Shaky win, but we can't ride our luck forever

Kane, Eriksen, 2-1 away win. Another 3 points but another nervy performance. We’re on a good run but will we keep it up when United and Chelsea come to town?

Quick out the Gates

We’ve made a habit of scoring late goals this season but today we did the opposite. Barely a minute was on the clock before Harry Kane found himself on the score sheet yet again.

Unfortunately, that was one of the few positive notes of the first half. Much like previous away games, we struggled to turn our possession into anything meaningful and allowed Leicester a way back into the game.

It was another game that left me on the edge of my seat for all the wrong reasons; I am at a loss as to how we keep winning these games. Credit must go to our keeper but were Leicester a bit more clinical we’d have been looking at a draw, if not worse.

Having said that, it’s important to give the team some credit – there’s certainly an element of luck to this victory but previous Tottenham sides would have undoubtedly crumbled at the first sign of pressure.

Overall, I’m looking for us to really improve on the way we dominate games. QPR and Newcastle aside, we’ve struggled to really dominate teams this season when we’ve been on top and that’s allowed the opposition to come back into the game when we should’ve already been out of sight.

We also give away too many easy chances; the defence seldom looks imposing or impenetrable. With Man United and Chelsea coming up we simply cannot afford to be so open and generally vulnerable if we want to walk away with anything from either game; even ‘lesser’ sides will eventually punish us, we can’t ride our luck forever.

Top 4 Finish?

As aforementioned, we’re on a good little run and are keeping up with those around us. With Arsenal, Liverpool and United all having shown signs of weakness and a general decline from previous seasons, that 4th spot isn’t exactly impossible to attain.

Can we do it?

At the beginning of the season I’d predicted a 6th place finish for us. I still don’t see that changing at the moment. An injury to Kane and Eriksen would see us drop a fair few points. The squad isn’t quite there yet.

Not only that, it’s clear to see that we’ve still got a way to go until the players fully implement Pochettino’s system to full effect.

The signs are good but we’re definitely not the finished article yet.

Progress

Despite the shaky win today, it’s clear to see we’ve shown signs of progress since the beginning of the season. The football is better, and although we’re not dominating games to the extent that we’d hope, we are getting results and I think we’ve found our best starting XI.

We’re building a solid foundation. It’s imperative that we now back the manager in the January transfer window and beyond.

Come on you Spurs.

 

Lucky win. But it is a win. Need to control games more. getting away with it for a while now.

 

We have no chance of top four.We have no chance of winning next two games.Ordinary players and very ordinary head coach.If not for our good luck we would be in relegation fight - still not out of question.

 

Baz we are winning what more do you want? Other than Chelsea and Man City everyone else can beat each other on their day

 

Paul
Baz is spot on we have been so lucky we are an average side and really should be nearer the bottom than the top.Poch needs to prove himself over the next two games not perhaps win them but lets have decent displays
good defending for a start something like the Everton game we have spent 120m after all

 

Always good to win but can't get excited with our head coach in charge. Team selections are dubious but subs are woeful. Game after game his subs weaken the team. Soldado,Mason and Paulinho added nothing today.

 

Anyone who thought 2-2 or 3-2 was not a fair result needs to check their health.

What were the problems?

1. I thought Walker was poor at Right Back (one of the reasons was he didn't want to go forward and cross. ) But defensively ok. Davis was doing ok but dropped and WHY?.

2. Stambolio and Bentabla in the middle. ( I could pass it back to my centre defender who just win the ball back for you).

THEY SAY TO BE A CENTRE MID YOU NEED EYES IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD. (IE YOU LOOK BEHIND YOU BEFORE THE BALL REACHES YOU SO YOU KNOW WHAT TO TO THE THE BALL).

NONE OF THE CENTRE MIDFIELD HAVE THAT ATTACKING INSTINCT.

3. The Goal Keeper. LISTEN This is not just a goalkeeper. He is the SOLE reason we have at least 15/7 extra on the table.

 

To put a positive spin on it all its a win win situation where we keep getting the points n rub of the green to keep us in the chase for top spot whilst being awful with also uneasy on the eye. Hopefully this concoction will urge the board to reinvest!!!

 

1 or 2 results that go in our favour are all good but this is getting ridiculous now. I have tried my best to not knock a win but I'm left with the feeling yet again- how on earth did we win that?
Let's get this into perspective this was Leicester a newly promoted side Sitting bottom of the league who at times made us look like we were relegation fodder maybe a slight better rub of the green and they could've walked out winners and the worthier of it.
It's just the lacking of any sort of style or tactic that worries me. I just can't see anything that resembles high press, possessional, counter attack you name it were lacking in it. I am failing to see what Poch brings to the table at all because we sure aren't demonstrating anything other than fluking wins while being out played by almost everyone.
How can anyone in charge of running the club from board to manager who actually care about Spurs think that this squad doesn't need some major surgery? If they genuinely think that then they are a fool and should be removed from their post immediately. If they do think it needs surgery but aren't prepared to make it happen they should also be removed from their post immediately.
Bar 3 players Lloris, Eriksen & Kane player for player the Leicester team were technically better in almost every aspect this can't carry on there is a mixture of 2 things going wrong here, 1 a number of this team aren't good enough, 2 the coaching/management is not good enough combined is this disjointed fumbling gaff prone cling on for dear life football were being treated too.
But luck doesn't last forever and sooner or later this is gonna implode if we don't start fixing this squad ASAP.
Is this progress we are seeing? Personally its some of the worst football I've seen Spurs play.

 

Obviously, I understand the performances are not their in some of the away games but teams around us are also struggling in away games the premiership is not easy!
I think pochettino has found a winning team which have showed excellence. Not having Davies at left back is huge think he's solid. Kyle walker looked rusty but game by game he will get better!
Need to get demele involved more over stambouli
Harry Kane and Eriksen are just stealing shows at the minute which is quality every team has them couple of special players and there ours
But overall COYS possible cup final and still in all competitions and targets!

 

The thing is we are poor but have 3 playes in Llotis, Eriksen and Kane that are winning games for us. When 1 of those has an off day that's when we will come unstuck.

 

Lloris :/

 

Another 3 points stolen here, there a few teams now that must be wondering how we got away with the chocolates. As pointed out we have 3 players in Lloris, Kane and Eriksen who are saving this season for the team, how many late winners from Eriksen is it now?

 

We ought to be a bit more optimistic about the position we are in. Lloris is saving our season but same can be said for De Gea with United. We are very lucky but we aren't that far from being a solid team. I'd like to see someone take a hold of the defensive mid position, Capoue needs to step up and be a leader on that defensive end. That'd really solidify our defense and let Eriksen and Mason roam free. If we can bring in Bony or Benteke during the January transfer, we would finish top 4 I think.
The next two matches are very important, can't expect to win them all. But with a defensive stand we could afford to draw both or maybe snick in one win.

COYS

 

A lot of people seem to have given up on Capoue and want him moved on but have to admit that I havn't given up on him and still think he can play an important role in this team, he's very good breaking up play in tbe middle and has very good distribution when we have width and space. In the early season he was very effective and very consistent. Id like to see him get back to some of that form and give us that stability that we dont get with Benteleb who has a pattern of coming into the team with a couple of decent displays then completely drops off.

 

We tottenham fans are the most high maintenance group of people in the world... Who cares if we win ugly, infact somedays winning ugly is more satisfying... We stay in games we never give up, we have a young lad up top who runs his heart out for us, a world class keeper who never ceases to amaze and a match winner of the highest calibre... At the end of the day 3 points are 3 points... I would happily have the rest of our games play out like it did today as long as we get the 3 points... Let's get behind our team and make WHL a nightmare for opposition players and not our own... COYS

 

Positives:

Lloris is just enjoying himself out there. With every save his confidence goes up and he's easily proving himself to be one of the best keepers in the league. I remember him going through a rough patch last season, making costly errors. None of those this time round.

Kane and Mason, being products of the acadthe, are doing very well, better than some of the more 'established' imports. And there's a good chance they'll get better with more games.

Negatives:

For all his talents, Eriksen is prone to lapses in concentration and doesn't impose himself on the game enough. Soft on the challenges as well. Great that he's scoring goals and important ones no less but I wish he would push himself a little bit harder. Seems to take it a bit too easy at times .

Not sure all the players can keep up with the fitness levels required for the kind of game poch wants to play. I worry for Sunday because the players looked really tired yesterday.

Bentaleb seems to be suffering from a loss of form. Too many misplaced passes, not strong enough on the challenge. When he first came into the team, he was turning opposition players easily to make space. Now he keeps running into them with a poor first touch. Probably needs a bit of a breather to reflect and recharge.

Chadli is useless. We could do so much better with someone who actually runs once in a while.

The reason why our defence is so exposed is because our midfielders let the opponents pass too easily. Yesterday for example Leicester were simply running through our midfield. Not much the defence can do without that protection.

One thing Kane needs to work on its his decision making. If he would lift his head up a bit more he'd be pretty damn complete.

 

Agree with all of the above my friend. First of all let me say how sorry I feel for Leicester and their fans. As I was unable to enjoy the game (what's new about that?!), I tried putting myself in the freezing cold shoes of a Fox fan watching their team playing so well and with such great spirit, and I must admit I really felt for them. Incidentally, really like Mahrez.
Why is it that whenever we play teams with really shocking stats, they nearly always improve when they play us?!! I don't know.
As for us....." a win is a win!" COYS. BUT, boy oh boy, WHO ARE WE NOW? WHAT ARE WE NOW? WHO ARE OUR BEST ELEVEN? and so on and so on. I'll finish on a message to Mopo....STOP TINKERING WITH THE TEAM.
COYS.

 

Played again with 10 men most of the game, then only 9 men for the last few minutes, plus of course a couple of South-American pitch spectators. I do hope that the only reason Levy is playing Lamela is to be able to sell him in a few days - I have to presume that Poch does not make the decision to play him every week otherwise there is no hope.
With a midfield including Chadli, Lamela and Eriksen we were never going to control this game - you can allow one 'luxury player' in the team and that has to be Eriksen, but having three is suicidal.
Maybe we should try 11 men against our next opponents, just as a crazy experiment.

 

Yeah we would all take an ugly win from now to the end of the season(maybe) but any realistic knowledgeable fan will realize that is in fact very unrealistic and this luck will soon turn. After watching Chelsea's demolition of a good west ham side and our performance today if both sides put in the same performance next week you're looking at a cricket score!