Article by Lee Mason @HamsterBoxOneFollow e-Spurs on Twitter
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Thursday nights 2nd leg tie against AEL Limassol arrived with the hangover of our other Europa forays. It still felt like it would be a bit of a damp squib. However, the game was not a damp squib, in fact there was plenty of play which suggested that the squib is ready to be lit up this season. Previously a team like AEL Limassol would have turned up at the Lane and we would have laboured like a one armed window cleaner to get the job done. This time round, with a second string team we deployed the same tactics as against QPR. We harried the Cypriot side so much that on many an occasion they were forced to play the ball out for a throw or inadvertently passed to one of our players. Of course the opposition are hardly Bayern Munich but that doesn't mean that what we achieved in the game automatically became unimportant. There were 9 changes in the team from our last Premier League game and most of the team performed strongly. The stand out performances were from Sandro and Kane. Despite Kane's failure to convert his penalty he performed solidly throughout the game. But it was his technique and skill which was a joy to watch. His sublime turn in the middle of the park, leaving the Cypriot defender in his wake, the reverse passing, the drag backs and switches. Harry was at it again a little while later in the box, turning one defender and nutmegging another so cooly that the defender in question personified the concept of the nutmeg so much that he could have been bottled and place on a herb and condiments shelf in someone's kitchen. Sandro in the meantime did his best impression of Genghis Khan, albeit without getting a yellow card - not that I am suggesting that Genghis Khans slaughter of millions of people would only warrant a yellow card. Sandro did so well that I'd like to see him beside Capoue (replacing Bentaleb) as part of the 2 in the 4231 on Sundays tough Liverpool game.
The Europa Draw is largely ignored to the obviously favoured Champions league draw, but such is the antipathy for the Europa draw in the media that it suggests that the draw is conducted by crack addled tramps plucking teams out of a hat from behind an old bin. We drew Besiktas, Partizan Belgrade and Asteras Tripoli. Out of that lot we should finish top two, which means it's us and Besiktas realistically at the top. Besiktas who seriously trouble Arsenal over their two legged affair will cause many a Tottenham fan sleepless nights right up until the point where we realise that Partizan and Asteris are also in our group. We'll sleep like babies. However that's not to underestimate the teams we have in the group.
Beskitas finished third in the Turkish league and whilst after Galatasaray and Fenerbahce there is a big drop off to a load of teams that could win you Scrabble, they had managed to have the 2nd meanest defence. Having Demba Ba will be a great bonus to them and I feel that Besiktas will progress to the latter stages of the tournament. Their coach Slaven Bilic has had an up and down managerial career, a good spell with Croatia though not successful was followed by his time in Russian football where he managed Lokomotiv to a 9th place finish which resulted in his dismissal. This team will be our most difficult test in the Europa group stage, but I think if we progress the way we are currently we could get a couple of good results against them.
Partizan Belgrade finished 2nd last year, one point behind Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian league. They finished with a plus 44 goal difference, scoring 64 goals and conceding the least amount of goals in their league. Having opposition with a tough defence used to cause the old school Tottenham difficulty breaking down but we are showing the resilience to overcome that under Pochettino.
Asteras Tripoli finished 5th in the Greek league, but as with Besiktas below them are a bunch of teams that haven't even made a mark on Greece let alone Europe. Overall the group looks good for us. Later stages I feel we will be seeing the likes of Inter, Villareal, PSV, Everton, Sevilla and Napoli.
I'm off now to bite every last remnant of my nails until Tottenham Liverpool later today.
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