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Tottenham are a club very close to my heart, I have supported them my whole life and watch or listen to the games whenever I can. Unfortunately the last few years have been difficult for me and my Club. Like Jermaine Defoe with women, I have grown tired of this 6/10 Female. She is over the top and mentally unstable, she doesn’t even look at me the same way anymore. I can’t keep up with her constant changes and mood swings and the fact she changes managers more time than my local Nandos.
What I’m trying to say is that Tottenham are a club that need to take a massive look at themselves, and so do the fans. We got Champions league, yippee! Hurrah! That doesn’t mean we are entitled to be there every year, seriously get a grip. We are like that annoying person at the bus stop who caught someone looking at them, now we think we can engage in conversation and show off our Pug pictures. It doesn’t work like that, not now, not ever and the sooner we realise that the better!
This weekend brought a typical Tottenham result, a 2-2 draw with a team who battled relegation not so long ago. The only positive I can take is that we have a manager now who is honest at the end of the game. He observed we weren’t good enough in the final third, he didn’t make excuses, he told the truth. Tottenham are a project and are still at the early stages of that project. Sadly our last season was a massive delay in this and the season was effectively a write off as soon as AVB got sacked. Everyone will argue that Redknapp should never have got sacked but here’s the thing, it was always coming. Yes we got into the top 4 (twice) but there was no vision with action. We displayed vision, but without action this is just a dream, we also displayed action at times, but without the vision it was just a waste of time. We should never have finished below Arsenal when we had a massive point advantage, but because we didn’t have that vision of what lied ahead in the future, we blew it!
AVB brought a different approach; he wanted to create a style and looked to the future with the players he brought in. Unfortunately the loss of Bale would disrupt any club and this definitely happened for him. He or someone chose the wrong players to replace Bale and our season suffered as a result. Unfortunately I think AVB’s problem was the experience and track record he had from Chelsea. It was always going to come back to haunt him and it certainly did, the players lost respect for him and he lost respect for himself I believe. Of course we have to look deeper than the manager for that season, the chairman. I have a lot of respect for Levy and the things he has done, but people had that same respect for Fred Goodwin when RBS were earning a ridiculous amount of money, look what happened there. Sometimes your time is up and I think when man employs a youth coach as our manager and allows our season to go into turmoil, he has proven his time is up. You cannot make decisions like that and expect to be forgiven. If I were a team manager and hired a lunatic who disrupted the whole team, I would have to face the music and explain what went wrong. I’m still waiting for this explanation from Levy...
I want to forget that season; she was a cruel mistress and broke my heart. Lessons have been learnt and we have made changes early in order to reach new heights this year! Sadly for me, some lessons are still to be learnt for example, 4 strikers is better than 2 + Harry Kane, Passionate players are better than over paid players and long term vision is better than short! I’d like to think with the new manager we have developed that vision & action attitude I mentioned. We have stuck with the players and have brought in what we need in order to progress, I worry that we still think we deserve to be in the champions league though when we really don’t. The first four games have been promising but the early warning signs are still there. A champions league team doesn’t go down to 10 men to West Ham and get a lucky win; a champions league team doesn’t draw 2-2 to a poor Sunderland side. I honestly feel we are one prolific striker away from being a top team but we seem to believe that Ade boy is reliable and Soldado will come good. I really hope I’m wrong with both of them, but right now they aren’t fit to wear the shit and that is a problem. Harry Kane bless him is trying, and trying very hard! We need to keep this lad and hope he does come good in the future. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard Spurs were title challengers after whopping QPR, it just isn’t right. My prediction for the season ahead is that we will play some nice football and come around 5th or 6th. The top 4 teams are incredible at the moment, it’s not like when we qualified before, there is some serious competition within the top half of the league and we cannot say we are the top 4 of the 10!
To conclude my first blog about my feelings on Spurs, please let’s top looking into everything so much. Let’s go to each game and enjoy the show in front of us, let’s scream our team onto success and let’s stand by them when times are hard. I dislike our fans right now, the songs are poor and the support is lousy and I think we can do better. I can only hope we stick by this manager, he says the right things and he is trying to get the best out of what we have. What we have is a couple of eggs, Levy expects an omelette out of those eggs however we do not have the milk or cheese and until we do, we need to develop our players, believe in the youth and believe in a system.
Tottenham will be great team, but when you have Arsenal, Man City, Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool spending the way they do and playing the way they do, it will be very difficult to happen overnight!
Happy Reading,
The Boy in the Blue and White scarf...
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In reading this, I went from sections were I totally agree with you to those where I think you don't have a scooby, I'm afraid - but it IS all about opinions, ain't it :)
ReplyDeleteFor a start, not 'everyone' will say that Harry Redknapp should never have been sacked.
Secondly, I know this just seems naturally wrong to some, but the obsession with four forwards, calm down. It bears no relation to Pochettino's preferred formation. He players with one striker in front of a front three, none of whom is an out and out winger, and all of whom are expected to wade in with goals. At Southampton, Ricky Lambert was hardly prolific, but what he was good at was linking in the three attacking players behind him. So, really, we only need one of Adebayor, Soldado and Kane at any given time. And individually, and as a group, they are much better than Lambert/Southampton options. On top of which, the player we are most heavily linked with, next to Schneiderlin, is Jay Rodriguez - his contract is running down and he has declined to sign another at Southampton. But he was injured, and carrying an injury into the next season and Southampton were refusing to do business as a point to placate their own fans after their asset stripping. Good chance he'll join in January. Everything will be fine.
Like I said, I do agree with a lot of what you say, though.
I agree with almost everyhing you say but I now feel Levy must take most of the blame.
ReplyDeleteAlthough a great businessman he has shown he knows nothing about football. He won't put his hand in pocket to make that stella signing that we need. Even Ben Davies was a long protracted affair. He took a gamble sacking Harry and getting AVB and it goes from bad to worse. Whether it's Tim Sherwood, Pochettino, you or me in charge of the team, we'll still finish 5th or 6th. The passion of our support is less, because I and most of us who go, feel that the players that we've signed are at Spurs for their pay packet and there's no passion or desire for the club. Most would gladly move on at the drop of a hat, while we'll still be here dreaming of CL football.
Nice article. Competely agree we should learn to enjoy each game again and stop taking every match, or each incident to be a sign of something big or bad that runs deep. All too early for that.
ReplyDeleteDisagree about the striker though. We are scoring plenty and our am three are supposed to bring the goals, which is working. Ade is creating space and it's fine. Chadli may score 20 this season because his position is almost as one of four strikers.
Sorry, but when you make ridiculous statements such as "Adebayor isn't fit to wear the shit (sic)" and "a champions league team doesn't go down to 10 men and get a lucky win against West Ham" you lose any credibility that you might have. Presumably, champions league teams don't lose at home to Aston Villa or Stoke. Oh wait, yes they do, it seems. We are four games into a new season and already you have thrown in the towel. Talk about glass half empty!
ReplyDeleteHi Jack This is the first time in many years I've read something that resonates my heart and head. You talk sense [Don't worry about one or two odd ones who will always be abusive as they lack analytical thinking ability and impartial judgement.] Levy is just a money-man and he knows only how to make money. That’s great – we all need money. But you also need a little bit of feeling for football and for the fans. We may not have money but we have the heart and our love for the club – yes, throughout my life-time [loving Spurs for the last 52 years]. Look at just one fact and it pains my heart to say this, but how many successful clubs – likes our enemy Arsenal and Man United had changed their manager over the last 15 years or so? Success can’t come with turmoil and instability and selling your best assets and buying rotten apples. Like Levy there are Spurs fans who think Ade is a striker fit for a successful club – a player discarded by Arsenal, Man City and the Spanish giant. If this is our fans’ and Levy’s expectation then that’s what we get and the likes of you and me will keep on suffering till go to our graves. Thank you for your brilliant article – a breadth of fresh air. And don’t be afraid of a few wild comments, keep telling the truth as it is – for the love of our club. A Spursfan
ReplyDeleteHi guys!
ReplyDeletethank you for your comments, great to get feedback in any form. n regards to the fit to wear the 'shit' comment, I would view this as a typo rather than a statement haha!! in regards to us loosing to west ham, I stand by that comment. Kyle naughton is not a champions league defender by any stretch of the imagination and would struggle to get in the top 10 teams of the prem. He put us in a terrible position against a west ham team who should have been beaten by 2-3 goals at least!! I definitely haven't thrown in the towel, but if you can honestly say we are better than Liverpool, Man city, arsenal, man u (on a good day) Chelsea and even everton, I salute you. I salute you because I can not see it, maybe I am not worthy of seeing it? Who knows! Fair point with the loosing to stoke or villa, however, When a champions league side loose to a Villa, its a shock! When spurs loose to a Villa, it is hardly life changing and we wake up the next day saying 'typical, bluddy typical!' I just want to see some realism here, stop pretending we are something we're not.
In regards to comments on my striker opinion, I get where your coming from how we don't need 4. My problem is, Ade is not good enough in that system, Roberto doesn't look comfortable in that system and Kane is still young and learning. I would like another hot shot striker in there purely to keep everyone on there toes. Jay Rodriguez would have been perfect. I'm just saying, if Ade hits a run of poor form and Roberto is injured, then what?
I will apologies for any Typos and any parts that may seem incorrect as I was extremely tired when I wrote this up! However I love the feedback and I hope to improve and continue to cause debates!!
Very grateful for your comment Arun, you hit the nail on the head and I can assure you I am not thrown by any form of criticism, it only makes me want to continue to speak how I feel! This is one blogger who will not be turning into a typical front room manager. I will say what I see no matter how controversial.
Thanks Guys