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So, the season
fizzles ever more slowly to a damp squib of an end. Did we expect
anything more ? Well, not since about New Year's Day when we lost
to a big club and returned four days later to be not just knocked out of
the FA Cup, but sledge-hammered out of it. The reason that the
fans have kept going has been Glenn Hoddle's ever more tenuous
preachings about a UEFA Cup still being within our grasp. The
reason for the violent reaction to the loss against Manchester City was
more than a little due to the build-up in expectation by the
manager. Fans have high enough hopes for each season without club
staff trying to hype the fading prospects of his elderly side.
The pronouncements
coming from the boardroom about what will happen in the summer to
justify the rise in season ticket prices are all just empty
promises. We have heard it all before and although the transfer
rumours that are placed in the papers just before renewal time have been
beaten to the punch by Daniel Levy's comments, the increases are not
even in lieu of any sliver of hope of success. Many long term (and
I mean forty years plus) are saying that they will not be renewing their
season tickets and when that happens, the club might just find that the
gleam has gone off the team and there might not be people willing to pay
the high prices they now find it costs to watch a mediocre team playing
football that seems to go nowhere.
With Teddy wanting a
new contract, you would have thought he might have put some effort into
the last few games. His desire to stay at Tottenham for one final
year is admirable, but then perhaps he knows he won't be able to stay in
London on a similar wage. His recent performances have reminded me
of the "going through the motions" he put in prior to him
leaving for Manchester United. Unfortunately, it has coincided
with Poyet running out of steam and Anderton getting injured (again),
while Davies has not looked the same since Carr has returned. They
just don't seem able to play together on the right wing. Richards'
back injury looks like he will play three and miss four out of every
seven games in the future and without him, the youngsters and Perry seem
very jumpy. Keller has been pretty sound behind them, but is also
subject to a rush of blood every now and then, which has seen him lucky
to stay on the pitch occasionally. The only bright point has been
Robbie Keane, who has battled away gamely up front on his own and made
what he can of the service he gets.
One would hope that
the money available in the summer is spent on the areas that need
strengthening. But the rumoured £8 million will not go far for
quality replacements. And does that money include wages for those
coming in or will the money saved on Ferdinand, Rebrov and Sherwood
(plus perhaps Sheringham) be used to pay the new players ? With
Zamora part of the relegated Brighton team, he will no doubt be sold off
to fund their promotion push next season, so he might be one that comes
in seeing as Hoddle has spent so much time watching him. As for
Kevin Phillips, I would hope we could get better for our money than him
and frankly, younger players who might be hungry for success could be a
more suitable buy than an ex-Premiership striker who had one good
scoring season. If Tottenham fielded a younger side, who worked
hard and played with some commitment, the fans would probably get behind
them more. Too many more Bunjevcevics, Acimovics and Todas and
fans will lose interest.
And the team next
season would not have to put in a great deal of effort to gain a place
in European football. Everyone has seen what Everton have done
this season with a side nearly relegated the season before and a bit of
organisation and sweat. Spurs will finish about ten points off the
UEFA Cup league place. Think about how many points Spurs have
dropped unnecessarily. Bolton (A), West Ham (A), Boro (H & A),
Sunderland (A), Man City (H), Fulham (H & A), Charlton (H).
Even a few of those picked up might have won us a higher placing, so we
are not far off that elusive European placing. Unfortunately, we
are slightly nearer the wrong end of the table too, being about six
points off the drop zone. Admittedly, the bottom of the table is
tighter than the top, but the club must be mindful of what might happen
to a big club like West Ham, who only two seasons ago finished above
Spurs. That means that we could go one way or the other.
Whether we do this
with our current manager remains to be seen. Hoddle was a God as a
player, but, like Ardiles before him, his playing memory is being
tarnished by that of his time in charge. Substitutions have not
been a strength and now he has a new tactic. Bring two players on
at half-time. Neither time has it worked. His inability to
motivate teams is worrying, as rarely do Spurs come back from being
behind and recently, they have not fought for the right to play their
football. Loss to key players with injury is a factor, but the
point Glenn made this weekend about having a squad strong enough to
cover that is valid and needs to be acted upon. But when you bring
in players like Redknapp, Richards and Ziege, you surely know what you
are getting ... damaged goods. All have histories of injuries in
the past, so don't be surprised when they break down with various
ailments.
Hoddle's greatest
drawback (if rumour is to be believed), is his inability to communicate
with players. Too many are coming forward with the same story for
it not to have a grain of truth. Being aloof can have it's
benefits as a manager, but in a game like football, you have to put your
ideas over to the team. Sometimes, perhaps he finds that hard, as
his technical ability might be over and above that of his playing staff,
but one of the attributes of a good manager is being able to communicate
with his employees. Obviously, at times he must have upset them
and even though Richards' recent comments are pro-Hoddle, he has felt he
has to come out in the Press to air them.
And while on the
subject of the Press, the lambasting we got over losing to Man U was all
out of proportion with the performance. A lot of this was because
they picked up on chat-room/message board talk about Spurs fans hoping
they lost so that Arsenal did not win the League title. Just
imagine what they would have said if we had been 3-0 up at half-time and
then lost 3-5 ?? It could have happened. 0-2 was a decent
result considering the scores the Red Devils had run up against other
sides recently. And it was only the same gap as last years game,
except the way we played then was very different to this time around at
the Lane. However, we did have quite a different side out and it
is near the end of the season, when our oldies are running on
empty. No journalist has slammed Arsenal for not being able to
beat Bolton or Leeds, both sides near the bottom of the table and
Charlton seem to have escaped criticism for flopping to a 4-1 defeat
against United. Basically, the Press just love to have a go at
Tottenham. Nothing will change until we start winning things and
then they will fawn all over us ... that may be some way off though !!
There is always next
season, but the seasons are running out for the club to prove to the
supporters that there is something there worth looking at. The summer
will be even more important than all the other important close-seasons
we have been through lately. Whatever happens, we need that basic
hope that things will improve. 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
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