Shannon sent us the following:
What happened was that we lost a match, 2-0 at Anfield. But despite this being just our third defeat of the season, the others being at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge the reaction, from Spurs supporters and others, has been along the lines that our entire project has to be jettisoned.
One writer opined: "This is why we'll never win a title." A week or two after wondering whether Mauricio Pochettino was the best manager in THE WORLD, it has been asked whether he has got what it takes. Because we lost a match.
From being the darling of commentators and pundits in the press, Pochettino has suddenly fallen to being the subject of ridicule and scorn. "Advice" on how our manager should react to the crisis of losing a match against Liverpool at Anfield has poured in. One said there's a particular type of player we need, another has advised on the formation we should play, with dull, in-depth analysis. A former manager has spoken out about how we could still finish above ars*nal. Because we lost a match.
Can't we all just sit back and reflect that sometimes you win and sometimes, hopefully less often, you lose? Sometimes things just come unstuck. It happens. In my opinion we lost the match because we played badly, not because there is something inherently "wrong" with our players - or coach. Our players kept passing the ball to Liverpool players. I hoped this would stop in the second half but it continued. On the day Liverpool were better than us - they passed to their teammates. It wasn't a mystery worthy of overmuch analysis. But let us realise that all it was an off-day. We lost a match. Not our top four status. Not the season. Not everything we've been trying to build over the past few seasons, with far less resources than the teams around us on the table.
We're punching way above our weight. All that happened was that we lost a match. Let's not disappoint Arsene Wenger by being completely irrational like ars*nal fans. Let's keep our perspective.
