us being the third rubber in this race pissed me off...

However

I do understand why he said what he said. We lost against wolves for example I think due to fatigue, our squad depth is good but our injuries really hampered us which has meant more games for the players. Liverscum do have a deeper squad but we have suffered heavily with injuries this season.

On a slightly different note VVD has 4 yellows and Winjaldum, Milner and Robertson on 3 each.
Might have an effect down the line.

 

[jolsnogross]

That was an intense game and they are both incredibly strong sides. Our loss to Wolves is galling, given how tight it would be had we kept concentration and intensity in the 2nd half of that one. But I would say we'll only compete for the title this year if key players for those sides get injured. VVD and Fernandinho, ideally. Without injuries, they just have that extra consistency compared to us in rarely losing points.

 

[@Bobby__Lucky]

As amazing as it is frustrating, if we had held onto our leads vs Watford & Wolves, we’d be joint top. And playing City and Liverpool at home with most of our star players suffering from a WC hangover left us always playing catch-up.

Football is like that, but it shows yet again how extraordinary Poch is as a manager. We’ve not spent a penny and have played away from home all season, and we’re still within shooting distance of two teams who’ve invested hundreds of millions into their squads.

It wouldnt have taken much for us to win v Watford, wolves but also arsenal and a draw at City if Lamela scores when he should have. The Liverpool game was convincing however. Small margins these days. Not that it hasn't always been that way, but the points per game needed now is higher than ever. Some of our totals recently would of won titles in the 90s.

 

[dudu]

Maybe its me but a lot bad memories of us playing liverpool, even at WHL our record wasn't great or even our performances

I personally believe we lost the wolves match to tactical naivety. My family who are wolves just mentioned they couldn't understand why we never reacted to their fullbacks and happy for them to go running down the wing. Personally I think we should have gone 5 at the back and matched up.

However, considering our record over the last 4 years when we have had the opportunity to capitalise on another teams poor form we have often fallen short

I want us to succeed more than anyone but I do think we have a mental block/hurdle we cant overcome

Its crazy to think, that our most successful manager under ENIC in terms of trophies is Ramos. He is also the only manager we had, who had won trophies at a high level consistently for years prior to joining us.

1) We have capitalized on teams poor form constantly the last few years, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United..... We even capitalized on Man City's poor form not so long ago to go above them.

2) I think the way we went about ourselves vs Barcelona showed incredible mental strength and that performance was a testament to our ability to overcome adversity.

We definitely showed some tactical naivety and complacency vs Wolves but it is easy to point at a result and use that as a benchmark for our lack of mental strength.

When you actually take into consideration how poor we were for the first 3 months of the season and we still managed to pick up the points we did, I would say that shows huge mental strength that I don't think I have seen from a Spurs side in my supporting years.

We aren't the finished article yet, but we are certainly not the spurs of old.

 

[SpartanSpur]

Thought it was funny at the end when Gary Neville was asked if there was a third team in the race, aftee spending a full half an hour talking about the other two - one of which is only two points ahead of us, and he simply replies...


'no, I don't think so, they don't have the detph' ?

If I hear that line one more time I'm going to rip my hair out.

Seriously though, we're 21 games into the season, not five and sit this high IN SPITE of all our injuries.

Am I the only one who finds the irony in this completely fucking absurd?

And that we're about to get Vertonghen, Dier and Dembele back.

Was saying to a non-Spurs supporting friend about this tonight. Could Liverpool have coped with all the crap we have this season and been in touch? I'm really not convinced.

They had a bit of a slow start too but our injuries have been insane. 9 of the 11 world cup players with muscle injuries. None for Kane but he was clearly struggling early on. Must be pushing double figures on CB pairing combos. Hugo having his off field issues. Stadium delay disappointment. Son missing the start and only firing in the last couple of months. Oh yeah not to mention the negative energy following a transfer window where we signed NOBODY.

Wasn't it something like Kane, Eriksen, Dele and Son made their first start together this season against Everton? Seems like their forward line has been settled all season.

It's a real headscratcher how we are where we are, but the thing it blatantly does not suggest is a lack of depth. The area where City and Pool have us is there are no genuine weaknesses in their sides, whereas we have been very light in CM, and have been a bit shaky at FB and to a lesser extent GK (probably due to Hugo's crazy year).

City to be fair have true class depth (Look at their bench today!) but Liverpool's squad doesn't really IMHO. 3rd choice CB played today and messed up for both goals. Backup keeper is a liability. Moreno is their LB cover. Is Clyne still alive? CM has lots of options. Attacking cover is Shaqiri, Origi and Sturridge, is that really any better than Lucas, Lamela and Llorente?

Liverpool are well coached and on an absolute roll, but have been pretty lucky on the whole with injuries to key personnel. They've been riding a wave. Typically the big one has been Gomez who was looking like a big player for England going forward, and before that Ox. If they do win it will be a huge achivement for sure, and big respect for FSG and Klopp if so.

Regardless I don't mind us lurking, we do better there.

 

[yankspurs]

Was saying to a non-Spurs supporting friend about this tonight. Could Liverpool have coped with all the crap we have this season and been in touch? I'm really not convinced.

They had a bit of a slow start too but our injuries have been insane. 9 of the 11 world cup players with muscle injuries. None for Kane but he was clearly struggling early on. Must be pushing double figures on CB pairing combos. Hugo having his off field issues. Stadium delay disappointment. Son missing the start and only firing in the last couple of months. Oh yeah not to mention the negative energy following a transfer window where we signed NOBODY.

Wasn't it something like Kane, Eriksen, Dele and Son made their first start together this season against Everton? Seems like their forward line has been settled all season.

It's a real headscratcher how we are where we are, but the thing it blatantly does not suggest is a lack of depth. The area where City and Pool have us is there are no genuine weaknesses in their sides, whereas we have been very light in CM, and have been a bit shaky at FB and to a lesser extent GK (probably due to Hugo's crazy year).

City to be fair have true class depth (Look at their bench today!) but Liverpool's squad doesn't really IMHO. 3rd choice CB played today and messed up for both goals. Backup keeper is a liability. Moreno is their LB cover. Is Clyne still alive? CM has lots of options. Attacking cover is Shaqiri, Origi and Sturridge, is that really any better than Lucas, Lamela and Llorente?

Liverpool are well coached and on an absolute roll, but have been pretty lucky on the whole with injuries to key personnel. They've been riding a wave. Typically the big one has been Gomez who was looking like a big player for England going forward, and before that Ox. If they do win it will be a huge achivement for sure, and big respect for FSG and Klopp if so.

Regardless I don't mind us lurking, we do better there.

If everyone was fit, i still simply cannot see us winning the leaghe. We just are not nearly as good as what I watched tonight. We’re the 3rd best side in the league IMO. That was an incredible, riveting match featuring the 2 best sides in the league. I’d love to see us in one of these games soon and I believe we will be one day but this year is not it.

 

[beats1]

1) We have capitalized on teams poor form constantly the last few years, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United..... We even capitalized on Man City's poor form not so long ago to go above them.

2) I think the way we went about ourselves vs Barcelona showed incredible mental strength and that performance was a testament to our ability to overcome adversity.

We definitely showed some tactical naivety and complacency vs Wolves but it is easy to point at a result and use that as a benchmark for our lack of mental strength.

When you actually take into consideration how poor we were for the first 3 months of the season and we still managed to pick up the points we did, I would say that shows huge mental strength that I don't think I have seen from a Spurs side in my supporting years.

We aren't the finished article yet, but we are certainly not the spurs of old.

I wasn't suggesting at any point at all we were the spurs of old

Also im not saying we havent shown great signs of mental strength. We have done brilliant to always be in the race and not completely capitulate like we have done in the past under harry for example.

However I dont think we have that winning gene, or winning mentality or mamba mentality

If Poch left this summer, I personally think Mourinho would take us to another level however I would hate what we would have become under a manager mourinho. Pep isn't very different to mourinho as a person but his good style football wins him many hearts as opposed to Mourinho.

I personally think at times we dont believe we are the real deal especially at the start of the season. I think Poch can take us to the next level but he needs to develop that winning gene.