Opposition View : Tottenham Hotspur

The latest in the Opposition View series takes us to North London to check in on Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs showed last season how much they had come on under Mauricio Pochettino by making the Champions League Final and riding right on the coattails of Man City and Liverpool for more than half of the league season.

However, there has been quite a drop-off to start the new campaign leading many to ask what exactly happened in the off-season. Tottenham fan @dantracey1983 was on the spot to answer some of those questions.

There has been a lot of speculation and potential reasons as to why, but in your view what are the main issues that have led to Tottenham’s poor start to the season?

I think the main issue has been not being ruthless enough in terms of sidelining supposed wantaway players. If they don’t have a future then they shouldn’t really be in and around the first team and if they can’t be sold, then they should be left on the sidelines. Hopefully our Champions League win in midweek will be a precursor to new beginnings and a warning sign to players that they are disposable.

The managerial game can be a brutal one and as we have seen many times the end can come quickly for some. Despite being a terrific addition to the Premier league ranks and a man who has worked wonders under difficult circumstances, do you believe Mauricio Pochettino still has the personal fire and belief in his squad to push Spurs to another level?

I think a lot will depend on where we finish this season. If we can finish in the top four and return to the Champions League then I think that will be the start of a new chapter in his legacy. If we don’t then those questions as to long-term viability will be asked once again. That said, I don’t ever envisage a scenario where he is sacked by Daniel Levy.
 

While he has not won silverware to this point, where would you currently rank Pochettino in terms of all-time Tottenham managers?

I don’t think he is the best personally because really you should be using trophies as the metric for this. But in this day and age just finishing in the top four is a measure of success, so it does skew people’s viewpoints.

Dele Alli is a really interesting discussion point. His rise to stardom was so steep that it was only natural for a young talent that there would be a dip of sorts. He scored his first goal for 10 months in your draw against Watford on the weekend so do you think that it could be a new phase of his career?

It’s hard to say off the basis of one performance but you are right in that the rise was always going to be hard to continue, especially at the pace in which it began. That rise, rightly or wrongly has raised fans expectations of the player and that sometimes leads to frustration, although Alli would probably be critical of his own performances. That said, there is still a lot more for him to offer.

Taking out your crystal ball, how do you believe this Tottenham team will look like the next six to 12 months and do you think a mass clean-out will occur?

It will look very similar to the one that took to the field against Red Star Belgrade in midweek.

When you are on a lean run of results, sometimes there is nothing better than to face one of your main rivals. Spurs have given Liverpool some searching tests at Anfield in recent seasons, so how much are you looking forward to the challenge this weekend?

To be honest, not a great deal but that could lead to a nice surprise at the same time. It is really important to hold our own on Sunday and make sure it is not a backward step after such an emphatic win in the Champions League.

Would you like to see the manager select Son Heung- Min and Alli alongside Harry Kane in the starting lineup for Sunday’s clash?

Personally, I would go for the same starting eleven as we saw on Tuesday night. So I’d opt for those three, we certainly need a different shape than the one that we set out against Watford last weekend.

Which player(s) in the Liverpool lineup give you greatest cause for concern?

The attacking trio. Mane and Salah are going to hurt you but it could be Roberto Firmino who does the most damage with his link up play.

There is usually plenty of goals in this fixture so what is your score prediction for this big clash?

I will go for an annoying 2-1 Liverpool win.