I’m expecting most, if not all of the blogs and websites relating to Spurs to be fairly depressing today. The majority will be negative about Saturday’s dismal performance and the poor results in the previous three games. I should warn you now, this will be no different so if you think all is rosy at White Hart Lane and you’re happy with a 5/6th place finish and a quarter final of the champions league then I’d advice you to close the browser window and read no further because it’s unlikely you’ll agree with anything I’m about to say.
I’m getting tired of being told Spurs are having an excellent season. Whether it’s by Harry Redknapp, the media or other fans. Being told I shouldn’t be questioning our performances or results because this is one of the best seasons we’ve experienced in decades. What a load of bollocks that is. For one second lets remove our Spurs blinkers and concentrate on a few facts. We’re currently sitting in 5th place in the league, 5 points behind fourth with only 8 games remaining. Manchester City on the other hand are in third with the same points as they had at the same time last season when they sat in 5th. Have they improved? Not as far as I can see. It’s the Spurs side that have become worse.
The free flowing, exciting football team everyone constantly goes on about has only lost once at home all season. I’ll settle for that, but we’ve also only managed to win 50% of those games while scoring 19 goals. Only Sunderland, Birmingham and Wigan have scored fewer goals in front of their home supporters. Compare that to a 65% win conversion and 11 more goals scored this time last season. We went on to win our final five home league games last season, scoring 10 goals and conceding only 3. The same will need to be achieved this season if we’re to have any chance of finishing in the top 4 again and on current form that’s just not going to happen. Away from home the goal scoring has been slightly better but even the “disappointingly defensive Manchester City” have scored the same as us having played one less game.
We were knocked out of both domestic competitions in the early stages, both in humiliating circumstances, both against London rivals with one being surrendered to the Woolwich. So for all intents and purposes we’ve only competed in two competitions this season, the league and the champions league. If you remove the fantastic individual glory nights from the season we’ve experienced in Europe what are we left with? Surely the only answer from any disconcerting Spurs fan would be one of disappointment?
I know you can’t remove those glory nights and we shouldn’t. Come May, whatever the end result of the season we’ll remember beating Inter Milan and AC Milan. Who knows, we might even remember beating Real Madrid. I understand the thought process behind believing these victories are what being a football fan is all about. This club of ours is built on glory nights and the philosophy is what attracted a lot us to Spurs. They’ve been great and with reference to Inter at home and AC away they’ve been two of the best performances I’ve seen any Spurs team produce in the last twenty years but they’ve been soured by very poor performances scattered throughout the season in the league which for me has taken some of the shine from those nights.
Think of it like this. We’ve been known as a cup team for as long as I can remember. A team that often sits in mid-table but can beat anyone on their day. It’s a tag most of us have wished we could get rid of by performing week in week out in the league. Last season saw us do that for the most part and this should’ve been the same only slightly better. Now it seems we’ve reverted back to type for some reason and a vast majority of fans don’t appear to be too bothered by that. We can’t have it all. We either want to be a consistently very good side or a cup team which inevitably means we’ll lose our best players to those teams who are consistently good but once every 5-6 years we’ll make our way to Wembley. If given the option there’s only one choice especially as being good in the league often means being good in the cups too.
Tactically we’ve looked inept and without ideas at times, players looking half of what they were last season. When faced with a terrible performance, as we were on Saturday, the only response we got from the manager was discussing other teams results and how they had only managed a draw or in the case of Liverpool had lost away from home. So I guess that means as long as everyone else loses, it’s ok if we do? Or we’re told we should be happy with what’s happening at the club because it wasn’t long ago that we could only dream of playing in the champions league. In the same game last season we won 3-0. Are Wigan better than they were last season? The table would suggest no so once again I suggest for some reason we’ve gone backwards.
Why was Aaron Lennon left on the bench on Saturday? As he came on with 30 minutes or so to go it can’t have been because he was injured and having not actually missed any games how non match fit could he have been? vdV once again only managed 70 minutes so if he’s not fit enough to play an entire game why is he starting every week? He’s a fantastic player but surely an unfit vdV being played on the right isn’t as good as Aaron Lennon out there? Harry also decided to play Modric on the left which meant we had no width and little creativity in the middle. Once again our best player was Sandro which says a lot about our performance.
With the players we have there’s no reason we should be getting 3 points from a possible 12 against Blackpool, Wolves, West Ham and Wigan. Forget injuries or even saving players for the game against Real Madrid, there is absolutely NO excuse for not gaining at least 7 points minimum. Those extra 4 points would see us right back in the pack. Add other points we’ve dropped against West Ham, Wigan, Birmingham, West Brom and even teams like Everton and you can see how this really should’ve been our season. There are always if’s, but’s and what if’s in any season for any team but surely we shouldn’t be dropping 4 points to both West Ham and Wigan? In 360 minutes of football against those two teams we’ve failed to score a solitary goal. That’s 16 less than we managed against them last season.
That change in fortune can’t be put down to playing in the champions league can it? There’s something else going on that could see this season’s glory nights turn into distant memories instead of regular dates on our calendar. A very average Liverpool team are only 5 points behind us in 6th when if you believed all the hype surrounding Harry Redknapp’s team, or we managed to play at even half the potential we’ve shown on Tuesday and Wednesday nights they should be a spec on the horizon.
Would we be happy with the performances and results in the league this season had we not been in the champions league? What if we’d not progressed out of the group stages or if AC Milan had managed to take a couple of their chances and we’d been knocked out in the last round? Would so many people still regard this season as “one to remember”? I think not, and while we’re still very much in the hunt for a top 4 finish and who know’s some more magical nights in Europe it’s going to take the team and in particular Harry Redknapp a lot of improvement before any of that happens.
Told you it was going to be negative 
COYS
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As you know I agree. On Saturday after the game I was trying to get the points over that:
1) We are in the QF of the CL and playing Real Madrid this week, that is awesome
2) Our current league form is a massive concern
The two points are both correct, and what so many people seem willing to give is that the CL games are a balance for everything else. They are excellent, we have been brilliant in all the CL games, goals galore and performances that we can all look back on and be proud.
But, look at the last few league games, and it is just appalling from the players and ‘Arry the Untouchable. I have said all along, since we beat Citeh last year, that there should have been one priority this year, and that was getting at least 4th, and realistically 3rd this year – to cement us in the elite, that is now starting to look very unlikely.
Before I rant on for ages, look at the points we have dropped against the relegation battlers – terrifying – are we actually only performing against the big clubs…. Are the players / manager so focussed on those big games that they can’t get going against Wigan / Spammers etc??
This is everything that is wrong with a large part of the tottenham support these days. All posts are done in hindsight so it is really easy to have a go that so and so didnt play, etc. We are not in the know about why certain players play or not, so why come out like you are all knowing ?? All the time we have our size of ground and wage structure we cannot expect more than 5th/6th, surely you can understand this?? Man City will throw money at this until they achiveve at least 4th, so they were always going to take this from us, whether this year or next. What spurs fans are lacking is any kind of realism. Because we got 4th last year, it means we should be getting better and looking at 3rd or above …… WRONG. Getting 4th again whilst being in the champions league is twice as hard as getting there in the first place. Lets see how City juggle the two, it wont be any better than we have, im sure of that. We are not better than Chelsea, Arsenal or United. This is a fact so why did so many of you expect us to be all of a sudden???
Being in the champions league means we can sign better players …….. WRONG. Xavi and Messi will hardly be banging down ours or man city’s door will they. It isnt that easy as City will discover this summer. If you are comepeting with seasoned champions league teams the players will chose them over us, especially with our wages, this is common sense. If we are competeing with a non-champions league team for a player then although it gives us an extra draw, why are we going for these palyers that no other top 4 team wants anyway??
The really sad part is that you havent enjoyed, what could quite possibly be, the best 2 seasons we have had in 30 years and if you cant enjoy this then you will never enjoy being a spurs fan. This really is tragic.
5th is a good season, qtr finals of the champions league is an excellent effort and next season we will regroup and go again and this time City will have the difficult task of being in 2 top competitions. We are Tottenham, we have never been top of the league so why so many of you expect nothing else is dellusional and severely idiotic.
Points well taken on the objective critisism. I as a Spurs supporter, always considered EPL fixtures for this season to be of utmost importance than the CL.Considering our general limitations in spending,the CL should be considerd as an achievement & an added bonus. Our prime concern is finishing in the top 4 of the EPL & the FA cup. The club has a traditional complacency attitude in EPL matters. Not too sure whether this filtered down from management down to the players.
Not only should we be already safe in 4th place, but had we strengthened upfront we should have been challenging for 1st in this season where Chelsea and the scum have been inconsistent. People are frustrated that we’re just not scoring enough goals. It’s not acceptable. The CL has papered massive cracks and led gullible fans into believing everything is okay.
Jim, perhaps we’re not better than Chelsea, Arsenal or United, but we should be much better than Wigan, West Ham, Blackpool, Wolves, Birmingham etc.
Sorry Jim, you’re wrong. You sound like Mr Redknapp. Or at least you believe his propaganda. Why should we accept one season in the Champions League and 5th place? What sort of attitude is that to have? “Oh, its ok we aren’t progressing, but we’ve had fun in the past two seasons”?! Absolute crap, I want Spurs to finish top 4 every season, I want us to build on what we’ve got and one day win the premier league and win the Champions League. Why bother at all if we’re just going to accept being one of the “also rans”? Why is it a bad thing to want sucess for our club? Why should we have to do what you’re doing and accept our place outside of the top 4 and be grateful for it?
Sure the likes of Xavi and Messi aren’t going to be knocking on our door in the summer, that’s a ridiculous statement to make. But spend 5 seasons in the champions league, get a 60,000 seater stadium, and with all the money built up over those 5 years in establishing ourselves in the champions league, they will be. That is the aim. That is how you become the best. And why shouldn’t we want Spurs become the best?
@Jim – Unfortunately you make a couple of glaring mistakes in your comment. The first being that I look at things in hindsight. This is not true as I have been saying this the season started that we were lacking a striker and we would come unstuck with the formation we’re trying to play with vdV in the hole because our strikers don’t suit that style. If you were to read my match previews I will often say what should happen, as I did for this game. Not playing Lennon and no width is not the way to beat Wigan. If he was available to play then he wasn’t injured so he should’ve started.
I’m pretty sure I didn’t mention anything about last season which was a fantastic one. Very enjoyable and the final league position was the icing on the cake. This season however has not been the case. The only reason you believe it’s been fantastic is because of the CL games. They of course have been great and very enjoyable and of course playing them will have an impact on other competitions but that’s why I pointed out our early exits in the league and fa cups. We haven’t been competing on ALL fronts and not even close to it.
I also hate the simplistic views that we can’t compete financially with those above us. What the hell has that got to do with anything? Absolutely nothing. We were in the same position last season and yet we finished in 4th above man city. Did they not have more money then too? My point is they haven’t actually improved no matter how much money they’ve got but everyone else has, including us, have got worse. You need to ask yourself why that is? Chelsea have spent a fortune too but has it improved them? Arguably no. Equally Arsenal haven’t spent millions so why are they better?
As TMWNN says when you look at the season as a whole and compare the sides above us and the points we’ve dropped and how we’ve dropped them in reality it’s reasonable for us fans to expect us to be sitting very comfortably in the top 4 and probably in the top 2/3 with a gap.
It’s fans like you who except mediocrity that don’t understand reaching for the heights the great Bill Nic tried to install within the club.
Jim
We have been top of the league and won it.
It may have been a while ago, but we have done it.
The attitude of accept “being in a competition” is everything that is wrong with modern football – are Woolwich a successful team? The record books say no, but by your reasoning they are…
The one thing i hate is having a go at our players and fans but i must do both and whether you believe me is not important. What i will promise you is this it may be controversial but i will bet any money my rant is nearer the truth than a lot of blogs on the net. Where should i start its a long story i have told many time so i will tell you why the premiership is full of shocks in my opinion since i stumbled by chance on this form of cheating there has bean many incidents to highlight my obsessive rant. The most amazing and mind numbing observations is no other fan has questioned all these shock results and no matter how many fans i tell my story to they either ignore my Blog or take the mickey about my spelling or grammar.. Well let me tell you this Kolo Toure was just one player from many teams topping there energy to high tempo levels. We are tested in Europe and in the Premiership by Ukad who was Uk Sport who are now Ukad a different name but the same clientèle running it just like the police policing themselves. When Kolo Toure failed his dug test for energy giving substance he played in a mean defence alongside ex player Bridges who was man of the match for West Ham. When a friend of mine reported a top team for using energy drugs they amazed him by saying its rife but we cant catch then he said why not and she told him they are under the radar in other words not enough in the sample to ban them. Tis could be for two reasons firstly energy drinks and the players running this energy off during the game Toure was sub against Utd the day he failed his test. This does not mean Ukad are starting to catch offenders because it looks like Toure will et off by claiming he mistakenly took his wife’s Slimming tablet. This has given the green light to carry on and the new high Tempo from City proved the point and all the shocks Everton where three points of the bottom with Liverpool now they are seventh and sixth even though Everton have lost three of there best players amazing or is it. You can scoff ignore my rant but take a look at Rooneys face, what made him and Utd Suddenly up there tempo and score four and do a Newcastle when shocks happen to many times there is a reason and having 17 players with full tanks without emptying make a formidable opponent because class will always beat a godd trier but today in sport tireness has bean eliminated and the tier is winning to many times for it to be real . One thing gives ths away when you see a player chase the ball 40 yards all the way to the keeper when he has no chance of getting it and he is not panting or tiring later you no at half time he has not had half of an orange and a cup of tea the hair dryer has goneand in its place for soe clubs is energy top up remember Ufa have bean stamping down on this for three years. One last point City play Liverpool nicknamed the comback kings and the Duracell Bunnies when they where in the top four cartel City will not out run Liverpool Carragher and Kuyt are prove of that and if we can overcome another energised team we can benefit from there score draw or a Liverpool win. These are the places where energy and deaths have bean happening England Scotland Spain this is where players have bean caught Italy Scotland England Spain
For me this season has been a huge disappointment for a season that promised so much. The lack of a striker has been well and truly covered so I won’t go there. The constant shoeing in of VDV into our starting 11 regardless of whether it works has also been done so I will leave that as well.
This season has been pretty mediocre in terms of performances CL aside. Can you name me more than 2 games in the PL where we have looked commanding? Probably not, when you compare this to last season there were many games which made you sit up and think this is a team on the up.
I keep hearing if we win our game in hand and win at City we will finish 4th, well I’m sorry but at the moment we don’t look capable of beating Halifax. Having said all that if we do finish 5th I think we will hold onto our best players for 1 more season but if we don’t invest in the right areas come the summer after next year they will be off and we may well be back to mediocrity. Sad but true.
agree with the last paragraph Kev. I don’t think Modric or Bale will be off in the summer. Lets be honest they’re the two players we want to make sure we keep hold of. I doubt the others will be getting many head turning suitors anyway so we’re safe in the knowledge they’ll all still be with us. It’s whether we can get rid of the dross on the payroll and replace them with quality in the summer.
By setting your aims to high you’re setting yourself for a big disappointment – that’s the reason why most Spurs fans feel bad about this season, even if the facts are that this is one of the best seasons in Tottenhams PL-history.
I am also dissapointed but not bitter, because I’m looking at the wider picture, and also because I’m hopefull that 4th is still achievable, and if not this season then next season surely.
Dali. I’d rather Spurs aimed for 1st and failed than aimed for 5th and suceeded. I’d rather deal with dissapointment than constant mediocrity. What is all this crap about people saying, stop aiming high and you won’t be dissapointed. What is the point in supporting a team if you don’t want them to win everything, and get better and what they do. What is the point in supporting a team to get 5th place, because anything else is aiming too high?! This defeatist small club mentality drives me mental. Especially when it’s coming from our manager. Stop telling us we don’t have the right to be in the top 4. Tell us you’re angry and dissapointed and that you think Spurs should be in the top 4. Why can’t we be angry that we aren’t in the top 4, why do we have to accept our place? If we aim for the top, theres no reason we can’t get there.
Tottenblog,
I agree with most of your points, especially regarding Redknapps ‘prepare for fall’ public talk since february, but I feel that despite all of this, there is still a lot of reasons to enjoy following Spurs this season.
Davspurs,
WTF?