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The sale of Gareth Bale before the season brought the now infamous quote that Tottenham Hotspur had “sold Elvis and bought The Beatles”. And while the price tag may support that, these Beatles failed to show for The Ed Sullivan Show, tripped on Abbey Road, and are truly Helter Skelter. But they were thrown into a near impossible situation and expected to perform from Day One. So where did it go wrong? A bunch of individuals came in, but no one ever built a team.
A team requires a philosophy and culture. The fans of Tottenham understand this. We’ve been shown numerous on-the-street interviews before matches of fans who have much to say. Tottenham is an exciting team, an attacking team, a creative team. But there has been a disconnect between what Hotspur fans desire and the product that has been delivered on the pitch.
It all began with AVB. He may have a tactical acumen, but the rigidity of his tactics turned many off, players and fans alike. It could be argued that with so many new players, a strict adherence to formation may be called for until the players begin to understand one another. Instead, what occurred was something boring to watch, and likely, not fun for players to be a part of.
The firing of AVB was a result of several factors. However, the most notable was the creeping rumours that he had lost the faith of the dressing room. If the players do not trust the manager, it begins to infect other areas of the club. Unfortunately, squad unity can’t be built of a mutual distaste for management.
The era of Tim Sherwood brought early hope for change. However, while we posted the best starting ten matches in history for a new Tottenham manager, it has been his inability to tactically overcome the bigger clubs in the EPL that had led to his downfall. Yes, he has another year on his contract, but with the constant attachment of other managers taking over the club for the next season, Sherwood’s days were always going to be numbered.
But how does this affect the players? You have to expect that they knew Sherwood was merely a stopgap. Can they play for a manager that has one foot out the door (or in the coffin)? How can a manager even have a chance at creating unity amongst his players when the elephant in the room is speaking louder than everyone else?
There have been pleasant surprises. The play of Eriksen has been a pleasure to watch. The addition of Chiriches to the back line has been a welcome improvement as well. It’s too bad that injury has hurt his chances of consistency, but an off-season to recuperate should change this. The use of homegrown youth talent has been interesting to watch as well. Yes, youth may be caught out at times, but the challenge of a steep learning curve for players like Kane and Bentaleb is being met head on.
There are many pieces to work with. What is needed is consistency up top before there can be consistency on the pitch. Priority number one must be to find a manager, one with a true plan. If this is not Sherwood, then Levy should do everyone a favour, including Sherwood, and let him go gracefully. The search for a replacement has been going on behind the scenes for months now. It must be brought to the forefront.
Next season begins now.
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I really have to hope that this off season DL does not do what he usually does and that is, wait....and wait...and wait... until the new season is about to start and then we get all the changes, the players in the players out and a new Manager put in place. I have the hope that the new man will be announced before the end of THIS month, not June, not July but May.
ReplyDeleteThen the new guy will have the most time to get his feet under the table, assess who's in and who's out and begin a pre-season putting his ideas into place.
Perhaps then we'll get the new seasons start off in the way we have always wanted, a settled team, motivated and bringing us positive results.
My worry is that this off season will be the same as the others, mind games and wait and see tactics but I can dream can't I?
Agree with the comments above about getting our business done EARLY, particularly the manager change. I am largely happy with this squad and think its time we stop changing every season so many players. Its time for stability and experience and that time is NOW! LVG train is gone unfortunately so for me my first choice would be Martinez as it was post Arry but thats unlikely so Benitez has the experience that will bring the best out of this squad of talent we have. Also, anyone that seriusly want Pauli and RS9 gone need there heads examined. Pauli scored 9 goals in his first season with major upheavals in a new league and all that entails and with injuries. Does anyone think that Mourinho is looking to him to be the new Lampard cos he's crap? Of course not. We have the next Lampard now and if we sell him after a solitary season one of disruption and with a non-manager in charge for most of it needs heads examined. For me Rose, Nauhgton and Siggy sold a new LB in cover for CB a young hungry striker and then we move on. Martinez, Benitez, Spaletti or FDB and in that order for me will see us much stronger next season unfortunately so will be Manure and Gooners so this was the season to break in but we shot ourselves in the foot mid-season such a "Spursy" thing to do. COYS!!
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