Mails: Disgraceful, fraudulent Spurs were exposed

Matt Stead

A bonus Mailbox, eh? We do treat you. Read the Leicester special here. Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com

 

The Spurs view
Fair play Leicester.

As a Spurs fan I’ve felt like something of a party pooper this past month being in a select group not actively backing the Foxes Fairytale.

I never really thought they would slip up, although with Vardy out I thought there was a glimmer of hope. Every other player stepped up, and kept doing what they have been doing all season.

So well done Leicester- to be honest I think I would have felt bad if Spurs had overtaken them at the last, such was the excitement across the city, and denied the Roy of the Rovers ending. I think that’s possibly the most British thing ever.
Andy, London.

 

I don’t think any Leicester fan wanted to win the League that way, and it’s not the way we wanted to lose it. 9 yellow cards, several should have been reds, and probably 2, maybe 3 bans for violent conduct. And Alli wasn’t even playing.. We were a disgrace. It’s a good thing we already have Champions League football effectively wrapped up, because I’m not sure how good we’ll be without Dembele, Lamela, Alli and possibly Dier. I wouldn’t be surprised if the fine from this game puts the club into bankruptcy..

It puts a dark shadow over a brilliant season and I’m just typing shit now so feel free not to publish this.

Congrats to Leicester, we f***ed it up, and I can no longer complain that you’re a dirty side after that.
Mario, THFC

 

when you lose leads to mid-table sides like West Brom and Chelsea and it’s the business end of the season, you don’t deserve to be champions. it really is that simple.

well done Leicester. you proved again that clean sheets win titles. i hope that all of your players stay at least one more year.

enjoy those European trips to Pots 2, 3 and 4. you’ve more than earned them.
Lloyd Stiles, already can’t wait for next season, THFC, Vienna.

 

I had the unfortunate experience of watching the game las night. John Terry, being interviewed after the game, was trying to big it up as the same as the North London clashes, but it never was and never has been. It was just nasty and unfortunately for our young players, they got sucked in to the niggles by the Chelsea players who realized that they weren’t going to get anything from the game, playing their mid-table football.

Kane, Lamella, Eriksen and Son played through Chelsea once they’d got through the initial Chelsea pressure and Clattenburg kept his cards in his pocket for as long as he could, but when they finally came out, it was for the Spurs youngsters, who’d lost their composure.

By the time Chelsea started to play football, assisted by Hazzard, most of the Spurs team had been booked, including Kane. I can see a few FA charges coming too. Dembele for the eye gouge on Costa, Spurs for failing to control etc. etc.

It’s been a great season, we’d all have taken 2nd and ahead of Arsenal at the start. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Congrats to Leicester City, deserving Champions.
Keith (Spurs fan in Kazakhstan)

 

Spurs were a disgrace
But what of Spurs? I have (grudgingly) admired their spirit, the wonderful goals that Kane has scored, the strong defence of Alderweireld, the probing runs of Danny Rose, the artistry of Alli and Eriksen and the tactics of Pochettino but last night they were a disgrace.

Walker should have been booked for the niggling kick on Pedro, Dembele should have been off at half-time for eye gouging Costa, the wild tackles of Rose should have earned him two yellows and a red and Dier was lucky to stay on the pitch after his wild lunge at Hazard having already received a yellow a few minutes earlier.

Yes Tottenham players lost it big time. They are young and will learn from this and push for the title next year, they deserve it; but last night they were awful. It’s easy to be good winners but what you have to learn first is to be a good loser.

And finally, isn’t last night a further justification, if any was needed, for having a fourth official reviewing the action for serious foul play?

What benefit is it to a team if, after the match, a panel decide that a player should be suspended for three games for seriously violent conduct? Dele Alli’s punch on West Brom’s Jacob in the 26th minute should have resulted in a red card and Spurs being reduced to ten men; Dembele should certainly have gone at half-time last night.

Retrospective action doesn’t punish the offending team enough. Spurs still played both games with a full complement of players for ninety minutes when they should have played for almost two hours with ten.

Once players know that their actions can be almost immediately sanctioned this type of thuggery will hopefully stop.

Congratulations to Leicester, commiserations to Tottenham and roll on for next season’s Champions League. Leicester SEEDED as the Champions of England, alongside fellow domestic champions Juve, Bayern, PSG, one of Barca/Atletico/Real. The King Power Stadium will be blasting out ‘ce sont les meilleuers…’ on Tuesday/Wednesday evenings. Mon Dieu.

Cordialement,
Spetsnat

 

Let’s just put it out to be clear, it’s a well deserved league win for Leicester. No argument there. Fun title race with many twists, but a clear winner.

I expect, as I’ve seen on social media already, other fans to claim Spurs bottled it and whatnot. We’ve never been top of the league this season and lost the position, unlike Man City (from week 1 ’till about week 16) and Arsenal (week 10, 16, and from 19 to 22). So we didn’t bottle anything. However, I really hope more people start giving Chelsea the critics they deserve for the season they’ve had because while the press was on their back at the start of the season (they were more surprised than anything else really), but still expecting a comeback in form (which more or less happened), they completely forgot about them with the whole Leicester fairytale. But then, what’s with this situation with Chelsea fans chanting “Leicester!” like Chelsea had won the league themselves? I understand the chants and love for Ranieri, but it’s pathetic that I heard a Blues fan calling on some show saying: “tonight’s result is right up there with winning the Champions League.” Chelsea fans have hit a new low, or at least this one fan, although I’m pretty sure he’s not alone from what I’ve seen elsewhere. They celebrated a draw against Spurs like they won the league themselves, a draw that put them 9th in the table. A draw. Against Spurs. Times have changed, huh?

Regarding the game, it was a mental physical clash that any neutral would have enjoyed. 9 yellow cards for Spurs, a Prem record. Pochettino’s naughty boys. Then again, more fouls could have been yellows for Spurs and definitely more fouls could have been yellows for Chelsea. Everyone expected to see a red card in that second half. It didn’t happen, but overall Mark Clattenburg was alright. Being a ref seems the impossible job.

Something quite obvious emerged from the game though: Spurs are the black sheep of the Prem. With everyone behind Leicester to win the league at this point, even TV commentators who hardly tried to hide it, Spurs found itself alone. Lilywhites were for a long time between the status of big club and mid-table club, as shown financially and recent results. Tonight, Spurs players fought to the limit trying to get a result in an extremely physical but usual London derby, doing what they’ve done all season, as naughty as it is. Get team fouls all over trying to get possession back, the Poch way. Most calls Clattenburg had to make were tough ones, two adversary players clashing in the middle of the park for the ball, a fraction of second to see who committed the foul, sometimes both did. You have to balance for one side to make a decision. In the end, Spurs had the most fouls, twenty. We might have become a naughty team, but it has a purpose under Poch. We’re transitioning to the status of big club with the new stadium and now likely (and hopefully) regular Champions League. While commentators were repeating over and over that Spurs had lost it, committing foul after foul, and I tend to agree partly with them, the reality I saw was a bit different. Part nerves (young squad, most apparent with Walker’s mistakes I guess), part trying to be perfect (Alderweireld on the two Chelsea goals), but mostly, a London derby, pure entertainment. But Spurs are the black sheep of the Prem mainly because nobody sees them as a big club or takes them that seriously, and while pundits say that Poch and al. will go challenging for the title for years to come, once the big clubs rebuild this summer, they’ll go back to their usual selves and predict an easy Man City title under Pep next season. And Spurs will be back at the edge of the Top 4 predictions.
John Blakeway

 

Writing this as the seconds tick away in the Chelsea-Spurs game with a big smile on my face. The frauds have been exposed!

Honestly, have Spurs really been that good? They, like Leicester, have benefited from everyone else being poor. Were they ever even REAL contenders? They never led the table and they were only considered challengers late on when Arsenal and City had fallen away. What was the narrowest gap to the top and they couldn’t even take it to the penultimate game. I just don’t think they’ve been as good as they’re being made out to be at all, at all. They’re going to finish with a points total which is usually enough for about 4th, on average.

I can’t say much, because my own side, Liverpool, have obviously been inconsistent and miles off the pace but even so, Spurs couldn’t beat us in either meeting.

I’ve always believed there is something ingrained in Spurs DNA that makes them frauds. They’ve bottled it twice in a week so I’m happy to be proven right for once.

How pathetic and petulant were they at the end? Amusing to see them reacting like that. It makes me even happier that they didn’t win seeing that behaviour. How Dier and Walker weren’t sent off is baffling. I hope Lamela and in particular that scumbag Dembele get lengthy bans. If Suarez got 4 months for the bite on Chiellini, Dembele should get at the very least the same for trying to blind someone, disgusting.
Shane (Already nervous about Thursday), Ireland, LFC

 

Oh Spurs. Oh Spurs, oh Spurs, oh Spurs. It didn’t take a slip. It didn’t take a good Mourinho side or a relentless City. It took a team of rejects and misfits, and a manager sacked by Greece 18 months ago.

As a Liverpool supporter who endured the taunts of ‘you almost won the league’, I won’t go on about the fact that you blew it effectively to a Championship side, nor will I point out that your maximum points haul this season would not even have secured you a top 4 finish when we ‘almost won the league’, I won’t draw attention to the fact that Leicester’s maximum this season would have seen them finish a point behind us when we ‘almost won the league’, I won’t even focus on the fact that you never even sat atop the Premier League pile for a single moment this season, I’ll simply congratulate you for ending your challenge with such decency, sportsmanship and by playing the game ‘the right way’, and not gouging, stamping, scything, fighting or tunnel brawling like the secret ale house team that you really are. Bravo.
Steve, LFC. London (via Bootle).

 

I’d be embarrassed if I were Chelsea
Dear Editor

Ok… It’s 23.16. I’ve computed what happened this evening. As a Spurs fan, my conclusions are thus… They may still have a rawness for which I apologise.

*Fair play Leicester. If Spurs had not been involved I would have been cheering heartily at their victory. It has changed the face of football for the foreseeable future and in Raneiri, they have a manager that many would covet. It is always joyous to see an underdog succeed. It is a shame that Spurs have been scripted as the spoilers, when they themselves are a surprise package this season.

*I am delighted by Tottenham’s season and I can’t deny the future is bright. Most Spurs fans, due to our innate pessimism, had written it off after we lost to West Ham. However, we’ve been great to watch this year. And if you had offered me second in January I’d have ripped your arm off. With Poch committed, no big sales, the new stadium… It’s exciting times at Spurs.

*Chelsea were/are despicable. Look back over that game and see how many times they surrounded the ref and waved imaginary cards. This on top of open comments from players about their preferences for the title. Do it, think it, but don’t say it. I actually think Clattenburg did a good job tonight. We lost our heads, but in the face of some extremely childish behaviour from Chelsea.

*There is a tiny part of me who thoroughly enjoyed our aggressive response to blowing it. Spurs have always been a soft touch, and I’m not condoning some of the tackles that went in, but I do love that Spurs have some hard nuts who are prepared to mix it up. That said, we lost our heads. But the experience will see us stronger. Inexperience was the killer. We’ll be better next year.

*As a final thought, the placards for Claudio; the time wasting at 2-2; the delight at the result… All is an embarrassment for a club who have been shocking this year in defending their title. Hang your heads in shame.

Well done Leicester… Genuinely pleased. And well done Spurs… Most enjoyable season for many a year.

Jim Bags
(Bedfordshire)

 

Poor Spurs
Well that’s the mailbox sorted for the rest of the week!

I’ll leave others to deservedly celebrate Leicester, but lets not forgot Spurs. They have been magnificent this season and have fallen short in the cruellest of ways. Mentally they fell apart (9 yellows and 0 reds is very impressive!) and perhaps with two teams in completely unprecedented situations, it was inevitable for one of the two to crumble.

In any other season they would have been the miracle, yet somehow end a distant second this time. They have a young squad and a great manager in Pochettino and I know it’s clichéd, but to those young players, losing like that will make them a much better team moving forward. I fully expect to see them up and competing for the title again next year.

Congratulations to Leicester for putting the magic back into football in the most memorable of seasons.
Tom Saints (Claudio Ranieri has got to be the nicest man and most deserving recipient of Manager of the Year ever)

 

Yes
Is that the most spursy result of all time?
TGWolf(P&F Believe)

 

Bloody Chelsea
Chelsea just love to ruin a title chance don’t they!
Mark (So happy for Leicester) LFC

 

Some random Newcastle thoughts
Given the barrage of mails that will be sent re: Leicester and any other top half controversy etc., I’m duty-bound to get something in for Newcastle! (Congrats LCFC and all that, commiserations to Spurs)

First off, I’m sure there are plenty of people that were thinking the same as me as Cabaye stepped up for that pen- I can’t say 100% but I was 90% sure he would not score. Whether it was the quiet word in his ear, or the way he set himself up, it just looked like he didn’t want to score lol! He didn’t look particularly bothered either that it was saved- cheers Cabaye! Still loved at NUFC!

Moving swiftly on:

-A solid performance overall, Lascelles really looks a great prospect and if, IF NUFC can beat the drop and Rafa stays, this young man will become a very good defender in years to come.

-Townsend’s running was phenomenal! (surely there’s a sprint-related stat someone can provide)… Can’t help thinkin tho, every time I see him blast the ball wide or dribble when a pass was the best option, he’s an improved version of Obertan with hair essentially? Regardless- really great to see hunger in the team!

-Anyone else laugh when watching Shelvey ‘sprint’ back into midfield towards the end of the game- or his equally amusing ‘sprint’ on the overlap? I choked on my beer a bit. Looked like a kid from lads n dads footy that’s just been treated with the magic sponge and tears around for a few mins with tears still in his eyes haha.

-If he can get fitter, Mitrovic will be a real asset next season- such a handful playing on the man, just needs more running in him.

-Midfield I thought should’ve been freshened up a bit earlier, Sissokho and Wijnaldum looked to be flagging and the pressing at times resembled the remaining seconds of an NBA game when it’s a ‘blow out’.

-Finally, having the likes of Ayoze Perez, Shelvey and Mitrovic to come off the bench was just brilliant to see, Rafa getting performances out of more of the squad meaning we have decent players to come on, and all 3 of them looked hungry and willing to contribute to the cause!
Jon (With Rafa, Optimism Returns), Guangzhou, China.