Surfing the maturity curve

Last year the press were packing Dele’s bags to go to this club or that. In the summer it was Dier then Rose, now it’s Kane. Who’s next on the press’s mischief making carousel? Winks? Eriksen? Toby? Hugo? Jan? And therein lines the biggest problem for the press - the club has somewhat by stealth created not just a team but a squad perhaps more than the sum of its parts but definitely with genuine depth.

In the past the predators circled, picked off the best player and we went back in to a cycle of rebuilding. The loss of Carrick and Modric in particular literally caused us to alter our entire pattern of play and took years to recover from. But times are a changing.

The chairman now has a manager he is truly aligned with, players are on long deals and if we sell, as we did with Walker, there’s a toppy fee and a replacement lined up (at profit). Most importantly the manager sanctions (or pushes for) the sale and knows his squad will roll on regardless.

And roll on it has, despite missing a plethora of what you’d describe as nailed on first team starters from last season in Wanyama, Dembele plus the likes of Rose. Last night's result was also secured without Davies, Lamela and Dele. No whining or moaning from Pochettino, he just gets on with it, believes in his group of players and is reaping the rewards of that trust.

So here we are in mid-October, unbeaten away in all competitions, the media inspired ‘Home hoodoo’ dispelled, third in the league and in the midst of a juicy run of fixtures against media darlings Madrid (home and away), Liverpool, United, Arsenal and Dortmund plus derbies against West Ham and Palace.

It’s a big five weeks. But it’s all part of the maturity curve, and we’ve enjoying the ride.