Tottenham’s renaissance under Sherwood was further evidenced by the teams best away form in fifty-three years. No Spurs manager has had a better start to life in the dugout. Winning as many as five away games on the trot is also another record for the history books. Adebayor, the once forgotten man who is now the favourite man, has seen his fortunes upfront pay dividends with the faith bestowed upon him by the gaffer.
Born to be free
We won our last game against Crystal Palace, albeit the circumstances of that win were highly fortuitous when one considers how poor we were in the first half. That game could have been easily settled in the first forty-five minutes in Palace’s favour. However, the power, skill and belief Spurs employed to outwit a very decent Swansea outfit, is a testament to the teams resurgence from a not so convincing display a game before.
The anxiety complex that seemed to zap us from being adventurous during AVB’s reign seems to have disappeared now. The balance of the team and the bodies we get forward when we attack is a lot more sharp, flexible and more delightfully unpredictable. We are still seeing a well marshalled and disciplined lineup, yet still finding the ability to express liberty and freedom in attack. It’s safe to say the shackles are well and truly off now and we can all look on with great enthusiasm from this point.
Tinker-bell Tim
A lot was made of Tim’s ‘dinosaur’ philosophy and blueprint for Spurs’ way forward with his insistence on 442. I was a little disheartened with how quick some Yids were to criticise Sherwood and pour scorn on his managerial qualities, despite his positive return on results thus far. Unconvinced Yiddo’s have continued to question whether the gaffer can tinker the squad in proportion to the opposition and against Swansea, we saw another side to Tim’s strategic acumen. Not many would have anticipated he would employ a 4231 system. Yes 4231. The one that failed so miserably for AVB in the end. Yet, the change in formation worked effectively and ensured we did not get suffocated by Swansea’s air-sucking possession football. Ade was positioned as our forward lynchpin and many of our good play reverted from his exceptional abilities to hold off his man and invite our own players into the game. If I had to score Tim for his tactical awareness and application, I’d give him a 9.
The biggest room
It was a majestic performance against Swansea and every player did their bit. Eriksen is continuing to provide that creative spark. Lennon is looking more like his old self. Bentaleb another one of Tim’s punts, has been a revelation. Our defenders have not been sublime but for the most part have been reliable and sturdy. It’s not all perfect though and like they say the room for improvement is the biggest room in the world. There are key injured players to come back who can give us more steel and impetus as there are catalogue of games on the horizon. When the likes of Super Jan, The Beast return along with the rest, it will aid our cause for the remainder of the season and improve collectively.
Our prime objective?
Some opined last season that we could have easily made the Champions League had AVB neglected other competitions ala Europa League and focused more on getting top four. Almost identical to last season we find ourselves in the same position of fighting in two competitions. With the resources at our disposal, would you rather we go all out on both in Europe and in our quest for top four? Or should we just concentrate more on just one?
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