Believe
Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 1:43PM Interesting article over at the Guardian that's worth a couple of minutes of your time regarding Daniel Levy and the Champions League. Click here to read it and then browse your way back to this blog.
Okay, so on the one hand you can say well done Levy for being pragmatic. There will never be any potential for us to do a Leeds United. We need to be less speculative based on the ground redevelopment (no more £15M Bentleys parked up in the garage), but still improve our squad depth with each passing season.
On the other hand, you wonder whether bigger risks should be taken/should have been taken. Because sometimes they just work (Cantona anyone?). But then this is an ambiguous and multi-layered discussion. What is classed as a risk - calculated or otherwise? I'd say appointing Harry - and look at how that worked out for us. van der Vaart? Risk? I'd say so. But one that you wouldn't shrug at because of his quality.
In relative terms to immediate ambitions, yes it would have been grand for us to sign a world class striker in the last transfer window, but if the players are neither available or affordable - there is no a lot we can do. Harry did try for Bellamy (love him or hate him). It's not like we blanked out the area that is so desperate for that next level addition. Cautious is the word of the moment.
I do however find what he's (Levy) saying tinged with apologetic undertones. Now don't get on my case, I'm not being critical. He's the chairman, thinks of the football, but runs the club like a well oiled business machine. I've said it already. He's being pragmatic. Look over the road to the swamp, with their controlled debt, and note how they are managing the fact they don't have a lot of disposal cash available to them (although Wenger hardly ever spends on the same level as many other clubs). The point is, they have one eye on the present and the other on the future, and are not looking to sacrifice either (Wenger's are permanently shut, but that's neither here or there).
It's a balancing act. It's what we need to do - it's what Levy is doing. But because we sit looking upwards, there is just as much pressure for a team wanting to get there as there is for a team that's already there holding on for dear life. It might not work out for them. Mainly because of clubs like ourselves and City and others who have something tangible to aim for which is not beyond the realms of impossibility. But it's up to us to make that effort.
I do get it, finishing top 4 is no easy task and there is no shame with losing out and we might find that the next 2-4 years consists of some clubs (hopefully us) sharing CL football. As long as we are competitive and go into the season challenging and looking to improve and keep up and obviously over-take (that has to be the next step once we find the right level of upper tier consistency).
Then again...
The EPL might never have another monopoly. The new order might be 6-8 clubs going for 4 positions, year in year out. It would make it a far more even playing field. But this is just theory. No one can be certain of progression or implosion. It's also a risk in itself to just be content with steady progress, without that special in-house ethic of giving it something extra and unexpected. Because if you don't, you'll never know.
We can just accept the EPL is going to yo-yo for the foreseeable future, or we can give ourselves lofty ambitions, dream, and then make those dreams a reality. Again.
Champions League is not the be all or end all. For a start, it's not the bread and butter. But the more you get of it, the more likely you get to consolidate your position up there in the domestic heavens. Which means you can start dreaming of that one thing that is currently beyond the reach of almost all but two.
The crux of it is simple. If you strip all this away, you, me, us, expectancy, past, present, future, the dynamics of football, hierarchy, money...we should be left with this and only this:
"It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory."
- Bill Nicholson
There is no point sitting in the corner, legs pulled up to stomach, rocking backwards and forwards staring into space, scared and worried about the what ifs. What if we lose? What if we get thrashed? What if we're not good enough? Dry them.
Stand up, stand tall, sing your heart out till your gums bleed and then sing some more.
It's only a group game, right? It's not a Cup final, yeah? Let's not giddy, k? Keep those feet firmly on the ground. Yeah, well, no. Hearts on our sleeves. It's the only way.
Players, fans, everyone associated with the club from newborn babies dressed up in colours who don't yet have a clue about the emotional upheaval their fathers suffer to the OAP's who remember push and run and the original glory nights...embrace history, embrace expectancy. Give it a warm hug, say your hellos...then clothesline the sonofab*tch.
To dare is to f***ing do. Let's get this show on the road.
Believe. COYS.
Reader Comments (39)
Hi, I know this is a long shot but does anyone know of a pub in Manchester (preferably the City Centre or close to) that will have a screen showing the Spurs match tonight? I don't care how big - just a screen - any screen - surrounded by united fans watching them outplay Rangers - i don't care just a spare screen?
Please help!
Thankyou
FIRE ME IM SHIT MY NAME IS WILSON PALACIOS.
Excellent as usual
Best pre-match speech writer.
Come on the SPURS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also Wilson aint shit - you need to eat some chuff.
Modric playing? 442? 451? 442 with the 2 split into 1, 1 in front of the other?
BRICKING IT
Let the pre-match drinking begin... VAT please Dave.
Cheers as usual Spooky. Gets the blood pumping!!
We need to do what we did last season again this season so that the collective of players we have continue to breed a winning mentality. Easy peasy.
Usually agree with your uplifting speeches Spooks, but times have changed. I agree with your sentiment, and the players we have at the moment should be able to at least qualify. I'll remind you of the rest though in 2 years time when you are sitting in the Paxton paying £1500 a season (before the inevitable rise to 25% in VAT).
Stakes at the moment are high. Higher than high - even higher than Peter Crouch high. Cantona wasn't a gamble, he cost £800,000 from one of their then perceived major rivals. No brainer - sounds familiar? VDV is also a no brainer as we could sell him in January for the same amount easily.
We do have to be careful. We have to be wary of the cost of the new stadium and wary of players like some dodgy midfielder in Manchester who costs £240,000 a week in wages alone! Not just us, but everyone. We are all constantly clamouring for the next big summer signing, but at the same time still retaining 4 players (at least) that realistically we are desperate to shift.
"Dear Prudence" - must say i like that one!
Having said all this "still go out and batter the bastards tonight!!!" COYS
We should sign one £20m player a year from now on - job done.
Great post by the way, very "Independance Day"!
Tears in eyes.
Ok let's all take a deep breath.......we will here the champions league music tonight,we will see our boys mixing it with the best Europe has to offer.
OMG can't get it out of mind. Last time we were in this competition we got to the semi,s, one better this year ay.
A wembley campions league final..... Yes please. COYS!!
Clearly our chairman not a believer in the philosophy of "You have to speculate to accumulate."
spot on to levy for saying what most spurs fans think, we wont be champions league every year and to expect so is foolish. But we deserve this tonight and we should enjoy it whatever happens. No throwing our toys out if we get beat. Tonight is all about learning to be in there then hopefully soon we can be back in there again. COYS
I think tonight we should play safe with an in-out field, with the possibility of dropping Bale back to third man if required.
Either that or a 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 formation, using a conga tactic.
Soooo f%$king excited! :)
COYS
the excitement is getting to me ... need to do some work but am already thinking about securing me a good spot in our local (gooner) pub to watch the game
oh and Levy sounds really really sensible , apolegetic maybe but i have seen a lot of clubs going bankrupt in recent years while they were "punching above their weight" ... And it is heartbreaking to see a club going bust , especially for the loyal fans
But some people would argue and claim that it is better to die trying to reach the top then to live in mediocrity ...
@killjoy: I was also wondering if we could deploy a 4-4-2 formation, but according to Harry that would be "suicide".
Hope the ticket prices will be reduced now for the league games.
If we are not aiming to do as well as we did last year it dont seem fair to be paying the same price.
Especially when the players will be the roated squad players saving the stars for the CL.
re First Post - I think Walkabout in Manchester are showing the game with no commentary.
Scottish Manc Yid - I have the same problem, living in the North West and knowing that the United game will be screened in every pub round here. I've had to sort it by connecting my laptop to my tv and getting a stream from Iraqgoals.tv which will have to do for now. Plan to go to the lane for the home games though so at least I'll get a decent view then!
if you are looking for a livestream : http://topspur.webs.com , he normally has a list of all the streams available ...or at least a lot of them
Rich my man you are a lifesaver! Just checked their website and gave them a call and it is a goer.
Chester it's a total pain in the backside - it's not like United aren't on tv every week. A stream wouldn't usually bother me - I can put up with the stutters and jumps and 5 minutes of nothing but blank screen - but not tonight. Never on a night like tonight. We're back with the big boys. Back were we belong. And if I wasn't swamped after only two days of my LPC course I'd be on it already. It's my 24th birthday tomorrow and if we win I'll be spending it rough but elated. Come On You Spurs!
Come on you Spurs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring it home lets do what Billy Nick did. We are good enough on our day to beat any team, so dont put yourselfs down. Yid Army we aint mad but bloody barmy hahahaha... Fly our cockeral high and proud for us tonight. So here i am stuck at home in Sunny Southend waiting to sing and dance to a proud victory, Harry the hero get em fighting for glory.
WHITE N BLUE ARMY WHITE N BLUE ARMY WE AINT MAD WE ARE BLOODY BARMY !!!!!!!!!!!!
www.myp2p.eu
you wont be stuck
Either Neil was dropped as a baby or he's the most retarded troll in history.
AOC
Bit harsh!
I'm useless at work this morning. I'm not getting anything done because of the anticipation. I just hope I can find an online stream later. Here in the Colonies, the game is on FSC+, which is a premium channel, and which I have at home, but I'm stuck at work. It's easier to find online streams of regular FSC as opposed to FSC+. Wish me luck. COYS!!
COYS,BIOYC
IMHO, the game tonight will give us a very good idea if we are going to make the last 16. I would expect us to do well at home, and if we can get a win or draw in this match, the pressure will be on Twente and Werder to play catch up.
Willie, your stateside correspondent here. All I gots to say: Keane sucks giant pulsating donkey dick and Pav is lazier than a hound in the summer heat, but COYS!!
In terms of the article, I think Levy is coming out and making the right statement. By emphasizing that the CL is not the be all to end all, he is taking the pressure of the team. Quite frankly, I think that's just what they need.
Look at team like Man City. Every time they draw or lose, you can see it on their faces. Their owner wants the CL no matter what. I think that kind of pressure is seriously affecting their play.
Whereas, Levy comes out and says, "Hey, we are happy to be in the CL, but I'm not going to lose my shit if we don't make it there year in and year out." Translation: go out and play football boys, focus on quality, do your best. I'll be backing you no matter what.
That's good leadership.
And when City's owner gets bored with his show ponies and sells, the club will crumble under the weight of debt. Their fall will be epic.
Levy out!
This 4-2-3-1 will see the rebirth of JJ!! And he will be great beside Huddlestone, give it more time!!!
CL part I : The return of the JJ believers
The JJ isn't total crap comments only serve to show the poverty of our midfield options. Jenas is rubbish and thats that! 5 years he has proven beyond doubt what he's capable of. One game or two changes nothing. Palacios has lost it...unfortunately. And we have treated Sandro with contempt beyond belief...I wonder what that does to our prospects of attracting South American talent? Giovanni Dos Santos and now Sandro.
We need a new team of administrators. Our decision making is not right.
Levy. I used to think he's the greatest financial guru ever but now...I highly doubt. First of all, how does keeping an army of rubbish players on a salary of 50,000 - who basically contribute nothing...Hutton, Keane, O'hara, Donkey JJ, Pavluchenko, Bentley, etc amount to prudence? Would'nt we rather have Mesut Ozil and Edin Dzeko instead of that entire bunch? We have one of the largest squads yet we speak of saving on wages. Get rid of the deadwood...give them out if you have to...and increase the wages to attract the real talent. The total cost should remain the same.
Hey...and having the tallest player on the planet score header goals might surprise a few teams in the first games...but believe you me, it won't last for long. We better find a new strategy soon. Besides, its really really embarrasing and the goon guys havent stopped laughing at me yet. enough is enough...Young Boys and now Bremen...Crouch has done his part. Now play with some pride!
Ahem whats this shite about treating Sandro with contempt. He was told a while ago he wouldnt be in the CL squad and was most likely not at the airport regardless of the twat that said he saw him in one of the bars afterwards. Prove it with a picture mate if you are reading this. And palacios speaks spanish not portugese. I can see how a gobshite with zero knowledge of anything might think that it is plausible that harry would ask someone who speaks a sort of similar language to tell a player to go to a different airport hanger.......what the fuck am I on about. The sandro story is a load of bollocks ffs.
WRT Jenas. 2 games 2 fairly decent performances. Not many can say that in out squad so far this season (yes yes I know bale is superman)
Palacios is burnt out mentally as well as physically. Give him a good long lay off and lets see if he comes back the same player we bought. What worries me is that any player can have a good 6 or so months of football in his career...looks like wilson has had his.
If we had ended the game 2 up nobody would have batted an eyelid about JJ or crouch or anyone. Knee jerkers. Bremen are a good team. I did say when the draw was made we would take 6 points off them but that was mainly because I thought we would lose away to Inter and draw at home. I'm not so sure now. I reckon we have qualified because I can see us taking max points at the Lane leaving us with a total of 10 min (i'd predicted 11) It could be better than that but if we win our 3 home games we can afford to lose to Inter away and possibly at twente as well.
Relax. Injuries have not helped but it bodes well that we played so well in the first 40 or so minutes. We destroyed them. They made a tactical change (hunt is a decent player too) we lost vdV.
Onwards we go.
BELIEVE