Good Morning,
The first prattle of the season and it’s for the Europa. We’ve watched this game, this competition travel towards us for some time now and I’ve decided we really need to embrace it. It being …in Europe.
We need to distinguish ourselves and try at least to abandon this fast food attitude to football. Looking across a variety of teams forums as I do, there is a needy child element within most fan bases, all looking for confirmation that Messi has signed and that they’ve been given a bye to the Champions League final.
Life doesn’t work like that. Aside from once in a lifetime deals when the Treasurer of The Crown Prince of Nigeria emails you personally asking you to assist in a mutually beneficial business transaction, good times rarely come easy.
“If we’re not in Europe, we’re nothing.”
Do you really think that Bill Nicholson was the type of chap to make pronouncements like this and then mumble afterwards, ‘Err, with some obvious caveats..’ ? No, nor do I.
Yes it’s less money, yes it’s more effort. But any money is good when you’re building for the future and we currently have the largest squad in Western Europe outside of the Cirque du Soleil and the similarities don’t end there…
So let’s embrace this competition and if we’re in it, try to win it. Eh?
The Jam Tarts seem to be looking forward to the game but less so to the probable result. The atmosphere ought to be intense enough, Tynecastle is an old fashioned ground and the fans are right up to the pitch.
And I am given to understand Mr Dave McKay may very well be on the premises …what more motivation can possibly I give you? Bring it on.
So. We have a lump of players who need to be shop windowed/given some game time. Let’s exploit the Europa and quit the groaning.
BIOYC!
On the Redknapp issue,all i can add is i’m very pleased we have Levy holding tightly onto his reins.I don’t see him as a Spurs man and if he had his way he could stroll of to the English managerial post leaving us in shit street just as he did at Portsmouth.I also think we should be interested in what he has to say to the press as it often portrays Spurs and their fans as Uppity arseholes who should know their place.How can Levy let him break the wage structure and bring in highly paid superstars knowing Harry’s on his bike in the near future.Ancelotti would have been a right result in my opinion
There you go Roasted Peanut see above last sentence, never say never again…
Every team Redknapp has managed has dropped out of the Premier League either under his tenure or in the few years subsequent to his leaving. Other than Spurs :daumen:
He did show us how to go 4-0 down in two Champions League games.
Legend.
and how to beat Arsenal away.
That was brilliant,but our expectations should not be limited to bragging rights.Arsenal seem to be imploding and with the squad we have teams should be fearing us a lot more than they do
… and Liverpool. Two bogeys off our back in one season.
Blackpool,Wigan,West Spam,etc
How dare he not win the league in our first CL season. F***ing chancer.
@frontwheel
“Arsenal seem to be imploding”
Arsenal finished above us, and still had Cesc and Nasri at the time. It is completely unfair to play down the magnitude of that result. I don’t know if you were aware, but for the past decade+ our stated ‘main problem’ was an inability to compete against the top sides. Redknapp has emphatically and consistently eliminated that tendency (look at his results against ManU, ManC, Arse, Cheatscum, Milan 1 & 2, Liverpoo and compare against any manager we have had in your lifetime).
Sure, we let some results slip against weak opposition. We all know this, and so do the coaches. If you look beyond the results, however, we completely bossed most of those games and were extremely unlucky not to win most. The FA cup exit and West Ham games were exceptions, but two bad games in a whole season isn’t too bad no matter who you are (plus about a combined 40 minutes of disaster against Inter & Young Boys, both of which we were able to overturn with eminent efforts for the rest of the ties).
I wrote a long post just after the end of the season comparing our results against the “bottom teams”, with how the other main contenders did. Yeah, we lost points against weak teams, but as it turned out, everyone else did as well. The league is a lot more competitive than it used to be, not only for CL places, but all the way down.
@hotspurhartley
Pointing out that one person came up with a name for a different manager who you think would be better than Redknapp is hardly evidence in your favor. You are still not being constructive.
“I think we should buy Edin Dzeko from ManC to solve our striker problem” is not constructive. it is the same thing you are saying.
Sure Ancelotti would be better. He also would not come to us, even if he wasn’t barred from managing in England this season as per his termination from Chelsea.
You know 4th even 3rd was there for the taking
“I don’t see him as a Spurs man”
And Ancelotti is??
I don’t see him as a Spurs man,whats your problem?
I would have liked Ancelotti given the chance to become a Spurs man,he’s got a point to prove
I was quoting you in an effort to point out that not being a “spurs man” is hardly a fair criticism of a manager.
I would love to give Ancelotti a chance to become a spurs man. This will not happen.
I would also love to give Xavi and Gerd Muller anno 1969 the same chance. This also will not happen.
Do you see how this would not amount to a rational criticism of, for example, Thudd and Pav?
Where we certainly agree is in being happy that Levy is the man actually at the wheel. The common denominator among teams that go bust (Leeds, obviously, but also less spectacular examples) is that football-people have been put in/taken charge of finance, about which they haven’t a clue.
“often portrays Spurs and their fans as Uppity arseholes who should know their place”
With reference to many of our fans (and fans of other clubs), that is in fact an accurate description.
I also refer you up to my comment regarding ‘Arry’s public appearances. He probably had a good reason for saying the things he’s said. When it comes to the whole “idiots” debacle, it has struck me that it came at a time when there were a few players being booed at home games. I think what he said was perhaps more aimed at protecting the fragile ego and confidence of these players (“the people booing know nothing, I pick the team, you’re a great player”) to make sure they didn’t end up in a downward spiral.
I don’t think Harry cares too much about hurting your feelings, or my feelings. He cares about making his team perform to and (if at all possible) above their potential. Some of his comments seemed ill advised at the time, but in hindsight he hasn’t alienated the fans (support was great throughout pre-season), and he hasn’t lost the dressing room.
We may not always see it, but the man always has a plan.
And again, there’s nobody better out there for us.
Wanting Tottenham to achieve their full potential in my opinion isn’t being an uppity arsehole.A manager calling his clubs supporters idiots for having an opinion is very unprofessional in my book
It was not a blanket statement calling all Spurs supporters idiots. It was in reference to a particular caller-in on a radio show Redknapp was doing. This person had strongly critical opinions of the team and its performances, without any evidence or insight to back it up. Harry was talking about people who are not familiar with the facts making bold but unfounded critical statements. He was not talking about you.
Remember that this was right around the time a small number of WHL support had started booing the team. Booing a team of players who were doing their best to entertain the very same supporters and bring home points for the team. Personally, I happen to think those people ARE idiots. As HH has pointed out on many, many occasions – there is a big difference between venting on the internet, and verbally abusing our own players at the game.
In hindsight Harry probably would have worded it differently, but I think in context it was a completely fair comment from the manager.
Just read the comments on the BBC website relating to watching Ruiz play, Harry states he is good but we are more desperate in other areas? Ermmm, which area would that be….our strikers cannot score for toffee! Hope his comments were taken out of context (just like Kevin Bonds apparantly were!!). I’ve always thought we need two new strikers and not one.
the problem we have is Sandro is out for months, Huddlestone could be out for months, Wilson is about to leave and Modric is desperate to go (and injured). We are about to play all the top teams in the first month or so so what do we do? Throw in Livermore and hope for the best? We need to strengthen central midfield now, before our season goes to pot before its barely begun.
Diarra / Barton / Parker, anyone?
Under the circumstances, we need to get a f*cking shift on and bring one of them in, pronto…
My preference would probably be Diarra/Parker if Modric stays… and Barton, if Modric goes…
Harry being a tw*t again, cant keep his gob shut talking about Modric again. What is he? On a earner if he goes? Just roll out the ‘he’s not for sale’ then move on stop this stupid verbal diarrhea.
Cant help opening his gob.
Should be talking about and focusing soley on the Hearts match. No doubt Chelsea have been in touch with Modric again tapping him up and dangling their rubles in front of his little gormless stare.
As for Ruiz, its got Suarez written all over it. He lets everyone know hes looking at him then will turn his nose up and say, ‘nah not for the premier’ followed by the scum or someone signing him to then be lauded as world class after having a blinder. All Redknapp seems to do is look at these players and bottle it.
His quote of saying ‘i like watching football matches, so I thought id go’ What the hell is that? Youre paid to manage and find these players, not go off on a jolly to enjoy a game of kickaball. Lets hope these bids are going in because at the moment we’re going to be as blunt as a Craig Bellamy outburst.
everything you say is spot on. Still no reason to sack him though.
I didnt say sack. Gag. Kick in the balls. Just generally sort himself out and do whats best for the club. We’re supposed to be attracting players. This reputation he had, preceding his spell with us, of gambling on players and turning turds into gems certainly has not followed him.
He drops any player who prooves difficult like a hot potato and wont put his neck on the line for any talent thats out there thats not played in the Premier League. If we cant AFFORD the proven players at top dollar, then we HAVE to make a couple of well educated gambles on players of the ilk of Ruiz. Im still unhappy about his passing up of Suarez to be fair, when we needed a goalscorer the most, and yes yes ‘hes another VDv’ hes not actually, hes a solid goalscorer who’s adaptable…the dirty cheating goofy *&^* :wassat:
What do you expect him to say, just as we’re about to try and buy a striker? ‘Yes, we’re in the market, we’re desperate and this guys the mustard?’… Along with ‘Please pop an extra 25% on the price for the lovely seat when I went to the game’.
If you went to see a house and you like it, do you pant like a dog and beg them to tell you the asking price, or do you say ‘Not bad, but we’ve still got a few to see and this is beyond our budget’.
Everyone takes everything Harry says waaayyy too seriously.
Agreed. That’s what I’ve been harping on about all day, actually.
Has anyone thought what would happen if Harry was just parroting Levy’s “not at any price” with regard to Modders?
Luka is annoyed at Levy, but that is tenable so long as he keeps showing up at practice and is motivated to do his best. If Mod becomes upset with the coaching staff, it’s all over and he’s gone immediately.
We, the fans, want to be reassured and coddled. That’s not Harry’s job, though. His job is to win games. To win games, we need our best players, so Harry is saying what he needs to say to keep stay in his best players’ good book (“Look, Luka… If it was up to me, I’d have let you go. You’re triffic, and you deserve it. But Danny made the decision, I had no part in it, so let’s make the best of it son”).
I do wonder why we single out Harry for being less than perfect in his dealings with the media. After all, it’s what sites like this feed on. Of course we could always compare his utterances to:
Ferguson: an obnoxious cunt.
Wenger: a blind cunt.
Bruce: a self exculpatory cunt.
Fat Sam: a self important cunt.
Pulis: a huge cunt.
Mourinho: Thrush(a truly irritating cunt).
Keegan: a truly sad cunt.
McCarthy: an amusing cunt.
O’Leary: a CUNT
Schteeve: a truly sad cunt.
I except big Martin; but need I go on? Starved of the oxygen of publicity, we would have little to occupy our thoughts, or on which to vent our spleen. The trouble is that we’re all “Monday morning quaterbacks”. Whatever our beloved Spurs do, we would have done it better. Well, as Eddie Murphy once said about Stevie Wonder, “if you wanna impress me , motherfucker, take the wheel”.
As for our transfer policy, surely the facts speak for themselves. We are one of the most financially stable teams in football’ because we won’t compromise on our wage structure. We have too small a ground, and we don’t have the allure of CL football.
In many ways, we’re painted into a corner. Should we go balls to the wall like Leeds did? If that gamble failed I’d hate to see the recriminations that went on, on sites like this. There isn’t one person on this board who could do one tenth of the job that Harry and Danny do. They may not be perfect, but neither is my wife, and I still adore her.
I’m not suggesting slavish praise, but some of what goes on here is moronic. We are two or three players away from being league contenders, and I’m so tired of this “glass half empty shit”.If you people treat your children like you treat Spurs, on this board; it’s hardly surprising our cities went up in flames.
Sell Modric, buy Ruiz and Cahill/Samba, and take the barn door on loan. It’s all we can realistically expect. I await the backlash with interest.
Thank god we all have different opinions and views.Its all about passion for the Spurs which we have by the bucket load.No ones a cunt for having a different opinion
If Spurs had done their shopping before we begun our Champs League tour then we would all be sitting pretty, maybe even Modric’s head would not have been turned. Still, easy for me to type IF, I still have faith we will bring in 2 strikers and a centre back before this window is closed.
COYS!!!
If, if, if. We didn’t. This is where we are. Staring at a picture of Suarez and writing him love letters isn’t going to change it. For a club whose record signing has spent about 20 minutes on the pitch in the last year (Bentley), I bet Levy was desperate to shell out near £30m for a player who’d just been suspended for 10 games for biting an opponent.
As was so brilliantly said above, hocking the family in debt up to the kackers is suddenly a very different proposition when you’re the one doing the hocking as opposed to the person who’s going to benefit.
Well, as Eddie Murphy once said about Stevie Wonder, “if you wanna impress me , motherfucker, take the wheel”.
Great quote. Armchair quarterbacks n’all… Loving your work SteveSpur.
Frontwheel, If you were referring to my last post you should have noticed that I didn’t refer to anyone as a cunt except certain managers.
Stu Barney, you are still missing the fact that; people like Llorente, Rossi et al – when faced with our wage offer – would have said, “e tu madre”. By the way, I quite like the look of et al; plays a blinder for Macabbi Haifa. We need to be looking for players that think Tottingham is a step up (Ruiz). If it were you, would you leave Madrid, Milan,Valencia or fucking Moscow for London, if it meant a wage cut and no CL? Look at that little git Tevez (no like manschest), or Et’o ( fuck the Cl for 300k a week). Coulda, shoulda, woulda doesn’t eascape the fact that we don’t have the pull. You don’t even have to deplore our lack of purchases. Just consider Sheringham, Carrick, psb, Berbaprospector and Modrich (sic).In my humble opinion, it’s no more of a risk buying talented players from lesser leagues (Ruiz again), than spunking cash on established players. For every RVN there is a Schevchenko, for every Schmeichel a Bartez, for every Rebrov a Rasiak.
I try not to tell Harry what to do. However; if we don’t blood Walker, Rose, Coulibaly and Townsend in the ropadop; I really will kick the cat. I also believe that Harry should have shown more faith in Krankie and Pav, but what do I know. I’m sure you’ll tell me.
You could turn into my favourite ranter. Are you Denis Leary in disguise?
Followed and agreed with you right up to
for every Rebrov a Rasiak
I honestly have no idea what you mean with that. For every expensive flop, there is a slightly less expensive even bigger flop?
:silly:
Absolutely brilliant post.
:daumen: 100%
Im guessing the Wilson isnt fit is because hes about to leave when a new midfielder comes in. I just hope this is the same reason for Jenas. If we have no midfielders why isnt Bentley even in the squad then? Im pretty sure theres no takers for him.
‘Jermaine Jenas has an Achilles problem’ – doesn’t he mean he IS an achilles problem, as in heel?
I hope this Krancjar to Sunderland isnt true either, Pienaar is both injured long-term and comprehensively useless, and about to head over the hill of ‘peakness.’
Adebayor come in old boy, all is forgotten if you plunder the Utd defense come Monday night :pirat: