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Spurs and United’s Fortunes Diverged Since August

By Ryan Wrenn

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 08: A dejected Kyle Walker of Tottenham Hotspur after scoring an own goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on August 08, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 08: A dejected Kyle Walker of Tottenham Hotspur after scoring an own goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on August 08, 2015 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images) /
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On Sunday, Spurs will get a chance to make up for two regrettable losses against Manchester United over the last 13 months.

The first came last March, when Spurs and United were in a dead heat to take a Champions League place by the end of the season. Mauricio Pochettino took his squad to Old Trafford confident that they could put up a fight, only to be undone with three goals before the end of the first half.

Spurs never recovered from that loss, though they managed to string together enough points to still finish fifth, one place behind United.

All of which set the stage nicely for this season’s opener back in August. Spurs would host United in the opening round of a season that was framed very differently for both teams.

United, of course, had managed to secure Champions League qualification, and to some their late season surge was a sign that Louis Van Gaal had successfully taken the team back to the winning ways of Sir Alex Ferguson. The 2015/16 season was Van Gaal’s chance to solidify that impression.

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Pochettino had different priorities for Spurs ahead of their last match against United. The last season had been another disappointment even if Pochettino brought with him an objectively superior brand of football than what had come before it at the club. Instead of losing faith, chairman Daniel Levy had instead given the Argentine coach even more license to continue molding the team to his liking. Suddenly it was not about immediate success. One gets the impression that Levy and company might have even been content with another season missing out on Champions League football. This team was under construction and needed time.

Oh, how much changes in eight months. Coming into Sunday’s game, United are once again challenging for the last Champions League place, but it’s come after a start to the campaign that many would regard as a struggle at best. Regardless of the results earned in these last six matches, Van Gaal looks to be a dead man walking, with Jose Mourinho waiting impatiently in the wings to take the helm at Old Trafford.

Spurs, meanwhile, have enjoyed one of the most unexpected seasons in recent Premier League memory. Pochettino’s hard work paid off far sooner than virtually anyone expected, with the players gradually growing in fitness to meet the demands of his intense pressing tactics. Combined with the sustained brilliance of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen, the ascent of Dele Alli and, yes, the horrid form of many of the league’s perennial challengers, this has already been a season to remember for Spurs.

They have risen above the ranks of all of their most hardened competitors, including Arsenal, and are currently still in the hunt for their first league title since 1961. Were it not for Leicester City having an even more remarkable season, Spurs would be headline news the world over.

Next: Dele Alli Made His Tottenham Debut Eight Months Ago Today

There are still six matches left to play though. Matches like Sunday’s are chances for Spurs to continue to shed their underdog status, as will the contest against Chelsea in a few weeks’ time. This is a team that has defied almost every pre-season forecast, and one that can continue to do so right up through the summer.