Sunday’s Premier League action concludes at Tottenham Hotspur as the hosts face a real test of their fledgling title aspirations as they welcome the champions of Europe, Chelsea, in a London derby.
However, after Tottenham’s perfect three-game start to the PL season was brought crashing down to earth vs Crystal Palace in the last round (L 3-0), the North London outfit has now lost four of their last six PL London derbies (W2).
Of course, one result isn’t enough to de-rail Tottenham’s whole season, and they welcome Chelsea after winning eight of their last ten Premier League home games (L2) whilst keeping six clean sheets in the process. A victory here would top that off, and seal just the third time that Spurs have won their opening three home games of a PL campaign.
As for the visitors, Chelsea can make a statement of intent here after going unbeaten in their opening four PL matches (W3, D1). Solid defending has been key during that time, a Chelsea hallmark under Thomas Tuchel, and the German coach has now guided his side to 23 shutouts since taking charge – the highest number in Europe’s top-four leagues during that time.
I take on board all of your points, it was a different moment in time, I agree. However, during Poch’s time our net spend was about 15th highest over 5 years and our wage bill ranked 7th highest. For example over 50m less a year than Arsenal’s.
With the right kind of recruitment I believe that Poch could get pushing for top 4 again. Sadly though, Levy would never finance a title challenge, he doesn’t want one…
Yes, we do have that identity, we’ve even inspired an Oxford English dictionary entry!
Yes, you can establish some ascendancy as Spurs did for a short while under Bill Nich and that legacy,that momentum, it seems, can keep you up there for some years when, in reality, you’re already slipping away from your best…and then it’s all gone. Spurs are now just a blast from the past, mired in debt, with a decidedly unexciting future to look forward to. With Arsenal’s current travails, too, you could say It’s Grim up North London!
As we see time and again in the modern game, money doesn’t guarantee success but lack of spending usually precludes it!
And given their history of success, I bet they’ll rise again to win league titles etc before we do!
Our identity is that we are a property development company….with a little football on the side!
He sleeps very soundly at night, I imagine, completely unburdened by a normal human being’s self awareness.
I think Poch’s son went to my old school in Hertfordshire, Eastie (there was certainly a Pochettino there!). I think he holds Spurs in his heart but there’s a saying “you can’t go back” and he knows the set up with Levy and Enic; a return to Spurs would be against his better judgement.
Also, during his spell at the helm most of the bigger clubs were struggling, comparatively speaking, ie Man Utd were post Fergie, Man City were still trying to find the right manager to fulfil their potential, Liverpool were in transition, Mourinho upset his lady physiotherapist and his players didn’t want to play for him anymore and Arsenal were having problems as a result of their new stadium and the money that went into it. A trick was missed because, ultimately, Levy and Lewis wouldn’t back the manager, while they ploughed all our money into capital assets.This time around, he would face possibly TWO strong Manchester clubs (not sure whether Ronaldo at his age now will last a long season in England with its frenetic pace. It remains to be seen), a strong Liverpool and a strong Chelsea and we wouldn’t have the financial clout to compete with this lot presently even if we hadn’t ploughed all our money into a white elephant of a stadium.
I wonder what part of the world you’re from; the “Forza” suggests to me Latin Europe (perhaps Portugal) or South America. It is surprising and even concerning that Notts Forest are bigger than Spurs in your parts, doubtless as a result of having annexed the European Cup two years running in the late seventies, whereas Spurs have never won the premier European title and haven’t been our nation’s champions in the past 60 years!
You do make some very good points, I feel, alas our boardroom set up, as you understand it, means that just about the size of it is that we are without much hope.
No we have a chairman who says that there is no correlation between spending and success. A look at the league table would suggest otherwise. In addition who were the semi finalists in the ECL?
Likewise Norwich got promoted last time spent nothing and got relegated.
We are saddled with an owner and chairman whose prime motive is profit for themselves at the expense of the fan base.
What poch side was that? 1-2 games apart not any I can think of in the last 12 months of his tenure…
The problem is midfield PEH & Skipp apart no one else has 90 mins of premier league football in their legs… Sissoko had 90 mins in his legs but played the ball sideways… so we’re back to square 1… arguably worse as Mourinho for all his faults actually improved Kane, Son, Moura & PEH
If he was valued at 140 mill 2 months ago, you can take 40-50% off that next summer…. another lesson in levys football on the field decisions. In fairness theres probably an argument for dropping Kane altogether. I can see us losing 3-0 to to the goons too. They have creativity in their team & pace up top….
Lazy trainer mate. That’s why he rarely gets picked, firstly he hasn’t earned the right to start during the week and secondly he’s not fit enough as a result. He’s a dic*head, a very talented dic*head…
We’ll see but it’s not looking great at the moment…
My point entirely, he got us to a certain level on a meagre budget compared to our rivals.
He just needed continued backing and some intent at board level and I’m pretty sure it was our best chance of winning something major in decades. Success breeds success, it also encourages expectation from the fans. The kind of expectation Levy is terrified of.
Make no mistake, he and ENIC have been playing us for over two decades now. Always ‘building’, and the track record is building towards failure after failure. Just the way he likes it…
Winning stuff? Fu*k that sh*t… I’m quite happy being the 8th richest club in the world.
We look more and more like that mob down the road, with every passing transfer window.
12 years is it in their ‘new’ gaff? all my Goober mates used to say that they were going big time with the new stadium. Proven to be total bollo*ks…
I completely agree. Poch would know what he’s waking into. He would have to be a glutton for punishment. It ck sell feels rather hopeless right now… Hapless too! 😂
You get what you pay for.levy didn’t want to pay any release clauses for managers so settled with the 1 that wasnt employed. Utter disgrace. It’s so messed up I dont know wheater to laugh or cry.
To put into context as a spurs fan from another part of the world. Spurs are known as ” chokers ” ,meaning we always fail when it counts. Only up untill recently could we get spurs kits here and we pay around £200 for a Jersey. Spurs items are the most expensive, I believe with the greed from ENIC that is also hampering growing support for spurs in other parts of the world. Both Manchester, Chelsea, arsenal etc items are delicately cheap and you find them everywhere. We are deluded to think that Levy knows what he is doing in terms of business. Spurs is run to have the least amount of operating expenses with the most amount of profit. I feel bad for the spurs fans in uk where we all know that the rivalry is intense amongst fans from different areas of london etc. Actually Nottingham forest has larger fan base in my country than spurs because of what they achieved long ago. I have been long into construction and running businesses that are worth billions of dollars and the day when spurs was delisted I already knew what Levy and Enic were up to. The only time where we as fans can get rid of Enic is if 10% or so of the shares are available for public to purchase and a fan buys all which will give him a seat at the boardroom. The club belongs to Enic and we have no say. As long as there is no one to report to they will do as they please.THFST is just a sham. Unfortunately we will need to end up below 10th for the rest of the fans to see what is happening to our club. I dont mind loosing to chelsea ,but the manner in which we done was bad.You cant really blame nuno when our club is in need of around 200-300 mill in player investments just to make top 4. This is a result of years and years of neglect in transfer spend.people got Hope’s of Poch joining us again,never willnthat happen once he got a taste of what it feels to manage a real side.Emerson royal,dier ,winks,Davies etc ,these players if we had to sell them,non of them will end up in a top 7 team
Kanes heart isnt in it…. was never going to be after the summers polava…thats on levy…😏
Thats what always happens… the only gap in the past 3 years was those 2 months we were top/thereabouts…. if it was Mourinho he’d be in stocks by now..
Some times I wonder what Poch could possibly do if he returns while the board who did never backed him and sacked him are still running the show with the Baldy on top of everything? boggles the mind.
That’s pretty much what happened.
This too.
This.
He found the wages for Bale last season with no fans attending games, there is money there. Just safely under lock and key, ready for a rainy day that never comes. Unless it were a relegation fight…
No it doesn’t.
They released that kit this week because they’re gonna have a full house in a London derby and max out on shirt sales in the shop. Travel, ticket price, food, drink and a disgusting looking overpriced third shirt! How much change out of £200? To watch us being embarrassed…
The timing of their announcements is typically poor. Enic out.
Do you believe we don’t have the resources?
we have them, what we don’t have is an owner willing to spend it.
Realistically though we are no longer a top 4 side. That train had now left station.
Our fleeting success at being in the top 4 was supposed to be the benchmark to build a better squad. That was according to Levy. Then it was the stadium rebuild. We surpassed all that with a CL final appearance. Since then we have gone downhill at a rate I’ve not seen before at Spurs. Problem is, that trajectory doesn’t look like changing.
it walked out the door when nicholson retired…returned for a while under burkinshaw…fluttered briefly under redknapp again and then flew the coop..probabley for a few hundred years
the players are awash with money also..maybe thats part of the problem?
More WWE villian/hero nonsense too. Lingaard costs them in the week, then scores last min winner. So silly.
Farewell Greavesy. Never forgotten.
The only surprise here is people went expecting a result. Or maybe they just went, burning a great big hole in their pockets.
Utd knocking in late winners ala Fergie era….so predictable.
yep end of the day the players missed are better than the players gained, fernandes, Diaz etc
Look at the bright side, you can always cheer yourself up and order one of our lovey third kit shirts this evening! 😂
Levy always needs a fall guy…
I define success as achieving the best you can on the resources at your disposal. So if you are City or Chelsea then you’ve got to be winning titles and European trophies. If you are Sean Dyche then keeping Burnley in the premier league is success.
we have missed something for years we have all the ingredients for a perfect recipe including the chef (I believe in Nuno) however we don’t have anything written down and don’t know what order to cook in (yes you can blame the chef for this if you wish)
The closest we have to an identity is the phrase ‘spursy’ – that’s the worst of it.
Actually, to be spursy you have to grasp defeat from a winning position…we’re spending less time in winning positions. Maybe we’ve even lost ‘spursy’…
Im being realistic about life under the jackboot of ENIC. You honestly expect me or anyone sane to define success as greater than that after 23 years of mediocrity under these crooks?
Moura and Bergwjin the only missing players today and we all know how little they bring.
So it’s going to be a long season, the first half was encouraging but the nature of the capitulation in the 2nd shows they are missing something fundamental I’m afraid…
We ARE the exact same side as Arsenal.
We watched all their mistakes with the stadium and recruitment and copied their recipe for failure.
The only difference is they kept faith inn Wenger a lot longer than we did with poch.
That sounds like the mantra the Sth London mob used to chant.
Close…
Lucas and Bergwjin are better counter attack players, with Son. So maybe there is a small grain of hope there. I don’t know what L Celso does tbh – he hasn’t got pace, he’s not a playmaker, he doesn’t score or assist, he doesn’t take free kicks, he just ambles about and gets us the odd free kick because he goes down so easily. .
Hoddle was very scathing as well. No movement off the ball and lacking fitness. Michael Owen said we had too many average players. Can’t disagree with any of them.
It’s a tough one to take. Normally we have decent chances to score but today I never thought we would. That was a stroll for Chelsea.
I don’t think we have the players for counter attack football and I also think they don’t enjoy it.
We still need that rebuild and I don’t think “Ninth choice Nuno” is the man to do it.
Top four for a start. On our spending level? You betcha…
Thinking of his salary of 5 million a year plus bonuses…
if it’s true that the club approach Pochettino in the summer about coming back, if that’s the direction of travel then the sooner he gets sacked from PSG the better. Because if he comes back you’re going to know that the coaching and the training are going to be for certain level. I’m not sure he will come back I miss you got significantly more backing than last time.
I think he’s a hopeless romantic and his family are quite settled in North London, so I wouldn’t rule it out.
I don’t want to put everything on Nuno because the recruitment has been atrocious. However, a coach who is out of work that was let go from their previous club, and a club like Wolves, with the greatest of respect, should not be managing Spurs.
Define success ?
It’s criminal what Levy and enic are doing, look at all those loyal fans in that stadium all paying a fortune to watch this. The highest entrance fee in the league I think. How does Levy sleep at nights?
All Spurs fans around the globe deserve better, but these people are spending their hard earned to watch this dross whilst Levy bathes in money. Disgusting.
In recent years, I would say Martin Jol, Redknapp, and Pochettino have delivered the levels of performance and the style of football that fits with what we might all describe as in line with the identity of the club.
People make the case for pragmatism and getting the job done, but our most successful managers of recent times have all got the team playing on the front foot. I can’t remember one pragmatic coach that we’ve had that has been successful, obviously successful in relative terms.
Thought he was playing AM or even DM most of the match with Sonny upfront.
I’m not a fan of Tim, but I can’t disagree with that. Our identity walked out the door with Pochettino.
Was playing Harry Kane on the left one factor that builds the case for Nuno to get the boot?
So now we know what net zero is. Kepa was stood in front of it all game. Only two shots on target is shocking.
He’s a crook in a suit…
😂
We have a split personality under Nuno. We were 2 different teams each half. Tuchel soon corrected the problem, Nuno couldn’t, by the time he realised it we were 2-0 down.
But sometimes they look like they want to press and attack and then they retreat and sit deep.
You mean our DNA lol.
Tim Sherwood on DAZN summed up Spurs perfectly. He said he doesn’t know what Spurs’ identity is.
I’m sure we have the best cabbage patch and herb garden too! 🤗
Anyone see Paratici and Hitchen celebrating? I must have missed it.
Cheer up guys come Jan we’ll have Steve Hitchens (yes…..he’s still at the club) recommending some great signings…
Well, Levy only brought him in last time to save his backside, he may well do it again. The man has no shame…
At least we’re winning the training facilities battle…
Only 3 …. every cloud
Jeez we’re cr*p
Don’t forget the £5 million salary a year as well, which he increased after we moved into the new stadium a year late…plus I think he’s given himself a higher bonus than £2 million
Yep, widely accepted we played the best football most consistently across Europe for 2 seasons without wining anything.
Probably a bit of a stretch but we were up there under Poch and only held back by you know who..
From a Champions League final to this after moving to the ‘Best Stadium In The World’. You could not make it up… 😡
I won’t be warming to Emerson Royal anytime soon. Dele’s improvement is so glacial it sometimes seems he’s going backwards. As expected, neither Tanguy nor GLC completed 90 minutes. Nor did Romero. The last 20 minutes felt oddly like a pre-season game Chelsea would play against their under 20s.
But the most frightening thing is how easy it was to make us fold completely. Chelsea had a backbone when we pressured them in the first half. We capitulated at the first time of asking.
Given our inability to turn up in away games, I’m not looking forward to the derby. “But we were top after three games!” – yeah, and Arsenal were bottom. If we lose next week, they’ll be above us. Funny how the league works, eh?
That’s 8 goals conceded in 3 games, lucky we strengthened our defence in the summer wasn’t it?
What, us and Poch were best in Europe?!
Why would he care, stadium pretty much always sold out. Pretty sure he could take a p*ss on the Spurs flag and most of these fans would forget after a week, the Super League fiasco showed us this…
Mason is looking like a super coach
Mid table derby coming up next week…ohh can’t wait
Bring back harry!😂
Haha this is reminiscent of last season.. 2nd half we’re gassed. .called that out on this blog numerous times… Net result we concede goals mid- late 2nd half…. time, after time….. Nuno will be gone by mid Feb & we’ll be languishing around 10th-12th come Xmas..
I keep saying Christmas, could be a lot earlier at this rate, Rednapp should keep his phone on….
Of course we could have had Conte but Levy nearly had kittens when he was told that he would win trophies if he was given financial backing. The mere mention of those 2 words sent Levy out the window and shinning down the drainpipe like the rat he is.
Buying remoulds instead of new.Never works.
Yeh but yeh but yeh but it’s the CL winners and we are re-building….yawn….this isn’t a re-build, its a dismantle…
Aint that the truth ,,hand me some cheese pls.
I’d bite Potters hand off to bring him in. Nuno is just a poor mans Mourinho.
There’s not a lot you can say is there?
Is it too late to get Potter? “Ninth choice Nuno” out!!!
I’m an eternal optimist, what can I say 😂
I honestly think that’s feasible.
And Rudiger, 3 defenders putting us to the sword. What a mess.
How to destroy the best team in Europe with the best manager in Europe, in just a few transfer windows. By Daniel Levy.
Silva and Kante scoring, depressing stuff. Our three marquee signings all can’t finish 90 mins, two of them look knackered after 20.
It could’ve been eight.
This could have been six
A magnificent stadium with a p*ss poor team, well done Mr Levy. Enjoy spending your 2 million bonus. You’ve really earned it mate…
Good night, I’ve had enough.