Tottenham won their final game of the season 3-0 against a poor Aston Villa side. Goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and Paulinho as well as an own goal from Nathan Baker were enough to seal the win in the first half.
Paulinho and Adebayor scored, perhaps making up for their mistake against West Ham. Paulinho could of scored a few more too! Adebayor’s penalty was spot on. His penalty previous to this one was absolutely awful. But, this penalty was rifled into upper left side of the goal, sending Brad Guzan the wrong way, and the Tottenham fans behind the goal cheering.
Bittersweet End
The win meant that Spurs had finished 6th, and therefore had gained Europa League qualification for next season. It was also the first time that they had finished above Manchester United ever in the Premier league. The target at the start of the season was to at the least qualify for the Champions League, but the club’s season has gone downhill since the start.
Many players have got into top gear, and then have become injured and the form gone away again. To be in Europe is still important. As Bill Nicholson said “It’s magnificent to be in Europe, and this club – a club like Tottenham Hotspur – if we’re not in Europe…. we’re nothing. we’re nothing”.
Some fans argue, not just as Tottenham but other Premier League teams, that the Europa league can have a negative effect upon the performance in the domestic league. This has happened this season, many of the poorer games have come after Europa League fixtures, but many fans still enjoy the thrill of European football on a Thursday evening.
The Sherwood Question
This could possibly be Tim Sherwood’s last game in charge at Tottenham. He selected Sandro today, which really steadied the midfield. Sandro was the anchor and allowed Tottenham to attack with the safety of him picking up the loose ball. His pressure upon the Aston Villa players, and his desire to win the ball was superb. When he came off for Milos Veljkovic in the second half, it did seem to effect the team, perhaps more so when two other midfielders were subbed on.
Generally in football, changing a midfield lots of time in a game will naturally cause it to lose shape. But, Veljkovic did well. He was strong and composed on the ball, at first playing cautiously and making sure he found a Spurs shirt with every ball, and then attempted a few longer passes. Milos had previously featured this season, but only for a few minutes.
Many Spurs fans are glad this season is finally over. It has been a somewhat mediocre season, not the true Tottenham Hotspur, although at times there was some quality football. Improvement will be made no doubt in the summer, perhaps with a managerial change, or some new faces in the side. The summer could really make the club capable of getting Champions league next season, or perhaps even further?
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