After the negative feelings felt towards the end of the season start to ebb away, perhaps it is time to look at what is needed if we are to improve next season. Not only to be title contenders again but to also perform well in the Champions League. I don’t think it is wrong in saying that, to the club at least, the two domestic cup competitions are very much secondary objectives. Fans will always want to win something but the club is more concerned with revenue streams.

I am sure Poch and co will come out and say that top 4 is the primary goal. That is probably the minimum expectation in reality despite other wealthier foes likely to spend big this summer. There will be pressure on Spurs next year but not as much as if a United or City had been champions and us second. The media will be focused on Leicester, not because they are champions but because they are looking for an end to the fairy tale. A point when they can say ‘told you so’ and that last season was a fluke. Only time will tell whether that will happen but it does deflect this sort of media scrutiny away from Spurs, at least initially.

What that does mean is that Spurs can go again, under the radar at the beginning of the season. You only have to look at all the headlines and pictures of next season’s managerial head to heads to see that Poch is frequently absent from the headline match ups. Mentioned eventually but only after the Sky 4, City and Leicester have been mentioned. Hopefully that will fire the players up.

So onto the squad improvements, there is a strong argument that we do not necessarily need to buy guaranteed starters. We are looking for competition and players who can come in and do a job better than the current reserves. This is true largely due to the age of the team, it is very young and still plenty of improvement is achievable. This need is greater because of Champions League commitments, not sure we can justify putting out youngsters or those that need a game in that competition like we have done in the Europa League.

Before I go into where I think we need strengthening, I am not going to put forward names as possible solutions as I honestly don’t watch enough foreign football to have an idea of whether someone will fit into Poch’s system.

Goalkeeper

Lloris is the number one with no questions asked. Vorm is ok but perhaps not good enough should Lloris get injured long term, one or two games will probably be survivable. Problem with goalkeepers is that they are rarely injured so you do need a backup that will be happy to sit on the bench and Vorm fits that bill currently. I don’t think anything will happen in this department unless a stunningly good young keeper becomes available.

Verdict: Probably nothing happening here

Defence

Fazio will be gone if everyone gets their way so there is a backup centre back needed. I think it is clear that Toby and Jan are the first choice pairing so Wimmer will need to be content with playing back up again. Dier can cover but given he is the first choice defensive midfielder currently I think it is clear we need another centre back. There are some promising youngsters coming through so it will be interesting to see if one of them is promoted or whether Poch dips into the market. Yedlin probably surplus to requirements given Walker and Trippier.

Verdict: Don’t be surprised if no one is bought, probably not through want of trying but because the player would have to be content to start as fourth choice. Fazio shipped out for sure and if the right offer comes in, Yedlin too.

Deep lying midfield

This is probably the biggest problem area in terms of effect on team dynamics. The backups to the first choice pair of Dier and Dembele have not performed. Alli has had a few games here (in Dembele’s role) but he is too important further up the pitch now to really be considered. Mason and Carrol have simply not been good enough in this role but I also feel that (in Masons case in particular) this position is too deep for them.

I have read many different articles and it is debateable whether Carrol is out of contract or not this summer however I can only see two of Carrol, Mason and Bentaleb staying and this is assuming we buy no one. Ah Bentaleb, so much promise but this season has not worked out how it was supposed to. Injuries have not helped but I also think he may be being used incorrectly.

Last season he was the defensive midfielder alongside Mason but in Poch’s system this year a defensive midfielder frequently becomes part of the defence as cover. I don’t think he is suited to that at all. I would like to see him in Dembele’s role (as backup to him) which may well negate the need for a signing there. Perhaps another youngster in Winks is the answer to Dembele when he is out but I get the impression if that was the case, Winks would have played a few more minutes this season.

What is clear is that another defensive midfielder is needed, whether this be from internal or bought in. When Dier was missing or being played at centre back it was clear there was a gaping hole in the middle of the park.

Verdict: A defensive minded midfielder will be bought but Bentaleb may get another shot at being Dembele’s competition. Mason will probably stay also (unless a couple of signings are made for this area) and Carrol moved on/released.

Attacking midfield

I think the first choice here are currently Eriksen, Alli and Lamela. Backups being Son, Chadli, Onomah, Njie, Winks, Pritchard and Mason (occasionally). That is ten players fighting it out for three places in the team. That’s probably a few too many. Mason and Winks may be considered deep lying while Son and Njie may be considered strikers – that would take it to a reasonable six for three places but I don’t think that is the case.

I think in this area we are missing someone with a bit of trickery, someone who will beat a player or two (with skill rather than pace or movement) to make space. This is most notable when teams set up with 10 men behind the ball. Pritchard may do this but we have yet to see what he can do at this level.

Verdict: I don’t think anybody will be coming in here despite saying we are missing something. Think one of Chadli or Pritchard will be lost.

Strikers

The most glaring shortage of options in the squad as Kane is pretty much all alone. Son and Njie were touted as strikers but they appear to be much more geared towards being attacking midfielders. Poch has named checked a youngster or two but I think if he were serious about them they would have appeared on the bench and got some minutes at the ends of games to save Kane and give them some experience.

The problem here is that we are being linked to some of the more sought after and high profile strikers around. I can’t see them wanting to come in and initially be playing second fiddle to Kane.

Verdict: One will come in, can’t go another window without another striker coming in. Perhaps two if there are some undiscovered youngsters around.

So there you have it. I think a minimum of two players inbound in the shape of a striker and defensive midfielder. Maximum would be four I feel with two strikers, a defensive mid and a defender. I think the key here is that we are not necessarily looking for people who need to hit the ground running as they go straight into the first team, this is different from previous years.

First of all I want to say I haven’t posted on here for the majority of the season as I was stupidly busy before Christmas and didn’t have the time. And when I did think about posting we were doing so well I didn’t want to jinx it. I’m a superstitious fool really…

Now I’m putting this post out there to try and put our achievement this season into perspective:
We finish 3rd. Not 4th like what we all probably would have said our realistic target would have been back in August. 3rd: Our best finish in the Premier League. Yes AVB got more points and finished 5th, so what? We finished 3rd this season on our merit and ability. Seeing as no pundit gave us a chance of top 4 at the beginning of the season it’s pretty impressive. And we would have been the “fairy tale story” of the season if it hadn’t been for the brilliant performance from Leicester.

Arsenal finishing above us has seemingly taken the gloss off the season for the majority of Spurs fans. If you’d said to me at the beginning of the season that we’d finish 3rd but behind Arsenal in 2nd only a point ahead of us I’d have bitten your hand off for it! Too many of us Spurs fans allow what Arsenal are doing define our season. Yes it would be nice if we were to succeed and they were to fail but hand on heart there is only two times a season that their result truly matters to me and that’s when we’re playing them.

Don’t get me wrong, Spurs’ collapse after the Stoke game has been disheartening and I’m gutted at what could have been but we just achieved our highest finish ever in the Premier League! I’m certainly not going to complain about that! It’s better than the football I grew up watching at Spurs that’s for sure!

Let’s hope that the awful performance yesterday against Newcastle proves to Levy that our squad needs strengthening and Pochettino is allowed to go out and get the players he wants! We have a young squad and if we can keep them together we could be on the cusp of a brilliant time with our beloved Tottenham Hotspur!

He did. Poch knew the players had gone. Since the Southampton game we have heard how the teams mental state needs to improve and how finishing above the lot down the round is not important.

B*llocks.

Well to the finishing position bit anyhow. They were simply trying to soften the blow that they saw coming.

Poch hails from Argentina, a football mad nation where some of the most intense rivalries are based. He knows that when no competitions are won then bragging rights are the next thing. He KNOWS that.

Saying that finishing above your local rivals is not important is the rational argument. It is the business argument. Perhaps for Poch and some of the players, this may be true. What does it matter where you finish if it is not as the winner and are not relegated? It doesn’t. What is the difference between second and third for the club? Money.

But football fans are not rational. Football lives off rivalries between teams. Fans live and breathe for these derbies and rivalries. For the fans it is important no matter how childish or ultimately insignificant it turns out to be. That is what hurts so much at the moment.

Kane is the spokesmen for the team because he is one of our own, we trust what he says. So he was rolled out to tell us to ‘look at the bigger picture’ in that we will be in the Champions League next year.

Too soon, we are still too raw. Champions League qualification was secured a few games ago. One of my criticisms of the modern player is that playing in the Champion League is the be all and end all, for some it even appears more important that actually winning something. More important than winning their domestic league. It should never be more important than your domestic league. I hope, by some divine intervention, that this is not true for our lot.

Finishing above them (and the rest of London) was all that mattered after missing out on the league and, in a season where Spursy was not supposed to apply to us, we did the most Spursy thing possible. Got hammered by an already relegated team that went down to 10 men when only a point was needed. They did the double over us no less. Haven’t conceded more than two or lost by more than a single goal in a league game all season but we manage it against Newcastle. They are a much better team under Benitez but not so good to win 5-1.

I really hope Poch meant it when he says it was his worst day in management.

The close season will be an interesting one, the first XI are pretty solid and is perhaps only really missing a trick in the final third. A player that will beat defenders and make space for himself with skill. Outside of that it is really backups that will be able to come in and perform when needed. Backups for Dembele, Dier and Kane are a must.

It was a good season for Spurs, I don’t think anyone denies that, there is an identity from the club and a connection with the squad that has not been seen or felt for a while. The squad is young and able to improve both playing wise and mentally, the achievement this season is still valid. I think we all agree that Poch and this squad are going forward and upwards.

But those last few games do leave a very, very bitter taste. Best way to resolve that will be to put the wrongs right from day one next season, roll on to the final season at the Lane…

To win the league I think we will need to do something we have not done since the double winning side of 1960/61. That is the last time we won 9 league games on the bounce, it went on to be 11 league games on the trot that year so no chance of beating that this season but I think we really need the 9.

Winning the 9 would give us 82 points and assuming we still have a better goal difference than Leicester at that point, we would need them to lose one and draw one of their last 9. Only 6 times in premier league history has 82 or fewer points won the league and it has only happened once in the last 10 years (2010/11). The lowest winning points total was 75 (1996/97) and I would not be surprised if the winning total is close to that number this time around given the unpredictability of the season so far. If you extrapolate our current points per game over the remaining 9 then we end with 72 which only matches our best ever points total in the premier league (and we finished 5th that year).

Of course, all of that means very little as it is historical and definitely not related to Spurs in the Premier league (our average points haul in the Premier league is 56). So who is left for each and their positions:

Couple of points about our fixtures – the three games of Liverpool, United and Stoke will determine whether we are in a title battle or Champions League battle and Chelsea will clearly have the ability to derail whatever we are in with a few games to go. West Brom at home is also one of those where they will have 11 men behind the ball at all times and it will be up to us to break them down. That all sounds a little depressing!

But having said all that, I think that the run in for all the teams looks pretty even. Leicester’s first six games though all look winnable given their form – it is the last three games that will trip them up.

I thought before the last two games we needed 4 points from 6 to have a very good chance to win the league. We are still in it but with 5 points to make up it will be difficult.

This season has been fun so far, there is no reason why it couldn’t still be a great season.

Quick word on yesterday’s derby

I was worried before the game because everyone was making it out that we were overwhelming favourites. I hated that because it’s a derby, anything goes. Also they were a wounded animal, completely bashed about in the media and losing their best goalkeeper and defender. If there was ever a time they would be more up for it, it was then.

Did the team look a little tired – it’s hard to say. When the pressing game is broken through our players need to turn round and then accelerate, that is always going to look laboured against a fast moving team already moving forward. The lack of quality final ball could also be a sign of mental fatigue – not concentrating enough on what they were doing but this could be put down to the occasion and atmosphere. That also includes the amount of poor first touches we saw during the game.

I think the team perhaps let up a little after taking the lead, even time wasting a little. I didn’t like that – they had ten men. Waste time by playing the ball around them, there was always a man free. But that could just be my perception as I wanted another goal to put the tie to bed.

I understand why Lamela was replaced (on a yellow) but surely Son would have been replacement that would have kept the pressing going. Mason coming on meant he went central with Eriksen moving wide and I don’t think our pressing game copes without the intensity players like Lamela and Alli bring. I am not saying Mason and Eriksen do not press, simply saying it is not as dogged as the others.

Finally, I think Kane has reverted to beginning of season Kane for me. A few too many shots from positions that were unreasonable. Two that spring to mind were volleys from inside the box but quite wide and tight angled (less than 6 yards from the touchline). In those situations it would have been better to retain and recycle or at least put back into the danger zone. Now his goal did come from a tight angle but not as tight as the volleys and also far fewer players in path between ball and goal – also he was completely in control of the ball for the goal. But Kane, like most of the team, are young and still learning – they should only get better.

Again that sounds pretty negative (and it is) but that is because it is easier to pick on bits you consider bad. It is also because I want better and know that this team are capable of much better!

Nine massive games left in the league and a massive cup tie against Dortmund – win that and we will, rightly, be favourites for the Europa League.

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Now before I start, I can clearly see like everyone else that Spurs’ attack is lacking genuine pace. My point, which I will hopefully get across in the blog, is that pace alone may not suddenly fix everything that has made the start to the season feel a little damp squib.

So why do we want pace? With pace you can stretch the opposition in behind, getting the opposition to turn around and face their own goal. We clearly lack this with our current attacking options, well at least in those that Poch is willing to select.

We do have a couple of wingers on the books that do (or at least did) have genuine pace, Townsend and Lennon. Both of which have had plenty of abuse thrown their way because, despite their pace, they rarely (or at least are perceived to rarely) have an end product. So for pace to work there needs to be an end product involved as well. So what other options are there along with pace that will help us break the opposition down and recreate the Spurs way of playing?

Movement

This one is always linked with passing. Yes Spurs have made a load of successful passes so far this year but if they are all in front of two banks of four opposition players then what is the point? The keep ball or tiki taka football that is currently en vogue is primarily designed to wear the opposition down (along with the point that if you have the ball then the opposition cannot score). However if all you are doing is passing the ball in front of the opposition then all they need to do is shuffle left and right as needed, not really tiring for the elite professionals.

So this is where movement comes in, you need your players to be able to move to find the space. Not simply come deep to receive the ball but find space in advanced positions that will result in the opposition having to work hard to prevent an attack. Do the attacking three behind the striker really have the level of movement required currently?

Many of you will now be saying that teams set up against us to restrict space. That is true but good movers will still find space. Also pace is generally nullified by the same concept i.e. restrict space. Now many of you will probably be saying that pace will help on counter attacks and again this is true. But unfortunately for Spurs, we are still a massive scalp to the majority of the league – as such many teams will set up against us to try and avoid being beaten which would generally mean being open to a counter attack is pretty rarely.

Trickery

Being able to beat the man in front of you. Honestly, who in the players that have played so far this season have you looked at and said ‘he is going to beat the opposition here with a bit of skill’? It doesn’t have to leave the opposition on their backside but create that half a yard so they can do something useful with it.

Again it is about end product after beating the man because Dembele pretty much beats people for fun but then appears to not know what to do next. Yes if we have a tricky player the opposition would double up on them but that means there must be someone unmarked and this is where movement comes in to ensure that it is in an advanced position.

You need all four attributes in the attack

Yes there is four: pace, movement and trickery which have all been mentioned but also, and arguably the most important of all, an end product. With no end product then the advantage gained from the other three is nullified almost immediately.

If you look at City who are probably the best attacking team so far this season, they have all three in their attacking players. By attacking players I mean players who are there to score and create goals – yes they will and do defend but defending is not the priority. So far this season this has been Aguero, Silva, Sterling and Navas – clearly there is plenty of movement, pace and trickery there all combined with end product (ok you could argue that perhaps Navas and potentially Sterling may lack an end product enough of the time).

Now clearly we do not have the funds to spend £50 mil on a player but the players individually do not need all three, probably only two in reality to be able to really compete but even if you do one exceptionally well it will make a difference. The caveat is that it needs to be combined with an end product. All four in one player leads to a Messi or Ronaldo I suppose…

Now there are other issues as well at Spurs such as the lack of a specialist defensive midfielder, the individual mistakes being made and is Kane really an out and out striker but this article was purely based on the impression I was getting that pace is the ONLY missing ingredient in Spurs’ attack.

So to come back to the question that I suppose I am postulating. Is the glaring lack of pace in Spurs’ attack potentially hiding other flaws also present in the attack?

I fear it may – but perhaps not to the extent that this article has come across as. How very ‘sit on the fence of me’! I hope pace is the missing factor and that my fears are misplaced, it is early doors so there is plenty of time for me to be proved wrong.

Let us know what you think…

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So the season is up, the final whistle has been blown, the last ball has been kicked. But how did our beloved Lilywhites do? Well here is my review of the season:

Highlight of the Season

Beating the champions elect 5-3. This just pipped beating Arsenal at the Lane for me because we’ve beaten Arsenal on a semi regular basis the last few years, where as beating Chelsea hasn’t come as regularly as we’d have liked. But beating them by 5 goals to 3? That never bloody happens!

Low point of the season

There was a few “meh” moments this season but the most disappointing for me was the 3-0 loss to Stoke a few weeks back (although their thumping of Liverpool made our result seem better than it was). A team that is apparently pushing for Champions League football should be doing better against Stoke. That’s no disrespect to Stoke, who have come on leaps and bounds under Mark Hughes. But IF we are to be where we want to be we should be doing better in these games.

Player of the Season

There’s only one choice here isn’t there? Not really. I AM going to give it to Harry Kane but a massive honourable mention goes to Danny Rose, who has been outstanding this season!
So it does go to Harry Kane. 31 goals in all competitions with 21 in the league, It’s nuts to think his first start in the league didn’t come until November. I’m looking forward to seeing him play from the off next year, but I’m not expecting him to hit the ground running as he’s playing in the summers u21 championships and will probably be a bit tired already.

Disappointment of the Season

Bloody hell I’m making this hard for myself. Soldado? Capoue? Kaboul? Paulinho? Adebayor? I’m sure I’ve missed a few but you get the picture. My disappointment of the season is Roberto Soldado. How someone who was only out scored by Messi and Ronaldo in La Liga has gone to a goal shy goalscorer is beyond me. Don’t get me wrong Soldado does try and you can make an argument for him being unlucky as well, but overall he has been a massive disappointment. The biggest thing we have to thank him for is the fact that IF he was scoring goals Harry Kane wouldn’t have been given his chance.

How did the manager do?

Pochettino has done a good job in his first season. We got to a cup final and played some good football once he had worked out which players fitted into his plan and which didn’t. Our form dipped towards the end of the season, but whether that was down to Pochettino’s tactics or the fact our players where shattered due to him not trusting half of our squad will only be proved one way of another once he is given a full season with a squad that he is 100% happy with.

A quick round up

5th place and a cup final. We never seemed to get out of 3rd gear in the league but we had some massive results to savour (5-3 vs Chelsea and 2-1 against Arsenal spring to mind). The cup final was a nice peak but to fall at the final hurdle was heartbreaking. It was a season of “what if” but ultimately a season of standing still. There’s plenty to keep us looking forward rather than back (young homegrown talent flooding the first team is brilliant in my books). Hopefully Pochettino gets the backing he needs in the transfer market to get the players he wants rather than cheap knockoffs, and maybe we might be onto something exciting in the next few years.

Spurs are between a rock and a hard place at the moment. It doesn’t really matter how we arrived at this spot, all that matters is we are there. Stuck, considering cutting through our own arm to move along the path which may not work out. The fork in the road lies ahead, both paths are difficult and no path guarantees the outcome that the stakeholders want. Us fans want glory and success, players and manager want to be recognised as the best in their relevant field and the board want profit. The next stops on each path? Mid table mediocrity or return to challenging for a top four spot.

Little depressing that, return to challenging for Champions League. Problem is, at a board level, getting Champions league (and keeping it) is the final destination, the Holy Grail of Premier League football existence. That will not change no matter who is running the club. Premier League football is a business first so profit comes first.

That’s an odd one though given how few clubs in the league actually make a substantial profit, there are a few exceptions of course but in the main it is difficult to make a profit. The option of not having a ‘business’ focused board is the sugar daddy model, it’ll be fun for a while and if it succeeds then it will continue to be fun. Problem is that it does not guarantee success and if success is not found then why does the sugar daddy stay? Nobody wants an Anzhi ‘fire sale’ situation…

The board appear to be convinced that it will be one simple decision that will help us achieve that goal they want. Whether that be a new manager, a big signing or a new corporate deal. We fans are not much different in reality, always a star striker is needed or playing conventional wingers rather than inverted wingers is the answer.

It is all guesswork at the end of the day, it always has been. Berbatov, Bale and Modric are examples of guesses that paid off. Bentley, Rebrov and Taarabt are examples of those that did not come good. Many will argue that the signings made over the last 18/24 months are yet more examples of those that did not pay off. In reality it is probably too early to tell – it is not as if Modric and Bale were world beaters straight out the gates.

The board really are stuck in a hard place at the moment, though it is of their own making. They have splashed the cash on occasion but it is always debatable as to whether they were backing the manager and getting his targets. They can either back the manager or sack him, whatever option they choose if it succeeds they will get little to no credit and if it fails they will be lambasted from twitter to blogs to national media.

The manager is also stuck. Stick to his principles in terms of formation and hope it comes good, great if it does and accused of being stubborn if it does not. Change his ways and be hailed as an adaptable young manager if it works or be accused of confusing the players by constantly changing how we set up if the punt fails.

Us fans are stuck. Do we continue to back the manager/players despite what we are watching, hoping that it will somehow transform into positive energy for them, being hailed as an amazing set of supporters (but deluded) by opposing fans and the media. Or moan and groan, creating an insipid atmosphere that will be roundly criticised and may affect how the players play (debatable). Hoping that bashing the players during the game will make them try harder.

We all have our own opinion about what guess we should make a reality. But no one truly knows how it will work out. One thing is for certain though, we are not a club who can simply throw away a few hundred million (a la United) to correct guesses that have gone wrong. The decisions now could well be the first nail in the coffin or the first step up the ladder, flipping a coin will have just as much chance of choosing the right path…

The league table could have looked a whole lot worse if lady luck had not smiled our way on Sunday. Let’s hope she continues to do so!

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