West Brom captain Darren Fletcher has suggested Tottenham may need to wise up and add more experience if they are to win the Barclays Premier League.
Spurs’ chance appears to be over this season after their surprise draw against the Baggies left Leicester just three points away from being crowned champions.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men have won many admirers for their verve and vibrant style of football, but points dropped at home against the likes of Stoke, Swansea and Newcastle, as well as West Brom, look to have cost them dear.
Spurs missed several chances to put the result beyond doubt on Monday night and then seemed shell-shocked when Tony Pulis’ side equalised, failing to respond in the 18 minutes thereafter.
Fletcher, who won four league titles with Manchester United as well as the Champions League in 2008, says title-winning teams are more ruthless.
“You’ve got to rise to the pressure and thrive under it,” Fletcher said, “You’ve got to see it as a challenge and win games ugly. You’ve got to throw people in the box and see games out when you’re winning 1-0.
“Passing the ball out from the back is nice and it’s pretty on the eye but when you’re winning 1-0 against West Brom, you shut up shop, see the game out and hit on the counter-attack. Who knows? It’s not for me to say because Tottenham have had a fantastic season. They’ve been a credit to the league and playing against them is really difficult.”
Tottenham’s time may yet come again, given Pochettino is in charge of the youngest squad in the division, with blossoming talents like Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen all set to improve even further.
There may be a case for adding extra experience in the summer, however, particularly if Spurs have to balance a renewed challenge with a tilt in the Champions League next season.
“To be honest at Manchester United we always had experience – we had Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Roy Keane,” Fletcher said.
Tottenham’s blip means Leicester are on the cusp of completing their fairytale campaign. They need a maximum of three points from their three remaining matches and will win the league at Old Trafford on Sunday with a victory over Fletcher’s former club.
PA Sport
I think that too many pundits have lost reason this season in respect of Spurs and Leicester City.
Leicester City have been decried and their success branded a fairytale, opposed to championed for the wonderful success it has been.
On this very blog, outraged Methodists have demanded that Jamie Vardy be imprisoned in the Tower Of London for having the audacity to swear at a football referee.
The same devout arbiters total guidance have since effortlessly glossed over Dele Alli physically punching an opposing player!
The problem goes beyond petty jealousies, though.
After Spurs smashed Stoke up 4 goals to nil, the Sky Sports anchor began his post match conversation with Jamie and Grahame by informing them that the bookmakers have Chelsea and Manchester United both tipped to return to their erstwhile top four status.
Eh?
There is no reason on God’s green earth that any statistician would make such wild assertions, as there is nothing to base the claim upon.
Yet bookies employ such fine minds.
Sp the only plausible explanation is that Leicester and Spurs do not fit the fiscal narrative.
It’s true.
Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are heavily supported clubs whose support are used to winning.
To make Spurs or the Foxes as favourites for the league next season would be financial suicide. Your average Tottenham fans does not have the balls to bet on Spurs to still be trading at the end of an average season, let alone be crowned ‘Miss Premiership’.
Leicester City won’t take it personally when I say that they are not a huge club. Their online presence is probably on a par with say Sunderland or West Brom.
But beyond all of this bitching, Spurs and City have all the right ingredients to make this season’s shake up of the stars quo quite permanent.
Hell, us doing so well in the end certainly took me by surprise. But it didn’t dislodge my brain and make me believe that we or City somehow fluked it.
Yes, MUFC and CFC in particular imploded, and Arsenal’s season, by the same comparison has been seriously naff, as they have suffered from not having ‘a Spurs’ and ‘ A Leicester’ beneath them to artificially enhance the look of their season.
Whoever wins the season this year will do so with an unusually low complete tally of points.
And a win is a win.
When I look at all the top tier clubs, I only see us, Leicester, Liverpool and – god forgive me – West Ham as actually having a plan when it comes to building on this season.
You build to win.
Which is why this season will be remembered fondly (once it was over), opposed to viewed with any regret.
It was the season that Levy finally didn’t try a smash and grab job.
Funny old game.
