da roleta： Former Tottenham Hotspur ace David Ginola believes that the club reaching the Champions League final was the worst thing that could have happened to them last season, per The Daily Mail.
What’s he said?
da marjack bet： Spurs enjoyed a dramatic run to the final, beating Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City, and Ajax en route to a defeat to Liverpool.
They endured a disappointing start to this campaign, though, and sacked manager Mauricio Pochettino in November following a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United that left them 14th in the Premier League.
Jose Mourinho was subsequently appointed as manager but Ginola believes that the downturn in form began when they reached the Champions League final.
That, he says, set expectations too high for those in and around the club.
He said: “I think the worst-case scenario for Tottenham was to play in the Champions League final last year.
“I mean, it was great for the fans, great for the club, great for everyone at the club, but it put them on a stage when they weren’t really there yet.
“You think of other clubs who have been there year in year out in the last four years, then suddenly Tottenham come out and play in the final against Liverpool. That makes you a team people are going to watch and come to expect great things from. I mean, they were doing great, but on the other hand they weren’t winning anything!
“But you play in the final of the Champions League and all of a sudden if you start losing games people say ‘oh what’s going on, last year we played in the final of the Champions League, this year we’re going to struggle to finish in the top 10 teams.’
“That’s the issue I think, they were too quick in getting to the final of the Champions League. You have to win things in your home country first before going abroad and winning trophies there.”
No clues whatsoever: Which seasons do these iconic Spurs images belong to?
Nailed it
Ginola has hit the nail on the head here.
Tottenham enjoyed a miraculous run that included one of the very best Champions League comebacks of all time; they came from 3-0 down on aggregate to beat Ajax on away goals, with Lucas Moura scoring a 96th-minute winner.
It was a victory built on blood, sweat, and tears more than a cogent tactical plan.
Spurs, though, were papering over the cracks. Following a 3-1 win over Leicester City in the Premier League, they won just three of their final 12 games, losing seven.
Ginola is right that the European run artificially inflated expectations and Pochettino was a victim of that.
It’s harsh, really, but perhaps it was an inevitable consequence of such a phenomenal run of results.
Meanwhile, Darren Bent has criticised this Spurs ace!