Tottenham Hotspur has reintroduced rock & roll football.
Rock and roll football is back in north London people!
The Tottenham Hotspur stadium was transformed into a rave scene after Saturday night’s 2-0 demolition of Manchester United.
You had exuberant Spurs fans, including myself, leaping up and down and shouting Freed from Desire, Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur, and other songs.
You had the players down on the field celebrating, everyone with a great grin on their face, and of course, our manager Ange Postecoglou walking around the field clapping the supporters who screamed his name throughout the game.
This was something I hadn’t seen in a long time.
The fresh air that had been blowing through n17 has now moved into the stands. Gone are the days of subdued crowds and fan toxicity.
Liberated from Desire After full-time, I thought it was a fitting song choice. Nuno and the so-called’special one’ are free of the constraints of the Parmesan Pulis. With attacking, front-foot football, the mind and senses are cleansed. And all we want to see is Spurs more and more.
My family has always been entirely COYS, as Paul O Keefe would say, and I have always been a Spurs supporter, but in recent times it has been very easy to feel slightly distanced from the club.
You have managerial failures, you have the transfer of your best-ever player because he couldn’t win anything at Spurs, you have fossil football, you have rather disappointing transfer windows in previous years, and the list could go on.
While ticket prices have skyrocketed, it is fair to say that our club’s hierarchy is still rotten to the core, but with Big Ange at the helm, there appears to be a shift in authority over team affairs. Something that has long been lacking.
But enough of that nonsense; let’s go to the match.
Tottenham on fire against Man United
Where do I begin? I thought we were quite passive and unsteady for the first half hour or so, lacking the confidence to play our game and genuinely dominate the tempo.
With Bruno missing the absolute sitter, it felt like the momentum had shifted and we were finally out of second gear.
Since then, the game had only one possible outcome.
As for the players…
I have to give this nickname, “Yves Saint Laurent Bissouma,” to Expressions Oozing since it couldn’t be more suitable.
Bissouma rang circles around Casemiro, and to think we stole him from Brighton (The Athletic) for 25 million pounds is mind-boggling. That player exudes class, confidence, and a certain swagger as he glides with the ball, effortlessly slipping past United’s hapless midfield.
Pape Matar Sarr resembled a cross between Yaya Toure and Paul Pogba. This kid is extraordinary, and I have to give credit to Fabio Paratici for discovering him.
Last season, against AC Milan in the Champions League, the Senegalese midfielder ran rings around Sandro Tonali and was a shining light in what was a rather terrible tie.
Skipp started ahead of him in the second half of the season, which is completely unacceptable.
WHAT A PLAYER IS James Maddison. The man I’ve been hoping we’d sign to finally fill the Eriksen-shaped hole on our side has not disappointed. We also acquired him for an incredible deal. He is unquestionably world-class.
Vicario and Porro deserve a lot of credit as well, given that fans haven’t been totally sold on Vicario’s all-around game and Porro’s defensive qualities.
Vicario was a saving machine and looked far more comfortable on the ball than against Brentford. Porro was incredibly solid defensively as the game grew and now provides real competition for Emerson in the starting RB spot.
Overall, this game was a real signal of intent. Comfortably dismantling a team tipped for top 4 and now with the fanbase 110 per cent behind him, Ange Postecoglou can shut people like Paul Merson up and exceed preseason expectations.
The days of 5 at the back are over, Big Ange is here and it’s going to be a hell of a ride.
