General feeling moving in the right direction or way off?

[WalkerboyUK]

True, that would be nice. Come to think of it, arewe the only team not to have played on a Monday evening? I can't recall the last time we did.

FA Cup against Burnley was a Monday.
In terms of PL, it was April last year, against Sunderland

 

[Mullers]

I agree. There's a lot to be optimistic about but I am not convinced we can shift out Kaboul, Ade, Soldado, Lamela, Capoue due to Levy's valuations and hence we will not buy anyone. Our next season will be the same as this year. After that, the big name players will leave. Then Levy will sack Poch.

I think we will be able to get rid of Kaboul his fee was 9 million we only paid portsmouth 6.5 million,how much could Levy want for a 29 year old.
I think Poch will give Lamela another season, I don't think we can move Ade out unless we continue to pay his wages lol the same that man city did for us. Soldado, Creaky, Paulinho, Dembele and Capoue I don't think we can even give them away for free and the latest signings Fazio and Stambouli aren't anything to write home about, squad players that don't improve the first team.

 

[rossdapep]

FA Cup against Burnley was a Monday.
In terms of PL, it was April last year, against Sunderland

That's a very long time. But ridiculous, considering Everton have been given Monday fixtures. Also, United (who have had pretty much a full week all season to prepare) have had a couple I think.

 

[Ribble]

I think we will be able to get rid of Kaboul his fee was 9 million we only paid portsmouth 6.5 million,how much could Levy want for a 29 year old.

Isn't this the last year of Kaboul's contract anyway?

 

[Mullers]

Isn't this the last year of Kaboul's contract anyway?

Yeah probably, he joined us in 2010.

 

[Japhet]

I'm very happy all things considered. I expected us to have a fair dip this year but we are still there or thereabouts which is encouraging. We still have a lot of players who need to be shifted but I'm very encouraged by the signing of Alli who looks ripe for development. Dier has been very good as well. There seems to be a good vibe with Poch as well. The players seem to like him.

On the pitch we have been excellent on occasions but not consistent enough. Fitness and injuries have been top drawer but the pressing ethos has been hit and miss. We seem unable to maintain it but hopefully it will come with time.

Backroom staff signings have been inspired and definitely have an eye on development rather than trying to buy in the finished article (apart from maybe the odd biggie).

Looking forward to Poch getting a few players in. He knows what he wants and doesn't seem phased by reputations or lack thereof. So, all in all, looking pretty good.

 

[Spursidol]

Isn't this the last year of Kaboul's contract anyway?

@Mullers

http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/s...ion_about_his_injuries_and_contract_1_3796774

Its 2016 according to Kaboul

 

[Mullers]

@Mullers

http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/s...ion_about_his_injuries_and_contract_1_3796774

Its 2016 according to Kaboul

These long contracts are the reason we need to think very carefully about the players we buy.

 

[Spursidol]

These long contracts are the reason we need to think very carefully about the players we buy.

Absolutely agreed.

Think we were on a no win situation with Kaboul as we had to decide when he was injured as to whether to take up a one year option or not, and Kaboul has maybe not tried as hard as he might to get back to his pre-season form

 

[ultimateloner]

Right direction.
1) We have a young functional team that has the basic attributes: discipline/energy
2) We have a pipeline of young players coming through; so we can keep relatively low wage structure.
3) We have stadium coming through.

However none of the above is sufficient to get us silverware/titles/top 4. I think for any real achievements we need match winners. We have 2 in this squad and yesterday's squad shows how better teams can shut us down. None of the above will solve this problem; there's only so much money-ball can get you.

I guess until 3 is done we dont stand any real chance of getting into top 4 consistently.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

At present, the only sure thing is that we are moving sideways. Tales about average squad age and future prosperity does not amaze me. It could have been 11 19 year olds loosing to Chelsea yesterday, and I would not have cared. I don't follow football to see how good players are relative to their age, if I did I would have gone to old boys matches with Sheringham.

We all know Tottenham. We are not a club who most often can enjoy their players at their prime. Save a few examples, the majority of our players are always too young or too old. The only thing we can say for certain, is what we've got right now. And right now, we have a squad which is not improving as fast as close competitors are.

Think 3 years back. How did the squad look in January 2012? Are we not affected by huge changes? Just because we now see a squad with young kids, doesn't mean that we will rock the world of football in 2018. Too many other variables are influencing, and good kids are popping up everywhere. Kids who will be gathered by the Cities & Chelseas, and nullify the future threat of our squad. And I have not even begun to talk about teams who will buy players from us.

I am not celebrating anything other than results, goals, successful tactics and really good match management. And I see far too little of all of that to be more optimistic now than I have been in the past. We now have 12 matches left of the season, and no excuses. Soon there are no mid week matches. No long trips to places in Europe we can't even pronounce. Now we have the every day football so many of you crave. Match once a week in PL. If we are anything better than moving sideways, and all the excuses are correct, then now is when we will see the best part of our season.

I will not hold my breath, though.

 

[lukespurs7]

The reason Europa was such a struggle this season was because we only have maybe 9-12 players who truly fit in Poch's system, which has left us having to choose every Thursday whether to use players we need at the weekend, or use players who don't fit and play like shite. Let Poch shape the squad, let Europa be a proving ground for blooding youth and for players trying to break into our top XI, and I don't think we'd have a problem really. Very unfortunate how the timing coincided with the cup final this season.

This.

 

[lukespurs7]

I think you have to take into account that points have been shared out a bit more this season across the league. Look at United they didn't have much more than last season yet occupy 4th and have been 3rd. Our very slow start has contributed to this, which was to be expected with the complete mess which has been left thanks to AVB and his tantrums and Sherwood alienating the squad. I think he's doing a good job but we'll get a much clearer picture next season.

Agree with this.

You can spin our season negatively that Potch messed up original selections and made some poor decisions but for me as you say he inherited a bit of a mess so way always going to take time, I'm particularly optimistic about the fact that we have a young squad who have the right attitude and hope Potch actually gets backed properly so we can build a squad that suits us.

+ we beat Cheslea and Arsenal so these good results are not flukes.

 

[lukespurs7]

Unless he builds a new defence or defensive strategy we won't be winning anything anytime soon. We are heading for our highest amount of goals conceded in five seasons, and are currently on par with how many Villa have conceded. Think about that for a minute.

Poch has changed a great deal at the club, with a determined, young hungry side but the fact is that NO TEAM in the past half dozen years has conceded more than forty three goals (i think) and made fourth place in the PL.

Food for thought moving on, and as positive as we all should be seeing this seasons football it's a fact that our defence is among the worst in the league of those teams expecting CL football, and certainly not one to carry us forward next season.

Good point i do think this is a weakness we seem to concede goals far too easily which is strange as we have a lot of possession so is it down to individual errors or not enough protection etc?

Thoughts?

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

Good point i do think this is a weakness we seem to concede goals far too easily which is strange as we have a lot of possession so is it down to individual errors or not enough protection etc?

Thoughts?

Poor left and right back dicipline. Rose is a supposed left back that no other team wanting to be in or remain in the CL would court.

Walker is poor positionally and switches off a couple of times a game.

For me our center halfs are our strongest point of defence with good cover.

Poch will have to either coach Rose and Walker to improve or replace (or drop) but to continue with the same okd, same old is to me pointless.

 

[Sevens]

I don't really feel we have gone forwards or backwards and we are performing at the level we should be in terms of the personnel we have. We will finish 6th or 7th this season which is about right.

I like the fact that Poch has a system he is trying to implement but only as long as he is flexible enough to change when it doesn't work.

I like the fact we try and play fast one or two touch passing around the area. It isn't coming off at the moment because we either over elaborate or because the players aren't good enough to pull it off.

I like the fact Poch seems to have given players a chance (Lennon aside, who to be fair clearly isn't suited to Poch's system) and then not been afraid to drop them once they proved not suitable/good enough.

So this season has more positives than negatives.

 

[Flashspur]

This was always going to be a transitional season for me so I am not disappointed. I really was a lot more interested in finding out the direction Poch was taking us in. What I see is positive and pleasing. We have punched above our weight this season with a surprisingly young squad and to see the likes of Kane, Mason, Benteleb, Lamela, Eriksen, Dier, Townsend and others come along and play with passion for the badge - that is immensley satisfying.

The reality is that we are probably 2-3 players from making the jump to Top 4 and I hope that Poch can spot them and get them on board next season. This is a long term project. I dont think next season will see the rewards of the youth policy and Poch's appointment. I think we will see that the season after. But next season will be exciting just the same. My biggest hope is continuity at the club with coaches and playing staff for the next few years so we can build on this solid foundation.

 

[Jamturk]

For me the jury is out.

Getting to the final of a tinpot cup and sacrificing the Europa on the way does not impress me.

Performances this season have been sporadic, patchy and unconvincing.

We have played well in patches but then we always have have'nt we?

Too many individual errors time and again which for me is a lack of tactical skill by the coach.

Chelsea conceded 5 goals against us, their coach addresses this in their next game (against us).

Is Pochettino a glorified fitness coach?

We are a lot fitter and I give credit for that, has this come about at the expense of developing other areas in our game?

Pochetttino defenders all say well he has'nt got his players, we need to ship out this that and the other, why is he afforded these excuses that his predecessors were not?

I am not advocating getting rid of the manager, but I feel we need a strong end to the season to justify any mention of improvement.

 

[Spurslove]

Just got back from the game today, obviously pretty disappointed with the result but strangely not as upset or downhearted as I usually am after we lose an important game like that or lose to the racist scum Chavski. I suppose I used to absolutely despise them and while beating them like earlier in the season provides a truly fantastic feeling, for me I've lost so much respect for their club due to their fans,players and Mouriniho and them being a plastic club for me losing to them doesn't hurt as much as it used to as they are just a nothing club.

It was refreshing chatting to other Spurs fans on the tube home who were actually still quite optimistic and agreed that whilst the ref had a bit of a shocker we were beaten by a better team BUT that we have a very promising young team and manager who are generally pulling in the right direction.

The Chelseas and City's of this world have bought the cream of the crop over the last 5-10 years and are way ahead of most of the rest in terms of quality and strength in depth, not many other PL squads have players of the quality of: Fabregas, Hazard,Costa and players like Remy and Oscar sitting on their bench.

This season for me has exceeded expectations, it has had its ups and downs but Potch has gradually figured out the players who are: a) Up for putting the effort in and b) Have the quality to take us forward. He is having to persist with players like Soldado as we have no other options because Ade doesn't have the right attitude and fair play to Potch for doing that but it has meant we've lost games where our 2nd choice players have let us down(Not Potch's fault).

We have a great young spine and need to offload some dead wood and players who don't pull their weight, bring in some pacey attacking options and maybe a defender either CB or LB and well be looking like a very good team.

Remember we've not won much for the last 25 years and have barely been in the top4 and have been getting regularly spanked by the 'bigger teams' in the last few years so to get us to a cup final and beating and outplaying the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea in the league this season for me is a huge step forward.

So my question is does everyone else still feel quite positive after today or are we being too optimistic and today was a bit of a wake-up call, i'd like to think we're moving in the right direction and lets see how we do until the end of the season, no-one expected or expects us to get top4 but if we can give it a good go from now until then, then great.

COYS.

Sometimes, it's hard to be measured and philosophical after losing a cup final, especially to the likes of that horrible club, but I find myself absolutely agreeing with your sentiments. On a wider scale, things are looking very promising for us in the medium to long term, and I find myself feeling surprisingly un-phased by our latest loss.

When I think of all the things we have got going for us, I smile inwardly and feel good about who and what we will soon become.

We have an excellent young squad and an excellent young manager who is learning well with us in his first season. All the signs are there for a great future, we have a clutch of young players who all have bright futures, including England's leading striker for the World Cup in 2018, we have a massive new stadium on the near horizon and we already have a world class training facility in Enfield, and a player's lodge envied and earmarked by the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, for when they play over here.

I don't worry about our future. Years ago, at the end of every season, we'd finish up 15-20 points behind Arsenal. Those days are now gone. These days, we are generally only a point or two behind them in the final analysis and I feel it in my bones that one day soon they are going to be chasing our tails.

So losing that Cup Final hurt, but nowhere near as much as it would have done in years gone by. I know what my team can do (as evidenced by our recent 5-3 demolition of them at our place only a few weeks ago, and the 2-1 slaughter of the scum) and I'm looking forward to inflicting more and more pain on the likes of Chelsea, United, City, Liverpool and Arsenal in the years to come. I know they don't like us much now, but by God they are going to hate our guts pretty soon.

 

[sunnydelight786]

At present, the only sure thing is that we are moving sideways. Tales about average squad age and future prosperity does not amaze me. It could have been 11 19 year olds loosing to Chelsea yesterday, and I would not have cared. I don't follow football to see how good players are relative to their age, if I did I would have gone to old boys matches with Sheringham.

We all know Tottenham. We are not a club who most often can enjoy their players at their prime. Save a few examples, the majority of our players are always too young or too old. The only thing we can say for certain, is what we've got right now. And right now, we have a squad which is not improving as fast as close competitors are.

Think 3 years back. How did the squad look in January 2012? Are we not affected by huge changes? Just because we now see a squad with young kids, doesn't mean that we will rock the world of football in 2018. Too many other variables are influencing, and good kids are popping up everywhere. Kids who will be gathered by the Cities & Chelseas, and nullify the future threat of our squad. And I have not even begun to talk about teams who will buy players from us.

I am not celebrating anything other than results, goals, successful tactics and really good match management. And I see far too little of all of that to be more optimistic now than I have been in the past. We now have 12 matches left of the season, and no excuses. Soon there are no mid week matches. No long trips to places in Europe we can't even pronounce. Now we have the every day football so many of you crave. Match once a week in PL. If we are anything better than moving sideways, and all the excuses are correct, then now is when we will see the best part of our season.

I will not hold my breath, though.

Nail hit firmly on head Sir. No more BS excuses about midweek games now, MP has a week between games to put his ideas across.