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It was six years ago
today that the team travelled across London to Selhurst Park needing to
win to retain their place in the Premier League. An inspired
performance by Jurgen Klinsmann, who got four of Tottenham's six goals,
kept Spurs afloat on that sunny South London day.
Today, it was other
teams who decided Tottenham's fate, as they were unable to control their
own destiny. A defeat at Aston Villa had no influence on whether
they stayed up or went down, as Leeds United lost 1-4 at Bolton
Wanderers to all but seal their own fate and leave them too far behind
Tottenham to catch us.
When we won 6-2 at
Wimbledon, I hoped that we would never be in that position again, but
having been on a run that screamed "relegation form" since the
win over Newcastle United, I was not as confident as others who told me
we would stay up, because we have been through all this before. It
is heartbreaking to think that the team have been "under temporary
management" since the latter part of September and that the team
have been operating without any knowledge of who will be their manager
in the coming season. That uncertainty has left the team
leaderless off the pitch as much as on it. The lack of a dominant
midfielder and an inspirational force to galvanise the side has left
them bimbling along without any great pride or passion. When they
did show that pride, they fought back to get a point against Arsenal,
even though it was an Arsenal taking their foot off the pedal.
But the stark truth
of what has happened is one of mis-guided leadership in the
boardroom. How can you sack a manager after just six games of the
season and not have a replacement lined up ? If there were doubts
over his ability, then the summer was the time to get rid of Hoddle,
when it would have been possible to secure the services of a new
manager. While they have stumped up money to spend, they are
rapidly falling into the same trap that condemned Alan Sugar's reign as
chairman at the club. Poor choices of manager are the one thing
that they cannot shift the blame onto others. Pleat has always
wanted to get back in the boss' office and this has been his big
chance. Yes, he will come out and say that his remit this season
was to keep Tottenham in the Premier League, but that is because others
were unable to be less bad than other clubs in the basement of the top
division. Yes, he will say that he brought Jermain Defoe to the
club and a fine signing he has been, because without his goals, we would
have been down. Yes, he can say that the team he managed got a
point against the champions, but some of that spirit should have been
shown in games against Everton, Bolton, Middlesbrough, SCBC and
Manchester City, as more points from these games would have been even
more important.
But Pleat's time in
charge this season has not taken the team forward and that is where the
club need to make sure that the next man through the door will be able
to make progress - however long that might take. I cannot imagine
what it feels to be like a Leeds fan today. Three years ago in the
Champions League in a couple of months time it will be Division
One. The one thing you can hopefully say about Spurs is that at
least we are well managed financially.
But, I have said this
before, I am sick of watching for other team's results and would prefer
what Tottenham do to be in our own hands. There is the core of a
good squad who could be together for a good few years if things go
right. With a couple of additions, it should be possible to push
on up the table, with Europe a possibility on time. Don't try and
do things too quickly and don't over-reach your resources. Just
steady progress under a capable man at the helm and someone who can
motivate. It appears from some of the performances this season
that Pleat does not have that vital ability.
Looking at the table,
it is interesting to see comments about Arsenal being the greatest team
of all time. This season, with teams having two or three games
left to play ...
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Only nine teams
have won more games than they have lost
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Only seven teams
have a positive goal difference
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Arsenal have
remained unbeaten, but have eleven draws ... the same number as
Wolves
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As champions,
Arsenal have scored approximately two goals a game, showing for all
their "flair" this season, it is still their defence that
has been tight ... and their defence is not that great
I think it is clear
to everyone who has watched the "elite" this season have
noticed that the general quality of the Premier League has
diminished. Manchester United's forlorn chase for honours and
Chelsea's lack of consistency mean that Arsenal have really had no
significant challenger for the title. The number of clubs in the
chase for the Holy Grail of the "Fourth Champions League
place" indicates that nobody has been able to string a few results
together to claim that prize as their own. The same is true of the
bottom of the table, where only Bolton and Portsmouth have been able to
pull away by stringing a few wins together.
Sadly, it is only too
obvious that our standards have slipped more than others. More
defeats than teams who have already been relegated and what will be our
lowest total of points in a Premier League season unless we win both
remaining matches, which seems unlikely based on what has gone
before. But I suppose at least we will shatter the boring
statistic that we have never finished in the top or bottom six of the
Premiership !!
The summer, as every
one seems to have been over the last twenty years, is an important one.
The club have failed
to show the fans any courtesy (should we expect any from what we have
seen go on previously) in waiting for the season ticket deadline to be
extended before a new manager is announced. Is there any other
form of business where you would be expected to pay up front without
knowing what or who you might expect to hang your hopes on ? I
suppose we should be grateful for the (comparatively) small price rise
and the whole host of extra "benefits" that the club have so
generously offered. Free Membership, but no 10% off in the shops,
except on Family Days at matches where they would normally fill the shop
let alone the ground. At a time when it has been acknowledged in
the clubs annual report that merchandising revenue is reducing, you
would have thought that the idea would have been to encourage people to
spend in the shop ... even at 10% off, as they will probably spend more
than if there was no discount. Especially when you can buy the
same item cheaper on the High Street.
And the swathes of
empty blue seats has not been spotted by Mr. Levy and his pals
either. Surely the way things have gone this season will only
encourage more regulars that the money they spend on a season ticket
could be better utilised elsewhere. I know gate money is pretty
small fry in the money a club generates these days, but it has bigger
ramifications than just what is taken through the turnstiles. It
has a knock-on effect and a long term one too. The product isn't
great. The club have to do all they can to bring in new fans and
not to isolate the existing customer base. The brand is one thing
at Tottenham, what they do to the people who support the club with
through their hearts and their pockets is another. Token bonuses,
most of which are just replacing what we had a few seasons back, are not
the way to win over people.
But these are minor
quibbles, as we would all be happy if the product on the pitch was
successful. A Man. City fan who I was talking to at the recent
match said that his club had a cheap renewal price if you did so
early. After that there was a higher price to pay. Such
incentive deals bring dividends, as they are in a similar position to
Spurs in the table and got 35,000 renewals within the early-bird date.
Can you imagine that happening here ? Mind you, he did say that he
paid something like £650 for a two-year season ticket ... something
that would equate to one year in the "next to centre" blocks
in the East Stand Lower next season.
I have been waiting
for Tottenham to be safe and for the season to end since our poor run
before Christmas. There has been little joy or hope watching Spurs
this season; that is why the point against Arsenal was so warmly
welcomed. A crumb in a season when the table has been bare.
I would like to think
that we will not be in this position again ... but then we have been
there before.
Keep the faith.
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON.
BRUCE
CASTLE |
