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It is Now or Never

Chimbo!

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2007
3,558
3,291
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

The prophet of doom has spoken, be forewarned Yids of the world, your beloved Spurs may very well be doomed!!!

I'd apologise for the sarcasm but I'm not sorry.

Stop stressing out so much Chimbo, what will be will be. Sure we'd all love it if it happened but bloody hell, we'll get over it if it doesn't and try again the year after!

Reading this thread, it's difficult to believe that some would be on the brink of committing suicide if we finished outside the top 4, as much as I love Spurs personally, that is going too far!

Im not stressing out, im pointing out that we seem to be putting off the inevitable challenge of getting 4th, every season we say we need to consolidate and then the next season build on it. I just enjoy watching spurs play but if any of us want to see success in the next few years then we have to significantly improve. I stand by what i said, if all we do next season is finish 5th then spurs have failed. It is the 'inconvenient truth' but the reality is 4th is only goin to get harder not easier. I think we should ask ourselves what we expect from our team this season because so far weve made gr8 progress but have fallen at the crucial hurdles such as losing in quarter and semi-finals. If our players take the attitude that 5th is alrite like most spurs fans or all of them as it seems then whats the point? Do you think Arsenal fans would be happy with 4th next season or chelsea fans with 2nd?... No, so why should we be happy with 5th?
 

JuanRebelde

Member
Apr 10, 2006
978
2
No, so why should we be happy with 5th?

Apart from the fact that I agree with most of those who have criticized your article my question is if 5th is a clamity or failure then why are you happy to accept 4th? After all if fourth is going to become harder and harder to achieve each year (the stats don't actually bare this our incidently as the same amount of points got you 4th last season and five years ago) then the league title which after all surely ought to be our target before its too late?

Our strategy is for sustainable growth with the aim of a title challenge being a regular feature of our seasons. This does not mean that it's a failure if we don't finish 4th next season. On the contrary as I have never seen anything written that says in order to challenge for the title you must have finished 4th the previous season!
 

tevezito

In the cup for Tottingham
Jun 8, 2004
925
1,536
Chimbo's main two points are lost in the sensationalist nature of his writing and while he does have points, they are not as dramatic as he makes out.

First of all, individual clubs selling their tv rights may well actually help Tottenham in relation to the clubs below them, since over the years we have always finished higher in the tv exposure league than in the premier league (apologies for the lack of hard facts to back this up but I remember always seeing this happen). While this won't help us bridge the gap on Man Utd, for example, it will help us stay ahead of the likes of Newcastle. Economics and football are, thankfully, also rather cyclical businesses, and so the effects of a changing tv situation may only last a few years while clubs adjust - and surely the better run clubs, like Tottenham, will adjust quicker and better.

The second point about Platini and 3 champ leagues places is also a fair one, but being in the champions league can actually make it harder to win the premier league in the same season. If we finish fourth one year, not qualifying for the champions league, that may make it easier to finish second or third the following year, supposing we are still being run in a sensible and inspiring way by (the likes of) Jol and Levy.

For me, much more important than finishing fourth this year, or keeping Berbatov for that matter, is in fact, keeping Martin Jol and Daniel Levy. I would rather finish fifth this year and not be taken over by a foreign investor who knew little about the game, or lose Jol to Chelsea, than vice versa.

With Jol and Levy (and Comolli to a lesser extent) we will continue to improve, to excite and to make the most of the current football/economic climate - just watch, enjoy and sing your hearts out.
 

Chimbo!

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2007
3,558
3,291
Apart from the fact that I agree with most of those who have criticized your article my question is if 5th is a clamity or failure then why are you happy to accept 4th? After all if fourth is going to become harder and harder to achieve each year (the stats don't actually bare this our incidently as the same amount of points got you 4th last season and five years ago) then the league title which after all surely ought to be our target before its too late?

Our strategy is for sustainable growth with the aim of a title challenge being a regular feature of our seasons. This does not mean that it's a failure if we don't finish 4th next season. On the contrary as I have never seen anything written that says in order to challenge for the title you must have finished 4th the previous season!

Totally understand your point but for the time being it is not about challenging for the title as that is at this time a distant aim. The reason why 4th is so critical is that it will enable us with appropriate funding to attract players of a sufficient calibre to mount some sort of challenge for the title. Also 4th is not necessarily going to be harder to achieve in terms of points tally but due to competition. With every season we fail to gain champions league football, the 4 teams ahead of us strengthen at a greater rate to us increasing the gap. Furthermore, other teams such as Newcastle will catch up with us and add extra competition and therefore harder. The title 'now or never' was over the top but i honestly believe that this season represents the best chance of finishing in a champions league position for the foreseeable future because this is the strongest we have ever been in the history of the Premiership and imo the weakest Arsenal (their 1st team is still superior to ours) have been under Wenger. I may well be proven wrong but i think arsenal will only get stronger after this season unless they dont finish in the top 4. Maybe if i had eased my dogmatism in the article that point may have come across a little more.
 
Jan 27, 2007
167
4
For what it's worth Chimbo, I agree with you completely. After being hooked on the Spurs bug as a kid I feel like our rollercoaster ride has had more disappointments than high points. People who say that it would not be that bad if we had a mediocre season as long as we were "consistently improving" are not the same as me, when we lose i am a grumpy bastard, ask my missus!

You are right, we have a great opportunity this season and maybe this season alone to jump ahead of the chasers behind us and earn our spot in the elite, one which we should have had the last two years running. Honestly we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory enough times, I just hope we can add that 10% confidence, luck and conviction to believe that we can hold onto that 2-1 lead at the bridge etc.

So I'm a dreamer, but hell it's virtually occuring, we have a great spirit within the club, our manager is the best IMO and we are beginnning to have the players to make a real challenge.
 

JuanRebelde

Member
Apr 10, 2006
978
2
Maybe if i had eased my dogmatism in the article that point may have come across a little more.

Maybe, but in your defence, no-one should be knocked too hard for taking the time to post an article on here even if the readers don't happen to agree with it.

We seem to be a broad church as Spurs fans and as we have been so poor for too many years it is understandable that some get anxious or angry when things don't go to plan or nothing seems to be being done. Still I think we'll finish ahead of the Goons and be very close to Liverpool this year for what it is worth!
 

littleAaronlennon

New Member
Feb 18, 2007
262
0
70 points i'm hoping will be sufficent, which means improving signifcently away from home. Mind you that's been the curse of this great club for many a season certainley during our premiership years. I don't fully agree either with all the purchases we've made in the transfer market this summer, as too many if not all were brought for the future and not the present.
 

theoldguy

Member
Mar 5, 2007
526
2
Don't believe in this "doom and gloom" approach to where we are. I am very excited with the signings we have made and I believe our squad is deep enough and of high enough quality to challenge for top four or even top three. I don't see any team able to take us any less than very seriously since we have the strikers to hurt any defence. The "haves" and the "have nots" hadnt changed in a while but changes in ownerships have introduced money for us and others e.g. Portsmouth, Manchester City and Newcastle to show improvement. So life at the top is getting tougher not easier but I believe in our progress and ability (not potential) to succeed. We can play the attractive and winning football to keep the TV networks wanting to have Spurs on their screens. Come on you Spurs!
 

SouthLondonSpur

SC Supporter
May 28, 2004
1,676
1
I tend to agree with SF above in that if we won a cup and still came fifth, then thats still progress in my book. We are still a little way off the consistency we need to be top four.
 
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