Good read as always, Dave.
This was my favourite bit:
'Of course, picking a team like this doesn’t just mean that the players you’ve got on the pitch aren’t as good as the ones you might otherwise have had. It sends a signal to the other team that they’ve got a chance, to the players who are in the team that there’ll only getting a game because you aren’t fussed about the result and to the supporters that if you aren’t going to bother then neither should they.'
I disagree with anybody who says we 'threw' the game, but at this level, even the smallest difference in belief or motivation can be vital.
Ultimately, we're talking about a loss by a margin of only one goal, but it feels much bigger than that. Yes we all want Tottenham to get relegated, so that's an added kick in the balls, but in the context of our season, I'm not sure the gamble was worth it today if just to save 45/90 minutes in some players' legs.
We're already a goal down in the Forest tie, and tonight could've all-but guaranteed us CL next year. Why not go all-out to win today, and do our utmost to go into the Forest game on the back of a confidence boost, with a happy squad looking forward to CL?
Instead we are going into that match already with a deficit, following three straight losses, with the additional pressure of having perhaps 'not tried our hardest' in this game (thus also pissing our fans off) and with the players thinking, deep-down, that their manager doesn't trust them to beat two relegation-threatened sides in five days.
