Leicester vs Tottenham: Golden boot for Kane or start Janssen?
This means nothing to me…oh, Vienna
Roll back twelve months and we could’ve been talking about a title-shaping behemoth of a fixture at the King Power tonight. Instead, 2017’s version of Leicester versus Tottenham is fast resembling a non-event.
A game embroiled in the drama of guessing which position Craig Shakespeare’s Foxes might finish between 14th and 8th.
The tension will be suffocating.
Perhaps the best reason to tune-in, will be to see how Sky Sports try and get excited about an ultimately meaningless occasion.
Maybe they’ll hawk it as some kind of Kyle Walker farewell tour or a Race for the Golden Boot. USPs that fall flat on their face the minute you discover that Vincent Janssen is starting ahead of Harry Kane and the England fullback has an ankle injury.
Record breakers
For Tottenham fans, it’s difficult to remember a time when they’ve entered the last two games with literally nothing at stake, save for the chance to further obliterate their points record.
It’s still possible for the North London club to reach 86; a sum that would’ve won the League on seven separate occasions during the Premier League years. Only falling four short of the Invincibles’ 90-point haul in 2003/4.
Just how enthusiastic, though, are Spurs fans supposed to be about hitting those potential statistical milestones? They’d serve as neat watermarks to indicate how far this young side has come in the last three years. But empty record chasing could never compare to the theatre of a final day with everything to play for.
It’s going to be a strangely stress-free week.
Summer of discontent?
The real anxiety, of course, will take hold in the summer.
Although Kyle Walker is the only first-teamer you could see leaving before next season, Dele Alli to Real Madrid is too intoxicating a headline for the tabloids to ignore. With no summer tournament to distract them, they won’t be able to resist. No matter how improbable the transfer might seem.
Any top-level coaching job will have Mauricio Pochettino’s name attach to it, too, despite the Argentinian suggesting he was perfectly happy at Tottenham.
Then of course, there’s the concerns about our temporary residence at Wembley. No sooner had the JCBs rammed their teeth into the White Hart Lane turf on Monday, were fans thinking about the effects a whole year at the national stadium might have on us. Furiously trying to calculate whether last season’s Champions League ‘home’ form, stretched over a season, would have Tottenham relegated.
Let’s hope Pochettino has something up his wizard sleeve.
READ MORE: Tottenham Fan View: White Hart Lane Finale
READ MORE: Tottenham Hotspur Fan View: Could Daniel Levy stall Spurs’ progress?
In the meantime, there’s nothing much to do but try and enjoy our remaining two away games. We’re in the unprecedented position of being able to watch without a care in the world. Lasagnegate, last year’s abomination at St James’ Park, Alan Sugar’s misinformed Tweets in 2013, WBA gifting Arsenal 3rd the year before; it’s difficult to recall such a painless end to the season.
The idiot part of my brain actually misses the uncertainty.
Oh well.
Here’s how we might line-up: Vorm, Dier, Wimmer, Vertonghen, Davies, Dembélé, Onomah, Wanyama, Sissoko, Son, Janssen Subs: Lloris, Alderweireld, Alli, N’Koudou, Eriksen, Edwards, Kane
