I, along with thousands of other Spurs fans, feel deprived of any explanation as to the events at Anfield on Saturday evening. It has never been a great place for us to go, I am well aware of that, but the way we went down left a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. In a previous article I wrote that we needed to come out strong from the first whistle, play with aggression and utilise Eriksen as much as possible to unpick a leaky Liverpool back line. This script was sadly never meant to be.  

It still makes me angry now. Angry that I feel compelled to write this. Angry that us fans seemed to know what we needed to do or at least try to implement at Anfield, yet the players and Poch did not. Angry that yet again, when all eyes were on us and we had a moment to shine, we failed. Again.

Why did we play such a high line, thus allowing Liverpool space to play into. Why was Dier terrible? Why did Wanyama have his arguably worst game in a Spurs shirt. Why did Poch bring on Jannsen at 82 minutes and not 70. Why can’t we get a bloody result away from home!

Unfortunately, I do not have the answers to any of the above. However, I truly hope that during this week and before our match against KAA Gent in Belgium on Thursday night, that these questions are addressed, analysed and taken seriously.

This is a big week for us. Take nothing for granted. Two away games at teams that will be desperate to get a result against us. We have 2 real shots at silverware in the FA Cup and the Europa League. I hope we field strong teams in both and take them both seriously. I almost fear us becoming victims of our own recent success. What Pochettino is doing is AMAZING and I take nothing away from that. I love Spurs to the core but we have to get results when we really need them otherwise we will become the nearly boys and never throw away the ‘Spursy’ tag!

Onwards we go. It’s not all doom and gloom. We sit 2^nd in the Premier League. The other teams are closing in though and we really need a massive push and maximum points from a fairly attractive looking run of fixtures.

I hope that this time next week I can be a little more optimistic and reflect fondly on a couple of good cup wins!

COYS!!!

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The above is without a doubt the current attitude of many fans. However, hold on to your horses! This will not be an effortless jaunt up to Merseyside to play a team that will simply roll over and let us tickle their belly! Jurgen the German will be drilling those Liverpool lads like never before. Yes, they have had a terrible January and early February but this is a team with some real quality in the dressing room. If motivated in the right way they are capable of beating top teams. If stopping our title hilt isn’t enough to motivate those players then they may as well say Auf Wiedersehen to the rest of their season.

Liverpool away is generally a tricky affair and hasn’t been our most fruitful of hunting grounds in recent years. You have to go back to May 2011 in the EPL tie to find our last victory at Anfield. VDV and a 2^nd half Luka Modric penalty securing us the spoils on the day.

So what do Spurs need to do to keep Chelsea in sight and perhaps more importantly keep the likes of Arsenal looking up at us?

In recent games we have come up against two sides in Sunderland and Middlesbrough who were set up to strangle the game, get 9/10 men behind the ball and play for a draw. There were many players below par up at Sunderland so the less said about that the better (Wanyama has been a revelation this season but he really should have scored with that header!) but when it came to Middlesbrough our persistence paid off as Kane coolly dispatched from the spot.

The game will be much more open at Anfield. Both teams like to play the high press so expect a fast start from both sides. I think this will be our biggest defensive test yet without Vertonghen and Rose. I think we will set up with a back 4 rather than the 3 we have seen in recent months.

Spurs really do need to focus on that strong start. The first 10 minutes will tell us a lot and we need to let Liverpool know we are not there to be bossed around the park. We need to play with aggression and not let Liverpool settle into a rhythm so that the likes of Coutinho and Firminho can start to play.

Our biggest opportunity of securing a win is going to come by putting a shaky looking Liverpool back line under constant pressure. They will make mistakes as has been proven time and time again. We will need Eriksen at his best, when he plays well he really is key to creating chances for the likes of Alli and Kane.

It will be a tough match on Saturday, Liverpool will be out to prove a point and get their season back on track. However, with the right attitude, aggression and a fast start I think Spurs can walk away from Anfield with all 3 points!

#COYS!!!

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