Top SIX and some silver will do!!

New manager. Hugo signed on for another season at least ( I say 1 year as contracts in football mean nothing). All looking promising for the season ahead.

I have spent the last four seasons with the same expectancy that we must finish in the Champions league places, but I have to say that this season, my view is very different.

New beginnings

Being a Spurs fan seems to involve more false dawns than a few, but for some reason, I am relaxed about what we need to do this in the coming season. Last season was a season of mistakes throughout the club, with too many signings, poor tactics on the pitch and some sadly poor attitudes as well.

This season however, I do not think the new manager needs to be too concerned about the Champions league.

I have said repeatedly that our new manager needs time and the fans must be patient and realistic. The Chairman must be equally patient too if we are to achieve the success that we crave in the long term.

Pochettino is a known taskmaster and he has proven that he can get the best out of talented young players and we have those at the ready. I am excited that he may get the best out of Lamela and if he does, we could see an unbelievable transformation in that young man.

Go forth...

Aiming for the top four has become an obsession in this country due to the money involved, but because we have a sound financial situation, I don't think that needs to be our aim this year.

Getting the team playing attractive, penetrating football has got to be the main aim and that will take the new man a bit of time and as much as I hate Spurs being in continual transition, I am willing to take it this season as I think it will ultimately reap massive rewards.

Finishing sixth, for me would be acceptable and if we can add a trophy as well, Pochettino will have done a brilliant job in his first season.

Onward to Glory? Hallelujah!!

Let's all give Pochettino time to do what he needs to this season and to build his own team, and that includes the Chairman.

If, for once, Levy can keep his nose out of the manager's job and let Pochettino get on with things, the good times will be back at the Lane. So, as much as people clamour for fourth, I believe that sixth will do nicely and perhaps the UEFA Cup in the trophy cabinet at the end of the season.

Winning the UEFA Cup would also mean Champions league football the following year!!!!

As ever, COME ON YOU SPURS!!!!

 

Yes Poch needs time, but he also needs top quality players something we lack massively. We will never win a trophy fielding any of Rose Naughton Dawson or Kaboul in defence that is a fact they are all liabilities. We still dont have a top notch striker (soldado 2 from open play) Adebyor (when he can be bothered) Kane (?), and the midfield has too many samey predictable limited players that produce next to nothing.
So while others are buying in top quality players weve been consistantly selling ours and trying to haggle over Ben Davies. I for one cannot wait for Enic to dissapear and that cretin Levy to f*ck off they peaked 4 seasons ago and its been a steady decline since. Lowering expectations is a major indicator of just how poorly weve been guided the last few seasons and now that Liverpool have re-emerged, Utd will bounce back, Scum are signing world class players and the obvious Spending power of Chavs n City we have gone from a point touching distance to 10 to what next?
People sing the praises of Levy for not spending i ask how do you move forward without investment?

 

I totally agree and I hope levy does too if only to lift the burden off MP by setting a realistic achievable target. If we can surpass that as we did under harry a few years ago that's fine wow what a season that would be. But if I got offered a season of sixth and a trophy that brought about shooting signs of future success ie the integration properly of soldado capoue paulinho and more importantly soldado and the progression of lamela and Townsend who are undoubtedly talents well give me the contract now to sign. On top of that if MP can find us a Luke Shaw or ward prowse/lallana out of Pritchard fryers Carroll veljkovic coulthirst bentaleb who I hope to see involved more this term then how good would that be.

 

Lloris
walker NEW CB vert Davies
Sandro. Dembele
Eriksen
Lamela Townsend

Soldado/lukaku/remy

Sub's friedel;adebayor; one of the above strikers; capoue; kaboul;paulinho; konopkplanya

Would be happy to see us go forward with something like the above with seeing plenty of the youth involved in the early rounds of the Europa and fa cup and the entirety of the league cup.
Selling off Livermore chadli holtby rose Dawson naughton to fund transfers and towards the new stadium(priority for me)

 

Never mind top 6, go all out for the Europa League and the FA Cup, write the league off. Win the Europa League and you get a Champs League place from this season. This alone should be our priority. You play a Premier League standard team in 7 fixtures (second round, quarter, semi and final) and all post X-mas. Keep the guys fresh until Feb and put a first XI out in these games and we'll be sorted. No worries about inconsistent performances at home to Norwich or away to QPR to scupper our CL bid.
If we picked up an FA cup, Europa League and got in the CL, I wouldn't care if we finished 17th!

 

I can ONLY sense a great season coming up, and this news about Lloris is just the boost the MP, and the squad, could of done with before heading away to the States for pre-season.

Perhaps dampened expectations from some Spurs supporters could help the club moving into the new campaign, but I for one, will be starting the season the same way I begin EVERY season... dreaming of WINNING THE LEAGUE!!!

With:

• the DEPTH of playing staff Spurs have (along with some talented youth players getting opportunities in the 1st team, as well as the removal of some dead wood).
• a FIERCELY ambitious chairman, who is guaranteed to back the manager with a substantial amount of transfer funds to remould the squad.
• and a INTELLIGENT new-coach, who possesses the kind of CLEAR and PROVEN philosophy, and playing style I, and the club, have been crying out for, for years.

...I am EXTREMELY optimistic about the clubs chances this upcoming season.

Arsenal, Man City/Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea can do what the like with regards to transfers, as far as I'm concerned, NOTHING will alter the faith I have in the ,core, pool of talent Spurs have in that squad...as well as the collective/ individual potential for growth.

My message for the Spurs supporters who LACK my belief, faith and sense of optimism about the teams - or the prospects of the club - ahead of upcoming campaign would do well to consider that:

• The Cockerel on the shirt, does NOT cower!
• The Cockerel on the shirt does NOT concede defeat on it's objectives (WITHOUT so much as a ball being kicked in anger)!
• The Cockerel on the shirt does flinch in the face of adversity!
• The Cockerel on the shirt is NOT afraid of a challenge!

As you can, probably, tell by now, the Cockerel that is emblazoned on the front of the Tottenham Hotspur shirt MEANS something to me. As does the posture/stance, the design, of the Cockerel adopts.

It stands TALL, BOLD and PROUD, as a representation of the club (AS DO I) and it is this message that I am CONVINCED Poch will - like myself if I was in charge of the team - instil into the players....along with a philosophy (that suits the group he has at his disposal), a solid, forward-thinking, tactical game-plan, excellent man-management skills, and just a good, ol'- fashioned, bit of common sense management.

If there is one thing the doubtful, naysayers SHOULD have learnt about the beautiful game, had they done their homework, is football is NOT simply about who has the most money -as Dortmund, Liverpool, Crystal Palace, QPR, Atletico Madrid and Costa Rica (to name a few) have shown (in different regards) over the last year, or so.

It is about a collective coming together with a common goal, a CLEAR plan on how to achieve their objectives, and having the belief, intelligence and talent, to be able to execute a well structured plan/strategy!

KNOWING this, AS I DO, is what fuels the enthusiasm, excitement and belief I have regarding the fortunes of the side this season.

In the wise words of Ramos The Relentless : 'To love my club, I MUST learn to love myself, and my dreams/aspirations'.

 

Up till now, we didn't sign anybody. The scum signs Alexis Sanchez, Liverpool Lallana, Can, Lambert and probably Markovic and Origi, Man U already have Herrera and Shaw, Chelski Costa and Fabregas, City Fernando and Sagna. Liverpool will have plenty of money to spend from the Suarez sale and will buy some of our (supposed) targets like Bony, Davies, Rodriguez, Moreno, Depay, Blind, Alderweireld,... Van Gaal also has a big transfer kitty and will do the same. We were not top 4 last season and we won't be this one. We simply lack quality and money. I will already be happy if we will play decent football and not be beaten 5-0 by the big guys. If we only care about top 4 and don't support the lads when we are not top 4, it will be a frustrating season as ever. Better be realistic in the expectations and take some pressure of the players...

 

I agree with Ramos43 i dont think we can simply accept a mediocre 6th place finish. To win the league that might be a bit far fetched, but one can only dream. I think Poch is a great young manager just the type of person spurs need at their helm. AVB i dont think was the right man for the job, but in saying that the pressure on him to deliver was immense. You can throw 100million at the squad but this does not gurantee you a cohesive unit. I think Athletico are shining examples of this, they put together a team of excellent players and the manager had the backing of the board, which i feel hasn't happened to the full extent at Tottenham. We need to give Poch our backing and time, we cannot expect miracles on his first season, although i think he as been installed at the correct time. He has time to Gel with his players and decide who he wants to be part of his squad. No doubt we need to make a few signings in the CB and LB positions and obviously upfront. I trust Poch will make the correct decision. I dont think we need stars, we need players who want to play for the club and who fit in, i just hope he is given the freedom to make these decisions. I think Lukaku is an example of this, i feel like this is just a move pushed by Levy as he been on the clubs radar for along time now, he doesnt seem like the type of player who wants to put on the spurs shirt i for one hope we dont aqcuire his signature. I think we have an excellent squad of players and with a few good additons we can challenge for the top four, suprplus to some requirements. In summary i think we need to Give Poch TIME and freedom, i could see him given the correct backing running this club for many years to come and i truly hope this is the case. I cannot wait for the season to get underway, the future is bright for Tottenham lets give the players and the coaching staff all the support in the world. COYS!!

 

I genuinely DON'T believe that Spurs 'NEED' another striker. Now, of course some of us might WANT one, but should Spurs start the season with a front three of Adebayor, Soldado and Kane, I would be just as confident of the club completing it's objectives as I am now!

What Spurs NEED, is to get the best out of Soldado, as well as a talented group of of attacking midfielder/wingers.

Imagine the difference 15 league goals from Roberto Soldado, and 20-25 league goals, collectively, from the likes of Chadli, Sigurdsson, Townsend, Lennon, Lamela, Dembele, (Holtby) and Paulinho would have made.

The talent in within that group certainly suggests they are capable of improving in terms of their goal/assist tallies, and with the additional movement/fluidity in forward areas that Pochettino is likely to demand, these players should have no problem getting opportunities.

For me improving the levels of productivity from that group of players, as well as having our full-backs and CB chip in with the odd goal, here and there, should be the REAL target for the coaching staff.

I think it goes without saying that Pochettino is likely to want to put his own mark on the team by bringing in his own players, and if a striker is on that list then GREAT, but I don't subscribe to all this Spurs 'need' another forward business.

If the season started with Spurs having:

Sold

Dawson, Falque, Assou Ekotto, Naughton, Livermore and Paulinho. With, two players I rate VERY highly, and believe have had a raw deal at WHL, Holtby and Sigurdsson also being made available depending on how much Pochettino intends on using them.

For me, both, those two players are FAR too talented to be considered 'back-up', so UNLESS they are given a realistic/fair chance of getting 1st team football with Spurs, I would rather see them go and play somewhere else. In order for the squad to develop the competitive edge it will require to be successful, EVERY member of the squad has to feel motivated to fight for a place in the 1st team.

That is a squad dynamic which occurs/develops when players are picked on merit/ performance levels, NOT reputation/favouritism.

I can't remember the last time this has happened consistently at Spurs.


Brought

Along with academy prospects Fredericks, Bentaleb, Carroll and Pritchard being promoted to the 1st team, I would like to see the club sign:

LB - Ben Davies, Alberto Moreno or Alex Sandro

CB - Dede, Brede Hangeland or Jamaal Lascelles

CM/ DLP - Fabien Delph, Rueben Pardo, Marcelo Brozovic or Ever Banega.





Now, let me make my position regarding a new striker CLEAR, I would LIKE a striker (preferably Benteke/ Bony) but I don't feel the club 'needs' one to be successful!

 

I think we have the makings of a good squad. Last season was a disaster and I can't remember a season when I watched em and hardly ever felt nauseous before a game because to be honest there seemed to be a lack of passion. The atmosphere went at the lane due mainly to the fact we never knew if we'd get nicked for saying the y word and also the dross mainly on offer. This season I begin again feeling optimistic. Hugo has signed a new deal. Apart from neuer is the best keeper in the world in my opinion. Unless sold I still believe soldado can score for fun with the right service. Lamela. Please god let this be his year. I'm sure the kids got bags of talent. We desperately need a left back and centre back to partner verts. Assuming he stays. I would like us to get another quality striker in as we do need that strength in depth. As for midfield. Blimey we've got bleeding loads of em. Eriksen needs to be given the number 10 role. Paulinho I just don't rate and I do like holtby but like a lot of players last season never got a proper run in the side. The flanks may need to be addressed but I 'll see what happens there. Whoever is on the pitch will get my support as They play for the greatest club in the world!! Tottenham till I die!!!

 

We do need a new striker, Ade will be off on the Afcon party for Feb/Mar and Soldado is not up to the task, Kane is not Premier League material either.

 

Didn't know Ade would be off to ACON. Good point!

Not sure about the Soldado part though, my friend. One bad season in front of goal, does NOT make you a bad player. Let's be fair, Soldado's overall game was very good, and once he gets his CONFIDENCE back in front of goal, I'm sure he'll start banging them in.

An early goal (from open play, preferably) will be just the tonic he needs to give him the boost that he needs to regain his arrogance/composure in front of the oppositions net. The guy is a world-class finisher, who once he settles in to life in England and learns the language, will start to repay the faith MOST Spurs supporters have shown in him. Of that, I'm sure.

Let's remember that Thierry Henry wasn't an instant success in the EPL when he first joined. Nor was our own Gareth Bale, and look at what happened with those two (as with many more).

I am NOT saying that Spurs shouldn't sell if a good offer comes in and they have the opportunity to reinvest. But I don't think we should be rushing the Spaniard out the door, just yet, either!

The encouraging thing about Roberto's first season was that he began to get chances...he was just simply missing them. that tells me the team are learning about the type of service he requires - which can only bode well for the upcoming campaign.


On a slightly separate note, if anyone wants to know why I DON'T pay too much attention to statistics as a football man check out the video of Soldado below.

From the ignorant/uneducated (in football terms, of course) fan, Aaron Lennon has been the focus of some UNWARRANTED stick, over the years, by folks that are so busy watching the ball/ tottering up stats/ listening to overpaid members of the media that claim he can't cross, that the miss the EXCELLENT service he provides, that goes unfinished.

I've studied Aaron's game since he arrived at Spurs as a 16/17, and have found that his final ball has improved CONSIDERABLY over the last 4/5 years. However, he could also be considered as one of the most unfortunate wingers in the game, as MOST of his quality deliveries have gone unfinished in that time.

But, hey, that's the life of a winger - You RELY on those around you to make the most of your hard work in order to up the tally on which you will mainly be judged on - assists. And yet if those around you consistentely fail to make good on your efforts, you get your casual fan writing you off as a player, because your contribution is easily forgotten in their minds!

Anyway, have a look for yourselves. The Soldado clip offers JUST a couple of examples of what I have observed in my studies over the years. The delivery is there, but the finish is often missing.

That is why in my opinion, stats are mainly for those who can't be bothered, or have little interest, in analysing the game. Now there is nothing WRONG with that, it's just not for me.







The kids been a CLASS act for as long as I can remember, and i'll be damned before I allow him to leave the club. Forget Leeds, Spurs developed Lennon. He's one of our own! I KNOW he frustrated on MANY occasions last season with him appearing reluctant to take on his man, but hey judging from the pictures of Spurs training sessions, Aaron looks like he's come back in GREAT shape! He looks trimmer and hungrier than EVER, and I, for one, am going to be fascinated to see how he fares in what should be a more fluid, cohesive and interchanging Spurs front-line.

Check out 2.45 on the vid below, and remember, 'There's ONLY one Aaron Lennon!'

 

If Soldado hangs around and has a good season ill be thrilled for him but I have to admit that I dont have as much faith in his abilities as some others but ive never been that fussed on fox in the box types that need the ball on a plate and cant smack one from outside the box, I dont see an EPL manager building a team around a player like Soldado, he needs to lift his game if he wants to succeed at spurs. Good luck to the player and if he scores goals im happy to be wrong but right now id take Lukaku or Bony any day over Roberto.

 

Top six acceptible, be patient, transition period........ring any bells.
It all sounds a bit negative to me.
Were these quotes made just after the other lot bought sanchez and the rumour that sami khedira could also be going there......sort of like jump before pushed scenario.

 

We need to beat Hammers. The game is in 5 weeks. That is all I care about. Scoreless draw at Upton, for example, would change the mood dramatically. We need that first win after 3 defeats. After that we can dream about something else, like getting into top 4.

 

Why havent we signed anyone yet????????
Why are Rose, Naughton, Chadli, Kaboul, Soldado, Lennon still at the club??????

 

We are over bloated in midfield with average players. I'd like to see some pruning in this department. I still believe Erik Lamela will come good and could make as big an impact as Eriksen did last year. I'm afraid I just don't get Paulinho. I've made a point of watching him very closely this world cup and last season, but consistently feel he is WAY overrated. Jogs about but can't tackle, pass, dribble or shoot, and touches the ball less than most players on the field. For a central midfielder that's not good enough.

 

If people lowering their expectations means that they will be more positive, patient and considered in their views about the team regardless of the result - as long as the the team is in and around that 6th spot - then I think it's GREAT news!

Replacing HUGE expectations with HUGE levels of support is something that can only benefit the team, the fans and the club as a whole.

The team will feel less (external) pressure, particularly at WHL, and can relax more in the knowledge that if they are not 1-0 by 65th min, the crowd will stick by them, without all the moans and groans that have become a bit of an accompaniment in matches where the team isn't playing particularly well.

West Ham have the makings of a VERY good team this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are competing comfortably amongst the top 6-8 teams in the EPL. I therefore expect Upton Park to become a bit of a fortress this season with many of the top 5/6 teams dropping points against West Ham away.

In many ways, Pochettino couldn't have a (much) harder start to his tenure as Head Coach, and the team will have to be somewhere close to top form to get ANYTHING from the game.

• The crowd will be up for this game more than any other.
• The players won't need much in the way of motivation. If Allardyce doesn't get them fired up for the first game of the season, the atmosphere in the ground will.
• All of West Ham's new signings (which there looks like being a few) will be determined to make a good first impression in front of a passionate home crowd.

Spurs will have to match the attitude/commitment of the West Ham team, stay focussed as a unit and play the team and NOT the environment. The WORST thing the Spurs team could do is get caught up in the hostile atmosphere, get involved with with the rough house tactic WH are likely to deploy and lose sight of the job of the mission at hand.

In that respect, perhaps Pochettino not being so familar with the rivalry will be of benefit to the team, as he is more likely to emphasise caution and concentration, rather than passion - which could lead to over-exuberance.

Anyway long way to go before then. Can't wait for the pre-season games to start. COYYYSSS

 

We had the foundations of a really good team under Redknap and we really shouldve kicked on from there, but lack of vision/ambition has sent the club backwards.
Should we be lowering our expectations? Is that what makes winners?
My expectations are we have a team we can be proud of, that dont roll over to have their bellies tickled by the big boys, that turn up against rivals, that doesnt make excuses all the time, that dont bottle it and go out with a whimper every competition, i expect the board to invest in buying quality players and for once addressing glaring issues with the 1st team instead of constantly choosing 'investments' rather than what we need.
We should be aiming for more than winning the minnow league, i wonder where some of your heads are at? the game is about glory not trundling along with an inferiority complex and being happy/content about it.

 

No one wants to have to say this is another year of transition with a squad that still needs to gel but guess what - it is. And yes we also need a few quality signings in key areas, and soon.
No one wants to say expectations of 6th place is acceptable either but sometimes our dreams and expectations collide with fact and reality and right now, and with what weve got, 6th place is thereabouts and anything higher would be a fantastic result for the club and the new manager. I want Spurs to win as much as anyone but I also know we need a few quality signings and some time for the team to gel. We could talk all day about why we are not the champions, or what we need to get there but right now we are the current 6th place. Looking foward to a great season but to crack the top four we need a massive improvement. Fact.