Tottenham Hotspur FC 2013/14

[EJG1980]

Some good news, Deli Alli has signed a new contract that runs until 2021. Not surprised it's happened given how well his first half of the season has gone.

I read a few reports in recent days saying that he was going from ?10K p/w to ?20K p/w.

I remember that when we signed Les Ferdinand in the 90s he was rumoured to be on ?20K p/w and I couldn't believe how anyone could be paid so much.

Nowadays you hear a player is on ?20K p/w and you almost think "Glad they're keeping his feet on the ground with a sensible low wage."

[fallenangle]

If it keeps him at Spurs then it'll probably be worth the money. There's already some clubs with even bigger pockets both here and in Europe apparently snifffing around him, HK and some of our other key players. After bringing him and the others on so well we need to hang on to them that is for sure.

[TonyDA]

Next week's replay is live on BBC.

With Man U drawing last night, the next two home games represent a decent chance to solidify our position in the top four....and maybe even top three. Leicester tonight, possibly with Vardy back, so it's not going to be easy!

[fallenangle]

Damn, could have won that but with Man Utd drawing not disastrous although we now have to worry about West Ham who are sneaking back into the picture too.

[EJG1980]

A bummer of a result. A draw would have been fair (although we did have more and probably better chances) as both teams had good chances and both keepers had to pull off very good saves, but one slip cost us. A bit disappointing that a guy as big as Robert Huth was totally unmarked at a corner, but marking a set pieces does seem to be the main weakness of our otherwise much improved defence. It was a very good match to watch though, very exciting, a great atmospehere, and very enjoyable until the sucker punch at the end.

As said above, disappointing but not a disaster. It tightens things up behind us and makes it that bit harder to catch Arsenal and Leicester, but we're still in a very good position that I'm sure we'd all have taken at the start of the season. We responded very well to the Newcastle loss by taking 10 points from 12 afterwards, let's hope we can give a similar response again.

[TonyDA]

I was only following the game on BBC's website last night and, about five minutes from the end, they posted a tweet they'd received that said something like 'this is why Spurs won't finish in the top 4. Too many draws.' Part of me agreed, but I also thought 'kiss of death. We haven't drawn this game yet...'

This shows that I'm used to Tottenham screwing up good opportunities - it also shows I'm pessimistic because of it....thinking 'we haven't got a draw yet,' rather than 'we've still got five minutes to get the winner....' 😀😀

[TonyDA]

Thought this was a really good article on the current Tottenham team/situation:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jan/14/tottenham-gareth-bale-money-real-madrid-manchester-united-liverpool

[EJG1980]

Cheers, that was a good read.

Supporting Spurs can often feel a bit... manic Right now though there seems to be a calmness and togetherness about the club, a feeling that everyone is pulling in the same direction. It's a bit of an intangible feeling but that's the best way I can describe it.

I think a big reason for that is Pochettino. After being allowed to ship out a load of players in the summer (some of whom perhaps were a little bit disruptive to squad harmony and not "team players") he's now got a squad where the bigger, more seasoned names, are willing to work their socks off and put the team first, and hungry youngsters are willing to learn and prove themselves. With the likes of Kane, Dier, Alli, etc., flourishing in the first team, it's a group of youngsters who feel that if they impress they actually will be given a decent chance to compete for a first team spot.

That transmits onto the pitch too. I've said before that it's enjoyable watching this team learning and growing together. They're not going to win every match, they're not going to play well every match, but win lose or draw I always get the feeling that this team is trying their best, and I think that's the main thing that any fan wants from their players.

----------

Lloris did an interview in France where he heaped praise on Poch, and basically said that he was considering leaving the club but has stayed because of Poch. A great example of the togetherness between the coach and players that Poch has cultivated.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11675/10118000/hugo-lloris-praises-mauricio-pochettino-for-his-impact-at-tottenham

"I've flourished completely here," he told L'Equipe. "I can even say that since the arrival of Pochettino I found new benchmarks.

"My second season here was complicated, I had kept a certain level of performance but collectively there were too many gaps and it had been against the big teams.

"I had not felt a strong club, but rather an unstable one, with a coaching change in the middle of the season, just the opposite of what I like to see in football. I was actually asking myself questions until Pochettino arrived."

Lloris said he was confident Pochettino would turn things around because of the work ethic he quickly instilled at the club.

"Even when it was not working yet, he said: 'Do not worry, we will get there.' His speech was clear, we suddenly knew where we were going," Lloris added.

"With the quality of the workforce, and work ethic that is in training, there is no reason that we don't progress."

[TonyDA]

That's another good piece, and it feels like Poch has worked wonders really. I look at the squad now and, apart from one or two more options upfront, I don't think we desperately need anything else. Poch has given the squad stability, they all seem on the same wavelength, it doesn't need another six players coming in to change things.

[fallenangle]

4-1, that's much more like it. Just what was needed. Look foward to seeing it on MotD.

[EJG1980]

4-1, that's much more like it. Just what was needed. Look foward to seeing it on MotD.

Yup, our response to poor results this season has been good, we usually bounce back from adversity very well.

First half we had loads of possession but, despite fifteen shots, the majority of them were long range as our passing and movement didn't quite have enough speed and zip to regularly get behind the packed Sunderland defence.

Great instant response to going behind though, a really good quick passing move for the equaliser (although the Sunderland defender will probably be disappointed he didn't manage to clear it off the line, it was a pretty scuffed shot from Eriksen) and they kept that tempo up in the second half.

Worked their keeper much more in the second half, got the goals of course (perhaps some luck with the deflection on Eriksen's second, but maybe his original shot would have gone in anyway, you never know!) and a well deserved win in the end.

A nice bonus with West Ham losing to Newcastle to restore a little bit of a gap to them. I hope Villa can do us a favour against Leicester but I fear that may be asking for too much Edit: a draw, not bad, a couple of points pulled back.

[prinnysquad]

You can always guarantee that when our shower of ****e roll into town, you've got a reaming and a tasty three points to feast on.

At 1-1 it was all Spuz, but Big Sam decided enough was enough and went 5 at the back, bringing on some great big useless knacker to gift some goals. This new signing is the type of typical bargain bin cack we pick up regularly, and BS decided that bringing on a man who has played 1 minute of football all season is a good idea at a crucially-poised moment. Two deflections and a conceded penalty later, and we have possibly the worst debut I've ever seen. Well done BS. You could have played YOURSELF to greater effect than that absolute chod. Poor Jordan Pickford. I could've been 10 if not for the lad.

[fallenangle]

On MotD it wasn't depicted as quite as convincing a win as the scoreline suggested. Sunderland weren't that bad and whilst the win was well deserved we were lucky with both C.Eriksen's goals.

Still it is history now and the points keep us ahead of the fourth spot chasers and the top three still within our reach. Fingers crossed today that Liverpool and Stoke can pull something out of the hat that will benefit us too.

[EJG1980]

Good win tonight, two very good goals with the excellent strike from Son and then the lovely intricate passing play for the Chadli goal. Very good evening from Son too, beautiful pass to set up Chadli, definitely man of the match and looked good all evening. Did well to withstand the brief Leicester surge at the start of the second half and saw out the game pretty comfortably.

Looking forward to the match in the next round, away to a lower league team, a proper cup tie.

[fallenangle]

Yes, it was a, strangely, convincing win. Unlike the two previous Leicester games they really never turned up. The brief surge at the start of the second half was due to their subs coming on but once the defence had their measure it calmed down. Same thing after Vardy's introduction. It always felt like Spurs had control of the game and once they scored the two goals, short of a catastrophic mistake, they'd be safe for the win.

Only negative for me was in the last ten minutes or so when we'd shut up shop, playing deep and were mainly hoping for a quick counter attack opportunity. Too many times Spurs hoofed it up the field towards HK but it went to Leicester a player and came straight back at us.