| Well, New Year has come and gone
and things look no better than last year. Having just suffered the
second home defeat in succession, even the form at White Hart Lane seems
to have gone out of the window. Perhaps losing to Chelsea should
be taken as a given, but Sheffield Wednesday ... please. With all
respect to the Owls, they should not have had a prayer at Spurs, but
they decided to turn up on the day, while our players seemed happy to
just let the game happen rather than make it happen. Wednesday
deserved their win and another disappointing showing against the United
Nation Blue Helmets was a kick in the groin. Without so many of
their "stars" (so many that they had three Englishmen playing
!!) Tottenham didn't have the guile or artistry to make them
struggle. Chelsea played the game at their pace and De Goey was
rarely troubled in their goal - even during the last 20 minutes when
things got a bit desperate for Spurs.
The side are not making as many chances as they
did earlier in the season, so the need for a better ratio of goals :
shots is important and for that a natural predator is needed. Both
Iversen and Armstrong have poor first touch, while they do not appear to
have developed a partnership understanding despite playing most of the
season together. Where one puts the ball, the other isn't.
Things aren't hugely improved when Ferdinand is fit. So, the need
for a goal poacher is greater than ever, so I presume that because one
has not arrived, that GG & DP have one in mind. One that they
believe will provide the missing link in our forward line. One
that above all others is the "finished article" and the final
piece in the jigsaw. One that will shoot Spurs to glory. one
that will not cost a huge amount of money. And most of all, one we
hope will not spend most of his Tottenham career with his back on the
physio's couch.
With Etherington, Davies, McEwen and
Gardner coming in, it proves that the "GG five year plan" is
developing and these players are unlikely to feature in the short
term. However, along with the younger foreign recruits, provision
is being made for the future and because it is possible to get the
players relatively cheap at that age, I'm sure the Sir Sugar will be
very happy that our future lies in our Youth set-up and reserves, rather
than in the first team of another club. If there are any doubts
about who GG will go for, it is a young striker who has scored a few
goals and is not afraid to work hard along the front line. I don't
know a name, but many of those linked in the recent past are not likely
to be considered - much like the old "quick fix" players who
could have shot us to a European place this season. Along with the
arrival of new squad players, it is nice to see some of the peripheral
players being moved on. Saib was never going to play again under
Graham and neither was Tramezzani, so they have gone. Dominguez
and Fox are available at the right price, while I foresee some other
names being off-loaded in the close season to make way for new faces and
new wages. It would be about time some went, as the dead wood has
needed chopping for a long time now.
Having said all that our remaining games are a
mixture. At home, most are teams below us and the majority are a
long way below (at the moment). Away we have a really tough
programme including visits to Elland Road, Highbury, Anfield and
Old Trafford. realistically, the home games have to be won and we
must fight for whatever scraps we can get away (Watford perhaps being
the exception, I would hope). But it will take better home
performances than the last two and better away showings generally for
this to happen. The prospect of getting into Europe is not a
practical one, so at least a run-in that shows a bit of effort, flair
and guts would perk up games which the players might be regarding as
meaningless. Whatever happens, keep the faith ...
MY EYES HAVE SEEN
THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON.
BRUCE CASTLE |
