So near, but so far

I am sure you don’t want me to delve into the ins and outs of our UEFA Champions League final? There have already been enough tears shed over it. I feel that we had been robbed (the penalty is a good starter). But nothing I say will change the pain in our hearts.

Before the match it was all brilliant, so much to look forward to… Now the season has ended and we must pick ourselves up and look at the positives; such as finishing in the top four (not so much thanks to us, but the poor performances of the two shamefaced reds that occupy corners of Manchester and London). Next season, it must be printed on our report cards that we either try harder or suffer the consequences of failures. We can’t always pray that one of the other top 5 clubs will have a bad hair day.

Daniel Levy needs to fill our new stadium with smiling and happy supporters, and that can only be achieved with success on the field.

I am not going to speculate on who is coming in as this will be equivalent of pissing in the wind. But who should or will go? Alderweireld and Eriksen want fresher and greener pastures. Trippier hasn’t performed as well as he did in the World cup last summer. Lamela, also known as the Dancing Queen, is on the way out, if not in mind, then indeed body. Vorm is gone, Janssen is not needed and Nkoudou, Llorente and Onomah will probably be put on the slag heap. There will likely be others putting their heads above the parapet and will try to go, but that will depend on Pochettino and Levy’s determination to keep them.

I can’t see the manager going. He hasn’t actually won anything yet and still needs to prove himself. The likes of Real Madrid and United won’t give him the luxury of time. If he doesn’t hit the road running, then he will be thrown out, head first. And why would he want to go? He is a builder, clubs like I mentioned, are buyers and those players will be temperamental. They aren’t going to take shit from him (i.e. doing it his way). They will say, “this is what I am, this is what the club bought me for, now go and jingle my balls”.

I am sure that Pochettino will challenge Daniel Levy and will say that his vision needs the money and if it is not forthcoming then he must fly with the birds. And what do birds do? They shit from a great height.

Since Pochettino came to the club in 2012/13, where he finished 5^th, it has been all up, but without the trophies. He achieved all top four spots (3^rd, 2^nd, 3^rd and now 4^th). He has inhabited every position in the top four, apart from 1^st. Is that his next stop? If it is he needs, not only a good 11 players, but a good squad/ back up. It was the squad/ back up that let him down for the season just gone.

One of the criticism’s levelled at Pochettino is that he doesn’t regard the domestic cups importantly enough. His eyes are focused on UEFA Champions League and a top-four spot. To the fans, the FA Cup and League Cup are just as prestigious, and of course, they are much-needed silverware. Maybe Ardiles and Villa should take him to one side and tell him what winning the FA Cup can do for him, Levy and the fans. And if that doesn’t convince him then they could show him their medals and sing the song about “Totting-ham”. If that doesn’t convert him, then nothing will.

As for the Champions League, of course. It is there to be conquered and conquered it can be. If the league failures Liverpool can come back a second time then there is no reason we can’t…

Since the demolition of White Hart Lane and the Phoenix rising from the ashes, we have shown what could be possible. This season has been a memorable one. Next season can be even better. Over to you, Pochettino and Levy. The world and his wife are waiting. We are waiting, to etch our names in the history books, alongside our past FA Cup winners (8), the Double winners, The European club winning teams (Cup winners’ Cup & 2 UEFA cups), League cup winners (4), Charity Shields (7), and not to mention two, yes, two Second division titles (my knees are trembling just thinking about it).

We have our past history, now we just need the future.