In the past we would have lost again, but this Spurs team is different

One thing that is for certain about this Spurs team is that when they do lose, which this season is not often, they no longer wilt and go on a losing run. They bounce back and win. Against Newcastle we were very poor and came back to win next time out. Against Leicester we were out thought but today came back to win, albeit with a lot of help from a new signing. More of that shortly.

Dembele was restored to the starting line up and his strength and power moving forward has really added great steal along with skill to this Spurs side. Alongside Dier we have a tough, and talented midfield duo.
Trippier came in for Walker which didn't really surprise me. On Wednesday, Walker showed just what a liability he is and Tripper can also cross the ball better. Rose came back in for Davies and the knackered Kane was up front as usual. One thing we now know for certain is that Austin will not be joining Spurs after he signed a £4 million pound deal with Pochettino's former side Southampton. I still believe at that price we should have got him in, but transfers will wait for another day.

Spurs as usual started quickly but there was some wayward passes and it looked very much like another frustrating afternoon.
And it got even more frustrating when Sunderland took the lead after some lazy Spurs defending. Thankfully we went straight up the other end and scored through Eriksen. Eriksen was much better today but the reason for that was simple. He was played more central rather than playing from the left all the time which is just poor management of the player. You play players where they operate the best. There is no reason to make the game more complicated than it really needs to be.

The game changed though in the second half after 58 minutes with Sunderland bringing on Kirchouff who they signed for £750,000. There is no polite way to put this but his performance was nothing short of diabolical! He couldn't control the ball, he couldn't pass the ball and Spurs used this to their advantage. In fact the second half was so one sided, 4-1 flattered Sunderland.

And the penalty. It wasn't just late. He arrived about a minute after the ball had gone!!! If he is Sunderland's great hope in defence, the Championship beckons!

We now sit 4 points away from the top and with Leicester and Wets dropping points today, we are now in fourth and all of a sudden still in the title race!

In my Leicester report on Wednesday, you may recall I said there would be many more strange results this season and today proved that. Perhaps a little quicker than I thought.

Yes, we still need another striker and maybe another squad player, but I can't fault the way the team and manager bounced back today, put Wednesday behind them and got the three points. In the past we would have lost again today but this Spurs team is different. It has steel, it has desire and it just keeps on bouncing back. Let's hope we can now kick on again from this point and go that one step beyond!! ( cue Madness music!)

As ever, Come on You Spurs and enjoy your weekend folks!!

 

You hit it on the head about Eriksen he has to play in the middle other wise he drifts out of the game,shame about Austin but I think Levy will still get us a striker,we live in hope..COYS

 

Can only wish 3or 4 of the draws had been wins and that we had a bit of luck against Leicester!
The first third of the team has been sorted except for Kyle who is prone to a costly mistake but Trippier will put him on his toes. The middle third has great players especially if Dembele is there to muscle and create.The front third I cant say is champions league material apart from Kane.Lamela has come on greatly but is still not the tricky goalscoring winger we wanted.Still not sure about Son but hopefully will develop. Chadli Townsend are not the answer.We have to get real potentcy instead of relying on Harry so I really hope to hear of a signing soon because we are not that faraway from completing the jigsaw ahead of time.The football at times has been brilliant and with the right cutting edge up front the pressure is on the opposition and not our defence.

 

Great result today and once again everything to play for. We must assume that Poch did not want to sign Austin and have a player on a longish contract who would not. Be in his plans. Hard as it is to be patient I believe it is better to get the players the manager wants and not waste wages on somebody he does not fancy. Of course if Harry gets injured and no one comes in this window there will plenty of criticism so fingers crossed for a signing up front and luck with injuries

 

Before I comment on today's win, I shall pause for a moment. Austin, £4m, to the Saints. Levy what are u doing? At that fee, no risk whatsoever and would have been a good fit (profile, attitude, plan B!). Oh well, perhaps Long is on his way, Berahino - possibly, or we have an absolute gem lined up... We all live in hope, naively.

Now, today's result. Eriksen much better! He is and always will be, far more effective in the middle; the most creative when he is on form.

Great to see us put the disappointment of Wednesday to one side and do a number on Sunderland.

Palace away in the PL next. I think it will be a tough one and hope we can come away with an important win.

On a separate note, good to see Leicester dropping points to the Villa (can't believe I am actually saying that?!). Be interesting to see what team lines up against them in the replay...

3 points for Stoke tomorrow please!!!

COYS

 

Thought it was a very poor Sunderland performance and a steady one from us.
For all the possession and ground coverage at times you just cant see where the sparks going coming from.
Never the less cant really complain about a 4-1 much better than Wednesday.
Think Trippier had a good game and is the 1st time ive seen some promise from him.
Theres buisness being done so this nonsense Levy likes to spin that deals only happen on the last day is just a myth. We need a lift and an option for the home straight. I think Kokorin would be a good gamble imo fits the profile, hard working, good goal record, team player, physical, young and is out of contract by the summer.
Levy wake up and secure us what we need.

 

Every recent game we've played against Sunderland at home, we've trailed and won, according to your headline we'd have lost today, however recent history suggests not? Of course we've improved, the goals against column verifies that, but please don't suggest that a win against Sunderland is an improvement in any shape or form. The simple fact is Sunderland haven't, which is a far more telling statement!

 

Thoughts....
First half not great, same old lack of driving into the opposition, instead recycling the ball at the back.
Second half the best I think this season, certainly at our end.
Players - Dembele great to have you back. Thought the back four were strong, with Trippier looking good. As you say Matt crosses the ball better than Walker. Lamela has no end product and unless he does have, we should bench him for Son.
Transfer Window - did you see the MP post match interview. When asked about What January transfer window activity he expected, he answered not much, then went on to say he was happy with the squad, along with some other unreassuring words. This sounds like Levy-speak to me. Heard similar from Timmy last year as I recall. All in all a real worry.
Wednesday- Leicester were poor tonight, with Mahrez and Vardy doing little or nothing. Keep it that way please.......
COYS

 

According to the rat pack press Eriksen had a sit down one on one with Poch about where he is best fitted to the team,it seem's Erik won,he has played his best football from the middle of the park not the flanks it seem's Poch listened,and we saw the player today and what he can do,I just hope he has put a stop to this problem he has of fading out during the match..The striker search is still on going,Poch was not to concerned in the loss of Austin can this mean there is another on his way??has Levy has pulled a rabbit out of his cob web infested wallet??we wait and wait because we are Spurs,OOps the window is closed,Levy strikes again!!!!COYS..

 

Word has it (from a good source inside QPR) is that Charlie fancied himself as bigger than the club. I think MP really does his homework and whilst players with the temperament and ability of HK are rare I think we are right to buy young hungry players who can learn the values rather than those who pull up in a £200k motor and say yep I do think I'm this good before earning the right......love the new team philosophy

 

May be you are correct Danny,Austin could have gone in the summer but nobody came in for him,I have always thought it was down too a injury,if we have dodged another Ade then great.COYS

 

Firstly, it is agreed that Pochettino, most commendably, has instilled a sense of purpose and steeliness into such a young side that has yielded positive results after disappointments.

But building a team is about understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your squad to get the most rewards in the short term. I might add Danny Graham started left wing today. Why? for the good of the team. It definitely isn't as easy as just playing players in their position. (Eric Dier anyone? ) Pochettino also likes to promote from within, which is one of the finest ways to build a solid team ethic. not just signing the wrong profile of player.

This brings me to the silky Eriksen. If the three behind the striker system is to work (particularly in taking the burden off Sir Harry) it must always remain fluid to be effective. Where players start is largely irrelevant in those offensive positions as players choose where to play from one second to the next in order to get the most out of attacks/possession. Good players know where to be.

Eriksen is clever enough to not to be restricted by starting position, but he has been out of form. Todays goals will hopefully kickstart him, but without Cattermole's and Kirchoff's interventions we'd just be talking about how ineffective he was.

I will end by mentioning that Eriksen is the closest thing we have to a Modric or a Bale, but this Pochettino Spurs is so much more robust that side ever was and is most certainly a team of substance; a team on the rise and crucially, a team that works.

 

Upon my twitter feed after the game was a curious tweet - one of the journalists at the game was at behind at the end, waited with a group of fans and Levy was seen. Someone shouted 'sign a striker' and Levy turned his head and smiled.

Whatever one reads into that, let's not forget today. Disappointing to go behind, but I'd rather go behind early and win 4-1 than lose 1-0! Lamela coming on leaps and bounds, his chance in the first half where he swept wide - where he.probably should have passed - showed confidence in himself to take the chance on.

As Spursy as Spurs can be, it is worth reiterating a point numerous others have made - this is a bizarre season for everyone, not just us. West Ham lost at Newcastle, which strengthens our position further.

Shane Long would be great, and now makes sense of Austin to the Saints.

Sorry for my jumble of points. It's less organised than Kirchoff's life right now.

 

Firstly, it's Kirchhoff.

Secondly, yes, the behind Kane is a much better position for Eriksen. However, it made Alli misplaced at wide MF, making his performance the worst ever in lilywhite.

Thirdly, MOM was Dembele. Spurs have hard time winning without Mousa. Now, I've read Spurs are after another Dembele from Fulham, who has similar first name (Moussa). He is 19 y/o striker. I would not mind any confusion it can bring at all if only Poch wants the lad.

Fourthly, and as ever COYS!!!

 

Good result today a 4-1 victory and we again bounced back from defeat which is a positive.
2 goals is a positive for Eriksen as he looks to get back to the form that has made him a fans favourite at WHL
IN terms of strikers we should get someone on loan with experience and then sign Lacazette in the summer
instead of overpaying for an average striker now
COYS

 

I thought it was a very good professional display against a dogged resilient resurgent Sunderland side set up to frustrate Spurs. Their keeper was well worked even before we equalised and in inspired form. (Be a good signing for us if Sunderland drop)..
We shown great character after trailing against the run of play and was comfortable in the end.
The tired Kane was outstanding as was dembele how we've missed him. Eriksen remains a conundrum because both he and alli cannot play in the no 10 role at the same time of course today perhaps maybe at home v poor opp we could have sacrificed a pivot but the end justified the means with three big points.
On Charlie Austin bargain price or not if he isn't the striker MP wants then the price tag is irrelevant. Wouldn't buy something from the supermarket you didn't want,like or need simply cos its on offer would you? However my Mrs would!!

 

The headline is in reference to the fact that Spurs in the past have a poor history of bouncing back after defeats in recent seasons and not in reference to the opposition of this game.

 

Oi!! Get of my catchphrase!! Lol.

 

Good win yesterday, all credit to team spirit to bounce back.

I've always tried to be balanced about Levy and I think there is much to be commended about his business at spurs.

But the antics that I do have an issue with is his wringing of deals until we end up signing at the last moment, which seems to have happened a lot over the years. I think this is a big risk.

Look at our schedule in Jan. If we had lost Kane to injury last week or the one before, we would already be screwed. Likewise if we sign at the last minute, the new guy won't have long to adjust before massive games in Europe, PL and the cup potentially. So please get someone before the week is out!

 

Can't for the life of me understand the Shane Long brigade. Turns 29 this month with an average goal scoring record and at his peak not likely to improve.
Kokorin as felon states is an interesting link. Signing a Russian is always a gamble given their history in the Prem but free in the summer could be signed for between 5-6m if not less!! He's fast strong can play no 9,10 and either wing. Strong in the air and a composed finisher despite his modest goal scoring record due to the fact he often plays out wide or deeper. At 24yrs worth a punt given the price tag and that if it didn't work out would turn a nice profit selling bk to the wealthy eastern European sides.
If signed along with a proven prem class attacker would be nice business all around.