I’m not going to lie- after eight minutes played vs Burnley, I honestly felt like getting up from my cold, plastic seat and going home to my warm, cosy home.
Luckily in the end, I stuck it out, and we produced a marvellous comeback. Whilst we can argue we never should have been 2-0 down at home to Burnley, the team showed great resilience.
Believe me when I say not many Tottenham Hotspur teams of the recent past would have mounted that comeback. The Tottenham Hotspur I’ve grown up with built me up to let me down, but under Mauricio Pochettino, we look a far more capable side.
Considering that we’ve also played more games than any other Premier League side this season, our efforts on Wednesday were far greater than at first glance.
As I said in the preview to that game, the tie was a chance for many squad players to prove their worth to Poch, and many came up trumps.
With one goal and two assists to his name, Paulinho showed the quality he first promised when moving from Corinthians. The Brazilian’s new-found ability to release the ball quickly certainly highlighted his shadowed ability.
On the wing, Andros Townsend put in another fine performance, which could lead to him challenging Erik Lamela for a place in the regular eleven.
However, it must surely be the end for Younes Kaboul and Roberto Soldado. Our club captain has been frozen out of Poch’s teams since November, and that game was a chance to show he can still do the job. Instead what we got was a clumsy display that made it hard to believe he is actually employed by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, twice starting arguments on the field with his own teammates.
I honestly feel bad for Soldado. He hasn’t had it easy since moving here, but I think it’s come to a point where he can’t start for us. Let’s face it, any other club would have lost patience with him a long time ago. Although his miss didn’t cost us the game and he did in fact provide an excellent assist for Danny Rose, I think it’s too late to salvage his Tottenham career- I sincerely hope he proves me wrong.
Onto Saturday, and I expect the team to revert to it’s usual self. Hugo will captain us, with Kyle Walker, Federico Fazio and Jan Vertonghen all returning in front of him. Danny Rose’s substitution on Wednesday suggests he’ll be starting at left back.
Source: tottenhamhotspur.com
Hopefully Ryan Mason has recovered from injury to start in the middle of the park. If not, I expect we’ll keep the faith with Paulinho. Etienne Capoue and Benjamin Stambouli both seemed to lack positional awareness against Burnley, but a goal for the former could swing the pendulum his way in starting in the defensive role.
After failing a fitness test in midweek, I reckon Erik Lamela will be rested for our League Cup tie with Sheffield United- let’s just hope Andros Townsend continues his good run of form. On the other flank, Nacer Chadli should return- the Belgian scored the opener in this fixture back in September.
Let’s face it; if Christian Eriksen doesn’t show up, Spurs don’t show up. The Dane’s substandard performance against Crystal Palace meant our attacking contingent couldn’t flow, limiting the chances we had. We need to see a much better performance against Sunderland.
And of course, Harry Kane will lead the line. Worryingly, Sunderland have conceded just two goals more than us, but I don’t expect this to be a problem for the man in form.
The Mackems have won just one of their last ten (which of course sets them up to leave White Hart Lane with a 0-1 win). Jermain Defoe is eligible for Sunderland, and is likely to start up top alongside Connor Wickham.
JD has scored on every Premier League debut he’s had, and he’s been training with us to stay match fit. Typical Tottenham, eh?
Eight minutes into our tie with Burnley and our season looked like it was well and truly collapsing. Three points against Sunderland could be the start of our second coming.
Predicted XI: Lloris; Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen, Rose; Mason, Capoue; Townsend, Eriksen, Chadli; Kane
Sean Walsh
Latest posts by Sean Walsh (see all)
- Swansea City vs Tottenham Hotspur – Preview - October 4, 2015
- AS Monaco vs Tottenham Hotspur – Preview - September 30, 2015
- Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City – Preview - September 25, 2015