Still winning the league, innit

Deary me. A score draw that feels like a defeat. Let’s not make the same mistake we made against Newcastle, right? Don’t leave anything to chance, or luck or micro indiscretions where the ball is retained and not booted down field. Don’t and yet we do. Three goals up and we somehow engineer to fudge it up.

Oh Tottenham m8.

Two avoidable conceded goals and a ‘it wont go in 99 out of 100 times’ wonder shot. All in the space of eight minutes (including injury time) to practically resign the opening sixteen minutes of brilliance that had us prematurely celebrating an easy win to the archives of redundancy.

Football. It’s proper twatted us here.

Was this a quintessential Spursy moment that is part of our cultural footballing DNA or just a by-product of what football can sometimes dish out? A sequence of events, moments, margins and inches. Had Harry Kane’s shot not struck the post. Had Gareth Bale’s mazzy footwork not ended with the ball being slotted wide of the net. You can dwell on Harry Winks trying to get something on the ball. Or perhaps muse that Snodgrass throwing himself to the ground for a foul against Serge and then blocking off Winks was the perfect showcase of an intelligent c*nt.

The irony of Bale not scoring was brutal, in terms of expected narrative. But the reality is we sort of deserved what we got. We invited it. Spurs were surprisingly passive in the second half compared to the relentless and unapologetic violence when dismantling United beyond the hope of an impossible comeback at Old Trafford. We got none of the inherent dominance to bully them to oblivion.

Was it a conscious effort to reserve energy with Thursday in mind? Arrogance? Misplaced confidence?

Let’s be honest, even if you were nervous about West Ham doing the impossible, it was still so improbable to play out and yet here we are looking back at a 3-3 classic game of two halves. The nervousness is a natural trait for most football fans, something we (THFC) often claim copyright too. But to collapse so easily in the final minutes of the game was a collective sinkhole all involved fell into.

Mourinho should have retained that ruthless mantra even at 3-0. Sure, we were unfortunate not to score again. You could argue we were giving West Ham possession and then countering. But it needed a more proactive combativeness edge. There is no doubt we are tremendous going forward and we’ll out score most this season. Kane and Son are in unplayable, ridiculous form. But defensively we remain a bit soft. Especially from a set piece. But sure, this is hindsight. When we made changes, the game was dead. It was dead. But then so was Spurs out in Amsterdam. Football has a way of reanimating and bringing back to life the impossible.

For me personally, it felt as uncomfortable as switching from a Disney movie to a snuff film.

Regardless, everyone is defending with a softness currently, in the Premier League. I’ll be fearful if another team suddenly started to display a commanding backline. This game again proved that if you dare to have a go, you’ll have a chance.

Perhaps more pragmatic and less expansive substitutions would have helped cement the result. Or maybe I’m looking too deeply into it, considering the equaliser was a worldy. But then, had we won 3-2 or even 4-2 – the problems we have are still evident in the aftermath regardless.

Serge and Sanchez (who was ominously untidy from the start) had ‘mares in pockets of play. The midfield surrendered too much of the ball. The moment Ndombele left the field of play was the moment, for me, where we validated the hope for West Ham to keep going because we could be got at. Credit to them by the way. They never let their heads drop. They kept playing at a consistent level of tempo. I’m fine with them gloating. Who wouldn’t?

Let’s face it, we once celebrated a 0-0 parking of the bus at Stamford Bridge like it was a victory. And the incredible 4-4 draw at the Emirates. But that was then and Spurs aren’t the same team or even the same club, culturally (regardless of the Spursy tag). We play at a higher level and stating ‘we could contend for the league’ is no longer a sign of complete insanity.

Our players, also, never seek to score points on social media like Arsenal, Chelsea and the Hammers have done. Which in some ways makes me feel good, that regardless of us being ‘a small club’ or having ‘over-rated players’, we remain the centre of their attention and identity for hate. So much so, that other clubs have a policy of forcing their players to ‘play the meme game’ on social media to make their fans feel extra good. Not that they need it in this case.

Living rent free in their heads etc etc. There is nothing new here. And let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for our ego and our want to get the last word in whilst duelling with a random avatar on Twitter – you’d discount all their noise the moment they say ‘Kane isn’t any good’ and ‘only scores against muck’.

Muck in this case appears to be every other club he comes up against. There is no logic to laughing at a rival. So, allow it. Both ways.

Just a quick note too that Kane is a phenom. I knew we would score the moment he looked up, before releasing the perfect ball to Son. I was already celebrating. This is Neo in the Matrix skills from the boy. Immense passing. To think, to actually think some of our own questioned Kane being past his best (thanks to injuries) and here we have the most complete forward in the world on current form (fight me). Scorer of goals, creator of goals. Damn it Tottenham, win something this season. Crown him.

Anyways…

You wouldn’t be a fully fledged football supporter if you didn’t feel aggrieved for giving away two points in such lethargic fashion. I’m still, generally, very positive about Spurs. The issues we have, they’re fixable. I’d be more concerned if we had nothing going forward and we have EVERYTHING going forward. The midfield is also top drawer. And even with lackadaisical errors occur at the back, these freakish performances won’t litter our season in the months ahead. I know this because Jose won’t allow it and what needs refining is the collective nucleus of this teams philosophy.

To be winners, behave like winners by fighting like winners.

At no point in the game did West Ham feel defeated or behave deflated by what we dished out. Murder them like we murdered Manchester United. Game-manage and player-manage like nothing is certain in football, because nothing ever is.

That’s three home games now and no win. Which feels surreal. We’ve lost one game in fifteen. Things are happening at Spurs. Good things. We just need to sharpen up a touch. The learning curve is steep and unforgiving and I have faith that everyone accepts accountability and steps up to improve further.

It’s still early days, five games in, but if we want to take advantage of yet another strange pandemic hit season – we need to stop dropping points if we really want to stake a claim to a top four or top one (say it, believe it) position. We need to start defending with the same force of nature we possess when we’re on the attack.

In this day and age, it comes down to momentum. Others will falter, suffer the cycle of change. With us, if we do well, it will be labelled as an over achievement or a fairy-tale. I’d prefer to tag it with ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ quote. Our parts are pretty decent. The whole is as good, on its day, as anyone else. The ability to project this mentality on opponents is the difference maker. Being able to do it consistently and in games that are crucial, pressured moments in the season. This is Mourinho’s speciality, so we have the players – can the manager inspire us to the next level that has so far been out of reach? This will rely on us being the best we can be but also hoping that the likes of Liverpool and City suffer a little indignity with their own form.

There’s no reason we can’t give it a go. Get all the mistakes out early doors and then push, push and push for it. So that’s it right? No more mistakes? We got it all out of our system? Maybe best to wait until game week 15 to truly know our standing in the race.

Onwards.