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Was the Chelsea victory a watershed moment?

5 min read
by Vass Koni
Vass Koni looks back at the Chelsea game and realises that it was more than just gaining three points against rivals, it was about gaining a new perception on our football and our style.

Who knew? I mean really, who expected that? I know that we all hope to put in a performance and maybe sneak a 1-0 or a 2-1 victory against title seeking teams, but 5-3, which actually flattered them with a team that included Rose, Townsend, Bentaleb, Mason (partly) and Kane? These guys were in the U21’s a couple of seasons ago. These are developed players who stood toe to toe with “world class” players worth millions and not only did they stand toe to toe, they proved that they had it in them to win and win with some style. How did the commentator describe our fourth goal?

“Gorgeous!”

I couldn’t have summed it up better.

But I mention these players in particular precisely because we didn’t buy them for millions of pounds and because not that long ago they were being derided by Spurs fans. Bentaleb was apparently Sherwood’s love child, and Rose and Townsend were useless.  I had the cheek to predict that Kane would be no more than a Championship level player about ten months ago and how wrong was I about that?

Now I am not saying that these players are going to suddenly propel the club to domestic and European glory. Rose has improved greatly since last season although still needs to learn, whilst Townsend can still infuriate with his decision making and gap in quality. Bentaleb and Kane however were superb that evening and Mason does his job well. But that win altered my perspective on some levels and maybe you have felt it too?

[linequote]I had the cheek to predict that Kane would be no more than a Championship level player about ten months ago and how wrong was I about that?[/linequote]

The “watershed” I refer to relates to the team construction and the pattern of play. Of course the game is about players, but you need a good coach too. No question about that. And we are starting to see that Pochettino has slowly been forming his team from a nucleus of players that can best implement his strategy whilst having assessed and probably now discarded other players that won’t quite deliver what he wants.

The win over Chelsea was all about playing style and tactics and my objective here is not to analyse this but to say that after that victory my perception about the kind of players we need at Spurs changed. I sent a couple of tweets out a few days ago saying that I no longer thirst for “name” players coming to Spurs and that I just want to see players that can fit the system and do a job.

I have no expectations from this transfer window, I never do in January. There is no point raising expectations as whatever happens will happen as there are so many variables in concluding a player contract in January. But if that victory against Chelsea didn’t suddenly make a lot of people realise that Pochettino is on the right track I am not sure what will. I imagine we will stumble along the way this season and struggle in a few games yet, I am prepared for that; but I am more upbeat about what is to come now than I was a few weeks ago against Palace at home for example. There is something happening that we can feel.

[fullquote]If that victory against Chelsea didn’t suddenly make a lot of people realise that Pochettino is on the right track I am not sure what will[/fullquote]

Of course not everyone will buy in to this view. With the transfer window open the mere signing of a player by one of our rivals triggers a mini meltdown. Recent case in point is Bony reportedly to City. Out came the “we could/should have had him last summer”; “we will probably end up with Defoe on loan”; “we will be left buying scraps”; “we won’t be able to shift any of our dead wood” and so on and so forth. Watch for more of such comments as soon as other clubs sign players.

Bony is a very good player but he will be going to ACON for a month now. And we didn’t buy him in the summer probably because we’d had a managerial upheaval; Soldado had only played half a season previously and needed to be reassessed; Kane was coming through; and of course there has to be willingness from four or five parties to a transfer each time: we will just never know if it was even a starter never mind a done deal scuppered by Levy or whoever.

Of course it is easy to get carried away after a victory such as this, but in that one game we got a glimpse of something and a feeling that we Spurs fans have not felt for a long time and if that means we take the good that came out of that game and use it as a foundation to build on then that’s good enough for me.

[linequote]A player’s footballing intelligence, ability or adaptability to a team ethos is not measured in pounds or euros[/linequote]

For long periods this season I struggled to see where this new “philosophy” that the new coach kept preaching about, was coming from. I didn’t really see the evidence. But that in itself is a lesson to us all. Sometimes players and coaches do need time and it may very well be our desire for people to hit the ground running and meet the immediacy of our needs that ultimately challenges what we are trying to build and makes the job harder.

No the Chelsea game changed it for me. If I can see players like Kane and Bentaleb doing what they did, who’s to say that there aren’t other players out there of a similar ilk?

A player’s footballing intelligence, ability or adaptability to a team ethos is not measured in pounds or euros. It is measured nowadays with sport science, tactical philosophy and perhaps who knows black boxes too. So maybe we should all just sit back enjoy the ride, bumpy though it may be, and see where Mr Pochettino takes us. The club has made mistakes in the past. Perhaps we will get it right this time. Let’s hope so.

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

Vass Koni

4 Comments

  1. Brian Trudeau
    09/01/2015 @ 5:51 pm

    Great thought provoking article..

  2. Telling it like it is.....
    11/01/2015 @ 1:42 pm

    Watershed moment? Most definitely not! Yes, the Chelsea game was tremendously exciting but hardly a tactical masterpiece. Did Pochettino neutralise Chesea’s attacking intent and mastermind a 2-0 win? No, he certainly did not as we conceded 19 chances and only a combination of poor finishing and good saves kept them down to just the three goals. We, on the other hand, had one of those days when everything goes in. Kane was on fire and we ended up with a great win despite the poor way Poch continues to set us up where we lose the midfield battle week in, week out and end up relying on individual last minute strikes.
    Having beaten the top of the league our next game sees us up against bottom of the league Crystal Palace and Pochettino decides to go with two defensive midfielders (TWO for goodness sake, against Palace!) Stambouli and Dembele. Why?
    The game starts and we have 75% of the possession but none of it in dangerous areas. Eriksen is forced to come back into our own half just to receive the ball but when looking upfield he has 60 yards to his nearest teammate. Palace had the best chance of the first half (we had no shots whatsoever) as Lloris makes a world class stop from Murray with the latter through on goal.
    As the second half commences, it is clear that changes have been made but sadly it’s the passionate Pardew who has completely outfoxed (again) the hapless Pochettino. Palace look to go wide and break with pace. We change nothing and you just know, or you should do as it happens every week, what’s coming. Lloris makes a point blank save and we also get lucky as a blatant Vertonghen handball in the box is not given. Against the run of play, we then go up the other end and a half-chance falls to Kane who finds the bottom corner with a great finish. Would we use this latest bit of good fortune to kick on and put the game beyond doubt? Not with Pochettino in charge we won’t. He decides to defend the lead even though he should know that his stupid “high 3” system will hardly ever result in a clean sheet. As we go backwards, Palace take control. We desperately need to get Lennon on for Chadli, Soldado on for Dembele and go 4:4:2 with two wingers on the correct flanks (how much longer do we have to put up with this narrow inverted winger nonsense?). No chance of that though as Poch tells Capoue to get stripped and prepare to come on for Townsend. Yes folks, we are seriously going to go with THREE defensive midfielders. As we about to make the substitution, Stambouli makes a rash challenge in our area and it’s a penalty. Gayle makes it 1-1 but incredibly Poch still proceeds with the change. It’s all Palace now and we survive yet another penalty claim following a Walker handball. Pardew is now all energy on the touchline as he senses victory with Poch standing there motionless, arms folded.
    It isn’t long before Puncheon scores but no sitting back for Palace as Pardew roars them forward. Lloris makes another fingertip save and Zaha wastes a couple of late chances. In the end, we are lucky to lose by only 2-1 as Palace climb off the foot of the table.
    Our points tally this season comes DESPITE having Pochettino in charge and is down to the individual brilliance of Kane, Lloris and Eriksen who are papering over the cracks. The sooner we get Frank de Boer in the better.

  3. FatherJack
    21/01/2015 @ 3:14 pm

    Please go and take your plastic materialistic football views somewhere else please like Chelsea or Man City. You guys with the constant negatives are p**sing me off now. Why do you supoort Tottenham let alone a football team if you can’t handle it. People like HarryHotspur and Spursdreamer are scum just like yourself and many others who go on and on, Levy this, ENIC that, boo hoo, it’s like listening to little children. Man up guys, it’s football, it happens the ups and mostly downs. Good job you lot don’t support Portsmouth, Blackpool or Leeds United, would be many people hanging from the rafters.

    • I quite like Portsmouth!
      22/01/2015 @ 8:03 pm

      Firstly, what is a “plastic materialistic football view” and why do you interpret my honest match report as being one? As for Chelsea, Man City, Levy and ENIC I’ve checked and they are not mentioned either! Moving on, I’m not “hanging from the rafters” and it’s you that is p*****off not me. Do you actaully have a view or do you prefer to just slag off those that do?

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