Tottenham Hotspur FC 2013/14

[MisterBubbles]

.....

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Haven't been on here in ages, mainly because our lack of direction and subsequent elimination from various competitions has gradually eroded hope of a trophy or top four finish. I can take some solace from improved performances from some of our summer signings, the emergence of Bentaleb and that despite being rudderless for a good chunk of the season, talent alone has at least kept us in and around the top four.

If we can secure a top-quality coach in the summer and make a few additions to the squad to give it better balance (left-back, another creative midfielder, a young, mobile striker, etc) then I think we have reason to be optimistic for next season.

I've tried to stay optimistic with Soldado but even I am starting to think that cutting our losses in the summer might be the best thing for all concerned. At the moment I think a Spanish club would be willing to write off one bad season in England as a blip and we could still get a decent(ish) fee for him and not lose too much money, but if he stays and continues to struggle then the chances of us having to take a very big loss on him will only increase.

Problem is that most of the Spanish clubs are skint. Barca and Real Madrid wouldn't be interested, maybe Atletico, but unlikely. Might be able to get a few bob for him from a team in Turkey, Russia or Ukraine though.

[EJG1980]

Problem is that most of the Spanish clubs are skint. Barca and Real Madrid wouldn't be interested, maybe Atletico, but unlikely. Might be able to get a few bob for him from a team in Turkey, Russia or Ukraine though.

I was thinking that if Atletico cash in on Diego Costa in the summer they could be a possible destination for Soldado if they're on the hunt for a replacement who they know would have zero problems with adapting to Spain (although they might prefer old boy Torres).

In an ideal world we'd get a top new coach who'd want to keep him and was able to get the best out of him, and we finally see the striker who had a better than 1 in 2 strike rate for the five seasons before he joined us!

[EJG1980]

From to in 90 minutes; good old Spurs!

[VR46]

Yep one of those days where you scored more than you let in

Will all the top seven in the table winning bar Arsenal not much changed bar another game played.

[EJG1980]

Those days are always the best ones, I find

I'm flip flopping back on Soldado again. His performance today was really good and reminded me of why I try to stay optimistic that he can eventually come good for us, good all around display and some sublime touches and vision. A shame nobody put in a cross for him as good as the one he put in for Eriksen.

Big credit to Kyle Naughton too. A lot of players would have hidden and not wanted the ball after the nightmare first half that he had, but he didn't shirk any responsibility at all and kept his head up. Well done to him.

Hopefully this gives us a boost and we can have a good end to the season. Liverpool are playing so well at the moment that it'll be extremely tough to get anything from Anfield (I'd definitely take a draw right now) but we have a very winnable final six matches after that which we can hopefully pick up a decent amount of points from.

[fallenangle]

Yes, I was going to post about Soldado having a good game yesterday too but he was bought to score goals and however you look at it he simply hasn't scored or even created enough from open play to justify his cost. At least not yet.

Very good result but done in a typically loopy Spurs way: make mistakes and generally play below par for half the game, give aways some easy goals but then bang. Ramp up the pace, solidify the back line (the analysis on MotD of what Spurs' defence were doing wrong in the first half and corrected in the second half was spot on) and just play with more commitment and desire for the ball. Result: three goals.

[bwi]

Well i saw that coming, old dear around for mothers day, we were doomed from the start Still i kind of hope we dont get into Europe this year anyway

[EJG1980]

I want us to, I want another top six finish, and to finish above Man Utd.

Also, from next season, the winner of the Europa League will qualify for the Champions League which should make it a more worthwhile competition to be in.

Anyway, if the manager thinks it's a waste of time and affects PL performance too much, they can play a reserve / youth side in it like Harry used to.

[Kieran76]

Rumours that Tim Sherwood has hit a player after the match and is about to be sacked.

[hudson]

My goodness

[EJG1980]

Shirley it's just gotta be silly rumours on twitter. So people can make jokes like "He punched Soldado, who tried to hit him back but missed."

I'd sit up and take notice if the rumours start appearing on the BBC or similar.

Edit: Bobby Soldado has tweeted saying that the rumours are a load of rubbish, as did Les Ferdinand when asked about it by a BBC journalist.

[VR46]

Anyway, if the manager thinks it's a waste of time and affects PL performance too much, they can play a reserve / youth side in it like Harry used to.

Has done wonders for Liverpool not being in Europe or having great runs in the domestic cups this year.
Risky strategy having all your eggs in one basket, but we've had less injuries than most teams this season for sure, the extended summer break helped Suarez too in the end

[fallenangle]

Sherwood is going to go whatever the silly rumours are. If we finish outside the top six and don't get into Europe as well could happen he'll be out the door soon after as the last Premiership game is finished. He just comes off now as unconvincing in after match interviews ie. honest to the point of stupidity.

He obviously hadn't learned anything or at least it hadn't stuck because the Spurs defence were making exactly the same mistakes that were pointed out to them on MotD last week. Playing too high, compacting the midfield and just asking to be undone by quick balls over the top or to the wings.

There are already rumours that Levy has been talking in private last week to that Dutch fella linked to Spurs even before TS was appointed.

[EJG1980]

He was asked by an interviewer why spent the whole match in the stands and his reply was "I didn't think I could influence the match by coming down." Not a very encouraging response.

I think everyone knew (he even said it himself) that if Spurs didn't get top four he was almost certainly not going to be in charge next season. Knowing Levy, even if he had done well enough to snatch fourth, he still might have got rid of him if a manager the calibre of Louis van Gaal agreed to come.

Even when we were having a decent run of results when he first took over, I usually felt it was more a case of the players happening to have good games rather than being a clear tactical plan / way of playing that Sherwood had implemented. That lack of planning has been catching us out more and more as his tenure has worn on.

He may become a good manager in years to come but I think he needs to learn his trade at a lower level than Spurs.