Just Say No To Scientology

Good morning. And may I be the first to say, Let the shipwrecks of others be your markers in the storm, mush.

For those of you wanting to a fill a comedy void in your lives …there is a full scale meltdown occurring at The Emptycrates and I suggest that we all suspend our prejudices and take a passing interest…

Arsenal haven’t won anything, not a pot or a pan in years. But what they have done is followed a business model that delivered a whopping big stadium and Champions League prestige and Champions League monies, season after season. And it hasn’t been enough. 

Which isn’t to say it’s been rubbish or it somehow doesn’t count, but it just hasn’t been enough. Players want trophies and to earn as close to a million quid a month as they possibly can. And thems is the facts.  

The badge is something schnooks like us make an emotional attachment to. If you think otherwise, then please get in touch with me urgently as I need to borrow some money from you.

It is clear from reading the Van Persie statement that he’s put a gun to the club’s head. Reading between the lines he wanted to buried in diamonds and rubies on payday and guarantees that they would build a side around him that would rock the casbah. Reading the  club’s reply statement they offered him some discount vouchers for the club shop and mumbled something about the local council being a bit touchy about loud music being played after 10pm.

Losing The Amazing Mr Ed and now Van Pervert has been completely disasterous for them. But what is more to the point is that they don’t have anything approaching a strategy in place. 

We are embarking on a similar journey and it’s important that we choose a very different path. We all know that there is little you can do when faced with a player that wants a million a month or he’s off. But you can make your negotiating position stronger by making sure that you shape your playing staff so that they actually win something. 

Under the last bloke, final league positions were apparently all. Which is to say there wasn’t anything else. Without opening that can of worms yet again, rather looking to the future it is vital that Spurs attack on two concerted fronts. A domestic trophy and a Champions League spot. The winning of a pot won’t indemnify us from players holding us to ransom but it would prove a positive distraction.

Next season we face a the Europa which is frankly hard work. What is it, an additional eighteen games or something if you go all the way? That’s adding another half season onto your season. So I hope that we have a strategy in place. Football has changed forever since the inception of the Champions League and there’s nothing anyone can do about that.

Trudging away and pointing out that we finished 5th so hurrah! simply doesn’t cut the mustard anymore. Old school fans will emerge from the woodwork and tell me I’m wrong. Old school fans will tell me that slow and steady wins the race. Once upon a time yes. But these days you need to be proactive just to keep up.

I don’t want to hear about players being tired and I don’t want to hear about the coach not getting on with certain personnel. I want the squad used to its broadest extent. We have an exceptional squad of players and they need to work harder. Tough love is what’s needed at the Lane. We can’t afford to have nearly men hanging about anymore. How long has Huddlestone been threatening to set the world on fire? When will we get an entire season out of Lennon? 

There are rumours galore of investment in Tottenham is on the cards. Let’s hope that Levy & Co. take advantage of this ‘new dawn’ to make sure we don’t go down the same road as the Scientologists of soccer …the Arsenal.