Big on the Unitary Executive. Without that there'd be no Project 2025.
04.11.2025 12:10
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Big on the Unitary Executive. Without that there'd be no Project 2025.
Cheney - Rest in Piss. At least he died knowing the Republicans have brought his dream to life.
But my big complaint with Arsenal is their predictability, and supplementing their attack with a player slightly better than Kai Havertz or Mikel Merino doesn't account for more teams cottoning on to Arsenal's approach.
So yeah, I have my doubts about a big boy striker being Arsenal's panacea.
The talk all of last year was "If Arsenal had a no.9, they'd win the league" and I never bought it. Plenty of teams have won titles without no.9s after all. What I'd say in agreement would be the type of chances Arsenal were creating may benefit from having a big guy upfront for crosses and corners.
How does Zubimendi, Madueke and Gyokeres change that dynamic if this continues? Well it doesn't. There'll be matches where teams grab a goal, and there's plenty of teams that are built largely to withstand crosses and corners.
Where my doubts are is the extent of which Arsenal's playing style has changed in the last two seasons, and how that makes them a less compelling threat to other teams in the division. When I watch Arsenal have to chase a result, I see them opt to two tactics:
1. Saka back post crosses
2. Corners
So yeah, assuming they haven't regressed in any capacity, they'll win a few more matches than they did last year, and they'll compete for the title. Simple, right?
Well, yeah, assuming they haven't gotten worse, which... well... they have, right?
Positives: Zubimendi adds to the defensive core and adds a deeper possession player to the team.
Gyokeres is a versatile box finisher with strength, height and bags of energy. Goals will win them more football matches.
Wait, wasn't Arsenal ready to win it last year? Settled team, world class players, best defence in the league, no?
What about the year before, when they signed Declan Rice, that was the gamechanger, right?
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
I like the Frank team's approach to football, it's meticulous, holistic, very team-based, very grounded. It doesn't capture the imagination particularly but it's refreshing and most importantly it produces results.
5. Finally, I reckon Frank will find it hard to win over fans passionately but by the end of the season, if it's trophyless and outside CL places, I think there'll be enough general good will.
A trophy though? Ridiculous amounts of good will.
4. Tottering between saying 5th or 6th, but I'll say 6th on the basis of I'm not sure Solanke-Johnson-Tel will put up the numbers.
3. Romero will walk Club's Player of the Season. Without Son or Maddison, he will attract so much attention as captain and that'll do him wonders. New defensive mentality will put tonnes of focus on him too.
2. Spurs will come close to either the FA Cup or the League Cup, or both, and win one of them. Big teams around us, but I reckon Spurs have a real taste of it and have a manager who could pull off one-off knock out games.
Spurs predictions for 25/26:
1. Frank's primary adjective will be to make Spurs a hard team to beat. This is going to be a massive adjustment to watch as it will mean cagey football a lot of weeks.
Rest in piece, Diogo Jota. Few people get to accomplish as much as he did in 28 years. It's cruel that he, his family and friends couldn't journey on together.
It's hard to feel anything but sadness, but hopefully the football community can celebrate his life together too.
Something from the Europa League final surely???
I would have loved Season 3. It's romantic and could have offered a beautiful complete redemption arc.
But it would've been a huge gamble. Ange has not built a sustainable foundation for success, and I don't blame Levy for believing it probably wouldn't be redeemed by May 2026.
I can't be certain that this pattern would replicate itself, but I am even less certain that we would be a resounding success. You wouldn't want to ride it out with the risk of even a half-as-poor season. Then suddenly we no longer can make good on our regained CL status.
We were beyond fragile. We were resigned. We expected to concede goals, expected to make mistakes, and every team knew and delighted in taking points off us. Suddenly WHL became a venue for away teams to take a great win.
Each season has a roll on effect to the next. Common themes become anxieties, anxieties will form fragility, and fragility will cost you success.
Even if I except Ange was powerless to prevent our winter injury defeats, and the league results still made his job untenable.
This is a really good thread, a well explained argument. Taps into the reason why Spurs fans have pride in Ange and his era and why keeping him was a conceivable option.
But I'm going to offer some counter-arguments because I'm not entirely convinced.
Thankfully, I do reckon that players like Maddison, Bergvall, Porro, Tel and Van de Ven are so expressive and fearless that, even on a pragmatic level, the best approach is to let them loose.
I'm a massive Ange advocate, because I buy into shooting for the stars, playing the way we want to, and making Tottenham fearless. Frank is a choice based primarily on fear, and that's a change of juncture from Ange's appointment.
What I would say is that it's a turn away from the Postecoglu project of idealism. Frank is quite the opposite of attacking idealism. He's forged his path through compromise and collaboration. Perhaps it's simply a recognition from the club of a brutal reality of Premier League football.
There's quite a few younger players in our team that need to be harnessed and developed to their maximum to ensure our transfer strategy works out. I have confidence that Frank would be a manager wholeheartedly committed to that.
I can completely understand Frank's appointment from the club's perspective. The strength of the league demands an approach that can get us into the top 8, and it's absolutely for the long term future of our club to remain in Europe and competitive. If anything, it's a proactive decision.
Who said this quote? Always worth citing
It's a dangerous game, I agree. I think you have to kind of smooth over his features a bit, almost like a 95% match
My Dad said Harry Kane - above Hoddle, above Greaves, above Gazza, above Chivers - is our greatest ever player. That is enough for me to demand a statue for the sauerkraut-eating lederhosen-wearing shit