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Why we should be worried

spud

Well-Known Member
Sep 2, 2003
5,850
8,794
At the start of the season, I wasn’t worried. We were in Europe again, we had the coaching staff and players to make sure that we would have a good season. We had won most of our pre-season games, including against some good opposition, and it was looking as though we would get by without our departed strike force.

Then we ‘tanked’, and while I was, to say the least, disappointed, I still wasn’t worried. I thought that while the season would be a disappointment compared to expectations (what season isn’t?) we would finish mid-table and, who knows, perhaps win the UEFA Cup.

Then we had a coaching cull, and in came ‘Appy ‘Arry. While he wouldn’t have been my first choice (and probably not even second, third, or fourth), he galvanised the team and we started to pick up points and progress to the later rounds of both cup competitions. So, no need to worry.

But now I’m worried.

I’m not especially worried at the fact that we’re hovering around the relegation zone. I’m not too bothered whether we sign the players that we all think we need in the forthcoming window, as I firmly believe that, given our current crop of players and the tightness of the division, we should still finish in mid-table without any additions. I’m not even worried about the fact that our recent performances have been abysmal. Let’s face it, that’s become traditional for Spurs in the Christmas period.

What worries me is our attitude.

For the last few seasons we have been fed a regular diet of management and players bemoaning the fact that we have underperformed and resolving to do better. We came to disbelieve them, of course, as nothing changes. But at least they realised where the problems lay.

Things have changed recently. Since his appointment, Mr. Redknapp has bemoaned his ‘small’ squad, and has even on occasion questioned the quality of the players within it. We have heard his entreaties to the Chairman to open the cheque book in the forthcoming window in order to provide the quantity (and quality) of the players he needs to keep us in the Prem. He even did so at the AGM, hardly a forum for a club official to bemoan his lot in life.

This is a worry because it leads to looking outside the club for reasons why we are in our current predicament. It takes the focus off of the players and staff and engenders a ‘poor me’ attitude. In short, it gives everybody an excuse for failure and, ultimately, for being relegated. You can almost hear the interviews after we are relegated and ‘Arry has resigned / been sacked. When asked for his thoughts, he will say that he did the best that he could with the players at his disposal. Things would have been different if (pick any or all of the following):- Ledley King was fit / we had cover at centre back / we had four (or three, or two) good centre forwards / he didn’t have to rely on kids when one of his first team was injured / we had a defensive midfielder and / or left winger / we had better refereeing. It wasn’t my fault guv’nor; just look at what I had to work with.

Even more worrying is that this attitude is now trickling down to the players. Witness the wailing and gnashing of teeth about the ‘terrible’ refereeing against West Brom. Mr Woodgate has joined in this lament. How different things would have been if that terrible ref hadn’t sent off poor Benoit; how everybody knows that poor old Daws was brutally shoved in the back when they scored their first. When really he should be saying that Assou-Ekotto should have more sense than to attempt a flashy turn to retain possession by bringing his foot down in the general vicinity of an opponent right in front of the ref, and that Dawson flung himself forward in so theatrical a way after minimal contact that any ref who gave a foul would look ridiculous.

All of this may be an attempt to develop a siege mentality; to galvanise the troops to overcome the world’s wish that they be relegated. But I don’t think so. It’s just a way of deflecting blame. It betrays mental weakness; a reluctance to fight for survival, to overcome perceived injustices and to succeed regardless of the obstacles placed in your way. It shows an acceptance of the manager’s theme that we’re ‘not good enough’. It isn’t my fault; just look at what I had to work with.

That, my friends is why I’m worried. If this is the attitude that we have, then any January signings will be irrelevant. There is a cancer in the building, and treating it with aspirin just won’t work.
 

BringBack_leGin

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2004
27,719
54,929
Very well said.

I would like to add that I, and my father before me who has been following our club a good 32 years longer than I have, have never seen a spurs manager so openly discuss the clubs transfer policy to the media, demanding funds and talking about other teams players. In fact, the closest instance I can remember is Graham declaring to the media that we were still 6 players short of having a team that could challenge for the top six, not long after Enic bought the club. Levy sacked Graham about a week later, with the reasons for the sacking never fully confirmed either.

I am not saying I want our manager sacked, but I am saying that I, having loved him initially, am beginning to question his conduct with the media.
 

Sauniere

Grand Master of the Knights of the Fat Fanny
Oct 28, 2004
3,903
690
Harry hasn't just decided to be like this because he is at Tottenham, he did it with all his clubs. Basically you knew what you were getting right at the beginning so to start complaining about him now is a bit tedious to be honest. Same goes to you BBLG, you loved him at first because we were winning, suddenly we have a bad patch and Harry's negative side comes to the fore and then you're all moaning. There's no wonder managers don't last at Spurs with fans as fickle as this.

Get behind him, if he says something pathetic just ignore him, just because he is Spurs manager doesn't mean he represents the opinion of all spurs fans and anyone else with half a brain, either football fan or in the media understands this. He is human after all, allow him some foibles ffs.
 

JC-Rule

Well-Known Member
Dec 14, 2005
1,993
1,285
If you backed the signing of Harry you knew of his frankness with the media. I haven't followed football avidly for twenty odd years. But I know Harry is generally frank and happy to discuss his business openly. martin Jol was also open with his media interviews and most fans appreciated his frankness. Football managers that give interviews and reveal nothing, bore me.

I never rated Harry as good enough for us, but his string of results at the beginning has made want to give him a fair chance. And if he points out a need in the playing staff, we have back him.

I'm starting a new job next week, if there is no computer or phone on my desk, or if they don't work properly, I'll be letting management know that asap.
 

striebs

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2004
4,504
667
Redknapp should not have said what he did about the referee and I'm sure other Spurs fans must share the embarassment I'm feeling .

I'd like to think it was the pressure getting to him betraying underlying mental weakness .

However with "friends" like the loutish Mike Ashley and wanting to sign Bellamy it does make me wonder whether he's just another football multimillionaire who thinks he can treat the little people like sh1t .

Nobody in their right mind would want to work for our board though after their antics and track record . Still think he is the best man we could get for the job .
 

ShayLaB

Well-Known Member
Dec 8, 2006
1,510
1,689
His teams always over-achieve. If that comes with some baggage - so be it.
 

JoeT

Well-Known Member
Jun 7, 2005
3,813
935
I have to agree...partly, with the sentiments expressed in the article. The Fulham game was, i.m.o abysmal in terms of effort by some of the players, and the post-game complaining about the ref. was just so typical of 'losing' teams.(By this I mean teams with a losing attitude)....Yes I am worried too, but let's give the manager time to deal with it, how long has he been here...3 or 4 months?
Not having more "good centre forwards", (as listed among those 'post-relegation excuses') is surely not an excuse but a fact isn't it? I mean Redknapp did inherit a team with a woeful strikeforce (and weaknesses in one or two other places as well). Levy should support him when he says he needs certain players. Maybe H.R. shouldn't have made his views public, but as others have said, that's the way the man is.
I guess I see articles like this as the start of, another series of not-so-thinly-veiled attacks, on YET ANOTHER Spurs manager.
 

Jenko

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2004
5,290
4,157
fair enough, but when ramos was here they never made any excuses other than to say the 'team' did not perform - they seemed to have a good attitude but look where it got them? It's just too hard to judge attitude from the outside through the media i think.
 

N17Jack

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2007
1,258
1,306
Could I just say Harry is Harry and what you see is what you get. At least he is trying to play the game and get the players he wants at the price Levy wants to pay. He is a market trader with pretty basic negotiating skills, but Id rather have him doing it for us than Comolli. Lets get behind him and see how he has done when the window closes. I think it will be ok.
 

StockSpur

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2004
4,945
1,537
embarrasment? im fucking livid at that refs incompetence and hope never to see him in the premiership again.
 

bigspurs

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2005
3,193
2,419
Harry knows the media, especially the incessant BS style journalism of the red top tabloids. He is merely trying to play them like a media playing thingy.

Still, you don't have to be a media joker to realise that there is something amiss at the Lane. I am beginning to think that if we don't sort out this scoring of goals problem, we are proper fooked!
 

birdm

New Member
Sep 1, 2005
312
0
Very well said.

I would like to add that I, and my father before me who has been following our club a good 32 years longer than I have, have never seen a spurs manager so openly discuss the clubs transfer policy to the media, demanding funds and talking about other teams players. In fact, the closest instance I can remember is Graham declaring to the media that we were still 6 players short of having a team that could challenge for the top six, not long after Enic bought the club. Levy sacked Graham about a week later, with the reasons for the sacking never fully confirmed either.

I am not saying I want our manager sacked, but I am saying that I, having loved him initially, am beginning to question his conduct with the media.

I would rather Harry be open and honest if it means we are not fannying around 5 mins before the deadline. Harry is the master of buying players so everyone just take a deep breath and WAIT. The market is not even open yet so stop calling for his head. Wouldn't suprise me if all the open talk is his way of getting things moving.
 

BringBack_leGin

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2004
27,719
54,929
I would rather Harry be open and honest if it means we are not fannying around 5 mins before the deadline. Harry is the master of buying players so everyone just take a deep breath and WAIT. The market is not even open yet so stop calling for his head. Wouldn't suprise me if all the open talk is his way of getting things moving.

I'm not calling for his head. I even say, in that post, that I am in no way wanting him out. I'm just saying that I'm not that keen on him discussing the players of other teams so openly.
 

DC_Boy

New Member
May 20, 2005
17,608
5
I've been worried all season

then again I've been worrying about Spurs for nearly 50 years so I'm used to it :)

on a more serious note to me it was clear we were in a relegation fight by about 5/6 games into the season and I posted as such.

indeed had JR stayed I think the Bolton would have been a must win otherwise we'd probably have gone down

when HR came in I didn't think the bolton game was quite as crucial given i expected a bit of new manager bounce in the near future, if not immediately. As it turned out we won the Bolton game anyway, which was very nice :)

what i hoped for when Harry arrived was that we wouldn't be a significantly adrift of safety by the time of the Jan window and thus finding it hard to attract players as well as almost certainly facing relegation even if we did

the fact that we are not adrift and indeed are above the safety zone is a tremendous testament to HR and some of the players at least

we have a real fighting chance now to avoid relgation as well as being in all 3 cup competitions, and this should help somewhat in our battle to attract players, (decent wages etc also play a not insignificant part :wink:

when HR
 
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