Article by Ben KelsoClick here to follow e-Spurs on Twitter!
On 27th October 2013 at about 6.20pm a tide began to turn against Tottenham’s former head coach, AVB. As loyal supporters made their way home that day from White Hart Lane on trains and motorways, heads occasionally still shaking in frustration at a lucky penalty enabled 1-0 win against the not so mighty Hull City, they heard or read some surprising comments courtesy of their team’s boss.
"We looked like the away team, we played in a difficult atmosphere with almost no support. We have a wonderful set of fans but they can do better. Away from home we play with no fear and we need that atmosphere at White Hart Lane….We don't need the negativity that was in White Hart Lane today.”
Media scrutiny from experts and radio phone-in men on the streets tended to agree the atmosphere was bad, but so too was Andre’s decision to out it. The real debate was of course about culpability - is it the team or the fans who should provide the catalyst? If the team excite, the crowd get excited; but the team will fire up in response to fired fans. Whichever comes first, there is little disagreement that a football team’s performance can be enhanced with the power of vocal support. We all respond positively to increased confidence and whilst some manage to generate this from within, others require it from others.
Those at White Hart Lane on 5th February 2011 saw the power of support fist-hand. As news popped up on the Jumbotron that Newcastle had managed to claw back a forth goal against the hapless old enemy, the Spurs faithful went, quite rightly, crazy with delight. High-fives and hugs complete, attention returned to the pitch where Tottenham were drawing with Bolton Wanderers, approaching injury-time. Adrenaline still fuelling the system, a roar of support filled the ground and willed the team to try and find that elusive winner. Find it they did. In an almost immediate reaction to the crowds will, pace picked up and pressure paid off; sweeping forward our move ended with Pavlyuchenko rolling the ball to Kranjcar who duly smashed it past Jaaskelainen.
So, we know support counts. We also know that, whether AVB was right to point it out or not, it was lacking during the 2013/14 season at White Hart Lane. The common wisdom might point towards a drab playing style and a set of frustrated fans - but the storm was oh so much more perfect than that. Yes, we took on a decidedly more cautious playing style, but fuel was extracted from the fire due to a number of other things: default songs for building atmosphere all of a sudden being off-limits because of the y-word; fans feeling undervalued by the club owing to stub-hub difficulties; players who generated confidence from within had being sold or injured (Bale and Sandro); a collective understanding of building spirit within the team impossible with so many new faces yet to be genuine friends.
The atmosphere at White Hart Lane was not good last year, with fans and the team each looking to the other for inspiration. But there’s a third party to this, who somehow seemed to avoid the blame - the club. Daniel Levy and ENIC have been good for Tottenham, that’s my honest opinion; we’re financially viable in our own right, it seems we have a vision for the future and we’re finishing in the league at a level at least, if not a little above, where our costs on wages suggests we should be. But, there is always more to be done and this is an area that needs focus.
It seems to me that Levy & co are a pretty thorough outfit and wouldn't see fit to leave any area of performance to chance. So, why do so with the atmosphere at WHL - there must be more we could do. Not least because now is the time to test those things prior to spending billions on a new super-stadium to find it instantly wipes out any home advantage. Even Gooners will admit that the Emirates cost them points through a lack of spirit; but they already had a consistent Champions League pedigree prior to its build and somehow rode that wave and continually scrape into 4th spot.
So, what to be done? I’m not saying I have all the answers, the key thing for the club to do is try and speak to those who do. There are groups of fans, such as the 1882 movement, dedicated to the cause of increasing noise at the Lane - how about providing them with more structured support? Little things like caning the Star Wars theme music as players enter the stadium in favour of something we can actually sing along to; put the words to songs up the screens; dedicate certain minutes to making noise or particular chants; find groups of fans who want to chant and offer them subsidised tickets in quieter areas of the ground; get us involved in thinking about designs for the new stadium whilst there is still time to make them better; work with fans to see if we cant come up with new chants that replace the tribal Y-word ones. I’m not supporting the use of that word, but the chants involving it really were our most stirring.
Pocchetino needs to think about this issue too. I’m not worried about him having to change his style of play to get us fired up, from what we saw of Southampton that shouldn't be too much of a problem. But, solving the atmosphere crisis at WHL might not be an easy fix, in which case I refer to my earlier point about players who can generate confidence from within. Fans will react to efforts of flamboyance, aggression or excellence, so players such as Sandro, Eriksen and Lloris are integral; I wonder too if the same will be the case with Lamela, Chadli and Soldado? I hope so. Lennon may not hit the flamboyance point as much any more, for that see Townsend, but he does add a level of effort into our team that is quite exemplary. One way or another, he needs leaders in that team who can inspire their comrades, not just organise them.
Lastly, it is back to us fans. For all of the above, one thing stands out for me. It is easier to just sing, than just be better.
COYS
© e-Spurs 2014 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Spurs
Good piece. Agree with everything you said.
ReplyDeleteI find the atmosphere at WHL a little embarrassing at times, especially considering what it was. We're already widely perceived to be a fickle set of fans, it'd be nice if we could just sing all the time, rather than just sing when we're winning. We're not Chelsea.
It'd be good for the club to properly get behind the #1882 movement too.
I agree for the most part.
ReplyDeletewhen new managers/head coaches take over, it is standard to give players a fresh start - yet the first time AVB tried to bring Jermaine Jenas on in a pre-season friendly the WHL boo-boys (and girls?) booed the change. It was dreadful - and it made it very hard to AVB to play Jenas, therefore meaning his squad selection was being determined by the vocal (and, IMHO, negative) section of the crowd. It may well have been that AVB decides Jenas was unsuitable anyway, if he had been allowed to make his own decision. And if Jenas had proven effective - we well would have had an effective player, why would anyone gripe about that.
One thing, though, I believe Levy/ENIC are already aware of the atmosphere issue, have consulted with Arse*al's Emirates desert in mind, and have incorporated a Kop-style section (sitting, I'm afraid) to help generate atmosphere. This could have changed...but I am fairly certain they will be doing something to help.