England's Loss is not Tottenham's Gain

It was a brutal night for English fans as Iceland rejoiced with a spectacular 2-1 win that further enhanced their Icelandic commentators novel goal commentary.  With five Tottenham players in the England squad, at least a former Tottenham player in Gylfi Sigurdsson could celebrate a win against half of his former team.  It is not a result however that should surprise Spurs fans.

Tottenham fans have been used to dreaming big and they are also as long-suffering in results as England have also traditionally been.  The only major difference being that England won the World Cup in 1966 and Tottenham last won the League Title in 1961 - so technically Spurs fans have suffered about 5 years longer than England fans who expect victory as a divine right for having invented the game.

There have been moments of great expectations, none more so than the night Gareth Bale became an overnight sensation in 2010 for rescuing the tie for Spurs after Inter Milan had forged ahead.  It was a tie that Spurs eventually won over two legs.  Real Madrid consequently knocked Spurs out, ironically with goals by Emmanuel Adebayor.

When a Spurs player announces himself on the World Stage, an inevitable bid follows and in Bale's case it became a World record successful bid from Real Madrid.  Bale has since gone on to win two Champions League trophies and has guided Wales to the Quarter-Finals of the very Euro competition that England was expected to do well.  England finished 2nd to Wales in the group though they did beat Wales.  If Wales and Portugal both win their quarter-final games, it sets up a semi-final showdown between Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, though Belgium and their superior team should put pay to any scenario unfolding like that, though it does need to be said that Belgium still have three Tottenham players in their first squad.

Tottenham finished 3rd after their young team ran out of steam at the end of a tiring season, so having five of them in the England team was a surprise.  They were also helped by misfiring seasons for Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool - and under a "normal" season would more likely have placed 7th.  Leicester City won the title in a way that is now reminiscent of how unlikely pundits feel about Iceland reaching the Quarter Finals.  Yet due to the poor seasons of the big teams in the league, they would have finished 5th in any other season.  If Spurs have any consolation, it is that Arsenal under-performed even more so, though they did achieve St. Totteringham's Day for the 21st successive year.

Tottenham's new manager Mauricio Pochettino is trying to change the attitude of the club by creating a more fearsome and tough tackling team, which is different to the way Spurs have played for decades upon decades.  Pochettino is also a manager that has his long-term sights and heart on becoming a manager of Paris St.Germain (PSG).  That irony is not lost that the Spurs players never got to play in Paris this time around.   While clubs like Manchester United admire Pochettino, he has yet to win a significant trophy, with the closest being a minor final losing to Jose Mourinho in the 2015 League Cup Final.  Mourinho has since been appointed as the new manager of Manchester United.

Spurs have been tipped to be title contenders, but England are always tipped to win a final also and both clubs have a 50 year+ wait for this expectation to materialize.  The chief omen for Tottenham supporters is that in many years ending in the Year 1, they have won a signficiant trophy.  Maybe they might do that in 2021 because if they can hold their team together rather than remain a selling club of their top talent, that could be a possibility - by then they will be playing in their new stadium.

Mauricio Pochettino is also helping England's cause by focusing on English talent, which is something the Premier League has not been known for ever since the best players could be purchased and now with a $5 Billion League sponsorship deal, they can certainly attract.  Until this happens, Spurs will continue to be the little club that thinks of itself as a big club.  It was a big club in 1961-1962 when it lost 4-3 on aggregate to eventual winners Benfica.  In that regard Spurs share a legacy with Benfica, but at least Benfica's legacy is explained by a curse, Spurs never had that excuse, to date Tottenham Hotspur have not lived upto expectations because they have not lived those expectations - the way that Real Madrid turned into their psyche.

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