Now
let's move on…
After
Wednesday’s game, this game was going to be a wet squid. Nevertheless, we came
close to getting a draw on many occasions. But we lost, and now we must concentrate
on fighting for a top 4 spot. Luckily Only an Arsenal win can overtake us. If
Chelsea win and leapfrog us, then we will have a game in hand over them. And if
United win their next game, they can only draw even, but we will stay ahead on
goal difference. Granted, little pieces, but we’ve got to clutch onto anything
we can.
Spurs
have lost five successive away games for the first time since May 2004, a run
of six under manager David Pleat. We’ve also lost 11 league games this season,
as many as we had in our previous two campaigns combined (4 in 2016-17, 7 in
2017-18). None of this is good reading, but what it does say is that we can’t
progress further under this team. In the summer we need to refresh our squad
otherwise we will crash downwards.
Son
Heung-min may not have punished City on Saturday, as he did on Wednesday, but
his performance confirmed he will be something to be reckoned with in the
absence of the injured Harry Kane. When Kane is missing, weight inevitably
shifts on to the shoulders of the Son, but it is an added burden he carries
lightly. Son was the man who had the Etihad's nerves on edge whenever he had
the ball or was in the general vicinity of it. He brought crucial saves from
Ederson and played with the pace and power that now makes him out as one of the
Premier League's most excellent forwards. Nevertheless, we could not quite duplicate
our heroics of Wednesday when, even though we lost 4-3 on the night, we made it
through to the Champions League semi-finals on aggregate.
As
for the match: Phil Foden's first Premier League goal returned Manchester City
to the top of the table, pushing Liverpool into second. To be honest, I would
rather see City win the title than Liverpool.
What
next? Well, on Tuesday we face Brighton at our new stadium, with both teams
desperate for a win, but for different reasons. Brighton need to win to stave
off a relegation possibility. We need a win to help us with a fighting chance
for a top-four place. That match is followed by West Ham on Saturday, again at
our new stadium. Any game against West Ham can be tricky. Once those games have
been completed we then return to Champions League football and Ajax, and
without Son. Do we have enough in our squad to cope without Kane and Son? Well,
it will undoubtedly test our resolve. Whatever the outcome is, and reiterating
what I said earlier; this squad has gone as far as it has. We need to now to
rethink, refresh and start anew for season 2019/2020. Who will come and who
will go, well, that is question Pochettino and his team need to ponder.
For
those who are feeling down after Saturday’s game, just remember, we stopped
City from reaching the Semi-Final of the Champions League and replaced them
with ourselves…
Let
us dream a bit; Tottenham Hotspur v Barcelona in the Final of the UEFA
Champions League… a dream or a real possibility? Well, they said we wouldn’t
qualify out of the group stages, we did. They said we couldn’t beat Borussia
Dortmund, and we did, then they said that Manchester City would make mincemeat
out of us, and we ended knocking them out of the competition. They said… yeah,
they said… they can go and flagellate themselves, because what we say… is “To
Dare is to Do,” and we have dared and we have shown them that anything is
possible in the world of football. How does the song go again… #Pochettino’s
blue and white army…#
Or
#
To dream the impossible dream
To
fight the unbeatable foe
To
bear with unbearable sorrow
To
run where the brave dare not go#
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