Tottenham Hotspur FC 2013/14

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Just finished watching the highlights - great goals even if the first was an OG. Just what we needed.

Yup, very important match against MU. if we beat them we could move up into 5th spot ahead both them and West Ham with games in hand.

Only fly in the ointment are Arsenal in fourth spot with a game in hand over us but they and Chelsea are still most certainly catchable if the Spurs on-off form roller coaster doesn't strike again.

[EJG1980]

Only fly in the ointment are Arsenal in fourth spot with a game in hand over us but they and Chelsea are still most certainly catchable if the Spurs on-off form roller coaster doesn't strike again.

Yup, Arsenal are definitely favourites for fourth place right now, it's theirs to lose. All to play for still though, as all the top four rivals have matches against each other that could change the momentum of the race, and all the challengers have tough matches where they could drop vital points.

I note that our home fixture with Arsenal still hasn't been rescheduled yet. The cynic in me thinks that the powers-that-be are purposefully waiting to try and schedule it for (what they hope) will be the most dramatic possible moment, rather than setting the date asap. Although if you offered me right now "Spurs vs Arsenal, winner will get top four," I would certainly take that scenario!

Could be a very interesting final day too, with Arsenal vs Everton; imagine if Arsenal need a win to get top four and Everton need a win to avoid relegation.

A quick thing from yesterday, it was lovely to see the reception that Dele Alli got from the fans yesterday both during and after the match. I don't suppose he was feeling too great after losing 5-0, but he did seem touched by it from some of the pics I've seen of his reaction.

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[EJG1980]

Ohhhh Spurs

Probably the most annoying defeat of the season today. Man Utd were not great, we had most of the ball, long stretches where we were getting into lots of promising positions... but almost every single time we'd make the wrong choice, or execute a poor cross / pass / dribble / shot.

And twice, after long spells of being the team on top and finally getting an equaliser, we go to sleep at the back to give away silly goals to undo it. I can't complain too much about the first goal, the flick from Fred and finish from Ronaldo were excellent, MAYBE Dier could have come out to try and block Ronaldo to make him hurry his shot, but mostly you have to say great hit, brilliant goal.

But the other two goals, bah. Badly executed offside trap to let them clean through just after we'd equalised and were in the ascendency in the first half, and the same again in the second half when not too long after making it 2-2 we let Ronaldo have an unmarked header from a corner. I'm a big fan of his, but it was poor from Romero, he was touch tight to Ronaldo before the corner came in and just let him go completely.

Just so annoying, Man Utd there for the taking, and let the chance to really boost our top four hopes go begging.

It's not completely over for top four, but I think if Arsenal beat Leicester tomorrow it'd be extremely difficult to catch them. If Leicester win then there's still a chance but, even if our rivals did drop points, it'll make no difference if we don't find some consistency and very very fast.

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Watched the highlights on MotD and very disappointing not to get at least a point, what I was actually expecting.

We're needing Arsenal to hiccup and Spurs to start winning consistently - both a big ask on their and our current form. The chance of Champions League football for Spurs next season has definitely taken a knock after this defeat.

Of course with Chelsea situation being so uncertain it is not off the cards their qualification for European competitions might be in question too. Not the way I'd want to see Spurs getting their chance but if it happens I don't think they would or should turn it down.

Wednesday EDIT
Important pair of games today. Spurs should be capable of beating Brighton but the interesting game is the Arsenal one against Liverpool. If Arsenal lose it could be very helpful to Spurs even if they will still have one game in hand over us. But if we lose and they win then Europa League football becomes the more likely best case for Spurs.

The West Ham game on Sunday is going to be another must win. If we beat Brighton we'll be on level points with them and still two games in hand over both them and MU.

Too much to hope that Aston Villa will beat Arsenal but there's a possibility that after beating WHU on Sunday we could be in 5th place on the same points as Arsenal and finishing in 4th place becomes a real possibility again.

Here's hoping.

[EJG1980]

Wednesday EDIT
Important pair of games today. Spurs should be capable of beating Brighton but the interesting game is the Arsenal one against Liverpool. If Arsenal lose it could be very helpful to Spurs even if they will still have one game in hand over us. But if we lose and they win then Europa League football becomes the more likely best case for Spurs.

The West Ham game on Sunday is going to be another must win. If we beat Brighton we'll be on level points with them and still two games in hand over both them and MU.

Too much to hope that Aston Villa will beat Arsenal but there's a possibility that after beating WHU on Sunday we could be in 5th place on the same points as Arsenal and finishing in 4th place becomes a real possibility again.

Here's hoping.

First step done, got the results we needed tonight, a Spurs win and an Arsenal loss.

Pretty straightforward win over Brighton, could have scored more than two with Kane making a 1 in 100 miss in front of an open goal right at the start of the match (but he made up for it with his excellent finish later on), Reguilon missing some good chances, and Kane being clearly fouled in the box but no penalty being given. Minimal threat from Brighton throughout, just really a ten minute spell at the start of the second half where they upped their game a bit, but the second goal pretty much killed off the game.

And yes, we really need to break our run of win, loss, win, loss, win, loss and get a run of wins going by beating West Ham this weekend. Any favours from Aston Villa for us would be greatly appreciated.

We need to stay as close as possible to Arsenal as they have some tricky matches coming up (a midweek match against Chelsea followed by Man Utd at the weekend coming up for them next month) where they could drop points. If we can somehow end the season with a consistent run of mainly wins, we've got a chance. Fingers, toes, and everything else, crossed!

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Two important games for us: yesterday Wolves v. Leeds and Leeds did us a possible favour in winning what looked like a bonkers game. Wolves now in the back seat for the drive to that fourth spot in the Premiership.

The chances of Aston Villa doing us another favour and beating or at least holding Arsenal to a draw is too much to expect but as you said it would be very much appreciated if they did.

EDIT
.........................as expected unfortunately.

[EJG1980]

Two important games for us: yesterday Wolves v. Leeds and Leeds did us a possible favour in winning what looked like a bonkers game. Wolves now in the back seat for the drive to that fourth spot in the Premiership.

The chances of Aston Villa doing us another favour and beating or at least holding Arsenal to a draw is too much to expect but as you said it would be very much appreciated if they did.

EDIT
.........................as expected unfortunately.

We play West Ham and Newcastle before Arsenal play their next match, so if we win both we can go level on points with them (albeit they’d have a game in hand) and put a bit of pressure on them, at least give them something to think about.

It’d be massive to get a win today: finally break the win loss pattern and get two wins in a row, give us a nice little advantage over West Ham in the table, and keep up with Arsenal. Such an important game to turn up and play at our best in. COYS!

[EJG1980]

Two wins in a row, what sorcery is this?

Really good today, exactly the kind of performance you’d hope for in an important match like this. One blot on the copybook giving away a needless corner and then letting West Ham score from it, but we were comfortably in control for about 90% of the match, played a nice mix of some lovely patient passing football and incisive quick counter attacks.

It would have been nice to take one of the multiple chances we had to make it 3-1 earlier than we did (and with only a one goal lead you always worry they could make one chance, score from a set piece, etc.) but aside from a chance early in the second half for Antonio in West Ham’s best spell, our goal wasn’t under much threat. 21 shots to 7 in our favour and more possession, a well deserved win for us.

A shame we have the international break just when we might be finding a bit of rhythm, but maybe Kane can break the England scoring record during it and come back even more fired up for the run in.

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Yes, an almost perfect week for Spurs both in terms of their results and, apart from the Arsenal one, the results of our potential fourth place rivals.

Just hope this Spurs vein of form continues after the international break and that it is not coming too late. We still need Arsenal to hiccup and I remember saying that here about Leicester at just this time of year in the 2015 -16 season................................and they didn't.

[EJG1980]

Just hope this Spurs vein of form continues after the international break and that it is not coming too late. We still need Arsenal to hiccup and I remember saying that here about Leicester at just this time of year in the 2015 -16 season................................and they didn't.

I've said it a few times before, so I may as well go for it one more time, but it's a real shame the move to sign Conte as manager in the summer broke down. It's hard to believe that we wouldn't have more points on the board right now had he been here the whole season.

Can't change the past though, and, we've still got a decent chance for a top four finish. Even if we do have a really good end to the season, it may still not be enough if Arsenal also keep up their form. If they do, fair play to them, they'll deserve to finish above us. And, of course, Man Utd are still right in the mix too. I think West Ham are probably a bit too far back now and need to overtake Arsenal, us and Man Utd, which is probably a bit too much.

Regardless of whether we finish inside or outside the Champions League spots, I just hope we have a really strong end to the season to give some momentum going into next season. With Conte in charge, I'm confident that we'll go up a level next season compared to this season. We really have to give him the transfers he needs to improve the squad in the summer.

[EJG1980]

That'll do nicely, up to fourth place, even if probably only for just over twenty-four hours.

First half wasn't terrible but it was... uninspiring. Lots of possession, in the Newcastle half a lot, but it was too slow and lacked creativity so we never properly troubled the Newcastle keeper. Newcastle had had a couple of dangerous moments and then made us pay by going ahead with the free kick. Gotta say Lloris should have done better with it, got pretty much a full hand to it and still let it in.

Excellent response though to get level so quickly, lovely cross from Son and great header from Davies.

Whatever Conte said at half time worked as the second half was Conte's Tottenham at their best, just superb. Loads of really lovely passing moves, a much higher tempo with everything being done so much more quickly, it's brilliant to watch when we play like that. Although I'd say the best move of the day didn't actually get a goal, it ended with Son scuffing his shot just wide of the post.

No goal for Kane today but he was at his playmaking best, loads of magnificent passes, rightfully man of the match. Son and Kulusevski both excellent, they and Kane are becoming a formidable front three. Matt Doherty also deserves a mention for keeping up his recent run of good performances despite having to play out of position as left wing back, he was very good again today (loved his work to set up the Royal goal).

Reasonable weekend in terms of other results. West Ham won, but Man Utd dropped two points, and of the two I think it's better than Man Utd dropped points as they were closer and we have games in hand on West Ham. Hopefully Palace will do us a favour tomorrow, but all we can do is concentrate on our own job, and the team did that with aplomb today.

Edit: I forgot to mention that it's so good seeing Christian Eriksen back, healthy, playing, and doing well. A couple of goals for the national team and a goal for Brentford against Chelsea (great result for them!). Heartwarming stuff

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Yes, excellent win. Listening to it I was not happy after the first half. I was expecting it to be at best a slog and even for Newcastle to hold on for a draw or a sneaky win. But the second half was like a different match with Spurs really putting them to the sword.

We have some real hope now of fourth place with both Spurs and Arsenal having a quite similar mix of fixtures in terms of potential difficulty. I can't see Crystal Palace doing us any favours tonight but it would be very helpful if they did.

[EJG1980]

Yup, and Palace are likely to be missing two of their best players in Michael Olise and Wilfried Zaha. Palace are tough to beat on their ground though, only lost four matches so far this season, with a bit of luck maybe they could grind out a draw.

We now (finally) have a date for Spurs vs Arsenal too: Thursday 12th May at 19:45.

Third last match of the season and right after we have an away trip to Anfield the previous weekend, although at least that match is on the Saturday so we get four full days of recovery before playing Arsenal. Maybe playing Liverpool in the previous match will help too, put us in the big match groove.

Fingers crossed that by the time the Arsenal match comes around, it still matters in the battle for top four. Unless the reason that it doesn't matter is because the other contenders imploded, while Spurs won all their matches and have already guaranteed a top four finish... but that might be asking every so slightly too much

Edit:

Well, bugger me

I didn't watch the match, but my brother was sending me texts, and each time I thought "Oh, Arsenal have taken the lead," or "Ah, this'll be an Arsenal equaliser," or "I bet this is the start of a late Arsenal comeback," but every time it was a goal for Crystal Palace!

Great weekend for us. Arsenal miss the chance to go back ahead of us, and we get a nice goal difference swing going from 2 worse than Arsenal to 5 better (and we've got a nice lead of 8 in goals scored). Hopefully that defeat puts a few doubts into Arsenal's heads too.

A long way to go but it feels like we've got some good momentum going in our favour now, though of course, we all know that one bad result can change how things look very quickly! Gotta keep the run going with another win against Aston Villa at the weekend. COYS!

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Amazing result - big thanks Crystal Palace.

One more loss for Arsenal and we'll be on an even keel with them; the next few matches and probably all the remainder are going to be crucial.

Let's not get carried away but Chelsea really are not beyond reach now if the dice roll in our favour and even with their one game in hand.

Saturday Edit 09.04.22

Thank you Brighton & HA! Totally unexpected win against Arsenal and it could not have been any better with Spurs only just about to start their match with Aston Villa. Hopefully that will provide them with real motivation.........................but I'm definitely not counting our chickens yet.

But we're now on an even playing field with Arsenal and MU losing to Everton further distances them from the race for fourth place too. Chelsea back on form unfortunately but otherwise looking good for Spurs.

[EJG1980]

Thank you Brighton & HA! Totally unexpected win against Arsenal and it could not have been any better with Spurs only just about to start their match with Aston Villa. Hopefully that will provide them with real motivation.........................but I'm definitely not counting our chickens yet.

But we're now on an even playing field with Arsenal and MU losing to Everton further distances them from the race for fourth place too. Chelsea back on form unfortunately but otherwise looking good for Spurs.

Indeed, Brighton hadn't won for seven matches, lost six of them, could only draw 0-0 with whipping boys Norwich last week, I was expecting an easy Arsenal win today. Big win for Everton too, wasn't expecting anything from them either after their terrible recent form. Even though it'd be nice to try and catch Chelsea, it's probably better for us that they get back into form so they can hopefully beat Arsenal when they play them.

Great win today against Villa too, to round off just about a perfect day, although the first half performance nearly gave me a heart attack! Brilliant start with the early Son goal but then it was all Villa for the rest of the half. We had a world class display from Hugo Lloris to thank for still going in ahead at the break, I can't remember the last time I saw us dominated like that. Son got man of the match, but Hugo was equally as important with his first half display.

We upped our game in the second half though, and this time we pushed on after getting an early goal (such a great strike from Kulusevski) in the half. Hat-trick for Son, nice for him to get the headlines instead of Kane, although Kane did get another two excellent assists. All superb finishes from Son too. Loving the goals we’re scoring at the moment: intricate fast passing moves from back to front (fourth goal a great example of that) and keeper kick out, header on, striker through and scores route one stuff.

All in our own hands for fourth place now, although, seven matches left is still a long way to go. Great to be in this position though after the big advantage Arsenal had only a couple of weeks ago. Got to keep the run going!

Edit: really gutted about the injury to Matt Doherty though, such bad luck for it to happen when he’s finally found such good form. They had a graphic after the match showing the combined goals and assists in the league since the close of the January transfer window, and while Kane, Son and Kulusevski were the top three, Doherty was on the list too in about seventh place. Fingers crossed it’s not anything long term.