As it’s typical of Sports’ capacity to uplift in troubled
times, the football this week has offered a temporary escape from Europe’s troubles.
French footballers and managers as well as Belgian footballers have had a lot to
deal with this week and their courage and professionalism should be applauded. It
was asking a lot of English footballers, some of whom struggle with ‘God save
the Queen’ to master the French national anthem as it played at premiership grounds
across the country. I have to admit that while I too struggled with the words, this
Englishman did find himself humming "La Marseillaise" with rather
surprising gusto prior to our shindig with West Ham. Perhaps it was solidarity
with Spurs and France captain Hugo Lloris who has conducted himself with
absolute class and dignity this week, looking understandably emotional before
proceeding to provide his usual assured presence in goal.
In recent years
the bubble blowing Hammers have been getting ideas above their station. Empowered
by a few good recent results against Spurs and because they ‘beat’ Spurs to squatters
rights at the Olympic stadium (at tax payers’ expense), they suddenly think
they are a sort of ‘Man City of the South’ without the petro dollars. So it was
nice to put the pesky irritants in their place on Sunday with a performance which
in keeping with the mood of solidarity with France had plenty of Va-va-voom.
Coach Mauricio
Pochettino should not really surprise premiership managers anymore. After almost
three years in English football, His modus operandi is beatifully simple. We will outrun,
out press and out hustle you and then score as many goals as we need to defeat
you. As philosophies go, it is one of the easier football mantras to get your
head across. And yet, team after team have struggled to get the better of the
philosopher and his band of merry men (well merry boys really) as Spurs equalled
the club record unbeaten run. Watching Spurs tear into West Ham like a pack of
hungry hounds across ninety breathless minutes was very uplifting indeed and
you know you are having a good day when the occasionally maligned Kyle Walker scores the fourth goal of
with the outside of his right foot. With a third of
the season gone, no team has outplayed or dominated Spurs who are only four points off the top a fairly open looking league. Premiership contenders? probably not, but the question does not sound as ridiculous as it once did. That is not an
accident and Pochettino deserves a lot of credit for masterminding an impressive turnaround. Unlike some managers
(thinking about a certain B Rodgers here), who had plenty to say for himself and about
Spurs, Poche has simply got on with the job, methodically reconstructing the
team and saying little. He is not a journalist’s dream to interview, but by
golly he appears to be a players’ dream coach.
Nobody thinks this
is the finest group of players ever to wear a Spurs shirt although some of
these players have the opportunity to create their own legend. The focal point
is a striker in only his second full season of top flight football. The engine
room is made up of a 19 year old who before this season was plying his trade in
league one and a Portuguese academy product, also in his second premiership
season whose day job is as a Centre back. Yet, such is the impact the team is having
that pundits across the land are raving about Tottenham’s midfield, England coach
Roy Hodgson played said midfield to good effect against a classy if understandably slightly below par France and the ultimate complement,
the ‘Tottenham Press’ is creeping into English football lingo, much like the ‘Makelele
role’ or the ‘Sheringham role’
Back in those
uncertain days of August (seems a long time ago), the Berahino saga was drawing
to an undignified conclusion, Harry Kane was a one season wonder as he hadn’t
scored, Spurs dropped points to Stoke and Leicester from winnable positions and
Tim Sherwood still fancied himself as a decent premiership manager for the
indisputable reason that Tim Sherwood believes it. Heck, you could have got
reasonably short odds on Pochettino being sacked this side of Christmas. Spurs
fans by nature and years of last gasp disappointment are instinctively inclined
to temper optimism with large dollops of trepidation. However, maybe, just
maybe, in Pochettino, Daniel Levy has stumbled on the man to lead Spurs into
the promised land of not just the new stadium, but the Champions League.
Next up, the badly
wounded but not quite killed lion that is Champions Chelsea and the ultimate
spoiler, Jose Mourinho. Can Poche kill off Chelsea as a Champions league
qualification contender once and for all or will the special-ish one prick the
bubble of optimism that is building at White Hart Lane?
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