We Lost To Young Boys...GOOD!

I'm as big a Spurs fan as the next guy, but when walking home form work yesterday, a thought of great footie-philosophical proportion hit me. My thought was that it was a good thing the Young Boys beat us, and beat us quite well, I must say, despite the rather flattering 3-2 scoreline from Spurs' point of view.

Young Boys of Bern came at us with what we had flung at Joe Hart just days earlier. Constant threat on the goal with the defence left for dust (not a regular occurrence for Michael Dawson, but can happen in the most important games).

I'm saying it's good in a way that we lost the first leg to the Young Boys,

Obviously, on first look at Spurs' poor display, fans, including myself, thought to themselves:

(jaws simultaneously drop after the second goal)

"OMG! What the f*ck is happening out there!?!? Dawson, why choose this game of all games to look like a Blue Square Premier League defender!?" (For anyone across the pond reading this, the Blue Square Premier League is the fifth-highest division of English football).

The defence was very oblivious to the threat of Bienvenu's pace and finishing ability. Whilst Michael Dawson was very modest about Young Boys being a capable team and didn't underestimate them, the rest of the team completely wrote them off. This isn't Europa League; this is the CHAMPIONS' League –somewhere which none of your opponents got to by taking the opposition lightly and losing their games!

However, I now think that, in a way, it's GOOD that Spurs were beaten. It allows them to learn not to count out minor teams before it's too late (e.g. knocked out before they've officially started their campaign) in the group stages. Spurs are only trailing by one goal (3-2). A terrible way of showing it, but that's the bottom scoreline, so to speak. Spurs now have the opportunity to respect their opponents while tightening up the screws at the back to force the win on Wednesday.

They've had a taste of what it's like to face a top team without risking immediate defeat and disappointment. All that's needed now is for Spurs to toughen up, tighten up, and not take any team for granted again. If all that is done, Spurs could just make it into the group stages; but if they do make it, they'll need to watch both legs of this qualifier again to remember exactly what every other team will be like –and that will hopefully be....just like Spurs ;)