The next three games
Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 12:01PM No win in three in the league. All eyes on Harry and his selection. All eyes on our erratic Lilywhite troops. Get it wrong and we might find ourselves below mid-table. Get it right and it's one step back onto the path we want to be swaggering down. More like John Travolta. Less like Charlie Chaplin. And definitely no Harold Lloyd hanging off the hands of a clock high above.
The tag, THE BIGGEST GAME IN OUR HISTORY EVER, is one I've used in jest many times over recent years for games that on paper are hardly glamorous but the result (in our favour) nothing less than imperative. Historically, if my memory serves me correctly, we've turned up every time (apart from once, possibly twice). This is not quite 2points8games territory. But because of the nature of our lack of sustained domestic consistency and end product, we are now 90 minutes away from what I would constitute a crisis.
A crisis of faith.
Now hold on a second, I hear you shout out in anger, calling me a hypocrite and contradictor. You keep banging on about how we're going to finish fourth again. And yes, I still believe that. Devils advocate hat is firmly on head.
Losing one game doesn’t automatically write off our season. But when that one game is the third on the trot and is number five overall (theoretically) then you would have reason to question my optimism. I'd begin to question it. Self-doubt would slowly creep back into my clouded thoughts.
Momentum takes you upwards on the back of confidence and belief and just stuff clicking into place naturally and instinctively when you win games. Where is the momentum going to come from? Are we waiting to sign said momentum in the January transfer window? Are we really struggling that much for some oomph? Or is all this yet another throw-away episode in the dramatic life of being a Tottenham fan, all a bit exaggerated and over the top, what with everyone around us being just as erratic. That and the frustrating fact that we all know what we are truly capable of when we do wish to turn up (Spurs 3 Inter 1). For me that's the new improved Spurs. What we appear to be watching sporadically in the league games is a window to the past. The version we need to brush off once and for all. Box it up, stick it in the loft.
So when are we going to step up?
I'll make some suggestions. Three simple suggestions.
Sunderland, Lane.
Blackburn, Lane.
Scum, the swamp.
Three games. Nine points.
There's this fallacy that Harry only works best when he's fixing a problem someone else has left behind. Hence the sterling recovery from the Ramos debacle. However, a debacle that many believed was always recoverable passed on the fact we always had the players, we just didn't have someone to instil the required desire and effort. Harry did just that. Got them organised. Wasn't the miracle everyone tagged it with, however what he then achieved was near enough one considering the money and managers we have thrown at attempting to progress. Down to bare bones, but even if Harry used that as a ready made excuse, the players didn't even acknowledge it. Superb man management, no?
He deserves the credit even if he makes the most of it with his self-hype. And in lapses of support where some have questioned his tactical astuteness, he has time and time again proved he can win games and adapt strategically. Perhaps the learning curve is one that takes slightly longer than other 'world class' managers. And sometimes we are left wondering why the team isn’t quite sharp enough or motivated. He's not perfect but he's not stupid either. I promise.
There's no room for complacency. Or are we back to arguing over prioritisation of challenges (with CL winning it seems)?
The point here is that what with the vdV and 451 conundrum and the various key injuries, rather than attempt to be overly clever or experimental we need to reclaim some of the back to basics fighting spirit. Backs up against the wall mentality. Harry keeps citing the importance of fourth spot. I'd like to refer you to the evidence. It's somewhere here, give me a second. Nope, can't quite find it.
Harry has to get everyone on it, eye of the tiger. We are not bare bones, so it shouldn't be that tricky to achieve. Right?
If we are genuinely lacking in depth in terms of fluidity when having to replace first team players with 'reserves' and if this is suddenly a problem when it wasn't so much one last season or the season before after Harry took over - then batten down the hatches. Either the players struggle to perform having been benched for a while or their personal motivation isn't at a decent enough standard to replace missing stars. January is still (just under) two months away. We can't postpone the games and play them after we sign a forward.
What to do? Run around a lot and kick it in the net. Win, any which way, but if I'm going to be picky, win with style and get the momentum going. No more half-baked attempts at 'getting stuck in'. I know what you're thinking, 'how can we boss games if we lack the rhythm when missing players?'. Fact is, we've had something missing even when we've had the players available.
It's probably more a question of commitment and intensity. A lack of. It's not the biggest game in our history ever. But it's important in terms of changing direction. Crisis? Don't be silly. But if we wish to aim high, then drawing a game should be labelled a crisis. Defeat - a disaster.
Two home games, nothing less than six points. Am I asking for the moon on a stick? No, no I'm not. I'm asking for our players to show their true colours. Brilliant white. Not p*ss stained yellow.
I want two solid, focused performances before the away trip to The Stench. How we manage to beat Sunderland and Blackburn with the obvious to all redundant no cutting edge inept strike force (lol), well, that's not down to me. My job is to scream and shout till my lungs burst. Harry's job is to do the same pre-match in the dressing room, on the touchline during and…just plenty of hugs and congrats at the final whistle.
We need to be complete in terms of intent, all the possession in the world counts for nowt if we don't stick those chances away.
COYS with pomp and gritted teeth. And a little prayer. With or without Rafael. Pressure is on.
Reader Comments (55)
can harry PLEASE get you in to do the pre match talk? COYS, COY Spooky!
"Spooky, he's a Top, Top, blogger. Triffic writer", the chairman's working on him so we'll see what happens with that one.
Let's see 2 up front tonight, Pav and some other useless bloke. score some goals Spurs, at least one more than them lot.
I really think we can and will win our next three games.
Things will look very different going into December and January.
I wanted a minimum of 7 before Bolton. I trusted them - bit misplaced methinks.
Anyway, tonight. Those northern softies won't like coming to WHL with the rain and the wind blowing. 1 or 2 goals and they'll not fancy it - will think the whole world is against them. Might be 4 then. That's the 'plan Stan', just need our players to read the script. No feeling tired or even thoughts of that sort of stuff. Go get them.
Win two and draw the third, you won't see me complaining. We are not playing well, it's no secret but it's hardly disparaging.
COYMFS lose tonight and we can kiss 4th goodbye need to win wot ever way possible!
Lets no beat about the bush here. Harry ballsed up on Saturday by playing three (a third of the team) pretty poor players at the same time in the same game. Bolton was never going to be an easy ride, never is never will be. If VDV doesn't make it, and honestly I'd sooner have a fit Rafa on Sat than a half fit and possibly long term injury for tonight's game. But Palacios shouldn't be anywhere near the starting line up, the guys a liability and to be constantly picked then only playing a half must surely indicate he's not doing what's asked of him. Modric will again be asked to run his socks off and if we dont get some organization and competence in midfield, the guy will be burnt out before too long.
good post but the term 'crisis' is a bit much. It depends on what your version of a good season is. In reality for us, a season playing champions leage for the first time as well as the premier league, with our injuries, a top 6 finish and the knock out rounds of the european cup is a good season. But it seems more and more lately that people think only top 4 again is a good season. This is wrong. It is more difficult this year and last plus we have the extra euro games.
Then to top off the over the top optimism/expectation you say we have to win at arsenal of all places to stop this so called crisis ??? This is madness. We haven't won there since 1993 so what makes you think we should/have to beat them there now ?? A draw there would be an excellent result considering our record. We have to get realistic, beating Sunderland and Blackburn is certain a realistic aim, the Goons away, sadly, is not.
The issue of what is classed as a good season is dangerous ground. Anything we do at the moment is a million times better than 3-10 years ago. But that's not to say we should be happy with out lot. We can do better and we should treat silly defeats and dropping points as something serious otherwise we'll never push on.
anybody know the loyalty point cut off for arsenal and blackpool away?
Howard Webb. FFS.
VDV needs to be rested tonight; not worth the risk for the long term. The only positive that teams are dropping the most bizarre points all around the league... sign of hope maybe?
I'd go with Niko off Pav up front; Bentley on the right with Bale on the left (OBVIOUSLY); Mod and Hudd in the middle; you choose the back 4 and keeper cause they have emotionally drained me out and honestly speaking, I don't really trust any of them anymore... YIKEZZ
COYMFS!!!!!! Down with those candy-striped bastards!
I was at the Call of Duty Black Ops launch tonight and saw Benoit Assou-Ekotto there. I wanted to say hi and tell him how much I respect him for his forthright views and 'give a shit' attitude, and how he doesn't care about anyone but himself and I love him for that.
But he ignored me.
What a legend :)
3-1 spurs tonight. From 1-0 down natch.
I'm sorry, but this 9 games 2 points rubbish is doing my head in, Harry has taken us from relegation candidates too the promised land blah blah blah!!!
We were expected to chllenge for 4th that year and certainly had the players too, we were in a false position and anything he did would have been an improvement. Don't get me wrong he has done well and taken us far but he has made huge tactical errors over the last 2 years which has cost us too many points. 4th shouldn't be the goal this year, we should be aiming to improve EVERY YEAR!!!!!
COYS! So many injuries though, I really hope the players who come in are up for it. They weren't on Saturday. VDV should be rested, if he gets a serious injury then it will hit us hard. We want all the big guns playing when we playing the Arse.
Come on lads, dig deep. Two home games, make it count.
Jim....I know what you mean about Arsenal away, but we have to aim to beat them. How else will we ever end these terrible away records? The players can't think about the terrible record we have, but to be honest I think that is what the problem is sometimes, they do think about it and it costs us. This has to stop. If West Brom and the Toon can get a result at Arsenal why can't we? We can....if the players want it enough and of course we have some players back from our horrible injury list.
jim , although i admire your down to earth approach i however feel we need to aim as high as we can. Being content with the season you describe would (for me) be pretty close to the comfort zone Spurs of the past. Better than the past for sure but not that much better ...
In short i agree with author of comment ...
We are now finding just how difficult it is to battle on 2 fronts..CL and EPL. It's taking its toll on the midfielders particularly. Time to make more use of Bentley, Niko, Gio (fit? available) and shock ..horror! Jenas ( to start that is ).
It has come down to this: we either play them or by January we get rid of them.
Unfortunately, it's that simple.
I have to agree we are finding it tough playing in Europe too. But this is where we want to be although it might take us time to adjust.....which is the hard part. The players coming in though have to make a name for themselves. They should be fit and raring to go...not ready to rollover.
They should all be trying there very best. Hope Gallas is fit tonight otherwise it’s a new partnership at the back AGAIN due to injuries.
Sorry Spooky, but dont agree that the "Arry can only fix problems left behind......" scenario is a fallacy.
I believe he has taken us as far as his ability allows. I am not criticising what he has done, but fully concur with Ossie comments above.
In every walk of life individuals reach the limit of their talents, and 'Arry has now reached his limit.
With the squad we have they should be performing much better in the League that they are doing, not only this surrender at Bolton but earlier games against Wigan and Everton.
Its time for Levy to ask himself "as 'Arry taken us as far as he can ?"
i hope gallas's leg falls off and he retires..has he done anything correctly since joining? thats a serious question btw, cos everything ive seen so far has been laughable
COYSSSSSS
i retract the word laughable actually cos its not funny...replace with astonishingly bad
the gooners have always described us as punching above our weight but i for one would rather have that than being forced to settle for mediocricity
No Lennon again this evening. No pressure on Bale then.
2-0 Spurs.
Its time for Levy to ask himself "as 'Arry taken us as far as he can ?"
FFS were you saying this last Tuesday? I bet you weren't.
When are people going to learn that all Spurs have ever done is throw money at getting new managers and players in and hoping for the best. Harry and Levy are the best cohesive partnershop we've had, and the result? A 4th place finish and looks like CL qualification to the knock out stages.
Anyone who thought we would breeze into the top 4 again while engaging a CL campaign for the 1st time needs their head examined...so just WHO would youget in to replace Harry???
This is why football is so wonderful. There's one team we discuss yet a complete stranger would think we are talking about different teams if he was to listen to some of the views expressed.
Complain and want for more could equate to not being that patient.
Being patient could amount to lacking of ambition.
How do we measure our progress? If you compare us to 5-10 years back nobody should be bitching about not winning a couple of games because back then we hardly won any. But because of last season should we not be looking to improve and never look back?
I know Spooky mentions this and I dont know if you're conflicted deep down Spooks but I get the vibe that there's a lot of Spurs fans who would be happy to sacrifice stability for a top level manager. Personally speaking, Ramos was meant to be top class. I'd rather stick.
Didn't expect us to breeze the CL and league in terms of balance from the off but if you look at how we are managing to lose points in the league you have the right to question the team and players. Yes we need to get our heads wrapped around it but I still believe we can juggle both without any major headaches. Players need to wake up to that.
"We have to get realistic, beating Sunderland and Blackburn is certain a realistic aim, the Goons away, sadly, is not."
Jim, in short.......... bollocks !!
We should. We can. We must. WE WILL.
What is the point of getting to the knock out stages of the CL only to never play in it again. Its called PROGRESS people and too many Spurs fans have the mentality of the teams we have has over the last 20 years which is a losers mentality!
The minimum requirement this year should be to consolidate our position, so decent run in CL and 4th place again, anything else is a backward step, anything more is progress. Playing 2 games a week is not a massive deal, especially so early in the season, how many games have our players actually played due to injuries, suspensions and sqaud rotations???????
Its not tiredness in the league, its a combination of a lack of desire, poor selection and awful tactics all compounded by the fact that we didn't sign a decent centre forward in the summer
You don't see Chelsea, Man U getting battered by Bolton, injuries or not. Our basic bottom level of performance is too low. our peak is very high, but we fluctuate too much. We need a higher trough if that makes sense? This must surely be a mental approach. You see wherever Mourinho goes, the attitude and belief is always a winning mentality, Utd have it too at UTD.
Maybe Harry can lift 'em for the big ones, but hasn't yet managed to engrain that unbeatable gene into them. Will it ever happen? Who knows? Don't forget though, we are without Woody, Ledley, Defoe, Daws, Charlie, Lennon, VDV at present, almost a team in itself of 1st picks. 6 points in the next 2 and it will all look a little more rosy, espescially if our peers drop points again.
I meant Fergie has it too at Utd. DOH! Must read posts before submitting!
Starsky you're right about the level of performance. Any one can beat us when we fail to show up. Some of the bigger fish play badly and still manage to win.
To be fair Oops we have played badly in recent times and still won. We've done it quite often so we have resolve, we've proven it. A couple of off days and we do react badly much like the 'big fish'.
For sure, all teams have a blip now and again, it's natural, but without our many injured players, our squad has really been stretched, lack of goals, leaking goals, it's been tough. But that's what our "best squad in the league" is meant to cope with. It is struggling to match that expectation at present.
But come on, it's Super Tottenham at home against Sundaerland. I don't expect they'll Park the bus quite in the way some teams do, so let's get at 'em. We might have plenty of injuries, but we've still got Gomes, Bale, Beni, Kaboul, Modric, Hudd, Super Pav and some other blokes, so COYS!
Darren Bent to score four goals.
Ossie playing 2 games a week is a big deal, that is why a lot of our best players are injured!
I think a lot of Spurs fans thought we could put our feet up now and be a year in year out top 4 club, but it's not as easy as that. I am frustrated with losing at Bolton as much as anyone, but this is Spurs and it will take a lot of money to buy the kind of players throughout the whole team to eradicate these issues.
In the mean time try and enjoy the highs.
A-N-M, it really isn't mate, I have played pro football and was over the moon at 2 games a week, we are talking about top quality athletes here!
Also, pretty sure King was injured before we had CL football, as was Woody, so too Daws and Defoe. Trying to see your point but only seem to see a lack of ambition.
Wigan, West Ham, West brom, Everton, Boltan, Arse = Not good enough!
I think everyone makes valid points.
I think the crux for all fans is your standpoint on perspective. For me i've seen utter sh*t at the lane, therefore I try and enjoy the good times.
For others, what happened last season has propelled expectation on us becoming one of the big four.
Probably somewhere inbetween is about right.
bents injured
its all exciting stuff though eh? never a dull moment as a Yid.
Yeah never dull ! it's fookin great..
Bent to score four goals.
On FIFA.
having played (and still am) for about 15 yrs myself (semi pro) i must agree with ossie , two games a week are fun , at least it means less dull training and more time to rest (it is contradictory at first but makes sense if you look at it, you have a lot less hard physical training and more tactical match preparation and practicing running lines and marking) , as a player you live for the games no mather what level (or you should)
it also means more money if your contract is performance based , the only thing that is really tiring are the travels but for the rest it evens out , certainly at this stage of the season
that's why you work hard in summer , to be prepared for periods like these
I can not judge what the pace and intensity of EPL and CL combined would mean to a player but then again these players are a lot stronger then i ever was so it should even out ...
to quote Tony Pullis : these players get payed a bloody fortune to play football so playing one game every three days isn't too much to ask
armstrongs nose mole is making sense....the comment of has Harry taken us as far as he can deserves to be DELETED. I bet last Tuesday the chap who wrote that comment was on cloud 9, It's called being FICKLE!!!
On the offical website: We are pleased to announce the appointment of Charlie Wijeratna, to the board of the Club, as Executive Director with commercial responsibilities.
Charlie joins from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
I hope this isn't a step towards Stratford..
Half a foot of snow outside.
Satellite dish signal is a go.
No work today.
Come On You Spurs!
We got this. Crush Sunderland at the Lane. Send Steve Bruce back to the Jay Leno look-a-like convention in Vegas. Trounce Rovers and with the momentum, enter the Swamp and absolutely fucking destroy. Make Wegner weep. It will be epic. It must be so.
Posted this earlier but feel it has more relevance as the start of the game draws near
Crouch supporters seriously need a reality check; the bloke is complete shite. Put any average striker in out team when our midfield is on top and they will most likely manage at least one league goal. This idea that he is superior to pavlyuchenko is stupid aswell when you consider that while Crouch has scored 5 Champs League goals; Pav has 4! despite playing no part in either of the group away games. He is not the exceptional striker we need to challenge on top the league but for christ sake he is better than Crouch. Redknapps bias towards certain players will ruin what could have been some upcoming glory years for us.
Anyone who needs proof of Redknapps cuntery should only look at his criticism of Pavs performance after the game after he claimed 'that he scored, but did nothing else'; that might be a fair comment on fair glance but when you consider that he has never criticised Defoe or Crouch despite some utterly shit performances (Crouch at West Ham anyone?) then you realise what a cunt redknapp is to certain players.
Cant help wonder what could have been if GDS had been given a chance this season; top class yet ? no; better than Keane? Most definitely
Pav doesn't put the work in on the training ground, that's what aggravates Arry. That's why he doesn't big him up.
Pav has twice the ability of Crouch, but makes little effort.
Though I'd rather see Pav not do much but score, than watch Crouch do that five touch flicky thing whilst sprinting back towards the wrong end of the pitch.
Trust me, these hard times are a blessing in disguise. The bad thing about playing simultaneously in the CL and Prem is that selection mistakes will be made as the manager has to dig deep into the squad when preferred players are tired. Yes, we've seen Harry make these horrible mistakes in the games after the CL matchup. Well, guess what? We are still seeing Alex Ferguson and Wenger making the same mistakes and losing or tying "easy" games after their CL matches!! The good thing is that these errors force the manager to gain intricate knowledge about his squad players - what positions they play better in, what postions they're horrible at. (Pav is a great scorer/poacher, if nothing else; Kranjcar shd be played in the hole(behind striker) or on the wing only if he's infront of a more solid fullback than Hutton; Sandro is not ready to play DM in the Prem yet; Modric is better playing in CM with Huddlestone and pushing up from there than playing in the hole; Palacios.... needs to watch a video of himself from last year. etc).
As he increases this knowledge, we will see better performances and less losses overall. The mistakes will always happen, even for managers with decades of experience at the highest level. However, this positive evolution only happens if you actually have a manager who can actually recognize these selection mistakes for what they are and is smart enough to learn from them and correct his approach (as opposed to one who just blames the players for not being "up for it" and "ready to give 100%".
At the end of the season, we'll see if Harry is such a manager - no need judging immediately after every win or loss.
Spurs 9-1 Sunderland