| hokey-cokey - the hoddle
in-out debate |
With a perceived poor start to
the 2003-04 season, the debate over whether
Spurs should switch the manager rages.
Here are some of the views of
our readers ... feel free to add yours.
The top messages are what fans
were thinking
after the news of Hoddle being sacked broke ...
| 26.9.2003
Having just read Alan
Curbishley's comments on the Sky Sports Website, it struck me that he
clearly wants to be offered the Spurs job. Personally I'd love to
see him in the role. For me he has done wonders at Charlton and I
would prefer him over O'Neill or Souness.
Secondly, isn't it interesting that the Spurs players are coming out
with comments about their loyalty to Hoddle AFTER he's been sacked.
If a few of them had said these things when Sherwood and Freund et al
were mouthing off, it might have taken some pressure off. You get
the feeling that they are doing their best to avoid rocking an already
sinking ship !
The Dazzler
MK
|
| 26.9.2003
Wyart,
We are all sad that things have ended this way for Glenn. Every Spurs
fan wanted him to succeed but after a time, it became obvious that he
wouldn't.
Levy had to act fast or risk having a West Ham-Roeder type situation,
where a clubs blind loyalty cost them dearly.
The players just weren't responding to Hoddle and Spurs couldn't risk
being bottom of the league at Christmas.
Anybody who (like me) was present at the Man City game in April, saw one
of the most gutless displays ever at the Lane.
It took me a long time to get over that one but then the Fulham and SCBC
games brought it all back. That level of disorganisation is totally
unacceptable.
Could anyone really have withstood anymore of those 'performances' at
home?
And for those complaining about how "he only got 6 games",
well, the rot had set in long before this season started.
In a way, Levy's actually done Hod a big favour because he let him go
before things got much worse and before he got any serious stick from
the fans.
That way at least Hoddle still leaves with his reputation as a Spurs
legend very much intact. It's also come in time for Hoddle to apply for
the managerial vacancy at Reading, so he could be back in a job before
you know it.
As for Spurs, if Pleat doesn't get the job full-time, than it should go
to his old mate Raddy Antic.
Antic knows all the best players in Spain
and would quickly identify the bargains.
It's about time Spurs had some Spanish stars here to grace White Hart
Lane.
Come on you Spurs,
S J Wightman
|
| 25.9.2003
So
he’s gone, and I for one am not sorry !! I wish I could say I was, but
I’m not.
Deep
down I was never really convinced that he was up to the job, after all
what had he won in all his time as a manager – one FA Cup !!
Sure he got Swindon promoted through the playoffs, but that had more to
do with him playing than managing, Chelsea were still no better than
average when he left them and the least said about his time as England
manager the better!
I was,
however, more than prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, back
him as a manager and hope that he could get us back into the top
six or eight teams in England. But two and a half years down the
line we are still crap. So much for, “getting back to the style
Tottenham fans have come to expect down the years”.
So
where did it all go wrong ? For me (for starters) I just
couldn’t come to terms with the way he treated Sergei Rebrov, I
don’t care that he was GG’s buy, he was a f*****g good player when
he came to Tottenham and for whatever reason he was frozen out … an £11
million pound player frozen out ? WHY ?? Come on we at least
deserved an explanation for that alone. Like we have an abundance
of £11 million pound players to muck around. No instead he chose
to run with players who had nowhere near as much skill or intelligence
around the park (I don’t want to insult ex-players by naming them, but
I suspect all of us could name at
least three players who should never
have been selected ahead of Rebrov). Then came stories of his
refusal to talk to certain players for whatever reason – I know the
father of one player (an International player no less), who I spoke to
at an airport a couple of weeks ago, who told me his son couldn’t wait
to leave WHL because of the way Hoddle was treating him – so I don’t
believe these stories are just rumours. Can any
manager afford to be that infantile, that he can refuse to play, or
speak to, an international player in his squad ? … let alone one in
charge of Tottenham at present.
So I
spent the last few months actually looking forward to the day when the
board would realise that under Hoddle we were never going to be the team
WE wanted.
All
this tosh about him being one of us is just b******s … Darren Gough is
one of us, but I wouldn’t have given him the job either.
What
is needed is a manager with a proven record in top class football, not
the dross that we have had shoved on us this last 8-10 years (GG
excepted – and I make no apologies for saying that either!).
It’s about time that the vocal majority of Spurs fans extracted their
craniums from their anuses and smelt the roses. We are being taken
for the proverbial bunch of *****
(*insert your own expletive here) by a board that has the collective
morals of a dockyard cat !! Just as long as there are 36,000 bums
on seats every two weeks or so they’re as happy as pigs in shit, sure
they talk a good fight ... new stadium ... new improved
transportation system or we’re off … all total b******s!!
Several
years ago Glasgow Celtic fans were being fed the same old patter but,
canny lads that they are, they saw straight through it and when
they decided they had had enough of the bullshit they took action and
stopped going to home matches attendance’s dropped from around 50,000+
to somewhere in the 16,000 – 18,000 bracket, a couple of home games
like that and the penny soon dropped in the boardroom. How many
Spurs supporters wouldn’t swap the last three years at the Lane for
the last three at Parkhead ?
How
much longer will it take before pennies start to drop on the terraces of
WHL ?
Bill
MacNamara
|
| 25.9.2003
Can I just say a big
thank - you to all the Tottenham fans who sang Glenda's song last night
up at Coventry. I'm sure he was watching and he must have taken
something from that.
Steve White
|
| 23.9.2003
It feels like a death in
the family. Hoddle was one of us. Not an outsider like
GG. That is why even though we knew deep down that it would end
this way, we all hoped it wouldn't.
But it has and now the
next sap will come into the job for two and a half years and get kicked
out, leaving the fans as the only constant in this equation.
Will it be the formula
for success ?? Let us hope that Levy makes it correct by getting
the mix right.
As fans, all we can do is
sit and wait.
So much for having our
Tottenham back !!
Wyart Lane
|
| 23.9.2003
On
Sunday night at almost ten o'clock I turned the TV to Sky Sports News to
hear the end of hour round up, "and after the break more on the Hoddle
situation." Immediately I presumed he had either been sacked or
made a defiant statement.
Bang
on Ten O'clock I heard the announcement I had expected. On hearing
this my heart sank. I feel if this had been any other manager except
Hoddle I think I would have been pleased that the board had acted
decisively to bring to an end a demise that had started with a 4-0
mauling versus again the Saints. The fact the man sacked was truly a
genius who would grace the Legends Bar in the East Stand, perhaps more
fittingly than any other, was the one sacked is why it almost hurt to
hear him sacked.
Although
I understand and feel the board had just reasons for sacking Glenn, I
think they have stopped him having a go with a team he could finally say
was his, and given time to get everyone together I feel could have
challenged towards the top of the league.
Hoddle Hoddle Hoddle Hoddle Glenn is the king of White Hart Lane
Hoddle Hoddle Hoddle Hoddle Glenn is the king of White Hart Lane
Richard,
putting his hat in the ring for the job.
|
| 23.9.2003
Never heard so much
bull### in my life over Glenn getting the big E.
Sublime player mediocre
coach some people can't separate the two careers.
Methinks a few of the
players made certain Glenn's era finished by staying in the
dressing room on Saturday.
Is it my senility or has
Ledley gone backwards since GG left.
Either of the two
geezers currently plying their trade up in Glasgow would fit the bill,
not too excited by anyone else especially Pleaty's mate.
Ciao
David
|
| 23.9.2003
Another Saturday evening
with not unexpected blues.
Defeat by SCBC unbearable.
A short trip to Sweden Sunday evening - returning Monday pm - and joy of
joys the news that GH is no longer in charge, but serious alarm that
Pleat is to take temporary charge. Please not again.
What has that man done for Spurs apart from being the only manager to
take the team to Wembley and lose to Coventry. Who are we playing
next?
What role does Pleat fulfill ? Any manager worth his salt would
insist that Pleat be removed. To harbour a viper is never wise.
Then horror of horrors the rumour machine has Raddy Antic as favourite
to succeed. Raddy who? Oh how the mighty have fallen.
The trapdoor to obscurity yawns ever wider.
Tony Pawson
|
| 23.9.2003
I think everyone else has
said most of what I wanted to say, but just to add a couple of
thoughts...
This season had started well, what with the Liverpool draw, and the
beating of Leeds, but then slipped into a slide that was destined to end
with a bump. It was getting to the point where I was cringing
every time I heard anything about Spurs. I heard a good few
comments along the lines of Spurs, crap, and relegation.
Unfortunately, it had the feeling of that Gross period when you had to
wonder if we would last the season. 'Spurs, the next big club to
take a tumble down into the lower divisions'. So Hod, we had a
good few moments. The thrashing of the Blue Scum will linger long
in the memory, and is certainly Hod's best moment in charge. But
that's the problem, it was all just moments on the whole. No long
lasting period of good stuff. Injuries didn't help, but the answer
to that was always to bring a few hard-men in who could keep up a fight
when the going got tough. Unfortunately, Hod decided not to
purchase a 'holding midfielder' this summer, and at that point I was a
bit worried. Just more youth - haven't we got enough already?
So in the end the board have done what the board needed to do.
They gave him a final chance, he didn't take it, and now we're left
wondering who's going to take charge.
Frankly, I fancy Antic. From how he turned Barca's season around
in a very short period, he could easily do the same for Spurs.
Just a mid-table position and one or two semi-finals would be good
enough right now. I also reckon he is a long term solution.
The youth are there, and that will probably be Hod's legacy, just like
Graham's was for Leeds. Just give us a couple of fighters in the
midfield area, let the youth revolve around them and get the defence to
start concentrating. We have theoretically got one of the best
defences around, they just need to get a grip. Antic could do
that. He's a world class coach, wants to prove himself (having
been dumped by Barca) and has got a few good links around the Europe.
I bet there's a couple of ex-Barca players or Spanish hard hitters
around who would plug the gap, and play for the manager; I bet Guardiola
is coming our way. He's also from the outside and therefore
doesn't know or hopefully care about our recent history. Thus,
knowing that us fans would probably be happy with a semi-final or two a
season is not part of his psychology. He's the kind a guy we need
to give the Spurs a kick where the sun don't shine, which frankly is
what the players need right now.
Meanwhile, I bet we give Coventry a real good thrashing. Pleat's
got a habit of pulling rabbits out of the hat at times like this...
Dave Frearson
|
| 22.9.2003
The day the romance died.
I suppose the one thing
that I am surprised about is that I am not surprised. Six months ago, my
belief in Glenn was unquestioned. Then a poor end to the season coupled
with an appalling start to this has left a feeling if only in my heart
Before I go any further
let me say that the performances and results were unacceptable and the
boil has been lanced and lanced quickly. As much as I did not want this,
maybe it was not to be for Glenn.
Some time ago, I penned a
response to Matthew Lyons piece entitled on the web site as a Messiah
response, in which I laid out the way that I thought we were going.
Most of the points that I
put, which were no means rocket science happened. The moving of the old
guard with fresh new and young talent being brought to the club
signalled a move forward. I think we would all agree with that.
Hoddle the player was how
we wanted Tottenham to play, skill, grace and winning. Unfortunately, my
boyhood fantasy has not been realised.
It was romantic to have
Hoddle back (the timing was always questionable, and did start the feud
with the SCBC).
These were the general
points I made.
However, football and
Spurs are never easy and as much as the majority of us would have always
backed Glenn while he was at the club sung his name and got behind the
team, perhaps the time had come.
There were questions over
his continued playing of certain players clearly unfit or out of form
with a system not working and move around too often at too many times.
Leaving player's not knowing positions and jobs.
Keller, who has been poor
since the Arsenal game. Steve Carr is not the same player since coming
back from injury and his commitment to us is being questioned after
almost every game. There is the view that he is playing out his contract
so he can move on himself up the Seven Sisters road.
The lack of a ball
winning midfield player is also apparent. If there is no one of the
quality that we want fine, then do not waste money on someone not better
than what we have, but we all know our midfield is to week.
Perhaps the answer was to
play Ledley there until January to give the back line some protection.
Also, a back three is fine when it works, it did not work well enough
often enough and we are shipping goals. A back four with defenders
that can defend please.
Having noted some of the
faults, I still wanted us to be successful with Glenn, for Glenn, for
all of us. I wanted the returning hero to come to turn us into the team
we all want in the style we want. That romance and Glory of Spurs fans.
Perhaps romance died a
little on Sunday. I feel for Glenn immensely; I feel for me.
Some people in my family
did not even sleep Sunday night (funny old game) from the anxiety and
shock of it, but it was not shock but just a part of their heart
breaking. Mine has a little too.
However, I realise we
must move on.
Come on you Spurs.
Paul
Lamoureaux
|
| 22.9.2003
I think to sack any
manager six games into a season is a huge mistake by any club let alone
one with the traditions of T.H.F.C. What message does this send out to
any prospective new manager, if they can treat one of their favourite
sons like this what chance any one else.
Now was the time for the
board to hold its head not panic and take the easy option, shame on you
Mr. Levy.
Andy Wade
|
| 22.9.2003
It's sad to see Glenn go,
but could we really risk the results carrying on in the manner we have
seen since Christmas last year!
No doubt Glenn's fate will leave a smile on the faces of the likes of
Tim Deadwood and the fact that at least he was removed from the club by
Glenn should be a cause for celebration, he would probably have fancied
a crack at taking over had he still been with us !
Teddy Gets His Spurs ! Could this be a headline on the back of the Sun
before too long ? Surely another ex-player bringing in another new
dawn would be one step too far. It's time the board get a
genuinely good manager who can get the best from what he has to work
with (O'Neill), but would he leave the Champions League for the Carling
Cup ? A good manager could turn Spurs around just look at what
Moyes did for Everton, how they failed to get into Europe last season
astounds me!
No more sentiment, no more Gooners. Let's win something!
Spurs forever
Scott Francis
|
| 22.9.2003
When I grew up on a West
London Council Estate, there was Spurs and music.
Spurs were the team;
names like Jimmy Greaves who came back for Pat Jennings' testimonial,
30,000 crowd, 3-2 to Spurs, 2 to Greavesie. Stevie Perryman,
(ex-Elliot's Green) played everywhere to suit his club (if you ever saw
him in midfield you'd remember). Glenn Hoddle - Magician; him and
Brooking very similar.
Anyway Glenn thanks for
everything. The shirt used to mean so much, the boyhood dreams of
playing for the lilywhites. Then coaches, the Liverpool robots
Wonder what went through Terry Neill's mind when he took Patrick to
Arsenal.
You were great Glenn and
the other immortals, its changed now and it must be hard to motivate a
team of mercenaries with no heart and no passion that never supported in
all weather on public transport going back to shit town.
Remember the days
"We are the Tottenham and we are the best, We are the Tottenham, so
xxxx all the rest".
Pass it on to other true
supporters and don't doubt the commitment of Glenn. Ask the
players of today, they have shaky hands when they take their pay.
Chris Bonner
|
| 22.9.2003
It is tinged with great
sadness to hear of the sacking of Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle but the
writing was on the wall with the unacceptable results of this season and
the tale end of last. We are at the moment the laughing stock of English
football and this must end NOW !!! Too many managers in too few years is
damning to a club of our stature, this time we must get it right. We
need someone who can gel all these players into a team.
How is it that teams like
Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers can be relegated and a few
seasons later have teams far superior to ours winning games home and
away and making it to the holy grail of European football. Even our
conquers on Saturday have built a side, without breaking the bank, that
can match any in the country home or away on there day. This should be
us.
Is there something
drastically wrong with the Club we all love so dearly, if so, now is the
time to sort it out. We need some stability, the players and fans alike
must now all pull in the same direction, lets start by putting in a good
performance against Coventry.
Come on everybody lets all get behind the team now and stop the
humiliation of the past results and together we can turn this season
around.
COME ON YOU SPURS
K Kelly
|
| 22.9.2003
What annoys me is that
Glenn finally gets a team resembling what he wants and gets six games to
win the league with them.
Notice the media aren't
getting Bobby Robson the sack.
Darryl Stowers
|
| 22.9.2003
And so another legend is
relieved of his job and the debate, as ever, was did he have enough time
or was he not good enough?
The 5 year plan was to have experienced players alongside our promising
youngsters initially and then watch the latter group grow. Looking at
our youngsters who were there when Hoddle arrived I can safely say that
Davies, King, Gardener, Etherington and Doherty have all seen their form
dip and in the Matty E’s case be sold. Hoddle never grasped that old
players like Sheringham needed to be rested and in both of the last two
seasons our form in the League from January has been shocking as the old
players grounded to a halt.
Motivation ... look at Moyes and dare I say, look at Strachan - both teams,
despite their limitations, go out and play for their manager apart from
the Scum at home last season have we really seen an ‘up for it’ team
for a long time?
And next ... ? Please not another ex-favourite who understands the
‘Spurs Way’ (now known as mid-table mediocrity and the
Premiership’s laughing stock). Someone who comes in from the outside
and shakes the club up so that the deadwood and injury ridden are
dispensed with and the fans can see a team deserving of our support.
Martin O’ Neill would be nice.
David Harris
|
| 21.9.2003
I hate to say it but ENIC
have done the right thing by sacking Glenn Hoddle.
Bless him, Hod was one of the greatest Tottenham players ever but he
just couldn't cut it as a club manager, even at Chelsea he didn't really
do much.
It was always a mystery to me as to how he landed the England job, as
he'd not yet proven himself.
Southampton were perfect
for him. A dead-end club going nowhere, with no expectations other
than to survive the annual relegation battle with Coventry.
The two were made for each other but then Spurs came calling and Hod was
screwed.
Hod probably knew that he
still wasn't ready but that he'd never get another chance. It was a big
mistake. I said in April 2001 that David Pleat should've gotten
the job full-time and I still believe that he's the right man. I'm
well chuffed that he's back in charge and I just hope that he gets a
chance to show Levy what a fine manager he is.
Maybe we wont have to
poach Redknapp from Pompey or O'Neill from Celtic.
It's moves like that which have sullied our reputation over the years.
What better way to hit back then through one of our own? Pleat is a
master tactician and financially astute. We all know that he brought
Robbie Keane to Spurs, when Hoddle didn't really want him, because he
was hell-bent on getting Morientes.
Pleat also made sure we got Blondel, Ricketts and O'Hara, so give him
credit.
Also, it should be noted that Pleat was behind the last genuine attempt
by Spurs to win the league championship, in 1987.
He would come cheaper
than Redknapp Snr., because we'd have to pay up his contract and O'Neill
would be expensive too.
The future looks good for
Spurs and I'm no longer downcast about it. All we're missing are 2
midfield enforcers and a leftie to cover for Ziege. Burch can take over
from Keller in goal and Mabizela should be in for the appalling
Richards.
Sorted.
S J Wightman
|
| 21.9.2003
Dear Wyart,
Where do we go from here?
I was back at the shop on an all too rare visit on Wednesday and blagged
some signed stuff from Glenn, Anthony Gardener and Stephen Carr. Came
away with a really good vibe - so disappointed today. The same sense as
when Ossie left, two gifted and adored players who could not recreate
the style and class displayed by the Spurs team they both graced.
A shame, but the story is
similar; 104 games under Glenn's stewardship with forty odd both won and
lost will not take the club into a top six finish which I believe
is most fans minimum credible expectation of progress for this season.
Sadly, I believe his poor relationship with the press will see him look
abroad for job offers.
The future? Despite the
previous continental experiment that Grossed out, I think the board
should recruit a proven top level coach from abroad, free from
any UK press baggage & b.s. to get in the way of the job.
The modern game is ruthlessly results driven - I want the job contracted
out to a proven competent person with a flair for the passing game
uncluttered by any personal hero worship.
Alas, you don't get a
General for Corporals wages, which is why I think the board will try for
Graeme Souness (happy and tightly contracted), Alan Curbishley (who
would be at West Ham if he wanted to move) and may well end up with
Harry Redknapp who like GG, dabbled too much with smoke and mirrors
in the transfer market for my liking.
Ian, Bielefeld
Germany
|
| 21.9.2003
Well I hope the bloody
media are satisfied. They've got what they've been after for the last
year at least, and Glenda has gone. I am very disappointed in the board
who have clearly allowed themselves to be influenced by external
sources, including former players (all of whom are on considerably lower
wages now because once Hoddle got rid of them no comparable club was
interested - bitter, them?)
But for whatever reason
the decision has been made and we will now presumably bring in another
decent manager who will state he needs five years to get the club going
the right way, then have a bad run after two years and get sacked, with
the media leaving his reputation in tatters. Watch the queue for
application forms at the Lane - yep, that's it, the 90 year old in the
mac and no-one else. They're now going to have to pay big money to get a
good man, with the promise of more money to spend, which leads on to the
Leeds situation unless people are very careful. To avoid this happening
we cannot go for the likes of McLeish or O'Neill who are too used to
spending cash. Curbs would be the best bet but he'd be daft to leave
Charlton. There are other good managers around but they're all happy
where they are. I reckon we will end up with Glenn Roeder...
Oh, and well done Mr.
Levy, as if we'd have wanted Abramovich's money.
You twat.
Phil Drummond
Poole |
21.9.2003
Why do I feel sad that
Glenn has gone? I believe that he did (and does) love the club,
in a genuine sense, but was he in love with his past? I don't
know. I have no history with Tottenham, and, despite my middle
age, have only been connected with the club as a member, and more
recently, as an employee for a few seasons. I share with all
yids (my brothers) a sense of personal humiliation and insult at
home defeats by noddy clubs. On Saturday I interviewed
(informally) several Southampton supporters in my cosy position in
south upper and was offended by their confidence of a win. I
mourn the loss of Steffen Freund (shoooooooot), Teddy Sheringham
and, for pure squandering of funds, Sergei Rebrov. Glenn made a
big mistake, he went back to the club he loved. Never go back.
What do I want from The
Tottenham? Away wins. When did we last nick three away
goals (other than against City last Christmas)? I don't give a
damn about the past, legends and 'when the year ends in one', That's
all bollocks. I just want us to be like other clubs, only better.
And one more thing? Why
don't we join in with "Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur" ?
The Hammers sing "Bubbles", but no one joins in with
"Glory, Glory" (except me, and usually down my mobile
phone!).
Come on you Spurs! We are
the Paxton Tottenham! Up the Yid Army!
|
| 21.9.2003
I read with sadness the
(although not unexpected) news about Glenn. There are those among
us who should be ashamed of not supporting our manager and our team.
We all hear the 'fans' moaning about the whinging players, well
what about the whinging 'fans'? People who don't believe in giving
the team total support have no place at the Lane and no right in calling
themselves Spurs fans.
I hope Glenn will
understand that there are those among us who feel he should have been
the given the time he needed. He had only just been able to build
a team of his choosing and should have been given the 5 years promised
in the press conference which first announced he would be our manager.
Once again our board have
proven themselves to totally gutless and listened to the ravings of the
press and a minority of 'fans'!!
GOOD LUCK GLENN I WISH
YOU ALL THE BEST FOR THE FUTURE. I KNOW I'LL MISS YOU AT THE
LANE!!
Theresa
Nicholas |
Before the sacking, this is
what people were saying ...
| 21.9.2003
Dear MEHSTG,
The time has come for the Tottenham board to replace Glenn
Hoddle.
The facts are brutal;
4 points from the first 6 games.
3 points from 3 home matches against teams we would have expected to win
at least 7 points.
11 defeats in the last 16 Premiership matches.
6 wins from 23 premiership matches in 2003, scoring 26 goals, conceding
44 goals.
Highest spending Spurs manager EVER, according to one weekend paper.
Worst points-per-game record of any Spurs manager since Ossie Ardiles.
The last point gives a clue to how much everyone supporting the club
loves Hoddle (mainly as a player), remember how much stick Gross was
given and yet his record was better, FACT, but he was slaughtered.
When Glenn took over we were in the semi-final of the FA Cup and in the
top half of the table. 30 months later we are in a mess and the last
10 months have been miserable. We have turned in some of the worst
performances I can remember in my 30 years supporting Spurs home and
away. Southampton, West Ham and Middlesbrough away and Blackburn and
Fulham at home are just some of the "stinkers" we have turned
in. Unlike some fans whose views I have read or heard in the last
24 hours, I think 30 months is long enough to get a feel on how things
are shaping up. I certainly didn't expect to win anything in the
first 2/3 seasons, but surely none of us could have foreseen the sharp
decline in 2003.
The buck stops with Glenn I'm afraid .
He selects the team on match days.
Most of the squad are his "choices".
He sets out the tactics for each match.
We still have no ball-winner in midfield, which is why we have been
overrun in midfield in so many of our last 23 matches.
Personality clashes with players are all too frequent.
WE NEED TO ARREST THE DECLINE IMMEDIATELY, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.
Please Levy hurry home from your honeymoon. Whether it's O'Neill,
McLeish, Curbishley, Souness or Adams, let's put someone of quality in
charge. Accept that Hoddle, like many great players, simply isn't
a great manager. I know that hurts for all Spurs fans who hope and
want Glenn to succeed ,but I believe, sadly, he just hasn't got what it
takes to make us a top six side, never mind a trophy winner again. Levy
must act very soon to SAVE OUR SPURS.
Regards,
Martin Francis |
| 21.9.2003
Cast
your memory back to February March 2001!
Spurs
unbeaten in the Premiership at home. A 3-2 win in the FA Cup
quarter final against West Ham away. Remember Rebrov's volleyed
goal against them. Spurs then moving menacingly into the FA Cup
Semi-Final! At last Spurs were making progress with a
determined, motivated, young side that pressed the opposition, crossed
the ball early and trouble the big teams at White Hart Lane.
What
happened next?
Spurs
sacked the Manager and appointed Glenn Hoddle!
Brian
a Spurs supporter since 1966 |
| 21.9.2003
I ask people to cast their minds back a
few years - to a game against Wimbledon at home that ended 0-0, with
roughly no shots on goal all game. That is what Gerry Francis gave us.
I ask people to think back to the
terrifying humiliation we all faced with the appointment and lasting
tenure of the corrupt gunner George Graham.
And I ask you to cast your mind back just
a few weeks ago to the Leeds game.
As a Spurs fan I ask for little - not
consistency, we are years from that. - not league domination, our
football should not suit it. - not even to be able to beat second rate
sides week in week out, which we have not done well since the early
80’s.
I ask for glorious football that leaves
people staring in wonder and awe. - I ask for progress towards some of
those heights that a club of our resource should attain. - and I ask for
players that fill my heart with pride.
Hoddle has had two years in which to
build a side, a task he estimated would take five, (being more demanding
than Alex Ferguson who took seven). In the first set of signings he gave
us our Tottenham back. Poyet, Sheringham and Zeige were never long term
prospects, but they served a purposed, and that was to fill our hearts
with pride at being Spurs, and to stave off the worst of relegation
fears.
Following this he bough us Deano. Not the
greatest defender of all time, and prone to mistakes, but a solid and
capable player in the air who gives experience to a partnership of
Gardner and King, that will now serve us for years.
Then came Keane - a glorious player in
the spurs mould - he has a fighting spirit similar to his man u
namesake, and talent in abundance. He excites the crowd, he scares
oppositions, he lifts our team. And sadly he has been missing this
season.
The new clutch of signings are yet to
have served long enough to be rated. Though four goals six games in for
Kanoute bodes well.
We have a long way to go - we are far
from being the side we should be - but we are heading in the right
direction - slowly the talent is accumulating and the whining dross
disposed of. Gradually the side is showing itself capable of varied
formations and strategies. And on rare occasions we do the things that
make Spurs different to other teams, the glorious football with an
honest spirit that the English game needs. For now it is rare. That is
better than it was under our previous mis-managers, and it must come
more often.
But it is progress. And people should
start to acknowledge that Hoddle started from a lower base than the
Spurs left by Terry Neil, who, though relegated, still had much of what
Sir Bill had given them to draw on.
"Pretty Vacant" |
20.9.2003
I'll make this short and sweet ....
To all you whingeing old gits who want our manager sacked 5 games into
the new season, I say this:
Get off Hoddle's back and support your bloody team!!!
The Dazzler
Milton Keynes
|
| 20.9.2003
Right, first things first. Hoddle must
stay. He is a very good manager. OK, things have taken a bit longer at
the Lane than at Swindon or Chelsea, but he is the man for the job. He
was praised at both those clubs and with England, it was nothing to do
with on-field things that he was sacked. We are still in transition, and
this early in the season you cannot judge people like Postiga. I mean
the guy is what, 20 if that. You try moving to a foreign country at that
age, I'm sure it's not easy, let alone then having to play in a foreign
style and be an instant saviour.
We now have a young-ish squad which has a
hell of a lot of potential, and Hoddle must be allowed to work with
that. Anyone expecting European football within three years when he took
over must have been expecting more luck than we know we get!!
Where were Man Utd when Alex Ferguson had
been in charge for three years? Nowhere. They were still a year away
from being dicked 5-1 in the Manc derby. Man Utd, much as I hate to say
it, are the perfect example in giving a proven manager a decent length
of time in the job and waiting for it to come good. No-one has done it
since. I say that if we stick with Glenn for the next two years without
questioning him, we could be in for a decent spell of success. But we
all know that won't happen, and if he's out of a job soon then we will
all be clamouring for a so-called top manager, and barring Martin
O'Neill I can't see any chance of us getting one even on a par with
Glenn.
So stick with it, fellow fans, he is the
man for the job, and if we show we believe that it may just increase the
speed of the revival ...
Phil Drummond
Poole |
| 19.9.2003
Greetings All
Having discovered the Hoddle out website
I now feel that it is time to join this debate fully. I feel
totally and utterly disillusioned by what is
happening at the Lane. A supporter for what has seemed like an
eternity, I was a great supporter of Glenn and all he did through his
steps into management. I took lots of flak over my constant
support during the England campaign followed by his sacking after those
alleged words to a certain newspaper. To abject delight when he
came back to management to euphoria when he arrived at The Lane. I
will admit to feeling sorry for George Graham, because at the end of the
day he is and probably always will be a world class manager. But
with the arrival of Glenn, I was swept up in the rejoicing, and forgot
Hoddle’s record as and manger so far. But to be honest, I am
disappointed. We are hopeless. His lack of management skills
has come out and we are suffering.
Tottenham fans always talk about the
‘Tottenham way’, but to be honest we have been a 2nd
class side for nearly 20 years. OK, we have won the FA Cup in that
time, but so have Wimbledon. We have sacked the two managers who
have brought us any form of cup success. It is time we forgot
about the past. Danny Blanchflower no longer plays for us, Jimmy
Greaves will not be knocking them in against the likes of Southampton or
Man U. Glenn Hoddle isn’t the Messiah, he is a false prophet, a
fallen angel. If he quit he would leave with his playing
reputation intact and we can still remember his skills on the ball, if
he stays and we wait until Xmas, he will be tarnished and what is to
stop us slipping like Sunderland or West Ham.
We must now look to the future and start
a brand new ‘Tottenham Way’ or we risk playing the likes of
Rotherham on a cold December evening, battling it out for 1st
division pride.
Hoddle must go, Forget the past, Live the
future.
Matthew Miller-Hall |
| 16.9.2003
Hi,
It seems that there a still a lot of fans
behind Hoddle ... or at least willing to give him until Christmas.
This is probably through lack of better alternatives and his long
association with the club.
Could we organise a pro-Hoddle demo after
the Southampton game to show everyone outside the club that we are still
united!!!
Jon Armitage |
| 16.9.2003
Don't sack Hoddle! what do you think
you're doing...what's going on - everything's going mad !
OK so we haven't had the best of starts, losing to Birmingham and Fulham
- that's low but come on, Hod'll get it right - don't lose the faith
just yet.
We waited years - YEARS for the promised one to return and lead us out
of the desert and I think in that time we all became a cynical bunch
(you can only see so many false dawns before you give up on ever seeing
the light).
So it turns out that Hoddle isn't quite the wizard that we thought he
was and maybe he does seem a bit of a stubborn - big head (allegedly -
phew!) but isn't that part of which makes SIR Ferguson and a certain Mr.
W such good players of the management game, Hoddle knows where he wants
to take Spurs - he has that single mindedness and determination -
and for the first time in over a decade we have a leader who want to
take us there or do you really want to see the route one style of Mr. O'Neill
gracing our hallowed ground ?
Isn't it about time that we accepted that putting Tottenham back on the
map is going to be a long, hard haul - tougher than we may have thought
?
I think if Hoddle is allowed to go then it's curtains for 'the Tottenham
way', you might as well give in cos who's going to replace him ?
Who would we want ? We always wanted Hoddle and now we've got him,
the only way after this is down and that's a fact.
It is time, supporters of this team that we love so dear to stop this
bickering and fault finding, stop this nastiness and bitching STOP IT
NOW - CANT YOU SEE ITS DESTROYING OUR SOUL (no pun) - find the voice to
turn our team and our club around and show the world what Tottenham
Hotspur is all about, forget the past, concentrate on the future and
stop thinking of now because even if we spent £400M we still wouldn't
be in a position to challenge anybody. Hoddle's doing what he can, now
we must throw off those fickle shackles, show him we are behind him and
haul this club from the depressing bog it has waded into, for next week
it could be someone else in that seat and then we'll be back to square
one - just when I feel the MAN is starting to make some progress.
Come on you Spurs,
Alan O'Brien
PS
Why the f**k is Gardner anywhere near the first team? |
| 16.9.2003
I saw this and thought it might be of
interest
http://www.geocities.com/hoddlemustgo/SOS.html
Matthew Miller-Hall |
| 14.9.2003
I believe that Hoddle's time is almost
over but there is a decent alternative already at the club. I was
surprised that ENIC didn't give the job to David Pleat, who is a far
superior manager to Hoddle.
Pleat is tactically sound and would easily command the respect of his
squad, something that Hoddle's never really had since he came back.
It's a shame to say so but Hoddle is still making rookie mistakes, even
after 11 years as a manager. Maybe he could explain why exactly an
unfit Anderton started alongside the similar Redknapp.
Also, why was 'Gormless' Bunjevcevic even on the bench ? Mabizela
is a much better player and could've made a difference.
Hoddle also must explain why Koncheskey was benched in favour of a
shot-to-shit Taricco.
Tano is over the hill and wouldn't even be there if Ziege was fit.
I also think that Pleat would abandon the doomed 3-5-2 system for a
4-4-2 instead.
I say give Hod until the end of this month and then hand the job to
Pleat, permanently this time.
Sean Jackson |
| 14.9.2003
As
a Spurs supporter of nearly 40 years, I am disgusted at the state of the
so-called team that Hoddle (the nearly man) has assembled. I do
honestly feel that the team was much better and harder to beat under
George Graham and that the present board have made a very big mistake in
employing Hoddle as team manager. I don't think we will ever do
anything under his management.
Londontreat |
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