12 Days of Optimism

In this Christmas special, I will attempt to dig up 12 reasons us Spurs fans should be optimistic over the festive period. Enjoy. For a fun extra, why not sing the twelve titles in bold to the tune of '12 days of Christmas'? No, seriously. I worked too damn hard on this for you not to sing along. Anyway, here are Spurs.

12... Walker's Comeback

How nice to have a proper flying wing back on the right side. For too long we've had to put up with the improved but ultimately inadequate Kyle Naughton and the out of position youngster Eric Dier. It makes our side so much more balanced having two proper full backs to bomb on when we have possession. It's no coincidence that we've been playing better with Walker back. He was particularly good against Swansea, giving them problems down their left and managing to contain the tricky Montero for most of the game on a yellow card.




Kyle Walke[r]d back into the team. Ahem.

11... Erik Lamela

Finally, the Argentine wonder kid comes up trumps! He had a great game against Burnley, capping it all off with a fantastic left footed effort from outside the box. It was almost Baleesque. Haters will say it was only against Burnley... the eternal optimists will see it as the start of something wonderful. You don't pay £30m for a player to turn out shit. Unless you're Spurs. Still, Lamela will prove his doubters wrong. That Rabona alone was worth about £25m.




Not a bad way to grab your first PL goal.

10... Homegrown talent

We spent, what, £40-50m on players capable of playing the holding role over the past couple of years? Funny then that these two positions are taken up by academy products. There's no real mystery to it. These two lads perform admirably week in, week out. They've really earned the positions over so-called 'stars' who couldn't give two shits about playing for our club so long as they're picking up a healthy paycheck. Bentaleb steadies the midfield (despite a shakier game against Burnley) and looks incredibly composed and Mason sets the tempo by collecting the ball from the back four. The two work nicely as a pair and it just goes to show sometimes it's best to look closer to home.



The passion we've been missing.

9... Yedlin Inbound

Anyone who has seen this kid play (and I mean in an actual match, not YouTube footage of him being really fast) will agree that he has something about him. Much in the mould of our own Kyle Walker, DeAndre offers electric pace down the flank and an interesting alternative should the former be unavailable. Don't expect him to come into the side straight away though. Pochettino has a habit of blending players in slowly and with Walker's current form we can afford Yedlin some time to settle down properly first.



One of his more subtle haircuts. Check the blonde ones. Better leave those in America, pal.

8... Welsh left back

 

No disrespect to Danny Rose, I'm sure he's a great guy and all but Ben Davies is just... better. Positionally sound, less likely to give away cheap free kicks and far smarter in possession, I think it's safe to say Ben could be our long-term option at left back for years to come if he continues to progress. I watched him at Swansea and he really did look like a prospect. If he turns out to be half as good as our previous Welshman we'll be laughing. That's, erm, Bale... not Chris Gunter.

 

You just can't argue with that kind of flexibility.

7... Pochettino

Chris Kamara recently described the former Southampton boss as 'loved' at Tottenham by his playing staff. That's all I want to hear really. I don't care if our impatient, demanding fans aren't loving this period of transition. I just want the players to buy into his philosophy and we'll see if it can produce results in the long run. He deserves the chance. We look better in recent games and hopefully we can continue to improve. The festive period should tell us a lot about this side. I think I'm most impressed with Pochettino's ability to spot the problems in the side and rectify them. Capoue was underperforming and was rightfully dropped. Kaboul made too many mistakes and was ultimately removed from the side. Ben Davies earned his spot and we're a better side for it. If there's a problem, Pochettino will change things. That was my main problem with AVB; he couldn't admit he was wrong and stuck with things that didn't work. Hopefully Pochettino continues to learn and improve.



That's a celebratory pose. I promise.

6... Through in Europe

 

Okay, it's not the most glamorous of competitions. But are we really in a position to be picky? We're not a Champions League club and we're unlikely to finish fourth this season. We may as well take this competition seriously. Fiorentina in the next round is an attractive prospect for the neutral and, should we perform, gives us another real crack at some silverware this campaign.



Asides from this melt and the odd mistake, the Europa League has gone fairly well.

 

5... Faz-i-o!

 

The lumbering centre half has divided opinions on Spurs fans since signing from Sevilla this summer but has upped his game in the past few fixtures. Let's get one thing clear. He's not fast. He has never been fast. He will never be fast. But that doesn't make him useless. Mertesacker, despite being a massive pussy this season, is a good defender despite the obvious inadequacy. John Terry is one of the slowest defenders in the league but arguably one of the best. The game isn't just about how fast you are. Fazio is exceptional in the air and looks like he organises the defence well. Of course there will be moments when he still looks uneasy, it's all a learning curve. But I genuinely think he has the potential to be an important player for us. He already looks like he's forming a solid partnership with Jan.



Rugged.

4... Loan Success

The likes of Alex Pritchard, who popped up with a goal and two assists last weekend and Tommy 'Christmas' Carroll have been making strides on loan this year. I'll be honest, I haven't thought either of two will be good enough to play for us. Then again, I thought Harry Kane would be a championship player and Ryan Mason would be released this summer. Sometimes all these young players need is a chance and under Pochettino I'm sure they'll get it.



He's so good his background looks like a Van Gogh painting.

3... Win week

It's getting harder to fit these into the tune of the song, but winning three times in six days surely deserves a mention. A hard thought win at Swansea thanks to another cracking Eriksen strike kickstarted a storming performance against Newcastle and a further three points at home to Burnley. All within a week! Who'd have thought we had that in us. I'd have taken a couple of points if it meant making the semi finals of the cup. Turns out we could have it all! Which brings me to...



Clique.

 

2... Legs left 

No, this doesn't refer to Ledley King's back-up clone supply. We dispatched of the barcodes with relative ease to book ourselves a semi final tie with League One's Sheffield United. I'm wary though. If one side can fuck this up it's Tottenham. What an opportunity though. The likelihood is that we'll face Chelsea in the final should we get through. They're looking much stronger than us. Like that time they had Drogba and Lampard in their prime... and we fucking beat 'em with Jonny Woodgate's face. What a time to be alive. I'm praying for a repeat.



Bentaleb's first goal. Not bad. Unless you're describing that goalkeeping.

And a Harry Kane for free!

Save the best for last, eh? What a transformation this lad has undergone. I remember Norwich fans telling me he'd never make it as he scarcely made an impact on loan. Turns out we were all wrong. I remember describing him as 'a player with potential but not the answer'. Perhaps he is the answer after all. Soldado has been displaced despite costing 26x the price of Kane and Bad Juju hasn't been seen in months. Neither have been missed, or needed in all honesty. Kane has carried us on occasion this season and I think that's a testament to just how far we've come.



You just cannot argue with that.



And finally, since it's Christmas, I thought I'd treat you all to a little joke.

Q) What do you call a moron?

A) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0areKhUbX0

Merry Christmas! 

Good one, Aaron!

As always, don't forget to get involved on social media. Or, get drunk. It is Christmas to be fair.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ggthofficial/

https://twitter.com/OneHotspurWay