A Not-so-Harsh Reality

A Not-so-Harsh Reality

“It’s gonna take time”, “Have patience”, “Get behind the new manager”- just some of the phrases that were passed around in the summer. All of a sudden, people are fuming with the team because of a draw, some even bemoaning the supposedly lacklustre play, when in fact it’s some of the best stuff we’ve seen since the Harry Redknapp era. Fuses are proving short amongst the Tottenham ‘faithful’.

Much of this past week has been overshadowed by the uncertain future of our club’s ownership, with ENIC releasing a statement to deny they went so sell up despite interest from Cain Hoy. Unbelievably, some fans want this deal to go through. Whilst our new stadium isn’t coming as soon as we hope, we’re still in financially safe hands. We don’t spend beyond our means- what if new owners didn’t see the financial risk? ENIC have served us well for very long, however frustrating they may be.

Now, to on the field matters. Yes, we threw away a lead twice at Sunderland, but we played them off the park, yet some aren’t admitting that. The defending for the first goal was bad, and Harry Kane switched off for the second- that’s only two mistakes. “We shouldn’t be making any mistakes”- that will improve over time. Poch isn’t an idiot, our weaknesses are obvious, which is why he brought in wholesale defensive reinforcements in the transfer window (on another note, I imagine none of Dier, Kaboul, Chiriches or Rose will start in a fully fit XI). Once the back four gels together like the interchanging front four, we’ll be fine- but it takes time.

You can’t tell me you expected us to go through this season winning every single game by three goals- our first two games were a sign of what’s to come, not what will be the minimum, and people need to realise that. We will slip up, and if we don’t make mistakes along the way this season, we won’t learn from them.

Admittedly, we should have scored more than the two we did at the Stadium of Light, but when a certain Spanish striker returns from injury, I believe we’ll see the best of him. Only two goals from open play last season was a harsh statistic for Soldado, who was a good performer, just was shy of confidence and morale. Don’t forget he lost his unborn son last season, but is expecting another child very soon- imagine the confidence boost, an extra edge, another reason to be motivated. Whilst he didn’t score many, Bobby certainly impressed with his link up play last year, proving he has a good eye for a pass and is instinctive around the box and not just in it. If only we were playing in a system where we had an interchangeable forward line…oh wait.

Four games into his first real run in the Tottenham team and Erik Lamela is already being turned on. That’s ridiculous. The lad scored a superb volley on international duty where he rubbed shoulders with Angel di Maria and Sergio Aguero, but some are protesting about his lack of footballing ability and intelligence. He troubled the Sunderland defenders when given the chance, which is why he was fouled so many times- that’s how they planned to neutralise the immediate threat. Oh, and he nearly had a Gareth Bale-like moment when he hit the bar, but let’s forget that great effort shall we?

If success isn’t immediate, people panic. Pochettino’s project won’t be perfected after four games- get a grip.