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When
Steffen Freund was first brought to Spurs, the signs were that it was
another typical, dour GG signing. No skill, touch or vision, but a
blocker, possibly in the mould of Ian Selley or Steve Morrow. And during
GG's painful stay at the club, this was proved correct. But under the
tutelage of Hod, "Shep" has
blossomed into the ball-playing, instinctive, inspirational leader that
was quelled so successfully by Graham. So while I understand the club's
stance on out-of-contract players, especially in the current financial
climate, there has to be one exception to the rule.
It
was only natural for the club to want to see if he had fully recovered
from his serious injury before offering a new contract, but surely
Freund's magnificent performance in his first game back against Cardiff
was enough. For 70-odd minutes, with absolutely no football behind him,
he showed firstly how much he loved the club - putting his body on the
line in an injury crisis - and how much we had missed him on the pitch.
While many of the 'traditionalists' will claim to dislike Freund, I
would be amazed if there wasn't a part of them that absolutely loved
him. How can anyone not smile when he thumps his chest and the club's
crest? How can anyone fail to cheer (apart from the West Stand,
obviously) when he waves his arms, whipping the crowd up into a frenzy?
On
a more practical level, who would replace him? We already need another
squad player to cover for him when he's injured or suspended (Guardiola,
perhaps?). To lose him would be a tragedy. You may only rarely walk away
from The Lane thinking, "Blimey, Steff was different class
today," but you notice him far more when he's not there. How many
chances to West Brom (yes, West Brom) create against us? Jason Koumas
had the freedom of N17 to do whatever he wanted.
I
couldn't believe it when it was revealed that Freund was out of contract
this summer, and even worse that he would have to consider moving should
a contract not be offered soon. So
this is a plea to Daniel Levy, David Pleat, to whomever it concerns
-sign that man up. At least give the crowd the chance to witness a first
goal for the club. Freund is a hero, a footballing genius, and the fans'
talisman. May he always tread the hallowed turf that is White Hart Lane.
John
"Bebeto" Nicholson, Brazilian Yiddo
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