Cause of Death: A Postmortem Report

On Saturday most Spurs fans were glued to TV screens, watching Chelsea take on Bayern in Munich for the Champions League trophy and a place in next years competition. I was no different, I was watching with bated breath as Bayern offered up useless attack after useless attack. As soon as Drogba headed the equalizer it became all too evident that despite the lack possession or meaningful chances Chelsea were going to lift the cup. This belief was increased by Robben missing a weakly struck penalty. As predicted Chelsea beat the Germans on penalties, of all the times for a German side to forget how to take penalties, of course it would happen when Spurs were relying on them to win. I found myself in the unfortunate position of watching the match with many Chelsea fans, who as expected gave me plenty of banter as I cried into my beer thinking about what could have been, but it was all in good humour. At the end of the day no one wanted Chelsea to win, but you have to take your hat off to them, they have out defended some of the best teams in Europe on their run to the trophy and you have to say "well done". While their victory is extremely disappointing it has to be said that we have no one to blame for our lack of Champions League qualification than ourselves, our poor run of form has cost us dearly and it may well end up being the cause of a major downturn for the club. So where did everything go so wrong?

We started the season in blistering form, at one point giving ourselves a twelve point gap between over the team in fourth. At that stage it looked impossible that we would finish outside the top three, and we were even being cited as a not so outside shot for the title, we started to believe our own hype, started to believe it was our year. Things started to turn a bit sour when Harry Redknapp spent most of his time in court over tax-evasion charges. The trial dredged on for a few weeks, with Harry even missing the trip to Liverpool as he could not make it up north in time after the days proceedings had finished. However we continued to persist and when the verdict was returned that Redknapp had done nothing wrong, we all started to dream once again. The dream lasted little more than a few hours though as on the same day Fabio Cappello left his post as England manager following a dispute over whether John Terry should be England captain while awaiting a trial for alleged racist comments towards Anton Ferdinand. Instantly Redknapp became darling of the press and the nation as he was wooed for the top job. Things were initially ok, a fantastic 5 0 win over Newcastle at home seemed to suggest everything was going to end well after all. After the thrashing of Newcastle things turned sour. An awful run of results saw us drop outside the top four, below Newcastle and Arsenal. It was not until the FA appointed Roy Hodgson that our picked up again, securing three wins and one draw in our last four games. When Arsenal failed to pick up all three points at home to Norwich we missed to chance to jump back to third as we could only draw at Villa. Arsenal then picked up all three points on the last day of the season at WBA, with more than a little bit of help from former Spurs reserves keeper Martin Fulop.

While the stats seem to show that when Redknapp was being linked with the England job we were not as good as before or after, Harry himself has always maintained that he was unaffected. It seemed clear to most fans that he didn't have the same passion for the job, and his press conferences did seem to suggest he was well prepared to take the England job, but only at the end of the season. The thing that makes me think that he did take his eye off the ball is that Kevin Bond, Harry's best mate had said to him on many occasions that he didn't seem the same as when he before he was linked with England. I am not going to go through all the facets of where Harry went so wrong, Bale on the left, Defoe getting more game time, I have been through it all before, as regular readers and generally anyone who speaks to me about football will know. I personally think the blame does rest squarely at Redknapps' feet, he showed us a real lack of loyalty, not a trait that is uncommon of him, just ask Portsmouth and Southampton. He has also shown himself to be tactically inept this season at times.

So where now for Spurs then? This summer will be one of the most important summers in the history of the club. Will Bale, Modric and others want to jump ship, if they do want to go, will they be allowed to, will we be able to add to the squad, who will be in charge on the opening day of next season? Modric has stated that he will consider his future after the European Championship, and you can't help but feel that he is once again going to try and force his way out of the Lane. I wonder if this season we may not be able to hold on to him, especially if one of the big boys from Spain come in for him. I don't think Levy will let him go for any less than about £50mil and he will not let Bale go for even more than that. It is realistic that Modric and Bale could both stay at the club and and we could add a few more players, Adebayor has already said he is trying to negotiate a permanent deal with Spurs. We will have to add a few more players to the team, we will have to be sensible with it though, there is no way Eden Hazard will be signing for us now, but the squad does need padding out. We need to get some of the average players off the books, Bentley, Pinaar, Saha, Nelson come to mind, and replace them with quality players. I think Redknapp will get one more chance, and it may surprise some of you to know that I think that that would be the right decision. He should not be offered a new contract until next season, and he should only get a contract offer if we qualify for the Champions League. It would be nice for us to take the Europa League seriously next year, it is a chance at silverware and a good competition, one which we have had some marvelous matches in, and it would be great to get some of those glory nights out.

If I could sum this season up in five words they would be loyal, disloyal, disappointing, quality and unlucky.

Loyal - Kyle Walker, Adebayor and others who have shown great spirit and fight for the club all season declared that they want to stay for the long haul, or join permanently in Ade's case.

Disloyal - Reknapps' handling of the whole England affair and I suspect we will see another outburst from Modric; Bale and Assou-Ekotto have already had their five minutes of misconceived self belief and claimed they are destined for bigger things (Bales comments were not so bad).

Quality - By far and away this season has given us some of the best football I have ever seen in my life, at the end of the day we have shown ourselves to be the fourth best team in the country.

Disappointing - The bad run of form has cost us very dearly.

Unlucky - Stoke Away (correct decisions would have granted us third place), Chelsea FA Cup Semi-Final, others results, and most of all, Chelsea winning the Champions League.

We now wait, wait to see what the summer holds, wait to see what Daniel Levy can pull out of the bag for us, and wait for the 2012/13 season, we are Tottenham Hotspur, and we will be back! 

EURO 2012: The Spurs Perspective #1

At 6pm on Saturday we will all be cheering on Bayern Munich, as they take on Chelsea in the Champions League final. This will have a massive impact on our season, for obvious reasons, but I for one would have be supporting Bayern even if we had finished third. There has never been such a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" than Stamford Bridge (To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV) and it would be an injustice to football if they won the Champions League, I really don't care about wanting the English team to win, if anything I want the other English teams to lose, improving Spurs' status in the country. I will be writing a season review after the final, as it does have such a big impact on our season. 


Roy Hodgson has named his England squad for Euro 2012. Spurs have two players in the 23 man squad. Jermain Defoe and Scott Parker have been chosen to represent England in the summer and it is certainly something they both deserve. Defoe has been on fire this season, despite not starting many matches and Parker has arguably been our player of the season. It is shame that Kyle Walker picked up an injury and was unable to be in the squad as he was almost a certain to be the first choice right back. However, it is more important that he is ready for the start of next season, and going to the tournament could have aggravated his injury.   


There has been much criticism of Roy's first squad, much of it surrounding the inclusion of Carroll and Downing. I personally think Carroll was an inspired choice and will weigh in with his share of goals, international teams will struggle to deal with his presence in the air. You only have to look at Crouchie and his England record to see that the international stage is good place for a big striker. Obviously as a former lilly-white it would have been great to see Crouchie there but Carroll is still a good choice. The only real disappointment for me is that Downing is going, especially when Aaron Lennon has had such a good season. I would have taken Lennon over Walcott, but then I am biased. Lennon would have offered a much better option than Downing, but then you can see why Roy has chosen the Liverpool winger, he has a good left foot, but the stats don't lie, no goals, no assists in thirty-six matches this season, is that really England form? The other option of course would be Adam Johnson, who is left footed and is a much better player.  



No one will ever compile an England Squad that everyone agrees with, but I think most people have been a little harsh on Roy. He has put together a good team, with a mixture of youth and experience and hopefully they will do England proud. Although it pains me to say it, it is good to see the Ox in the squad, he is a big part of the future of English football and this will be good experience for him. 


All that remains to be said is COME ON BAYERN, DO THE BUSINESS ON SATURDAY AND BRING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL BACK TO WHITE HART LANE!

Hopefully Martin Jol Wont Be Having A Party!

Sunday sees the final game of the 2011/12 season, and Spurs close proceedings at home to Martin Jols' Fulham. There is unfinished business all over the Premiership, the title isn't decided, 3rd, 4th and 5th isn't decided and the still issues to be sorted out regarding relegation. Off course when the clock hits three the only battle that we will care about is the one for 3rd and 4th. Arsenal play WBA away, a tricky game, and one that Roy Hodgson, in his final match in charge before taking over the England team will not want to lose. Safe to say, this weekend will define the season that Spurs have had.

All we can do is win, and even if we do we are not guaranteed 3rd. If Arsenal win there is no way we can over take them. There is no doubt that at the beginning of the season most fans would have accepted a 4th place finish, and would have been delighted with it. But having been so far ahead in 3rd is 4th really a good finish? The other side of the coin is, given how quickly we were falling, should we be delighted with a top four finish, as it could be far worse? If you asked me when we were twelve points ahead of Arsenal I would have been disappointed with a 4th place finish, but now I would be very pleased with it, and sensibly speaking it would represent a very successful season. Will WBA do us a favour? Possibly is the answer to that one, I wouldn't like to predict. WBA are a good side, with a good manager and it certainly will be an occasion, but Arsenal have a horrible habit of winning when they have to. All we can do is hope WBA and Roy do us a massive favour. Should we finish 4th, I have faith in Bayern Munich, but that's a different story.

Martin Jol is returning to White Hart Lane for the first time since he was dismissed at half time against Gatefe. He has stated in the press this week that he still has love for the fans and for the club, something that is great to hear; part of me still thinks he will return to his rightful place as Spurs boss one day. I'm sure the fans will show Martin how much we appreciated him, but the players must not get caught up in the occasion. It is important that they do the job, and do it well, otherwise we could be stuck in another "lasagne-gate" situation. Jol would not want us to finish outside the top four, although he will not want to lose, and will not set up to lose in any way, he would be gutted if we didn't finish in the top four. Forget listen to what the press say about him wanting revenge, the man is Spurs through and through. I wouldn't expect him to bring out a "I'm glad we lost to them" speech (presuming we win of course) like Houlier did when he lost to Liverpool last season as Jol has more class than that, but as Fulham are secured in having a decent position, I'm sure he will be there to enjoy being reunited with the Spurs faithful. As long as he doesn't enjoy it too much and we take the three points.

Whatever happens this Sunday Match of the Day will be one not to miss. Hopefully this time tomorrow I will be writing about Spurs getting into the Champions League, or at least nearly there and relying on Bayern Munich.

WHO DOES BENNY EKOTTO THINK HE IS?

After a draw against a battling Villa side at the weekend saw us miss the chance to go third, there seems to be more dissenting opinions in the ranks. I will start by saying, the Villa performance was a good one, and ultimately a good point, which leaves with an excellent chance of finishing fourth and still in with a good shout of third. Anyway onto the the main issue at hand. I came home from work today, checked the Spurs news, pretty standard day really. To my surprise, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, the half decent but not very reliable Spurs left back, will be leaving to a "bigger club" in the summer if one comes in for him, and he has a an "agreement" with Daniel Levy to this extent. Not to worry Spurs fans though, as if we invest in the team he may consider staying. I keep checking the date, as I am sure it should be 1st of April with stories like this doing the rounds.

Firstly, if Spurs do invest in the team, after a centre forward, left back has got to be one of the main areas that needs improving. Benny (as he affectionately used to be known) has at times been unreliable this season, there is nothing good about a left back who constantly does Cryuff turns until he has no where else to go. He has put us in danger, and out of anyone in the team he is the one who creates a sense of uncertainty amongst the fans. I would love to say that going forward he was a class player but his crossing is average on a good day, and he hardly ever scores, so i really can't. I hate to agree with Alan Hanson, but he has sussed Benny out completely, the man ain't as good as he thinks he is.

Secondly, he wants to join a bigger club. Now the press are usually good at knowing when a player is attracting interest from other clubs. I don't think it is a coincidence that there has been no links with him going to any other club. Spurs are the eleventh richest club in Europe and consistently playing in Europe, in one way or another, how much bigger can you get? The idea that a top Champions League club would want Benny is laughable. Although I have heard that Mourinho wants him at Real Madrid, as he feels he can just add that little bit extra that they lack with only having Marcelo. He will face stiff competition from Ferguson though, he highly doubts the ability of Patrice Evra and is looking for a replacement.

Of all the players to think they are bigger than the club, Ekotto is not one i thought would be stupid enough to think he is. He should be pleased to have played for a club the size of Spurs, not the other way round. We all knew he was an insufferable w****r when he stated a few years back that he was not proud to play for Spurs, but this the next level up.

So please please please Mr Levy, let him go, obviously he will never go to a big club, but use him as a bargaining chip to bring in Baines, it will take us to the next stage and give us a real chance next season, as we would have a better team from that small change. If we can't find anyone who will take him off our hands, leave him in the reserves, we won't get any money for him anyway. It remains to be seen how the Spurs faithful react to him, but if this is still remembered next season I can see him being on a par with Hossam Ghaly, afterall has he actually done anything different from what the Egyptian did?

What is your opinion on BAE, will you be cheering him on next season or will you be giving him a frosty reception (presuming he isn't playing his home football at the San Siro or the Nou Camp; the only way he will get a Barcelona kit is by buying one off ebay.) ??

Is The Feel Good Factor Finally Back?

After two wins in a week, it is almost difficult to remember the horrific form we were on this time last week. After a professional performance against Blackburn we thrashed Bolton 4 1 on their own patch. The performance was not dissimilar to those earlier in the season, and goals from Modric, Van der Vaart and Adebayor with two gave us all three points. We are back up into fourth, just one point behind Arsenal, who have two potentially tricky games left. On top of that Redknapp is out of the running for the England job and the strain that was placed on the team by him being linked seems to have been lifted. Van der Vaart has made it clear how glad he and the other players are that Redknapp will be sticking around, and if Redknapp can keep Bale, Modric, Van der Vaart and co at the club then even those who remain skeptical about his abilities, myself included, should get behind him, as this summer is a vital one. Hopefully, we can win the last two games and Arsenal slip up, if we finish 3rd, or even 4th and manage to still get into the Champions League then Redknapp has done a good job this season, and as I have always maintained, he should ultimately be judged on our end of season finish. On top of that Walker has signed a new contract keeping him at the club until 2017, and it looks as though Kaboul may be the next to sign a new contract.

So could it finally be that the good times are back at the Lane?