To dare must be to do

Tottenham Hotspur have not had such a good opportunity to win the Premier League since its formation in the 1992, and its inaugural season in 1992/93. This much goes without saying, but the record goes much further back than that – despite two third place finishes in 1984/85 and 1989/90, in both seasons we finished more than ten points behind the eventual winners. One has to go all the way back to 1962/63 to find the last time that Spurs genuinely competed for the title of the top division in English football. However, Pochettino and the squad have a fantastic chance to break this duck, but it is one that simply HAS to be broken in the remaining nine games because it is unlikely to come again for a very long time.

This season has been a one-off in several different areas; that is indisputable. The unexpected rise of Leicester City, a club who fought off relegation last season in most spectacular manner, has taken all the headlines, and rightly so, and the fall from grace that has accompanied Louis Van Gaal’s tenure as manager of Manchester United has almost received as much publicity. But hidden amongst the polarised stories of incomparable success and unjustifiable failure, there is the apparent shortcomings of Jose Mourinho as Chelsea boss, leaving Chelsea in 10th position at the time of writing, the steady rise of Liverpool under the charismatic Jurgen Klopp, the sensational hype around Pep Guardiola having a ridiculous amount of money at his disposable as Manchester City manager, and the consistency of the other team in north London, whose fanbase remains split over whether to sack the most successful manager in their history.

But where does that leave Spurs? Put simply, nobody knows. The season has been so consistently inconsistent that it is almost impossible – still, in the middle of March – to know where any team is right now. The stats show Spurs in second place, three points clear of third, but five points off top. So long as nothing extraordinarily bad happens from here on in, it will have been a successful season. We will have qualified for the Champions League, and for once enjoyed the rollercoaster ride that the team has put us through because the rollercoaster in question has been less dependent on one star piece of metaphorical machinery, and more of a well-oiled machine.

Despite this safety, it is my firm belief that Spurs HAVE to go all or nothing. Modern day football, like it or not, is dominated by money, and none more so than the Barclays Premier League. Chelsea, City, United and Liverpool will all have big money to spend over the summer, and with the new stadium in mind, as a club we simply won’t be spending £30million on one player. Furthermore, with the new riches of the league, the clubs lower down the league table won’t be bossed around. Klopp spoke of his surprise that Crystal Palace had a player like Bolasie, but our pursuit of Saido Berahino illustrates this point further ~ clubs can now afford to keep their star players. As a whole, the league thus becomes more competitive, especially next year – meaning that our diminished transfer funds are likely to punish us even more.

Which brings me back to the focus of the piece. The big teams will only improve, possibly with the exception of Chelsea if they ‘do a Leeds’, but the smaller clubs will retain their better players and build a solid base of players, and my concern is that Spurs may well stagnate, if only temporarily. If we remain competitive for the next few years, it will be a fitting testament to the outstanding youth system we have at Spurs, as the likes of Marcus Edwards, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Josh Onomah are likely to be first teamers while we pay off the cost of the stadium. It’s a financial burden that will definitely be worth it in the long run, but will simultaneously cause the coming seasons to be immensely challenging.

As such, it is imperative that we make the most of the opportunity that we have in front of us right now. The bigger teams are in almost comical disarray, and this has presented us with one fantastic chance to really do something special. Other teams – Leeds, Blackburn – have had one standout season before falling to the depths of the second division, and while this is far from desirable, winning the title this year would live long in the memory of every fan lucky enough to witness this bizarre season.

The footballing proverb may well be “It’s the hope that kills you” – but, as is so often the case, it’s not the hope but the following downfall that hurts most of all. Football is all about making the most of when you’re on top, both in the 90 minutes that decide a game and across seasons that separates great footballing teams from dominating footballing dynasties. And at Spurs, we may not be about to create a long-lasting dynasty, but we may well be about to hit the very highest peak of all – the Premier League title.

 

This sounds a little pessimistic. Building this young talented team for the coming years sounds like the plan whilst the new ground is built. I would hope the added bonus of some CL money should allow us to purchase players that may help keep us there. After all, the bigger the competition, the bigger the exposure and hopefully the bigger the rewards. We're building a ground to to be up there with the best. What would be the point if we had the advantage of being in the CL of not using the extra funds to help keep us there? It defeats the point.

 

Well we'd better make a bloody good go of it now after wasting our time sort of having a go at everything else but not.

I personally think next season and possibly the following will be similar to this one. No doubt the establishment will have managerial changes and pump money in but it will all take time to gel.

It's about playing as a Team these days which Leicester and Us have been the most consistent at hence us sitting in 1st n 2nd. This has to be built and it takes time as we all know.

Even now in this bizarre season top 4 is still no guarantee let alone the title, for me it is crucial we secure CL and use that to attract 3/4 clever purchases to beef up our rotation quality. Then I can see us dining at the big table for a while.

 

Game at a time now. 6 points from the next 2 PL fixtures sets us up nicely for Anfield.

Agree with Felon, CL must be the minimum now; anything less is a capitulation IMO. Imperative we qualify and bring in the additional funds for the stadium AND some additional quality in the summer. There is absolutely no point making top 4 and then standing still with no investment. Yes we must be mindful of the development project but we will need more strength and depth to "compete" next year...

Therefore 3 quality acquisitions along with youth brought through has to be the order with Poch at the helm!

We must remember an awful lot of players have left since the summer. Admittedly, this was absolutely required - the squad was bloated and contained mediocre players with questionable ability/attitude. I'm sure you will be able to add Fazio to this list come summer too. So, a few proper additions will be necessary. A defender, winger and a striker - we can/should still invest albeit carefully!

COYS

 

I really wish I could buy into the 'building for tomorrow' scenario so often used to excuse failure today, but I just can't. I'm old enough to remember when Crystal Palace were going to be the 'Team of the '80s' because of their supposedly great youth squad, while Venables reckoned we had a golden future when Sugar forced him out in 1993 - whatever happened to Walker, Barmby and Caskey? Wasn't there someone called Campbell as well? You HAVE to take the opportunities when they come, and I'm horribly afraid that we're in the process of blowing this one - you can plan a stadium or a training ground, but you can't plan a successful team - sometimes it all comes together and sometimes it all falls apart, and that's the joy of football - it's about people, not blueprints or balance sheets. I just wish we could have a little bit of jam today, rather than endlessly planning for it tomorrow.

 

As a regular you will know I am/have been questionable of this planning for tomorrow mantra that is bandied about by the apologists to excuse failure.
It has seemed an eternity in getting to this point but we are on the verge of CL qualification (min), the stadium is actually showing the signs of getting built, our model although hampering at times sees us competing top 6 level spending less than everyone else.
Our consistency has allowed us to capitalise on an establishment collapse but if we are to step up to being a regular big team competing for honours domestically and abroad then we need those foundations, and they are almost here not decades away anymore (thank f#ck)
This title race this season is now down to bottle and drive we need to hungrily hunt down Leicester and pull out 3 big performances vs Liverpool Utd and Chavs.
We can realistically do it, for the first time in decades we need to make it happen now.

COYS !!!

 

I would add the Potters away to the list.

Favorable schedule is what helped Spurs to get where they are. After next two ties it ends. Be mindful of that everybody. COYS!

 

Thoughts....not Villa related....

A few piling machines do not a stadium development make.
There can be no material stadium work carried out until the site is truly closed to the public. This is a complex 60,000+ stadium, with retractable pitch. It is 0.little% complete.

 

Keep the faith. Support the team with your ardour and your lungs. As fans we can do no more.

 

Thoughts......

3 points and a clean sheet, good football from the Golden 11 is enough. That Villa could and should have done better is true and a worry. Bournemouth for sure won't be so generous, so better finishing from all the good approach work is the order of the day on Sunday.

For Thursday I'm unsure about what team we should field. Part of me says Poch owes the fans a better view of where we are at, by fielding the Golden 11, but we must think of Sunday, as the real jewel in our season surely has to be the Premier League.

COYS

 

I never thought much of Gomez as a keeper but he has just shot up in my estimation for his comments about the scum. What a star.