soup
On the straightened arrow
- May 26, 2004
- 3,499
- 3,608
Looking at how we seem to have built one of, if not the best squads in the league, I thought it'd be interesting to compare our methods against those of Chelsea and Man City.
There's no doubt that the massive injection of cash helped put Chelsea top of the tree for a while and is now threatening on doing the same at City, but while both of those are currently looking to varying degrees unstable, I wondered if our long and laboured route is currently looking the better option to continued growth.
While it brings more immediate success, enabling mega wages and mega transfer fees to be paid, having a sugar daddy doesn't seem to be the be all and end all in football. At one end of the scale, Chelsea's barrel, if only slightly, seems to be drying. Roman doesn't seem to want to spend countless billions on players anymore and the result is a drop from Chelsea having arguably the best squad in the league, to now looking old and threadbare. They'll still be there or thereabouts, but they're not as scary as before. At the other end, at City, the players are still arriving thick and fast, in much the same way they first did at Chelsea and there's no doubting the quality either, but the camaraderie just doesn't seem to be there yet.
But while those 2 are gambling on more immediate success, will our method of slowly building become more fruitful in the long run?
Fair enough, it's not for trying, as in the past, we've also tried buying more points and on the way spent more than Arsenal, but have we got the mix about right?
To me, it's only become apparent over the past few weeks.
Not only are we playing better football with some of the best players we've had for years, we also seem to be building the team ethic that is needed at truly 'top' clubs. We now seem to be playing for each other, working together, truly gelling as a squad and most importantly we now look like we absolutely hate fucking losing. That's something I can't really say about many of the teams I've seen grace WHL and various away days over recent memory.
We now look like we've got good movement, good understanding between players, good anticipation and generally more intelligent play. Our fitness is enabling us to win matches in the last 10 minutes with our pace and style at the right end of the pitch instead of constantly losing to those last minute goals which have been so guilty of in the past. We still concede the odd stupid goal, but watch Match Of The Day, nearly every team does that, most goals conceded are stupid goals made by human error, even confessed to by the manager interviews after each game, very few are spectacular wonder strikes.
Maybe our medical facilities could still be questioned with the amount of injuries we have, but with the amount of effort being on show it's not really so surprising. It's not like when we used to be languishing in 16th place with 12 players out injured and known as a soft touch, we've changed since then, now our players are playing with genuine heart, head butts and all, getting stuck-in and now faaaaar from a soft touch. You cant blame them for getting a few more knocks.
Even in the media, they're running out of things to label us with, no longer softies, no longer just a cup team, no longer just a homer, no longer using Europe as an excuse for failure. Maybe we're still a bit shifty at the back, but sorry, I'm a Spurs fan, I'd rather be scoring up front and spending my money watching games full of goals than full of clean sheets. I'm sure I'm not the only one either.
To sum it up, were not perfect, we never will be, but we look like we've got confidence at last. I won't yet say consistency, as it always seems to early to say that around WHL!
So while Chelsea stutter (shameless tabloid expression, granted), and Man City try to come to grips with staying at the top, along with ironing out thier problems within the squad (which, if I'm honest I think are more media generated than fact - they'll be quite happy sitting 1st or 2nd all season), is our steady building of playing squad, playing style, team ethic and team bonding the better long-term solution?
Our way, in my eyes, is more comparable of that of Manchester United and the way they built themselves into one of the truly 'top' teams in the world. We're not where they are yet, not by a long way, but I really do see the signs starting to emerge.
To think back now, about the times we were warned that Levy and Enic were going to be the worst thing ever for Spurs by Rangers' fans and when we chuckled at Paul Barber wanting to bring Redknapp in sooner. Here we are and in a very enviable position compared to most other clubs both on and off the field.
So, as usual, I've probably gone over the top with my levels of optimism and I'm sure I'll get shot down for looking too high, too soon, but if there's anytime to kick on that momentum as a team and as fans, all pulling together, then it's now. I for the first time in years, I don't feel that foolish in saying so.
Let's carry on doing it 'The Tottenham Way'.
There's no doubt that the massive injection of cash helped put Chelsea top of the tree for a while and is now threatening on doing the same at City, but while both of those are currently looking to varying degrees unstable, I wondered if our long and laboured route is currently looking the better option to continued growth.
While it brings more immediate success, enabling mega wages and mega transfer fees to be paid, having a sugar daddy doesn't seem to be the be all and end all in football. At one end of the scale, Chelsea's barrel, if only slightly, seems to be drying. Roman doesn't seem to want to spend countless billions on players anymore and the result is a drop from Chelsea having arguably the best squad in the league, to now looking old and threadbare. They'll still be there or thereabouts, but they're not as scary as before. At the other end, at City, the players are still arriving thick and fast, in much the same way they first did at Chelsea and there's no doubting the quality either, but the camaraderie just doesn't seem to be there yet.
But while those 2 are gambling on more immediate success, will our method of slowly building become more fruitful in the long run?
Fair enough, it's not for trying, as in the past, we've also tried buying more points and on the way spent more than Arsenal, but have we got the mix about right?
To me, it's only become apparent over the past few weeks.
Not only are we playing better football with some of the best players we've had for years, we also seem to be building the team ethic that is needed at truly 'top' clubs. We now seem to be playing for each other, working together, truly gelling as a squad and most importantly we now look like we absolutely hate fucking losing. That's something I can't really say about many of the teams I've seen grace WHL and various away days over recent memory.
We now look like we've got good movement, good understanding between players, good anticipation and generally more intelligent play. Our fitness is enabling us to win matches in the last 10 minutes with our pace and style at the right end of the pitch instead of constantly losing to those last minute goals which have been so guilty of in the past. We still concede the odd stupid goal, but watch Match Of The Day, nearly every team does that, most goals conceded are stupid goals made by human error, even confessed to by the manager interviews after each game, very few are spectacular wonder strikes.
Maybe our medical facilities could still be questioned with the amount of injuries we have, but with the amount of effort being on show it's not really so surprising. It's not like when we used to be languishing in 16th place with 12 players out injured and known as a soft touch, we've changed since then, now our players are playing with genuine heart, head butts and all, getting stuck-in and now faaaaar from a soft touch. You cant blame them for getting a few more knocks.
Even in the media, they're running out of things to label us with, no longer softies, no longer just a cup team, no longer just a homer, no longer using Europe as an excuse for failure. Maybe we're still a bit shifty at the back, but sorry, I'm a Spurs fan, I'd rather be scoring up front and spending my money watching games full of goals than full of clean sheets. I'm sure I'm not the only one either.
To sum it up, were not perfect, we never will be, but we look like we've got confidence at last. I won't yet say consistency, as it always seems to early to say that around WHL!
So while Chelsea stutter (shameless tabloid expression, granted), and Man City try to come to grips with staying at the top, along with ironing out thier problems within the squad (which, if I'm honest I think are more media generated than fact - they'll be quite happy sitting 1st or 2nd all season), is our steady building of playing squad, playing style, team ethic and team bonding the better long-term solution?
Our way, in my eyes, is more comparable of that of Manchester United and the way they built themselves into one of the truly 'top' teams in the world. We're not where they are yet, not by a long way, but I really do see the signs starting to emerge.
To think back now, about the times we were warned that Levy and Enic were going to be the worst thing ever for Spurs by Rangers' fans and when we chuckled at Paul Barber wanting to bring Redknapp in sooner. Here we are and in a very enviable position compared to most other clubs both on and off the field.
So, as usual, I've probably gone over the top with my levels of optimism and I'm sure I'll get shot down for looking too high, too soon, but if there's anytime to kick on that momentum as a team and as fans, all pulling together, then it's now. I for the first time in years, I don't feel that foolish in saying so.
Let's carry on doing it 'The Tottenham Way'.
