The pear-shaped cockerel will crow again
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 6:30PM I'm still sick. My immune system, as dependable as a Brazilian goalkeeper suffering from bouts of aphephobia on any given weekend. If it wasn't enough having Death sat in the corner of my bedroom reading Playboy and periodically tapping the face of his wrist-watch, my problems are compounded. The old girl has pneumonia and I'm having to reorganise time I don't have to fit in all the other pockets of bane in my life to avoid a complete meltdown. In addition to all this drama I'm now experiencing disturbing nightmares, terrorised in my subconscious by a returning Adel Taarabt ghosting around White Hart Lane, tricking and flicking himself to a brace of goals and as many assists. I wake up screaming every night.
These are difficult times.
There isn't a match report of the Chelsea debacle because I was lost in the depths of depression at the time with football hardly at the forefront of my mind and a television nowhere in sight. Not to say I want sympathy for my Easter break that had more cracks in it than a Cadburys egg. Retain your apologies and group hugs for our rather limp run-in which has seen us surrender any genuine chance of reclaiming a Champions League spot.
Is it overly dramatic to suggest that we've surrendered it? I don't think so. I do appreciate that there are certain dynamics to arguing and debating why it's all gone pear-shaped based around the lack of forward activity in the Jan transfer window, the inconsistency with formation and tactics and one or two other plausible post-mortems. In a nutshell, you could sum it all up by perhaps siding with the uncomfortable realisation that we - Tottenham Hotspur, players and manager - gave it all up by making repeated fundamental mistakes.
This flaw in our grand design simply one that pertains to the fact we have defeated ourselves. Over and over again.
The reason the dynamics here are ambiguous is because, say for example; Arsenal could suggest if they had a decent goalkeeper and more cohesiveness at the back and perhaps took their chances they'd still be in the hunt for silverware. They are, according to their manager, so close.
Which is what we are. Had we a keeper who wasn't prone to making big mistakes at key moments. Had we a genuine world class striker. Had we retained more consistency and structure across our formation. Had we not allowed errors in officiating consume us psychologically. This isn't on the basis of our last game. Generalisation of hope lost.
So close, yet so far.
In both cases (us and the enemy), the problems might be apparent and obvious and almost feel like a final piece of the jigsaw only needs to be slotted in to complete it, but that final piece is somewhere under the sofa and nobody is bothering to push it aside and reach into the dustballs to find it.
We are close. But we are still some way off. Because signing a new keeper or a new forward and deciding on a set formation - these are missing pieces (rather than a single piece) to the puzzle and once it's complete there's no point leaving it on the table gathering dust until it's broken up and placed back into its box for someone else to solve.
Supeglue the sonofab*tch and frame it on the wall for everyone to admire. Because even with the right players and tactics, the glue that binds it altogether is still required for its final decisive completion.
Arsenal still have issues with choking and only when the pressure is off do they turn it on (see their 1-0 win over Utd). With us, perhaps it's complacency or attitude adjustment. It's all about the glue. Sellotape just wont do the job.
That extra spark of something has to be drilled into the players, that desire and hunger, that necessity to be better. Better than the rest.
Yes, it's quite disconcerting to see us drop down to 6th. Doesn't feel right does it? But then the past 15 years haven't exactly been kind to us. Not to say that just because we've had erratic progress and transitions upon transitions that it's okay for us to accept this seasons almost certain failure as one of those things and we'll be back and we'll be stronger for it.
Sure, look at the positives but it still has to be deemed an unacceptable resolution to 2011 because how else do you make sure the squad retain unity of belief and ambition and drive them forward?
We should still look to win all our remaining games. It's a lull, it's a poorly timed one (is there any ilk that's planned?) and its even one we might have got through just about okay had we not dropped all those points against 'weaker' opposition earlier in the season. But the reason we dropped those points is because we've not been good enough across several games domestically.
Not that I'll admit to defeat until its mathematically impossible. So looking ahead, what do we do?
The club has to retain its spine. The club, no matter the competition, needs to be in Europe.
We need to be decisive about the future of Woodgate and King. We have to clear out players who do not have a place as part of the squad and bring in the loaned out players that do. Sign a competitive alternative to Gomes to sharpen competition for the number one jersey. We need that forward. Dare I say we need two new forwards, with spare parts gone as part of the clear out.
Tactically, Redknapp - if stays for one more season - has to accommodate a change in his own agenda. Not a clue whether the England job is going to happen for him. No one is going to argue he looks after number one, has his own set of personal priorities and is very much a media PR manipulator and man-manager who perhaps does lack that killer killer instinct but has proved (to a certain extent) that he can also deliver. He might be self-centred, but it has still benefited us.
He has delivered, the hard way, rather than in any overly dominating fashion. Stats don't lie although they do disguise certain failings. Regardless, Harry has done a good job. What he needs to do is an outstanding one.
Very few, hand on heart, would disagree that we should have done, should be doing, far better than we are. At least that's the general consensus. But then this season has seen similar discussions with the other top tier clubs also wondering why they've not taken it by the scruff of the neck.
It's no easy task fighting for a top four place. There's a buzz about Spurs. Would be a shame to lose it. Long term, Levy should probably start working on that contingency plan. This club has to be in good nick when it's handed over to the next coach.
Perhaps our evolution does require another season of growing before we step up a further level. If there is to be no Champions League qualification this season then let there be a relentless fight for it next season. Because anything less will not be good enough.
Reader Comments (84)
Not Moyes, we need a proven winner as a manager.
That is the missing piece to this jigsaw. Someone who will not accept second best, that attitude has to run throughout the team.
Ricky Bobby. If you ain't first you're last.
erik the viking dropped one in on his debut v Forest. can't recall too much after that..
conor wickam looks a good shout. he has the same agent as crouch and bale and often watches Spurs games in their box in the east stand.
Perhaps its because the ball is getting lighter and lighter (certainly seems to be at each World Cup) these kinds of screw ups are going to be more and more common. Robert Green, Neuer, Gomes... I expect the list will go on. Reminds me of the plastic balls you used to get from the newsagents - one gust of wind and you looked like Roberto Carlos.
Speaking of goalie howlers, who remembers Booby Mimms?
Yeah Mimms was great wasn't he, remember those days well in the Park Lane, terracing, barriers and a goalie prone to errors! Some things don't change do they.
All keepers make errors, some more than others. They have a bigger responsibility which is why we are quicker to be critical. A striker could miss 2/3 chances in a game and not score - at the minute they too are getting the same type of criticism that they are not up to the job.
Appreciate you're ill Spooks and this is not your priority, but really don't like this new layout. The wide spacing takes ages to pan down (especially on a phone) and without the 'who's recently posted' you can't tell if there's new posts, if a conversation has started on an old article, or if someone has started a banter & bagels. Or am I missing something (on Internet Explorer)?
I was not quite being serious. The biggest issue this season is that Harry does not see himself being here for much longer. A manager that had a long term commitment would have focused first and foremost on a repeat top 4 finish, not CL glory to catapult himself into the England job.
^nail on the head^
Fair comment, goalies mistakes are amplified as usually will cost a goal and then possibly the game.
We have all seen players let the ball go under their feet when going to control it, usually will cost a throw so not the same stakes.
And yes our strikers have cost us this year, saw someone moaning about Modric the other day - not enough assists - maybe because our strikers can't bloody shoot!!
Anyway back to goalies. I'm a big fan of Gomes, know a lot of PSV fans and they all say Gomes won them the league after he settled in. When others were saying get rid after he first came I seemed to be a loan voice. But I kept the faith and he came good.
Question now is only can we get, and keep, a better goalie. Gomes was behind our clean sheets record last year so is a good keeper for sure. But is there better? Good keepers win matches, great keepers win medals.
20 years from now we will probably be having the same discussions anyway.
'who's recently posted' - Was thinking of adding this back in.
Not sure what you mean re: wide spacing.
s p a c i n g
^thats a wide spacing^
Wide spacing is probably not the right wording, but I meant the vertical height between each line of text has got twice as big as it used to, so you can only see half as much text on the whole screen, if that makes sense?
Old:
line of text
line of text
New:
line of text
line of text
This only on phone or pc web browser too?
web browser aswell.
How about now?
HHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHH
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@ Diaz
Did Erik the Viking ever make ridiculous mistakes? - my mind has gone blank on him.
Yeah - the first live league game ever shown against Forest. He let one go through him
Not the same game, first live game ever shown was in the early 80s I think and we won that one. Was against Forest though. Eriks debut was also against Forest and we lose and it was thanks to a massive mistake.
Thanks Deadly and M's Mum.
Must be something to do with the water at the training ground then! The rose tinted glasses come out when I look back to those days.
1991 = 5 man midfield - Venables never thought lets lump it up to Lineker or we really need a big tall lanky man in this team..........
Spacing still the same, but thanks for the return of 'who's posting'.
Line height is now 1.7em.
Looks better now.
Yes, Erik's debut. There we were thinking "phew, glad we got rid of that Mimms fella..."
20th anniversary of *that* Gazza tackle on Gary Charles yesterday. He was never the same after that for me, but he had so much talent that despite what he lost he was still capable of special things.
We'll still get 4th. Everton and us will beat City over the next week and we'll win our last 4 games. Keep the faith. COYS.
Excellent article Spooky, I agree with everything apart from the Europooh League bit. If we don't claim 4th (and it aint over yet) then I wouldn't be bothered if we missed out on 5th due to the extra games, the travelling, the emotional and physical burden a long campaign in Europe's 2nd tier competition would bring. The Europa Lge only matters if you win it, all that comes before is a waste of energy and resource… it’s a Thursday night gap filler that’s a fool’s errand.
We saw first hand this season how European competition can affect games either side of its fixtures… just look at how Liverpool and Citeh have improved since being knocked out and it’s a shame we haven't hit a similar vein of form but in all fairness the emotion of CL is a completely different ball game to that of Europa.
The Champions League is where it's at, we know that now more than ever... did anyone even bother to watch a Europa Lge game this season cos I didn't, perhaps the odd 15 mins here and there but it just isn't the same.
I fully appreciate that we all want to finish as high as we can and if that’s 5th place then we’ve got to fight for it and end the season in a positive frame of mind. I also fully appreciate that we need to finish ahead of the bin dippers and retain at least some small element of pride in still being in Europe (including the UEFA coefficient points secured by being in the Europa)… but if our involvement next season in the Europa costs us injuries, form and ultimately points in the league then all I see is that it's an unnecessary distraction from achieving CL qualification and having a real go at the top 3!
As for people calling for Harry's head, yes he's got his faults but he's got more out of a Spurs team in the last 2 seasons than I’ve seen from any Spurs manager in almost 20 years. Yes there's still a lot to improve on but he's been hamstrung to a certain degree with the lack of depth in the squad, and when I say depth in the squad, I don't mean the quality of player or their natural ability, I mean the character of the player, real winners and leaders... we're not competing on a stage where simply skill and ability wins you games and that's what separates the top 2 from the rest!
The top 2 are perhaps not (presently anyway) teams brimming with the most exciting gifted players (although they do have a sprinkling of the crème de la crème... much like us) but from top to bottom they're winners in every sense of the word. From work rate through to application, they deliver consistently… whether they're playing the top teams or the scrappers at the bottom, they have leaders throughout their respective squads that drag them kicking and screaming through a game victoriously, and that's exactly what we need more of in our squad.
Maybe I should just let the haters hate, or perhaps I should join them in hating Harry for ousting the likes of Dos Santos and Taarabt, or pushing out Kranjcar and Hutton, or having little faith in the youngsters, but to criticise Harry for this just doesn't sit right. These are players whom he sees day in day out, all have undoubted ability and skill but they’re either not quite ready yet or there’s something not quite right within their character… and in the case of the latter we're carrying too many of this ilk and it's these fringe players that are the underlying problem (as well as the strikers).
We need a clear out big time and we need to find a better balance of class and grit, strong clinical team players with a winning mentality, players with spirit, players that refuse to go down without a fight... we have a squad that I reckon about 70% are made of the right stuff and there's been a number of heroic performances this season to prove that, but it's those final pieces that can and will make the difference, you're only as strong as your weakest link and we have too many weak links.
I’m absolutely sure that Harry and Levy know the shortcomings in our squad and are getting ready for a busy summer to make sure we find and secure those missing pieces.... let's just hope they're a little more cohesive and prepared early doors, with contingencies in place if primary targets don’t come off or we’ll just have the same debacle of desperation in the final throes of the transfer window like we've seen all too many times… a scenario which is simply not an option as it would place a huge risk on the immediate and long term future of our great club!
No time to kneejerk and certainly no time to cut off the head... gotta keep the faith.
Sorry for the war and peace… COYMFS!
Wonderful blog DY...
I see you've managed to add Hutton as one of the mistreated youngsters to emphasize your point. Problem is, no one ever mentioned Hutton.
You say,in reference to Adel, Gio and Niko;
"...these are players whom he sees day in day out, all have undoubted ability and skill but they’re either not quite ready yet or there’s something not quite right within their character…".
This may actually be true. I guess the great winning character that Jenas has shown on the pitch over the years means that the three players mentioned can never get a chance. Lets forget Niko Kranjcar's performances for us last season when he came in to cover an injured Modric and was our best player for a while (Remember the 9-1?). Lets also forget that, in only one season, Adel has managed to win the admiration of so many fellow players and commentators that he has been named "championship player of the season". Lets just believe that somehow "something is not right with their character".
Look, Harry has not been a disaster - yet. Its just that when you look at the competition (Rich Man City, Liverpool who have got it right with Kenny - whose given them heart and is intergrating some of the youth in the meanwhile, Arsenal? Man U? Chelsea?), the future under Harry and his favourite players (The tall striker who can't shoot even from 6yards, Defoe, Jenas, etc) and his transfer targets (Phillip Neville?) looks really bleak. We are almost assured of No.6 and below. Will Modric, Bale, Sandro, Lennon etc accept that? If they leave its back to square one. Only this time - we will have to find buyers for Phillip Neville and, God forbid, Joe Cole. And with our reputation, no young upcoming players will want to come to us.
Otherwise...I agree with everything else you say.
DY,
Why hasn't he bought anyone, except Gallas, with a bit of 'winning' about them? He's had almost 3 seasons now. Nearly all of his signings are below standard.
I don't like to keep seeing chop and change, but there's no point sticking with a wrong'n. Redknapp is so full of shit, no one believes anything he says any more. How can you plan for the future with this charlatan in charge?
"Championship Player of the Season". Taraabt now joins such luminaries as Kevin Nolan and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Unless he's snapped up by Wenger or similar this summer I think people are clinging onto this notion that we've let a genius slip through our fingers due to their wish to assign something onto their ingrained dislike of HR. I may be proved wrong but we'll see.
And as for youth policy, I agree, we've not managed to get any youngsters through into the first team but this is something that appears to have been going on since way before HR. But I don't see too many other Top 4 sides developing home grown talent. That's more a symptom of the game as a whole, IMO, and due to the pressures of success it's more of a sure thing to buy-in than promote from within.
And that's why the England team is so awful.
i dont mind redknapp at all, being from bournemouth ive only ever had good things to say about his involvment with my local team. however, im not a bournemouth fan and my beloved spurs arnt in the lower leagues of football!
He's only interested in himself and i think that will make him want to stay on as our manager rather than taking the england job in the near future because although he has been around for so long in the game and is a highly praised manager, what has he done!? he lucked his way through the fa cup with pompey, beating championship and league one teams the entire competition other than one game against a second string United who missed about 4 one on ones and had 3 shots cleared off the line.... I think he needs to prove to himself that he deserves to be managing a club that can challenge for the league or at least top 4. making him leave will be extremely difficult i feel, and i dont believe that levy will want to.
who do we get into take over when he goes? an ex spurs legend like liverpool have done (hoddle+ossie?) an experienced competition winner from abroad (ramos) give a new up and coming manager a chance? (paul ince at blackburn) .... were not going to get the likes of pep or jose and i dont think that moyes or MO'n would bring anything extra to the club.
I think we are in a difficult position at the moment because i do agree with harry when he says we are only a couple of other quality players away from really pushing on, thats if we can retain the services of our best players. its a fine balance though because there will undoubtedly be alot of interest surrounding certain ones! another couple of sandros plucked out of the mist and 1-2 proven players and we will be ready to rock and roll. we need at least one proven striker, rumours of the 'i hit a free kick at 86mph' Hulk from porto could turn into reality and i wouldnt turn my nose up at him. i think we have enough cover at centre back just at the minute, dont think bassong is up to scratch but i do like the job kaboul can do there, + huddo and sandro can fill in if things get that far...+ khumalo hasnt even been looked at yet, we must of got him in for a reason! maybe lennon needs some competition for his place in the team, he's a great player on his day but those days seem to be getting a bit rare at the moment...
anyway, waffling now. cheers for the return of 'who posting'
COYS
Kenny's first half season at 'Pool = Harry's first half season at Spurs.
@ Ronnie, can't argue with you, especally the bit about the transfer targets: the Neville's, the Cole's etc are a bit concerning as we're better than that, and as you say TMWNN other than Gallas i'm not sure whether he has added any genuine quality to the squad in his tenure. However he has done wonders to a degree with what we have, yes there's been some strange team selection, tactics etc but i'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, I won't focus on the negatives as he has steered us through some amazing games this season where the team has showed real character... I will continue to back him, but if we have another transfer window like the last 2 I will have to start questioning that loyalty.
I added Hutton to my list purely as he is another who has felt the Redknapp freeze, and yes it did aid my point in regard to players with a poor attitude but hey, why not :-)
The Kranjcar issue is a mystery to me, in the very few opportunities he's been given this calendar year he's been excellent and scored important worldy goals so why he hasn't been more involved is beyond me too... on the face of what he brings and delivers to the team he surely deserves more playing time but he isn't and all i'm saying that there has to be a reason for his lack of chances to play. Whether that's right or wrong is difficult to gauge as we don't have the facts but it certainly is strange, but equally it would be wrong to assume that Harry's at fault.
Taarabt is a big fish in a small pond with undoubted talent but a destructive attitude. Being in a lower league and being the star of the team who pretty much allow him to do what he wants massages his ego, we will soon see how good he really is. He is capable of the sublime but it takes more than individual brilliance to make it at the very top, you need to back it up with work rate and commitment to the cause. Whether or not we should've sold him only time will tell, but i won't be losing sleep over it.
And in regard to Liverpool, it's easy to play football when you've got no pressure, nothing to play for other than chasing us down... we'll see how good they are when they really need to deliver.
On another note anyone notice that the two Europa finalists both dropped from the CL this year.... That cup is an absolute farce. Bring back the cup winners!
Looking through the comments and I've got agree with some of them regarding Harry. Love him to bits in terms of what he's given us over the last two years. But I can't shake the feeling that he knew this would be his one chance at the CL this year so all effort was thrown in there. I mean we all know Harry loves a bit of exposure and what better way than showing off on the biggest stage in Europe.
Premier League was definitely second on the list. The bottom line is we've not been good enough. We're on the cusp but not quite there.
If you watch the current top 3 play, you rarely see the misplaced passes and 50/50 balls that thed to creep into our game when we're under the cosh. Even when they lose they still look dangerous. Last Saturday our pressing was woeful, we practically invited Chelsea to have a go.
At the WBA game I was sat at the Paxton Road end looking down our right-wing. Everyone fan that day could see the amount of space available to run into. It was huge. Lennon comes on and is put on the left!?!?! Ridiculous.
I pray to the very gods themselves that we keep the spine of this team together. As I mentioned in a previous post we lose even a couple of core players then we've got issues next season.
Going to be back online tonight, although I have not got a clue on what to write up for a match preview. So will probably make some shit up as I go along.
Like every week.
About time you treated us to another xtranormal cartoon spooky. That Karren Brady rant was genius, even if it turned out to be a little off the mark :-)
Just write it. If it's shit, you'll be told.