SPURS FAN VIEW

Ahead of the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Samuel Johnson from spurs-web.com to find out the craic…

So, 12th in the table after 19 games. What's been the story of Tottenham's season so far?

There was a lot of promise shown by Tottenham after the opening games of the season, from almost defeating PSG in the Super Cup to conquering Manchester City at the Etihad. However, things went downhill and haven’t picked up since. There’s a real lack of creativity in the side and this seems to be a mentality issue as much as anything. Spurs have been set up to play defensive and that means we’ll pick up a few wins here and there against clubs who don’t have much attacking threat, but we’re not trying to hurt teams the way we should. The 0-0 draw against Brentford tells us everything we need to know. Guglielmo Vicario was booked for time wasting, so clearly a point at the Gtech is viewed as a positive result now.

Who has been your best/favourite player this campaign?

Micky van de Ven has been Tottenham’s best player this season. He’s the kind of defender who always leaves you knowing exactly how much he’ll contribute to a game. Having a player at the back with his speed is really useful and he was even chipping in with a few goals until his recent dry patch. A lot of rival fans like to claim van de Ven and Romero are overrated, but there’s a reason Real Madrid are rumoured to be interested in the Dutchman.

What are your thoughts on manager Thomas Frank?

Personally, I was never keen on appointing Thomas Frank and this was because his greatest achievement was getting Brentford promoted to the Premier League. Of course, hiring proven winners at the highest level such as Jose Mourninho and Antonio Conte doesn’t always work out, but I didn’t see Frank as someone who would be winning silverware. I must admit that I started viewing him more positively earlier in the season when we were getting some good results, but we’ve been poor for some time now. Frank manages this Tottenham team as if they’re at the same level as Brentford. He’s using last season’s 17th place finish as a measurement for success when we should be aiming for the Champions League spots. Under Ange Postecoglou there were times when we were too brave to the point of naivety, but the problem with Frank is we’ve turned into absolute cowards.

Richarlison is your top scorer with seven, what kind of player is he?

Richarlison is a difficult player to wrap your head around. He’s scoring more than anyone else in the Spurs team and a lot of fans still want him gone at the nearest possible opportunity. As a goalscorer, he’s doing a decent job this season, but he’s a long way off being the complete striker. It would be great to have a combination of Richarlison’s goalscoring ability with Dominic Solanke’s link-up play. That’s what Tottenham need up front.

What have you made of Sunderland's return to life in the top flight?

Even though Sunderland didn’t finish third, I thought they’d have a better chance of staying up than Sheffield United if they got promoted. To be sitting in seventh halfway through the season is impressive and it’s refreshing to see a team make the step up from the Championship and actually compete. Taking points off Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City is some achievement and shows how difficult a team they are to defeat.

Which of our players has caught your eye and worries you the most?

I’m no fan of Granit Xhaka with him being a former Arsenal player, but he has been a big player for Sunderland this season. I was surprised by his move from Bayer Leverkusen that was money well spent. He’s a good creator and helps bring balance and control to the team as well. I don’t have confidence that Tottenham will win the midfield battle on Sunday, especially with all our unavailable players.

Alternatively, who should we be looking out for?

There aren’t really any Spurs players that will be causing opposing teams to worry at the moment if truth be told. We sold Heung-min Son in the summer, while James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are injured. That’s a significant chuck of our attacking threat gone. If I had to name one player it would probably be Richarlison, simply because he could end up scoring even on a bad day.

What's your score prediction? Who will get the goals?

I can’t come on here representing a Tottenham perspective and predict us to lose. Then again, it’s hard to predict a win based on the way we’re playing, so I’ll go with a 1-1 draw. Brian Brobbey will put Sunderland ahead before Richarlison levels it. I’d be tempted to predict an Archie Gray goal as he scored the winner against Crystal Palace and had another headed chance against Brentford. Mohammed Kudus is another contender. He hasn’t scored in a few games and will surely score again at some point, but Richy is the safest pick.

Where do you think both sides will finish this year?

Sunderland are doing well to grind out results, but they’ve been drawing a lot of matches recently. I don’t see them remaining in the European spots, but a mid-table finish could well be on the cards. Tottenham could end up in a similar position if Frank stays on as manager. We’re not consistent enough to be finishing where we’d like to be.

Finally, where would you recommend for our away following to grab food or drink before the match?

The Bricklayers is the place to be if you’re a Tottenham fan, but for visiting supporters I’d recommend the Antwerp Arms. The Beehive is a decent option too, although it’s a bit further away from the stadium. Alternatively you could just get something at the ground as it’s got a lot more options than your standard arena.