There are a few, unalienable truths in football. One is that regardless of your team's strengths and weaknesses, you assume that the team you support are the worst in the world at taking corners. (When Liverpool were dominating English football in the 1970s and 1980s, for example, a fanzine called 'Another Wasted Corner' popped up).
Another clear and obvious truth is that if your football team appear on Urban Dictionary, you are doing something wrong. This sad fate has befallen many in football, including Spurs:
The dual factors of a bewilderingly bonkers Premier League season and Tottenham's general adamantine excellence under Mauricio Pochettino had combined this year to seemingly end Tottenham's inherent 'Spursyness', as a resolute bunch of players pushed Leicester close to the Premier League. Yet sadly for Spurs fans, it was only a delay of the inevitable.
Before we get into that in detail however, we would like to point out just how horrendously cringeworthy the Chelsea celebrations were last night. It was extremely positive that they didn't just lie down and let Spurs steamroll them, and they deserve every bit of credit for that. But is this Instagram post from John Terry really necessary when you consider they've done little else than help another team take their title away.
And just in case you miss it, we'd like to give some particular attention to Terry choice of hashtag. #notonmyshift indeed.
But enough about that, we're here to talk about Spurs.
They have been the second-best team in England this season - and deserve to be runners-up - but the last two games have borne out a collapse under the pressure exerted by the remarkably focused Leicester. Successive Monday nights have seen Spurs settle for draws despite having led against West Brom and Chelsea, as Spurs' better nature did its thing.
Tottenham started well against West Brom eight days ago, but ultimately their solitary goal was a poor reflection of early dominance, and when West Brom equalised, Spurs looked bereft of attacking ideas. Consider Tottenham's response here to Leicester's rally against West Ham the week previous. 2-1 behind and down to ten men, Leicester kept on attacking, and while they equalised with a soft penalty with the final kick of the game, the Foxes should have had a penalty a few minutes previous for a foul on Robert Huth.
Tottenham, by contrast, looked exhausted against the Baggies, and while that one-off result against West Brom could be disregarded as an aberration, last night's draw with Chelsea exhibited traces of mental fragility.
Tottenham were extremely fired-up against Chelsea, flying into challenges with such fervour that it belatedly seemed to wake a Chelsea side into action, having been slumbering since the FA Cup loss at Everton.
This eventually descended into farce, however, as tempers flared beyond the rubicon as Pochettino rushed onto the field to break up a scrap between Willian and Danny Rose:
Pochettino on pitch embroiled in brawl pic.twitter.com/LfAXJkojJl
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) May 2, 2016
This set the tone for a team that unravelled mentally on the field. Kyle Walker snidely kicked Pedro, Lamela stamped on Fabregas' hand, Danny Rose clashed with Willian, Harry Kane and Eric Dier were among many guilty of extremely late tackles, and Moussa Dembele came extremely close to eye-gouging Diego Costa.
Once Gary Cahill scored to make it 2-1, Spurs never looked like scoring, and their improbable title dream flickered out. The end was all rather unseemly, as Guus Hiddink was shoved to the ground as the players went off the field:
69-year-old Guus Hiddink took a spill in the tunnel after being pushed by one of Tottenham's thugs. #Spurs #CFC pic.twitter.com/yLSvorL4ZR
— Soccer State (@soccerstate) May 3, 2016
Pochettino has moulded a very tough team in his image, but his side lost their clarity in a shroud of red-mist and emotion; impetuosity that began on the touchline. Afterwards, Pochettino addressed the loss of discipline as an unwanted element of a firebrand atmosphere:
Pochettino: "Fighting on the pitch is not a good example, but it's hard."
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) May 2, 2016
Last night's was a game that Tottenham should have won, but ended up blowing in a maelstrom of emotion and anger. This can perhaps be attributed to inexperience, as Pochettino stressed afterwards, this Spurs team is the youngest in the division. Yet the manner of the last couple of weeks, particularly of last night, seem to be analogous with the 'Spursyness' that has held them back for so long.
Claudio Ranieri has won the league by deviating from his usual, 'Tinkerman' nature, the job for Pochettino now is to ensure he can do the same with Tottenham.
See Also: Here's What We Learned About Jamie Vardy's House Last Night
See Also: Jose Mourinho Eats Humble Pie As Ranieri Quote Comes Back To Bite Him On The Arse
