A Not-so-Harsh Reality

A Not-so-Harsh Reality

“It’s gonna take time”, “Have patience”, “Get behind the new manager”- just some of the phrases that were passed around in the summer. All of a sudden, people are fuming with the team because of a draw, some even bemoaning the supposedly lacklustre play, when in fact it’s some of the best stuff we’ve seen since the Harry Redknapp era. Fuses are proving short amongst the Tottenham ‘faithful’.

Much of this past week has been overshadowed by the uncertain future of our club’s ownership, with ENIC releasing a statement to deny they went so sell up despite interest from Cain Hoy. Unbelievably, some fans want this deal to go through. Whilst our new stadium isn’t coming as soon as we hope, we’re still in financially safe hands. We don’t spend beyond our means- what if new owners didn’t see the financial risk? ENIC have served us well for very long, however frustrating they may be.

Now, to on the field matters. Yes, we threw away a lead twice at Sunderland, but we played them off the park, yet some aren’t admitting that. The defending for the first goal was bad, and Harry Kane switched off for the second- that’s only two mistakes. “We shouldn’t be making any mistakes”- that will improve over time. Poch isn’t an idiot, our weaknesses are obvious, which is why he brought in wholesale defensive reinforcements in the transfer window (on another note, I imagine none of Dier, Kaboul, Chiriches or Rose will start in a fully fit XI). Once the back four gels together like the interchanging front four, we’ll be fine- but it takes time.

You can’t tell me you expected us to go through this season winning every single game by three goals- our first two games were a sign of what’s to come, not what will be the minimum, and people need to realise that. We will slip up, and if we don’t make mistakes along the way this season, we won’t learn from them.

Admittedly, we should have scored more than the two we did at the Stadium of Light, but when a certain Spanish striker returns from injury, I believe we’ll see the best of him. Only two goals from open play last season was a harsh statistic for Soldado, who was a good performer, just was shy of confidence and morale. Don’t forget he lost his unborn son last season, but is expecting another child very soon- imagine the confidence boost, an extra edge, another reason to be motivated. Whilst he didn’t score many, Bobby certainly impressed with his link up play last year, proving he has a good eye for a pass and is instinctive around the box and not just in it. If only we were playing in a system where we had an interchangeable forward line…oh wait.

Four games into his first real run in the Tottenham team and Erik Lamela is already being turned on. That’s ridiculous. The lad scored a superb volley on international duty where he rubbed shoulders with Angel di Maria and Sergio Aguero, but some are protesting about his lack of footballing ability and intelligence. He troubled the Sunderland defenders when given the chance, which is why he was fouled so many times- that’s how they planned to neutralise the immediate threat. Oh, and he nearly had a Gareth Bale-like moment when he hit the bar, but let’s forget that great effort shall we?

If success isn’t immediate, people panic. Pochettino’s project won’t be perfected after four games- get a grip.

The Bright Side

As Big Ben strikes 11, the footballing arms race is put on hold until the New Year. The summer transfer window of 2014 has been disappointing by some people’s standards, but it’s not all doom and gloom.

Many people entered this season with the mindframe that we won’t finish in the top four, and that we shouldn’t tinker with the squad too much. Just three weeks later, and some are berating Daniel Levy for not opening his pockets to sign a player we don’t need but want after being beaten by a rampant Liverpool side.

We didn’t need Welbeck, nor would it have been one that was financially beneficial. Should Welbeck have been a striker, we’d have four of them, each of a similar calibre. Emmanuel Adebayor may be going to the African Cup of Nations, yes, but it’s possible Pochettino has something lined up in January. A lot can happen between now and then, too. Adebayor could lose form, Roberto Soldado may have found his golden touch again, young Harry  Kane may be on the verge of an England call up- you never know. Welbeck as a winger would be no upgrade on what we have either; not much more than a week ago were people in awe of Nacer Chadli’s demolition of the Queens Park Rangers backline.

People wanted Welbeck as they believed he was a player with a big reputation who’s an upgrade on what we have. When he suddenly made the switch to Arsenal, people felt like their hearts were ripped out. One lost deal on transfer deadline day made us believe we’re falling behind our rivals. We really won’t look back in anger at this deal.

Another deadline day transfer no-go was the departure of Andros Townsend. Opinions of him were split after last season, with some calling him one dimensional, and others calling him a great prospect. I get why so many people are ready to write Andros off, but surely things can only get better for him after the Liverpool game? Let’s not forget, most people would have thought Jay Rodriguez was bang average before last season, and some of you were willing to throw £15m PLUS Andros in exchange for him. Poch has arguably what made Rodriguez the player he is today and made Adam Lallana a £25million player; why can’t he have the same effect on Townsend?

There has never been a nickname of a Spurs player more cringey than ‘The Beast’. Sandro’s personality was a smokescreen for his faltering ability in recent months. Of course, there was a time where Sandro could have been world class, but those days have gone. Ironically, he never really recovered from that injury vs QPR. Since then though, he’s been off the pace, a little slow to react and time challenges. At the time of his sale, he was worse than Etienne Capoue, and we already had a replacement in Benjamin Stambouli. We’ve missed Sandro’s form for a long time- it’s only now we’ll miss his character.

Stambouli’s transfer was rather overshadowed by angry fans bemoaning the lack of other signings- how do we not know Stambouli will be a shrewd signing and a player when pretty much no one has seen him play? No one had heard of Luka Modric when he signed.

The possible signings of Mateo Musacchio and Morgan Schneiderlin were simply beyond the realms of financial possibility; if we had signed them, we would have spent nearly £60million. Don’t have a go at the people upstairs for not splashing the cash; you’d only be eating your words. Don’t act like we didn’t spend £107million last year and are still adamant on keeping those players (none of which we sold). We don’t have a net spend in preparation for the stadium move in the next few years, instead of having to hold back when we do move in (a la Arsenal and the Emirates). Would you rather hold back now and stabilise, or become a real force upon moving into a new state-of-the-art stadium? Levy wants to win the Premier League- he will have to spend at some point.

So, here’s what’s been good about this summer:

• We’ve tied down Hugo Lloris, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, to a new contract.
• Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela are two of the world’s best young prospects.
• We’re still in a good financial situation.
• Our squad is still looking good and on course for another top six finish as expected, whilst also retaining an average age of 24.4 years (23.7 without Brad Friedel).
• We weren’t forced into panic buying anyone.
• We reinforced at the back, acquiring players in each defensive position possible.
• We have a young manager with bright ideas and is convincing players Tottenham Hotspur have ambition.

Just like a mother telling her son upon returning to school, it’s never as bad as you think it will be- we’re going to be okay.