Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to bounce back from their opening game disappointment when they host Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
Ahead of the match, we’ve asked Potters fan and editor of www.readstoke.com Jamie Smith about his thoughts surrounding the game.
Lets start things off with last week shall we? A disappointing result for both sets of fans, but neither side was disgraced. What’s your opinion on the narrow defeat to Liverpool?
The performance was very promising. I thought we defended brilliantly. I was actually very concerned with Shawcross being out for two months but Cameron, Muniesa and Wollscheid produced excellent performances to keep Benteke quiet for the duration of the game so defensively it was very pleasing. When we attacked, I thought we looked relatively dangerous but our final ball was poor. And we were very wasteful from set-pieces, which was especially disappointing as we didn’t create any real clear-cut chances from open play so we needed to make the most of any free-kicks we were awarded.
Seems like a fair assessment. And what about Spurs’ defeat to Man United? If you caught the game, what did you think of how it unfolded?
I didn’t see much of the game but obviously it was a very unfortunate goal to concede. Walker was very unlucky to put the ball into his own net but that’s football sometimes. It’s difficult to assess the first game of the season. You don’t expect teams to be at their peak performance and it takes a while for players to get into that competitive mode again. So Spurs shouldn’t be too disheartened by the loss. There’s still 37 games to play and they will surely be able to play better than what they did against United.
Here’s hoping! Back to Stoke – Mark Hughes has made a lot of signings this summer so far and seems to be trying at all costs to distinguish the style of play that so many associate with the side. What do you think of the signings he’s made so far? A lot of the arrivals are players you perhaps wouldn’t expect the side to attract?
I think the most pleasing thing is the ambition that the club has shown in its signings. I’m intrigued to see how Afellay, van Ginkel and Joselu perform because I think they will really bolster out attacking options along with Arnautovic and Odemwingie. I’ve not been too impressed with Glen Johnson in the last couple of years but he played well against Liverpool so hopefully that will continue. The one thing that I am worried about is replacing N’Zonzi. We need a solid defensive midfielder to fill the void he left, perhaps someone like Mathieu Flamini.
The Frenchman would certainly be a useful addition. And what about your most recent signing, Shaqiri? You must be over the moon with that..
I’m speechless to be totally honest. I’m still not too sure why he has joined us but I’m certainly not complaining. After he failed to meet our deadline earlier in the summer, I didn’t think any more of it so seeing him at the Britannia Stadium during the Liverpool game was hugely unexpected. It is a stunning signing for us- one that we would never have imagined when we got promoted in 2008. But it shows just how much progress the club has made over the past few years. The signing of Shaqiri has created a real buzz amongt supporters, which is vindicated in the increased demand for tickets to see Stoke against West Brom, where he should make his home debut, and in the fact that shirts with his name printed on have become the fastest selling in the club’s history.
His signing certainly signals ambition, lets hope he does the job.. after the weekend. So, all in all, with the new additions, how do you think you’ll do this year?
I think we’ll have another strong season. I thought it would be difficult to surpass what we achieved in Hughes’ first season but we managed to improve again in the last campaign. Another top ten finish is important. Europe would be fantastic but I think that we need to have aI few more top ten finishes first before we can really push on, just like we endured several seasons of consistently finishing towards the top of the bottom half before progressing into the top ten. Stability is key to success so I’d rather we did it gradually whilst remaining in a secure financial position.
I think that’s a sensible target for May. And what about Spurs? Do you think we have any chance of getting the top four? Is it just us?
I’m afraid to say that I think they are rather slim. United, Arsenal and Manchester City have all made some significant signings to strengthen their squads, but Spurs have not really added many new faces. They will have to start beating the teams around them if they are to return to the Champions League. In the last few years, they haven’t been able to beat the likes of Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea except on a couple of occasions. Spurs need to be beating these teams more regularly and they also need to make White Hart Lane a very difficult place to go for opponents. At the moment, I don’t think it is.
Ouch – damning assessment, that. And finally, what’s your prediction for the match? Three wins in a row for Stoke over Spurs? Or will Pochettino finally get his first win over you?
I’m quietly confident after the signing of Shaqiri that we’ll have a strong performance. And we did the double over Spurs last year so we’ve shown we can beat them. It will be a different game of course and I’m expecting a tough challenge. I hate predicting the result because I know it will come back to haunt me but I will have to back my team and predict a 2-1 win for us.
How am I not surprised!? Thanks for your time, Jamie!
