Looking back at Tottenham over recent years, times of tantalisingly attractive football, passion seeping out of the seams of White Hart Lane and an unbridled desire to prove their worth has ultimately been overshadowed by what has been a dismal 4 years for Tottenham fans.
In a head-to-head between Spurs and Chelsea, Ange Postecoglou faced former Lilywhites manager Mauricio Pochettino at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a ground that has seen both managers employ a similar approach to the game with a number one priority: entertain the fans.
The years of Pochettino are looked at fondly by Spurs fans. Tottenham had never reached the heights of an elite super club, rather a likeable club with an appealing attitude to the game. However, that formula was discarded like fodder in a desperate attempt to become that powerhouse whose name struck fear into opposition’s hearts.
Irony is embedded in the quote “Even with
five men, we’ll give it a go”. Spurs fans will undoubtedly spew an endless stream of distaste and seething aversion to what Spurs had become prior to Ange’s hiring. Where Ange promises his high-pressing football will be the norm no matter the number of men, former Tottenham managers delivered on the complete opposite. Tottenham lacked a consistent identity that the fans could relate with, one that they had vehemently supported in the past.
Tottenham’s strong start to the season has been undeniably impressive, but also a curse of expectation. Ambition has never been lost on the Spurs faithful, so when Spurs march into Chelsea at home with egos rightfully high, high spirits were bound to collapse, as it always had for Tottenham. As well as ambition, however misplaced it may be on occasion, the Spurs DNA has always had a bottle to it.
Unbeaten in 10 matches, Tottenham faced their first loss in the season (4-1 to their rivals). Yet, at full time the stands raised to their feet and gave their men a standing ovation. The result hadn’t mattered to them, something more important and poignant had culminated on the grass that day.
Tottenham were 9 men down following a highly eventful first half, missing the vital Micky van de Ven and fielding players emblematic of darker times at Tottenham like Eric Dier. Yet, we witness the entire Tottenham backline sit comfortably at the halfway line anticipating a counter attack from Chelsea. A kamikaze Spurs side had been completely dismantled and still threw themselves into the game-with everything to gain and everything to lose, a risk that would inevitably fall flat, but a risk put forward with conviction nonetheless.
“To Dare Is to Do” coursed through the veins of every white shirted warrior that night, combatting previous displays of lethargy and backhanded comments from figures such as Antonio Conte, which suggest Tottenham have no vigour nor passion to play for the shirt. An astute judgement by the Italian, however, one that doesn’t apply when a team can express themselves and flow freely rather than forming a rudimentary wall to fend off losses while leaving Spurs fans snoozing in their very seat.
Going into the matches ahead, Tottenham will look to apply that same pressure and aggression needed for the title challengers they’re touted to be. Spurs have shown to be a wholly different side since the Aussie manager’s revolution and undoubtedly have the potential to go all the way.