Fake it until you make it.
It’s one of those things people say on the road to success.
Just keep bullsh!tting mense until you have a big enough advantage that you can’t lose.
It’s a cynical way of looking at the world. But the reality is what it is.
Nowadays with constant surveillance and the internet, it’s not harder to keep up the charade and the lies.
So it was kind of disheartening to hear Mauricio Pochettino defend his Tottenham players for the diving at Liverpool.
Dele Alli dived. Harry Kane dived and won a penalty. He missed that spotkick. But after Erik Lamela dived a couple of minutes later, Kane could equalise with his 100th Premier League goal.
Poch afterwards said it was all part of the game - to trick refs.
But there are rules against simulation. And there is growing Video-assisted refereeing (VAR) influence in the game.
Obviously it’s part of the game, but it’s against the rules. So why encourage it, when it goes against the spirit of the game.
The Argentinian Spurs boss went on to say that getting the advantage over your opponent is crucial to winning a football match and you should do whatever is necessary to achieve the goal.
He added that we shouldn’t go “too crazy” about diving.
But karma is a bitch and while it earned Spurs a point at Anfield - after missing one of those penalties - they might be so lucky the next time.
This weekend, it’s the north London derby and the meeting with Arsenal is bound to be as heated as the clash against on Merseyside.
If things don’t go Spurs’ way, will Kane, Alli and Poch moan about an Arsenal diver in the north London derby?
That will all just be part of the game then, ne?