Advertisement

Bournemouth Fan View: Why Cherries can stop Tottenham Hotspur this weekend

Simon Reed
Mauricio Pochettino gives Eddie Howe the evil eye.
Mauricio Pochettino gives Eddie Howe the evil eye.

When it comes to bogey teams for my AFC Bournemouth side in the Premier League, Tottenham are right up there.

Sure, Manchester City have thumped 21 (yes, 21) goals past us in just six games – but Spurs have taught us some harsh top flight lessons in the last few years too.

The way they swatted us aside 5-1 at Dean Court back in 2015 was as memorable as it was horrifying. That said, I don’t think it’s impossible to get a result against the North London side this coming weekend. Let me outline why…

We’ve lost just once in 2018

We are in very good form, and have claimed some major scalps in 2018 – including battering Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
We are in very good form, and have claimed some major scalps in 2018 – including battering Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

As Eddie Howe himself might say, we should concentrate on ourselves first and foremost this weekend. So with that in mind it’s well worth pointing out that we have lost just one league game in 2018 so far.

So far our year has been full of stirring comebacks and blistering counter-attacking football. So if we can reach top gear on Sunday we could well catch Tottenham cold. Especially when you consider…

Tottenham playing midweek

Son Heung-min looking a bit tired in Tottenham’s game against Juventus. This is tiredness that we can exploit.
Son Heung-min looking a bit tired in Tottenham’s game against Juventus. This is tiredness that we can exploit.

Now I’m of the opinion that professional footballers should be able to manage to play three games in a week quite comfortably. Especially when you consider the wages they’re on and the fleet of sport scientists available at their every beck and call. No, I’m not jealous. Honest.

But regardless of that, playing several games in a tight space of time is an excuse thrown around by managers all the time when their side doesn’t put in a good display. So after Tottenham’s energy sapping midweek encounter with Juventus on Wednesday we could potentially take advantage of some “tired” legs in their ranks.

READ MORE: Liverpool star Andy Robertson sends signed Firmino shirt to Liverpool young fan for the best reason ever

READ MORE: Spurs striker Llorente’s agent opens door to Juventus return

Spurs not convincing away from home

Rochdale managed to draw with Spurs at Spotland, and the North London side didn’t play a severely weakened side either.
Rochdale managed to draw with Spurs at Spotland, and the North London side didn’t play a severely weakened side either.

Despite the impressive form Tottenham are in – they’ve not lost a league game yet this year, fact fans – they’ve still stumbled in a fair few fixtures. This includes drawing at strugglers Southampton, and failing to beat lower league sides Newport County and Rochdale away from home in the FA Cup.

They also only just squeaked past a Crystal Palace in the midst of a severe injury crisis the other week. Make no mistake, if we play to the level we’re capable of we can definitely cause Spurs problems this Sunday.

Drawn to them last time round

We competed well against Spurs last time out at Dean Court. As this photo amply demonstrates.
We competed well against Spurs last time out at Dean Court. As this photo amply demonstrates.

One of our best performance of last season came in our 0-0 draw against Tottenham. We battled away for the full ninety minutes and could have even nicked a win.

It was a superbly committed display, and there’s no reason why we can’t replicate that this weekend. Admittedly Spurs didn’t have Harry Kane that day. Then again, maybe that doesn’t matter too much…

Kept Kane quiet in October

Harry Kane was well shackled by our defence when we played Spurs at Wembley back in October.
Harry Kane was well shackled by our defence when we played Spurs at Wembley back in October.

Despite losing 1-0 we played very well at Wembley back in October against Mauricio Pochettino’s men, and arguably deserved a point. What was most impressive was that we kept Harry Kane – who was in good form at the time (and, er, still is) – very quiet indeed.

We’ll need to do that again if we’re to have any chance of snatching a point or even more this weekend. But we’ve proved it can be done. Now keeping Kane, Eriksen, and Alli quiet too – that’s a bigger problem altogether.

Can’t get enough of me? Then watch me vlog about AFC Bournemouth at AFCB Analysis!