3 Steps Forward

So predictably Spurs fell last night 1-0 at the hands of our old friends at West Ham all but ending our Title hopes/dreams.

Once again when the time came to really apply pressure on whoever we are chasing we come away with having given them a helping hand.

The performance
A few crunching tackles aside we looked leggy. We kept our composure better than our blow up at the bridge last year and we had a couple of passages of play that looked decent but we lacked the final ball and bar Kane's shot that was kicked over we didn't really trouble the Hammers goal.
Our defence was caught out a few times and an easy ball over the top exposed us badly at times. The goal conceded was poor and the rest of the game was gritty.

There wasn't much on the bench that was going to grab this game by the scruff and we continued ambling towards the inevitable.

So barring an absolute miracle that's it for the season. Sadly there's no silverware to show for our dominance of many sides and some of our great football this season, I just hope it's not another opportunity missed for us that we may not see again for a while.

We have however made 3 big steps forward this Season-

1. CL Qualification 2 years running.

2. Our Highest ever points Total in the EPL.

3. Finishing above the Woolwich Wanderers.

The way we seem to struggle on larger pitches concerns me, especially as we play our home matches at Wembley next season, our home form has been key to us this year something we are going to have to translate to Wembley if we want to carry on our progress.

We need to improve, we need to move on 3/4 players that aren't good enough and bring in some CL quality. IF we want to move from nearly men to winners.

Else I worry all our hard work will be undone.

 

I recall 5 good saves by Adrian. Save on Son is usually a goal. I do not think Spurs were poor. They were out of luck.
The disappointment should be for football pundits as title race could be losing some intrigue. But I would still wait till Monday.
Spurs should be proud of themselves. They are an Elite Team.

 

It is not over hard but not over Chelsea could yet slip up over confident arrogance could be their undoing. We must finish strong win next three games be ruthless and sharp no prisoners. Have a mentality to win we have to come 2nd send a message that we can bounce back and are strong mentally. CL GET 3 quality players let go deadwood. Be prepared to win at Wembley change play to suit and adjust to crowd position,play according to pitch adjust game and mind . SO GET UP OFF YOUR BACKSIDES STOP FEELING SORRY FOR SELF AND PLAY LIKE WINNERS BECAUSE U R WHETHER 1st or 2nd.

 

If I were a West Ham fan, I'd be so annoyed that their team can play like that be only do it to derail Spurs. I think every season they play their best game against us. We weren't great last night, but could have won with a bit of luck.

 

Who would have thought, 3 years ago when Poch took over, that Spurs would be challenging for the title in two successive seasons. Let's enjoy this team and be proud of the boys. The silverware and the titles are not too far off. Congratulations on a great season. COYS.

 

We're at a permanent disadvantage given that we're Chelsea's, arsenal's, and west hams biggest game of the season. Six games where both teams are properly up for it, sadly we weren't up to it yesterday night. We always seem to be poor in the night games, or just monday-Friday in general. The thing is with 'deadwood' is that they're also generally good squad players who we wouldn't actually be able to improve on without disturbing the first XI.

 

Let's be clear, this was poor last night. Walker was out of position every time we needed him to defend. His head isn't right and after the early booking I would have subbed him. It was embarrassing.
We've been great this term and recent away form has been good, but we folded against the Spammers passion.
The comments about the big pitch and how we cope with it, or not, will define next season. Unless we overcome that challenge, we will see more results like this.
Last night just felt wrong. Can't put my finger on it, but a match of such importance to our Chelski chase just felt so flat. A weekend of depression ahead......come on Boro.

COYS

 

When I saw your name on the post I fully expected the normal attack on the team but reading it was a eye opener,you hit the nail on the head,the 3 steps great and a lot of good football but we need to clear out some of the deadwood even if they are a fan fav ie Walker,his head is not in the right place and he is NOT bigger than the club,Poch put him in his place and he cant accept that he must **** it up or move on,all this voodoo talk around Wembley the pitch size,we never win there ect, is just bull,So keep the same 3 steps for next season and just add some silverware and another run at the top,we can move into our new stadium as CHAMPIONS..COYS..

 

That game always had the potential to turn into that type of contest , the first goal becomes so important then ... Unfortunately we weren't firing to full capacity last night for whatever reason , and this time we came unstuck ... Ultimately that's the reason Chavski will be Champs , they are a wee bit better at getting results when they don't play particularly well ... Gutted it happened against that shower but there you go ... We've been excellent the last few months , hopefully we can keep the team together and keep moving forward , if we can then there's good times ahead , but for lots of different reasons it's debatable , that's for another day tho ..... C.O.Y.S ...

As far as this big pitch debate goes , well as far as I know we can make the pitch any size we like inside the rules .. Not convinced it's the size of the pitch that matters , it's just Wembley , it's one of the iconic stadiums in world football and this will be a lot of teams and players only chance to play there, they give it that extra little % a bit like the pikies last night , and that makes it very difficult to be fair , like everything time will tell ... C.O.Y.S ....

 

Ok, so we messed up against a rival London team. We bettered the Arses, so that's a big plus!

We have played some great and stylish football this season, but zilch from it.

Poch will sort out the tactics to use when it comes to playing the likes of Chelski and Ironers, and how to overcome this type of defensive play, next season.

When Poch arrived at the club, I groaned, but the man is numero uno tactically, and he'll get us right for next season.

As for the bigger Wembley pitch .... come on you Spurs ...just more room to show off those skills!!!

 

24 hours on and I have calmed down - slightly! Still perplexed that Mousa was benched? Criminal if u ask me.

Now to be fair, I think the league was done last wkd when that arrogant lot beat the Toffees. If we are honest, the reason we fall short is that we are lacking a couple of 'special' players (like some have touched on above). For example, that lot have Hazard, Willian and Pedro - all of which can unlock a stubborn defence and produce something out of nothing when the opposition are playing to frustrate and thwart us. Something we need to improve on away from home. If we are to overcome the final hurdles, we need to add players of this ilk / quality and it will clearly cost. We need options, we need a bit more depth!

Reflecting on this season, we have been very good. I am sure we have learned from this stage last season and will get over last nights' blip, cementing 2nd with 80+ points - and shall go unbeaten at our beloved WHL. That would be something and very fitting indeed.

Felon's 3 steps are spot on; especially CL qualification - imperative in retaining our key players and from a financial perspective too. I just want us to give it a proper go in the CL next season!

And finally, I would say 'mind the gap' to any Gummers but it's not accurate to say so... it's a flipping canyon at 17pts, lovely

We go again next year - TTID, COYS!!!

 

In terms of points and league position, we've certainly done better than I imagined at the start of the season - I expected the 'usual suspects' to come roaring back under their shiny new managers, but only Chelsea actually did the business, but it was still enough to see us off. The previous blog took a leaf out of the 'Dear Mr Levy' site, by taking a serious issue (the near-certain loss of key players to higher-paying, 'bigger' clubs here and abroad) and taking a supposedly satirical swipe at journalists, bloggers and fans who are legitimately concerned that the 'project' is about to be seriously derailed. A combination of the Wembley hoodoo and the (understandable) greed of the players is a real threat to our progress , and while the article was all very amusing, laughing at the issue doesn't make it go away.

Chelsea are likely to do the 'Double' (again), or Arsenal will win the FA Cup for the third time in four years; United will very probably win the EL as well as the League Cup (and thereby qualify for the CL despite their supposedly poor season). That leaves City and Liverpool for us to look down on at the end of our ninth successive season without a trophy, and all the signs are that it's only going to harder as the stadium disruption takes its toll - if Pochettino can maintain the upward trajectory for the remaining two years of his 'project', he really will deserve all the praise lavished on him in the first three.

 

Suppose as much as anything it shows how unpredictable the future can be ... Who'd have taught given all these high profile manager appointments and all the money spent , the moneybags clubs would still perform so poorly ... One would imagine they'll get it together sooner or later .... Imagine given the money spent lining up against Arsenal the way the Mancs did at the weekend ... Is Mourinho just a rich man's Pulis or big Sam ... We all know he's a serial winner , and they could still end up with 2 trophies , but would the other posters on here be happier with his way ... It's a bit of a conundrum for me , I can see it both ways ... 500 ish mill spent in last 3 or 4 years but still producing that kind of garbage performance but at the same time , FA Cup last year and Lg cup and maybe Europa this year .....