THE EPL HOME RUN

» Posted by on Feb 25, 2016 in Football | 0 comments

Several weeks ago, I wrote a piece about Pochettino’s men down White Hart Lane. What I couldn’t understand then was why the pundits were not including them in the title race and I questioned why the work done daily at the Spurs training ground was repeatedly ignored as the pundits continued to shine the light on Arsenal, Leicester and Man City.

Last Sunday, I was eventually vindicated as Tottenham flogged Manchester City as FC Barcelona would flog any opponent that stands their way. Manchester City were nowhere near the ball in the first half and each time they had the ball, they lost it within twenty seconds. At some point the possession stats were 71% -29% to Tottenham and Yaya Toure looked lost beside Raheem Sterling and Silva. Even as Fernando and Fernandinho ran their hearts and legs out, they couldn’t get anywhere near the boys in white as the Saints truly marched on at the Etihad.

The only worry I had for Tottenham was how they would manage playing top flight European competition on Thursdays, mange the FA Cup and the EPL title run-in. Crashing out of the FA Cup against Palace I believe is a blessing in disguise as they can now face two top competitions between now and the end of the season. Don’t be fooled, as I have said before, Pochettino and his boys are in the mix and they have the drive, the energy and the personnel to go all the way, and they also have Mauricio Pochettino.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in their next few games as they continue to hunt for silverware, but mark my words, Tottenham would be among the favourites as the season draws to a close.

 

 

Arsenal also came alive last Sunday at the Emirates, with desire, attitude, work rate, pressure, discipline and some determination, as they won a closely fought encounter against fellow title chasers, Leicester City FC. Two years ago, Arsenal would have lost that game in the first half, last year Arsenal would have lost the game midway through the second half, but this Arsenal team won the game with the last kick of the game.

To win the league, you have to have skill, finesse, flair, craft, energy, power, strength and goals, and Arsenal packed the lot in on Sunday, showing us that this is a new Arsenal with two FA Cup medals and a renewed confidence to go on and win the elusive prize. Their display against Barcelona has also shown that Arsenal too can ‘park the bus’ if they have to. Coquelin, Wellbeck, Oxlade and Walcott joining the team makes the team more solid in its spine so it’s game on Arsenal, although I can’t predict yet the impact the games against Barcelona would have on them and their morale.

 

 

Leicester FC have it all, a fantastic team spirit, a positive manager, fanatic supporters and self driven players all over the park. The hall marks of a Premiership winning team are all over LFC and if this team was Chelsea or Manchester City, the pundits and the bookers would have handed them the title for a certainty. So why not LFC, you ask? Can they handle the pressure of the run-in? Can they bounce back from the defeat at the Emirates? Can the players handle the pressure of being favourites? I have been there and it is not easy when you drive to the bank or the shops and the local people keep asking ‘Are we going to do it?’ ‘Can we win it in our stadium?’ ‘Are you staying next season?’ This is where reality finally dawns on the team and they know they are actually on top of the premier League. Can Ranieri drive his highly motivated chaps over the finish line? As the final whistle went at the Emirates stadium, I looked at Claudio Ranieri as he stood glued to one spot, staring into space, oblivious to the motions around him and even the emotions of his players. He knew the last second defeat was a huge psychological blow, he knew it would take a lot to get it out of his players minds and he knew a pat and a positive word or two would not be enough. Perhaps he starred into the long break (FA Cup, Champions League) that was about to come his team’s way, would it have been better if they were five or eight points ahead during the long break? I hope he recovers himself and his team on time, as they face the crucial month of March and the last bend of a fantastic 400m race.

 

Well done to Guus Hiddink for changing the fortunes of Chelsea FC. Chelsea now play with such freedom and style that was characteristic of them for the most part of last season; goals, power, flair and as the Germans say, ‘Fussball Kunst’ (Football art)

It is a different feeling though when a team has lost the season’s main objective and are fighting for pride, because you have to prove a point and shut the critics up. From relegation waters and Capital One Cup exit and from favourites to underdogs, Chelsea have endured a hard season and even Roman would not expect much this season.

Next season however, the pressure would be back on again, the expectations would be high, the standards raised and the Roman would once again demand the big two and the other two; The EPL, Champions League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup.

Do the players have the mental capacity to cope at such a time? Time will tell.

 

And to LVG, I commiserate. It has turned pear shaped at Old Trafford and it seems like United just want to do things honourably by letting him see out this season before appointing someone else.

It would probably be the last shot at a big club for LVG and it saddens me to see him go out the way he is. Injuries have not helped – but does that have anything to do with training methods – and too many new faces and new players mean that the team is constantly changing and unbalanced.

At least he had a go. Three years without a title and the prospect of missing out on Champions League is becoming increasingly damaging for United and if this problem is not addressed within the next two windows, what happened at the Kop may just be heading United way too.

 

 

 

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