The "do they mean us?" thread pt 4

[Finnegan]

On 14/10/2023 at 15:17, fuchsntf said:

I wasn’t answering your pleasant post,but reacting to another one from within our forum,

 

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/rutter-out-if-leeds-united-leicester-and-southampton-combined-this-would-be-the-best-xi/#gk-illan-meslier-leeds-united

 

A Leeds fan 100% wrote that. Absolutely muck

[davieG]

 

 

“We could never close the gap”- Kevin Wimmer reflects on Tottenham’s failed title charge when Leicester City won the leaguePublished4 mins agoonOctober 21, 2023ByAndrew Ralston
Kevin Wimmer reflects on Tottenham Hotspur’s failed title charge when Leicester City won the league
Kevin Wimmer has given his two cents on Tottenham Hotspur’s failed title charge in the 2015-16 season.

Spurs have been ‘nearly there’ a few times in the last decade. Before the UEFA Champions League final loss against Liverpool, our best chance to win a major trophy came in the 2015-16 season under Mauricio Pochettino.

Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea… everyone seemed to be off their pace. It was the perfect time for a consistent Spurs side to mount a charge for the league title.

Ricardo Pereira, Harvey Barnes, and Dennis Praet celebrate after Leicester City score against Tottenham Hotspur. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
But Leicester City just didn’t let up. They dropped just 11 points in their last 16 league games and comfortably crossed the finish line, winning the Premier League by 10 points.

So close yet so far
Tottenham, meanwhile, stumbled a fair bit in the end. We dropped 17 points in our last 11 league matches. It was Wimmer’s debut season with Spurs since signing from Cologne and one of just two campaigns he had in north London before moving to Stoke City.

He made 21 appearances for us across competitions that season, with 10 coming in the Premier League. Reflecting on that season, the 30-year-old Austrian said, via the Athletic (Subscription Required)

“We could never close the gap. Sometimes, you think back to this time because we saw it as such a big chance to win the title and it would have been very special for Spurs.

“But it was crazy, because Leicester were always winning. They always played a day after us towards the end and they didn’t always play so special, but at the end they somehow managed to win.”

We lost the title fair and square. In fact, we crumbled so badly that we ended up finishing third, behind Arsenal. That season taught us a lot, that perhaps Pochettino and our team weren’t mentally prepared for a taxing title challenge.

We built on it and visibly matured under the Argentine tactician. Unfortunately, we have never gotten that close to winning the league game. Well, until now.

More Tottenham Hotspur News

This could be the season where we finally end the wait for a major trophy. Things are different now. There is no underdog challenger, at least currently, and other giants of English football also look in form. Let us see if Ange Postecoglou’s men have what it takes to bring a memorable title home.

[Nalis]

4 minutes ago, davieG said:

 

 

“We could never close the gap”- Kevin Wimmer reflects on Tottenham’s failed title charge when Leicester City won the leaguePublished4 mins agoonOctober 21, 2023ByAndrew Ralston
Kevin Wimmer reflects on Tottenham Hotspur’s failed title charge when Leicester City won the league
Kevin Wimmer has given his two cents on Tottenham Hotspur’s failed title charge in the 2015-16 season.

Spurs have been ‘nearly there’ a few times in the last decade. Before the UEFA Champions League final loss against Liverpool, our best chance to win a major trophy came in the 2015-16 season under Mauricio Pochettino.

Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea… everyone seemed to be off their pace. It was the perfect time for a consistent Spurs side to mount a charge for the league title.

Ricardo Pereira, Harvey Barnes, and Dennis Praet celebrate after Leicester City score against Tottenham Hotspur. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
But Leicester City just didn’t let up. They dropped just 11 points in their last 16 league games and comfortably crossed the finish line, winning the Premier League by 10 points.

So close yet so far
Tottenham, meanwhile, stumbled a fair bit in the end. We dropped 17 points in our last 11 league matches. It was Wimmer’s debut season with Spurs since signing from Cologne and one of just two campaigns he had in north London before moving to Stoke City.

He made 21 appearances for us across competitions that season, with 10 coming in the Premier League. Reflecting on that season, the 30-year-old Austrian said, via the Athletic (Subscription Required)

“We could never close the gap. Sometimes, you think back to this time because we saw it as such a big chance to win the title and it would have been very special for Spurs.

“But it was crazy, because Leicester were always winning. They always played a day after us towards the end and they didn’t always play so special, but at the end they somehow managed to win.”

We lost the title fair and square. In fact, we crumbled so badly that we ended up finishing third, behind Arsenal. That season taught us a lot, that perhaps Pochettino and our team weren’t mentally prepared for a taxing title challenge.

We built on it and visibly matured under the Argentine tactician. Unfortunately, we have never gotten that close to winning the league game. Well, until now.

More Tottenham Hotspur News

This could be the season where we finally end the wait for a major trophy. Things are different now. There is no underdog challenger, at least currently, and other giants of English football also look in form. Let us see if Ange Postecoglou’s men have what it takes to bring a memorable title home.

One slight gripe about the title winning season is the whole 'bottling it' and 'what might have been' narrative from a Spurs point of view.

 

The reality is we were always in control and they were barely in the title race probably only as much as Man Utd were last season. The media needed to built it up to make it interesting and the only thing they were relying on was us going back to late 2014 form. 

 

Always thinking bottling it or choking is overused as it implies a team were good enough to win but just didnt perform on the night or over a period of games, I dont think that was the case here as Spurs were never good enough to win it and was never theirs to lose. You could say they bottled 2nd that season, they definitely didnt bottle the title.

[Fox forever]

23 minutes ago, Nalis said:

One slight gripe about the title winning season is the whole 'bottling it' and 'what might have been' narrative from a Spurs point of view.

 

The reality is we were always in control and they were barely in the title race probably only as much as Man Utd were last season. The media needed to built it up to make it interesting and the only thing they were relying on was us going back to late 2014 form. 

 

Always thinking bottling it or choking is overused as it implies a team were good enough to win but just didnt perform on the night or over a period of games, I dont think that was the case here as Spurs were never good enough to win it and was never theirs to lose. You could say they bottled 2nd that season, they definitely didnt bottle the title.

So true. You can’t bottle something if you were never in front. Hear this so often especially on radio. So annoying. Only one team could bottle that year and we didn’t!

[LanguedocFox]

48 minutes ago, Fox forever said:

So true. You can’t bottle something if you were never in front. Hear this so often especially on radio. So annoying. Only one team could bottle that year and we didn’t!

I can’t be ar$ed to look it up, but I think Spurs were in first place for about an hour that season when we played after them and won. A couple of games before they lost [it] at Chelsea if memory serves.

[kushiro]

Wow - talk abour rewriting history. Do people not remember how this forum was split down the middle in mid-Aprl 2016? Half were saying 'Don't worry we'll do it!' The other half were crapping themselves thinking we were going to blow it. I think I may have been in the latter camp!  

 

Have a look at these comments after Spurs won 4-0 at Stoke (the day after Vardy was sent off v West Ham):

 

Did we honestly think it would be that easy?   @Ric Flair

I'm not so confident of winning the title after tonight.    @Cornish Lair

It's all gone pear-shaped.  @Kasey Keller

Spurs look superb. I don't think they'll drop another point.  @Dan LCFC

Jonathan Moss could've just cost us the League title.  @Leicesterpool

Anything but a win on Saturday and we have probably blown it. Can't see Spurs losing.  @Larry_LCFC

If we don't beat Swansea I fear it's over. @adam

***in hell I'm scared. Can't see Spurs dropping points.  @Brooksy

 

But no - somehow this myth has taken hold that Spurs were never in it. 

[Finnegan]

Just now, kushiro said:

Wow - talk abour rewriting history. Do people not remember how this forum was split down the middle in mid-Aprl 2016? Half were saying 'Don't worry we'll do it!' The other half were crapping themselves thinking we were going to blow it. I think I may have been in the latter camp!  

 

Have a look at these comments after Spurs won 4-0 at Stoke (the day after Vardy was sent off v West Ham):

 

Did we honestly think it would be that easy?   @Ric Flair

I'm not so confident of winning the title after tonight.    @Cornish Lair

It's all gone pear-shaped.  @Kasey Keller

Spurs look superb. I don't think they'll drop another point.  @Dan LCFC

Jonathan Moss could've just cost us the League title.  @Leicesterpool

Anything but a win on Saturday and we have probably blown it. Can't see Spurs losing.  @Larry_LCFC

If we don't beat Swansea I fear it's over. @adam

***in hell I'm scared. Can't see Spurs dropping points.  @Brooksy

 

But no - somehow this myth has taken hold that Spurs were never in it. 

 

I think that's a little different. We're always hysterical in here. We were in the middle of it and people were naturally anxious. There was also, even amongst Leicester fans, a lack of understanding of just how good we were and that we had a core of genuine world class players. 

 

We kept buying the narrative that it was a fluke and we'd inevitably collapse, regardless of how silly it was. 

 

Winning by 10 points isn't that close. If Chelsea, Liverpool or Man City had the kind of lead we had going in to the end of the season people would have been saying the race was over. 

 

[kushiro]

6 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

I think that's a little different. We're always hysterical in here. We were in the middle of it and people were naturally anxious. There was also, even amongst Leicester fans, a lack of understanding of just how good we were and that we had a core of genuine world class players. 

 

We kept buying the narrative that it was a fluke and we'd inevitably collapse, regardless of how silly it was. 

 

Winning by 10 points isn't that close. If Chelsea, Liverpool or Man City had the kind of lead we had going in to the end of the season people would have been saying the race was over. 

 

But look at the bookies after the Stoke game  - hardly known for being hysterical. Spurs had come in to 7-4.  We were still favourites, but to say there was no race at all is to downplay the drama of those days in late April.  

 

Just so pleased they blew it the following week with Craig Dawson's goal at WHL. 

[Wolfox]

14 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Wow - talk abour rewriting history. Do people not remember how this forum was split down the middle in mid-Aprl 2016? Half were saying 'Don't worry we'll do it!' The other half were crapping themselves thinking we were going to blow it. I think I may have been in the latter camp!  

 

Have a look at these comments after Spurs won 4-0 at Stoke (the day after Vardy was sent off v West Ham):

 

Did we honestly think it would be that easy?   @Ric Flair

I'm not so confident of winning the title after tonight.    @Cornish Lair

It's all gone pear-shaped.  @Kasey Keller

Spurs look superb. I don't think they'll drop another point.  @Dan LCFC

Jonathan Moss could've just cost us the League title.  @Leicesterpool

Anything but a win on Saturday and we have probably blown it. Can't see Spurs losing.  @Larry_LCFC

If we don't beat Swansea I fear it's over. @adam

***in hell I'm scared. Can't see Spurs dropping points.  @Brooksy

 

But no - somehow this myth has taken hold that Spurs were never in it. 

Hang on @adam ‘s quote was from todays pre- match thread???

[ARTY_FOX]

24 minutes ago, kushiro said:

Wow - talk abour rewriting history. Do people not remember how this forum was split down the middle in mid-Aprl 2016? Half were saying 'Don't worry we'll do it!' The other half were crapping themselves thinking we were going to blow it. I think I may have been in the latter camp!  

 

Have a look at these comments after Spurs won 4-0 at Stoke (the day after Vardy was sent off v West Ham):

 

Did we honestly think it would be that easy?   @Ric Flair

I'm not so confident of winning the title after tonight.    @Cornish Lair

It's all gone pear-shaped.  @Kasey Keller

Spurs look superb. I don't think they'll drop another point.  @Dan LCFC

Jonathan Moss could've just cost us the League title.  @Leicesterpool

Anything but a win on Saturday and we have probably blown it. Can't see Spurs losing.  @Larry_LCFC

If we don't beat Swansea I fear it's over. @adam

***in hell I'm scared. Can't see Spurs dropping points.  @Brooksy

 

But no - somehow this myth has taken hold that Spurs were never in it. 

Whilst there is a slight myth regarding how far off spurs were. There were definitley over dramatic people aswell (understandably). 

Edited 21 October 2023 by ARTY_FOX

[Fox forever]

1 hour ago, LanguedocFox said:

I can’t be ar$ed to look it up, but I think Spurs were in first place for about an hour that season when we played after them and won. A couple of games before they lost [it] at Chelsea if memory serves.

It was actually 13 mins when leading 2-1 against arsenal but drew game

[Nalis]

1 hour ago, kushiro said:

Wow - talk abour rewriting history. Do people not remember how this forum was split down the middle in mid-Aprl 2016? Half were saying 'Don't worry we'll do it!' The other half were crapping themselves thinking we were going to blow it. I think I may have been in the latter camp!  

 

Have a look at these comments after Spurs won 4-0 at Stoke (the day after Vardy was sent off v West Ham):

 

Did we honestly think it would be that easy?   @Ric Flair

I'm not so confident of winning the title after tonight.    @Cornish Lair

It's all gone pear-shaped.  @Kasey Keller

Spurs look superb. I don't think they'll drop another point.  @Dan LCFC

Jonathan Moss could've just cost us the League title.  @Leicesterpool

Anything but a win on Saturday and we have probably blown it. Can't see Spurs losing.  @Larry_LCFC

If we don't beat Swansea I fear it's over. @adam

***in hell I'm scared. Can't see Spurs dropping points.  @Brooksy

 

But no - somehow this myth has taken hold that Spurs were never in it. 

I dont think its revionism at all. As Finners said, thats typical of fan hysteria at the time and fearing the worst.

 

The odds you mention were driven by the market which was driven by the media. If we're pointing to Craig Dawson at WHL, we got the result againstnWsst Brom at home so in effect they cancelled each other out.

[murphy]

1 hour ago, kushiro said:

Wow - talk abour rewriting history. Do people not remember how this forum was split down the middle in mid-Aprl 2016? Half were saying 'Don't worry we'll do it!' The other half were crapping themselves thinking we were going to blow it. I think I may have been in the latter camp!  

 

Have a look at these comments after Spurs won 4-0 at Stoke (the day after Vardy was sent off v West Ham):

 

Did we honestly think it would be that easy?   @Ric Flair

I'm not so confident of winning the title after tonight.    @Cornish Lair

It's all gone pear-shaped.  @Kasey Keller

Spurs look superb. I don't think they'll drop another point.  @Dan LCFC

Jonathan Moss could've just cost us the League title.  @Leicesterpool

Anything but a win on Saturday and we have probably blown it. Can't see Spurs losing.  @Larry_LCFC

If we don't beat Swansea I fear it's over. @adam

***in hell I'm scared. Can't see Spurs dropping points.  @Brooksy

 

But no - somehow this myth has taken hold that Spurs were never in it. 

I was definitely in the latter camp too, but then if we're cruising at 3-0 up with 10 minutes to go I still think we're going to mess it up.

 

That season was magnificent torture for me. 

[davieG]

7 minutes ago, murphy said:

I was definitely in the latter camp too, but then if we're cruising at 3-0 up with 10 minutes to go I still think we're going to mess it up.

 

That season was magnificent torture for me. 

That's me, after seeing us blow matches so many times over the years pessimism is embedded in me.

 

[Weller Wing]

2 hours ago, Fox forever said:

So true. You can’t bottle something if you were never in front. Hear this so often especially on radio. So annoying. Only one team could bottle that year and we didn’t!

Yeah they didn't really bottle it , but it was great to wind up their fans and it still upsets them to this day.

 

Unfortunately,  we definitely bottled top 4 twice, under Brendan as it was hard to imagine a side that was going so well , to have such a disastrous end of season , in successive seasons😡

[iancognito]

38 minutes ago, Fox forever said:

It was actually 13 mins when leading 2-1 against arsenal but drew game

I remember this because someone mocked up the DVD cover for the Spurs club shop "Top For 13 Minutes" 😁

[Vlad the Fox]

I think the most accurate thing I’ve read about the title race with spurs was from a spurs fan, might have been on the fighting cock, but they summed it up perfectly when they said something along the lines of ‘we weren’t in a race with Leicester, we were just the closest team to them’.

[Spudulike]

41 minutes ago, Fox forever said:

It was actually 13 mins when leading 2-1 against arsenal but drew game

 

[LanguedocFox]

40 minutes ago, Fox forever said:

It was actually 13 mins when leading 2-1 against arsenal but drew game

Right!! Even better than I remembered. So many wonderful memories that season, several of them involving Spuds.

[Izzy]

26 minutes ago, davieG said:

That's me, after seeing us blow matches so many times over the years pessimism is embedded in me.

 

That's human nature - we're pessimistic creatures and seven times more likely to look at the negative than the positive.

 

Optimism is a learned skill.

[Spudulike]

I was in the crapping it camp. Didn't sleep for the last 6 weeks and it just consumed my life. Every Sky interval played the "We're coming for you" jingle. Every home match I was greeted by the bloke next to me with the 'are you ready for another 90 mins of torture'?... and it was, mostly. 

[ARTY_FOX]

I was in the 'it's happening' camp but that season still left me so mentally and emotionally drained. It took a while to recover from it. 

[Ric Flair]

It was not plain sailing from a fans perspective. We are conditioned to remain cautious and worried even when the outcome seemed and was so clear and obvious.

 

Spurs for a good while kept the foot down and we were nigh on faultless. It goes against what's expected of underdogs, but perhaps because it was Spurs we didn't feel the pressure 😂😂😂

[Blue ROI]

When it narrowed down to ourselves and Spurs around March we drew with west brom at home which looked like a bad result at the time but spurs then fluffed their lines drawing at west ham the day after and then arsenal in the Saturday afternoon kick off.

 

West Brom was their opening but they didn't take it. We were 1 point further ahead by the following Saturday having played 1 less game.

[Ted Maul]

3 hours ago, ARTY_FOX said:

I was in the 'it's happening' camp but that season still left me so mentally and emotionally drained. It took a while to recover from it. 

It was all-consuming. All I could think about. It really was amazing but I can't say it was enjoyable at the time 

 

Has there ever been a club involved in a title race late on who knew they would never have another chance to do it? It's only been the 'big 6' involved in any other this century. In the 90s, Newcastle are big enough to challenge again, Blackburn had money and were already challenging. Norwich in 93? That was probably still in an era where mid-sized clubs could get close.