- Feb 1, 2005
- 19,120
- 6,003
- Staff
- #1
Two weeks without Premier League football. But here at Spurs it feels like longer. As a result of the Chairman’s insistence on a last-minute transfer policy, a clutch of unfortunate injuries to the spine of the team, and/or the natural challenges of a new manager introducing a new system (delete/blame as preferred), Tottenham could be forgiven for thinking the season starts today at Reading (if only the Premier League would be good enough to discount the results so far).
Fittingly for a club long and closely associated with the Jewish community, today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Could it be that, after everything that has gone before in 2012, Sunday September 16, 2012 actually marks a proper new beginning for Tottenham? When Spurs fans greet each other today there will be plenty of “Shana Tova”s spoken, the hope for a “Good Year” also aimed in AVB’s direction.
It has hardly been an annus horribilus for Spurs since last September, but we’re all familiar with the way our season broke down, two of our star players left and the controversy as our manager was removed. You can’t look at Spurs current “crisis” (thanks, tabloids) in the context of three matches. In fact, you could say Spurs will now be making a new start since roughly half-time at The Emirates in February. That’s seven months of poor performances and results that have to be addressed. It’s way too long for a side with our level of talent, experience and investment. You, me, and most notably the media all know this.
Looking just at the three games this season, it hasn’t quite been as bad as general sentiment and many commentators have suggested. If Spurs had finished our matches so far after 80 minutes, we would have had 7 points and been in the top four in the league. This is a staggeringly worthless statistic – we have all seen the stuttering performances as the team try to make new plans work - but those last ten minutes do highlight the challenge ahead for Andre Villas-Boas and the team: the need for solidity, mental focus and technical strength when the opposition come at us, when we have a lead, when they have no alternative but to pressurise us.
In this regard, the loss of the battling figures of Younes Kaboul and Scott Parker have hit us harder than we perhaps realised. The easy way out is to blame the manager. Some more creatively-minded fans have thought to blame Jake Livermore instead. He may not be Luka Modric – or more pertinently, he’s no Scott Parker - but for me he’s given everything we’ve asked. A better player may have helped us get better results but that’s not Jake’s fault. I am sweetly naïve enough to believe we should support players and managers blindly, especially early on in their careers. And doubly especially when they are trying their best in challenging circumstances.
Things won’t get instantly better in this new Jewish year, this new Tottenham year. They may even get worse. If I tell you that Howard Webb is the ref, you can start painting your own morbid picture of just how this afternoon may turn out and repurcussions in the sports media. But, for me, win or lose I’ll still be celebrating a new year and a fresh start. You don't have to look hard to see how things are looking up for Tottenham Hotspur at the moment.
We have some wonderful players at Spurs. Gareth Bale was widely expected to leave this summer. “You’ll never hold on to him without Champions League football” we’ve heard from friends that support other teams. It was never an issue. One of European footballs best talents, who works at the club every day, who has seen our vision, didn’t hesitate before committing himself to Spurs. In Vertonghen, Lloris, Dembele and Dempsey we have thrilling potential to add to an already extremely talented squad.
Our stars also have a new beginning down at Bulls Cross. The drive up Hotspur Way every morning is enough to bring a smile to the face of even an ex-Gooner captain in William Gallas. We have one of the finest training facilities in the world and a coaching staff who want to use it to the fullest. Massive motivation for players with the right mind-set and mental approach.
New Year is a time for second chances, new starts. Auld Lang Syne and all that. As part of the overhaul this summer it was more a case of “May all Croatians be forgot” for Andre Villas-Boas, but while talent has left the Lane, there is no shortage of it still here. And, critically, the players here all seem to want to do something special. Together. You can look back at the past three games in frustration or draw a line and look ahead to those games to come, the many games this exciting young side have to create their own history.
As I say, I’m one of those annoying, naïve types who would rather cheer a team who lost than boo a team who under-perform. I’m also one of those people who wake up on New Year’s Day and write my resolutions out. Every year I do this, make promises, state my goal, try to achieve it. And every year I get embarrassed by how useless I am at sticking to my resolutions. How I fail at doing what I wanted to when the journey started.
But I love aiming high. It’s better than succeeding when aiming low, you know…
Shana Tova and Come On You Spurs.
Fittingly for a club long and closely associated with the Jewish community, today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Could it be that, after everything that has gone before in 2012, Sunday September 16, 2012 actually marks a proper new beginning for Tottenham? When Spurs fans greet each other today there will be plenty of “Shana Tova”s spoken, the hope for a “Good Year” also aimed in AVB’s direction.
It has hardly been an annus horribilus for Spurs since last September, but we’re all familiar with the way our season broke down, two of our star players left and the controversy as our manager was removed. You can’t look at Spurs current “crisis” (thanks, tabloids) in the context of three matches. In fact, you could say Spurs will now be making a new start since roughly half-time at The Emirates in February. That’s seven months of poor performances and results that have to be addressed. It’s way too long for a side with our level of talent, experience and investment. You, me, and most notably the media all know this.
Looking just at the three games this season, it hasn’t quite been as bad as general sentiment and many commentators have suggested. If Spurs had finished our matches so far after 80 minutes, we would have had 7 points and been in the top four in the league. This is a staggeringly worthless statistic – we have all seen the stuttering performances as the team try to make new plans work - but those last ten minutes do highlight the challenge ahead for Andre Villas-Boas and the team: the need for solidity, mental focus and technical strength when the opposition come at us, when we have a lead, when they have no alternative but to pressurise us.
In this regard, the loss of the battling figures of Younes Kaboul and Scott Parker have hit us harder than we perhaps realised. The easy way out is to blame the manager. Some more creatively-minded fans have thought to blame Jake Livermore instead. He may not be Luka Modric – or more pertinently, he’s no Scott Parker - but for me he’s given everything we’ve asked. A better player may have helped us get better results but that’s not Jake’s fault. I am sweetly naïve enough to believe we should support players and managers blindly, especially early on in their careers. And doubly especially when they are trying their best in challenging circumstances.
Things won’t get instantly better in this new Jewish year, this new Tottenham year. They may even get worse. If I tell you that Howard Webb is the ref, you can start painting your own morbid picture of just how this afternoon may turn out and repurcussions in the sports media. But, for me, win or lose I’ll still be celebrating a new year and a fresh start. You don't have to look hard to see how things are looking up for Tottenham Hotspur at the moment.
We have some wonderful players at Spurs. Gareth Bale was widely expected to leave this summer. “You’ll never hold on to him without Champions League football” we’ve heard from friends that support other teams. It was never an issue. One of European footballs best talents, who works at the club every day, who has seen our vision, didn’t hesitate before committing himself to Spurs. In Vertonghen, Lloris, Dembele and Dempsey we have thrilling potential to add to an already extremely talented squad.
Our stars also have a new beginning down at Bulls Cross. The drive up Hotspur Way every morning is enough to bring a smile to the face of even an ex-Gooner captain in William Gallas. We have one of the finest training facilities in the world and a coaching staff who want to use it to the fullest. Massive motivation for players with the right mind-set and mental approach.
New Year is a time for second chances, new starts. Auld Lang Syne and all that. As part of the overhaul this summer it was more a case of “May all Croatians be forgot” for Andre Villas-Boas, but while talent has left the Lane, there is no shortage of it still here. And, critically, the players here all seem to want to do something special. Together. You can look back at the past three games in frustration or draw a line and look ahead to those games to come, the many games this exciting young side have to create their own history.
As I say, I’m one of those annoying, naïve types who would rather cheer a team who lost than boo a team who under-perform. I’m also one of those people who wake up on New Year’s Day and write my resolutions out. Every year I do this, make promises, state my goal, try to achieve it. And every year I get embarrassed by how useless I am at sticking to my resolutions. How I fail at doing what I wanted to when the journey started.
But I love aiming high. It’s better than succeeding when aiming low, you know…
Shana Tova and Come On You Spurs.
