A piece on Jan Vertonghen’s superb performance against Arsenal:

There was one performance that really stood out during Sunday’s North London Derby. The defensive brilliance of Belgian centre half Jan Vertonghen, won the plaudits of many pundits and ex footballers alike. Vertonghen, who was subsequently awarded man of the match, has been one of Pochettino’s best players during Spurs’ phenomenal season. It was quite fitting that on his 200th appearance for the Lillywhites that Vertonghen put in a sensational performance. Now in the peak of his career, having recently turned 30 Vertonghen along with his compatriot Toby Alderweireld have formed the leagues best centre back partnership. The defensive stalwart was incredibly efficient during Sunday’s north London derby he didn’t give the Arsenal forwards a sniff of a chance, it was a defensive performance to savour. However, it was also an impressive attacking performance from the former Ajax man, Vertonghen is renowned for his surging forward runs from the back, and the Belgium international was proactive in front of goal, testing Cech on two occasions. Vertonghen’s game is best crunched down in numbers, which is perfectly explained in the below tweet from Squakwa, which measures his major contribution to the game.

Vertonghen made some crucial interventions, he was slick and tidy, his overall play was testament to the magnificent season his enjoying with Spurs. Vertonghen likes to get stuck in, making accurate sliding challenges, whilst Alderweireld rarely does so opting instead for Maldiniesque interceptions. Vertonghen’s magnificent performances for Spurs over the course of the past two seasons have shown that he has evolved into one of the worlds finest defenders.

Spurs’ 2-0 victory over Arsenal was a defining moment in what has been an outstanding season for Pochettino’s side:

For the first time in 21 years Spurs confirmed that there would be no St Totteringham’s day, as Mauricio Pochettino’s side defeated bitter rivals Arsenal 2-0 in an enthralling north London derby at the Lane. In what was the last ever north London Derby at white hart lane, Pochettino’s side outclassed the gunners from start to finish, totally outwitting them. In many ways it was quite surreal for us Spurs supporters, seeing our team far superior in quality to Arsenal for the first time in over two decades. There was an air of confidence ahead of Sunday afternoons encounter, the deafening roar of the terraces and the expectation from the fans had everyone at fever pitch. The opening stages of the game saw a cautious approach from both sides, neither team wanting to leave themselves open to counter attacks, with the stakes so high. But it wasn’t before long that Pochettino’s side started to take control of the game, they produced numerous chances including a sitter that Christian Eriksen ought to have put away from close range, his effort crashing against the cross bar much to the despair of the Spurs faithful. We were testing the ever alert Peter Cech, with Arsenal offering little bar a fine effort from Aaron Ramsey to threaten Hugo Lloris’ goal. The atmosphere was building within our cherished stadium for the second half, we were all waiting for Spurs to strike. The Lillywhites raised the tempo for the second half and it wasn’t long before we broke past Arsenal’s unusually defensive stance, with Dele Alli breaking the deadlock on 55 minutes.

After Christian Eriksen’s good run inside the penalty area the Dane saw his deflected effort go between a cluster of Arsenal players, and who else was there but Dele Alli to poach the ball home, to send the Lane into scenes of delirium. It was a mere three minutes later when Spurs doubled their advantage in thrilling circumstances, Harry Kane was brought to the floor in what was a stone wall penalty, our talisman stepped up as composed as ever to tuck a delightful penalty into the inside corner of the net, leaving Cech rooted to his spot. Our second of the game had well and truly flattened Wenger’s already depleted side, we dominated for the remainder of the game forcing some phenomenal saves out of Cech. The scenes of jubilation in the home end was really special with many supporters staying beyond the end of the game to continue singing in appreciation to their brilliant team. Pochettino’s post match quote sums up the brilliance of this team: I said at half-time to keep going. We changed a little our positions in offensive situations, we tried to find better positions and better solutions to create the chances. In the end it was a fantastic performance and we deserved the victory.”

It was yet another breathtaking performance, which despite the lack of offensive threat posed by Arsenal, was won by the defence. The sheer magnificence of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld saw every slight bit of danger snuffed out, Vertonghen was my man of the match and I shall have an article on his performance published by Tuesday evening. Harry Kane lead the line with aplomb, it was a battling and ultimately rewarding performance from Kane. Our side oozed in creativity with Eriksen and Son, but it was also a tenacious performance. Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama’s presence in the centre of the park was immense, it truly was a game to saviour. Chelsea’s results are out of our hands they still lead by four points at the top, and will likely be crowned champions by the end of the month, but what’s important to our side is to play every game with the same tempo, the same hunger and style. We’ve got four massive games left, we’re on an incredible run and under Pochettino we’re quite frankly over achieving, Sunday’s game was testament to the exceptional season Spurs are having. COYS!

Some thoughts on Spurs’ important 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in midweek:

There was little time for the Spurs players and supporters to dwell on their dramatic elimination from the FA cup, in last Saturday’s semi-final defeat at the hands of Chelsea, at Wembley stadium. Mauricio Pochettino’s side knew they had to bounce back in midweek with the visit of Crystal Palace providing Spurs with the opportunity to close the gap at the top to four points, following Chelsea’s win over Southampton the previous night. We went into Wednesday’s night match knowing how very tough 3 points would be to achieve at Selhurst park, with Sam Allardyce’s inform eagles showing their dramatic improvement under Allardyce, with notable wins over Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool recorded in the past couple of weeks. The tough task ahead of us became clear to see in the opening stages of the game, Palace were dangerous with the speedy Wilfred Zaha constantly bothering our fullbacks. Their well structured and ultra defensive style of play, was stifling Pochettino’s sides creative play. And that consistently solid style of play would continue throughout the game, few clear cut chances and little to shout about. In fact that was the pattern for the majority of the game, apart from when Dele Alli ghosted in at the near post before putting the ball narrowly wide of Hennessy’s post. Palace began to tire in the final quarter of the game, but Pochettino’s resilient side still pushed to create that bit of magic that would put them ahead. And that bit of magic duly arrived on 78 minutes when out of nothing, Christian Eriksen decided to an unleash a thumping effort from long range, his effort dipping as it flew into the bottom corner of Hennessy’s net, scenes of elation followed in the away end!

The disappointment of the weekend put long behind for the Spurs players, as they fought hard to secure an invaluable three points in south London. It may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing game to watch for the neutral, but Pochettino’s side dug deep to grind out a precious victory that keeps them right in the title race, I shall be publishing a piece on the profound influence that man of the match Christian Eriksen has had on our season, in the coming days. Roll on Sunday, COYS!

Here comes the Son: Son continues to improve in his second season at the Lillywhites

While at times inconsistent, Son Heung-Mins second season in English football with Spurs has seen the South Korean winger significantly improve, and he has gone onto become one of Spurs’ most effective players under manager Mauricio Pochettino. Following a first season in north London which was stop, start due to injury, his form and confidence suffered and his big money move from Bayer Leverkusen had some fans questioning his worth come the end of last season. Whilst not the most consistent player last term, few can argue the massive contribution that his made to our side during the current campaign, his become much more consistent as he continues to adapt to the premier league. The 24 year old has chipped in with an impressive 18 goals in all competitions, as well as a handful of assists. Son’s a player who buys in to Pochettino’s footballing philosophy, he has a great work ethic, he plays the game with a smile on his face, is hungry to score goals and it’s that, that has given him a great affinity with the clubs supporters. The winger has been played on both flanks as well as upfront, whilst it’s unquestionable that his best position is on the right wing, his versatility has come in very useful for Pochettino, when injuries have prevented Kane from playing, Son has often been the preferred choice up front in Kane’s absence. Son ended last season on 8 goals in all competitions, after starting the season the so well with 3 goals in 3 games, Son’s season took a dip in form as he struggled with injuries. And when he did recover, he was often featuring only from the bench, the Spurs fans had only been treated to flashes of Son’s brilliance.

In contrast to last season Son has grown up as a player in the worlds strongest league, he has demonstrated his great goal scoring ability much more regularly, his statistics being very impressive for someone who plays out wide. His bursting runs down the flanks and his eagerness to cut in and have a shot from long range, were key attributes that our side was missing prior to his arrival. Son’s a great athlete, a player whose very fast over 10 metres, yes he can frustrate just like Erik Lamela can do as well, but this season is beginning to bring out the very best in this immensely talented forward. Pochettino has shown real faith in him as a player throughout the past two seasons, he has stuck by him even when he reportedly wanted to leave Spurs last summer, and Son’s repaying him with such great goal scoring form. At 24 years of age, I still think there’s a lot more to come from this South Korean mega star. I have also notice many of his fellow country men and women at the ground with his name on their backs. This can only be positive for our international standing and growing reputation. COYS!

“Simply superb!” My thoughts on Spurs’ dramatic 3-1 victory over Swansea:

With just two minutes remaining of normal time Spurs found themselves a goal down to 17th place Swansea City at the Welsh clubs Liberty stadium, Mauricio Pochettino’s side seemed destined for a first loss in eight league matches. Six minutes later there were scenes of pandemonium in the away end, Spurs were 3-1 up! Courtesy of a breathtaking three goal blitz with three wonderfully worked goals from Dele Alli, Son and Christian Eriksen securing a most dramatic three points for our title challenging side, we were simply superb! The sheer determination and fighting spirit that Pochettino’s side showed was nothing new, but the power that his injury stricken team showed to turn over a well structured Swansea side, in the space of just five minutes was testament to the outstanding team that they are. Whilst we were also attacking well on Wednesday nights game, we were sharp and our intensity was overwhelming the swans. Although no Spurs fan or pundit alike could have predicted Spurs’ late goal flurry. Each one of our late goals was wonderfully crafted and our players composure in front of goal was nothing short of outstanding, all that tough work on the training ground had given them the stamina yet again to achieve the near impossible. Whilst Wednesday’s win was down to a great team performance, there was one player who changed the game. Christian Eriksen’ creativity carved through the Swansea defence, the Danish international created a string of openings from within the midfield as he sprayed a series of sumptuous passes which eventually broke down Swansea’s tough defence.

After his deflected low pass found its way to Alli who tapped home for our equaliser, Eriksen again went on to make an important contribution to our second minutes later, before going on to secure all three points with a smart finish. It wasn’t just the creativity of Eriksen that won us the game, Dele Alli and Son were equally as effective and they stepped up yet again in place of talisman Harry Kane. Whilst the introduction of Vincent Janssen also helped change the game, the Dutchman’s impressive hold up play and assist for Son’s goal showed his great potential at Spurs as he begin to adapt to the premier league. We showed how good a side we really are, despite the numerous absentees which included Harry Kane and Victor Wanyama, Pochettino’s side are refusing to let Chelsea run away with the league title. Wednesday may just have been one of the most memorable games of the season and we return to action tomorrow afternoon when we face Watford at the Lane, this really is a special time for Spurs fans! COYS

Additional notes: I noticed that development squad midfielder Filip Lesniak was training with Wanyama ahead of Wednesday’s game, the young Slovakian defensive midfielder likely travelled due to our current lack of defensive midfielders following injuries to Winks and Wanyama.