There's no denying it, so I'll just come out and say it - we fucked up. Big time. We had the chance to finally put this St Totteringham's Day nonsense behind us and we blew it in spectacular fashion, becoming the only team in history to finish third in a two horse race. I think there's a term for that... Spursy.
We lost our heads at Stamford Bridge and, in truth, never came back from letting that two-goal lead slip. Handing Leicester the title was a blow we could not recover from, unfortunately. The reckless actions of Dembele and Alli no doubt played a huge part in us blundering our way below Arsenal - their replacements were inadequate, frankly. I have a lot of time for Ryan Mason, but bringing him in for Dembele is like asking Chadli to succeed Messi at Barcelona. It's not his fault - he's not a bad player at all - but we certainly need to strengthen that sitting midfield position for the coming season.
Our performance at relegated Newcastle takes the biscuit. Pochettino's post-match comments were fantastic, though, alluding to this loss providing 'important information' for the summer. If that means Tom Carroll is off then I'm more than happy. Again, not an awful player, but certainly far from the standard we now require. To ship five goals to ten men is frankly embarrassing, and the players were right to apologise across social media. The whole performance had echoes of the Chelsea game and further underlined our mental immaturity. When things go against us, we simply cannot afford to scythe down every player in a ten foot radius or concede nearly half a dozen. We need to be smarter than that, and you can bet your life that Pochettino will have learnt an awful lot from how this season has finished.
Now, onto the positives. Because despite how much finishing third hurts at the moment, it's still an incredible achievement. I realise I'm asking a lot for fans to look at the bigger picture after we just lose second to our fiercest rivals, but guaranteed Champions League football heading into next season surpasses the expectation of almost every neutral fan at the beginning of the season. Sure, it's no Leicester City fairy tale, but we've certainly been a success story. And if a Spurs fan tells you they wouldn't have taken third at the start of the season, they're either lying or on more coke than Jamie Vardy.
The individual success stories for this Tottenham Hotspur side are plentiful. I could name you a dozen players that deserved to win the POTS award but none more so than Toby Alderweireld. Apart from having the most lyrically unfriendly name ever, Alderweireld has dominated the opposition with his fantastic reading of the game, impeccable timing of a challenge and pinpoint passing. And he does all that without ever looking flustered. Honestly, how does his hair stay like that!? In all seriousness, we finally have a successor to the great Ledley King in Toby Alderweireld. And I don't say that lightly.
Danny Rose is our wholesome reminder that sometimes it's nice to be wrong. A couple of years ago I remember writing Rose off as 'one of the worst full backs in the world' - he is now the best left back in the Premier League. Rose has shaped up defensively, cutting out silly errors like persistent fouling and failing to mark his man at the back post. But Rose's most impressive attribute is his potency driving forward. He is definitely one of the most successful products of Pochettino's training regime, combining his natural fitness with incredible energy and desire to overlap and play almost as a winger. One thing I love about Rose is his tenacity, too. He almost looks slightly pissed off when going into challenges and never bottles a tackle. It's a great turn around for the lad and I'd be pleased to see him as our left back for years to come.
Another who has come on leaps and bounds this season is, of course, Mousa Dembele. Touted by many as potential deadwood this season, the Belgian has not only cemented his first team status, but become an indispensable member of the starting eleven. It was no secret that Dembele was talented - everyone knew he could beat players with ease - what he never really had was a position. I suggested in an earlier post that he suited playing as an unorthodox right winger, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Once Alli pushed up to the number ten role, Dembele and Dier formed a scarily good partnership in the centre of the park. Of course Dembele still has all the talent in the world when it comes to dribbling past the opposition, but it's his work rate and tough tackling that have made him a force to be reckoned with. He simply steps in front of an opponent and walks away with the ball. It's no wonder he suffered from hip injuries, it's almost inhuman how he turns away from trouble at times. As Gary Neville rightly pointed out earlier in the season, it's Dembele's new found fitness levels that have allowed him to flourish this year. And if you need any more proof of Dembele's talents, check our statistics with and without him this season. That's right. We've lost one game he has featured in and several without. Scary.
Eric Dier is the living embodiment of Pochettino's masterplan. Signed in the Argentine's first season as a spare defender with potential, Eric quickly established himself as a fan favourite with a brilliant winner at West Ham. Fast forward twelve months and he was starting as a holding midfielder at Old Trafford. How did that happen? Simple, really. Dier always had the potential to play as a defensive midfielder - he did in his Sporting Lisbon days, after all - but he spent much of his first year at White Hart Lane playing as a right back because of Kyle Walker's injuries and Kyle Naughton's incompetencies. But even then you could see he had the technical prowess to succeed. Dier never panics in possession and is a remarkably good dribbler and passer for someone of his build. But those are far from his best attributes. Watch any Tottenham game last from the past year and you'll see why Dier is a vital component of Pochettino's - and, come this summer, England's side. When the full backs bomb on as they are encouraged to, Dier steps across, plugging in any gap left during an attack. While it may not be scintillating or even Match of the Day worthy stuff, it's vital to our success. Eric reads the game like someone twice his age, moves about the pitch like someone half his size and tackles like someone with ten times the cult status - again, one Ledley King. Dier's tackles are one of the greatest things I have ever seen, and not since our former number 26 have I seen as clean a slide tackle performed at the Lane. He's a terrific talent and he deserves to line up in that England shirt this summer.
Few players divide opinion like Erik Lamela. On the surface, you have the £30m would-be star who never quite lived up to the billing, Look a little closer, however, and you'll see the hardest working playmaker in the Premier League. Honestly, the guy never stops closing down. Pochettino must absolutely love him. He has bulked up from his first year at Tottenham and loves a tackle now, even if they do often warrant a card. Let's not forget that he's now starting to show his incredible technique consistently instead of just with random Rabonas. He scored eleven goals in all competitions this season, including goals in big games like Manchester City and United. 2016-17 will be huge for Erik.
We've got Alli. Dele Alli. I just don't think you understand. The kid is a freak. How can he come from dominating League One to dominating the Premier League within the space of a season? It's incredible. Alli's seamless transition became even more evident with his positional change; starting the season deeper, Pochettino opted to push Alli further forward at the Emirates in November and the then-teenager has never looked back since. His goal against Palace is one of the best of the Premier League era without a doubt. It's scary to think he only just turned 20. He has already conquered England and I wouldn't put it past Alli adding an impressive Euros to his growing CV this summer.
There's not much more than can be said about Harry Kane. I'm afraid we're out of superlatives. Kane scored 25 Premier League goals this campaign despite being a one season wonder. Outside of Aguero, he's the best striker in the Premier League and is well on the way to becoming one of the best in world football. A certainty to start up top for England this summer.
There are countless others I could heap the praise on for their efforts this season. Kyle Walker is back to his best, providing incredible dynamism down the right flank. Jan Vertonghen dropped the sulky face and returned to being one of the league's best defenders. Kevin Wimmer, when deputising for the aforementioned Belgian, did not put a foot wrong and looks a great asset for the future. Christian Eriksen, despite lacking the 90th minute winners from range, provided numerous assists and always looked most likely to unlock defences. And although Hugo Lloris could've done better with a couple of goals this season, he still showed on numerous occasions why he is one of the best keepers in world football, pulling off match winning save after match winning save week in, week out.
While it wasn't the dream ending, we still achieved what we set out to back in August. Champions League football is back next year, and we have one of the world's best young managers fresh off of signing a new five year contract at the club. With a new stadium ready in just two seasons now, we look in better shape than ever to take silverware with us when we go. Pochettino has always been the man with the plan, ever since he took over. He shifted out the deadwood. He shaped the youngest, most exciting team in the league - the team that ran Leicester closest for much of the season. And now he knows exactly what we need to compete at the very top, both mentally and in terms of personnel. And I cannot wait to see what he does for us next. He's magic, you know.
 |
| Together THFC. |
No comments:
Post a Comment