What is the value of statistics?
When it comes to football, statistics might not guarantee entertainment, but if you manage good statistics, including results, then they can lead to prizes, or notable achievement.
Tim Sherwood has now been in charge of Spurs for 9 Premier League games, and his record reads Won 6, Drawn 2, and lost just once to high-flying Manchester City. Those wins include the excellent away win at Old Trafford (alright we are not alone this season!).
Sherwood's Spurs have scored three goals in three of his nine league games in charge, so there has been entertainment along the way. Sunday's win over Everton did not mean we were the better side, but speed of thought and action, and moments of brilliance such as Adebayor's quicksilver finish do win games, and provide special moments.
Now we are fifth again, but breaking into the top four remains a very difficult task. I have a dream that perhaps it could be Arsenal who stumble out of that top four, especially with their programme of high-profile games coming up in the next week. (Man Utd, Liverpool and Bayern Munich in three different competitions). Even "wonder-signing" Mesut Ozil was being castigated on 606 at the week-end, and being mentioned by pundits as going off the boil.
Spurs still have it all to do, and have some big games coming up themselves, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all on the agenda in March. It is important that we continue our excellent away form in our next two league games at Newcastle and Norwich.
My good friend Gary Parker, who provides the Like for Like table featured here, has pointed out that we have already matched or improved upon our record over the last seven years, with 26 away points gathered so far. There are 21 away points still to play for, so we have an excellent chance of improving on last year's tally of 34.
Also of note is the fact that in all our away games so far this season, we have either matched or improved on last season's results. With Newcastle coming up (we lost there last season), and Norwich (where we drew), that record should be maintained.
The same cannot be said of our home record, where we need to win every game (6 remaining) to top last season's 38 point home tally. We can exceed last season's record overall total of 72 points, but would that be enough to get us into the top four?
Enough of statistics then, except to say that Hugo Lloris was voted your man of the match (probably on the back of his brilliant first half save from Osman), marginally beating Adebayor, who won support not just for his goal.
Statistics can tell the truth then, can't they? After 25 games, the table does not lie, and Spurs need to up their game in the remaining 13 League fixtures to improve their position. A lot of that responsibility falls upon Tim Sherwood, who seems to be relishing his opportunity, despite a lot of doubts and negativity from demanding Spurs fans.
· This week's Spursometer in full.
Results 08-09.02.14
Liverpool 5-1 Arsenal
A. Villa 0-2 West Ham
Chelsea 3-0 Newcastle
C. Palace 3-1 West Brom
Norwich 0-0 Man City
S'hampton 2-2 Stoke
S'derland 0-2 Hull
Swansea 3-0 Cardiff
Spurs 1-0 Everton
Man Utd 2-2 Fulham
Barclays Premier League
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Chelsea 25 17 5 3 47-20 27 56
2. Arsenal 25 17 4 4 48-26 22 55
3. Man City 25 17 3 5 68-27 41 54
4. Liverpool 25 15 5 5 63-30 33 50
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5. Spurs 25 14 5 6 32-32 0 47
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6. Everton 25 12 9 4 37-26 11 45
7. Man Utd 25 12 5 8 41-31 10 41
8. Newcastle 25 11 4 10 32-34 -2 37
9. S'hampton 25 9 9 7 36-29 7 36
10. Swansea 25 7 6 12 32-35 -4 27
11. Hull 25 7 6 12 25-30 -5 27
12. A. Villa 25 7 6 12 27-36 -9 27
13. Stoke 25 6 8 11 26-40 -14 26
14. C. Palace 25 8 2 15 18-34 -16 26
15. West Ham 25 6 7 12 26-33 -7 25
16. Norwich 25 6 7 12 19-37 -18 25
17. S'derland 25 6 6 13 25-38 -13 24
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18. West Brom 25 4 11 10 29-37 -8 23
19. Cardiff 25 5 6 14 19-44 -25 21
20. Fulham 25 6 2 17 24-55 -31 20
