This is hardly the Europe Bill Nicholson spoke of

A while back on the podcast, the question of 'Top 4 or silverware' was put forward. Crops up a lot. No matter the quote or the belief you embrace when discussing priorities in football, there is no argument that football has changed so much in the past twenty years that such a question is rendered redundant because it's easier to just wait and see if you're knocked out before assigning the tags on what matters and what doesn't.

The title > Champions League > Domestic cups > Europa League

Not everyone has the privilege of challenging for the first two and very few are interested in the lesser European competition because it feels like its only there to appease the clubs knocked out in the group stage of the elite competition. Would change if they awarded the winner with a spot in the CL proper and perhaps didn't allow losers from it to drop into the Europa. That's hardly going to happen when football is structured to make the rich richer.

Now I know it's ironic that we want a piece of the pie and want back in, but from a purists point of view we want another bite, perhaps a feast this time - going pound for pound with the top tier teams the continent has to offer. So does that mean it's okay to devalue one competition for another? It's what we've done this season playing a mish-mash of second teamers and youth players whilst our first team concentrate on the Prem games.

I think if you strip it all away, even Bill Nicks quote on Spurs and Europe, you would simply want your club to win every game. To always look to be competitive and to have a mentality that every competition is winnable. Go back to the 80s, that was pretty much the way it was. But that romantic notion can not be stretched through the decades to the present day.

I've felt empty and fairly disillusioned and disinterested with Europe this season because although we did manage a level of competitiveness it was hardly the Glory Glory Tottenham I know, all in white, under the floodlights giving it the style and grace we have come to expect. Europa League is not the Champions League. Its an after thought, the League Cup of the continental stage. You start to take it seriously the further you progress. That chance was missed when the Greeks visited the Lane.

It's a shame that the younger players and the rest wont get any extra game time. That in its self sums up the experience we've endured on Channel 5 and ITV4.

Nicholson's Europe is not the Europa League.

I'd love to see us line-up with strength and the desire to beat our opponents in every single game, but it's not going to happen. This competition was sacrificed. It hurts, but it won't kill.

That question, 'Silverware or Top 4'. I answered Top 4. That's not to say finishing in a CL spot is in any way glorious or defining as any cup competition win. Not a chance. But, in the long term, for this club and the players we currently possesses in Lilywhite it is just as important as lifting a bit of silver with white and blue ribbons.

Why?

I don't particularity want us to become the next Man Utd. I don't want ten years of dominance or anything like that. I don't actually believe that will happen again and can see the Premier League being a far more open competition. What I would like is another chapter in our history akin to the one in the 60s and the early 80s. Another glory side. We were once synonymous with the FA Cup.

In addition, if we finish top four or higher. If we consolidate and build on the squad, it's not a case of just finishing in the 'Top four' and being happy with another adventure the following season. It's about growing stronger from one season to the next to be able to aim for the very top.

We would never have had this conversation a few years back. Testament to how much the landscape has brighten from a dull dark sky to a blue one punctured with the odd white cloud.

We can't ignore the position we're in and the potential the side has and the club, players have to believe that a small sacrifice here or there is for the greater good.

If you continually finish in the top then those trophies, that silverware that is far more satisfying (and historically noted) will be far more tangible options in the short and long term.

That's my belief and in some way, my sacrifice.

There is no Doomsday. Just All-Stars.

One of my favourite scenes from Superman II is the diner fight. Both of them in fact. A powerless Clark Kent gets bullied and knocked out by a truck driver. Clark means well, but deep down it's all bravado. He knows this but gallantly attempts to blag it. The truck driver humiliates him, leaving Clark bloody and beaten.

It's like the 1990s and early 2000s in constant loop. Spurs turn up, look the part, but everyone can see right through them and can't quite believe they want to go toe to toe and proceed to get brushed aside. The victor arrogantly show-boating whilst Spurs pathetically fail. Teaching someone manners has to be backed up with a good slap. We were limp and no amount of fronting was going work.

Not pleasant viewing. Disillusioned and confused, we were lost whilst those around us grow stronger and more powerful. There was no competition for them and just survival for us. Going through the motions with no apparent evidence that a shift in power would ever occur.

Sure, we had powers in the past. Okay so the metaphor doesn't quite stretch to us giving them up for the love of a woman but we may as well have considering how we turned into a parody of ourselves. An empty shell. I wasn't alone in my Fortress of Solitude either during those dark times. Had one or two fellow Spurs fans sharing the despair, head in hands, shaking despondently at another beating.

So what changed exactly?

The powerful ones got complacent thanks to greed and comfort. We got fed up kneeling down. We switched it. We did it to them. Well, not unequivocally. We still need to crush the hand of Zod and throw him into the depths. Zod being Man Utd in this part of the metaphor...just keep humouring me until the end of the article. Those that want to work with me, you can take Man City to be Lex Luthor and Arsenal can be Non (figure it out).

We're no longer that weak Kent asking the bully to step outside. Rather a supremely confident Kent preferring to tease jokingly about the past then swagger on in. Belief all-consuming.

Come and get it. Oh how we've done just that.

So when Bolton visit us at the Lane, much like so many teams have done in recent times, they will possibly look to trap us in the Phantom Zone. Frustrate, break up play, populate the midfield with physicality to leave us trapped in a perpetual state. One or two might be expecting that slip, that off day, that defeat. Others are preferring to bask in the positives and await a DVD spectacular. Directors cut.

I am neither concerned nor am I giddy. Simply fulfilled.

This Spurs team is not quite at the stage of being able to fly around the earth and turn back time to avoid Louis Lane's death (the 1990s happened, deal with it, history can't be changed). But we can still fly around with our underpants over our trousers with arms upright and clenched fists. I mean literally underpants over trousers. If we keep winning I'm going to have to take 'shrooms just to sober up and attempt to anchor myself to reality.

Reality is also over-rated for some. Many that surround us might wish to believe otherwise but there is nothing to fear. Other than ones self-doubt. So many citations to the past from those desperate to cling to it when in the past we had to endure a desolate future. Times are changing. If you don't care to admit it you're either blind or covering your eyes with your hands. Be blessed if you have x-ray vision.

Reality can also be many more things.

If we lose a game, this team is hardly going to fall apart because of it. In fact the team is more than likely to taste it and accept it as part of the learning curve and move onwards. Backbone is a quality that was mostly missing from those darker times. Defeat, when it hurts, when it should truly hurt, is when it's in isolation rather than being part of consistent inconsistency.

Let's also not forget that loving to win is one thing, learning to hate defeat is another - but equally as important. Whether it's against a trucker or a megalomaniacal Kryptonian.

These days, I quite fancy us against either. Super Spurs. They've been...working out.

Massive game. Please don't bottle it.

Considering how the results went over the weekend, plenty of people are suggesting this evenings game at home to Villa is a 'big one'. It's imperative we win, they say. It's the ilk of game that transcends the football played physically and reaches out to the psychological aspect that can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing when you're expected to get the points or if what's going on around you beckons it. Sometimes we can choke a little or find ourselves the victims of a 'shock result'. Football blips don't need a written invitation. They tend to gate-crash if you leave the front door unattended.

Regardless of who is beating who at the moment, I think everyone can agree that the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal are not anywhere near the standard they played at during the dominant Sky Sports Top Four era. They sat (along with Utd) in a league of their own. When looking back to those seasons, you can more or less nod (grudgingly) that they were a class above which makes that bitter pill easier to swallow. You can't compete with seasoned CL clubs. At least you couldn't back then. As much as you would have hoped and wished for.

It's all degraded over the past few seasons for them and the rest (some, one in particular) of the chasing pack have caught up (level pegging?) and to be honest, there is no apparent hierarchy of who is better than who at this moment in time. Blagging rights firmly placed aside. Arguably last season, this season and the next will go quite some way to defining a new potential 'top four' (either that, or 2/3 clubs will take it in turns to share CL with the Manc sides).

Don't mock me or abuse me, but I'm glad Arsenal have remained plucky (be it dependent on a certain forward) and continue to look back up towards the upper tier of the Prem. Even if the reality is they are not a patch on the past, sometimes that belief factor can aid you in the right direction even if you're punching above your weight. Chelsea have the look of a side that needs to be stripped of the legacy left behind by Jose and start afresh (more likely to sack and replace their coach rather than giving him an opportunity to rebuild). Liverpool are hardly spectacular. They resemble some of the hard working Everton sides of recent years that attempted to puncture the Top Four.

If everyone around us is in transition, we're the ones that have continued to progress, retaining our good looks with no need for re-constructive surgery. The pressure is on us. But expectancy should not be feared. It should be the fuel that rockets us into the heavens. Smile please Tottenham, let's see those brilliant white teeth.

All the aforementioned clubs can stake a claim for 3rd spot as their target for this season. Opposition fans can still go about pretending time has stood still and it's the mid-00s, but best left to leave them alone with their delusions. They will work through their stages of denial in time. But that doesn't mean they can't turn it all upside down by reclaiming some of that supposedly dead status quo ante.

Whether you believe we have the best squad or not, it wont matter much on paper if the results on the pitch are failing to match our aspirations. When you look back at 2010, we had to dig deep as underdogs. It's different today. We are contenders. Perhaps we need to still find that authoritative cutting edge to boss games and see games out without drama in our pen area. Just to make the ride that little bit more comfortable and thus ease the pressure. The Tottenham way is always the hard way. But if we are genuine contenders, then it shouldn't be half as difficult as we are capable of making it.

I think most would agree any which way this evening will do as long as we win. I still want us to lay down that marker we continue to grip in our hand. A lucky win or one that requires grit is the same three points as one that is fluid and controlled...but I much prefer the latter.

COYS.

Love the shirt.

I could have been a contender

White Hart Lane, newly promoted team, expected victory. The traditional ingredients for us to fall flat on our faces. Alas no, I'm not going to delve into the past and I'm neither going to bore you with proposed team formations and questions over player selections.

There is no easy game in the Premier League. You need to turn up and turn on to be in with a chance to plough through opposition. We're a better team to the one we had when we qualified for 4th in what was a far tighter season thanks to the lack of courage shared by so many of the challengers. I look around and all I see are teams in transition. Some have improved others have stagnated. That's not to say the quality has dropped substitutional but there's a healthy argument to be had that all of the supposed top tier sides are beatable and all susceptible. Their weaknesses evident. Including us.

We've had freak score-lines with punishing finishes and shady defending. It's almost like the Prem is a TV struggling with reception, being smacked on its side in vein for the picture to return whilst the reception flickers. You catch a moment of something colourful then it returns to frenzied interference. Normal service will be resumed soon, right? Perhaps expect a new channel or two to replace the old.

Talk of stature and expectancy is not that relevant. It's nobody's God given right to finish in the top four. You earn the right with results so regardless of how we shape up on paper and all the positives and superlatives we like to sound-bite - we still have to improve. We still need that cutting edge. We still need forceful authority to kill a game off. A point dropped here, a point dropped there...they add up if it turns into a habit.

There's not that much in it up top. Sounds like a cliché but it's a statement of fact. This state of flux, it's real and it remains an opportunity. Others might still believe in the strength of the old monopoly and that they will always persevere because that's just how things are. Maybe five years ago. Maybe even three years ago. Not now. Don't believe in it, do believe in us.

We've still got that marker in our back pocket we didn't use from last season. Prove a point. Convincingly, emphatically. This isn't about our opponent on Sunday. This is about getting the bread and butter eaten before we move onto the main course. This week, next week, any week.

There's a particular trait in our personality that we all still need to see.

Show me Tottenham. Let's see how big your balls are.

COYS.

Love the shirt.

JD talks Spurs

Fighting Cock message board member 'boxbat' was present at the Q&A Fans Forum with Defoe firing back the answers to questions posed. Below are some of the stand out quotes. Nothing ground-breaking really other than the fact the player is focused on CL qualification rather than winning domestic cups. In your face silverware.

So I was lucky enough to go to the Fans Forum with JD at the Lane last night. He was on good form, answering questions on a variety of topics. I put the question to him about whether he would prefer to win the FA Cup and Europa League or qualify for the Champions League again, and he didn't hesitate much in choosing the latter. So there you go, I guess that's the modern footballer's mindset these days.

A few other things from off the top of my head:

- Modric called the strikers 'greedy' in training after Ade and JD each failed to pass against Newcastle; JD says he felt he had a good chance of scoring and was going to shoot, that's just the way he is.
- JD claimed he doesn't feel any joy over Rooney's England ban - reckons it shouldn't need to take something like that for him to force himself into the team.
- Everyone laughs at Pav's dress sense.
- JD is most impressed with Tom Carroll out of the youngsters
- JD thinks Modric is our most irreplaceable player
- Bassong is an attention seeker, Sandro hugs everyone when he comes into training
- Niko is the most frequent supplier of nutmegs
- JD reckons he's sharper over 10 yards than Bale, also says he's fitter than he's ever been
- JD has been offering a bit of advice to Coulibaly, namely, not to rush his shots when through on goal
- Adebayor 'hates' a***nal

...and quite a bit more besides, but there's a taster.

For the full thread, click on into The Fighting Cock forum. Sign up whilst you're at it.

Midfield majesty from magical Modric

Spurs 4 Liverpool 0

What a fantastic performance. I'm of course referring to club chairman Daniel Levy retaining wantaway Luka Modric (who should perhaps take note of Fernando Torres and his diminishing stature) who held firm with his summer transfer stance. If you wanted evidence that the Croatian deep-lying Worzel Gummidge had finally stuck his head on the right way, then our spanking of Kenny's ordinary boys is the perfect illustration of how important it was to say 'no' and laugh off the derisory bids. Attempting to imagine a Spurs side without Modric is admittance of languishing outside a top four challenge. Such is the importance of his forward-thinking industry and inter-play. He remains paramount to us contending for CL qualification, in a season that will perhaps end with defining conclusion in how we set-up to enter the summer period before the 2013 campaign.

Wasn't just Luka who majestically roamed the midfield with supreme confidence. Scott Parker worked to perfection alongside him in the middle to break up play and dig deep doing the less glamorous work required for us to dominate possession and thus create in the final third.

You can cite Liverpool's lack of quality, their inability to place us under any pressure and their implosion as further reasons for the comfortable win but then it was a win that was never in doubt. They lacked shape and ideas and only excelled in petulance and off-field delusion. Work in progress for sure.

In my match preview I asked Spurs to 'Release the Kraken'. Wasn't quite a Kraken. More of a baby Godzilla learning it's trade in the Tokyo suburbs before heading towards the skyscrapers. From the opening exchanges, we placed down a clear marker stating 'we're going to win'. This alone made me gleeful. We looked hungry, we played with urgency and the only frustration (be it one we all clearly lived with without complaint) was that it remained 1-0 for so long. Unlike in other games (oh so many) I had no ominous feeling we'd be dragged back to 1-1 at any given point during proceedings.

When we took the lead early on with the scorching effort from Modric, I lost myself momentarily in his celebration. That wasn't a fake smile or pretend joy from the little man.  He looked genuinely happy and wanted to share it with the fans. Stopped short of kissing the badge (thank God). And that's all it takes. A moment. Just a single moment. In this case a superb goal and an equally imperious performance to lay to rest all the disgruntlement in a bed of fickle and apology. We sort of forgot about the Chelsea saga in the seconds that followed the goal and will give him the benefit of the doubt that he will kick on from here and give us the ilk of loyalty that screams 104 passes, 92% pass completion.

As mentioned, never felt Liverpool threatened us. We oozed belief and determination. Bale gave Skrtel a torrid time. Parker (as mentioned) worked his socks off and Adebayor led the line in the manner that was desperately missing so many times last season. Walker was admirable going forward. Kaboul made up for some lacklustre early season disasters. Who was in goal for us? I don't remember him having much to do. As for the four-four-two formation - it won the day heaping embarrassment on the Anfield club. Worth mentioning two on the trot for Ledley, who was impressive. Let's make sure that knee is willing and able for the NLD.

Without wishing to get too carried away, feet firmly on the ground.

Liverpool fans will argue they were woeful. I'd still argue we simply never gave them a chance to get any type of grip on the game. The two red cards (be it claims of inconsistency from the ref) pretty much summed them up. Untidy and frustrating. What's important is we looked up for it, wanted to win and won. It's always strange how we manage to look better when up against eleven men but we persevered in the end to give the score-line a dominant feel to it (and claw back some of that negative goal difference). Ade displaying simplicity in front of goal with great technique and link up play. And a brace. JD with a lovely finish. Can I use my favourite word about the side being galvanised? Confidence really does breed success.

Criticisms? Set-pieces still in desperate need for a re-boot.

It's just one game, just three points. But its testament to the fact that unlike the visitors we are not in the midst of a rebuild. We stagnated last season and now need to reclaim that guile we are capable of and push on from there. It's hardly implausible to aim for 4th or even 3rd. You have to believe, otherwise just call it a day.

Lennon. Huddlestone. Sandro. Gallas...all still to return. Rafa already back (he's always back earlier than he should be). Sandro and Gallas might be available to start against Stoke in the cup. Bit of positivity makes everything looks so much brighter, doesn't it?

Well done Spurs.

-

thefightingcock.co.uk

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Love the shirt.

Smash 'em up

Battle for fourth? Unlike say in the season when we actually captured that position, this year its pretty much a certainty that anyone who dares to show some consistency and hunger for it will romp home. Utd, City and Chelsea will finish in the top three placements. Us, Arsenal and Liverpool will be fighting it out for fourth. Hardly rocket science but what remains a mystery is just how much of a fight it will turn out to be.

Take our neighbours up the Seven Sisters road. Still with the pretty football but with plenty of Keystone  defending making them a red and white version of a variety of Spurs sides from recent seasons that flattered to deceive and always made sure they heaped misery on their fans. State of flux, wobble, crisis - whatever you wish to tag that particular mess with, they are very much vulnerable and weak in key areas although still pack a punch but one that is unlikely to knock you out.

Liverpool are in the midst of rejuvenation and are thus being re-built. Okay so its all a little excitable and exaggerated because it's Liverpool and its Dalglish and the media seem to be sacrificing credibility to beckon the Phoenix from the flames. There's no doubt, as much of the ordinary and average soundbites you wish to chuck their way, they are better for it since the summer. Hardly perfect but they retain a busy work ethic and have players that can produce effectively. They also have a player up front that many still believe could have worked a treat in Lilywhite but somebody apparently didn't fancy taking the chance.

The question is not so much 'how good are Liverpool?' or 'how good can Liverpool be?'. It's more the case of 'how good to you need to be to claim that fourth spot?'. Looking around, with so many unanswered questions you'd probably agree that you don't need to be all that special. So its a dangerous game to discount this Liverpool side just because they are hardly fitting of older variants in comparison. Same with with Arsenal.

Apart from the near spectacular starts to the season the two Manc sides have displayed you could argue that not even Chelsea have impressed (but let's not get carried away here, they should still comfortably find enough of what's required to compete for 2nd spot with City).

So what of THFC? How much fight do we have in us? We'll find out when we face up to the scousers. It's still very early in the season but its pretty vital we start to rock and roll over opponents because the form of our competitors is completely out of our control other than when we play them. Defeating Liverpool then Arsenal (Wigan in-between) would create momentum and with that comes confidence and renewed belief and all the other hype that manager and players seem to feed off. Adds focus to their deficiencies also. Defeat, and the emphasis is back on us.

If anything should be taken from last season is that every regrettable dropped point will come back to haunt you.

At the moment, we don't seem to have any urgency and appear comfortably numb in posture. We showed some authority away at Wolves and plenty of industry thanks to our new signings. Need a little more from other quarters.

This season. It's simply too much of a good opportunity to pass by. Champions League qualification is a tangible target. We need to crow. We need to fight. We need to use our spur and leave the competition bloody on the floor.

It's going to be a tough game if Liverpool play as good as they can. If they don't then that's their problem and our prerogative to take advantage. Failing to turn up tomorrow will just leave that culture of underachievement festering in the psyche of the players meaning we then move onto the next game seeking redemption. Beating Wolves was a start. Beating Liverpool needs to be a necessity.

Release the Kraken Tottenham.

I've checked and Perseus doesn't play for Liverpool and the next best thing to the Medusa is Karren Brady and she will most definitely not be present.

-

thefightingcock.co.uk

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Love the shirt.

The want for more

The fact that I'm sat here trying to work out whether I'm pumped up for the Europa League probably tells you that there is something wrong. It's a big tradition at Spurs, is Europe. Bill Nicholson had one or two things to say about it. More so the fact that once upon a time we were tagged as Cup Kings. The 1980s seem a distant memory these days, in this not so brave but bloated rich modern era.

Undoubtedly, everything outside the Champions League and Champions League qualification has been devalued. FA Cup romance has been stood up more often than not. The League Cup dumped by most, only becoming important if you somehow stumble your way into the semi-final. Although most would desire to win the former, you sort of make do with the latter because it's still silverware and it's at Wembley. Both have taken the mantle of simply being bits on the side for the Sky Sports era 'Top Four' and plucky teams that punch out of the industrial strength paper bag that covers them.

That doesn't mean our 2008 victory should ever be dismissed, probably because of that semi-final against the red scum followed by that wonderful day out against the blue scum. We were winning games we were not meant to be winning. Dismiss it, no way. Footnotes in history are exactly that, forever captured in our honours list and in memory. But still, its an afterthought for most, a third prize for the truly ambitious. For everyone else it's an echo from the past.

Football, at its highest level, is geared up to make the strong stronger. If you're truly ambitious then winning the title has to be the ultimate goal. If you're in a position to do so then by default you'll have enough ammunition to gun down other targets (like the domestic cup competitions). Which is why if you consider the long term, top four should be the priority.

I want us, at some point, to win the title. It's a ridiculous statement, much like wanting us to qualify for the CL once was. I'm not asking for ten years of dominance here. Wouldn't be able to live with the glory hunting. Just one grand old push, anything comparable to the 60s will do, then back down to earth again.

Okay, so, here's where I start to walk and sink through quicksand. I can never give a definitive answer to the question that asks 'Silverware or Top Four?' mainly because I have been somewhat corrupted by the prestige of the Champions League. I'll do my best to fight through the relentless hypocrisy and contradictory statements. But expect my explanation to be one consumed with struggle.

I love Tottenham. Unequivocally. There's probably a deep rooted fear of success, festering in my subconscious, that doesn't quite want me to want the club to turn from eternal pretenders to seasoned champions. In a perverse way I like the fact that with each passing decade we win something, be it a domestic cup or a European one. We might not have been blessed with an empire or a dynasty but what we've achieved in our past playing the football we've played with the players we've had - it has been and remains magnificent. We're a big club in terms of our fanbase. We're a big club in terms of the manner of some of our achievements. But still a small club with a big heart when compared to the true giants in football.

So you (and I) would never scoff at the question asked, 'Would you prefer silverware to a top four place?'. Shouldn't scoff. You don't ever say no to a good thing. Football is about moments, and moments made up of Cup final goals and dramatic winners are what makes supporting a club, any club, special. It's not just John Crace that fears success will reshape a clubs character and therefore its supporters. But Tottenham have yet to cement such stability flying in the heavens. We are once more looking up, attempting to take off.

The issue surrounds the effort required to attain said good thing. But the effort is just if the finale is Ricky mesmerising his way through the City defence, a winning penalty save in a European shoot-out or coming back from 1-0 down to win 2-1, be it in the FA Cup or League Cup.

Winning a domestic cup competition or the Europa League should always be the aim as the momentum will carry forward into the league games, and vice versa. Alas, the constraints of three competitions and the league with the additional interference of 'deemed to be more important' fixtures and injury issues means that we're only likely to strike lucky (in terms of a run) in perhaps just one of them. And if the club wants to progress to a point where top four is a given then league games will have to take the mantle of priority.

The buzz generated and then witnessed during our battle for fourth and then our début in amongst Europe's elite tells me that such an adventure - in modern football - is more fulfilling from one game to the next than a run in the League Cup. Even if the chances of winning such a competition (CL) are extreme.

So before I disappear under the quicksand, what is it I want exactly from the club, players, manager? Hand on heart...I want us to win every game. Reality is, we won't always be set-up to do so. And some of these group games in the Europa League will be sacrificed by blooding the youth in mixed up selections (perhaps stronger home tie line-ups will see us through comfortably). Once in the latter rounds, a buzz (of sorts) will generate enough momentum to see us grow hungry for more and everyone pull together for the greater good (that's the creation of history by way of winning something).

Belief, desire, hunger...it's never going to come together with brute strength and Spurs swagger if we're under-strength, so it rests all with hope. Personally, I'm already thinking ahead to next season and a new man at the helm. Levy is probably doing the same thing. And for all this talk about Luka's head not being in the right place, our manager should perhaps consider his own state of mind. Or at least engage his brain when he opens us mouth.

Harry for England? All I know is Harry can talk for England, he's that good with soundbites. His way is to downplay everything. All we can do is hope it doesn't have a detrimental effect across the squad.

With the future in mind, stability is key. A top four place will mean the war chest (we do have one right?) will be of far greater power if we're in the CL next season compared to perhaps a return to the Europa. Even if we're not in the CL, perhaps the new gaffer will not dance around the wall he has built to protect his ego and instead speak for us, the fans, with complete transparency.

I hope we win a Cup. But I'd prefer us to reclaim that opportunity of further growth and progression to be stronger domestically and thus give us the base to challenge on more than one front and once more give us access to another adventure up in the heavens.

I guess this is me accepting the sacrifice for this season at least.

Moses parted the Red Sea, the big show-off, lived off that for a bit, probably even got a t-shit commemorating the event...then followed it up with wandering around lost, clueless with what direction to go in. Life as a Spurs fan might simply be to accept pockets of success punctured by barren and transitional seasons. I can live with that. But I'd prefer to feel the way I felt when we smashed Inter 3-1 at home or beat Milan 1-0 away.

We might not be perceived as a giant. But we can compete with them. We just have to start behaving like one - no matter the game, no matter the opposition and no matter the competition.

Easier said than done. Hence the sacrifices.

Now someone please reach out and grab my hand before I sink into the depths.

-

thefightingcock.co.uk <--- Launching this Friday

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Love the shirt.

Modern football. It's not that great. Discuss.

It's all very cheery this. An email conversation between myself and a Manchester United fan. Make sure there are no razor blades in reaching distance. Bitterness, it consumes as all. Damn you green-eyed monster, stop feasting on my rotting flesh!

Utd fan: thanks to your boys for doing the usual put up a fight until we score then roll over routine that you’ve near perfected at OT!!

You NEED a striker!

spooky: Limp performance wasn't it. Adebayor to be announced soon.

Utd fan: Happy with Adebayor? He represents pretty much everything I hate about football, well, he did when he went to City. Guess he realises it’s not just about money, it’s actually good to play once in a while!

spooky: Will do as a loan deal, imo. He'll want to impress to bag yet another move next season. So it might benefit us - because we simply have to finish top 4 (well, that would be the clubs ambition in terms of keeping players etc).

City repulse me.

Utd fan: Indeed. I know that squad depth is important these days but the situation at City realistically is that the English players, that once showed so much promise, are going to disappear. Johnson (both of them, though the other is farmed out on load now at least), Barry, Milner, SWP. They will be the ones to fall down the pecking order, obviously not the new signings. Not that I actually rate any of them, except maybe A Johnson, but these are all players who have worn the England shirt and probably won’t wear it for that much longer.

They will win this year, or next at the latest and then what? Buy more players? At least Abramovich saw some sense and realised that spunking money isn’t actually that fun, especially when your team still can’t win the CL and play boring unattractive possession football. Worrying thing is that City’s Sheiks are way way way more rich then Abramovich and only the Financial Fair Play rules can slow them down (note, not stop them!).

I’m expecting a City dominated league for the next few years to be honest, maybe even a decade of dominance. I’m somewhat apathetic to the whole situation though. I should be fearing it, but it’s the way football is going. Rich owners have bought Malaga and PSG this year too. More will follow next year and even more the year after. Players will get even less loyal, TV deals will get even more lucrative so that players wages can keep going up despite the Financial Fair Play rules – which are too little too late in my opinion. At the same time we have a crooked, corrupt, clueless, out of touch maniac at the head of football who is obviously against technology in football as he can probably only just manage a text message on his mobile phone!

I’ve said for a while that football is heading in to a black hole, bursting at the seams and will implode soon. I just hope the splatters of real football left are enough to regain something meaningful!

spooky: Regarding what you cited about English/British players - completely agree, they will be marginalised and they will equally cost a bomb to sign. I personally don't get how City fans can (with a straight face) be proud of any progress or achievements.

Players are signing for them for the money and because of the quality of players being signed, the advantage is - they will win silverware. It's win win for them. Take the money away and there is no 'project'. There's no genuine build up to success.

Look at Utd as the perfect example of how it should work.

Chelsea were just as bad. They had build up, mind. They were progressing, but to make that final step they bought in Jose and spent untold millions.

Utd fan: I’ve said it before that you’re one of only a few people I can have a ‘real’ discussion about football with. My United mates are too biased and too success driven to see the bigger picture and my City mates, well, they are mostly exactly as you say, not at all shamed by the way in which they are going to end up winning – beat United at all costs seems to be their only mantra. I do understand to it to a degree, but that empty, slightly hollow feeling that they’ll have when they see <insert captain> lift the Prem trophy can never be filled be their ruthless approach to winning at any cost.

The Ageuro signing almost went by unnoticed – can you imagine that being the case 3, even 2 years ago? We’ve already come to expect it as normal, which is almost as scary as them winning the title!

We are a good example but I’m not going to deny that we had a helping hand (float on the stock exchange, aggressive business marketing thus sucking the soul out of the club, and we were one of the forerunners of corporate hospitality – all things I despise about football). Though whilst we did break a few transfer records along the way (something my City fans love to point out) we maintained a rigid wage structure with a sensible ceiling. This actually prevented us from signing lots of players through the years (if rumours are to be believed anyway, it’s the reason why Kluivert and Batistuta didn’t sign). City don’t have that in place. Their wage bill is bigger then most smaller countries GDP I reckon!

It’s only 2 games old (1 in your case) and already I am starting to feel sorry for Arsenal (urgh!!) and have handed City the title in my head (double urgh!).

If you can keep Modric and sort his head out and get in Adebayor and Diarra (obvious a replacement for the disappointing Palacios) I reckon you can easily squeeze Arsenal out of that 4th spot and you might be able to challenge Chelsea. I saw enough in your performance at OT to warrant that. You played some lovely pass and move football and found lots of space (though our defence is probably the youngest you’ll ever face!) but just lacked that cutting edge. Think RvdV needs a certain type of player to play off. Not sure that player is necessarily Adebayor, but he is certainly better then Crouch or Defoe, and Pavlyuchenko is way too inconsistent.

Your defence looked unbeatable for the most part at OT, some great interceptions/interventions particularly in the first half! On a side note, are Fulham now your second team?

spooky: I'm actually doing my best to detach myself from the entire mess and just fall back in love, without complications, with football at its purest level. Just supporting Spurs, loving the shirt, loving the players that want to pull on the shirt. Singing, getting drunk and applauding and joyfully celebrating moments of vibrant brilliance. And any success that is attached to that, I obviously welcome as another slice of history to be placed proudly in amongst our rich tapestry of tradition.

The reality is, I still find myself thinking that Top 4 is essential because otherwise we might find ourselves stuck in this perpetual game of catch-up, selling players who want to move to CL teams, buying new ones, then going through the same thing again. We spent so long dreaming of competition for top four and the CL that now we've achieved it, going a step back would be gut wrenching. Such is the way modern football works, CL is has devalued cup wins. Even though, if we are all brutally honest, winning a trophy (domestically) in terms of a cup might not be the same as it was in the 80s and before but it still retains a certain undeniable quality. You can't ever take a way a Wembley win. Its there, black and white, in history and its silverware. Even if its not respected as it once was. Finishing 4th is hardly what dreams are made of.

But finishing 4th consistently is the only way to ever become equipped for a title push.

Wish things were far more simple. Don't think football will implode either. Not yet. Only way is for the likes of Spurs and even Arsenal to push out the likes of City and Chelsea.

Its a little like asking Norman Wisdom to inform Godzilla he can't be knocking down any buildings.

Utd fan: I promised myself I would do that last season but the babies really put a stop to it but I’m going to try again this season I reckon.

You are right, there is still much to enjoy, much to love about football and this implosion won’t happen for a while (too many people making too much money at the moment). I intend to get to more pubs to watch matches this season and the occasional outing to OT when the chance arises!

spooky: Onwards.

The Progression of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham

There's little point in drafting up a 10,000 word War and Peace blog on Harry's tenure thus far and how best we progress into next season. I say no point because I have the Bill Murrays since the season ended, what with a distinct lack of newsworthy commentary (other than our shared meltdown of the Modric media circus) it's ground-hog day every day if every day is spent looking back at how it all ended. 

Not a lot to chit chatter about until the window opens and the universe sucks itself into oblivion whilst we all watch on in agonising slow mo.

In the previous end of season articles (all linked below) I more or less stated what we all know has to be done.

Keep the spine of the side together.
Sign a forward(s).
Patch up other areas and let the deadwood go.

Hardly rocket science. More on the transfer window and the theoretical blueprint for success in the next article.

So what of Harry and his (our) team?

There will always be fragmented opinions on the 'miracle' Harry performed when he arrived. Yes, we were in a mess, but he only proved that back to basics man management was enough to get the players out of their disillusioned state and work as a unit. He stuck men in their rightful positions and got the best out of them. No complexities with the chalkboard. No language barrier. Plenty of mayo and Ketchup. We played for each other, in support for each other and with pride.

Sure, it wasn't the Houdini act Harry wants us to believe it was. But credit to him. You can hardly be critical. From the depths to the heavens. The desire to get into the CL and the manner we fought for it was like nothing we've seen at the Lane for years and years.

Okay, so it's never perfect. When is it? Much like it isn't at any club. Sure, we have a right to want more and shouldn't anchor ourselves just because it wasn't too long ago that we struggled with upwards direction. Ambition - it's imperative in the stands and in the mind sets of the players. Perhaps, the job of the manager is made easier if he was to manage expectations without the ambiguity and bloated contradictions.

Never them, always us. That's how it should be.

We'll always have our team under the microscope. We (the fans) always believe we know best and we also know it better than someone who has just a little more hands on experience at it. Get on twitter to see the evidence.

There's always been an element of circumstance and luck (Gareth Bale, almost loaned out/sold on). But on the flip side, as an example, he worked wonders with BAE. When he returned from injury to left-back, the new-born Bale discovered a brave new world on the left flank. The Rafa signing perhaps highlighting the erratic opportunistic nature of the transfer window and the knock-on effect which was positive and negative with hindsight. Perhaps reactive management isn't the best template to work from, but it's got us stable for the moment.

We still lack that bullying nature, that killer instinct and that fabled cutting edge. We didn't do too badly considering our handicap, but not doing too badly amounts to 5th and not 4th or higher.

We did attack Europe, defending with naivety at times, but that was more down to the fragile mentality of our players who had to grow and mature very quickly. Which we did. Individual lapses of concentration proved costly. But the dismantlement of Inter at home and the patient counter-attacking in the San Siro against Milan, a joy. We finished top of a supposed difficult group and did so scoring goals for fun.

Back in the league, we ended another couple of hoodoos.

We still find ourselves questioning formation and tactics. The van der Vaart conundrum and Redknapp's favouritism to what he thinks is best, the reason behind the lack of cohesiveness that damaged our points total. Far too many games at home drawn. A fine line between 4th and anything below it.

Last season we were underneath the bed sheets with lady luck. This season, we were alone, eyes shut and hands free dreaming about her. You make your own luck and we were far too often apologetic in our body language, never seductive and playful.

The over elaborated expansive play paradoxical at times with the one dimensional hoof.

The disappointment exists because we know we lost out on fourth when others were not exactly a millions light years ahead of us. They simply grinded out more results.

But much like the CL was a journey of self-discovery, the experience of handling both Europe's elite competition and the bread and butter of the league will serve us well as yet another building block of our progression.

The team has to unite once more. All the ingredients are there. Just need to spice it up with some seasoning and not look to over-cook it.

I'm beginning to think perhaps Harry's ego has been left a little bruised. He refuses to accept responsibility publicly, hiding behind sound-bites proclaiming our 'best season ever'. Telling us we haven't had it so good. It's how he works the PR. He's a self-promoter, always has been. He's at a big club which means he has to live up to the expectations he has actually carved out for us by bringing stability and performing at a higher standard - one that equates to the players we possess and potential.

He's mis-managed that a little. Too many sound-bites clogging things up. Too much on the defensive.

I personally think no matter when he leaves, if the club is left in a position not too dissimilar to the 2010 season (or the one that's just ended) it will be deemed a success. In terms of there being a foundation for someone else to hit the ground running. Spurs can not afford the overhaul ilk of transition we became accustomed to through-out the 90's and the early parts of the last decade. Although we were never falling down from a higher step, just constantly tripping over the first one.

Have we ever had it so good?

Truth is, we haven't. Well, we have, but not for a long time and only in terms of being able to look ahead and agree we can challenge for a place in the CL. Hopefully winning a cup isn't completely dismissed as an objective as it was this past season.

We are fragile (the fans), having had a taste of the top tier anything less feels like its a relegation of stature. It's emotional, slowly transcending from pretenders to contenders. We're in a state of positive flux, as are the teams around us (some arguably touching on the negative but hardly in crisis). Our perception of what is progression and what is stagnation is dependent on you and thus varies from one fan to the next.

So what are we contending? Depends on how Harry spurs us into the summer and the start of the 2012 season with support from chairman.

We are in good health. We need to tighten up and we need to rediscover that hunger. There is no need to look for inspiration because it's there already.

The top four.

Don't bother knocking, just kick the door down.

'Seasons End' articles:

Tinpots

Forward Failure

Midfield Majesty

In our defence

Tinpots

The Prem, the Champions League and the FA and Milk Cups

Someone recently pointed out to me we should be aiming higher. Higher than 4^th spot. 3rd or even 2nd. No mention of a cup.

I understand the sentiments.

Modern football at the top tier is no longer about domestic trophies of the cup variety. They are simply deemed nice to haves. A day out. It’s prestige lost, drowned out by all the unnecessary music, fireworks and pomp. I remember growing up, swelling with pride when citing  the amount of FA Cups, League Cups and European trophies we had won. Okay, not as many in total as Liverpool or United (at the time we did lead the way in FA Cups) but those finals, they meant something. A badge of honour. Days of glory.

We now live in a footballing society that is geared towards the Champions League and that without entry to this elite competition we cannot progress to the next level and we cannot attract the right calibre of players to do so. Winning a cup remains a bonus, one that is still usually picked up by the very top sides, other than the occasional anomaly.

So, what to do? Only one tangible option. Don’t look back.

We’ve only been in the CL the one time. We’ve only very recently become contenders for the ‘competition for 4^th spot’ after the degradation of the monopoly that made it practically impossible for anyone other than Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea to finish in any of those fabled positions. The reason we (and the media) even refer to it as ‘the battle for 4^th spot’ is because even though the monopoly is no more, the teams above us still possesses that extra bit of quality and experience which means on paper it’s still not looking like the seasoned regulars are about to be knocked off their perch.

But much like it was never viable to knock one of them out of the CL places completely (and now it is) the same thing can quite easily happen for 3^rd spot. And so on. As witnessed this season and last. The Prem continues to remain in a state of subtle flux.

If you consistently finish top four and partake in CL football then you’ll grow into a side strong enough to mount a title challenge every season. In other words, you push for top spot (even if it’s out of reach by five to ten points) and regardless of the outcome you’ll find yourself to be good enough to never fall further than fourth. Which equates to the ilk of stability that will turn you all powerful and evil (you'll shudder, part of your soul will die, but you’ll have been corrupted by then and won't notice).

It’s going to be difficult for all involved if we along with one or two others sustain our progression in the right direction. Six teams into four positions doesn’t work. I don’t believe we’re on the verge of a new monopoly either. Just some fancy musical chairs as we all dance to the tune of ambition. It might be something we have to settle for, a time-share with perhaps only the same two teams guaranteed CL football and the rest fighting for the remaining two slots. There’s no way of knowing how it will all play out across the next five years.

All we can do is aim to improve.

I know that’s wishy washy, but unless you have a spare flux capacitor it’s hardly feasible to point out the team(s) that will experience a devastating end of cycle life run, and drop several places. The Sky Sports era of the 90s and early turn of this century has cemented certain clubs at the top who can survive just fine without being at the peak of their powers.

So yes, all we can do is improve and aim to better ourselves first before looking to better the team just above us.

Aiming for 4^th spot is that initial step required to understand what represents the minimum requirement. It's not a failure to finish in 5th spot. It just doesn't amount to the same thing as finishing above 5th. As we all know after the heroics of the 2010 season.

Discussing this so matter of fact is still sometimes surreal considering how we (and others) laughed off any claim we’d compete for CL football five years ago. It’s taken a long time and the reality is that we no longer day dream, we endeavour to push on and the disappointment when we miss out hurts. But once more, don’t look back.

The ugly truth is that a transitional season is always a season away. Managerial appointments and players personal targets are short term which means, with the best endeavours, we can be disrupted in a blink of an eye. To sustain and build further on the foundations you simply have to be involved in europe’s elite competition as it feeds you the power and the money to bully the rest domestically.

It’s sad, compared to the competitiveness of the 80s and the lust for domestic cups we all had back then. But it’s just how the mechanics of the game are oiled these days, fuelled by money.

At the most fundamental level, I want Tottenham to always embrace their traditions. Swagger and swashbuckle. But now that we have a spine and a taste for something bigger and bolder, we can hardly look back and return to the darkness having caught some colour out in the sun. I’m not asking for a decade of dominance. Just another beautifully scripted slice of history that can sit proudly alongside all the defining moments that have blessed us across so many decades. It’s what any fan desires of their team. It’s what the players representing the fans and the club should desire too.

We all know what’s at stake if we don’t finish in the top four next season. This summer alone is going to be dramatic and tiresome with rumours of potential bids for our key players and frustration as we await to see who we might sign. Stripping away all the intricate details of how best we line-up and tactical conundrums, we’re left simply with this: Audere est facere.

And in pragmatic terms?

We have to aim towards being competitive in every match we perform in. Momentum breeding a winning mentality and a hatred for losing. We are lacking a cutting edge. We can’t stand around wasting time wondering if the others around us will fix their own issues or drop further in form or improve. It’s always going to be in our hands. There are no complaints if you are the best you can possibly be yet fail to achieve your dream. Echo’s of glory, right?

At this given moment in time, there is very little in it. A few more home wins and...well, what hasn’t happened hasn’t for a reason. Those intricate details that need looking at are key to avoid a repeat. The learning curve won’t be so forgiving next time round. Others might be better placed thanks to their stable foundations and experience, but there are cracks in the wall. But once more, it matters not if we don't build something as durable over time that we can one day look back at with pride whilst the rest crumble.

As for the CL itself, it’s made for us. Our nature to attack and the knock-out element of the latter rounds. Shame we lacked a similar ethic domestically, leaving both cup competitions early were low ebbs in a season mostly made up of giddy highs. Distracted was the excuse, but it’s hardly a valid one. City have won the FA Cup and finished 3^rd along with playing a fair few games in the Europa League. Perhaps débutantes (in the CL) are simply not strong enough in terms of experience to handle the pressures unlike the seasoned pros. City might falter in the league next season. We don’t know and who cares about something we can’t control?

Fact is we didn't appear to have the time or inclination to bother with the FA Cup and Carling Cup.

I’m not dismissing silverware with this modern footballing culture marginalising it. With all my rhetoric about the importance of the league, it’s still something tangible (Carling Cup might not mean much in relative terms, but try to deny it didn’t when we beat Arsenal in the semi then Chelsea in the final). If it’s good enough for the ex-monopoly to win cups and play CL every season then it has to be good enough for us. That shouldn’t be the reason behind wanting to. We need to recapture some of that old fashion spirit and look to add to our honours tally because that's what history remembers.

Football is still about the moments. Having such a moment is better than having none at all. I can't be alone in wanting us to reclaim our mantle as cup kings. Younger fans hardly remember the tag.

Perhaps the art of balancing our progress and maturity and focusing on the league equates to an altogether different type of transitional season(s) as we continue to grow. Perhaps for now, sacrifices need to be made.

Either way, don’t look back, look forward. But you'll be forgiven if you do happen to reach out to the past to inspire you. Ricky Villa dancing through on goal will live longer in memory than finishing fourth. You'll be happy to replace that memory with one of Modric dinking through midfield as we write a new chapter.

We have to be more astute on and off the pitch with our focus and squad rotation. The Europa League is not ideal in set-up and the winner of the competition  should really be awarded CL qualification rather than the whole thing appeasing the teams that get knocked out of the CL early. But we should still look to progress in it as far as possible. Same with the domestic cups.

The league, the Prem, much like it is for Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and now City...will always be the priority. Times have changed for us. So, if we’re truly hungry, its bread and butter on the menu with a cup of whatever you fancy to clench our thirst.

In our defence

Midfield majesty

Forward failure

Next season, anyone?

Not sure at the moment what is more depressing. Manchester City's style of football, the fact the 1-0 loss was one of our better performances yet summed up our season thanks to the lack of cutting edge or the irony that Crouch completed his trilogy - scored the goal to get us into the CL at Eastlands 1-0, red card in Madrid pivotal to us getting knocked-out, OG at Eastlands 1-0. Quadruple in fact if you include his goals against Young Boys.

Better team on the night, second best across the season in terms of accumulating those all important points. Reason for failure? Lack of those all important goals. Twenty less than last season.

At this away day fixture (at Eastlands) last year we had 70 points from thirty seven games. We've got 56 from thirty six currently. It's a massive dip in form, by all concerned (City currently sit on 65). The simple fact of the matter is that even though our opponents are as sexy as Dot Cotton in hot pants and a wet t-shit, they have proved to be more efficient than us when its comes to winning games. On the night it tactically paid off for Mancini. Defend and sit back, Spurs will huff and puff but they wont be blowing no house down. They scored because we let them. They scored because we scored for them.

Our flaws are fundamental ones discussed to death on this blog, on other blogs, on message boards and in the stands. Flaws we'll debate once the season is done and dusted and we look to devise the perfect Tottenham blueprint amongst ourselves in an attempt to calm our emotions and move swiftly through the stages of grief. So I won't be slicing up the deceased body and completing an autopsy on account of the fact that I already know the case of death.

Erotic asphyxiation. Fatal attempt at turning oneself on. Toe tag attached.

Positives from last tonight? Gallas, Rose, Sandro, Modric. We need a forward(s) to push us forward once more. We need to bring back the Kyles from loan and sign a couple more players (to replace the ones that will be sold) for that extra padded squad depth. City might look to spend another bundle to consolidate but their brand of uninspiring offensive movement and their calculated deep defensive play leaves me with an epiphany that the time-share will fall back into our laps next season. For all the cash spent, they're hardly better than us. They are, but they're not. You know exactly what I mean, it's not a conundrum. They didn't buy fourth spot (technically they did, compare the wage bills). We took it back to the shop, gift wrapped it then hand delivered the sonofab*tch.

One win in our last ten league games. Nine home draws overall. Not good.

They retained some measure of consistency whereas we failed to match the tenacity of the back end of last season when we truly took the scruff and went for the jugular. City, for all the negatives we wish to throw at them, got the job done. We didn't.

So congratulations to the blue side of Manchester and the fans who bothered to turn up but only the ones that have supported them for a period of time that would allow me to refer to them as long suffering. Enjoy the Champions League experience. Perhaps you'll sell out a game or two. Perhaps you might even endeavour to attack your opponents. Make sure you're facing the right way otherwise you might miss it.

As for us?

For all our faults, for all our mistakes at least we can pin point the error of our ways. It's a missed opportunity to build on last season by avoiding further transition (and applying even more pressure on City and Liverpool), but no point in dwelling on it beyond accepting responsibility for those fatal flaws. If chairman and manager can do that and not dither in the transfer window or get distracted by this persistent obsession with that crock of crap in Stratford or relegated West Ham United players then we might just capture that missing spark just in time for August. Except that this time next year we'll be mill...we'll be top four. Top three.

Don't be sad, don't be suicidal. We've waited twenty years, we can all wait another season for a second stab at the CL.

Believe.