OK, maybe it's not the end of the season. Who knows? But I felt like talking about soccer, instead of viruses and politics. Everybody feel free to join in! If not for the virus, where do you think we would have finished in the league? 1-5, 6-10, 11-15 or 16-20? We are in 8th place as it stands (above you know who!), but the team was circling the bowl. I'll say we would have finished in the 11-15 range. Most pleasant surprise: Has to be Lo Celso. He is going to be really good. Tanganga also gets a shout out - he came from nowhere. Well, from the academy, but as a less than hardcore fan I had not heard of him. Biggest disappointment: Lots of nominees here, but the winner is Ndombele. Looks great for a few minutes, then stands around with his thumb up his bum. And he had a full preseason with the team. Also worthy of mention: Sessegnon. I had not paid that much attention before we acquired him, but he was playing in England and Spurs had tried to get him in previous transfer windows, so I expected he would be good. But he can't even get into the squad most games. Foyth. I thought this would be the year he got significant playing time. Pochettino. I thought he was doing a great job with the team but, for whatever reason, the players stopped playing for him. Maybe one day we'll find out what went wrong. Son. I love this guy, but he started the season on a red card suspension then got two more reds. Not helpful. The defense in general. Way too many goals allowed - WTF? Biggest mistake in the offseason: Not replacing Llorente. My biggest concern for next season (whenever that may be): No money to bring in better players. What do you guys think?
Pretty fair assessment, though I thought Spurs would finish in Europe, just barely. For me, my biggest disappointments have been, in order: Levy - for not sacking Poch earlier Poch - for not getting enough out of his players The defense in general - way to many goals allowed Sessegnon - what has he done? Ndombele - At least he has a bit of brilliance here and there, but really underwhelmed for expectations and price Kane - Another long term injury. The big concerns I have for the team going forward are the defense, in general. Both Vert and Alde are getting old, and there is only Sanchez who can fill in, and even he is prone to the occasional mental blunder. Also, Spurs need to think about replacing Lloris. He is also getting up in age. I like Gazza, but don't think he has the ability to take Spurs to the top the way Lloris did/could have. The big question is if Kane will be sold. I doubt it, but he would provide a hefty chuck of change. But he also has the injury history would would make his price drop from that stupid 200 mil I saw mentioned.
Biggest Disappointments 1) Poch loosing the team. I will want to read that story. He seemed brilliant until suddenly he was a dim bulb. 2) Hiring Mourinho. I believe his toxic narcissism, second only to the current occupant of the White House, will destroy this club. Futhermore, his time has passed and he won't even have a season that appears to justify his cult of self-glorification. I imagine a season in which Poch is who he was in the early years, with some transfers to genuinely freshen the team. Another forward of quality to take the relentless schedule pressure off Kane, a strong defensive mid or center back to defend forcefully, not in a constant panic. Those two things would make all the rest of the team better because they could play foot-forward rather than on their heels. We'd be easily in Europe, but nobody would be challenging Liverpool. That's some beautiful stuff we've seen happening over there. And, officially award Liverpool the trophy. They deserve it.
I, too, want to talk about football. But then I think about Spurs, and I want to go back to talking about viruses and politics.
Poch blew it from the very first game when he started Eriksen on the bench and left Vertonghen out of the squad. It was too drastic and he quickly lost the players. For some reason, he didn't play Tanganga, which would have been the perfect move if he was going to leave Vertonghen out of the squad. The Mourinho hiring has been a total disaster. He has been unable to improve the defensive play of the team. I put this down to poor coaching and tactics. Mikel Arteta came into the Arsenal and immediately improved what was a shambolic defense, while we still concede idiotic goals.