Howay the Lads

A Tottenham win against Burnley combined with Newcastle's win over Arsenal puts top 4 fate back in Spurs' hands | Previewing the final matchday

Let me begin by simply saying:

COYS!

It's such a great feeling to be going into the final matchday not only feeling confident, but proud of the team first and foremost. I'll save the complete retrospective for the season recap post, but suffice it to say that this squad has come a long way from the Nuno days. It's hard not to feel optimistic about next season. For now, let's take a look at what happened on the penultimate matchday of 2021/22.

Tottenham 1 - 0 Burnley

Truthfully, there's not a whole awful lot to talk about when it comes to this match. After an initial bright period from Spurs in the first twenty minutes or so, it became a bit of a slog. Burnley had shown some signs of life in recent weeks (fueled, of course, by the threat of relegation) but reverted to type for the matchup with Spurs. They played their signature low block for the entire first half, and only Kane's first-half stoppage time goal caused them to come out of their shell a little bit in the second half.

We aren't known for being skilled at breaking down such a stalwart defense, but I still think the win was deserved, even if it only came thanks to a penalty goal. Nick Pope was peppered so relentlessly in the Burnley goal that by the time Kane got his opportunity to take a penalty kick, he was, shall we say, fully seasoned. Pope was rooted to the spot and Kane's shot went swiftly into the left corner of the goal. I will admit that I even thought Kane had somehow missed because Pope didn't move! Side note:   it's kind of hilarious how Kane keeps calling out his England NT teammates after he scores a penalty on them, first Ramsdale after the NLD and now poor Pope.

The only bummer from this match is that Son wasn't able to find a goal, mostly down to Pope's superb goalkeeping outside of the penalty. But with Salah having to come out injured in the FA Cup Final, it's possible he will be rested in Liverpool's last two PL matches to give him a better chance to be fit for the Champion's League final. That would give Son an even greater chance of overtaking him for the Golden Boot on the final day. Fingers crossed! Hopefully Tim Krul has a bad game against us for once.

It was also notable that Kuluseveski and Lloris were doubts for the match thanks to a stomach bug, and Deki ended up only being able to come off the bench. Lucas had a better game than he has in his last few appearances, even putting in a quality cross that Kane was unlucky not to score from, but there's no denying the quality that Deki brings over him. Hopefully our favorite ginger Swede will be feeling back to full health on Sunday and can start the last match. And for god's sake:  no lasagna!

One last shoutout to Sessegnon for winning Man of the Match, his first in the Premier League if I'm not mistaken! His hustle over the last few matches has been wonderful to see.

Newcastle 2 - 0 Arsenal

Normally I wouldn't give a whole section to a fixture that didn't involve Spurs, but this one was so significant that it feels warranted.

This match had it all: Callum Wilson nearly losing a tooth, a Ben White own goal, and a distinct COYS vibe even without Trippier making an on-pitch appearance. Oh, and the obligatory Granit Xhaka yellow card, naturally. We were so close to a hilarious long-range Wilson goal when Ramsdale was caught too far outside his box, and there were plenty of other good chances for Newcastle. The scoreline could easily have been worse for Arsenal.

But the important thing is that Newcastle secured all three points, giving Spurs a two-point advantage over Arsenal going into the last matchday. Thanks to our significant advantage in goal difference, we will only need a draw at Norwich to clinch 4th place. And if Arsenal were to lose or draw, we wouldn't need any points at all. Everton could still be at risk of relegation when they play Arsenal for their last game and would be giving it their all, so that's a distinct possibility.

No Rest Till Norwich

Still, the job technically isn't done until after the final whistle on Sunday.  I know that conventional Spurs fan knowledge requires me to insert a caveat here about how things could go Spursy, but honestly y'all:  it won't. There are just too many factors swinging in our favor for Spurs to mess this up.

• Norwich are already relegated and have nothing to fight for

• We beat them 3-0 in the reverse fixture

• We have momentum on our side after two important wins

The most difficult fixture of our final run-in (Burnley) was handled tidily. The hard part is over. I truly believe that. All that remains now is to finish strong, help Son win the Golden Boot, and get Parataci on the phone to start rounding up some new players for next season's CL campaign.

What else is there to say? It's happening.

Spurs Women transfer news

Well, actually... there's no news yet. Rumors are already flying though, including links to Nikita Parris and Beth England, amongst others. The transfer window officially opens on June 17, but we could see some out-of-contract players making moves before then--in and out. I can't promise there will be a regular Spurs Across the Pond post every single week after the season recap is done, but I will be sure to pop in with updates on an as-needed basis over the off-season. The same goes for the Men's transfer window.

In conclusion,

COYS