Matt Lynch spoke to Ross Perkins from Read Tottenham ahead of Mondays’s game against Spurs at White Hart Lane.
1. How Is It Going So Far? 30 seconds.
Surprisingly well! The emphasis on youth at the start of the season sounded like it could have backfired, but just one loss in the league with the youngest average squad age, tells you how much Tottenham have bought into Mauricio Pochettino’s philosophy.
Having had the summer to mould the squad in the way he saw fit, Pochettino dropped the deadwood and bought wisely, with the view to harnessing potential, rather than chasing so-called big name players.
It’s a much more balanced squad, with everyone pulling their weight and buying into the ‘project’ of focusing on youth. There’s plenty of things to cheer about and whilst an early League Cup exit is disappointing, the kids and the manager have the backing of many Tottenham fans.
2. Best player in your squad? 15 seconds.
For me, Toby Alderweireld has been a rock since joining from Atletico. The fact that we have the joint-best defensive record in the league tells you about the impact he has made since joining the club. Spurs were porous, leaking goals left, right and centre. Now, it’s a much tougher defence to crack and Alderweireld has been a huge part of that.
3. Who do you hate in the Villa squad? 15 seconds.
There’s no one in the Aston Villa squad I deem to really hate, but Gabriel Agbonlahor does have the potential to rub people up the wrong way and when he does score that often rare goal, he’ll certainly ensure the opposition fans know about it.
4. What do you make of the Sherwood sacking? 25 seconds
For me, Sherwood was extremely fortunate to get the Tottenham job in the first place and at Villa Park, he was found out for what he was; someone who didn’t understand tactics enough to take charge of a Premier League side.
Sherwood was good at giving soundbites and said all the right things in interviews and in his newspaper column, but there’s no gameplan or structure to his team. The style of football at Villa has not been great this season and whilst you can’t argue with his performances as Villa boss last season, over a longer period of time he doesn’t sustain those good performances.
Spurs fans were annoyed at Sherwood’s brutal honesty in post-match interviews and the way they were set up to fall against the bigger teams in the league. In Villa’s case, they were so brittle, they often fell and the responsibility lies solely with the manager.
5. Unsung hero in your squad? 10 seconds.
This season it’s got to be Kyle Walker. Having fallen by the wayside for the past few seasons and garnering so much stick off of fans in the process, this season he is more solid, dependable and his defensive understanding has improved dramatically.
6. Where will the game be one and lost? 20 seconds
Spurs may have shored up their defence, but at the other end, they haven’t always been convincing in the final third. Harry Kane had struggled initially this season until finding his scoring boots and firing three past Bournemouth.
With Spurs keeping three clean sheets out of their last four home games, Villa’s defence will certainly need to keep Kane quiet and cut off his supply in the form of Christian Eriksen. With Eriksen notching up two goals and an assist in the last three games, the Dane is the dangerman and when he’s on form, so are Tottenham.
Kane will drop deep and work hard to hold the ball up, so Villa’s deepest lying midfielder will have to be strong and stop him from being able to carry the ball forward. With Spurs lacking pace on the wings, a lack of forward runners beyond Kane will hinder their chances at breaking through the Villa defence.
7. Prediction? 5 seconds.
Villa are unorganised and out of sorts. Tottenham 3-0 Aston Villa
