Article by e-Spurs Correspondent David LevyFollow tonight's big game on our Twitter!
As a warmer weather front approaches London this weekend you can feel spring rearing its pollinated, unpredictable head. There is however a cloud that has been gathering over N17.
It’s a huge, grey cloud and with 2 games in 4 days, one being in the last cup competition that we are in and the other being the North London Derby it feels as though the world is closing in around us and our season may very well be defined by how we come though these two games.
Our latest on the field capitulation was followed by a visibly distraught Tim Sherwood letting his passion get the better of him in the interview immediately after the game.
It was one of the most honest, real interviews in football i have ever seen. Everything about his body language and facial expression told the story of a man who was hurting. “it hurts me, it hurts me” he said. You also knew before he said it that there had already been some intense words exchanged in the changing room.
You can’t argue with a lot of what he said. Partially because we have seen it happen ourselves more often than we should and partially because we don’t know what happens behind the closed doors and have no real way of knowing what the social dynamic is within the squad.
But some have said that’s not the point. He shouldn’t have opened up while still emotionally charged, stating lack of character as an issue with some of the players while also asking the higher ups at the club to ‘wake up’ with regards to finishing top 4. And I can’t really argue with them either.
The Spurs soap opera has played out relentlessly in the papers since. Tim on borrowed time, Levy giving him the vote of confidence, players coming out with the usual rallying calls. It’s all adding to the pressure building at White Hart Lane and with upcoming games there, in front of the dejected yet expectant crowd the pressure could be about to explode.
So in that respect I don’t think he really did us, or himself any favours. We don’t need the media whipping up a storm, getting everyone considerably more riled up and fuelling the fires of uncertainty.
I personally think this team can play with guts and can find it within themselves to do so. I felt we were doing it in the second half. Its just enough with this ‘woe is me’ attitude. We need people in the team who will not allow players to start feeling sorry for themselves and raise the level of the collective character through leading.
We need it so that this season doesn’t end up being completely irrelevant.
This year wasn't even about getting top 4 but building a team that could achieve it, or at least challenge for it seriously/convincingly next year. And throw in a nice cup run for good measure.....
That’s why I feel let down, nothing to do with our position in the table just that what should have been a season of growth for future stability, much like Liverpool's now looks like last year.
We both had new managers at the beginning of last year. We had more of a solid base to
build on, maybe slightly less than expected due to VDV's departure but we had Bale and a mostly unchanged side full of Premiership experienced players which is why i think we finished where we did.
So then, this season, while Liverpool push on, largely unchanged team if at all and keeping their talisman, we start afresh again. Go back steps even further, in my opinion, than at the start of last season. OK on paper we have loads of new signings with big price tags but they needed to be made into a team - something which even AVB was not given long enough to do. Not saying he would have or even that I thought he would have as i struggled to see much to make me believe over those last 5 or 6 games he had in charge, just that AVB did not have the experience (ability?) to build something solid in just 5 months.... clearly.
And even more so for Tim. He took on the task and has thus shouldered a lot of peoples unrealistic expectations. I’m disappointed right now because of perhaps my own, thinking he could band this group of players together and create a solid base on which to build something bigger. I had no basis to think that.... just blind faith really, what’s the point of supporting if you don't place some value on the dream of success.
I’m not saying it’s our fault for wanting more. We should do, always.
I still do.
And I’m still dreaming of us changing our fortunes this season.
Sandro has come out and told us that the team had a 2 hour meeting in which much was said and hopefully resolved. The dreamer in me is still clinging to some kind of hope in our ability to turn this season on its head.
It wasn’t so many years ago that we threw away 10 points in a small number of games following a magnificent capitulation from a 2 goal lead at the Emirates (we use to capitulate in the big games vs the big teams all the time with Harry in charge). There is no universal law that says the opposite cannot happen. Only ‘The Law Of Spurs’ which, while not universal seems to jump up out and bite us in the ass more often than not. But there is a chance, this time, that we could actually pull together and have a negative situation be turned into something positive.
See, I’m still dreaming. This article may not make it out before the Benfica game, but I hope some visible difference is apparent and the players can galvanise themselves and us before the North London Derby.
We keep on daring ourselves, over and over again.
Maybe it’s time to actually do something.
COYS
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this mug sherwood has to go along with the prick who hired him, the pathetic little man some call our chairman needs his p45 along with the clueless coaching staff he put in charge following the last idiots dismissal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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