More Reaction To Tottenham’s Defeat At Manchester City

AVB comes in for criticism [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]More post Man City Reaction

I so want (ed?) the AVB project to work. Every time things have started to look dodgy, as far back as a year ago, when my wife said, “He’ll be gone by Christmas”, I have written positive encouraging blogs in the hope they might have a positive effect on Spurs players and management alike.

I’ve been getting the “Told you so” look off her recently but she is too kind to rub it in. I said in my last diary that if I you couldn’t find anything positive to say, you should keep your mouth shut. That hasn’t stopped some influential and knowledgeable commentators though and it would be remiss of me not to at least summarise what they have said in the immediate aftermath of the City thrashing.

The Graeme Souness View

Graeme Souness in the post-match analysis on Sky following the Man City debacle said,

“I don’t think an owner who has spent a hundred million on a team that has played in the Champions League recently doesn’t think they can win the league. I don’t think at the start of the season Joe Lewis or Daniel Levy are going to be happy with just getting into the top four.

Sorry. They’ve lost one player and gone out and supposedly strengthened your team. To score 5 goals at home. Man City have scored 25 goals at the Etihad. Where would you rather have a season ticket?” (Careful Graham, that is touching a very raw nerve with yours truly). “It’s just not good enough for Tottenham. Tottenham have a history of playing the game a certain way. It’s like an obligation to excite and play the game correctly and get you on the edge of your seat and I am afraid this Tottenham team are not doing it.”

Glenn Hoddle’s Thoughts

Hoddle said,

“If this was a one–off I could say let’s wipe that under the table.  It’s not. They lost at home to Newcastle, they lost 3-0 at home to West Ham..but even home games against Swansea – a penalty, they weren’t convincing. For me, there’s a lot more work to be done there.” (I’m beginning to wonder if it really is time for you Glenn.)

Souness: “You’ve got a team that qualified for the Champions League and then missed out by Chelsea winning the European Cup, so then you strengthen the team on the face of it by buying good players. None of them have stood up to the plate and shown they can get Tottenham back to where they were a couple of years ago… do they excite you? No. Do they score goals? No. It’s a very difficult job at Tottenham (to Glenn) you know it. The supporters are a demanding lot and they are not playing a brand of football that they are enjoying”.

My Thoughts

It’s certainly hard hat time for AVB.  It occurred to me that the brand of football had started to have a bit of a whiff of the George Graham era about it. Until we conceded three at home to a team without a striker and then six yesterday that is.

Daniel Levy did his best in the context of Gareth Bale’s departure. (He scored again for Real Madrid yesterday, teething problems apparently well and truly over). I wouldn’t have done it any differently in the summer yet sadly with Spurs, no matter what the owners do, history just seems to repeat itself. Always so near yet so far. Here we are like fairground addicts on Groundhog Day paying for yet another go on the rollercoaster – and there’s bl**dy Arsenal disappearing over the next crest in the distance again.

What can you do? Love the club. Keep coming back for more. Keep hoping. If we can’t have success, let’s at least have some excitement for our money like we had two years ago.