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6th June 2007 - Transfer Targets or
Transfer Strategy? I was browsing through some of the posts featured in
News Now and was surprised to see so much of our fan’s transfer
speculation focused on left wingers; who we should get, who we can get, and
worst of all, what dire consequences there will be if we don’t get
anybody. My understanding is that the transfer window for
summer is not even officially open until 1 July (after the internationals and
the finish of some leagues in In fact, how often does our above mentioned right
winger run down the touchline, like a winger? The real deal is that we do not have a dedicated
midfield player who is disciplined and comfortable enough to control the left
hand side of the pitch, track back and help the full back and chuck over a
few out-swinging crosses with his left peg. I have a feeling that’s why we have invested
so much money in young Mr Bale. Our Cameroonian and South Korean full backs can do a
good job in this left sided position. Mr Asso-Ekotto will be better next
season, and before his injury, Mr Lee was showing that experience and tenacity
make for a big contribution to a team. If they could rely on a skilful left
footer, who knows how to tackle and track back, to always be available just
ahead of them, the team’s exposure to goalmouth damage from right
midfield crosses from the opposition would be greatly reduced. Oh and if ,
like this season, we have too many injuries to this full back position, we
also have ready made cover instead of trying to play Mr Tainio or Mr
Chimbonda or Mr Gardener so obviously out of position at left back that it
was frightening as well as embarrassing. If the ‘more sober’ press reports are to
be believed, we do however seem to have almost done some excellent business
in securing the Auxerre want-away centre back. Lack of quality cover for Mr King cost us enormously
last season, so this is excellent news that we may now have four experienced,
quality center backs (and Mr Gardener) should we become similarly afflicted
by injuries in this defensive position next season. So far, so good for Messrs Commoli and Jol with the
transfer strategy. But some more is needed. Appropriate cover for Mr Chimbonda as Mr Stalteri
still looks too wooden in this position and does not offer any other covering
options. |
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A replacement for Mr Mido, in case (perish the
thought) Mr Berbatov becomes unfit to play for any long period of time. Then one more ‘star’ signing. A central
midfielder with the skill, determination and presence for Tottenham that was
built into the characters of Stevie Perryman, Graham Roberts, Dave McKay,
Alan Mullery, Gary Mabbutt and of course Danny Blanchflower. Unfortunately, I
do not think such a player exists - maybe Makalele at Chel$ki, Scholes
at ManUre and Gerrard at LiveintheUSApool are the best current playing
examples in the Premier League - but there must be others somewhere who would
be prepared to play with their heart on their sleeve for the great THFC? Targets or Strategy? For me the latter works better;
so I hope our management can keep focused on this and not start bouncing
around a target list of YouTube wanabees for some unknown or overpriced
player who can kick a ball with his left foot.
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Columnist Profile – The Guest Column The Guest column is open for any genuine Spurs fan (or anyone with something interesting to write about Spurs) – all you have to do is write yer piece, sling it to the site editor: nicolaberti at topspurs d0t com and it’ll be on here soon after, and distributed amongst Spurs supporters the world over via the newsnow news service
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1st
June - Spurs in A great weekend was had by all. The boys
and Clive Allen took time out to hang out with us on Sunday after they were
knocked out in Qfinals by some very dodgy referring. They appreciated
the support. Probably about 40 Spurs there in total - mainly expats,
locals and some Oz Spurs. Easily the best supported team at the
tournament. The Arse got knocked out in the Qfinals too and we had a
good laugh at them. Needless to say, they had no support except from a
few plastic locals who would have no idea where Scumbury is let alone http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOn8eziQY4c On the playing side, Forecast in goal looks good but could do with eating a few big meals. Leigh Mills looks the part as does Barcham. Ifil was solid as was O'Hara. Daniels is an Anthony Gardner clone (and not much better). Archibald-Henville looks like the Honey Munster. Little known fact. O'Hara got shown the red card after the final whistle, so disgusted at the dodgy penalty decision awarded to the token HK team. At least it showed they cared. More photos here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/8503494@N02/sets/72157600268796836 All told, a
thoroughly enjoyable (and drunken) weekend. Eric PS. Aston Villa won it versus
CC Mariners from
21st May 2007 - Time comparison from David Geaves I have been a Spurs supporter since 1959, 12 years old then, my Dad was getting excited about them and the way they playing then next season the Double, and Bob's Your Uncle, I was hooked for life.
In those days Spurs were a class act, world class players all over the place with the indomitable Dave McKay in the middle of the park. Jimmy Greaves was my boyhood hero and still is, he's still the best goalscorer I have ever seen.
Sadly those days were not to last and it was not until Keith Burkinshaw came along that some glory came to the club. I always felt he was under-rated at the time and I rate him second only to Bill Nicholson; shame he left when he did but he could see the writing on the wall when Irvin Scholar took over.
Then all the years of turmoil followed but now there is a new dawn with Levy, Jol and Comolli at the helm and I feel that now we are going places but we must be patient, a hard thing for Spurs supporters to be but we must, rebuilding ourselves to challenge the top 4 will take another season or two yet. Should we buy new players then it may take a season to bed in, al la Zokora, so maybe not next season but the one after.
I hope the management team stays in place
for a long time, players like coming to Spurs, it's a happy club who follow
the tradition of playing good football and where youngsters who are good
enough get a chance. We also have that English contingent which makes me
proud I support Spurs and not
Dimitar Berbatov, what a player, lovely bloke too (not in a gay way!), he has been likened to Alan Gilzean and there is a similarity, Gilzean was a better header of the ball, but Berbatov with his flicks, awareness and goalscoring prowess really does bode well for the future and his partnership with Keane/Defoe. Shades of Greaves and Gilzean, those two will be impressed by our new forward line I am sure.
What of the future, our left side needs sorting out, I would love Morten Gamst Pedersen to be in our side, reminds me of Tony Galvin, but Pedersen has a better goalscoring pedigree. I would break the bank for him. But what I think we really need is an old head midfield general, someone like Gatusso of AC Milan, we need direction in the midfield, someone who sits in front of the defence and destroys the opposition attacks and spurs on the rest of the team, we need a real fighter in there to harden up our soft centre.
So, thank you for giving me the opportunity to write my piece, long live Martin Jol, he has given us our pride back again, soon we will be one of the top 4, of that I am sure so be patient Spurs supporters, Glory is coming again to White Hot Lane! Best wishes
Dave
May 18th 2007 - Parallels between two ‘sleeping giants’ (beginning with ‘S’)… from Paul Franklyn Firstly, I should explain this is just a bit of fun, not to be taken too seriously. It just suddenly occurred to me the other day in a boring meeting at work.
About two years ago I was employed by a large UK Supermarket (in fact in overall retail terms they are a monster). Let’s call them, ‘Retailer S’.
I sometimes wonder what drew me to work here. There’s certainly a reason to wonder too, as I’m sure at the time of employment there weren’t too many positive reasons to join!
Then I considered the following…:
Retailer S used to be leading the way in it’s market esp. in the 60s-80s period Retailer S was badly mismanaged throughout the 90s Retailer S has lost so much ground to its main rival that it once dominated. A rival that has gone on to flourish in the UK & Europe and built new, larger property to increase revenues & profit. Retailer S has even been surpassed by another rival who have received massive investment from a foreign counterpart in the last few years. Previously this rival had few customers, but now seem to have lots who have come out of the woodwork! Retailer S have not had much European interest in recent times Retailer S has an extremely loyal customer base Retailer S have historically charged their loyal customers higher prices than their rivals for no additional quality Retailer S has had a few false dawns over the last 5 years Retailer S is at threat from a takeover - partly due to a recent upturn in fortunes, partly because it’s property portfolio is so valuable Retailer S has a King at the helm.
….And then realised why I work here!
COY ‘Retailer S’!!
11th May 2007 - Another summer of disappointment? (Andy M) Firstly I suppose I should give you a bit of
background about me. I've had a season ticket at Spurs for 26 years, my
favourite memories are the magic moments, Ricky at Highbury and Wembley, the
Gascoigne double at I've lived and breathed it for all these years and normally the expense and time could always be justified by getting something back, the odd final, the odd coup in the transfer market, a few big wins against the big teams (the magic moments). However the years have taken their toll and I just feel I am not getting enough back these days, one semi against Chelsea and a league cup where none of the big boys fielded a side in the last decade is a poor return on any investment. I'm fed up of getting shat on by the plc, I am sure
that if we had made the UEFA Final I'd be drawing for a ticket out of a
ballot just like some Liverpool fans are having to do and my seat would no
doubt have been wasted on a champagne drinking non spurs fan. I'm embarrassed that my club brings out a
DVD of us beating Last night, for the first time ever, I couldn't be bothered to go to Spurs. I didn't even watch it on the box, I am just fed up of being let down. My argument is this, we have known what we have had to do to compete with the top 4 for 2 seasons now and we have not done it. It is quite simple, strengthen the areas of the squad that don't have the quality. We have the finance (18 million from Carrick plus merchandise, all these hikes in prices etc..), but we play these cat and mouse tactics, drag out the whole scenario and lose out or make a panic buy. I was furious at the start of last season when I heard people were happy with our dealings. Granted Berbatov and Zokora were good, but there is no point doing half a job. We have needed a quality left back and left midfielder for a long time, certainly since Jol was in charge and the problem is still not sorted. Without them, we will not challenge the top 4, end of story. There's no point sniffing around Downing or Duff and then saying we tried. We have to select a quality target and pay the money required. We did it for Chimbonda, we must now do it for a left back. Then a left midfielder, an aggressive central midfield player, cover for Ledley and a big man to cover Berba (if he stays). If I was him I would want these signings guaranteed before I decided to stay and I hope he does this. No doubt the board will paint him as a greedy foreigner who had his head turned but that is crap, a player of his quality needs to play at the top and if we aren't going to get there, he needs to move on. Without these 5 quality signings we just ain't gonna compete and I can't handle another season where we beat the crap and then lose to the first decent team we play. If you're not going to be competitive, what is the point? We have paid the cash for years, we have sat through Atouba, Konchesky and Sinton and still the prices go up. It is now time for spurs to deliver. If the club is not able to attract the top players, it should refund the season ticket increase that it has asked for to get them. If they don't sort it out I am off. No more hard luck stories, you've got the cash, you've had the time, put up or shut up. Maybe some readers will say good riddance, 'you don't support the team' but I'm fed up with this plc inspired bullshit. The board and spurs must deliver this summer or accept that 5th place and a decent cup run are all we are ever going to achieve. If it is the latter, I can't understand the attraction of going to Spurs anymore.
Andy M
1 May 2007 - Another piece about The Spurs management, Nathan Flint adds his thoughts to the Spurs manager debate Ok, ok, so you're all probably not relishing the thought of reading another piece on the Martin Jol debate. But please, hear me out, as I have just read an article written by Chris Biggs. Obviously, this piece has angered me as I feel compelled to write this immediately afterwards. "If we need to get up to the upper echeleon, we need a new manager" - Chris Biggs Please, please,
please explain why in the world would anyone want to discard of a manager who
is about to cement our status as the 5th best team in The fact is, and I invite anyone to challenge this - Spurs are currently a team with massive potential to break the top 4 and realistically probably the only team from the rest of the Premiership able to achieve it. Tottenham Hotspur, under Martin Jol, have finished 9th, 5th, and I am confidently going to predict 5th again. Therefore that equals no bottom half finishes. Where were we when Santini left? 11th. And this is a man was judged to have the ability to manage the French national team. As a kid the best I could hope for at the end of the season was top of the bottom half and maybe a cup run. Now, under Jol, we still have an interest right up until the final game and something to play for. And we competed in three cup competitions this year, getting knocked out in the Quarter finals twice, and THAT semi-final.
Progression is being made, and there are always obstacles along the way. Last season it was Carrick leaving - this year could it be Berbatov or Lennon? If MJ can keep these players, sign two or three more of the same calibre and finally fill THAT left side, and not only with a world class player but some good backup, then for me next season you will see Spurs occupying 3rd-5th for most of the season. I think CL qualification is next season's priority, and if Big MJ fails this challenge, then, and only then, it is time to start asking questions.
Half time last Saturday in the NLD…. Arsenal dressing room:
(with thanks to Glen who sent this to me and its original creator)
25th April 2007 – Chris Biggs furthers the case against Martin Jol In response to Midnightjester’s article on Jester's article which attempted to provide a defence of Jol’s performance as manager and was in turn, written in response to my article The case against Martin Jol.
Transfers
One of the first issues Midnightjester raises is that of transfers in which he points out that Jol only has a net spend of £4m This though is distorted by the sale of Carrick. Furthermore, the net amount spent is not wholly representative of the finances at a club’s disposal. For instance, if Sheffield United spent £6m on players and recouped £2m would you really argue that they had a similar purchasing power to a club that can afford to spend £10.9m on one player?
Instead of ‘Jol has done more with less than any other manager’ it should have read
‘Jol has done more with more than any other manager’
Comparison with other managers
Midnighthester says that at this point
only Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are better quality coaches/managers than
Jol. This seemingly ignores the fact that Mourinho won the European Cup with
Porto, a club of similar standing to Spurs; Coppell has guided
In relation to the other recent Spurs managers, Jol’s point per game record is a clear improvement but one must bear in mind the level being compared to:
Graham was a dinosaur Hoddle thought it wise to pack his team with over 30s and had Pleat scheming behind his back. Pleat and Hughton were a joke.
You are comparing to mediocrity.
Tactics
Midnightjester also says that Jol has recently stopped withdrawing the attacking end of our team early and has worked that the best form of defence is attack. This ignores the fact that we were 3-1 up at Chelsea and sat back, instead of killing them off (Admittedly when you are playing the Champions on their home turf one can see the thinking behind ‘what we have, we hold’ but Spurs simply don’t have the players to perform this way). Another example comes from the West Ham game where we came back from 2-0 down to draw level only to sit back again and let them regain the initiative. Finally, there were the damning events of Saturday where after taking control of the game, we deservedly took the lead only to sit back and let Arsenal destroy us. We only had one shot in the whole of the second half and Jol’s response? To take off our most dangerous midfielder. This was not the first time they have overrun u |