Tottenham Hotspur: The Season That’s Gone Full Circle.
The optimism that surrounded the club as Spurs thrashed Newcastle United 5-0 was finally wiped out by another inept performance that saw QPR run out 1-0 winners at Loftus Road.
The Hoops have already beaten Chelsea,Liverpool and Arsenal at home this season, but against a team still smarting from a 5-1 Wembley humiliation, Saturday evening was meant to be redemption not the final nail in the 2011-2012 coffin.
Tottenham Hotspur’s fall from grace has been well documented over the past couple of months; I myself have questioned the clubs DNA, the signings, the board room decisions and the players’ ambitions, now there remains only one course of action.
Harry Redknapp must be sacked.
Once again Tottenham Hotspur has become a laughing stock. When Redknapp swooped into pull us away from
relegation and into a quarter final of the Champions League, there was nothing he could do wrong. He even managed to sign a 40 year old keeper who could catch and the next England captain. Spurs rose to the dizzying heights of a title race before a combination of bad transfers, tax trials and the lack of an England manager threw our season into disarray.
When Chelsea and Liverpool sacked Andre Villas-Boas and Roy Hodgson for less than spectacular league form, we joined the masses and proclaimed that time and patience are key to a manager.
Now sat outside of the CL qualifying slots and no big day in May to look forward to, perhaps we should have patted Redknapp on the back and allowed him to take the job at England. With only four games left in our season, the former Pompey and West Ham manager will be ushered out of White Hart Lane to a chorus of boos rather than the applause that some of his teams’ performances are due.
Had we experienced this run of form in August-October, there is no doubt that Rednkapp would have been sacked, so what is stopping Chairman Daniel Levy from firing him now?
Once again it is Levy’s love of the Pound Sterling. Sacking Redknapp will cost money, we will have to pay out his contract and receive no compensation from the FA, Spurs instead will continue to freefall and from this disaster, recovery will be long and painful.
Rafa van der Vaart has pledged his allegiance to Spurs, but Luka Modric and Gareth Bale, two players who have never experienced a World Cup final or the thrill of playing week in week out at the Santiago Bernabeu, will surely depart. Modric has been proven right to seek a move last summer, as a player he sees three to four passes before they happen and as man he could see that Spurs were held together by the weakest of threads.
Redknapp’s ego and inability to respect other clubs and their players has propelled us towards self implosion. Only Redknapp has the self belief that a misfiring/injury prone Louis Saha would guide us to the top. The decisions to loan Steven Caulker, Verdan Corluka, Steven Pienaar, Kyle Naughton and even Sebastien Bassong, whilst replacing them with Ryan Nelsen, shows us exactly how much of a God mentality he developed.When Spurs travelled to the Emirates to face a broken Arsenal, he totally and utterly disrespected rivals that we haven’t finished above since 1995. The 5-2 thrashing was at the time seen as a blip, but now it can be seen as what it really was; the end of the road.
This season Tottenham Hotspur has within its ranks players that all bar Man City envy. For them to finish below Newcastle, Arsenal and Chelsea is beyond belief. Strip away the Sky fanfare, state of the art training and facilities, football remains a simple game. Eleven players who know what and how they have to perform, unfortunately for Spurs, our First XI are guided by a man who has lost his way and his touch on reality.
The 2011-2012 season has gone full circle, we now find ourselves back where we started; a club in a dire mess, the cause Redknapp, the fault Levy and the people who have to suffer once again? The fans.
Tottenham Hotspur will start next season probably without their stellar players, but definitely still in an antiquated stadium and once again without the financial rewards a Champions League campaign brings. We may have enjoyed a few months laughing at Arsenal, but as the old saying goes: “he who laughs last, laughs……..”
Where Did It All Go Wrong???
Tottenham Hotspur were handed out a thrashing by London neighbours Chelsea, in a game which will probably come to define the Lillywhites. The bigger the stage, the bigger the collapse, Spurs have a knack of imploding to a global audience.
Last week I blogged that Tottenham lacks the mental fortitude and the belief that they deserve to win big games, at Wembley on Sunday they demonstrated this faultlessly. With the game poised at 2-1 the tide had turned and the onus was with Spurs, but one tactical substitution later a place in the final was gone and five goals had been conceded once again.
As 2011 closed the key areas for Spurs to strengthen in order to maintain their standing as top London club were central defence, wide right and up front. These weaknesses could have been remedied by concise judgment and a basic understanding of football. Players such as Gary Cahill, Junior Holiett, Chris Samba, Papiss Cisse, even Nikola Jelavic were all available at a knock down price. Instead the management signed Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha, neither of whom were deemed good enough to appear at Wembley.
Harry Redknapp, the longest serving Spurs manager since Terry Venables, must bear the brunt of the clubs collapse. For the rest of the season he will hide behind Martin Atkinson’s ludicrous decision to award Chelsea a Ghost Goal, but the failings of Tottenham rest squarley on his shoulders. Devoid of a plan, belief or system Spurs were taken apart by a team who sit below them in the league, have half an eye on a Champions League semi final (against Barcelona) and have the majority of their players dancing a swansong.
Failure to reach the Champions League would be a catastrophe, Tottenham’s future plans are dependent on the money generated from reaching Europe’s elite competition.
So where exactly did the season go wrong?
The Luka Situation.
Hailed as a masterstroke and a victory for the small club versus the Oligarch, keeping hold of Luka Modric was a sign of Tottenham’s intent.
The little Croatian was promised a title challenge and a new contract, neither of which arrived. However, as Spurs were above Chelsea and Arsenal, Modric and his advisors were content to wait and see what the summer brought, now with the Red and Blue parts of London rejuvenated, once again the Croatian has had his head turned.
Rumours are a foot that an agreement is already in place with Chelsea, it would certainly explain his loss of form and desire. Should Spurs claim a Champions League slot, it would deny his future employers their place.
The Loaners.
There is no doubt that Kyle Walker is a tremendous prospect, his pace, passion and energy have been a highlight of 2011-2012, but there is no way a 20 year old should be expected to play every single game.
The drive and penetration he offered early in the season has gone, he now looks physically and mentally exhausted. Spurs have two other right backs on their books, Kyle Naughton and Verdan Corluka, both of whom could have given Walker a rest as well as apply pressure on his current guaranteed starting berth.
Another two loanees who could have given Spurs the extra push and cover this season are winger Andros Townsend and England under 21 centre back Steven Caulker. At Wembley Spurs’ central defence were blatantly out of their depth, surely Caulker would have acquitted himself better than William Gallas or Ledley King?
The decision to loan out three defensive players came back to hurt Spurs this Sunday.
John Terry.
It is quite amazing that the overrated former England captain can have such and influence on football in this country. When his alleged racial comment towards Anton Ferdinand occurred it started a chain reaction that resulted in Capello’s resignation and the tabloids, ex players and pundits alike showering Redknapp with praise.
What Tottenham needed at this point was a statement from the FA, chairman Daniel Levy or Redknapp himself stating exactly what the future will bring. The Spurs boss should either have taken the job at the FA immediately or announced his intention to stay at Spurs.
A friend and fellow Spurs fan Mark Saunders commented:
“Had he walked Spurs would have been able to give the new man time to get to know the squad as well as protect a healthy lead over Chelsea and Arsenal. Levy will end up waiting until mid summer before announcing a replacement, which will once again leave us behind our rivals. We are forever playing catch up.”
Another issue which Spurs may not have calculated is competition for managers. Chelsea, Inter Milan, possibly Man Cityand Real Madrid may all be vying for a new manager. Add to this the usual departures from national teams after Euro 2012 and you have a market where managers and agents call the shots.
Tottenham possibly without Modric and Gareth Bale will no longer be the attractive proposition they were in January 2012.



















Europa League: Why Spurs Need to Get Serious.
When Arjen Robben fluffed his penalty deep into extra time at the Allianz Arena, the “nightmare” of the Europa League became a reality. Trips to far flung corners of Europe, a lack of Saturday 3pm kickoffs and perhaps worst of all, ITV4 or Channel 5 commentary.
But then something occurred to me:
Why don’t we go out and win the bloody thing? Where’s the shame in lifting the Europa League cup?
The Europa League is the amalgamation of the Cup Winners Cup and the UEFA cup, which in order to appeal to the masses has taken on a Champions League format. It is without doubt the second tier of European competition, but the reward and glory shouldn’t be tarnished by CL spoilt Arsenal and Man United fans.
With the input of foreign money into the Premier League the possibility of domestic glory has diminished. Today the league title is a closed shop to be fought over by the Manchester duo and Chelsea, the days when a club was allowed time to gather together a team capable of challenging is over. Money buys great teams, not time.
The FA Cup, the premier domestic trophy meanwhile has similarly become a closed shop. Only Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth and big spending Man City break the Chelsea, Man United and the occasional Liverpool victory parades. Tottenham Hotspur hasn’t won the competition since Des Walker powered a header into his own net at the old Wembley back in 1991.
The quest for domestic silverware has become so scarce that 3rd and 4th (this season apart) are celebrated as if they are trophies, they may not bring out the open top buses, but there is no doubt that being in the 3rd or 4th from best now counts as an imaginary trophy.
The Carling Cup has even become of significance over the past few years; it offers teams the chance to claim a slice of glory in a silverware famine. The teams now participating in the finals are recognised as the power houses of the Premier League. Since 2003 only Birmingham and Tottenham have interrupted the Chelsea, Man United and Liverpool domination. The cup once described as Mickey Mouse has gone all Academy Award.
Therefore on this basis, Spurs should not disregard the Europa League. This season the quality of football on show from the Spanish and Portuguese contenders swept away the Premier Leagues top two and put Chelsea’s Champions League winning style to shame.
Arrogance is a disease that has swept through most of the Premier Leagues followers. SKY repeatedly tells us the PL is the best, but the National’s team failure to reach a major final since 1966 tells a different story. The Europa League remains a top competition, which is still valued across the continent, if SKY had the rights to the competition, they would quite happily bombard us with this fact.
When Andre Villas-Boas’ Porto team stormed the trophy in 2011, it made Radamel Falcao and Hulk household names. It allowed a team of relative unknowns to step on to a global platform and announce themselves. The former striking partners thanks to that initial success, are now viewed as the answer to the worlds top clubs striking problems.
The Champions League may be lucrative and may not exist on Channel 5, but in reality it remains a cup competition for a select few.
In 14 years of competing in it, Arsenal have reached the final only once in 2006, and since then haven’t really come close. The winners over those years has been spread between United, Barcelona, AC Milan and Real Madrid, with Chelsea, Liverpool, Porto, Bayern and Inter collecting a solitary trophy each.
The interesting fact however, is that in the majority of cases the Champions League runners up came from this select group. The majority of teams that enter in to this competition are there as well paid pace makers.
The Europa League meanwhile is open to any team that first of all takes it serious and second, plays good football. In the 14 consecutive years that Arsenal has been qualifying for the Champions League, only Sevilla and Atletico Madrid have collected the trophy more than once. Tottenham Hotspur as inaugural winners of this competition back in 1972, need to take this competition seriously.
In the current Spurs squad there are very few who have collected a cup winning trophy with the Lillywhites, a generation of winners needs to be bred. When Jose Mourinho took his Porto side to Europa League glory in 2003, they followed this up by claiming the Champions League in 2004.
As the Special one knows all to well: Success breeds more success.
With key signings this summer, Spurs can strengthen their squad enough to ensure passage to the later stages, then once it enters the knock out stage, the only difference between EL and CL is it’s a day later.
This is a trophy Tottenham can win. On its own it may not convince Gareth Bale to stay for 2013/2014, but perhaps it will kindle a spark in the squad. When the 2012/2013 season ends, I personally would love to hear the phrase:
“Tottenham Hotspur Europa League Winners.”
There exists life outside the Champions League and SKY Sports.