Season 2014-15

Stomach Churning? Shouting At The TV? Yep, Spurs Are Back

/ Alan / 13 Comments

My season starts in the same way, at the same point, every year. Take a complete break over the summer these days. No friendlies, don’t even know what the new kit looks like. Need a rest, especially after last season’s debacle. Spurs’ first game, I’m keen but slightly detached. What will be will be and all that.

We begin well enough, interesting to see how we set up, Hammers come close but I have the luxury of the TV angle via my stream and it’s going wide. Then, it begins. Our marking is poor, they have a great chance. Should have scored and my stomach turns over. The bile rises, I feel sick, churning, stamping my feet, shouting at the screen. That’s a relief. Football’s back and everything is reassuringly normal.

Embed from Getty Images

It’s good to win on the opening day of the season and the manner of victory with a classy goal deep into added time was sheer delight. Kane, on as sub for Adebayor, spotted the runner and slid a perfect angled ball through the hapless Wham back four. That the runner was Eric Dier, full-back, on debut, 93rd minute, was a bit of a surprise but his calm, controlled finish, rounding the keeper before stroking the ball into an empty net, was worthy of Greaves or Gilzean. If my ‘new season resolution’ is to enjoy the Spurs, that’s the way to go, gents, thank you kindly.

This came on the back of a resilient hour when we were down to 10 men after Naughton was sent off for handling a supposedly goal-bound shot. Great to win but this was a mostly ordinary match between two ordinary sides. Our goal, however excellent, was our only genuine chance in the whole game. W Ham obliged by missing theirs plus a penalty. Other sides won’t be so generous but first game, down to ten men for much of it so no real conclusions to be drawn. Like I said, let’s enjoy the moment.

Embed from Getty Images

The penalty incident seems the obvious turning point. After we mastered early possession, without doing anything dangerous with it, our opponents stifled us in midfield and were on top. We muddled away a couple of efforts, swarming round attackers in the box, then close to the goal Naughton hurled himself in to block a shot. It was ball to hand but those hands were held high like a goalkeeper. Penalty, I’m afraid. Cue cries of ‘unlucky’, ‘seen them not given’ but after a chat with his linesman, the ref made the right choice. Naughton saw red – blocking a goalbound shot with his hands, I guess, even though it was probably going over. Inevitable. We had a couple of ball to hand pens last season. Fine if refs are consistent with this interpretation all season. Bet they won’t be.

Bright start, no goals, opposition get back into it, cock-up. The Spurs way. New season, new manager, same old story. But wait. Fans of rival clubs have more in common than they would care to admit. The Hammers I know could describe their side in the same way. Miss a penalty, then the real turning point of this match came in the second half when Adebayor knocked the ball past centre half Collins, who duly obliged by bringing him down even though it was nearer the halfway line than the goal. Already booked, Collins was gone and if Manu did little else yesterday, he knew what he was doing right then. The man advantage tossed away.

In a match without too much goalmouth incident, the other significant moment came late on. Lloris, superb in this fixture at the fag end of 2013-4, dashed out to thwart Downing’s close-range shot as finally WHam breached our defence. It was a proper save, not just an arms-and-legs-flailing block.

So Mr Poch, what do you have in store for us? W Ham’s first attack didn’t amount to anything but our response was indicative of the shape of things to come. Bentaleb and Capoue, our two defensive midfielders, dropped back straight away, taking up deep positions a few yards in front of the back four and in the gaps between them. The midfield three of Lamela, Lennon and Eriksen fell back behind the ball, leaving centre forward Adebayor up front. That DM positioning is key if we are to overcome the huge problems of last season when the back four were unprotected and therefore vulnerable.

Embed from Getty Images

When we had the ball, the three interchanged positions, they seemed to know what was going on and filled the space left as their team-mates moved around. The full-backs came forward to help out and Bentaleb joined them, staying deeper than the three but involved while Capoue hangs further back.

They looked comfortable and Capoue was our best player until he dropped back to centre half. However, it was all a bit cluttered – they were too close to each other – and we didn’t have a shot on goal in this early period despite being on top. Possession is important as they shifted the ball from side to side. Repeatedly we tried lofted passes in Adebayor’s direction, which seemed to me to be tactics not desperation. What’s certain is that they didn’t work. Like all our work on the ball in the first twenty minutes, it was overly deliberate and the big Hammers defenders easily dealt with them.

Embed from Getty Images

Eriksen and Lamela showed glimpses of promise on the ball but faded all too easily when Wham flooded the midfield and made things difficult. They tossed a few balls into the box from deep but we did little to stop them and looked unnecessarily shaky in the box. Dier’s selection shows Pochettino is looking to the future – if ever there is a match for Dawson it’s this one as we know the ball is going to ping in repeatedly. Dier is promising but the opposition forwards got in between the centre halves and missed a couple of good opportunities.

Despite the sending off, Pochettino remained resolutely positive. Capoue was our best player at this juncture. I would have brought Dawson on and kept Capoue where he was as DM. However, the Argentinian did not want to waste a substitution, so Capoue became centre half and Dier right back.

It looked as if it was only a matter of time before the Hammers scored. After half time we were pushed back. Adebayor was isolated and detached from the midfield up front, so we had no outlet. But we discovered another feature of Pochettino’s approach, his brave, attacking use of subs, which turned the match in our favour. Holtby and Townsend for Lennon and Lamela gave us renewed industry and, in Townsend the ability to take the game to our opponents. At this stage in his development, Townsend needs a yard or two to look dangerous. Close him down and he’s not learned effective options. Yesterday he posed problems every time he took the defence on. It felt as if our manager would have made the same changes regardless of W Ham’s carelessness in dropping to 10 men.

And make no mistake, the players were encouraged to get forward. Dier’s willingness to get into opposition half seemed reckless as the minutes ticked away and we were on for a decent away point. Stay back, let someone else make the runs…hah!

Early days, 10 men, no time for judgements. However: Bentaleb had a good game and a man who did not appear in any of the papers’ ‘best Spurs team’ has caught the new manager’s eye. He keeps the ball moving and finds space wherever he goes. I wonder if Kane may have to adapt to a role similar to that of Rodriguez at Southampton, a forward able to drop back when needed. Kaboul was poor outside the box – as captain he should have set a better example.

Steffen Freund: Spurs Become A Player in the Global Game

/ Alan / 16 Comments

Steffen Freund’s appointment this week as International Technical Co-Ordinator at Tottenham Hotspur has been greeted by Spurs fans, including me initially, with a mixture of derision and apathy. The job title is classic corporate goobledygook, intending to be self-important and serious but in reality a string of buzzwords devoid of substance or meaning.

For a great example of the art of managementspeak, look no further than Spurs itself and our “strategic partnership” with Real Madrid. This one is a classic of the genre, though. “Co-ordinator” – busy but not actually doing anything. “Technical” is anything you want it to be, something to do with football presumably, that the Technical Director Franco Baldini doesn’t do. Reassuring to know that when it comes to all things technical, Tottenham have it covered.

Embed from Getty Images

Strip away the jargon, however, and this role points the way towards a significant development in club strategy. Freund will help develop young players on loan abroad, support partnerships at youth level with foreign clubs and scout young players. He has a decent reputation by all accounts as a coach of young German players before he returned to Spurs. More than that, alongside other developments this signals clearly that Tottenham are broadening their horizons. New club sponsors AIA are an Asian insurance corporation. Their logo is red allegedly because this is considered a lucky colour in the Far East. Spurs’ US tour was a foot in the door to the huge potential of the lucrative American market. Football is a global game and Spurs have come to play.

The general consensus on social media affirmed this gently eased Freund out of Pochettino’s way and rewarded a Spurs stalwart. However, Levy’s hardly renowned for sentiment when it comes to cold hard cash and it’s safe to assume Freund’s not in it just for the air miles. Granted Ledley King is now club ambassador but given his history and status within the club, no one begrudges him the role of Looking Slightly Ill-at-Ease in Tottenham Photos. I’m sure Freund’s passion for the club is authentic but in a ruthless commercial environment running around a lot for a few years is no qualification for job security. Levy could have sacked him in the blink of an eye. The fact he chose not to indicates there’s something going on.

The market for young footballing talent is international and Tottenham have recognised this by investing new resources, in the shape of Steffen Freund. We have already exploited it to some extent. Our development squad contains young men from Serbia, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Ivory Coast.  It’s a far cry from Spurs’ traditional links with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The arrival of 18 year old Belgian Jonathan Blondel  in 2002 caused a flurry of interest because it was so unusual for such a young foreign player to come to an English club. Around that time, Iceland’s youth team captain was also on the books. I can’t recall his name: neither player made it at Spurs.

These days, however, there’s more to it than scouting. The stakes are high. For top clubs, their development policy could be the key to financial survival as well as trophies. Needless to say, in England Chelsea are the club who have taken this to extremes. A quick Google revealed that in February this year, that is after the transfer window had closed, the Blues had so many players out on loan, nobody seemed quite sure about the exact figure. Estimates range between 22 and 27.

Football writer Rory Smith provides a devastating critique into the story beneath the figures. It’s strictly business. One or two of these young players may eventually make it to the first team squad, keeper Courtois being the best current example. But to the Blues, it doesn’t matter. These kids are commodities, buy low, sell high. If they make it, fine, if not, just as good, and the key to this is the new rules on Financial Fair Play. Investment in youth development doesn’t count in FFP but transfer income from the products of that system does. Clubs need to generate income from player sales in order to allow them to keep within the FFP rules, even if they spend large amounts on transfers. Smith states:

“This is because player development, at the world’s largest clubs, is no longer about football. It is about business. It is not about honing talent. It is about making profits. It is run according to the rules of the hedge fund — spread your risk to ensure your reward — with a mindset borrowed from property development. Nurturing young players is not a team’s primary concern, just as a developer does not refit houses to live in them. Chelsea and their peers are not crafting young players. They are flipping them.”

Spurs have dipped their toes in the water. With all respect to the player, I don’t think this is Jon Obika’s breakthrough season. 11 spells on loan, yet to start for the first team, turns 24 next month. Yet we resigned him. I predict a transfer to a lower league side and if not a profit then at the very least a return on our investment. This is typically small-scale but Freund’s appointment indicates the club are significantly upping their game.

Embed from Getty Images

A healthy youth policy will do Spurs a lot of good but if first team chances for young players are as limited as they have been in recent years, they will become balance sheet statistics not the home-grown heroes supporters hold so dear. Pochettino has a reputation for bringing them through but as I said last week, he was forced into that position at Saints because of budget restrictions that will not be so stringent at White Hart Lane.

Also, I remain distinctly uncomfortable at the notion of young footballers as commodities. At 16 I was used to the tube but a trip from west to southeast London one day made me feel like a stranger in a strange land. What can it feel like for a teenager coming to a new country, different language, knowing nobody and having to perform at a peak level. It’s not right.

Yet it seems the entire game is moving in that direction. The PL sells passion and atmosphere, Sky sell more satellite dishes but the supporters who generate that emotion face exorbitant prices, bizarre kick-off times and have no say in the way the game is run. My 50 year loyalty is reduced to a customer reference number as far as the club is concerned, or so it appears. Under Armour and AIA are doing their thing but come August 24th I guarantee no one will have cleaned the birdscrap off Jackie’s seat. She sits in front of us – it’s our pre-season ritual. Fans and passion commodified too.

There is something positive here. Freund’s role gives him the opportunity to keep an eye on these players. Let them know someone cares about their progress, a watchful benevolent figure, and if this is part of the investment, credit is due to all concerned. Rumours, always rumours, but it has been said that Spurs do make an effort to look after their foreign players and men like Lloris respect that.

In the summer Nigerian starlet Musa Yahaya signed a pre-contract agreement at the tender age of 16. He’s hot property apparently. Maybe he came to us because we offered to care for him and to give him a better chance of getting near the first team than if he were at Stamford Bridge. I like to think that’s the way we should behave. I hope he gets further than a Youtube showreel.

Blogs Are Dead! In The Guardian So It Must Be True….

/ Alan / 39 Comments

Two weeks in a Pembrokeshire cottage was the perfect refresher but with no internet or the prospect of a decent flat white with beans from a south-facing slope anywhere, my metrosexuality was at a low ebb. Naturally I turned straight to the Guardian website once home, only to be greeted with the sobering news that in my absence, blogs and blogging are dead. That’s the pressure of the modern media – a fortnight out of the loop and you’re history. No 4g and you’re nowhere.

So that’s me put firmly in my place. Hardly worth hitting the keyboard for a new season and the previous five relegated to the deleted sidebar widget of history. But wait. Turns out this only refers to young people, because that’s how far history goes back these days. “Back in 2004…” sighs the author wistfully. Anything beyond that is as far as social media goes, the cyber-equivalent of the Neolithic era. Apparently I should be using, well, sites that I’ve never heard of.

Well I’m here to tell you that this swinging hepcat is going to carry on and Tottenham On My Mind will be exactly the same. Words. Some pics. More words. About Spurs. And football. Not even going to change the design. The font is clear and that’s all that words need.

Blogging is the best format for what I want to do, to be a single consistent voice expressing what it means for me to support Tottenham Hotspur. Blogs that survive are, says the Guardian, mostly “entrepreneurial”, i.e. they have been monetised and are kept going to bring in income. This one isn’t. No big deal, but I write about Spurs because I want to.

Join in. Comment. That’s the point of blogs like this one. A viewpoint you can rub up against, relate to what you think. Because, and this insight will shake you to your core, all supporters are different even if we support the same team. No need to be rude, play the words not the woman or man. But talk. About Spurs. It’s great.

Tottenham On My Mind doesn’t have a USP (Unique Selling Point, jargonbusters!), but because I am in my late fifties, it does bring some sense of perspective. This is lousy in many respects. Over the summer, for example, I find little to write about, hence my summer break. ITK is fun, I read it. Great for hits too – always makes me smile that one of my articles with the biggest views began in the headline “No ITK…”, but obviously the demand for info is so great, people felt compelled to look, such is the power of ITK. Let’s wait until something happens. Same with friendlies. I’m pleased things seem to have gone well in the US but never make any judgements on the basis of a friendly match.

Anyhow, I needed a break after last season. Took a lot out of me. Months of neglect and drift, leaving far to much time to ponder on how our chairman abrogated his responsibility as a leader and decision-maker and how it was possible to dissipate the impetus both of previous seasons and £100m worth of transfers. Supporters were stunned, angry, disillusioned and alienated to an extent that I have never before known in 50 years of support. It was about something more than just results, it was a shock that people inside the club could treat it with such wanton negligence.

If you want to kick the ITK habit, read Michael Calvin’s book about scouts and scouting, The Nowhere Men. Basically, every club knows every player, from ages 8 to 38. They have targets not a target, prioritised lists of players who fit their needs. So to say ‘Spurs are interested in Joe Schmoe from Kokomo’ means something and nothing. They may well be interested in him but at any one time they are ‘interested’ to a greater or lesser extent in hundreds of footballers. Doesn’t mean they are going to buy them. ‘Interested’ therefore bears little relation to his prospect of pulling on the shirt. A virtually worthless term in respect of transfers. At Spurs, probably only a very few people know if a firm offer has been placed for a player and he’s going to come. Even the manager doesn’t always know.

No ads but personal recommendations: Calvin’s book is excellent, a highly readable insight into the slog and grind of assessing talent. He draws you right into the scout’s world, leaving you to conclude that amidst the hype and hysteria of the Premier League and the media, scouts are the only true football men left, people whose love and feel for the game will never disappear. They certainly don’t do it for the money.

Welcome to Mauricio Pochettino. Not actively blogging at the time of his arrival has allowed a degree of perspective on his appointment too. I think he is right for Spurs in terms of where we are at the moment. He has clear, focussed ideas about how his team should be set up and perform on the field. He likes his teams to press, often high up the pitch, to get the ball forward quickly and to use space with thought and precision. Saints were excellent in the channels and the gaps between back four and midfield, precisely the areas where Spurs were woefully deficient. Tottenham have to graft their way to glory.

He’s also a reminder of our status and where we stand as the season is about to begin. He’s not a big name and the fact is, we could not attract the big names. The same may well be the case when it comes to players. We’ve missed our chance. Liverpool began last season as competitors, now they have moved onwards and upwards. If Spurs and Liverpool are both going hard for a player, he’ll pick them, every time, in the same way Rodgers opted for Anfield not White Hart Lane two seasons ago. Ars***l are attracting world-class talent. Excruciating to watch but we have to set to work to get ourselves to that status rather than be intimidated by it.

Last season is over but we can’t escape the failures. These are constant reminders of how we failed to move on. So let’s make the best of what we have and enjoy it. We will get good players not stars, and that may be a good thing. Men who want to play for a manager who will get the best from them, a team that plays together and works damn hard in the process. The World Cup has shown us that purposeful workrate is the foundation for any success and if his reputation counts for anything, that’s what Pochettino brings. It may take a while, so we have to be patient. I know – fans have had to be patient for a long, long time, but we are where we are, so let’s get on with it.

The Argentinian will bring renewed energy and purpose to a club that has been drifting rudderless but let’s not get too carried away with the contemporary obsession with managers. The Wit and Wisdom of Alf Ramsey would be a surefire cert for the shortest book of the year, any year, despite his status as world cup winning coach. The former Spurs man spoke infrequently. When he did, you could imagine that just out of shot, an FA official was holding a pistol pointed to his head, such was his reluctance. Ramsey looked like a Thunderbirds puppet, wooden features, bushy eyebrows and rigid upper lip rising and falling onto a stiff jaw. This Essex boy affected an upperclass accent that sounded like the most false telephone voice you have ever heard. Yet this short sentence is wise and remains true today, even in a very different culture of celebrity coaches. “Managers get too much praise when things go well and too much criticism when things go badly.” Managers are important but players have to deliver. In a sense managers release footballers to be the best they can be, to get them in the right place at the right time, then they can do their stuff. Resist the cult of the individual.

While Poch is a man with a plan, we don’t fully know the extent to which the resources at his disposal defined Southampton’s play. He did well to bring on a talented group of youngsters and Spurs have promise waiting to be fulfilled with Lamela, Bentaleb, Carroll and Kane plus Ryan Mason, forgotten out on loan but rehabilitated on the US tour. However, at Saints he had little alternative. Our budget for salaries and fees is much higher so he has more options. Saints fans say he was better going forward than in defence and there are strong signs he rightly wants to strengthen at the back.

Yet despite the transfer noise, our prospects rest on what the Argentinian makes of our existing squad. Lloris re-signing is a major boost even though the contract is in large part insurance against his departure at the end of the season. He’s a role model in a squad that’s short of leadership on the field – committed and able. No coincidence that he was able to play his best football at the end of last term, focussed and determined while all around was crumbling. A similarly dedicated Vertonghen would be welcome, ‘welcome back’ perhaps better because he disappeared for half a season. If he means it, keep him but get rid if his mind is elsewhere.

Sandro and Kaboul are key men potentially, powerful and alert but only the club know if they are fully fit. The interest in midfielders, an area where we are well-stocked, could indicate that Poch doesn’t like what he sees, in which case the able but slow Capoue could join one or two wide men on the way out. Pochettino’s high energy approach will surely be a shock to Chadli’s system. Dembele I like a lot but he needs to be played further forward. His habit of holding on to the ball will have to go, or he will. And we have to talk about Paulinho. A shadow of the player we saw in the Confederations Cup, he played a full part in Brazil’s downfall. Personally I’d give him two months complete rest – come back in September and we’ll see if we have a player. He’s exhausted. He fits the Pochettino way but If he’s not keen on England, sell without hesitation.

Soldado could well stay and profit from Eriksen’s rise to prominence. Surely the Dane will be this team’s key figure. It could also be Holtby’s chance to establish himself.

And in the end, there’s Levy. Always Levy. He’s keen to change managers but back them in the transfer market – not so much. The feeling lingers that Pochettino was the perfect Levy man less for his tactical nous and more because he won’t be too demanding, too expensive or rock the boat. Anyway, Dan’s watching the pennies, what with a new stadium to pay for.

These days chairmen authorise a BACs transfer from the Cayman Islands rather than put their hand in their pocket or pull out their chequebook. Whatever it takes, he has to listen to his manager and and put his money where his mouth isn’t. My blog may not be monetised but if I had sponsored that sentence in the last six years, I’d be able to afford my season ticket. But I’ve paid for it anyway, because as 2014-5 nears, whatever the problems and uncertainty, I look forward to it as much as ever. Join me why not.

Bale’s Goal A Cause For Celebration? Thoughts On Watching Modern Football

/ Alan / 25 Comments
Embed from Getty Images

On Wednesday night former Spurs player Gareth Bale scored the late goal that won the Copa Del Rey for his current club, Real Madrid. If you haven’t seen it, congratulations – your willpower to stay away from social media and the press is far greater than mine.

By any standards it was a jaw-droppingly remarkable piece of football. Picking up a pass from defence on the halfway line, Bale couldn’t get past the defender in front of him so he decided to go round him. He knocked the ball past his man and ran. However, the defender wasn’t to be beaten so easily. Turning quickly, he had the inside track. The ball was his.

That logic would have defeated most players. If not, the nudge he received as he came close would have done the trick. Most would have gone down in an imploring heap, bleating to the ref as they plunged to the turf. But Bale kept going. No way through so like Lewis Hamilton on a fast corner at Silverstone he left the defender on the racing line and put the pedal to the metal. To get round he went a couple of metres off the pitch, through the technical areas and when he was back on the field, the ball was his.

Full-pelt he carried on with the ball at his feet, the full-back forlorn, desperate and beaten. He bore down on the keeper then with the ball perfectly in his stride went from power to delicacy in an instant and touched it home.

There’s more. Here’s the context. This full-tilt 50 metres in 8 seconds with a ball at his feet and a defender in his wake took place in the 86th minute. Bale had had a good game, working hard up front interchanging with Real’s main striker Benzema. It was a final against Real’s biggest rivals, Barcelona. The score was 1-1 at the time, a tight game heading inexorably for extra time and penalties. This was no ordinary goal, this was the stuff of legend. Whatever he accomplishes in the future, he will never be forgotten by Real supporters.

Most of the photos I use on Tottenham On My Mind are of the goals themselves but the one at the head of this article tells the real story of this goal and of the nature of football itself, what it meant to the crowd. In it, Bale soars in majestic isolation, as if born aloft by the tumult. The reality is more prosaic – he was alone because none of his team-mates could keep up with him.

Like I said, remarkable. Moments like these are precious, the reason why I remain unshakably fascinated by the game as I approach my sixties. Nothing else does it like football – the shared experience, the unsurpassed passion, that unique combination of improvised skill, power, beauty and presence of mind. Being gobsmacked by the whole thing is the essence of being a fan.

Not so if you gauge opinion from social media and the comments’ sections of newspapers. Reading this, my feeling as a supporter is out of step with many. I freely admit when I’m wrong, as I often am, but there’s something here about changes in the way we relate to the game, something that goes way beyond this goal and which I do not think is for the better.

Two examples. First, many said this was a good goal but was it really all that? In several places on the net, for instance the Guardian comments section, it is suggested that this is not ‘a wonder goal’. Leaving aside the use and creation of that phrase, which we’ve all heard over the past few years to the point where it becomes meaningless, many say this goal is not worthy of that accolade.

You can call it whatever you like but it’s clear many were at most only mildly impressed, others positively dismissive. Using that term as shorthand, if this is not a wonder goal, then what is? Partly this is a rhetorical question, partly a genuine search for examples. There have been goals as good and better but I would contend this is head and shoulders above most goals we’ve seen this season, especially if you add the context. You’ve got to say it’s up there – apparently not.

The modern game distorts expectations in many ways. Success must be instant. Supporters especially of the so-called big clubs have a overweaning sense of entitlement. Second is nowhere, success is not something to be acheived or worked at, rather it is their right as supporters to have success at the highest level to celebrate.

This distorts the nature of the game itself. Last week author Adam Powley overheard some Chelsea fans after they beat PSG saying it was a good thing that moneybags PSG didn’t get through…

This distortion has seeped into the way we perceive the game itself, gnawing away over time at the very meaning of being a supporter. If you can’t enjoy Bale’s goal because it wasn’t really that good, what can you enjoy? What are you waiting for? Because I am here to tell you after fifty years of watching the game, there’s nowhere else to go. Wait for something better to come along and you will be sorely disappointed. This is about as good as it gets.

I’ve seen all of Bale’s goals for Spurs. Some were up there as wonder goals, although I wouldn’t use that term myself. But in my time I have never seen, never, anywhere, a player like him. That fast, that strong, that powerful, that touch, those long-range shots, those deft touches in the box. This goal showed off the lot. This is what football is all about and if you’re looking for something else, it doesn’t exist. Treasure every moment. If this goal doesn’t excite, I cannot possibly see how you can get any enjoyment from football.

Bale’s goal was all the more breathtaking for me because as a Spurs fan, I’ve seen him grow up. More than just any ex-player, Bale has gone from a gawky, hesitant man-child too big for his body to an outstanding footballer. Along the way he’s provided some fantastic goals and memories. I have said before that I feel close to these wide players, these wingers and full-backs. From where I sit on the Shelf, they are 10 yards away, toiling, scared, audacious. I know because I can see every bead of sweat, I can look into their eyes.

I wasn’t the only Spurs fan who wished him well, who took pride in this goal and others even though it brought into stark relief how limited we are in comparison and how much we miss him. I openly admitted that Bale’s goal made me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside, warm in that I was pleased for him, the memories were fuzzy, generous recollections of his days with us.

Embed from Getty Images

Many Spurs fans were not so generous. Bale (and Modric, having a quiet moment together as the goal celebration finally ended) rejected us so we reject them. Many on the boards and twitter saw no reason to join in. Others were downright angry with him for leaving and the goal left them at best indifferent, at worst downright angry.

Unlike my first example, I do get this one even if I don’t feel the same way. An element of sentimentality infuses my writing, without dominating, because that’s part of how I relate to being a supporter. The past is important to the present. Football is 22 men kicking a ball and at the same time so much more than that. Equally I know only too well that investing in an emotional attachment is nothing more than love unrequited, doomed before it began because in the end, they all leave.

I say all. Ledley didn’t leave, he was taken from us. I don’t do friendlies or testimonials but I went to Billy Nick’s and I will go to his. But these days, they don’t hang around. This change has been mirrored by changes in supporter attitudes. Fans are quicker to reject them now, when they go. If a player indicates that he wants to leave, the anger and opprobrium is particularly harsh and bitter. Players have been agitating for a move for as long as there has been professional football but the reaction of fans these days seems much stronger than I recall in the past. Waddle, Hoddle and Gazza – I remember disappointment and sadness but not the fury provoked by, say, Berbatov’s or Modric’s departures.

Just to be explicit about what I am not saying. I’m not saying my way is better, merely that this development seems to be a part of contemporary fandom. Neither am I welcoming back every past Spurs player with open arms. The ones I don’t like are those who take it easy and don’t give us their best while they wear the shirt. All I would say about Bale is that when he played for us, he played. He gave as much as any man and his football over the years contributed to our best results, our best league positions for decades and unforgettable memories. He didn’t stop playing for us, just got a bit sulky in the close season when Levy was haggling over the fee. He was always going to be sold once Real made the offer and I can’t blame him for joining arguably the top club in Europe. In my balance sheet therefore, he is forever in the black.

So why are reactions more vehement? The answer must lie beyond the actions of individual players, although that is important of course, witness Vertonghen’s apparent disdain at the moment. Fans feel alienated from their clubs to an increasing extent. Players and clubs are distant, exploiting our willingness to come every week to the point where their praise of supporter loyalty borders on the patronising. Clubs invite us to be part of the experience but do little or nothing in return to earn our trust or respect.

It’s natural therefore that we don’t invest emotionally in players because we know they will be off soon. It’s not just Spurs. This is part of the modern game. And the consequence of not being close to players is that you are less close to the club itself. The ties that bind are loosening. There is a real danger that the nature of support is changing irrevocably and the only thing that will stop it is if the clubs begin to recognise that and treat supporters with the respect they deserve. I’m not holding my breath.

In the meantime, enjoy it while it’s there. That is not meant as an ironic throwaway remark. Get as much from the game as you can. See a goal like Bale’s for what it is, a sublime example of the art. Relish Eriksen’s goals or Hugo’s saves – maybe if they do enough of each they’ll stay longer because we will do well but don’t allow the certain knowledge of their departure to taint your enjoyment of the game. Football isn’t just about winning, it’s about wonder, so marvel all you can. Because if that goes, there’s nothing left.