I am tired of hearing about fourth spot being considered the Holy Grail. I acknowledge the pecuniary importance and prestige connected to just qualifying for the Champions League. But otherwise you don’t win anything by being fourth!
OK, why speculate about such things in a year when we have been in Premier League trouble since the first day? Well, because we are flushing the Bill Nicholson and Spurs mantra of 'better to aim high and fail' down the drain by limiting our ambition.
Right now, we must go relentlessly after the seventh spot to qualify for the new Europa League. And next year we must go for the Premier League title…better to aim high!
Have I gone completely mad? Well, I don’t think so.
This season we are currently 4 (or up to 7) points off target, but there are still 27 points at stake. Next season we will hopefully take the momentum from actually reaching seventh despite adversity with us into a serious challenge for the #1 spot.
And why should we all of a sudden be able to do that? In my humble opinion we are very close to having the players to do it. They just need the self-belief and the mentality to not dare to lose that the current top teams possess.
If we take a look at the team, I think we are close to where we should be.
We have a keeper who is commanding with strong reactions when he is not injured. I believe that his early troubles were caused by having to play with injury. And now we even have a dependable stand-in.
We have a world-class central defence with three top class players and even very capable supplement in Corluka and Chimbonda if need be.
The full backs are getting there. Corluka has been solid and his interplay with Lennon is improving all the time. Assou-Ekotto is also getting there. He just needs to keep his concentration for the full 90+ minutes. Here we have capable back ups as well in Hutton (next season), Chimbonda, Gunter, and hopefully Bale will snap out of his current crisis to fulfil his potential. Even O’Hara can fill in on the left back.
The midfield needs to gel. We have finally found the hard man in Palacios. He, Jenas and Modric have nine games this season to work on the mutual understanding, roles and running patterns. But once they find that and find the willingness to pass the ball fast and early, then they can be as good a midfield as any other PL team on their day. With versatile Zokora as stand-in for Palacios and Huddlestone hopefully soon fulfilling his potential competing with Jenas and Modric.
Up front, Pavlyuchenko has not had a break for more than a year. He joined us straight from a tough schedule of the Russian League, the Euros and then more Russian League. He will blossom next season after a good summers rest.
Keane is pivotal. He might be pointing and shouting, but he fires everybody up and he works his socks off all the time. Bent…well the jury is still out. And so is my opinion of Defoe. But he seems to have learned about the off side rule since he was last at the club.
On the wings we have a rejuvenated Lennon and we know we need a body on the left. But we have a Bentley as back up, and he should know by now that he owes us to live up to his potential. Bale can do the left job and then we have a couple of talented kids currently out on loan. I don’t know if Gio and Taraabt will make the grade, but we’ll see.
Anyway, in conclusion I think we are very close to a team capable of challenging for the absolute top. I don’t think Redknapp will need to do a lot of business in the summer. Actually, I look forward to the day when we do not have to change the entire team every season.
The final and most crucial element is the players’ mentality. Do they want to win so bad that the alternative is unthinkable? Can they find that mental strength in themselves? Or will they just be content to count their enormous salaries? I, for one, think they owe us – the fans – to really justify their huge price tags by showing us that mentality. Because they do have the talent and potential. Now, get us 7 and then put on a show to remember starting August. COYS!
OK, why speculate about such things in a year when we have been in Premier League trouble since the first day? Well, because we are flushing the Bill Nicholson and Spurs mantra of 'better to aim high and fail' down the drain by limiting our ambition.
Right now, we must go relentlessly after the seventh spot to qualify for the new Europa League. And next year we must go for the Premier League title…better to aim high!
Have I gone completely mad? Well, I don’t think so.
This season we are currently 4 (or up to 7) points off target, but there are still 27 points at stake. Next season we will hopefully take the momentum from actually reaching seventh despite adversity with us into a serious challenge for the #1 spot.
And why should we all of a sudden be able to do that? In my humble opinion we are very close to having the players to do it. They just need the self-belief and the mentality to not dare to lose that the current top teams possess.
If we take a look at the team, I think we are close to where we should be.
We have a keeper who is commanding with strong reactions when he is not injured. I believe that his early troubles were caused by having to play with injury. And now we even have a dependable stand-in.
We have a world-class central defence with three top class players and even very capable supplement in Corluka and Chimbonda if need be.
The full backs are getting there. Corluka has been solid and his interplay with Lennon is improving all the time. Assou-Ekotto is also getting there. He just needs to keep his concentration for the full 90+ minutes. Here we have capable back ups as well in Hutton (next season), Chimbonda, Gunter, and hopefully Bale will snap out of his current crisis to fulfil his potential. Even O’Hara can fill in on the left back.
The midfield needs to gel. We have finally found the hard man in Palacios. He, Jenas and Modric have nine games this season to work on the mutual understanding, roles and running patterns. But once they find that and find the willingness to pass the ball fast and early, then they can be as good a midfield as any other PL team on their day. With versatile Zokora as stand-in for Palacios and Huddlestone hopefully soon fulfilling his potential competing with Jenas and Modric.
Up front, Pavlyuchenko has not had a break for more than a year. He joined us straight from a tough schedule of the Russian League, the Euros and then more Russian League. He will blossom next season after a good summers rest.
Keane is pivotal. He might be pointing and shouting, but he fires everybody up and he works his socks off all the time. Bent…well the jury is still out. And so is my opinion of Defoe. But he seems to have learned about the off side rule since he was last at the club.
On the wings we have a rejuvenated Lennon and we know we need a body on the left. But we have a Bentley as back up, and he should know by now that he owes us to live up to his potential. Bale can do the left job and then we have a couple of talented kids currently out on loan. I don’t know if Gio and Taraabt will make the grade, but we’ll see.
Anyway, in conclusion I think we are very close to a team capable of challenging for the absolute top. I don’t think Redknapp will need to do a lot of business in the summer. Actually, I look forward to the day when we do not have to change the entire team every season.
The final and most crucial element is the players’ mentality. Do they want to win so bad that the alternative is unthinkable? Can they find that mental strength in themselves? Or will they just be content to count their enormous salaries? I, for one, think they owe us – the fans – to really justify their huge price tags by showing us that mentality. Because they do have the talent and potential. Now, get us 7 and then put on a show to remember starting August. COYS!