Spurs New Stadium – The Public Speaks

January 13, 2011January 20, 2011 / Alan / 88 Comments

Being a football fan in the 21^st century is an increasingly complex undertaking. The essence of game is mercifully unchanging, that heady brew of sweat and toil, undying passion and exquisite skill which creates this uniquely thrilling and involving spectacle.

Over the last, say, twenty years, most fans have grappled with different tactical formations and the jargon that comes with it. We happily discuss lone strikers with the spare man playing off him or the respective merits of 4-4-2 and 4-5-1. However, if we want to understand fully the modern context, we have to become financial experts too. Money used to mean wages and transfer fees, now it’s income streams, revenue flow, capital expenditure and television rights, all to properly grasp the decisions taken by our clubs

Spurs fans must come to grips with a further dimension to this complicated reality. As the debate about our new stadium intensifies, we have been thrust headlong into the realm of politics because that’s where our fate will be decided, regardless of the wishes of our board.

Yesterday a statement by the leading architect in Spurs’ plans propelled the stadium debate into a major news story. This in itself was somewhat strange because the essential elements that have gathered attention, that Spurs are very keen to move to Stratford and that they intend to demolish the Olympic Stadium, are nothing new. This emerged well before Christmas and were discussed in this very blog.

However, it’s galvanised the whole debate. It’s as if everyone involved has suddenly woken up to what has been going on. Within the Spurs community, it has surprised me how many people have expressed astonishment that the board are deadly serious about the move, preferring to believe until now that it was merely a bargaining ploy to lean on Haringey and TFL. This has been clear for at least two months now, ever since AEG came on board as partners. One reason for the comparative lack of protest about the move, the laudable efforts of the We Are N17 campaign notwithstanding, is now obvious – complacency.

Of greater significance in terms of the final outcome is the reaction amongst people who are not Spurs fans, in particular the realisation that we plan to demolish the stadium. The Daily Mail led on “Spurs Under Fire for ‘Diabolical ‘ Plans…”, while the head of an athletics body Ed Warner was incredulous on the Today Programme this morning that anyone would knock down a stadium that cost 500m of taxpayers money to build and will be the focus of the entire world for two weeks in 2012.

The implications of the board’s plans have hit home. The ambivalence of many Spurs fans has, judging by the boards and social networking sites, hardened to opposition. However, our divisions have the impact of a family spat over who does the washing up compared with the force of the debate in the public arena.

All the attention thus far has focussed on the Spurs board. They undoubtedly prefer Stratford, but the final decision does not rest in their hands. Soon the Olympic Park Legacy Committee meet to agree their preferred bidder, then the final decision will be taken, probably in early March. They will take into account all the non-football interest groups and criteria, and if those of us who want to stay in Tottenham are to have any real impact we would do well to direct our energies in this direction.

As its name implies, the Legacy Committee are charged with evaluating the plans for the Olympic site in terms of what it can do for London and for athletics in the medium and long term. Much of the funding was secured on this basis.

Spurs’ have much the stronger bid in financial terms but it starts to crumble when it comes to the legacy. West Ham’s bid has close links to Newham Council and the community. Also, as Tottenham MP David Lammy has emphasised in a parliamentary debate this week, the legacy is for London as a whole, not just Newham and if Spurs move, N17 loses its biggest employer and area will be blighted.

Further, there’s a requirement that athletics has future. Belatedly Spurs have undertaken to refurbish Crystal Palace but that concession is a sign of weakness in their bid. West Ham want to play in the Olympic Stadium – good luck to them, the track will be retained which does nothing for football spectators – but it remains a worthy home for British Athletics, and a year before the 2012 Games, they become a powerful lobby. Ian Dale, Tory blogger and West Ham fan, says Seb Coe is against the move. I always preferred Steve Ovett but Seb is a powerful man these days with the establishment and a former Tory MP, close to the government.

Let’s stop and consider this for a moment. The public see this currently as a matter between two football clubs, if any of them are actually aware of the issue at all, let alone care. Think of the outcry if it is announced that the Stadium is to be demolished. All the public money that’s gone into it, the attention for Britain’s hopes and dreams, a pile of rubble. Any notion that Spurs are generating cash for the public purse in return will surely cut little ice. A public poll showed 80% were against Spurs plans. There will be an outcry.

Also, imagine this. Picture David Cameron announcing this to a disbelieving electorate. Does he want to be remembered as the PM during Britain’s most glorious sporting heritage of modern times, or the bloke who pushed the button on the wrecking ball? Politics and the Olympics are inextricably linked, whether we like it or not.

I wrote about this last month, twice, and my views haven’t changed. Spurs should make every conceivable effort to remain in Tottenham. I’ve been amazed with the nonchalance that so many fans have accepted the move. Not been actively in favour necessarily, but just acquiesced. Tottenham is our home, our heritage, and to me that’s priceless. If that is an emotional argument, I make no apologies, because football is all about emotion. There’s nothing rational or logical about it. Football is nothing without a soul, and our soul rests in that little part of north London.

The arguments raised yesterday by the architect (interesting how they fronted him up, not anyone from the board or the advisors they have been recruiting from the Olympic bid committee) stressed the financial benefits. Easy access by tube to central London, Canary Wharf is handy for corporate use…I know we have to make money but using these factors as the primary drivers behind the future of an 127 year old football club still sticks in the throat.

However in the end these things are parochial for us Spurs fans to bicker over, The future of the club depends on the political forces at play. The announcement yesterday has forced this issue into the public domain and if it stays there, that’s our best hope for staying in north London.

Maybe we should unite with our Boleyn brethren. Link arms, lace daisies in each other’s hair and call ourselves sisters. Right now, many of us have more in common with them than we do with our own board. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club: the club that knocked down Britain’s Olympic Stadium. Now there’s a legacy to tell our kids about.

Modric Takes Over

January 10, 2011January 10, 2011 / Alan / 3 Comments

You can tell the true value of a player by their absence. On Sunday, Luka Modric jogged purposefully on to the pitch at half time and proceed to transform a lacklustre Tottenham team.

Before and after – the footballing equivalent of a Head and Shoulders advert. Before – dry and dull, all the shine has gone, flecks of ugly debris all around. After – why, bright and shiny, I feel like a new person and the boys love it! Cue swishing of improbably thick and glossy mane, a suggestive look over fluttering eyelashes.

Troubled and toiling as the first period ended, unable to find a way through Charlton’s massed ranks, Luka took over. No fuss or flamboyance. Head down, into midfield, straight into the groove. He came deep to pick the ball up, moved it, then advanced 15 yards, more space, me again, come on, a touch, run again. Suddenly everyone is moving easily, freely, with purpose and energy.

This is what he does. Many players have fantastic skills, precious few have the ability to change totally the way 10 other players behave. And here’s the thing – he just gets on with it. Job to do, no time to pick up the pace of the game, I’ll alter the pace to suit me.

Before Modric...then Apply Well and Instantly...

It was no less remarkable for being against a League One team (is that what the Third Division is called? I still have to think about it). Charlton, buoyed by excellent support from the stands, closed us down remarkably well. Any pretentions to push us back gradually faded as the half went on, although they came close to scoring early on with a couple of balls across the box that stretched us unnecessarily. Nonetheless they erected a solid barrier in front of their back four and we seldom looked like scoring.

Credit to our opponents for an organised response but we also played into their hands. We have a fine squad but the absence of key men always shows. Harry’s team selection of a strong back four rightly gave few concessions to our lower league opponents and Defoe could provide some sparks up front. However, the midfield came unstuck, or at the least the two most experienced members, the ones we were supposed to rely on, did.

Palacios and Sandro, two defensive midfielders side by side, offered no creativity or inventiveness. An odd selection. Both seemed uncertain about where they were supposed to be. To his credit, Wilson looked for the ball and took up advance positions that didn’t suit him but once more he gave the ball away too often and when under little pressure.

I’ve always appreciated what he does and will be forever grateful for his work when we were at the bottom of the league. His was the single most valuable contribution to our rise up the table. However, he looks to have fallen behind our current levels. Simply put, it’s pointless winning the ball if you give it away again. Also, I still think he drifts around at the edge of the box when we don’t have the ball rather than tucking in closer to the back four. I counted at least three Charlton raids out wide when he was loitering at the edge of the box covering a run that no one was making.

..Modric Works Wonders! And It Shows...

Sandro looks a good prospect to me. Raw around the edges and too reckless with his tackling, nevertheless he’s mobile, hard to shift and confident in possession. He takes up defensive positions naturally and when we get it back can drive forward into space to turn defence into attack. He had a decent second half, sure of his place alongside Modric. I don’t want to either write off Wilson or make extravagant claims for the Brazilian, but with Palacios the man taken off at half-time, without being premature it was hard to escape the feeling that one was on the way up as another was falling in the opposite direction.

The rumours that Krancjar is on the move may be true after another poor performance. It’s hard to see why he’s wasting his considerable talents. He seems bulky and below peak fitness, and not that interested in doing something about it. He wasted this chance either to force himself back into the team or at last put himself in the proverbial shop window. His limited defensive abilities and lack of pace make it hard to see where he will fit into the present team. A real pity, he’s so talented.

As it was, he was asked to drift inside but we are used to having width these days and Benny didn’t overlap into the space he vacated. Then, Niko was gobbled up by the waiting Charlton defenders, shooting increasingly forlornly from further and further out, apparently oblivious to the presence of defenders between him and the goal.

Pav was in the middle of another of his ineffectual days. He dropped deeper to look for the ball and hopefully to shift Doherty and Dailly out of the back four but he lost control so often that they were largely untroubled. The ginger Pele therefore stood resolute and, well, not so much tall as slightly stooped. According to Wikipedia he’s not 30 til the end of the month…. Never the most agile of footballers, the Doc finally got it together at the start of one season, rather like Dawson started to blossom. Then he broke his leg in a televised match at Everton and was never the same again. He would have moved on anyway, he’s a lower league natural, but that leg break did him much harm. He’s not changed in the interim – first touch the ball slid two metres from his foot, but in the first half we kindly played to his strengths. We crossed it and he and Dailly headed most of them away. I liked the way he looked to the Park Lane at the end of the game and we gave a round of applause. He still feels it, being a Spur.

Enter Luka and we took them apart. For 15 minutes he was faultless. Just as I was about to moan about another aimless long shot, Townsend scored a debut goal, not the hardest shot but perfectly placed inside the post from 20 yards. Defoe was rampant, taking the ball right across the box before slotting home for the second, then the third from a rebound. We missed a few more and Cudicini made three decent saves but we were never in much danger. Like many sides, Charlton had the organisation but fell apart once they had to move forward. They have nothing up front.

It will be fascinating when Huddlestone returns, because earlier in the season this very different style of player made the team feel most comfortable. He and Luka could become a combination that dreams are made of, if Big Tom does more defensively. This could really be something big. And I don’t mean Tom’s tuchas.

Before the game the Charlton left back must have been delighted that Lennon was absent. Little did he know. Azza at his trickiest could not have given him a harder time. Repeatedly Andros Townsend took him on and took him apart. Twisting this way and that, right foot on the outside, left foot coming in, Townsend on this display had it all, including a couple of posey tricks and flicks to rub it in. A fine debut full of promise. He had good control, keeping the ball close while he ran at full tilt and as I said could come off both feet.

In other news, David Beckham is training not playing now, but by the time I finish typing this sentence it may all have changed, or he may be having twins. I don’t know. I’m less bothered by this than I am by Harry’s clear irritation on 5Live. When asked about it, he snapped at the interviewer.

“I don’t know what the issues are… and I don’t know the answer. I wish I knew…it’s sorted about above my head. I don’t think there’s a problem with the insurance, I had that wrong.”

Sounds like he’s in the dark and that Levy is pulling the strings. In playing matters the manager must have overall control, although Harry added that he said he would like Beckham at the club.

One reason for Beckham’s arrival is in this column by financial journo and Spurs author Martin Cloake:

“The news sent shares in the North London club shooting up on Friday. This morning, they are back down. Between the hot rumour and the cooling down, the team comprehensively beat Charlton to qualify for the fourth round of the FA Cup. This fact did not have the same affect on the share price as the rumour.”

http://www.dailyfinance.co.uk/2011/01/10/fa-gets-new-sponsor-beckham-update/

Does Moyes Read Tottenham On My Mind?

January 6, 2011January 7, 2011 / Alan / 30 Comments

David Moyes reads Tottenham On My Mind. Obvious. How else would he know that the best way to counter our attacking tactics is to give us a taste of our own medicine. I’ve been saying so for ages, and more fool the rest of the Premier League for not paying attention. Big Sam for one. Comes to the Lane with a revolutionary 5-5-0 formation, four down in a trice, sacked a few weeks later. Sam Allardyce – My Part In His Downfall. At least Tottenham On My Mind can take some crumbs of comfort from last night’s emphatic defeat by Everton.

From first whistle to last, we were never comfortable. Saha and Beckford’s movement, coupled with Coleman’s right side raiding pulled the back four all over the place and occupied the midfield to snuff out our attacking intentions at source. Said midfield were also strung wide apart to the point where Bale and Lennon were as far apart as Peter Andre and Katie Price. Later, as the match wore on, Lennon, Kranjcar and then Keane gradually faded from view like ghosts disappearing into the mists on the moor. Did they ever really exist? The apparitions on Most Haunted have a greater presence.

We witnessed a series of poor individual performances but this is one for collective responsibility. The midfield provided the back four with absolutely no protection, bar a few blocks and tackles from Jenas. Bale and Lennon should have tucked in more during the extended periods when we did not have possession, a fault that we’ve seen before this season, especially in Europe. If they don’t work back, the full-backs are unprotected and vulnerable. Hutton and BAE both had torrid times, Benny in particular as Everton repeatedly pushed down our right, and Hutton’s distribution was rotten, but defending is primarily a team affair. They should not have been left one on one with their opposite number. As a result we were treated to the slightly bizarre sight of Phil Neville as the flying full back, cutting the ball back from the byline. He and Coleman combined well, creating several two v one situations.

A Pictorial Representation of the Gap Between Our Defenders

In short, we were a mess. Saha had so much time and space to shoot, although his was a well-struck shot. With nothing in front of him, Gallas had to come way out of his comfort zone and Saha found the room behind him. This pattern continued throughout the game and great credit to an Everton side whose passing and movement made us struggle in the first half, then in the second we went under, never to bubble back to the surface. Overwhelmed, we held out only because in front of goal, Beckford is rubbish and Saha and others little better.

It’s a while since we’ve been as badly mauled. Saying that it had to happen sometime is in this case a little more than mere philosophising to excuse a defeat. We have been stretched badly on other occasions but managed to get away with it. However, this Everton performance was the best I’ve seen against us for a while now. They were superior in every department. They applied themselves much better whereas we looked jaded, and passed the ball extremely well. In contrast, in the second half we reverted to the bad old habits of conceding possession.

Yet if we had taken the chances that came our way the outcome could have been different. Equalising was straightforward enough, and without playing well we made other chances in a first half that ebbed and flowed, with first Everton then ourselves getting on top before Everton finished the half the stronger.

VDV was running wild and free, largely unfettered by the opponents’ defence. Modric also did some good work before fading. He was pressured hard in the second half by his opposite number. We made passes and half-breaks into the channels but missed or the ball was just cut out. Crouch once again delighted in the way he set up Rafa’s goal (he’s assisted 6 out of Rafa’s 11 goals) then infuriated by missing decent chances in the air and on the ground. That header in the first half – for goodness sake. The offside goal – what a waste. In the home game, Baines did the best marking job on him this season by tucking himself into Crouchie’s armpit and easing him off-balance. Did him every time. Neville sussed this by the end of the first half and the big man couldn’t handle it. If only he didn’t do things like that brilliant run near the end, we could consign him to the bin, but that’s what makes him so exasperating, the ability is there, it’s just that he fails to make use of it so often. Too often.

Half time provided some respite and a chance for Harry to regroup. Before the break, JJ was being bellowed at by Jordan and Bond. That may not be unusual – one imagines Jordan’s normal conversation as starting with the bellow and building from there. Also, Harry was taking notes – never seen that before, although he was using the same type of biro that I have in front of me. Me and ‘arry – two sprigs from the same bush, us.

Didn’t do any good. By the middle of the second half I lost count of the number of times that we gave the ball away. Luckily it was almost matched by the number of Everton missed chances, but in the end the goal was both inevitable and deserved. By this time, Everton were swinging it around like champions, we were bewildered. Bale was off injured. Neville gave him the treatment but no worse than the tackling he’s received earlier this season. Niko came on and was pathetic. An inexcusably feeble effort. If you can’t be bothered, just leave.

Gomes did well. He might have parried the second out wide but it was a fizzing shot. No chance with the first – credit to Saha for a firm, well-placed effort. Otherwise he had plenty to do, being unprotected and all, and he handled it all. In particular, he stood tall when Coleman was given the freedom of Merseyside, rather than committing himself early as he has done in similar situations lately, and this was a factor in Coleman’s miss. Hopefully with Tony Parks he’s working on righting that fault.

A forgettable night. Let’s console ourselves with the fact that Everton played really well, that we remain 4th and we took 9 out 12 points in 4 knackering games in 10 days.

A final more sobering thought. Perhaps our open style caught up with us last night. The idea lingers, that Everton were the first team to exploit fully a weakness in our play. The midfield have to be 100% to make it work, in terms both of going forward and when we don’t have the ball. I didn’t see the game but I strongly suspect the two teams at the Emirates didn’t approach the battle for the CL spots in quite the same way. Maybe we have to moderate our natural instincts for the long term good. One thing’s for sure – we can’t play like that again in the future.

A Striker, Not Becks Please. Ta.

January 5, 2011 / Alan / 12 Comments

Is this what success feels like? A flat atmosphere at the Lane, the team taking a while to get into their stride, arguable if they ever did, yet still coming away with the points. If this was a routine win then I’m not used to the concept so I can’t recognise it when it comes along.

Chatting. During the first ten minutes. About football, sure, but not about the match itself necessarily. Although some fans appear happy to pay forty or fifty to gossip with their mates, I prefer to focus on the matter at hand, yet here I am, ten minutes gone and there’s a game going on.

Fulham made it anything but routine. Because the rest of the team did not follow Luka’s admirable example – get on top, take over, stay on top – Fulham gradually hauled themselves into the contest. By the second half, despite being a goal down, they moved the ball around more efficiently than we did. Murphy, Davies and Duff kept things flowing and Dempsey’s movement meant it was difficult to pick him up. However, they lacked a cutting edge that a pair of quality strikers would provide them and most of their efforts foundered once they reached the box.

Once there, they encountered Dawson and Gallas in imperious form. Pressured, they rise to the challenge. Dawson suddenly grows two inches taller and a foot wider, blocking shots, flying in for tackles and winning everything in the air. His return has been remarkable precisely because it is as if he’s never been away. Three games back from injury, none of this easing his way back business, he has retuned, refreshed, eager and more dominant than he was before what was a serious problem. No hint of any loss of pace, if anything he appears more flexible and bouncy than before. Dawson’s back and we have two clean sheets, Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Alongside him, Gallas continues to be quietly effective. Timing and anticipation is his thing, plus a willingness not to give ground. Seeing him at close quarters, I have nothing but admiration for his impeccable attitude. Now he’s match fit, and he took a while despite his many years of experience with these matters, his pride in his personal performance betrays not a hint of a professional looking for some easy money in the twilight of his career.

Nine points out of nine over Christmas, 11 games unbeaten and some thrilling football along the way. However, the media has been full of one thing ever since. 606 took the lead. Listening on the way home, it was all about David Beckham. Good idea or bad idea? A taste of things to come perhaps. Everything revolves around him, even in his absence. Not what Spurs have achieved or how the existing squad could raise their game, but what Beckham might bring.

The presenters, Robbie Savage and Darren Fletcher, couldn’t see what the fuss was about. A no brainer, of course he should be signed. Their scenario was a reasonable. Twenty minutes left, Spurs a goal down, on comes Beckham, just one cross, or he could settle things down in the middle, keep a lead.

Worse things could happen than Beckham’s arrival but there are fallacies in these arguments. They made football sound like gridiron, where you bring on a specialist for a set play then they toddle off again to bury themselves in padded jackets three feet thick to keep warm. But football, our football, is not like that. It moves and flows. If Becks’ cross is headed away, he’s got to get back because there’s a big gap behind him. Something he will have to do again and again, because that’s what the Premier League requires.

In our midfield, Becks could do a decent job, although I have to point out that he’s seldom played there effectively for any extended periods. We need midfielders who can hold, cover and protect the defence. Beckham can do so but others can do this much better. The whole scenario is predicated on an assumption that Beckham is not only fit, he’s match-fit. How else would a short-term loan be effective? Yet of course he isn’t. One of his reasons for coming is to gain match fitness. One thing I don’t grasp in the debate is that this is the Beckham of old. It gives me no pleasure in saying this, because I respect the man hugely, but this is a highly questionable assumption.

Off the pitch, he’ll be helping Lennon with his crossing and generally being inspirational, and all that. A small point, but actually he and Lennon have different games. Becks has never been a flying winger and corsses from deep, as opposed to Lennon who is best when he strikes at the heart of defences at full tilt. Lennon’s distribution is improving anyway.

The deficiencies in the team were made more obvious by the lacklustre performance. Pav’s control and awareness were poor and he posed little threat to a potentially cumbersome Fulham defence. He doesn’t like having his back to goal too much, yet to be fair to him we did not offer him decent service, too often striking long balls from the back (yes you Benny) that were easily mopped up. He was caught on his heels – the only thing he anticipated well was his substitution.

Crouch had a better match, holding the ball up well, but once he faced goal then his weaknesses were on display, tamely shooting at the keeper when given a decent opportunity. A striker, pacy, mobile, intelligent, sharp in the box, is what we need. It’s what Rafa and Luka need. They look up, there’s nothing on. As I’ve ruefully commented before, we are searching and so is the rest of Europe, but it will make the very best of our style of play and two of the most talented midfielders in the league.

Beckham remains a distraction. Lots of ifs and buts boil down to two simple things, one he’s not going to be around for long, two, he’s not good enough. A third maybe. I don’t want anything to distract us right now, for this is our moment. There will be others, because of our valuable long term team building, but the right striker in this window will be the making of this team, now and in the seasons to follow.

Everton tonight – the pressure is on but we should not fear it but feed upon it. Use it to drive us on. A tough team but this is winnable. Get used to the pressure because it won’t go away.

Although the long term strategy has been hard to discern, Harry’s panic-driven arrival was the catalyst for our revival. He’s taken the raw material bequeathed to him by his predecessors, added a mixture of experience, grit and latterly high class talent and shaped the whole mess into a potent attacking force. His are the hands at the potter’s wheel, slapping down a dollop of gloop and from the grey wobbling mess emerges, gradually, painstakingly, a creation that is solid to the touch, resistant and lasting. There’s still room for further embellishments to create a work of art.