In the Evening Standard by Tony Evans
It's literally utterly fudging ridiculous, such a huge clam
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/foo...e-but-it-s-great-for-the-league-a3222401.html
Leicester and Tottenham are killing the beautiful game. Good. The revenge of the scufflers is the best thing that has happened to the Premier League in 15 years.
Make no mistake: the top two sides in the table produce excellent football. It is just that there is nothing fancy about it. Neither team would win prizes for style. In the age of marquee signings where players are described as entertainers, the League’s best sides succeed through collective effort.
Both teams chase and harry opponents, applying constant pressure. Yesterday at White Hart Lane was a perfect example of how their approach works. Spurs swarmed towards Manchester United’s ball carriers whenever a wayward pass tested the visiting side’s control, when they dallied on the ball or any time they let their concentration lapse.
There were spells where the game became a whirl of elbows and legs as players of both teams fought for possession. It makes for bruising, attritional fare — football’s equivalent of fixing bayonets. It was exhausting even to watch but it drained United’s energy and belief. The groundwork for an exhilarating final 20 minutes was more than an hour of scrappy, gritty action.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team do not expect to be given time and space to be creative. They earn it by making life uncomfortable for opponents.
At times it seems at odds with Tottenham’s traditions — Glenn Hoddle would shudder at the ugliness of it all — but it is getting results. If you want entertainment in the ball-juggling, pointless dribbling, I-want-to-grow-up-to-be-Barcelona sense, go to the Emirates. See how that works out.
Spurs and Leicester grind teams down. It’s less about game-changing moments of individual genius than the triumph of the collective. It took the Midlands side 66 minutes to wear down Sunderland yesterday. Leicester’s 2-0 win brought to an end a four-game run of 1-0 victories. It reads like hard work and it is. Claudio Ranieri’s team have quality in Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez but would anyone have swapped that pair for Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil at the beginning of the season? Would any of Leicester’s first XI have made the Arsenal squad before the campaign started, never mind the team?
The same is true of Spurs. Harry Kane’s goals have had a huge impact and Dele Alli is emerging as the best English thrusting midfielder since Steven Gerrard but Spurs are not challenging for the title because of their stars. The supporting cast provide a level of commitment that is inspiring.
Bill Nicholson, the greatest of Tottenham managers, would have approved of the workrate of Pochettino’s team. The man who brought the Double to White Hart Lane in 1961 said: “If you don’t have to drag yourself off the field exhausted after 90 minutes, you can’t claim to have done your best.”
Spurs leave nothing on the pitch, not even regrets. Kyle Walker and Danny Rose charge up and down the line like sprinters. Eric Dier, at 22, combines perpetual motion with a veteran’s intelligence. Even Erik Lamela, scoffed at for not justifying his £30 million transfer fee, puts in an exhausting shift and is an increasingly important cog in Tottenham’s system. The Argentinian was signed to be White Hart Lane’s next superstar after the departure of Gareth Bale. Instead, Lamela has become a footsoldier in Pochettino’s revolution, showing an unsuspected appetite for battle.
The only team in the division that match Spurs for effort is Leicester. Pochettino spoke admiringly about Ranieri’s team yesterday and made it clear that his side are “fighting” and waiting for an opportunity if the League leaders slip up. It is unlikely they will. Leicester are characterised by the same raw, stripped-down desire for victory as Tottenham. They have none of the sense of entitlement that Arsenal and Emirates Marketing Project display on a regular basis.
Forget sexy football and that nonsense. You won’t find it at the top of the Premier League. While both teams can be thrilling, Spurs and Leicester play hard and ugly when it’s necessary. They recognise that one of the truly great things in football is when a team give their all and succeed against the odds. That’s more beautiful than anything the top flight’s underachieving entertainers could ever serve up.
