The Game Is About Glory

[rez9000]

Interesting points.

Do you think we need to splurge a load of money to stand any chance of winning a domestic cup? Do you feel the current first XI or squad isn't good enough to win one?

I think every club would love to have a Ferguson. But it is highly unlikely we'll see that scenario again for a long time, if ever. I dare say that if we are putting all our eggs into the one basket that in 10 or 20 years we may have a dominant period, then it is a bad bet.

We are basically saying that rather than go out concentrate seriously on our career we're going to keep doing part times jobs so that we can fund buying a lottery ticket because one day we may win millions. Which is more than we could ever dream of earning if we just did a normal 9-5 job.

OK, I understand now. Your dissatisfaction stems from the fact that we didn't field a strong enough team against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and so this means that the entire approach of the club (and ENIC, which I think is the main focus of your ire) is incorrect in your view.

Well, that's been done to death and there really isn't any further value in rehashing the point over and over again. All I'll say in conclusion is that prioritising the League is a far better choice than prioritising a domestic cup. We don't have the squad to challenge for both right now and we need to finish as high as possible in the PL in order to be able to buy better players in the future. CL qualification comes first right now. That's my final word.

 

[vegassd]

I take your point and a mod can move it if they desire. But it's not a post about Poch, it's not a post about ENIC. It's a post about the state of football, it's a state questioning was is success and glory.

The way I read it was a very well written post about the ups and downs of being a Spurs fan over the last 40 years which held a slightly-veiled dig at Poch himself. I didn't want to write a proper reply because I thought it would be a spammy thread (it was an ENIC debate by page 2!!) but now we've reached 4 pages it feels safer!

I do agree with you that it's a shame that the domestic cups have seemingly lost their glory. I'm a child of the 80's so the '91 cup win was a bit early for me in terms of really following football, but I absolutely remember how important the FA cup was back then, particularly to us as a "cup team". I think it's very fair to say that the increased money in the game these days has ruined that as the CL has become the jewel in the crown and qualification for it is seen as a prize in itself.

I'll admit to being part of that problem. I love the CL nights and find them more enjoyable and suspenseful than an extended domestic cup run. I have no reasoning behind that.. it's just how I feel when we are playing the likes of Barca and Madrid.

In terms of the "top 4 trophy" I think it's an unfortunate symptom of the state of the game. Leicester proved that it is possible to win without spending big money, but in the same turn proved that it's not possible (or at least very hard) to keep winning without spending. Spending is very important, therefore revenue is important. The CL delivers a double-whammy of revenue at the moment - not just the prize money from UEFA but the increased coverage of PL games that comes with being a top 4 contender.

Without getting into ENIC specifically, I think that part of the role of a modern football club board is to keep the club competitive in the commercial world. That involves the infrastructure spending and also property/commercial investments in the local area. I know that United, Liverpool and City all do that and would be surprised if Chelsea and Arsenal don't. It's the boring stuff we don't want to be involved with as fans but is unfortunately becoming more fundamental to supporting success on the pitch.

I agree with you about the "projects" being things like the stadium whilst the club itself is an ongoing venture. To my mind that means there is one question that stands out above all others; what next?

Given the current state of the game, if we win the FA cup then what next? How do we go and win another? If we spend £100m on players but win nothing the following season then what next? Do we spend again? Even if we won the league after that spending, what next after that? Would a generation of fans be happy to say that they witnessed Spurs win the league once and never again complain about trophies?

I think I sit on the same side of the fence as @rez9000 in terms of wanting multiple trophies and don't mind sacrificing some short-term pain if it provides an opportunity for that. There's nothing that says the stadium etc. will guarantee that, it's just my opinion that if we want to fight with other financial big boys we need to become one ourselves. That road holds some tough decisions, such as which competitions to prioritise when it comes to team selections (I'm not saying it's either or... just a case of priorities) and is a longer road than any of us probably want. But in my view it's the road to achieving an era of glory rather than just a sprinkling of it.

 

[Lighty64]

Fairly comfortable draws combined with stronger teams we've faced also fielding weakened teams. For me it makes even more frustrating that we get so far in some of these competitions and then play a weakened team or weird team selection when we're on the cusp. If the aim is not to take the cups seriously, to presumably lessen the player and coaching load, then don't enter into the competition in the first place. Don't play all those games to get you so far only then to throw it away when you're on the verge of making a final or winning the ruddy thing.

There have been three WTF stand out moments for me through all those years of supporting Spurs.


1) Us hiring Graham as a manager

2) Pochettino not picking Lloris in semi finals or the final.

3) Pochettino playing Son at left wing back against Chelsea in an FA Cup semi final. My WTF was compounded further when Pochettino basically admitted that his inclusion wasn't tactical and was because Son had played well in previous matches and he felt it was unfair not to play him in the semi so they stuck him at left back so he could get to play in the match. He even changed the Spurs formation to accommodate him.

To be honest that Son move wasn’t his best decision, but you mentioned playing Vorm instead of Lloris v Man U, yet v Chelsea he was at fault for them taking the lead. He is a class keeper but when he has a bad hair day it does cost us.

The Semi that annoys me the most was v Portsmouth