Season expectations

[Glenn R]

        Guys, I am sorry but you all seem to have missed the point, unfortunately last season we still had the losing mentality, I agree we did come back from being down in games to win, BUT, we still lost games against sides that we should have beaten comfortably, and some of those were at home, which consequently cost us 4th place and a spot in CL, and that my friends is how we as a club will and are judged, and no amount of excuses can change. Please do not make the excuse that the bottom teams are always the hardest to beat, because that is a cop-out, when other teams manage to beat them convincingly.
        However, with the signings that have been made so far this window, I think we will be feared and we won't be accused of having a losing mentality when we get to the pointed end of this season.         
       This of course is only my opinion, albeit an educated one. I am sure there will be some that agree and others that will disagree.
 
 

You say that we lost to teams that we shouldn't have; but doesn't that go for all the top teams? I find those that are the most dangerous are those we are expected to win. But I don't agree we had the losing mentality. I do agree that we used to have it.

Wigan beat us 1-0 but won the FA Cup and who did they beat to win the FA Cup and where did City finish in the league. That is just one example of many.

      Yes Voice you are quite right they did beat us 1-0 at WHL, and yes they did beat Man City to win the FA Cup, but are they playing PL this year? NO they are not! Why? because they got relegated, that is why. The reason that they got relegated was because they didn't win enough games. One of the few games they won was against US. Did any of the other Top Teams lose to them? I don't think so, why? because they had a winning mentality when they played struggling teams. Two of the Teams that were relegated took points off of us, had they not, we would be playing CL this season and we wouldn't be in danger of losing our BEST PLAYER!!!!!
 
 

But this is not unusual in football; clubs that are relegated beat top four teams. That doesn't mean that those top 4 teams didn't having the winning instincts. If I remember correctly didn't one of the bottom teams beat Spurs in the season 1960-61?

We only just missed out on the top fourth spot by one point; and we wouldn't have done that if we had a losing attitude. As for Bale staying; we just don't know. Whether we were in the top echelons of Europe Real Madrid would still have come in for Bale. We wouldn't have been able to compete financially with them to  keep Bale.

There is another thing; AVB bought new players in and old players went; all contributed to our position; nothing to  do with defeatist attitude. Considering that we did well.

[Paul Finch]

       The fact of the matter is last season we still had that losing mentality, we DID miss out on 4th spot whether it was one point or twenty one is of little or no consequence, we missed out and Bale by his sheer brilliance was responsible for us winning a lot of games otherwise it could have been a lot worse!! but I am sure you will have an excuse for that!!
 
 

[ady88s]

Although I hate to say it, I think Paul has a point. For me, the 'losing mentality' comes from (or leads to) not being able to keep possession when in winning positions, even (and more especially) when playing against against bad teams.

Although we have gotten better at this in recent years, even Ars*nal seem to be better than us/more comfortable at keeping possession. That's the way it appears to me anyhow. The only reason we have been able to come close to competing (losing out last year of course) is becasue Ars*nal don't have some of the impact players that we have had.

It's this lack of confidence  in keeping the ball that the England national team has always lacked - a lack of confidence in their own technical ability. This confidence comes from knowing that your club/country has pedigree I think. Tottenham, like England, although they had great success in the 60s, haven't set a footballing standard for a long time.

And whereas other clubs have been building legacies since the EPL began (Ars*nal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City), Tottenham have been treading water until this summer.
 

[Glenn R]

       The fact of the matter is last season we still had that losing mentality, we DID miss out on 4th spot whether it was one point or twenty one is of little or no consequence, we missed out and Bale by his sheer brilliance was responsible for us winning a lot of games otherwise it could have been a lot worse!! but I am sure you will have an excuse for that!!
 
 

If we had a losing mentality we wouldn't be as high as we ended up. Even a winning mentality can't expect to win all the games; at the same time you are ignoring the teams above us or dismissing them.

We are not a one man team and Bale didn't do it alone. On the subject  of Bale; he is one man and the money we've been offered is stupid money. I believe Levy is right to sell him and strength the team in all departments. So far Spurs have bought wisely. Of course I would have loved him to stay but I would rather have a team of talents than just a one man band. We had Bale in our team the last couple of years but it is this year that has given us more hope. Remember; they said the same with Gazza in the team and he was more of a liability.

[Glenn R]

Although I hate to say it, I think Paul has a point. For me, the 'losing mentality' comes from (or leads to) not being able to keep possession when in winning positions, even (and more especially) when playing against against bad teams.

Although we have gotten better at this in recent years, even Ars*nal seem to be better than us/more comfortable at keeping possession. That's the way it appears to me anyhow. The only reason we have been able to come close to competing (losing out last year of course) is becasue Ars*nal don't have some of the impact players that we have had.

It's this lack of confidence  in keeping the ball that the England national team has always lacked - a lack of confidence in their own technical ability. This confidence comes from knowing that your club/country has pedigree I think. Tottenham, like England, although they had great success in the 60s, haven't set a footballing standard for a long time.

And whereas other clubs have been building legacies since the EPL began (Ars*nal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City), Tottenham have been treading water until this summer.
 

I don't think it was the mentality but the strength of the squad; or lacking. This year we might not have Bale but the strength of the squad is there. We have a far stronger squad this season. And that is squad, not just 11 players.

[ady88s]

We desperately want to consistently outperform 17/18 other teams (at least in the PM) year in year out in order to consolidate top four and potentially mount a challenge for the title someday.  We need to improve in many areas to do this and to gain confidence in our technical ability - this comes over time and with success - success is not something this current squad can claim to be familiar with really as they haven't won anything, hence, maybe, 'losing mentality'. Furthermore, we have bottled it in my opinion a couple of times in the latter stages of the PM losing out on a couple of champions league campaigns.  In my opinion, we don't really control games as well as we could, we don't dominate poor teams by getting the lead and playing the game in their half. If our first two opponents scraped a late goal, (something not unfamiliar to us!!) we would now be sitting on 2 points - these victories are too close for comfort and it's in these games that we will drop points and drop out of contention potentially.

I know stats don't prove much (possession isn't the be all and end all for everyone, just ask Liverpool fans!) but I would like to see Spurs keep the ball better (from these stats, we were 8th best in the PM last year). We were also 7th best at pass success. That's not going to help. I bet if we don't improve upon these, we may not fair any better than 5th again...

As well as having great individual players, you need a 'winning culture' at a top club. I'm not sure if we have that yet but we are definitely getting closer given the summer spending and Andros T's potential.

Dare I say it, we also need to develop a bit of arrogance which the top four teams at their best always have

(FYI SPG is shots per game and AW = Aerial Duels won per game)

Select 'Team Statistics'

http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/Seasons/3389/Stages/6531/TeamStatistics/England-Premier-League-2012-2013

[Paul Finch]

Although I hate to say it, I think Paul has a point. For me, the 'losing mentality' comes from (or leads to) not being able to keep possession when in winning positions, even (and more especially) when playing against against bad teams.

Although we have gotten better at this in recent years, even Ars*nal seem to be better than us/more comfortable at keeping possession. That's the way it appears to me anyhow. The only reason we have been able to come close to competing (losing out last year of course) is becasue Ars*nal don't have some of the impact players that we have had.

It's this lack of confidence  in keeping the ball that the England national team has always lacked - a lack of confidence in their own technical ability. This confidence comes from knowing that your club/country has pedigree I think. Tottenham, like England, although they had great success in the 60s, haven't set a footballing standard for a long time.

And whereas other clubs have been building legacies since the EPL began (Ars*nal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City), Tottenham have been treading water until this summer.
 

I don't think it was the mentality but the strength of the squad; or lacking. This year we might not have Bale but the strength of the squad is there. We have a far stronger squad this season. And that is squad, not just 11 players.

Voice,
         Winning mentality and Squad strength go hand in hand, a strong squad will inevitably create a winning mentality, you can't have one without the other. I agree that with the signings that have been made so far this window our squad has become a lot stronger, and with that I am sure the "Winning Mentality" will become more evident, even AVB said after the Swansea match that he was "Pleased with the Winning Mentality shown by the Team" I don't remember him making a similar comment after any game last season.
 
 

[Paul Finch]

       The fact of the matter is last season we still had that losing mentality, we DID miss out on 4th spot whether it was one point or twenty one is of little or no consequence, we missed out and Bale by his sheer brilliance was responsible for us winning a lot of games otherwise it could have been a lot worse!! but I am sure you will have an excuse for that!!
 
 

If we had a losing mentality we wouldn't be as high as we ended up. Even a winning mentality can't expect to win all the games; at the same time you are ignoring the teams above us or dismissing them.

We are not a one man team and Bale didn't do it alone. On the subject  of Bale; he is one man and the money we've been offered is stupid money. I believe Levy is right to sell him and strength the team in all departments. So far Spurs have bought wisely. Of course I would have loved him to stay but I would rather have a team of talents than just a one man band. We had Bale in our team the last couple of years but it is this year that has given us more hope. Remember; they said the same with Gazza in the team and he was more of a liability.

Voice,
        You are quite right, we are not a one man team NOW, last season we relied on one Gareth Bale to get us out of the SH one T with his goal scoring brilliance, and, had he not had scored the goals that he did, certainly in the latter stages of the season, we would have finished a lot lower in the league, yes I know that that is pure supposition, but surely even you cannot disagree with that, isn't that why RM are so desperate to sign him.
 
 

[RSS61]

Although I hate to say it, I think Paul has a point. For me, the 'losing mentality' comes from (or leads to) not being able to keep possession when in winning positions, even (and more especially) when playing against against bad teams.

Although we have gotten better at this in recent years, even Ars*nal seem to be better than us/more comfortable at keeping possession. That's the way it appears to me anyhow. The only reason we have been able to come close to competing (losing out last year of course) is becasue Ars*nal don't have some of the impact players that we have had.

It's this lack of confidence  in keeping the ball that the England national team has always lacked - a lack of confidence in their own technical ability. This confidence comes from knowing that your club/country has pedigree I think. Tottenham, like England, although they had great success in the 60s, haven't set a footballing standard for a long time.

And whereas other clubs have been building legacies since the EPL began (Ars*nal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City), Tottenham have been treading water until this summer.
 

I agree with this. Its been the reason why we cannot hold onto any lead under about 5-0. Since our new midfield arrived, things are looking much better though. We are not far away from a very good side, even without Bale.

[Glenn R]

Although I hate to say it, I think Paul has a point. For me, the 'losing mentality' comes from (or leads to) not being able to keep possession when in winning positions, even (and more especially) when playing against against bad teams.

Although we have gotten better at this in recent years, even Ars*nal seem to be better than us/more comfortable at keeping possession. That's the way it appears to me anyhow. The only reason we have been able to come close to competing (losing out last year of course) is becasue Ars*nal don't have some of the impact players that we have had.

It's this lack of confidence  in keeping the ball that the England national team has always lacked - a lack of confidence in their own technical ability. This confidence comes from knowing that your club/country has pedigree I think. Tottenham, like England, although they had great success in the 60s, haven't set a footballing standard for a long time.

And whereas other clubs have been building legacies since the EPL began (Ars*nal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Man City), Tottenham have been treading water until this summer.
 

I don't think it was the mentality but the strength of the squad; or lacking. This year we might not have Bale but the strength of the squad is there. We have a far stronger squad this season. And that is squad, not just 11 players.

Voice,
         Winning mentality and Squad strength go hand in hand, a strong squad will inevitably create a winning mentality, you can't have one without the other. I agree that with the signings that have been made so far this window our squad has become a lot stronger, and with that I am sure the "Winning Mentality" will become more evident, even AVB said after the Swansea match that he was "Pleased with the Winning Mentality shown by the Team" I don't remember him making a similar comment after any game last season.
 
 

You can have a winning mentality without a strong squad. Ipswich springs to mind in 1961-62 and there are other cases. Last season we got to the top 5th spot with a strong mentality. Just not a strong squad. But I agree with you it does help to have a winning mentality with a strong squad; which we hope to achieve this season.

[Glenn R]

       The fact of the matter is last season we still had that losing mentality, we DID miss out on 4th spot whether it was one point or twenty one is of little or no consequence, we missed out and Bale by his sheer brilliance was responsible for us winning a lot of games otherwise it could have been a lot worse!! but I am sure you will have an excuse for that!!
 
 

If we had a losing mentality we wouldn't be as high as we ended up. Even a winning mentality can't expect to win all the games; at the same time you are ignoring the teams above us or dismissing them.

We are not a one man team and Bale didn't do it alone. On the subject  of Bale; he is one man and the money we've been offered is stupid money. I believe Levy is right to sell him and strength the team in all departments. So far Spurs have bought wisely. Of course I would have loved him to stay but I would rather have a team of talents than just a one man band. We had Bale in our team the last couple of years but it is this year that has given us more hope. Remember; they said the same with Gazza in the team and he was more of a liability.

Voice,
        You are quite right, we are not a one man team NOW, last season we relied on one Gareth Bale to get us out of the SH one T with his goal scoring brilliance, and, had he not had scored the goals that he did, certainly in the latter stages of the season, we would have finished a lot lower in the league, yes I know that that is pure supposition, but surely even you cannot disagree with that, isn't that why RM are so desperate to sign him.
 
 

Of course I agree with you; the facts back it up. This season hopefully will be different and better.

Another point; depending how this season pans out we need to extend our managers contract.

[RiffHard]

       The fact of the matter is last season we still had that losing mentality, we DID miss out on 4th spot whether it was one point or twenty one is of little or no consequence, we missed out and Bale by his sheer brilliance was responsible for us winning a lot of games otherwise it could have been a lot worse!! but I am sure you will have an excuse for that!!
 
 

If we had a losing mentality we wouldn't be as high as we ended up. Even a winning mentality can't expect to win all the games; at the same time you are ignoring the teams above us or dismissing them.

We are not a one man team and Bale didn't do it alone. On the subject  of Bale; he is one man and the money we've been offered is stupid money. I believe Levy is right to sell him and strength the team in all departments. So far Spurs have bought wisely. Of course I would have loved him to stay but I would rather have a team of talents than just a one man band. We had Bale in our team the last couple of years but it is this year that has given us more hope. Remember; they said the same with Gazza in the team and he was more of a liability.

Voice,
        You are quite right, we are not a one man team NOW, last season we relied on one Gareth Bale to get us out of the SH one T with his goal scoring brilliance, and, had he not had scored the goals that he did, certainly in the latter stages of the season, we would have finished a lot lower in the league, yes I know that that is pure supposition, but surely even you cannot disagree with that, isn't that why RM are so desperate to sign him.
 
 

Of course I agree with you; the facts back it up. This season hopefully will be different and better.

Another point; depending how this season pans out we need to extend our managers contract.

Baldbloke won't agree.

[Glenn R]

       The fact of the matter is last season we still had that losing mentality, we DID miss out on 4th spot whether it was one point or twenty one is of little or no consequence, we missed out and Bale by his sheer brilliance was responsible for us winning a lot of games otherwise it could have been a lot worse!! but I am sure you will have an excuse for that!!
 
 

If we had a losing mentality we wouldn't be as high as we ended up. Even a winning mentality can't expect to win all the games; at the same time you are ignoring the teams above us or dismissing them.

We are not a one man team and Bale didn't do it alone. On the subject  of Bale; he is one man and the money we've been offered is stupid money. I believe Levy is right to sell him and strength the team in all departments. So far Spurs have bought wisely. Of course I would have loved him to stay but I would rather have a team of talents than just a one man band. We had Bale in our team the last couple of years but it is this year that has given us more hope. Remember; they said the same with Gazza in the team and he was more of a liability.

Voice,
        You are quite right, we are not a one man team NOW, last season we relied on one Gareth Bale to get us out of the SH one T with his goal scoring brilliance, and, had he not had scored the goals that he did, certainly in the latter stages of the season, we would have finished a lot lower in the league, yes I know that that is pure supposition, but surely even you cannot disagree with that, isn't that why RM are so desperate to sign him.
 
 

Of course I agree with you; the facts back it up. This season hopefully will be different and better.

Another point; depending how this season pans out we need to extend our managers contract.

Baldbloke won't agree.

True; but then again he is never right

[spursjoolz]

Baldbloke won't agree.

Gone into hiding with his dog!

 

[RSS61]

I think there is another factor too. Last season our conversion rate from chances created was dreadful, due to the strikers being no good. Also our defending of set pieces cost us many goals, and points.
Lets hope we have sorted this problem, and that positive results will bring positive mental attitude.