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Last
time I suggested that our European chances might come down to the game
at Middlesbrough and so it proved. On the day, Tottenham did not
have the "winning mentality" that Martin Jol desires from
them. That also went for the last game of the season, when we
needed a goal fest to ensure that we were well positioned should Man
City beat Boro. Did it happen ? No it didn't.
Jol
referred to the immaturity of the squad and it must be hoped that a
season together would bond them into a more confident and efficient
unit. This will be a major factor in whether next season is a
success. With a couple of incoming players who already possess
this mind-set, it may be possible.
The
signing of Paul Stalteri from Werder Bremen, add a another player with
experience in a top European league, who also has Champions League
experience. Some younger players are being linked with Spurs and
these include right wingers Aaron Lennon of Leeds United and Wayne
Routledge of Crystal Palace. This indicated that Simon Davies was on his way out of the club. Personally, I believe that
this was a backwards step, especially as Tottenham sold him
to Everton. Davies has had his injury problems, but was just
getting back into the side and looking like he could recapture his former
level of performance - even though that was erratic at the end of the
season. With two young wingers coming in to fill in for him, this
also means that the "maturity" of the side is once more
reduced. Davies would have given a defensive element to his play and
by selling him to a rival for a place in Europe, we might come to rue
the decision. Mind you, £3.5 million (with £0.5 million to come
with appearances) is a good deal and there might be some doubt about his
fitness if you read between the lines of the conditional nature of the
fee.
One
feels that we must not make the same mistake with Robbie Keane.
With Everton and Newcastle constantly being linked with the Irish
striker in the newspapers, we might be making a rod for our own back by
selling on our players to other teams who want to challenge us for a top
six place. We should not be a selling club if Spurs are trying to
secure a good level of quality in the squad. While every player
will want to play every game, in this day and age it is not possible and
they must realise that they will get their opportunity to get on the
pitch. The big debate about whether Tottenham are a selling club
goes back as far as Chris Waddle's sale to Marseille in 1990. If
you are selling players whose usefulness has come to an end, then fair
enough, but there are arguments that Keano is one of our most effective
players.
With
more signings to come and some more players to go, further to those
released already, it will be another close season of change, although
not as massive as last summer. Ricketts was only biding his
time for the call from Molineux after his successful loan period there;
Bunjy will find pastures anew in his home country or France, while
Johnnie Jackson will find a Championship team to play for (or one who
has just come up); Anthony Gardner might move on, as he has not made the
progress the club might have expected and with a huge number of central
defenders coming in, his presence might be superfluous; whether Now
Pamarot will be first choice when he returns form injury, we will have
to wait and see and Noureddine Naybet might not fancy being second
choice to Michael Dawson in the centre of defence.
In
addition, some players might go out on loan to gain more
experience. Marton Fulop did well on loan at Chesterfield and he
might find a Championship club to step up his experience or Rob Burch
might take a spell out at another club, Phil Ifil could find his route
to the first team blocked even further by Stephen Kelly's possession of
the right back slot, Tom Huddlestone will most likely go back to Pride
Park for a season to prime himself for a challenge to get into the Spurs
team in 2006-07, youngster Leigh Mills could go away to get first team
football and one of our many central defenders will be farmed out to
gain even more experience - the most likely being Calum Davenport, who
has missed the boat a bit by going to SCBC for half the season.
With
Santini moving on a third of the season in, Martin Jol has taken over
and has shown that there is a tactical brain in charge of the team
whereas, that has not always been the case in recent years. His
masterminding of the way our record against the top four sides has
panned out shows that there is a highly capable man in control.
Jol's handling of situations shows that he is not a man to be trifled
with and his handling of the media has seen Tottenham's stock rise in
the papers (well some of them anyway). Congratulations must go to
the club's media friendly approach this season, which has opened many
more opportunities for the club to be seen in a better light. It
is still not perfect, but there has been a massive culture shift in
making the players more accessible and this will bring in a whole raft
of new fans.
But
some progress has been made. Both in terms of league
position and in style. A move from 14th to 9th with seven more
points shows that on-pitch things have been better and the three
five-goal hauls at home indicate that the free-scoring might come more
frequently in time. It is something that has not happened on the
road and a few more goals could have easily secured the European place
that Spurs missed out on from their league placing. It is
surprising way to go about the game when away from home, as, although
the side has become more stingy in conceding goals, there is more than
enough fire-power in attack. Also, the tempo that Tottenham have
played at has borne greater fruit when it has been high, rather than the
sometimes laboured build-up that happens in matches on the road.
Things
could have been a lot worse. Remember the rumours that Mark Hughes
would be taking over at White Hart Lane ??
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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