It’s been interesting month at Tottenham Hotspur. Just when we thought we may be able to properly challenge for a place in the top four, we run out of steam. Inappropriate dropping of point’s vs Burnley and Aston Villa, as well as a spanking by Manchester United has left us chasing the pack. To make matters worse, Manchester City are in danger of losing 4th place, and any in form side could overtake them.
In all fairness though, we didn’t really expect to be at a stage like this. We full well knew this season would be a transitional one, and we should be thankful we managed to shake off our early season woes.
As I highlighted, the squad is, well, knackered. Pochettino has used similar sides every week simply because the squad he desires and foresees at Spurs currently isn’t good enough. He suggested that the size of the squad won’t change in the summer, but the quality of it will.
Should Liverpool see off Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals, then we’ll all but be guaranteed a spot in next seasons Europa League. With this a possibility, we need to make sure our heads remain focussed ahead of a game with a downbeat Newcastle United side.
We’ll have an advantage before the game even kicks off, as Newcastle fans are planning to boycott the match in protest of owner Mike Ashley. It’s estimated just over 15,000 fans will shun our visit to St James’ Park, whilst the rest of the ground will certainly be edgy and unforgiving to their own players.
It’s no secret that the Newcastle faithful (loose term) expect too much of their beloved home town side, but now, they have good reason to be upset. The Magpies have lost their last five, and if Alan Pardew hadn’t done such a good job before leaving for Crystal Palace, Newcastle would almost certainly be in a relegation scrap.
Our record with Newcastle is pretty even; we’ve only shared the spoils twice since the turn of the millennium and since Newcastle early 2000’s domination, we’ve been able to batter them a few times. Heck, even Tim Sherwood made a mockery of their club, even with Mousa Dembele starting on the wing.
We’ve already faced Newcastle twice this season, but both meetings were at White Hart Lane, as we lost 1-2 in the league, but thrashed them 4-0 to advance to the League Cup quarter finals.
Whilst I understand why our players haven’t been performing as well in recent weeks, they need to show their worth to the boss if they want to be a part of his plans next season. The likes of Mason, Eriksen and Chadli are lucky there are no better players in our squad or they would have been dropped by now. Even Harry Kane’s looked off the boil since his debut England goal. Maybe captaining a side so lethargic is a problem, or maybe he genuinely is tired – I wouldn’t blame him for either.
Newcastle could be without as many as ten first team players (and we bemoan when a few players are out), whilst Kyle Walker, Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen could all return. DeAndre Yedlin played in midweek with the United States, so it’s unlikely he’ll feature after making his debut vs Aston Villa.
We’ve lost some momentum in recent weeks, but with a tricky tie at Southampton on the horizon, it would be nice to head back into school or work with a smile on Monday because of Tottenham.
Predicted XI: Lloris; Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason; Townsend, Eriksen, Chadli; Kane
Sean Walsh
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