Top Four, Nerves And A Rollercoaster Season At Tottenham

Here we are, cruising into the final weeks of a rollercoaster Premier League season, with our top four dreams alive, but have Tottenham got the nerve?

Three games into the 2021/2022 Premier League campaign, Tottenham Hotspur had won three, scored three, and conceded none. Nuno had made a dream start as Spurs manager, overcoming Manchester City, Wolves, and Watford.

Then, Tottenham shipped nine goals across three London Derby’s, scoring only once in losses against Crystal Palace, Chelsea, and Arsenal. After six league games, Nuno’s managerial rule was called into question and it took only five more tragic games until the Portuguese manager was sacked. And so began the thrilling Antonio Conte era. An era that should’ve begun in the summer instead of Nuno’s reign, but alas, here we are.

Conte rekindled something at Tottenham

Conte’s arrival lit the fire of excitement and hope to Tottenham supporters everywhere. Nuno’s Tottenham lacked a traditional flair that Spurs fans love about the club. It lacked tenacity. It even lacked tactics and vision. Antonio Conte brought an instant hope and feeling that Tottenham could achieve a top-four finish without too much hassle.

Since the Italian took the helm in November, it’s not always been sunshine at the Lane. Just cast your mind back all the way to several days ago where Spurs fell at home to Brighton & Hove Albion. Ninety minutes of Tottenham players not remembering how to play football, with Conte lacking a plan B against the tricky south coast side.

The Brighton defeat was an intriguing one. Arguably, it was the first game this season where Tottenham felt in real command in the race for Champions League football. Which makes it all the more nerve-racking.

Throughout the season, Tottenham’s chances of securing a top-four position have been rubbished off by many a supporter and neutral, rightly so for the most part. Even after small runs of form, much of the fanbase hasn’t been set on Spurs finishing above their rivals Arsenal, Manchester United or even West Ham. Myself included.

It was only two months ago that Tottenham couldn’t win more than one game in a row and impressive victories away to Manchester City and Leeds United were still followed by defeats at Burnley and Middlesbrough.

At the start of March, Tottenham tore a lowly Everton side to pieces, looking and feeling like the real deal to then go and lose away to an extremely lacklustre, but annoyingly present, Manchester United. Their performance at Old Trafford, however, was promising. That promise turned into fruition in the four games after. Spurs overcame Brighton, West Ham, Newcastle, and Aston Villa, scoring fourteen goals and conceding only twice.

A run that has pushed Spurs straight back into real contention, flipping the goal difference over and giving a true confidence boost back to the fans. It put Tottenham Hotspur in the driving seat and the pressure clearly came flooding in with that notion.

Tottenham’s four-game bolstering win streak came to an end over the Easter weekend in front of a nervy and demanding crowd, but confidence in and around the club must continue and not turn into complacency as it may have done against Brighton. Spurs don’t have an easy game left, regardless of the nature of the club they face.

Brentford has defeated both Chelsea and West Ham in the last couple of weeks and looked quality in doing so. We all know the omens of a former player facing off against us too.

Nevertheless, this Tottenham side has shown they can inflict damage on an opponent’s defence, whilst remaining solid at the back themselves. Having already beaten Brentford 2-1 at home this season, Spurs have to regain confidence and composure, especially if Arsenal are to overcome Manchester United in the early kick-off on Saturday.

Conte has balanced Tottenham’s attack by signing Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus. The Swedish wingers’ instant impact in the Premier League and confidence in and around the final third has been a welcomed boost and aid for Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

For the first time this season, Tottenham Hotspur looks somewhat of the real deal for that final Champions League spot, but how are your nerves? Sure, there are still question marks around certain players and the depth of the side, but Tottenham seems far more balanced now than at any other point this season or last.

In the pressure and tension of competing with a variety of clubs for one league spot, it’s expected that the players could quickly fatigue or grow frustrated in trying to break down compact defenses. However, Conte and Spurs need to call on their experience, skill, and grit to see these remaining six, cup finals out in any fashion.

It’s unrealistic to expect six wins out of six games, especially with a trip to Anfield and a north London derby still on the cards, but Tottenham has to push and push again.

The spirit of Amsterdam, if you’d like? Or the Etihad in the same Champions League run?

Or when Burnley overcame a 4-1 deficit in the 2008/09 League Cup semi-final second leg, to almost knocking us out of the cup in extra time at Turf Moor, but Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe pulled us through to the final in the 118th and 120th minute of extra time.

The Amsterdam one is probably the best spirit to use in the modern era, isn’t it?