| For
the 15 years or so I have been a Tottenham fan I have seen some
seriously great players pull on the shirt. From the God given
greatness of Gascoigne, Waddle, Hoddle and Ginola to the goal scoring
genius' that were Lineker, Klinsmann and Sheringham. Of course
these names remain in the memory but it is those who have slipped from
mind or perhaps never got the credit they deserved. The Tottenham
team of 91 were littered with hard working grafters who allowed the
likes of Gascoigne and Allen to do their thing - David Howells and Steve
Sedgley were just as important to that side and it seems to me we haven't
had players like it since. The names of Freund, Toda, Bunjevcevic and
Mabizela are names I recall for the simple reason they are not good
enough. The last one who was good enough was Alan Nielsen - a great
player, dependable and reliable - how often have I said that about the
Tottenham midfield - dependably inconsistent perhaps.
The
question is why aren't we buying players in the mould of a David Howells
and I think the answer is simple - we fancy ourselves a little bit too
much. When Matty Holland was up for sale why weren't we in there
busting a gut to bring him to the lane - the guy cost £750,000 and has
been superb at both club and international level. Add to Holland
the names of Savage, Butt, Effenberg and Petit and you have five
players, any of which would have been cheap to buy and I honestly think
would make the world of difference to a team that for too long has
been undone in the central midfield area. But no, not Tottenham,
we would rather dip our toes into the unattainable waters of Davids, Van
Bommel and at the time Rivaldo. I speak with fellow Spurs fans
regularly and I haven't met one who thinks we don't need a brand new
central midfielder (or possibly two). I am a fan of Redknapp but
just cant see the poor man staying fit. Michael Brown has done a
reasonable job but he isn't a name I would ever imagine a potential European
place chasing team batting an eye lid at. Under both Pleat and
Hoddle we have signed big reputations with small balls. The team
has been crying out for a ball winner but nothing has arrived.
There isn't a successful team in the world I can think of who survive
without one, look no further than Real Madrid's decline with the loss of
Makelele. Arsenal have had two tough centre midfielders in Vieira
and Gilberto, Man U have two in Keane and Butt, Liverpool have two in
Gerrard and Hamman, Chelsea have Makelele - Tottenham ... we just sign
strikers.
Is it
all bad news at the Lane ? With the end of every season since
those early 90s, I have forgiven the team in the hope of a better
season. I consider myself a decent judge of a football squad and a
reasonable man - and I can see some hope. It wouldn't have been
unreasonable for Tottenham to have had three players in the England
squad this summer and I am appalled that Defoe has not travelled - I
mean, what are Carragher and Phil Neville offering ? Looking
through our strongest team we have youth, pace and promise - Defoe has
the world at his feet; Keane, Davies, King, Robinson and Gardener are
raw and Arnesen has a reputation for developing youth so the signs are
good. If I was in charge, and thank goodness I am not, I would off
load either Kanoute or Postiga ASAP and bulk up this midfield of ours.
So
who is out there ? Fernando Redondo is a marvelous footballers who
has all the attributes to be a success in England ... sure he is ageing
but for a year or two he could make a massive difference. Van
Bommel is a funny one, if we could get him we should, maybe any revenue
from the sale of Kanoute or Postiga to fund any move, however, I think
he is holding out for something better and who can blame him.
Nicky Butt should be a no brainer - a class act and loyal as the day is
long, nobody would argue if he was organising our midfield for the next
4 or 5 seasons. If Martin O'Neill leaves Celtic, there
is Petrov or Lennon who may be tempted South. Barcelona have just
released Cocu - snap him up. Jason Koumas was a very capable
premiership player and good luck to West Brom for hanging onto him.
Edgar Davids is without doubt a world class performer but I just cant
see it happening. And then have a look at Chelsea - a clear out is
surely on the cards - the likes of Geremi wont want a further year on
the bench - let the auctions begin. There are options out
there that are within the catchment area of White Hart Lane - but would
we rather spend our budget on a light weight player like Diego the same
way we did with Rebrov and Postiga ? I couldn't say, and in many
ways that's the glory of a Tottenham fan - they always find a way to
make the easy seem hard.
As
for the new manager its shambles following shambles - and you just know
we are going to end up with a second choice - and this is my point,
we are a second tier team so our second choices should actually be our
first. I would love to see Ranieri, but even more I would
love to see a hard case midfielder in the mixer next season. I
wonder what Francis Begbie does at the weekend.
There
is light at the end of a tunnel, its just a frustrating tunnel.
"Stand
up if you hate Arsenal"
Andrew
Gill |
