Tottenham 2015-16: We don't even have a clever title

[coremiller]

Is it really that prestigious? The old UEFA Cup was obviously a big deal back in the day, but since the European Cup expanded it's been dominated mostly by Iberian and Russian/Ukranian teams. It's rarely served as a springboard to something bigger -- that worked for Porto, but Sevilla have won it four times while having little CL success, and Zenit/Shakhtar/CSKA have hardly lit up the CL either. It provides valuable European experience, and some money, and some fun away journeys for the fans, but beyond that?

Apart from the CL qualification aspect think I'd rather win the FA Cup. The FA Cup means something. I don't know what the Europa League means now -- it's a tournament whose only real raison d'etre seems to be to fill a Thursday night TV slot. Do Liverpool fans look back more fondly on beating Alaves 5-4 in 2001 in the UEFA Cup Final or beating Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup final?

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Is it really that prestigious? The old UEFA Cup was obviously a big deal back in the day, but since the European Cup expanded it's been dominated mostly by Iberian and Russian/Ukranian teams. It's rarely served as a springboard to something bigger -- that worked for Porto, but Sevilla have won it four times while having little CL success, and Zenit/Shakhtar/CSKA have hardly lit up the CL either. It provides valuable European experience, and some money, and some fun away journeys for the fans, but beyond that?

Apart from the CL qualification aspect think I'd rather win the FA Cup. The FA Cup means something. I don't know what the Europa League means now -- it's a tournament whose only real raison d'etre seems to be to fill a Thursday night TV slot. Do Liverpool fans look back more fondly on beating Alaves 5-4 in 2001 in the UEFA Cup Final or beating Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup final?

Who cares if its a springboard to success in the CL? Even among first division clubs in big leagues, the vast majority will never sniff any chance of winning the CL, especially in the current financial landscape. Other trophies have value too. The Europa League is a little watered down due to the expansion of the CL, but I think it still means quite a lot to clubs like Sevilla, Valencia, Porto, Benfica, etc that have played for these trophies, as well as their supporters. Many of the Europa League finals have had amazing atmospheres, with much more passion than your average FA Cup final. For all but the biggest clubs in the world, the Europa League is a huge trophy to win.

 

[DJnVa]

Chadli converts a PK, 1-0 Spurs.

EDIT: Fiorentina equalizes off a deflection in the 59th minute.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

An away draw with a game of rest for Dier and ~30 minutes for Kane and Dembele sounds good to me. I'd like to see the same thing this weekend against Palace.

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

Lifted from COYS an interesting stat (that matched observation): There were more fouls in that game (43) than in any Premier League match since December 2008 (Middlesbrough v Everton - 46).

 

[The Price Is Wrong]

I lost count of the flops by Fiorentina, too. God was that ugly. I wasn't necessarily rooting for Spurs initially, but good christ was I rooting for them after about 15 minutes.

 

[DJnVa]

An away draw with a game of rest for Dier and ~30 minutes for Kane and Dembele sounds good to me. I'd like to see the same thing this weekend against Palace.

Kane, Dier, Dembele all starting today.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

I'm kinda talking myself into the Dortmund draw being good for the team. If they're gonna win Europa, they were going to have to go through Dortmund eventually most likely, so why not when the team is fresher and the league games surrounding are Villa & Bournemouth? If they're getting knocked out, why not do it as soon as possible and then focus up for the league?

Am I just being a Pollyanna here, or is there something to it?

Either way, should be a hell of a tie.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

I am liking your optimistic view of this. I am a bit worried about playing Dortmund without Deli Alli though.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

It's only for the first leg, right, not both ends of the tie?

Either way, I agree with you there. Between that and Dembele, options are thinning out a bit in the midfield.

 

[coremiller]

Luckily central midfield is one of the areas where Spurs have real depth. Mason, Bentaleb, and Carroll are capable cover.

I don't take the optimistic view. Dortmund is a rough draw when Anderlecht, Sparta Prague, Basel, and Bilbao were out there. The Westfalenstadion will be a fun atmosphere for the traveling fans though.

While the Arsenal match is immediately before the first leg in Dortmund, what does help is that the Prem matches immediately after the two Dortmund ties are at Villa and home to Bournemouth, two of the softest league fixtures on the calendar. There will be opportunities to rotate in those matches and still get a result.

EDIT: the potential quarterfinal schedule would not be so favorable, with the two ties sandwiched around the Man Utd league game.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Dortmund have Bayern on the same day as the NLD, so it's not like they're gonna be any more well rested or rotated than Spurs.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

No Cech is a good start.

I find myself in Manila for a couple of months, and game time is a convenient 845pm this evening. I have plans to watch in a seedy bar on the fringe of Makati's red light district. It shapes up to be an interesting night.

COME ON YOU SPURS!!!

 

[Gunfighter 09]

This feels very similar to the LCFC game at home, Spurs deserved the win, couldn't get it done. Lloris is the reason for multiple positive results this year, but he cost them the two points misplaying Sanchez's shot.

Between Lamela missing that shot in the first half and goal line technology, it certainly feels like they should have had three or four today. Cartilage Free Captain did some math and found that Kane's shot was 2cm from scoring.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Well, Poche made himself a decision.

Feels like a bad one right now immediately after that hammering, but I suppose final league position will say for sure.

 

[DJnVa]

Yeah...it's clear he's focusing on the league. I guess maybe he was hoping to escape with a draw or even a 1-0 or 2-1 loss.

Oh well.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Surprising that now of all times he takes the EL lightly after not doing so, but I guess Dier's gassed, Alli's hurt, Dembele's just recovering from being hurt, so that's the central midfield we get.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Proper starting XI today. Important to take care of business against Villa. COYS!

 

[DJnVa]

At one point in that game I was ruing that were going to see a 0-0 draw after dominating most of the play. Thankfully instead of our shots finding Guzan and woodwork they found the net.

 

[DJnVa]

Clinical thrashing of Bournemouth today.

 

[DJnVa]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35912192

As the team most likely to stop them, Tottenham have become the pantomime villain in the Foxes' fairytale. But with the chance to win their first league title in 55 years, Spurs' own story is as remarkable as it is impressive.

 

[Blundatola]

That's a good read. I've found myself pulling for Spurs lately despite the fact that Leicester are a better story. It probably has to do with Tottenham landing players like Dier and Alli, who Newcastle fans foolishly thought might join us. That, and my son is quite fond of Harry Kane (rightfully so, too).

 

[Gunfighter 09]

I was fairly certain the winner was coming today. I did not expect the drop off from Lamela to Son to be so severe. Also nice to see Dier somehow avoid another yellow. In the end, this is the kind of result that will help keep them in the top four and make it that much more difficult to catch the Foxes.

 

[DJnVa]

Announcers seemed to think it was a decent enough result--they kept saying it was their most difficult game remaining. But a Leicester win tomorrow and all the Spurs hopes will come down to those final 3 tough games for Leicester.

 

[fletcherpost]

I dunno if I agree with those announcers. Liverpool are not consistent, and have problems at the back. I'd say the Chelsea away match is gonna be tough, they are one of the form teams in the league, and you could say that their talent and quality is shining through, or has been since Jose fucked off. And the Man U match will be tough, and you know LVG will set up his team to get a result (meaning a draw, in the hope of maybe nicking it) so they'll be hard to break down.

But, i look at Leicester's run in and their fixtures are tough too. I think for Spurs and Leicester every game is a tough game now, that seems like an obvious thing to say. It's fairly uncharted waters for both.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Now that was a good time, this is a damn fun team to watch, especially when they are breaking a team's spirit like they did to United today. Today made clear just how important Lamela is to this team, it is nice to see him get some recognition.

Assuming LCFC cashes in their 87% probability of winning the BPL (per Michael Caley) and Spurs maintain the best offense and defense in the league by goals scored, Tottenham will be only the third team in BPL history to league the league in scoring and goals allowed and not win the title. Chelsea in 2009 and ManU in 98 are the other two teams to pull that amazing feat of frustration.

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

Lamela was brought on (30 million) to be Steph Curry. Takes a few seasons, but he ends up being Andre Iguadala. Dude is so valuable to this team, no rational Spurs fan regrets the deal now. This team is so impressive. Bummer they may be on the short end of an unreal Leicester dice roll.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

Isn't that so Spurs-y though?
You have a fun, talented team (genuinely like-able), and probably the best team in the Premier League. And everyone is rooting against you because you might ruin a once in a lifetime story.

 

[coremiller]

Now that was a good time, this is a damn fun team to watch, especially when they are breaking a team's spirit like they did to United today. Today made clear just how important Lamela is to this team, it is nice to see him get some recognition.

Assuming LCFC cashes in their 87% probability of winning the BPL (per Michael Caley) and Spurs maintain the best offense and defense in the league by goals scored, Tottenham will be only the third team in BPL history to league the league in scoring and goals allowed and not win the title. Chelsea in 2009 and ManU in 98 are the other two teams to pull that amazing feat of frustration.

The upside here is that both those Man Utd and Chelsea teams won the league the next season.

 

[DJnVa]

http://www.espnfc.us/barclays-premier-league/23/blog/post/2853939/mauricio-pochettino-turned-tottenham-into-title-contenders

How Mauricio Pochettino transformed Tottenham into true title contenders

 

[DJnVa]

Horrible result yesterday, I was hoping Leicester would only manage a draw. Need to put this one away early, keep the momentum going.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

I have to give Dele Alli credit for owning up to making a mistake with the violent conduct penalty, instead of denying everything despite the evidence and whining about his treatment like so many other footballers in this situation.

I'm finding it hard to dislike most of the young stars on your club, which is somewhat unfortunate.

 

[fletcherpost]

They did a wee highlight package on Sky of Dele Alli and Yacob, and Yacob was all over Alli, as he should be, in his face, bumping him, doing everything he could to knock Alli off his game, get a rise, which is all part of the game...but to be fair, when Alli punched him in the stomach, Yacob never went down, or moaned or complained, he knew the score, and i have to credit him for that. Sure, the cameras picked it out, but Yacob never ran to the ref or anything. Classy might not be the word, but there's a certain meaure of honour in there. Or as some flat capped northerner might say...'it's a bloody man's game son.'

 

[coremiller]

Pocchetino agrees to a new contract extension:

“I can say now that we reached a verbal agreement with the club to extend my contract here for two years more,” Pochettino said. “From now until 2021, I extend my contract with the club. We don’t sign yet but we have reached the verbal agreement to stay here for the next five years.

http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2016/04/29/pochettino-verbally-agrees-new-tottenham-contract/

Great news for Spurs.

 

[coremiller]

Lost in all the hubbub tonight is that the point at Chelsea clinches Champions League football for next year. Spurs need to win one of the last two games to clinch (barring some bizarre goal difference outcomes) 2nd place.

 

[daveuk]

Lost in all the hubbub tonight is that the point at Chelsea clinches Champions League football for next year. Spurs need to win one of the last two games to clinch (barring some bizarre goal difference outcomes) 2nd place.

I hope they show more discipline in Europe. The refereeing is less forgiving.

9 yellow cards, 3 of which could have been straight red. Off the ball kick by Walker, a stamp by Lallana on Fabregas and a blatant eye gouge on Costas by Dembele. And Pochettino at one point seemed to think it was a good idea to run onto the pitch to act as a peacemaker.

 

[Conigliaro's Potential]

The stamp by Lallana on Fabregas wasn't even one of the yellow cards - it (apparently) wasn't seen and wasn't carded.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

a stamp by Lallana on Fabregas

The stamp by Lallana on Fabregas wasn't even one of the yellow cards - it (apparently) wasn't seen and wasn't carded.

Poor Adam Lallana is getting blamed for things in games that Liverpool didn't even play in. Erik Lamela can only hope the FA is similarly confused.

 

[Conigliaro's Potential]

Heh - oops.

 

[daveuk]

Poor Adam Lallana is getting blamed for things in games that Liverpool didn't even play in. Erik Lamela can only hope the FA is similarly confused.

Ooops. Damn. Mea Culpa.

 

[swiftaw]

Wow 9 Spurs players booked today, I figure Spurs will get fined for failure to control their players (happens to me on Football Manager any time I get at least 6 players booked in a match)

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

Spurs showed heart. Probably more than head. But, good god, was that a thunderdome.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Lost in all the hubbub tonight is that the point at Chelsea clinches Champions League football for next year. Spurs need to win one of the last two games to clinch (barring some bizarre goal difference outcomes) 2nd place.

What a weird year. Last August we would have assumed the day Spurs clinched Champion's league would be a huge celebration for Spurs fans. Fast forward 9 months and it is an afterthought.

The way I read the table, they can't finish lower than third unless City makes up a 9 goal difference. That is with City and Arsenal playing each other. A City win or a Spurs win on Sunday ensures they finish 2nd. Seeing how Spurs have never finished 3rd or 2nd in the EPL, there is much cause for happiness here.

I have a feeling this awful match with Chelsea and this season full of blown leads is going to be good for this developing team going forward mentally.

 

[DJnVa]

Definitely a good thing.

This is the youngest team in EPL.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

I hope they show more discipline in Europe. The refereeing is less forgiving.

They've played in Europe every year since 2009. Save us the drama.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

Seeing how Spurs have never finished 3rd or 2nd in the EPL, there is much cause for happiness here.

Don't overlook finishing ahead of Wenger for the 1st time.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Don't overlook finishing ahead of Wenger for the 1st time.

I took my brother, who roots for Wenger's team, with me to a Spurs bar to watch the United game and that caused us to have this conversation with many Spurs fans here in Southern California. What we left with, and I am in this camp, was that while everyone would enjoy it quite a bit, I don't think anyone wants to acknowledge it openly. There is more of a "fuck them and their fake holiday" vibe than wanting to really celebrate finishing above the neighbors, if it happens. Besides, Chelsea are much, much more hatable than the other North London team right now.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Going to be interesting to see what kind of side Poch can run out there after all the suspensions come in.

It's been a ridiculously entertaining season from a super-likable Spurs team, but the second half against Chelsea was the definition of a shit show. Hoping they learn from it.

 

[coremiller]

Pocchetino extension through 2021 official: http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/club/club-agrees-extensions-to-contracts-with-mauricio-and-coaching-staff-120516/

 

[Gunfighter 09]

That is the best news ever.

Cross posting from the week 37 thread:

I was rooting for Sunderland for the sake of Yedlin, who absolutely tore it up today and will be in fine form this summer.

.

I am no expert, and incredibly biased, but I have been watching a ton of Sunderland lately and I think Yedlin has looked awesome. I will be very surprised if Spurs don't sell Trippier and give the job of sharing Right Back with Kyle Walker to Yedlin next year.

Also on a Sunderland note, it was cool to see how effective Defoe has been in the second half. I wonder how much better Spurs would have been if they could have used him to spare Kane a few minutes.