Spurs 2014/15: The man, the boy and the song

Football moves at an unrelenting pace. What has taken place this year? Can you remember back in among all the season defining moments, critical junctures and Super Sunday vs MNF vs BT Sport am kick offs, what actually happened? And if something did happen what does it really matter?

2014/15. The review.

The man

We appointed a man we had never heard speak, removed his translator and forced him to answer our questions. Miraculously he didn’t say anything wrong, in fact he barely said anything to be fair, he towed the party line, said the right PR sentences, signed off and got about his work. The philosophical football jargon AVB swung like a baseball bat was binned and the realness of Tim was cast aside. Our press conferences suddenly became a sound-bite free zone.

Instead of the name, face or ideas, we had Pochettino, the Levy man, the yes man, the “very very important game” man, the fitness coach, the chancer. A man stood on the trapdoor as Levy’s finger twitched. We all thought we knew who he was and what he stood for but we didn’t and still don’t.

What became clear though was…….

We had a man who wore shorts, wore a suit or wore a tracksuit. He sat, he stood, occasionally ranted but honestly it mattered very little. He is someone who does not allow us to pigeon hole him. He is not and refuses to be a stereotype. We became uninterested in anything he had to say or do, apart from what mattered most. The football.

[linequote]He sat, he stood, occasionally ranted but honestly it mattered very little. He is someone who does not allow us to pigeon hole him[/linequote]

In the dark times he delivered two Stoke City defeats, two disasters in Manchester and defeat to WBA, but he gave us nothing but the game. There was no narrative, excuses or “not in my book.” We win, we lose, we sometimes draw 0-0 with Burnley, but it became about us and the team, who he is matters very little.

Nothing is over the top and nothing is manufactured. When a microphone is nearby there is no car window, no body warmer, no wristband or designer stubble.

There hasn’t been any predictions of downward spirals, no pitching the fans against the team and a claim that “we’ve never had it so good.” From the start he has been very open and honest, he is man who has job to do. No ego or agenda, just hard work. He may seem aloof but if anything he has brought us closer to him and the team by giving us players who if they hadn’t been graced with a gift, may have stood next to us singing.

But singing what?

This has been the year of “everywhere you go” it has rang out away and at home. It’s been called small-time, copied by others, looked down upon by many. Is it a mantra? Is it a hymn? No, but should it be looked down on due to its origins?

Never.

Anything that brings noise and passion needs to be embraced. For me it will be synonymous with beating Arsenal and walking up Wembley Way in March. For too long White Hart Lane has been quiet, who really cares if it’s this song that lifts the spirits? It is a means to an end. It is quick catchy and should be harnessed to bring other songs in.

In an ideal world where big money = good players,  the ground would swing to the classics and the new songs would be original, but this isn’t a footballing utopia we live in. This is a world where £26 million buys you a malfunctioning individual and £16million a midfielder who can’t do anything but run.

Everywhere you go, go there a bit cheerier.

The boy striker

The window closed and we were left with our faces pressed up against the glass, condensation clouding our judgement and our view. Most of us thought we had blown it again, another window and another striker-less transfer period.

The ones we had were unimpressive, running jokes, memes, players who we had simply because we couldn’t shift them. We were wrong. Well on two out of three we were wrong.

[fullquote]Kane started bit part, but he became our beating heart[/fullquote]

A young man showed his more talented peers how far hard work and determination can take you. His attitude and those words he spoke after he scored a last minute equaliser ring true.

“Never give up.”

Never allow the negativity to seep into you. Banish the negative “Spursy” meaning, give it a new relevance in modern football. Make it stand for grit, make it the word that describes this young man. His presence inspired last minute wins away to Hull, Swansea, Villa and fabulously close to the end against Arsenal. Kane started bit part, but he became our beating heart.

Harry Kane has been called many things this year, but brave is what I like to think of him. Mickey Hazard loves to repeat the mantra “to dare is to do” but you need bravery to take that first step. He has it. What he lacks in speed, he makes up with grit, what he lacks naturally he hides with repetition, drilling, fitness and focus.

When this season becomes nothing more than a stat it will be his face we see through the numbers. I will remember him punching the ground, letting the ball slip through his grasp and spread across the Wembley turf as he tried to pull it back. He failed but he tried. He lost and we lost with him. For too long we have lost separately. Them and us. Not now.

That start

Sunshine and hope. A new captain and vice-captain. West Ham dispatched in the last minute. Clean sheet, three points.

QPR dismantled. 70 passes? 80? 100? The ball tied to us. Lamela drifting through tackles and a Chadli double.

[linequote]The squad has been downsized already, we may not know who we want but we know who we don’t want, half the battle is won[/linequote]

Open football, attacking football, possession but with intent. That was the new us. We had yet to discover how truly abysmal QPR were, but for that afternoon hope hit new heights.

The football didn’t stay like this, but for those briefest of moments we caught of glimpse of what could be.

When Chelsea claimed the title, the team that had spent the second most amount of time at the top was Spurs. In a season of useless stats, there’s another one for you.

Viva la revolución

Stoke. Dissenting voices. A captain led revolt. New ideas not accepted. The same faces pulling the same tricks, the same faces, looking for the same result but initiating a new chain of reaction which led to a new result, led by new faces and new hopes.

Mason, Bentaleb, a new Rose, Fazio, Dier and on occasions Townsend all behind Kane. The manager stuck this time, the revolt was squashed, its leaders disbanded. Old tricks creating a new improved and unified Tottenham.

The missing men

It has taken Pochettino a year, but for the first time in my memory we start a summer with a core without having to buy one. The squad has been downsized already, we may not know who we want but we know who we don’t want, half the battle is won, now it’s up to those with the money to back the man, this is an unknown concept for Spurs, but this has been a season of firsts, perhaps it will continue.

Next

Kane scored 30+ goals. We scored 5 against Chelsea. We took four points from West Ham despite never being ahead for more than a minute or two.

Predictions are futile, more of the same please. More focus, more passion, more unity. Make us proud Spurs.