Silver linings

Losing is frustrating. Losing when you don’t deserve to lose is especially frustrating. Last night was one of those games. We weren’t at our best – Bentaleb and Mason, in particular, seemed a touch off their usual pace, and we always looked vulnerable to the Liverpool counter-attack. But generally speaking, we held our own, fought well, and deserved to take something from the match.

Of course, it doesn’t help that we conceded so late on, and that the winner was scored by that pompous, arrogant cheat Balotelli, a player who ranks up alongside the likes of Walcott, Terry, Adam and Szczesny in my personal footballing hatred hall of fame (I’ll never forget him getting away with a stamp on Scotty Parker’s head before going on to score the winner at The Etihad a few seasons ago). Had we clawed our way back into the game from 3-0 down, I would probably feel a bit better, but to lose like that after playing well on the whole feels cruel. Even as I write this on the way to work this morning, I still feel a sense of injustice.

Yet I feel compelled to overcome the frustration and look at the positives here. This is, after all, a Liverpool side to whom we have lost 12-0 on aggregate over our last 3 matches, admittedly now minus Suarez. And this was at Anfield – a ground at which we have only won 6 times in 71 attempts in the League. Moreover, it comes off the back of arguably our best performance of the season against Arsenal, which is sure to have taken its toll both physically and emotionally on an unchanged side. Considering these factors, we can certainly take heart from last night’s display.

[linequote]Without the pressure of worrying about where we might finish, the team has been able to focus on developing the wonderful chemistry and playing style that we as fans are so excited to see return to the Lane[/linequote]

As I wrote a while back, I have never felt that breaking into the top 4 was a realistic ambition for this season. The focus for me has always been on letting Pochettino mould the squad, find the right players to suit his system, and begin to deliver improvements on the pitch. That we are still being spoken about as contenders for a top four spot is testament to the wonderful job that the Argentine and his backroom staff have done so far.

Yet our ambition for the season should not alter just because we are technically in the race for the Champions League. There is a risk that, precisely because we are in the race, we may end up piling pressure back on the squad, raising expectations, and undermining everything that has been achieved so far this season.

Without the pressure of worrying about where we might finish, the team has been able to focus on developing the wonderful chemistry and playing style that we as fans are so excited to see return to the Lane. It is clear that this style can win matches, and in the long run can get us back up competing for those Champions League spots. But in the short term, we would do well to continue to focus on developing our style, and ignore getting drawn into the media hype around the top four that places the emphasis back on achieving results ahead of good performances.

After all, we have seen in recent season how the pressure to get results has had a negative impact on playing style – the slow, dull passing game of AVB being the most striking example. And looking at the successes of the season so far – the emergence of youth, the re-establishment of identity, and the high-pressing game – can we honestly say these would have been achieved had there been more pressure on getting results?

Would Kane have been given his chance ahead of more experienced players in Soldado and Adebayor, or Mason and Bentaleb ahead of Capoue and Paulinho, if we had viewed every point as crucial?

Would the performances and results against Chelsea and Arsenal have been possible had we been more fearful of dropping points, and therefore had sat deeper rather than applied the high-press that saw us turn over possession so frequently and dominate the game?

Our season has been successful so far because we have been fearless, but on the whole, you can only be fearless if you are free from the burden of expectation.

[linequote]In this respect, perhaps last night’s result isn’t the worst thing that could have happened. It should calm the media frenzy following the NLD, and reduce the growing expectation that we will win every game[/linequote]

There will come a time when this style is fully ingrained at the club, when Pochettino has had the opportunity to shape the squad in his own image, to bring in a few new faces, and to ship out those who do not fit the mould. It might take another season yet, or maybe more. At that point, we can begin to raise our expectations again, and mount a serious challenge on the top four. But for now, and for however long it takes to get there, it is imperative that we continue to focus on developing this style and identity, free from the pressure of having to get results to achieve a certain league position.

In this respect, perhaps last night’s result isn’t the worst thing that could have happened. It should calm the media frenzy following the NLD, and reduce the growing expectation that we will win every game. And it reminds us – fans and players – that we are not yet the finished article that we must keep working.

If we are still in the top four fight in May, then fantastic, but let us not get caught up in the media hype – this season is, and always has been, about progress, style, and improved performances. If we continue to focus on that, results will naturally follow in the longer term.