"With Kane gone Spurs will be lucky to avoid relegation" is one comment that was thrown at me in the summer. But yet Spurs have 13 points after just 5 games, won their last 4 games and got a draw (nearly a win) away to Brentford on the first day of the season. If this is Ange Postecoglou famous slow start at clubs then I cannot wait for it to see when the team starts to really gel. Sheffield United at home was a potential stumbling block before the big games of Arsenal away and Liverpool in the coming weeks and the game was a must win as far as Spurs supporters were concerned to keep the good vibes going. However when players come back from international breaks they are always a bit sluggish especially when the team has a high number of players playing in South America, Asia and Africa so it's not a case of an 2 hour hop across the mainland. So this game was always going to be one to grind out. We had seen as well that Sheffield United put 10 men behind the ball against Man City and nearly came away with a draw so playing against a team that park the bus or as the new hipsters put it "low block" may not suit Spurs.
Ange picked an unchanged side to the win at Burnley. I thought he may throw Richarlison in to ruffle a few feathers down the Centre but he went with the captain Son who had scored a hat-trick for us in the last game so there were no complaints really. Sheffield United did what they said they were gonna do and that was to park the bus and defend their area and as well as that waste loads of time and milk injuries. They had players faking cramps all over the place and it was a frustrating game to watch. I was really really frustrated watching Spurs attack attack and attack only for a Sheffield United player to hit it away with his arse or testicle or whatever other body part he could get in the way of the ball.
Then out of nowhere Sheffield United scored. Gustavo Hammer finished well. Totally undeserved of the game itself but this is what their tactics were. Kind of the same as Conte ball last year really. Don't let other team score and try and nick one and this is just what Sheffield United did. More cramps and injuries came and the game was delayed again and again. The Spurs fans were going mad. Ange decided to make a change and bring on, Johnson , Richarlison , Peresic and PEH. The game was nearly at 80 minutes and time was running out but Spurs knew there would be oceans of injury time from Sheffields antics. The old boys bringing experience. He changed to a back 3 to let Kuluevski drift into the Centre to leave Johnson run riot on the wing. His plan worked as Peresic found Richarlison and in the 98th minute he converted a header and it was 1-1. The crowd went wild. We attacked again and this time Richarlison set up the now centred Kuluevski and bang , bad foot into the left centre of the net in 102th minute.
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Spurs had clinched it and the stadium went mad. Richarlison the hero after his week of struggle with Brazil. This was massive. The team went wild when final whistle came. Again like at Burnley it was more than just a win. It meant more. Big Ange's tactics were working. "We never Stop" is his mantra and Spurs keep attacking until the end. It was awesome to see. Even the ballboys were in on the act. When the ball went out they threw it back in immediately. At one stage there was two balls on the pitch and a drop ball was give, But 3 well deserved points for Tottenham. Now the big one is next. Away to Arsenal next Sunday at 2pm.
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I think the Arsenal game will suit us more because they will attack us so there will be space in behind and it will suit us playing them more than this Sheffield United game so I am confident. However if we do lose to Arsenal it is not the end of the world. On saying that Arsenal are unbeaten as well on 13 points so there will be bragging rights with that game. Ange's plan will be plain and simple, it will be attack attack attack. Arsenal have 13 points but have yet to find their flow with the new signings coming into the team. This is good and bad. Bad because they are still grinding out results and good for us because they will slip up at some stage. Spurs fans are happy at the moment and really believe in what Ange is doing. But we have been there before so they know not to go too mad until Arsenal and Liverpool are over with. Then we will see where we really are come the end of October. But if we do get a result against these two clubs then we will start believing. No doubt about it.
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The level of refereeing should be mentioned the other day as there was a number of decisions that went against us and they were blatant penalties.The Arsenal and Spurs game will need a good referee. I haev not seen yet who will ref this game but there needs to be a solid ref marshalling it for the weekend. I presume the Premiership will bring out their big guns, But we will wait and see. Team selection against Arsenal will be interesting. Sonny loves playing against the gunners but he may go for Richarlison through the middle on Sunday but we will wait and see. Looking forward to the weekends game now. With no Champions League distractions Spurs have 7 days to prepare which is nice. Looking forward to this one.