All in for Europa Quest

Article by Guy Flitton

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In the end our qualification for the Europa League was a lot more straightforward than might have been the case. Despite our opponents Limassol being as limited as expected, I have been following Spurs for long enough to witness more than a fair share of seemingly routine tasks stretched out to the point of near disaster, poking my head out from behind the sofa to monitor developments on the TV.

As it turns out the performance against Limassol was a solid, if perhaps unspectacular performance, in which we were rarely required to move out of second gear. First off the positives, the highlight of which being the performance of Harry Kane. With Pochettino shuffling his cards with an eye on the Liverpool game on Sunday, Kane was asked to fill the role of lone striker. It was a performance full of guts, heart and effort. What most impressed me was how despite his early penalty miss Kane showed admirable strength of character to continue to get himself into goal scoring opportunities, and his efforts were duly rewarded with a composed finish for his goal. Ultimately, Kane will probably feel disappointed not to have finished the match with a hat-trick to his name, such were the number of chances which came his way. There were also encouraging performances from Sandro and Paulinho, with the latter scoring with a finish which would have left Kane feeling envious he was not able to replicate with his own chances. Paulinho goes about his business in the centre of the park in a very understated way, industrious yet quietly effective. Whilst it can be true that Paulinho sometimes struggles to exert his influence on matches with games sometimes seeming to pass him by, hopefully this season he can kick on, with his aim having to make himself an indispensable part of Pochettino's line up. Sandro plays in a much more noticeable manner, buzzing around in his best 'seek and destroy mode', breaking up play and generally making a nuisance of himself. Whisper it quietly, but it seems he is just the type of player Man Utd are crying out for at present...

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Briefly, the not so positives. The displays of Lennon and Townsend continue to be a cause for alarm. Both struggled to make any real impact on the game, offering very little sustained threat from the wings, and even less in terms of end product. What perhaps made these performances more disappointing was the fact that this was a real opportunity for both to impress the boss man, but their apparent real lack of desire to do so was concerning. Don't get me wrong, both put in an effort, but at this stage in both their Spurs careers something much more is required. Both need to offer far more of an attacking threat on a consistent basis, as well as significantly increasing their goal scoring output.

With this minor moan out of the way, its time to focus on the fact that we have now qualified for the Europa League for the fourth consecutive season. We all know that the club desperately desire the bright lights and big bucks of Champions League football, but this does not mean that our continued presence in the Europa league should be sneered at. Indeed, given that UEFA have attempted to increase the appeal of the competition by giving the winners a place in the qualifying stages of next seasons Champions League, this is the year which we must make a real concerted effort to go all the way. The Europa League arguably offers a slightly easier route into CL football, the main gripe often being the long distances to various European backwaters. Our record in PL games after Europa matches was particularly dire last season, but if Pochettino is effectively able to rotate his squad there should be a big improvement this time round.

Finally, I can't end without mentioning Michael Dawes. 'Dawes' has been a fantastic servant to the club throughout his near decade of service. Much loved by fans and fellow pros, Dawes was passion, pride and commitment personified and always led the club with true heart. One memory sums the man up. I was at WHL one miserable winter night a couple of seasons ago for a Europa match. During the warm up, Dawes took the time to present his gloves to a young lad in the stands. Only a small gesture, but one which many a player would not have taken the time to do. Farewell Dawes, you will be sorely missed - a top professional, and more importantly a top bloke.

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