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With the defeat at
Leeds came a reminder that Tottenham are not quite there yet. It was an
end to a good run that saw the team piece together a series of three
back-to-back wins for the first time since September 1999 and that is
encouraging in itself. But the mistakes that showed themselves at
Elland Road ended up costing points against a side who rarely looked
like taking any in the match. Yes, they had possession, but their
chances were repelled and Spurs looked relatively comfortable.
The one big
difference between Tottenham and the top five clubs in the Premier
League is that there is a clinical edge to their game. Yes, the
mistakes are there, but they are balanced out by the way that chances at
the other end are buried and not allowed to slip away. While the
forwards have been functioning perfectly well, with Glenn's approval as
shown by the continued selection of Ferdinand, you feel that if we had a
"sniffer" in the box Spurs would be even higher up the League
than at present.
Whether that striker
is Sergei Rebrov is yet to be seen. Sometimes when managers come
in, they want to clear out the purchases of the previous regime to have
their own buys around them. While this may be true, Rebrov is one
of the continent's premier goalscorers and to cast him a side might be a
folly without giving him the opportunity to show exactly what he can
do. There might be the need to build play around him and this
could be why he is out of favour. As it was when Hoddle was in the
side, the play revolved around him and now his playmaker is Teddy and if
he would rather play alongside Les, then Sergei won't get a look
in. I'm afraid I am not one of the people who subscribe to the
theory that Sheringham and Rebrov cannot play together; it just needs
them to sort out how they are going to play (one in front and one behind
would be best).
Other aspects of the
team seem to be settling down. Richards is still fitting in and
there will be more to come from him, while Ledley is being Ledley and
even Perry has come on since the defection of our former centre half,
who of course will turn up on the 17th - won't he
?? The best thing to do is to ignore him if he does, so the Minute
of Contempt is there for those who want to join in; otherwise, let's get
behind our team and show him what he is missing. We made the point
at the time that he has chosen to move to a team in the throes of
transition, while at Tottenham there is a core of young talented
players, who now have experience around them to provide a mix that will
take the club on in the short and long term.
Hoddle is doing a
good job, getting the team to play some lovely football that produces
results - especially away from home. That is something that has
been missing for a while. There are aspects of his judgement that
seem odd to us - like keeping Poyet and Les on for the full 90 minutes,
when it looks as though fresh legs could add to our play and the
opposition's worries. But perhaps that is why he is a manager and
we are just fans. With players like Davies and Rebrov on the
bench, we now have a decent depth (albeit not in all positions), which
will help in the event of any more injuries or suspensions.
With the reserves
doing well under Colin Calderwood and Jimmy Neighbour's and Patsy
Holland's youth teams producing some talented youngsters coming up
through the ranks, the future looks in safe hands. There are
plenty of stars of the future waiting in the wings and if ENIC are truly
considering concentrating on the youth system to find the next
generation of Tottenham stars, they will all have a chance to make it at
the club. Hopefully, the money will be made available to Glenn
should he need a big name player and let us hope that will be soon, when
we are in Europe after a successful season this time around. That
will signal that we have reached the next step of the five year plan.
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
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