Going the distance this season

[Kilkenny Cat]

It's been claimed, to the point of tedium, that Pochettino works his teams so hard they run out of gas in the closing stages of the season. (As an aside, Spurs scarcely ran out of gas in the closing stages of last season, but never mind.)

Does the fact that Bentaleb, Mason, Wimmer, Trippier and Davies will be fresh for the run-in, and that Dembele and Son haven't played the full season, mean we'll have sufficient legs to get to the finishing line?

 

[hodsgod]

I think we aren't pressing as much in some games too, maybe a conscious decision to keep our fitness up.

 

[Snarfalicious]

The only players I'm concerned about are Alli and Kane. The good thing is they have youth on their side. The bad thing is if they were to burn out, that's a huge goal source for us.

 

[dontcallme]

Interested to see how it pans out.

We have strong back up in most positions and our young squad should have good recovery times.

With the likes of Wimmer, Davies, Trippier and Carroll ready to feature I am more confident of us sustaining our performance levels and fitness than I thought I would be.

 

[spursram]

You could add Pritchard and Carroll to that.

I think it's not down to legs but to minds. That's where we tend to lose it.

Kane's situation/position is different, IMO. And none of the players we mention are genuine cover for Kane, IMO.

 

[Bulletspur]

The only players I'm concerned about are Alli and Kane. The good thing is they have youth on their side. The bad thing is if they were to burn out, that's a huge goal source for us.

We coped quite well in the last few games of last season without Alli. While he has been a great addition to our squad this season, he has not been playing well recently as he was earlier. IMO Alli is not the be all and end all as you make him out to be.

 

[hakano]

This is my biggest fear, we were awful from March onwards so bad in fact that i decided not to renew my season ticket after 18 years!!

 

[buttons]

I think the super high pressing game is really only used for prolonged periods on the big games where we are up against teams who are of equal or higher ability than us. Against Sunderland at the weekend the pressing was much more focused and we seemed content to let them have the ball a little more at times, in the knowledge they were so shit they would give the ball back to us at some point. I think we are being much more clever in our play this season so am not overly worried about burn out.

 

[Goldman]

"In Spain, this proved a problem for Pochettino. In his three full seasons at Espanyol, from 2009-12, his side won four of their last 14 matches in the first campaign, two of the last 13 in the second and three of the last 14 in the third.

His record has improved in England, with Southampton winning five of their last 11 in his only full season there, and Spurs claiming six wins from 12 last season"

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/foo...g-on-empty-when-it-matters-most-a3160096.html

Decent article. It could be argued that Poch is refining his methods, or maybe he's got better squads job to job. I think we've seen more rotation in the FA Cup, and hopefully that will help come towards the end of the season.

 

[HotspurFC1950]

We will be ok.

 

[chinaman]

We will be ok.

We'll be more than OK, haha.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

Hopefully he rotates for the nohoper league. That's what will burn us out ultimately. It's no coincidence we've been playing better and scoring 3 or 4 goals in games since we've been on a break from it.

 

[hellava_tough]

You could add Pritchard and Carroll to that.

I think it's not down to legs but to minds. That's where we tend to lose it.

Kane's situation/position is different, IMO. And none of the players we mention are genuine cover for Kane, IMO.

Agree with that.

Think we're in a good poistion right now, because we don't have the added mental pressure of being top of the league, and have not been spoken about in the presee until recently.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

It's not a new theory, and was mentioned as part of another thread earlier this week.
The point is, Pochettino hates rotation in the league. It's like he is afraid it will jinx us or something.
So even if you get players back from injury, it's not a given that it will count for anything.
If the question was specifically about FA cup and EL, I'd be more curious ...

 

[Pat Rice Spurs fan]

Hopefully he rotates for the nohoper league. That's what will burn us out ultimately. It's no coincidence we've been playing better and scoring 3 or 4 goals in games since we've been on a break from it.

Agreed.
I think the problem is we're now good enough that we can beat anybody - and not just if everything clicks for us and the opposition have a bad day.
In the FA Cup, we can't just play the u21s, because in the next round we'll get Chelski, L'Arse, ManUre, Citeh, or the Bin Dippers and get stuffed anyway. Similarly in the Europa, I think there's no-one we can't beat but there's more uncertainty - worries about travel and the potential issues it can have with our league form. And in the league, with Chelski in the bottom half, ManUre and the Bin Dippers struggling for form, are we ever (relatively) going to have a better chance to ...... well, you know, .... do well?
So, if one thing's got to give, which it probably should, I'd look at Europa. I'm not saying that we should play the u16s, more like the team that played against Leicester in the FA Cup replay this week.

 

[DanielCHillier]

Hopefully he rotates for the nohoper league. That's what will burn us out ultimately. It's no coincidence we've been playing better and scoring 3 or 4 goals in games since we've been on a break from it.

We beat Bournemouth 5-1 after a Europa League game . . .

 

[thinktank]

I think the Leicester game showed that we can trust our squad now and I think Poch needed to see that as he's been a bit tentative in this respect so far.

N'jie should be back early March, Pritchard imminent.

I think we're in very good shape.

Fulham's Dembele would be the cherry.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

We beat Bournemouth 5-1 after a Europa League game . . .

That's an exception not the rule.

We labored to a win against palace after a home game with Quarabag

Drew with Swansea after Monaco away

Drew with Arsenal after anderlecht and visibly ran out off steam in the last 15 minutes of a game we dominated for the first 75 minutes

Drew with the most beatable chelsea team for 25 years after Quarabag away in a game anyone could see had taken its toll.

Lost to Newcastle after Monaco at home.

You could also throw in the friendly against Milan 3 days before loosing to man united.

 

[Borks]

Hopefully he rotates for the nohoper league. That's what will burn us out ultimately. It's no coincidence we've been playing better and scoring 3 or 4 goals in games since we've been on a break from it.

It's all a bollocks excuse. We scored 5 vs Bournemouth, 2 vs Swansea, we battered Arsenal and should have had 4 before they scored. A slow tempo game vs Monaco away from home should be no more tiring than chasing shadows in the CL against Barcelona.

 

[Samson]

It's all a bollocks excuse. We scored 5 vs Bournemouth, 2 vs Swansea, we battered Arsenal and should have had 4 before they scored. A slow tempo game vs Monaco away from home should be no more tiring than chasing shadows in the CL against Barcelona.

I would genuinely pick our B team to play Barcelona in the CL.