Animals
The frenzied emotions, the sick feeling in my gut. Christ, I hate the North London derby. I hate having to endure the dread that accompanies every single moment, with each second dissected and stretched out to feel like an eternity. The fear of losing does this to you. It does it to me. I struggled during Sunday, in the hours before kick off, to distract myself. I could not focus on anything. I was irritable and anxious. To think this was me in a confident mood. I was pretty sure we’d win. That we’d either wipe the floor with them or do something quintessentially Mourinho. And we did. The latter, not the former. But still equally satisfying and joyful.
This is the North London derby. A sensory mess where your brain’s receptors disconnect and you can’t quite compute how to deal with it all.
We said this recent run of games would define our season. That this was the test. A genuine thought obstacle that required a physical solution. And boy have we delivered. Seven points from nine against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, whilst not conceding a single goal and retaining top spot in the Premier League.
This was a classic Joseball demonstration of how containment and countering will dismantle and box up possession, sending it packing all the way back to Plumstead. It was practically telegraphed with perfection. Mikel Arteta, naïve with enthusiasm, in an attempt to play football, gets Mourinhoed. Textbook.
For all their statistical numbers accompanied by heart and determination, it was just plucky old Arsenal in the end. Like a boxer dancing around the ring and only managing to jab. Spurs with two knock out punches, dishing out the wallops. getting the job done like proper bastards.
In the post-game Graeme Souness and Jamie Redknapp held back tears. How dare Spurs do things that are required for a title challenge. How dare they grind and sacrifice expansiveness for the gauranntte win. We don’t do this every week, right? This win was borderline arrogance from Spurs. We literally gave the ball to Arsenal, slapped them twice, gave them the ball again. They proceeded to do nothing with it.
As for the pundits disliking the style of football Spurs are playing? I’m sure the same grown men complaining will always whimsically remember Leicester City beating everyone on the counter on their run to the title. Of course the big difference is that everyone tries to beat Spurs like their life depends on it whilst everyone practically rolled over for Leicester.
But I don’t disagree that the package is a bit unattractive. But surely this is the thing Spurs have so often been targeted with in the past, the missing trait, that big boy energy that others have mustered up to master a true challenge. We can’t have style without substance and often the substance is astute and intelligent sacrifices that birth longevity with belief and momentum. It’s a necessary evil.
I would rather we tore them a new one playing free flowing attacking football but I just think Mourinho read this game better than most (all) of us. He knew Arsenal would be up for it, that they would play with intent to push the ball forward consistently. Why risk an open game? Why gamble? This is the game management Jose Mourinho has instilled into our club. That the risk itself is one that can curse that longevity of the marathon ahead. Why go toe to toe when you can shit house your way to a guaranteed victory?
I know that this isn’t what I once preached and I would not be satisfied if our football was built around the sitting back and waiting style for every occasion. Except it isn’t. That’ the difference - that we now know when to make the difference, to change the style and to do things that continue to mould a winners mentality.
Perhaps with Tanguy Ndombele in central midfield, we’d have scored another two. I can imagine we’d have picked them off at a canter if Tanguy was coming from deep or playing in the spaces around the penalty area. Jose commented on the Ndombele/Lo Celso sub change dynamic impacting the narrative of the second half. Not being able to start with one and swap to another hurt us perhaps a little with the ability to control more of the game.
I honestly can’t fault too much of it because it’s a NLD. It doesn’t really matter other than us winning - at any cost. Which we did. And my capacity to breakdown the game tactically was never going to be on point because of the mental upheaval of trying to survive those stretched out seconds of pure agony. Every loose ball amplified to the point where I was stood facing a black hole with no possibility of escape. Such is the exaggeration of the derby proceedings.
Yes, we contained and countered in the first half with more deliberate control. The second half was untidy, messy, we didn’t get hold of the ball, too slow to the second ball…but Spurs defended, all of it, everything. Like men possessed. Like animals.
“Working like animals. With respect to animals. I love animals.” - JM
Respect to the current king of the animal kingdom, a cockerel crowing from the heavens, looking down on all below.
There’s still an evolution playing out. It’s worth noting again that the first half counter attacking masterclass was followed by the grind of the second forty-five, which seemed to be far more reactive in that we sucked up the pressure and didn’t really find a way to get studs on the ball and defuse the pressure the visitors were attempting to assert. But it was a comfortable discomfort. I know this because I re-watched the game without having to endure the aforementioned ‘fear’.
Yes, there was less control over the containment tactics post-half time, but Spurs were hardly getting smashed up by it. We defended brilliantly, for all of Arsenal’s stats they did nothing. 69% of the ball, 32 crosses etc etc. I’m repeating myself here again, I’ve covered it already but it’s worth illustrating that you don’t take a machine gun to a two team Battle Royale. You get hold of a sniper rifle and you assassinate with clean clinicality.
Son Heung-Min has now scored 10 times from 13 shots. The man doesn’t waste bullets.
Harry Kane is omnipotent.
Both goals were utterly delicious in execution and beauty. Kane once more assisting for Son to send the ball into the Arsenal net like a shooting star curving to gravity as it surfs a planets atmosphere before it dips into the earth. The second saw us out number them on the counter a moment after they squandered a half decent chance at the other end of the pitch. Son this time playing in Kane at an angle, who hit the ball so hard, it died and got reincarnated as itself in the same moment it died.
We still have to work at owning a bit more possession, especially when defending a lead (REPEAT KLAXON). To find a way to kill the game off with us possessing the ball. However, this isn’t the Mourinho way. After-all, one of his principles is that if the opposition has the ball - they are more likely to make a mistake with it. I’m not sure I fancy that philopshy when we visit Anfield.
But alas, this is Jose’s first full season at Spurs and something is happening that perhaps none of us expected. Which is usually how Spurs gatecrash things.
Other things of note;
Kane now the all time leading goal scorer in the NLD. History making in your lifetime. He absolutely loves dishing it out to the gooners. It’s the only type of bullying I condone. The only ones getting cancelled are the Arsenal. In the social media journalistic aftermath of the game, Kane is once more being singled out for his ghost jumping. That’s when he positions himself for the ball, doesn’t jump and the opposing player does - and lands on Kane’s back. Apparently Harry might end up killing someone. Cry me a river. He’s literally not jumping. That’s his crime.
Great shifts from Serge Aurier, PEH, Sissoko. Serge was tremendous and played a key part in the origins of our second goal (threading a ball through a calamity of gooners) and Højbjerg was once more a leader and cheerleader of men. Honestly, take a look at how he celebrates the most mundane passages of play like a kid getting a PS5 on Christmas Day. He’s played every single minute in the league. The man is a menace.
Hugo Lloris, rumoured to have passed two COVID tests to play in the game made two important saves. Remember the concern when we all believed Joe Hart might have to start in his place?
No Gareth Bale. That’s now zero minutes in the last three massive league fixtures. And yet, his exclusion from the dramatics raises my confidence in this team even higher. He’ll play a vital part in our season, I’m sure of it. Perhaps it’s rude to call him a luxury. Once he’s fully fit, he’ll provide another dimension to our attacking options. Jose has no time for sentiment, to sub him on, and disrupt the balance of the team when the three points is the vital objective. He needs his players to track back constantly and I doubt Gareth can offer that just now (if at all).
The Thomas Partey incident, walking off before Kane scored, pretty much sums up the plight of our fallen neighbours - and I’m all here for it. He was injured, he walked off, was told to run back in desperation by his manager. Sat in 15th spot, it really is a delight to see them finally settle into a downward spiral. About time too.
Also, lovely to see a vocal and animated 2,000 Spurs fans back in the stadium. It still seems surreal, a bit offbeat that having spectators - supporters - in the stands is a special moment.
Love it.
Also love Spurs being held accountable for having an edge and not being soft because they ain’t playing expansive football that would probably have them sat in 4th spot instead of 1st.
I’m repeating myself again. I can’t help it. I have an agenda.
Two massive games up next. In fact, three massive games. Every game is massive because we have made them into important cogs in the ultimate machine of glory. Be it unfashionable glory, a bit of this that and the other. But that’s how it works. Momentum doesn’t have to be exclusively pretty. Our goal difference is pretty attractive though.
This is what title challenging football looks like. Give it a kiss, slip in a tongue. Don’t be shy. It’s time to try something new.