It would appear Tottenham’s annual implosion has started a little earlier than usual this season. Spurs were battered 4-0 by cross London rivals Chelsea at the weekend to effectively end their hopes of a Premier League top four finish and plunge the club into further chaos. But given the season Spurs have had, are we really all that surprised? There is a targeted campaign against Tim Sherwood, and I’d admit to sharing some of the concerns about his viability as manager. However, to lay the majority of the blame on the fledgling boss is totally unfair, at Spurs the problems run a whole…
Author: the Gorbals Goebbels
In the modern age of football it as much about commercial sponsorship and revenue as it is about on field success. At Tottenham this is especially the case with ENIC and Daniel Levy always keen to negotiate the hardest of bargains. Premier League success is totally underpinned by financial muscle power, it is no surprise that Manchester City are now contenders for the league on a regular basis given their backing. So for a club like Spurs off field revenue is everything and something that Levy should strive to achieve, but with next season’s kit sponsorship up for renewal are we on the…
We have something of a defensive crisis on our hands. Without almost all of our first choice backline, AVB very much has to make do at the moment. December is an arduous period in the Premier League at the best of times, but for Spurs the festive period could be all the more damaging given the number of players we have out on the sidelines. Spurs have the strength in depth in most areas to cover for a crisis, but in defence the situation has become particularly worrying. Younes Kaboul’s long term injuries woes don’t appear to have abated, and…
Sunday afternoon saw a return to the right kind of on field drama for Spurs, but few could have prepared themselves for the vicious post-match attack launched by our very own AVB on the same press that had castigated him for much of the week. AVB has always been the softly spoken sort; perhaps this is why the media have never fully taken to him. There are none of the Redknapp one-liners or jokey off the cuff comments, AVB is a meticulous professional that gives very little away. You can understand fallout from the Etihad episode, but this last week…
Youth development is an issue that seems to transcend our game; and the general consensus is that we just aren’t good enough at it. Whether clubs like Tottenham are trying to develop the next Gareth Bale or simply make a quick buck from a player sale, clearly the onus is now on improving academy prospects. The problem has been that academy football in the past has largely been a means to nothing, too often players are hitting the first team glass ceiling and subsequently finding themselves falling perilously down the divisions. For Spurs fans they only know this too well,…
Head a bit sore, pride slightly damaged but the vital organs: well and truly intact. Whether you think we are on the cusp of calamity or glory it doesn’t matter, Sunday stung and rightly so. A game against the mob from the East is always so much more than a case of three points, we belittle them because it is their cup final but as a Spurs fan it is still an important game. Dembele described West Ham as lesser opposition and in some respect he is exactly right. A second string Spurs side should have had the necessary firepower…
I think the International break is finally getting the best of us, two weeks without Spurs is beginning to feel like an eternity. England’s exploits are hardly the tonic for our needs, and I doubt Tuesday will be too different either. The press appear to be bored too, unless the off-field exploits of our prodigious right back are what is deemed fit for back page news these days. Kyle Walkers “hippy crack” shame was a lead for the Mirror Sport: “His reckless behaviour will astound fans who consider the player a hero and will concern his club and sponsors.” “Nitrous…
It has been many years in the pipeline now, but the advent of the NDP was supposed to be the catalyst for a world-class regeneration of the white half of North London. A state of the art stadium to match the stunning training centre at Bulls Cross, the NDP was meant to transform Spurs into a club able to go toe to toe financially with any in world. Fortunately for fans the onus of architects KSS has been on a facelift that incorporates modernity with a genuine consideration for atmosphere and acoustics. The designs of 2008 featured a singled tiered…
On reflection it probably was sensible to leave the Emirates post-mortem until now, avoiding the expected knee jerks and depression riddled musings. Yes we failed to beat a team who have yet to spend a dime, and whose line-up nowadays would hardly have a Sunday league side cowering. Oh and to make matters worse they happen to be our closest and most bitter rivals. Time to panic? Not at all, but maybe it is time to take a bit of a reality check on where we are. Sunday was on the whole a game we didn’t really deserve to lose,…