There has been a lot written on the improvement on the team since the new coaching staff took over

There has been a lot written on the improvement on the team since the new coaching staff took over. I would like to add my perspective as I am a Spurs supporter now living in the USA. I used to live in Wood Green within the sound of a game night at White Hart Lane, but as a displaced fan, I am able to provide a perspective without any kind of English media influence.

The team last year suffered from a number of issues, some of which were: Age of players, Dedication of players, Speed of players, lack of tactical awareness, injuries (as always) and a general feeling of despondency both in and outside of the club.

Compare that situation to now. We have weeded out most of the aged, unmotivated, perpetually injured players and replaced the coaching staff with people of experience, tactical awareness, and vast knowledge. The medical staff has been revamped and the acquisition of Frank Arnesen is awesome.

For me, the results early in the season are secondary, no matter how good or bad. Undoubted good results will promote a feeling of confidence and optimism in supporters but this should be approached with an open mind, as should bad results.

The coaching staff are trying to cope with a double edged sword, they must produce results good enough to stop any witch hunts and lack of confidence, and, promote long turn success at the club. Not easy to achieve.

What we all want is long term success, to be seen as a contending club, to be feared by the lesser teams, to be admired by the greater teams, to be consistently involved at the upper reaches of the table.

The coaching and management of the team is now first rate. All that needs to happen now is acquire a team ... not individuals, but a team of talented, motivated players that will win consistently. The coaching staff have made a fantastic start, but acquiring the number of players we have will undoubtedly result in some good purchases and some bad. We need to constantly acquire and discard players as no team is ever complete. The staff have identified the areas that instantly needed replacements and replaced those players, but who is to say, over a period of time that the replacements are any better. i.e. is Brown better than a fit Anderton, is Atouba better than a fit Ziege. Time will tell.

What we have now is a squad of young motivated players. We have a defined first team and replacements in almost all areas. The squad now needs time to settle, players need to realize that if they do not play well they will be replaced. We are now building for the future, a very near future, when other teams will have to start thinking about replacing their aged stars and spending considerable amounts of money for a talented young star (consider £27m for Rooney), we will have a team full of talented young players in their prime. The good times are not far away.

So in conclusion:

Do's and Don'ts

Don't pay much attention to the results for now.
Don't react negatively to a bad result, no matter how bad.
Don't react overoptimistically to a good result, no matter how good (unless its against the scum).

Do watch the team tactics improve.
Do watch the team play better.
Do watch the individuals become better players.
Do wait for the young players to mature.
Do wait ... wait ... for the time when the above improvements will bring consistent results.

Richard W. Desira