• Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara

Our tradition of playing attractive, entertaining football...

...is it a help or a hindrance?

I don't know and.....absolutely no offence meant towards you or your question....I don't care!

I love the fact that entertaining, passing, attacking football is woven into the very DNA of this club. I wouldn't have it any other way - hindrance or not.
 
I don't know and.....absolutely no offence meant towards you or your question....I don't care!

I love the fact that entertaining, passing, attacking football is woven into the very DNA of this club. I wouldn't have it any other way - hindrance or not.
=D>... and so say all of us !!!
 
I think it helps. Long ball bullsh!t hasn't exactly helped Bolton, West Ham or any other club that adopts that style.
 
Both imo.


The fans feel like the expect more, so they get on players backs far more if they have a disappointing match.


However when it clicks there is very little the opposition side can do to stop it.
 
Playing attractive football helps for two reasons firstly - the players enjoy playing good football which helps our performance and secondly players are attracted to teams that play good attractive football.

There is the flip side that a George Graham side can win a title - would you be content with success over attractive entertaining football? I dont think I could be that patient to play the type of game of function over entertainment.
 
From time to time during the last six decades there have been spells when our football has been, shall we say, less attractive than others. Those spells tended to coincide with the periods when we didn't do so well.

Worth remembering our two League titles were won by a brand of football acclaimed across the land for its sheer brilliance.
 
Our tradition of having 9-10 poor players and 1-2 breathtaking world beaters has been a hindrance for us.

I'd rather we built up the capability level across the park, rather than rely on a maverick genius or two.
 
Pass and move type of football is probably more attractive to the players because it's more enjoyable to play and also probably less taxing physically in the long run.

I think the intense and often ugly football that Mourinho often plays means it often can onlybhave a shelf-life if 3 yaers max; hence why he always leaves clubs near that time as he can see himself a dip is on its way (and he knows he better go before ruining his 'special one' reputation)
 
It's a fair question though. I'm convinced the main reasons why we so rarely win at places like OT, The Emirates and Stamford Bridge is we stick to our principles of playing open attractive football despite the substantial difference in resources ploughed into those clubs.

Odds are unless you are prepared to park the bus or adopt brutally cynical tactics, the only other way you stand a chance is through exceptional application, outstanding teamwork and/or a hefty dose of good fortune.
 
It's a fair question though. I'm convinced the main reasons why we so rarely win at places like OT, The Emirates and Stamford Bridge is we stick to our principles of playing open attractive football despite the substantial difference in resources ploughed into those clubs.

Odds are unless you are prepared to park the bus or adopt brutally cynical tactics, the only other way you stand a chance is through exceptional application, outstanding teamwork and/or a hefty dose of good fortune.

Yes, all of which can be done as PART of playing attractive and entertaining football. Often our losses at those grounds are more to do with a lack of quality, application or sometimes basically a weak mentally when we play as though we expect to lose as that's what usually happens anyway.

Tbf, our often lack of quality is probabaly the reason for 70% of the time at OT, The Emirates and Stamford Bridge
 
I suppose the other way of phrasing the question would be would you be happier winning the league by grinding out one nil victories or finishing fourth playing open attacking football?
 
It's a fair question though. I'm convinced the main reasons why we so rarely win at places like OT, The Emirates and Stamford Bridge is we stick to our principles of playing open attractive football despite the substantial difference in resources ploughed into those clubs.

Odds are unless you are prepared to park the bus or adopt brutally cynical tactics, the only other way you stand a chance is through exceptional application, outstanding teamwork and/or a hefty dose of good fortune.

I would agree with this, I love the way we always have a go at these tough fixtures but no doubt it is why we end up on the wrong end of some thumpings
 
From the 13 games we have played in the league this season we have scored in 12 and conceded in 12. That's usually how I remember us, it rarely ends 0-0 (Graham excluded). Means we're often chosen for tv, even though we're not part of the Sky 5 (previously Sky 4).
 
I think it helps. Long ball bullsh!t hasn't exactly helped Bolton, West Ham or any other club that adopts that style.

really? long ball flimflam kept Bolton in the pl for years, they tried to move to a more expansive game and were relegated, likewise west ham struggled in the championship until they hired allardyce and went direct

going back longer look at Sunderland and Wimbledon, Leeds united under wilkinson, villa under Taylor, direct football has worked in this country over and over again
 
I would say United have the same tradition and it hasnt stopped them winning all before them.

Eh? United's history contains as many gritty players as there are witty players; as much brawn as there is skill; as much bullying as there is brilliance. They are a typical, quintessentially British club made deservedly world famous by their tremendous success.

I would venture to suggest that most top-flight clubs have been like that; they are defined by their successes and their quirks, not by their philosophy. Spurs are an exception. Spurs are one of the very few clubs that remain instantly recognizable by their style of football as opposed to their trophy cabinet. From our push-and-run side, through to Bill Nick's brilliant boys and on to Villa, Ardiles, Hoddle, Waddle, Gascoigne, Lineker, Klinsmann, Ginola, Berbatov, Van Der Vaart, Modric......in the modern era, we have always been branded as a 'flair' side, a side that prioritised entertainment over results, style over solidity.

Sure, that has fudged us over many, many times. One boggles at what we could have won with a few world-class 'destroyers' and reducers in the sides of the 70's and 80's. Our philosophy has led many on here to posit that our shaky defenses and lack of mental strength stem from the attacking brand of football we've been associated with. We have been branded 'soft touches' and 'southern softies' far more than I care to remember, and right up to the present day (well, until Harry, anyway), sides still thought they could rough us up and claim the win.

But, in the end, and no matter how much I grumble about it in times of adversity, our style, our tradition...gives us something. Intangible, but it does. We stand out from the rest, simply by refusing to become like the rest. It's hurt us, sure. But it's helped us, too. Spurs have a history of attacking football. It's in our DNA. It's how we will be remembered, and, when we finally do win the big one again, we will have done it in a way that we will be remembered for. We are just one club among many, after all. And no one club can truly claim to be 'more important' than the others. Every club is important to someone. But Spurs have endeavoured, at least,to be 'different'. And in a world of identikit clubs, by and large, a club with a philosophy of entertainment, style, and endeavor...do we really want to throw that away for a few trophies?

Chelsea tried to claim the 'entertainers' mantle in the late 90's and early 2000's. Arsenal have been trying to claim it since Wenger took over. West Ham have been trying to claim it since they apparently won the World Cup.

None of them come close to what we've adhered to over the last sixty years, because that has become our identity, our raison d'etre; for them, it's just a fad.
 
really? long ball flimflam kept Bolton in the pl for years, they tried to move to a more expansive game and were relegated, likewise west ham struggled in the championship until they hired allardyce and went direct

going back longer look at Sunderland and Wimbledon, Leeds united under wilkinson, villa under Taylor, direct football has worked in this country over and over again

I think we're setting our sights a little bit higher than staying in the Premier League. Bolton and West Ham are yo yo clubs. The quality of player we have means our passing game, when played with confidence is good enough to beat most teams at home for starters.
 
Back