It has been something of a rollercoaster so far for Spurs fans in 2019, with a very disappointing domestic campaign which has seen them lose 1 in every 3 games, but arriving to their first ever Champions League final back in May, which of course they lost to Liverpool. Daniel Levy decided that Pochettino’s time was up in mid-November and brought in the ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho to shore things up. I was talking to my business partner and Spurs fan Stacey Tokunaga about this recently and she firmly believe that the Lilywhites can make the top 4. Stacey is convinced by this and whilst I’m not completely sold, she dd make some great points. So, can Spurs make the top 4?
Reasons They Won’t
Let’s start with some of the reasons why Spurs won’t able to make those Champions League places this year. The first thing to mention is that even with Mourinho at the helm, a man who knows exactly how to get his team to defend and a specialist in ‘parking the bus’ Spurs just don’t have the personnel at the back to stop conceding so many goals, and this will be their downfall. Aging center backs like Vertonghen and Alderweireld, Rose and Aurier are liabilities and their bench options look weak. Spurs will also face an uphill challenge because of how well Chelsea and Leicester are playing, and Spurs are already 6 points behind the top4.
Reasons Why They Will
A more optimistic look at the season could see continue with consecutive qualification to the Champions League and these are the reasons why they could well make it. What Jose has done already with the likes of Dele Alli and Lucas Moura are very positive and although there are weaknesses at the back, there is a very real feeling that Spurs can simply outscore the opposition. Kane and Son are now being benefitted by the improvement of others and the more service that they get, the more goals Spurs will score. Whilst Leicester and Chelsea have been romping away in the early stages of the season, both are filled with youth which may not have what it takes to see it out. In the case of Leicester they rely heavily on Jamie Vardy for goals, an injury to him and the Foxes could easily drop points. For Spurs, this is not their first rodeo and they have earned themselves a reputation of coming back from the death, in games and even in the CL groups, there is nothing to suggest they can’t come back again and clinch a top 4 position. Spurs still have plenty of games to play, and Chelsea, Spurs and Leicester all need to play each other again before the season is done, Spurs even play Chelsea twice which could cut that 6 point lead down to zero.
Which way do you think things will go? Will Jose do it? Let us know in the comments.
