A good friend dropped me a line the other day, out of the blue. He’d not seen me, I’d not been around much online. He said something like, watching Spurs is depressing right now and so many of the people he has spoken to over many years are struggling at the moment. He wondered how I was.
Over the years, I have learned through bitter experience to temper my expectations, but still, once the last shred of hope disappears, it’s time to give up and I’m not ready for that. That’s the essence of being a fan, regardless of which club you support. Fans will tolerate almost anything if they have something to believe in. I’m a fan. I watch the game, support the team, love the shirt, regardless. But faith has been elusive lately. Reach out to replenish fast-diminishing reserves, only to find it’s slipped through your fingers.
Peaks and troughs of emotion are familiar to every football fan, comforting even, although most are loathe to admit it, because it’s fundamental to being a supporter. Explaining this to the uninitiated provokes two reactions in my experience, first, blank uncomprehending, then a silent search for other character deficiencies. But we believers know, without pain there is no true joy. Or so we kid ourselves.
At Spurs though, this season is wringing out a whole variety of emotions, match by match, frequently minute by minute. Never in my memory have we been through so much, so often, so quickly and, I’m sad to say, so repetitively. Dazzling attacking football followed by crass defending. The ability to slice through any defence, the inability to accurately pass the ball 10 yards. The foundations of team building destroyed by a quake of injuries. Manchester United and Fraser Forster.
We gasp at the attacking brilliance and the potential it holds for a bright future. We despair at how easily Spurs can throw it all away in a microsecond. It makes us angry, so many take it out on individual players, the manager comes in for heavy criticism, as does the board. We take it out on each other, whinging on social media or knocking bits out of other fans. Yesterday, stewards piled in at the end of the game to separate battling Spurs fans in the South Stand. Other fans pontificating that if we’re not Levy Out, we’re part of the problem. I’ve been going for 55 years, really, I’m not.
Yesterday was my first game back at the Lane since Qarabag, my longest single absence since 1969. I missed games when the kids were young but never over such a long period. My new knee is fine. Turns out it sets off the stadium security sensors, so getting in was fun.
Being there is my way of relating to Spurs. There are many other ways equally as meaningful. In fact, as I’ve said before, there’s more considered analysis from people who see the game on TV. But this is my way, and it’s important to me as an individual. It’s about who I am.
There was a stark and sobering difference in mood between the two games. Qarabag was upbeat and optimistic. We won easily, plus the lower prices and greater availability of tickets meant there were many Spurs fans, including family groups, who are not regulars, for whom the game was a real occasion. Yesterday, although the atmosphere wasn’t dire, disappointment and apathy were never far away. When Wolves equalised, there was little anger, just a collective shrug in the South Stand. Nobody joined the chant from the Levy Outers at the back. A forlorn lone black balloon drifted in the wind, as aimless as our defending.
It’s difficult to see the way forward through the fog of disappointment and the footballing contradictions that cloud our perceptions, so we watch the game and we’re not sure exactly what we’re seeing, let alone make sense of it. By this point, a season and a half of Ange, I thought we would be further on than we are and it’s hard to shake that feeling, even though some of the reasons are beyond his control.
Another confounding factor is my exposure to more punditry than I usually consume because I’ve watched the games on television. Despite my determined efforts to avoid it (rule one: on no account listen on any pre- and post-match chat on TNT, rule two: ignore Jamie Redknapp), the Spurs Narrative is impossible to ignore. Spurs high-line, Ange never changes tactics, Ange is an idiot because he does not always conform to the expectations and prejudices of proper Football Men.
The players are knackered and so are we. I can’t pretend the mists have cleared completely, but I’ve not posted for a while so let’s catch up. Some issues are structural, and therefore embedded, others are situational with a (hopefully) short-term impact and (hopefully) practical solutions.
Spurs are victims of many years of mismanagement from a board unable and at times apparently unwilling, to define and implement a coherent, long-term footballing strategy leading to success on the pitch. More than mere changes of manager, the churn of playing styles and tactics and the associated transfer policies created long-term instability. Success or failure at any football club revolves around the relationship between three elements: the coach/manager, recruitment and finance. Since 2000, these have seldom aligned effectively. It’s the job of the chairman to make this happen, and he has failed. He speaks with pride about taking no notice of criticism, thus denying that some of this is constructive and that constructive criticism is the foundation of positive change. He speaks glibly of being the club custodian and of the club DNA, without either grasping what this means or understanding how to create, let alone implement, a strategy worthy of these laudable ambitions, indeed worthy of the club’s rich heritage.
Ange has inherited this burden. It’s not his fault but he can’t escape it. One League Cup in two decades. A misshapen squad, the legacy of JM and Conte, the quicksand in danger of sucking him down, as it has done for several of his predecessors.
Also, the disconnect between club and supporters has widened, again through the board’s neglect. If you build it, we will come, but it’s sodding expensive. Fans try to resolve the equation. High prices, no success. The stadium makes us rich and self-sufficient, no success. It makes the chairman rich, but there are no new senior concessions because to grant them would potentially undermine the club’s ability to challenge the best. Recently, some informal fan groups have stated how hard it is to work with the club and will not do so in the future because straightforward requests designed to improve the atmosphere have been stifled. These things may sound intangible but they build up, lowering the threshold of tolerance and in the end, it’s support for the team that the board’s actions impinge upon.
Then there’s structure and Ange. Mythbusting – go. Spurs are infuriating but not inconsistent. Basically, we play well and score goals if teams let us play. Very different teams and styles, but in this sense, City and Saints, the same. If sides press high and cut down our time and space, at the moment we’re not good enough to find a way out every time.
Also, underlying inconsistency is a lack of experience, confidence and nouse to find a way forward. Sometimes we overcome problems like this, often we can’t. We don’t have that steel, that resilience. That’s actually normal for a developing team, which is what we are. It’s not hindsight in my case to say our transfer policy should have added some experienced players in key central positions, someone with mental strength who has been there and done that, who can show our young talent the way. Players with the leadership qualities we sorely lack.
Ange doesn’t change tactics – not so. Although he plays up to this image, yesterday’s game showed how he adapts. Our first half press was decent, although how the players summoned up the energy for it I don’t know. Biss and Bentancur kept the central midfield under control. Second half, we tired and dropped into a lower block. He brought on subs early to sustain energy levels as best we can, given the current workload. It meant for boring football but it was a pragmatic response to the state of the game, and hardly flat out attacking.
What I’ve grandly called a situational factor is the injury crisis. Ange’s fault through overwork? Hamstring injuries plague the PL, while Brentford have ten players injured but the media do not appear to be blaming Frank. However, hindsight here, but the decision to risk VDV and Romero for the CFC game appears to be a big mistake with lasting consequences.
I don’t know what else we can do at the moment. You can sense the desperation as I type, can’t you. Our squad is not ready to be effective across four competitions. We’ve not got to know Odobert yet but his injury plus Werner’s unreliability undermines one improvement planned for this season, the addition of players who can beat a man and therefore expose packed defences. Another stifled change is our pressing game, effective earlier this season but again undermined by tired legs. Our defence can be wide open but pressing is all about defending, and that option is not often available now.
So Ange turned to the low/mid block yesterday, but we’re not good at that. This is in part about coaching, in part because we don’t really have midfield players keen and able to prioritise defending. At the risk of sounding reactionary, I have asked in the past for at least one defensively minded midfielder to fill the gap that often appears in front of our vulnerable back four and to work that double pivot that strengthens the team. We’re not ready to match Ange’s ambitions without them.
So to draw breath. Having decried the board’s ability to plan for success, the past year has seen us create that strategy, with Lange in charge of football matters and recruitment. Going for younger players has exposed the faults in the squad but augers well for the future. Painful rebuilds really hurt.
I see no point in changing manager now. We don’t know how good he can be if he has half his squad injured. We have been too open in the past but he has responded, I don’t see what significant improvements he can make at the moment, although that may change in a couple of weeks as the transfer window unfolds.
As ever, though, Levy has the final word. Will he stay resolute if we lose to Liverpool and Arsenal? History suggests he’ll fold. We have a plan at long last. Let’s see if the board are wedded to it.
TOTTENHAM ON MY MIND 
Another well written piece Alan.
Like most Spurs fans I am deeply frustrated at the current situation. We seem to have more false dawns than any other club. When you look back at our last 25 years (25 years and 10 months to stretch a point) we have won 2 League Cups and nothing else.
Ironically both cups were won by sides under the management of 2 of the less highly regarded of the long list of occupants of the post in that time. Other fan favourites (Poch, Harry, Martin Jol) did not achieve any silverware. Ange is of that ilk too in his likeability. The two high achievers at their other clubs (Mourinho and Conte) also fell by the wayside. Conte threatening to spontaneously combust in frustration at times during his tenure. But most of these were present during the Chairmanship of Daniel Levy.
Levy has led the club into a fantastic new stadium and a world class training facility. As a fan he has championed what we all want to see in free flowing attacking football, and at times through most of Poch’s reign we got that and were so close to breaking through the glass ceiling to sustained success.
But I still feel that for Levy and the board our stadium also represents such a moneyspinner in NFL, Boxing and as a concert venue that success on the pitch for our club is less important than they’d like to admit. Spurs as a club are on such a sound financial footing now that the impetus of cups and god forbid championship success is not at the top of their wish list. We seem to be poisoned at the very heart of the club. Our top players have gone elsewhere and won things and some of our managers have too. I think the club needs new faces at the top in order to return to anything like past successes in the 60’s, early 70’s and 80’s.
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Alan
Thanks for the insight – I wish we could see out the season with current coach but history suggests the expected walloping by Liverpool & Arsenal in the next 3 weeks will put that idea to bed.
For me, the big revelation is that this is the season where I’ve become estranged from many Tottenham fans and in turn this impacts my love of the club. I used to think embracing Spurs was a badge of honour but the inconsistency of performances has shown the less than savoury side to them. The entitlement, racism (particularly anti-Asian & Islamophobic) and scapegoating by Spurs fans, online and in the stadium have all detracted from my lifetime commitment to support, backing coaches & players, of Tottenham Hotspur.
I realise not all Spurs fans are like this but even in the critique of Ange, I detect his origins are not welcome. As of now I don’t expect to be back, my health is deteriorating inexplicably and the energy reserves for a 800 mile return trip are declining. I wish it was a period before social media but Spurs are not a fun distraction from a world going to hell, and I need that.
Sean
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Alan
Thanks for the insight – I wish we could see out the season with current coach but history suggests the expected walloping by Liverpool & Arsenal in the next 3 weeks will put that idea to bed.
For me, the big revelation is that this is the season where I’ve become estranged from many Tottenham fans and in turn this impacts my love of the club. I used to think embracing Spurs was a badge of honour but the inconsistency of performances has shown the less than savoury side to them. The entitlement, racism (particularly anti-Asian & Islamophobic) and scapegoating by Spurs fans, online and in the stadium have all detracted from my lifetime commitment to support, backing coaches & players, of Tottenham Hotspur.
I realise not all Spurs fans are like this but even in the critique of Ange, I detect his origins are not welcome. As of now I don’t expect to be back, my health is deteriorating inexplicably and the energy reserves for a 800 mile return trip are declining. I wish it was a period before social media but Spurs are not a fun distraction from a world going to hell, and I need that.
Sean
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Hi Alan, most of the time I agree 100% with your opinions and other times you open up different perspectives that I’d never considered and which help me understand this complicated ball of mess called THFC. But here I must disagree with you about Postecoglou. Maybe because it’s my grumpy mood after another dismal performance but it’s time for the guy to be moved on. Of course he has had a dreadful run of injuries that’s robbed him of options and choices, but that’s part of his shortcomings : he’s not very good at changing things. And even though he’s been denied a few first picks, much of the team we see each week would be on the team sheet as well so we are not exactly shorn of talent in the way he suggests. I finally gave up on him after the Liverpool game. Watching the carnage, I thought “my team is better than this”, but the players are not being given the chance to perform to their fullest. One assumes that before the game AP would ask himself, “how can I make this difficult for the opposition?”, but you’d never guess it from the team he selected or the way they were set up. AP tells us that the fans and club would rather have it that way. But I suggest he’s wrong. I think the fans would settle for a few ugly 1-0 wins just to get us over the injury hump. But he sends out an attacking team against Liverpool with a midfield so lightweight and our tactics are so predictable that we ran into a combine harvester. And he doesn’t change for the next match or the next one. Teams today just lie in wait for us and we give them what they want. We’ve been ambushed so often that the team should arrive at matches in a covered wagon.
Much of the damage is self-inflicted. We still haven’t replaced the midfielders we sold this year. And we have bought a few teenagers that aren’t quite ready for prime time. AP tells us that he has to change an aging squad. But there has been no attempt to balance that with experienced talent who can get us through tough times. So much for our new footballing hierarchy. I fear that Levy will hang onto AP until the end of a disappointing season and then can him. But what’s it come to when we regard Ipswich, Palace, Bournemouth, Fulham, as tough games? That’s the yardstick AP should be measured against. A lousy year has ended with our team even worse off than when AP arrived.
Can I end on an optimistic note? I wasn’t impressed with the early appearances of Archie Gray. He looked overwhelmed and lacking in confidence. But his performances as an emergency centre back have been excellent, given the circumstances. He’s by no means faultless but he’s got on with it with minimum fuss and drama. Well done, Archie!
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Hi Alan. Thanks for writing, as always. Correct me if I’m mistaken but weren’t there calls for Arteta to be sacked early on in his tenure down the road? Doesn’t Ange deserve 3 full years? Assuming he doesn’t lose the locker room & Levy supports him (big/hopeful assumptions I admit), he needs time to build his program. Regardless, I love watching Spurs even when my heart gets broken (like yesterday). It’s is my second best distraction (after my grandson) from the front page I’m traveling 3,500 miles with my mates to see Spurs host Newcastle on Saturday. Best to you and your loved ones for a healthy 2025. COYS!! Michael (Philadelphia, USA)
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Nice post, Philly! My fave town in US is north of Philly, in Bucks County, Doylestown. My best pal and one of my bros have visited the “lane” recently, so they’ve done that long trip, too. Ashley from Newport, Wales, now in LA! COYS
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Doylestown is lovely! And Bucks County is my happy place for road cycling! Thanks for commenting & best wishes. COYS
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Alan
As ever, you put more eloquently than most of us can what so many of us are thinking.
I personally feel that the team’s fundamental style problem is the lack of a defensive midfielder. Whether that is as part of a double pivot to retain the creative build up element of our deepest midfielder I don’t know. That will be down to personnel and there’s only one Rodri. I like to dream that Gray will turn into his equivalent one day but until then both roles are important (stopping opposition attacks, starting our own) and as you say our midfield only seems capable of having the ball, not being without it.
I continue to go to most matches although after four matches in December I felt I needed a mental break. Hopefully the passion will come back and the gods will bless us with kind FA Cup and Europa League draws. That’s basically what Ange needs to pray for now.
All the best
Matt
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Well written; well-argued. If Levy sacks Ange, which he shouldn’t, then he ought to go himself. He chooses the managers, he fails to understand that each new manager has a need for different players and that need calls for reorganisation. This he expects to be achieved with maximum economy and minimum disruption: he is dissociated from reality, rather like the Tories were, in a world where money rules over all else, including sympathy for supporters, especially if they’re not rich ones.
Brian
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Excellent, many good points made, I also don’t want to see Ange out, as it would just be yet another reset taking us backwards. We must be patient, a rebuild takes at least 3 transfer windows, and probably more.
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Maybe the best place to start is just by pointing out our current situation. Virtually our entire first choice defence is missing. The idea that’s not going to have a major impact is frankly ridiculous. The truly scary bit is we aren’t the only club with this kind of injury crisis. Many fans like to pretend sports science is rubbish and players can play an unlimited number of games and maintain their level. This is mindless drivel. The game is being destroyed by overplaying players.
Given the situation I would suggest our focus realistically changes from the league to the Europa. I find it hard to see how we can get top four from here and as long as you don’t get relegated I would argue you are most of the time better off out of Europe if you can’t get champions league. So I’m not agonising over our league placing. While winning the Europa is a long shot it is still possible. If we can hang in there long enough to get our players back there is still the possibility of going into the later stages with something like a fit squad.
I find it hard to make any sensible comment on where we are going while we are playing with half a team. I will say I was much happier with the Liverpool game (where we kept fighting against the best team I’ve seen this season) than Chelsea where we basically committed suicide when we should have won.
The great thing about the “sack the manager” school of thought is they never tell you who the replacement is going to be, funny that.
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Not my candidates, as I would like to have Ange see out the season, but names coming up — Mason, Potter, another ex-Spur McKenna, or out of left field—entice back Poch from here in America. WASH. RINSE. REPEAT? I sure hope not.
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if Ange was gone I wouldn’t mind Andoni Iroala, the Bournemouth manager, I think he is doing great with lower budget and young players, able to play pressing football as well as he pragmatic and organised, and would know how to get best out of Solanke
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I belong to the ‘sack the manager’ school of thought and think Postecoglou should go and wouldn’t mind Terzic as his replacement. AP has been tried and tested and found wanting. His numbers scream failure and his approach was leaking goals and points in the first half of ’24 well before the injuries arrived. Admittedly he’s been dealt a bad hand with the recent injuries but his inability to adapt his selections and tactics during this season have contributed to a wretched first half of this season (seven wins, ten losses, ye Gods) . He’s been here long enough and this will be his fourth transfer window so he’s running out of excuses. Sorry to say but Mourinho and Conte also failed to break through the curse of Levy and they are better managers than AP ever will be. If he goes he’ll be in good company. I don’t enjoy writing this but I think change must come. I can’t face another year or more of this smell of defeat he brings.
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Alan,
Lovely, thought-provoking post, bordering on humanitarianism perhaps?
However there are some of your points that I would wish to discuss further, take issue with perhaps.
Firstly though I have to agree that Levy’s involvement in football matters has been nothing short of disastrous with only Poch being the one exception. I have no doubt that he has been poorly advised along the way but even so…
On the subject of advisors where is Scott Munn?
From a 06/2024 post “Scott Munn is one of the many recent additions to the Spurs boardroom, here is everything you need to know about Tottenham’s Chief Football Officer”.
Munn is not mentioned on the Club’s website (investor relations-board of directors) neither does he appear on the Premier League’s list of directors for the club.
Is this a foretaste of AP’s future?
You have referred to Ange’s low/mid block on Sunday. I saw that not as a block but simply the 4-2-3-1 playing deeper.
A true block would be, for example, 5-3-2 i.e. Dorrington added to the back line then Sarr, Bentancur & Bissouma, perhaps Solanke & Kulusevski up front, no wide players & no Maddison. In transition this can be 3-4-3 which would ably support counter attacking. Unfortunately this option was not apparent to Postecoglou.
Having studied our average team positions (Sofascore) so far, more often than not we morph into 2-4-4 and our problems seem to arise when the two lines of 4 are flat and therefore easier to defend against and penetrate. Sunday was the latest example of this with only Bentancur spending more time in the opposition half.
Then there’s our growing list of ‘injurious basterds’ as I like to call them, Udogie being the latest victim. I do not believe these are coincidental but a direct result of ‘Angeball’ (see my previous posts) and I expect the situation to continue next year. If I’m wrong I will be happy to admit so and change my view.
Lastly, it is my wish that Postecoglou is removed ASAP before he does permanent damage to the squad but I do accept that, at this point, it may not be propitious to do so. I’m praying that the next appointee will be a Head coach not a manger, someone who wears a tracksuit in the dugout and not a suit, someone with experience at a high level and a shrewd tactician. I’ve had my fill of so-called managers.
Happy New Year Alan & to everyone on the blog.
Hibberni.
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Hi Alan. Your articles are always so interesting , your command of English a pleasure to read…I enjoy what you have to say, I don’t always agree with you, but often do, you present a very balanced and thoughtful view. Keep up the good work! Wshing you and our great Club all the best for 2025. Alan C Supporter since the mid 50s (Now, In Switzerland)
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Hi Alan. Your articles are always so interesting , your command of English a pleasure to read…I enjoy what you have to say, I don’t always agree with you, but often do, you present a very balanced and thoughtful view. Keep up the good work! Wshing you and our great Club all the best for 2025. Alan C Supporter since the mid 50s (Now, In Switzerland)
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Well balanced as always. Thank you. Healthy & happy new year to you and your loved ones. Ivor Haskins.
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“we don’t really have midfield players keen and able to prioritise defending”…thanks for that Alan
I think therein lies our problem in terms of landing silverware…we are the worst offenders for the past 20 years in terms of marking while facing our own goal.
I think what Jurgen prioritised at LiVAR ) was having 3 defensively minded DMs (one DM is easily bypassed by a simple sideways pass to a mate- even 70 year old mates can accomplish that).
However, Jurgen’s DMs have the profile of being also quite good in the transition and attacking phase. Data driven recruitment can get you such.
If your game stinks with such a set-up, the worse that can happen is a draw game.
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I think both coaching and owners have to take responsibility in what is happening atm, Levy for not providing adequate/enough players that can improve the squad if players are injured or suspended which happens a lot throughout a season. The fact we basically had the same squad as last season except for Solanke, with a few U20 players bought that AP himself said are only playing more than he would have liked bc of injuries etc. That to mean would indicate that we were always going to buy this window, or AP and Levy thought Solanke would be enough to get us top 4 and a cup, even though we got rid of fringe players, and have extra games in Europe this term. The squad has very little depth, no competition and in Europe not enough players to play in defence, not adding Spence or Regulion to that 25 man squad meant udogie/Porro were most likely playing,one getting a rest while Gray filled on, plus either VdV or Cuti would have to play as only one CB, if Ben Davies was LB, either way no thought went into the fact that injuries/suspensions happen. Recruitment over past while been bad too, how many youths have been bought but sent out on loan repeatedly and then sold as not good enough for the manager like Jack Clarke, Sessegnon, Bryan Gil. Buying youth is ok, but there has to be a time when you either give them a chance or it’s pointless. Buying 23 yr old established players makes more sense, yes may cost little extra but at least there’s the fact they can play straight away. Also how many players bought get injured? I talked to an Everton fan when we bought Richarlson and he couldn’t believe they got £60m for him, he was not an established goalscorer, decent but not £60m worth, especially with his injury history which is insane if you ever look it up, our scouts obvs didn’t. Lo celso said he was never given enough game time, when fit, to get used to English game and found it odd he was always loaned out to Spain, Gil said he not like English weather so plays better in Spain, Parrott is thriving in Holland, we sold him for peanuts.
then there’s the Poch era, some fans for some reason were anti Poch when he left, as they would say he not win anything, but neither did many, many others before him and after him. But what he did do was give us believe and hope we could win the league, and be finalists in the big cups. It was a joy to be a spurs fan then, first time in my life anyways I genuinely thought we could win the league and we almost did, twice. But then he needed help from Levy, the squad was ageing and players were moved on without been replaced properly but no help came, instead we went backwards rather than forwards. Ferguson once said “if you win your home games, beat the teams you are expected to beat, and can get points away at the bigger teams or rivals then you should have enough points to be challenging for titles, you need to win 25-30 games for title contenders”, Poch believed this too. Most top managers do too. You also can’t win league without a good defence but that defence needs a solid mf to protect it, we don’t have that at the moment and it shows each week.
AP may be stubborn in his ways but he must know that he can’t win the league playing this way, it’s not the same as other leagues he has managed in. He also has to try make someone a DCM or it’s pointless, without our main defenders it’s just gung ho and hope we outscore the opposition.
finally Mr Levy, are you a Spurs fan? If so surely you want your team to win titles regardless of anything else like spending and extra £5m to get player needed/wanted by the manager, or use every penny we can to get a bigger squad that can play now. I find it hard to believe when he was younger he didn’t care about trophy’s or were spurs were in the league so why change. I can only imagine the big 6 clubs owners/chairmen sitting around a table with them all bragging about their trophy’s won while Levy sits there smug faced and says, “yeah but how many of you have money rolling in for your shareholders and are as sustainable as us with our many stadium awards?” Cue the laughter from other chairmen saying what’s the point having money if nothing to show for it in your great stadium….
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Maybe I’m not understanding the rules but as I understand it you are only allowed to spend what you earn and are limited to a squad of 25 players plus youth players. None of this appears in some of the comments where Levy has an unlimited budget he is not spending. If the debate is unhinged from the real world what purpose does it serve ?
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At last, a fellow pragmatist…
Hibberni
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We can buy at least 4 new players this window, or up to 6 if Regulion and Richarlson leave, or as many players u21 as we like. We have some funds to spend, not unlimited obviously but there is room for some spending.
The problem I have with Levy apart from the fact Spurs ticket prices are expensive and loyalty to older/seniors fans is now gone, he doesn’t listen to supporters club reps when asked about future/direction of club, there seems to be no connection between fans and the board at all, or his ambition does not match the managers in the past, most notably Jose who got fired before a cup final bc he wanted to rest players Vs Southampton for said final but Levy wanted top 4, A manager who up to then never lost a final, I hate the fact that we have no trophy in 16 years, nice to be in CL for a bit but having West ham/Leicester City plus any other top 6 fan having last laugh about having won a cup more recent than us,but the fact that he hires bad recruitment people, since we seem to buy the “next big player” or a player who had one great season and we overpay for him only for it to backfire, it seems we get it right with 1 player out of every 7, Kulu being the best player of recent mind. Too many times have we bought average players rather than get better ones for a little bit more money, like Suarez, Grealish, Watkins all players that were offered to us but levy said no as too expensive, Watkins was £17m, Grealish about £25m and Suarez was less, all thrived with other clubs. We also don’t replace players with like for like, Dembele, Walker, Tripper, Erikson, Alli and Kane. I admit Kane be hard to replace but we not have a striker for last season unless Richarlson was meant to be it, but if our recruitment looked at his goals ring and injury record would know he be missing a lot and not prolific. I know we do spend money, we need to, but we do make a lot of money too, £100m per yr on gates alone, one of the most revenue of any premier club, with low player wages, which I completely agree with, no player should earn more money per week than the average Joe would take decades to earn. We have been dealt a lot of injuries and suspension this season but it actually shows how bad our lack of depth plus competition is for our team. Yes I know a painful rebuild was/is needed but it should have been done while we still had Poch, he shown he could build a squad capable of at least competing for titles but we didn’t we sacked him. I also get that it’s not easy to buy players and them be successful each time but our ambition needs to be across the board, we don’t need marquee signings just players who improve the team, Liverpool bought two, VvD and McAllister, rest were not overly expensive but they improved the team. I’m not asking for Enic or Levy to go sell the club, mainly bc could be lot worse with dif owners but just that Levy steps back and let’s a football brain take over, we are successfully sustainable with great stadium and training facilities, he has done his part, now time to let it show on the pitch and give reins to someone else, City, Arsenal, Chelsea etc all have ex football directors and it seems to work, how about we try it.
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Pauleiffe,
Most of our injured players are slated to return during the window…
premierinjuries.com/tottenham-hotspur
It doesn’t make any sense to buy four players who will become excess baggage and potentially block our younger players from decent game time.
Kinsky makes sense due to the severity of Vicario’s injury.
Hibberni.
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Was saying we COULD buy 4, since Anonymous asked about a 25 man squad, not that we SHOULD buy 4, (4 is also what is being reported in every blooming article I read lately)however the need for more depth is apparent, injured players can come back but they can also get injured again long term, like in the Chelsea game. Richarlson might be going, and continually gets injured, Odobert looks long term too. It also seems we do need another CB as Radu is not good enough, plus playing players out of position is not helping, young or not,. We can always buy youth players too, we need a Dmf too, wether Biss is meant to be or not, I’m not convinced. When the injured do come back, the team will still be tired as playing every 3 days so depth is a must in certain areas. Having Gray play most of Jan every 3 days out of position can be gruesome on his development too. If you are 100% happy with our squad when fully fit and feel no new additions are needed to improve/add depth/ add competition for certain areas then that’s ok. I feel if a player can be got in Jan that helps/improve the team then go for it.
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Liverpool
At last something positive to comment on and not just because of the result.
A quick look at the team’s average position on SofaScore confirmed my general view of the match which was:
1 We were better at getting back into defensive positions i.e. behind the ball and
2 The main thrust of our attack was through our left wing area which I assume was a tactical decision.
I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of sustained game time for our younger players and those who would almost certainly be on the bench in normal circumstances. Their performances last night & over recent weeks, including Radu’s who has never played in a high line defense before, bode well for the future of the squad.
On a slightly negative note I felt that Kulu & Dom were looking tired. I hope AP rests them on Sunday.
On the transfer front I think we have room for one more foreign player (there are 4 more currently on loan).
Hibberni
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Given we’ve had to leave Spence out of the European squad I’m pretty sure anyone we bought now wouldn’t be able to play in the Europa. That assumes there are players out there who are good enough to improve the squad and are affordable, available and want to play for us. Since these players are never named it’s debatable if they actually exist. I was impressed with our new keeper. To get his work permit on the Monday and put in a performance on the Tuesday shows some bottle.
It’s not surprising that if a young player gets game time he improves, but obviously a lot of fans think only of the current situation not the longer term impacts.
One small bonus with beating Liverpool is the fact we’ve got a month until we go to Anfield, so possibly a stronger team.
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As ever, thanks for taking the time to open the door to your Tottenham grey matter. Always the best read about Spurs.
The way forward? I’d take sideways. February will be a critical point for the Ange era. The cup draws are ridiculous : Liverpool away and two days later Villa. I’m trying to give up applying logic to the potential outcome of our games, given this season, but old habits die hard. I can’t see us beating Liverpool. A single goal advantage won’t be enough. To go to Villa so soon after what will have been a demanding game, win or lose, is pushing it given how knackered some of our players look and match fitness being an issue for returnees. To lose both wouldn’t be a disgrace but it won’t go down well against the backdrop of some of our dismal performances in the league. Win one or both(!) and Ange buys his era more time, but it won’t really matter. He’s just a roughly average manager, as the stats of his tenure demonstrate and irrespective of the injury crisis…questions about which need to be asked. Finding the way forward for Tottenham doesn’t lie within his capability. I’m not anti-Ange. I’m pro progress.
The reasons for this rollercoaster of a season are myriad, complex and partly historical. But Tamworth? Seriously? We couldn’t unstitch them in 90 minutes? So the usual question: players or manager at fault, or a bit of both? Ultimately Tamworth speaks to just how blunt we can be and how lacking in game-changing solutions Ange is when faced with an unobliging team.
Does anyone really think he’s the answer to the Tottenham paradox? Did we ever? When he arrived I just thought he was a Nuno appointment – we couldn’t get anyone top tier, so signed the best of the rest. Of course what I do know, given Forest’s brilliant season so far? Maybe that tells us something about our own club’s set up?
No manager is a saviour, alone. We all know that they need time, investment, support, and to be lucky. Beyond that lies their actual ability to work with what’s available and to evolve a team. That hasn’t happened since Poch, although the business of Tottenham has obviously made huge strides forward. Maybe Levy should be our manager? What we need to see is progress on the pitch and to sustain it. What I now see in Ange is a manager who does not learn. It’s not the losing that hurts, or even the hope any more. It’s the repetition of the same issues. In an era defined by inconsistency that’s where we’re consistent.
Paradoxically I think we’re all excited by the young talent coming through: Gray, Bergvall, Moore, Lankshear, Vuskovic and maybe Veliz? (I’m not on the Spence train, but I’d love him to prove me wrong). There’s an exciting future awaiting them. I just hope they’ll grow with us and that the next manager to drink from the Levy chalice is actually on the up, rather than a has-been resting on laurels or someone who’s just last-man-standing. Vorsrpung durch Tottenham!
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Arsenal game, another defeat, another reason to look behind us and hope teams below don’t start winning as if we lose against Everton, beat Leicester but lose against Brentford then we could be too close to bottom 3 than we would like to think. Yes we will get injured players back but the ones who are playing every 3 days look out of energy, as proven in tonights game, and will they get energy back when our defence returns, I’m not so sure how. I was not expecting us to beat Arse, a draw was looking more likely, but was expecting more fight, more passion, more energy but none of the above. Arse didn’t play great, just better than our below average. After every defeat it’s the same, just not good enough to win, including Vs Tamworth. My only hope for this season is that the players are well up for a cup and that will save the season but for Ange, I’m not so sure he will be around if we lose at the wkend, not sure Levy’s patience will hold out if no wins in 6/7 prem games and too far from European places..
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‘Slip Slidin’ Away’
A six pointer on Sunday methinks.
Current rate of return is 1.14 points per match and any thoughts of European football next season by way of the EPL have vanished.
Apologies for the doom and gloom but it is what it is.
Hibberni.
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doom and gloom is right, in our current form I can’t see us winning many remaining matches, but will probably lose at least 7/8 more, with City, United at home, but Chelsea, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Fulham away with also tricky matches of Wolves away, Forrest, Brighton, west ham away and Bournemouth to play. Bournemouth btw beat Newcastle away with 11 players injured, majority are first team players and have had injuries throughout as well as Brentford but seem to pick up points regardless. I know we have more games with Europe and cup run than them but goes to show it can be done when played dif formations and pragmatic when needed. I do like Andoni Iroala as a manager so if Ange was to go in summer, (which is something that is been rumoured in multiple media outlets,as Spurs board don’t wanna fire him during season as don’t want to hire mid season but may re-evaluate in summer) I would go for Andoni over Terzic, who may be the one they go for.
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Is it mad that my head is now thinking “all we need is 6 more wins to avoid relegation” which was laughable 6 months ago but here we are. I’m trying to get to the 6 weeks can beat on current form, Leicester, Southampton, then maybe Wolves, Ipswich, Crystal palace/ west ham but then after that I’m struggling. Plus I keep hearing ” once our injuries are over we be fine, we will win matches then” however the fact remains that we may be getting players back slowly but more are getting injured in the meantime, pushing the time from end of Jan to now mid/end of Feb for fit squad with more out. So presuming no more injuries from mid Feb be great but it’s not guaranteed that recurring ones don’t happen either. I getting tired of players saying after matches that it’s ‘unacceptable’ or it’s ‘disappointing’ almost reading from same page each week. Do the players still have Anges back? Can’t tell for sure, but we don’t seem to play until last 15mins of matches and by then too late.
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i hate my autocorrect, so may typos, meant to say 6 we can win, not 6 weeks.
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Everton.
Having proposed (on numerous occasions) a change in formation to 3-5-2 our “manager” decided to introduce said change yesterday.
However, what is not required of 3-5-2 is to continue to play a high line, in this case the half-way line, with none of our players in a position to defend against an opposition break! With 5 players in mid-field there is simply no need to commit a further three.
Whether this was a clear instruction from our manager or a misunderstanding on behalf of our players remains to be seen.
That said, Sonny was presented with two clear chances to score in the first half…
Werner, Johnson & now Solanke have been added to our injury list and I wonder how much longer this farce has to run.
Hibberni.
P.S. Could this be the season where the number of injuries exceeds our points total.
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Omlette on the face of Levi or “we’ve got our Spurs back”.
There’s an interesting post on CIES Football Observatory…Player trading results since 2015.
We are number 5 (-£311) for those clubs with the highest negative balance.
This is almost certainly a result of the woeful choice of managers and so-called football advisory staff the exceptions being Poch & Paratici of whom the latter, I am prepared to guarantee, will be re-instated once his FIFA ban finishes.
You would have thought that an astute personage as Daniel Levi would have learnt by now from his catalogue of previous disasters. Unfortunately Daniel’s current incumbent tells a different story.
HIbberni.
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Hearing in multiple media outlets that some Spurs players are becoming ‘frustrated by Ange training regimes’ as they are still too intense and are taking a lot out of the players who are already pushed to their limits by being overplayed due to injuries and no rotation, resulting in our lacklustre displays past few matches. Also many more are ‘disgruntled’ with the fact that Ange has them staying overnight in hotels before matches, regardless of how close they are to stadium or who they playing, not sure if it’s just away matches but the assumption is that it’s all matches as reports also state that the players personal life’s are being effected, not sure if any true or not but the training one prob makes sense.
Another rumoured story is Romero wants to leave in summer, he wants to be with a team competing in CL and trophies each year and also states he has newborn recently so wants spend time with them too.
Madison has given up hope of playing for England again as feels better players in his position so does not feel he will get picked over them. Could this be a result of his drop off lately, but he also not played each week neither so could be more as other stories are saying he also wants to leave.
Also reading what I presume is usual click bait is that Spurs are finding it extremely difficult to get any signings in as most they are looking at have different preferences and do not want to play for us, wether it be lack of trophy ambition or where we are in table, one report even states some don’t want to join as may get injured which is hilarious if true. Most saying that any transfers will be in summer (J David, Bastoni, Angel Gomez, striker and a defence mid) as there is speculation that Ange will be let go/reviewed in summer and new manager brought in that will still play progressive attacking football but can adapt better to players missing and adapt to EPL.
Majority of what I read is obviously nonsense, (I read a lot of online crap) but one thing I can say is everyone saying Ange will be given help and people put in place around him to get out of rut and succeed, but this in every report for past two weeks and I still have no idea what people or what help he has been given. Maybe the help is time and the people are the returning players? If so just say that.
I am at a stage though where I’m trying to figure out who we can beat and hoping we get back to one match a week soon as it can’t go on as too many are getting injured, mistakes have been made by both manager and board but Ange has to be responsible for not rotating with Spence earlier in season and not picking him in Europa league, as well as not using Sergio regulion as to help ease the fatigue on Porro, udogie in recent times but we know stubbornness always wins.
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no doubt about it, we are in a relegation fight from here until we can get to 40+ points. I genuinely thought we could beat this Leicester team, but I was wrong, now I don’t think we can beat anyone. Yes we will get defence back but by then rest of players be either knackered or injured and does not look like Levy adding to to squad. We have 15 games left and need to win 6 to stay up, or hope 3 teams below us don’t overtake us, and we still have very tough games home and away out of those remaining games. We have no right to beat anyone, even with a fit squad, as was shown versus Crystal palace and Ipswich, even against Leicester away,…so until we are safe, I’ll be having sleepless nights. Can’t see us beating Liverpool nor Villa and Europa league still has teams playing better than us right now so looks like another trophyless season..
sorry for the pessimistic views but constant loses against teams we should be beating us not good for us.
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A lot has been written here which l agree with, but Ange must stay we need to get a full squad back and then measure our success rate going forward, Kane leaving hurt us a lot but we still have enough here to do something. Ange needs time and luck which are both in short supply, forget this season we won’t win anything and if anyone thinks we can win the Europa League Cup they are in fantasy island. I am please to see our younger players and hope they get more opportunities because that is where we will come good. Next season we need to start strong adjust to each game and keep the likes of Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal guessing as to who we play and where. This season is about working out our weaknesses be it midfield, up front or defence. COYS.
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