Article by ginolasleftfootThe negative spiral has become a behemoth sized tornado. Kansas is approaching.
As a Spurs fan for 20 odd years I’ve never experienced the ‘halcyon days of old’ (Did they really exist? Please let me know.) Since the forming of the Premier League, Tottenham have had whiffs of progression. Good times have always been fleeting. Great players have come, and too many great players have gone. But never truly has a Spurs fan been able to crow from the rafters about the glories of his team.
There’s no space in the rafters anyway, as Chelsea got there before us and gorged itself upon all it set it’s eyes on and now it’s arse is wedged in tight.
What one cannot deny is that the previous four seasons have been as close to the elite level of football that Tottenham have ever been. We really were in the Champions League guys. We really did go to the San Siro and mix it up with Inter and yes Real Madrid really did come to White Hart Lane.
Then something happened. Chelsea miraculously won the Champions League. Not with Jose leading the charge brandishing scouting reports like missiles of war, but with Roberto Di Matteo and a rear-guard action that has now been written into France’s tactical warfare manual. (it was completely blank before, like that scene in Blackadder where he’s given a map to fill in during his potato based adventure.)
Apparently Harry had to have the Chelsea debacle explained to him, one million times. There were pictures books, white boards, a stage play was put on for him but still he wasn’t convinced. Like Jacko going up to collect that award that wasn’t meant for him, we stumbled around, pleading for someone to tell us the joke was up.
In the midst of all this, Harry had decided to hitch his skirt real high and whisper sweet nothings about the England Manager’s role. Like a love- drunk teenager with a stiffy, Harry and the FA exchanged love letters under the table and the Tottenham manager’s gaze now held firmly the image of Three Lions in his mind’s eye.
Spurs’ top four challenge ebbed ever further away, 2nd became 3rd, Titles ambitions became Champions League ambitions. Until, the very end, we were forced to convince ourselves that the Europa League would be an adventure. Just because a place is somewhere else and you have to travel to get there, it doesn’t make it an adventure.
After all of Harry’s cavorting and frolicking, he was shown the door and in came the complete antithesis of all that he stood for, Andre Villas Boas.
The man can obviously sell himself, or perhaps Joe and Daniel just got really annoyed with his less than audible tone and gave him the job just to stop the bass buzzing in their ears.
His reign at Spurs is something of a conundrum. He leaves with the best win percentage in their history and yet Tottenham’s impotent attacking display even with Bale in the squad, left Spurs fans adopting a ‘these things take time.’ mantra. Which they do, and yet it has to be accepted by all that the trio of performances against West Ham, Man City and Liverpool displayed collective levels of ineptitude that this Spurs fan has never witnessed before.
All teams get smashed now and again. Who’d have thought Barcelona would have capitulated to a 7-0 two legged defeat to Bayern Munich last season in the CL? Not many.
Quite frankly, the hierarchy above Villas Boas should be seriously scrutinised for the manner in which they conducted the summer transfers. If Sunday’s result highlighted anything, it is that Liverpool had the stones to keep Suarez whereas Spurs buckled under the pressure of Real Madrid and sold the greatest jewel they had. The momentum of football would have engrossed Bale once the season had started, and to see Suarez talking with such passion about his club at team mates is indicative of the contrary nature of footballers.
Sadly, Levy has set his stall out and using a board marker has scrawled ‘SELL’ ‘SELL’ ‘SELL’ all over it.
A rush of blood to the head of Joe Lewis and Co signalled a wave of arrivals that at first were exciting then continued to worrying levels. Has there ever been a club who have signed seven players and with positive effects? Perhaps Newcastle last season were close and ironically with no Europa League and a pre-season behind them, those players have started to perform rather well for Alan Pardew.
One can only wonder if Lewis took a look at the managerial changes at the start of the season and saw the opportunity to capitalise. If so, it has resulted in an act of immense hubris, as with each signature, Tottenham’s expectations were elevated by all who witnessed the biggest spending spree in our history. And Tottenham have never been too good at dealing with high levels of expectation.
We moved far too aggressively in the summer market, purchasing too many players. The team wasn’t in need of an overhaul but upgrades in certain areas. Villas Boas achieved 5th place with the highest points tally for that position in Premier League history, and he should have looked to the manner in which elite coaches use the transfer windows to shape his recruitment ideas alongside Baldini. With perhaps two or three additions, Villas Boas could have built upon last season, indoctrinating his squad with his beliefs and tactics. Instead, the squad became bloated, lop-sided and bereft of any indications of cohesive communication.
Villas Boas’ media comments regarding fans, journalists and agendas, now in hindsight, smacks of a man who was clearly being placed under immense pressure to achieve. Whether he continues to pursue a career in coaching will be interesting to see, especially if he decides to remain in England.
As for us. Who knows. We are once again the laughing stock of London.
It wasn’t meant to be like this Andre.
I’m off to listen to ‘It will all end in tears.’ by The Drums
Over and out.
@ginolasleftfoot
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We need a manager who will play our very talented squad in the correct positions. we need a manger who will not just do like for like changes when the game is screaming for a bit of a mix up...even tim sherwood will give it a good go with attack minded football and les offering ideas. we need to do what we do best and that is attack attack attack...we are not an italian passing team who walk it into the net. we do counter attacks and 25 yard screamers. WE ARE TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR AND TO DARE IS TO DO
ReplyDeleteI think most Spurs fans would agree when I say we have not been enjoying the football under AVB.
ReplyDeleteAs anonymous 12.23 says we do counter attacks and my favourite recent memories of Spurs were watching our flying wingers creating havoc after breaking up an attack.
It requires someone to tell these players where they should be to receive the ball the second we win the ball back from the opposition and carry the ball with speed and efficiency from our half to theirs before they have time to regroup. Oh, and perhaps get a few more bodies in attacking positions rather than shaping up to pass the ball backwards and sideways.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRedundantSoldier