We need a miracle

[shelfboy68]

Well, with AVB still in charge I'm sure we would have some silverware by now, but I'm not sure if we would have become the title challengers we've been these past two seasons.

Anyway, let's not complain too much. Let's remember we were missing in Lamela and Rose, for most of the season, two of our most impactful and game-changing players. It is actually quite impressive we were able to get so many points without two of our "essential" players. The future certainly looks very bright for us.

I'm not sure I agree with that mate AVBs team was going nowhere imo and with all that emphasis on sideways passing, meant only the supporters in the East and West stands ever got to see it and enjoy it.

 

[spursfan77]

Just opened this and realised I've rated the first two posts and they a really from 2014!

I agree though.

 

[Classof17]

In 1991 we lifted the FA Cup for a record 8th time. At the time there was really only two teams in London and there wasn't much between them.

Where does it say top four?

To create a winning mentality you must win trophies. This club is obsessed with CL qualification, the only thing you should obsess over, in any sport, is being the best, nothing else.

West Ham need more of a miracle.

Top four is about business as you can see with Arsenal, and I hope they miss out this year which is likely.

The business to bring in players and to build a platform to win domestic cups and leagues!

That's the main point really, it would be top 7 if Champions League berths stretched that far.

It's only modern footballing business format and TV revenue.

To allow teams to compete financially, get more exposure world wide, and have the so called pride of being in the champions bracket elite, although obviously only in reality 1st place is what a champion is. But hey ho this is the way football has gone, along with diving cheating, terrible refereeing, lack of technology and replays to assist and bring justice into the game where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer - just like in capitalistic society.

The game has changed a fair deal since the glory glory days, and there are different motives to consider now. The long term business angle, as you can see by clubs who did not plan properly a la Leeds, Rangers, Villa... traditioally big clubs who have fallen by the wayside.

As a fan yes you will want to win something as do the players, to boast a winners medal and occasion. But there are so many facets to running the footballing business, other than just this.

I'm really happy we are now competitive. Give Poch more time see what happens. The trajectory so far is way above expectation especially given the relative resources as you have mentioned. We are being entertained week in week out. We just need a few tweaks in the bigger games, but we've got the fundamentals absolutely spot on.

We are winning the games we used to slip up in beating lesser teams consistently which is hauling a much better points average per season than fluctuating from amazing to crap.

I'm not too bothered what other people remember, but I'm remembering this current period with relish and will do for the rest of my life, similar to that excellent season we had with Harry Redknapp.

PS: Also just realised OPs post was 3 years ago lol.

 

[ginola99]

Even if we became the richest club in the World tomorrow, we still have a truly serious problem.

No trophy in 10 years.

That is our worst trophyless period since 1950, wow.

Balance sheets don't win you trophies, clean sheets and turning up when it matters most does.

I am lost for words after that and just don't know what to say anymore.

 

[absolute bobbins]

Even if we became the richest club in the World tomorrow, we still have a truly serious problem.

No trophy in 10 years.

That is our worst trophyless period since 1950, wow.

Balance sheets don't win you trophies, clean sheets and turning up when it matters most does.

I am lost for words after that and just don't know what to say anymore.

Gift gods sake man, sack up

 

[cider spurs]

I am lost for words after that and just don't know what to say anymore.

I do. We lost. Shame. Far more important things in life. Annoying to lose yet another semi...but there really is so much more to be thankful and happy about in life.

Pour yourself a nice large Scotch, light that fat Cuban bad boy you've been saving and take a moment to think of all that you hold dear. I'd suggest today's result really won't feature high on your list.

Family and friends. Loved ones and health. That's where it's truly at.

Chin up old bean.

Oh...and that Scotch. One lump, no mixer. Enjoy.

 

[TheSpillage]

I think we’re pretty good these days and I’ll take that.

 

[EastLondonYid]

Anyone who isn't happy with supporting us with no trophies can just do one... So fed up with theses new plastic fans that we have accumulated... Seriously fuck off

 

[lukespurs7]

In 1991 we lifted the FA Cup for a record 8th time. At the time there was really only two teams in London and there wasn't much between them.

London's trophy league 1991

1. Arsenal 16
2. Tottenham Hotspur 15
3. West Ham 4
4. Chelsea 3

Some 23 years later and there is hardly any pride left.

London trophy league 2014

1. Arsenal 28
2. Chelsea 19
3. Tottenham Hotspur 17
4. West Ham 4

There's so many threads on whether or not Levy is the problem or a case being put forward for a manager to take over but at this rate we need a miracle, we're being left behind. The fans are bitterly diappointed by the lack of CL football but when you look at the lack of silverware over the past 20 or so years then that really should be the last of their worries. It's as if London's football has gone the same way Portugal's did, only we are now crumbling sleeping giant that is Sporting Lisbon, with Arsenal being Benfica and Chelsea being the recently emerged power Porto.

1991 is now 23 years ago thus making this the second longest period of time in our history that we've gone without winning the FA Cup.

1. 1921 - 1960
2. 1991 -
3. 1882 - 1900
4. 1967 - 1980
5. 1982 - 1990

I could go on and on and on. It is all depressing reading and if I went on any further then the NHS would run out of Valium.

I don't believe that it is all doom and gloom but it is sobering reading for so many of us, it should make us think about what this club's ambitions should be. For me the Champions League season in 2010/11 was one of the best I've ever enjoyed, when we beat Inter and then Milan I was on cloud 9, laying awake at night half drunk thinking 'is this real, am I dreaming?' as I pinching myself to sleep. Now though it feels like a life time away. With the trophy cabinet somewhat diminishing I feel that we haven't failed in CL qualification these past years but have put all our hopes and dreams into one thing thus over looking what really matters most in football, trophies.

A lot of people talk about how important CL qualification is in terms of building something special and how it will put us back on the map, attract better players and then the rest will follow. Horse shit. We all remember the '4th place final' of 2010 up in 'Eastlands', most on here most probably thought we had hit the jackpot, what we didn't know was that all it did was delay the inevitable. As it was Man City who had hit the jackpot, not us, but they had done it two years earliar. The summer that followed Crouch's 'famous' header proved that we needed much more than just CL qualififcation

Manchester City, summer 2010 window:

​

Whilst many will argue that is how you spend £110m whilst in the Europa League you must remember the wages on show, Yaya Toure alone was reportedly on £200-250k per week and that was after tax, so Gods knows what he's on now.

At the moment we can build on the current squad, it has plenty of use, depth and still some exciting young players coming through such as bentaleb and Pritchard. Yes it isn't good enough to win the league (which is my personal goal as a Tottenham fan) nor finish in the top four but it has enough to win trophies. Whilst we need the right man in the hot seat, whilst we need to strengthen in key areas (LB, CM, ST), we need to focus on what is most important, trophies or CL football. In an ideal World we'd want both with the constant focus on CL I think we need to examine our ambitions. The competition in the league is too strong for us but in a cup anything can happen, just ask the members of our 2007/08 squad and the current Sevilla squad who had a more memorable season than Barcelona, despite losing out on CL football again.

Arsenal have ended their wait for silverware whilst ours continues (6 years), we could continue to hate Arsenal as we do or we can focus on our own ambitions. We'll never like them (of course) but we won't get anywhere just hoping they slip whilst we fail to achieve any success ourselves. They won the cup, big whoop, they're in the CL again, big whoop, and Jack Wheelchair sung some stupid song, big whoop. Whilst they're our arch rivals it is time to focus on ourselves and winning trophies.

I'll leave you with this.

Tottenham Hotspur Honours:

League Champions: 1951, 1961​

FA Cup: 1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982, 1991​

League Cup: 1971, 1973, 1999, 2008​

Europa League: 1972, 1984​

European Cup Winners' Cup: 1963​

Where does it say top four?

To create a winning mentality you must win trophies. This club is obsessed with CL qualification, the only thing you should obsess over, in any sport, is being the best, nothing else.

Great post, bloody spot on.

 

[ginola99]

After the Champions League final I thought I'd give my usual end of season 'we still haven't won a trophy in ages' rant in this thread a break. Whilst we'd lost in Madrid, seeing our boys there was surreal and my proudest moment in the 24 years I have been a Spur, sad to admit it but I cried a little when they lined up as I honestly thought I'd never see the day, much to my girlfriend's embarrassment. The pain in Spain was real, though, two days afterwards it finally sunk in and for the first time I was left, in a footballing sense, truly heartbroken, despite being so proud of the team and manager.

Sadly this was all to be expected, whilst our Semi-Final win in Amsterdam will live long in the memory and is my favourite moment, all it seemed to do was cover up the cracks, we won just 3 league games in 12 before the final. And nothing has improved since, with what is very worring reading

• 4 wins out of 14 in all competitions this season.
• No away win in the league since 20 January.
• And finally, 6 wins in our last 22 league games.

I started this thread just before Poch's appointment over 5 years ago. I have to say since then I have been very impressed, as we have grown as a club, from a laughing stock to Champions League regulars, playing the best football I have seen us play. We have reached the Champions League Final for the first time in our history, finished 2nd in the league for the first time in half a century, seen the God like rise of Harry Kane, three league finishes above Arsenal in a row after a 22 year wait, ending the Stamford Bridge jinx, brilliant wins against big (Man City) and even bigger teams (Real Madrid) and a whole season unbeaten at home as we left the Lane. All this despite a staggering financial disparity between us and our rivals, with frugal spending more a must than a choice.

Yet despite all the good times there is a feeling like nothing has actually changed. Shocking statement I know, especially given the above paragraph but it really doesn't and isn't just a knee jerk reaction to recent poor form. When this thread was first created, the following was staring us in the face:

• No trophy since 2008
• No league title since 1961
• No FA Cup since 1991
• The FA Cup Semi final curse
• No trophy in Europe since 1984
• 17 major trophies won in our history
• Terrible away form against top 6 rivals
• No Champions League qualification since 2010

Whilst the last bullet point has since changed thanks to us qualifying automatically for the Champions League for the fourth year in a row, everything else remains the same. Added to that, we haven't even scored a goal in a cup final since 2008, despite reaching 3 finals since then (2009, 2015 and 2019).

Which takes me back to my point from 5 years ago when I began this thread, when you look at a team's Honours list it never once says Top Four, it says trophies and only trophies. There's no doubt that this has been the best era we have had in the Premier League but at the same it has also been one of the most disappointing in our whole history, never has the term 'close, but no cigar' been used so often at this club, this is best summed up by the following bullet points:

• 2015 League Cup Runners Up
• 2016 Finishing 3rd in a two horse race
• 2017 League Runners Up and FA Cup Semi-Finalists
• 2018 FA Cup Semi-Finalists
• 2019 Champions League Runners Up and League Cup Semi-Finalists

And that is where the dissapointment lies, there has been an opportunity or at least half opportunity (semi-final) to win at least one trophy in each of the past five years, yet here we are still waiting.

Naturally, people will get into the argument of Champions League qualification vs trophies when discussing what is best for the club to achieve its lofty ambitions, despite the obvious answer being both. Whilst Champions League football brings great exposure to the biggest players and fair bit of cash, the biggest sponsors want teams that win, with a large global following, think Nike's deal with Barcelona (it dwarfs any in the Premier League). What's worse about all this is we had our opportunities to strengthen our position (you saw one on the pitch today in Mane) and kick on, basically leaping over our first hurdle (Champions League qualification) before falling over everyone after that. Sadly this saw players leave and rivals take advantage, as if the new stadium happened at the worst time. Before I hear Arsenal mentioned in the stadium issue, may I remind their team had just peaked and all players had left or retired within four years of that peak. Our lot had only just got started although trophies has been wanting either side of the move.

Regardless as to what happens now with Poch, whether he stays or goes, there are real problems at the club. Form is poor and some players want to leave, with four threatening to do so for free which could be catastrophic for the club both on and off the pitch. Whether the answer is a new manager or new owners or both, we need a miracle to get out us of this mess, let a lot become winners we so badly want to be.