Are Spurs set to surprise a few this season?

Nobody at Tottenham Hotspur expected anything coming into the new season. They had a new manager with new ideas (or should I say “philosophies”?) on how the team should play. They were set to start a recovery, a plan to repair the broken squad of the 2013/14 season, and, having learnt the price of an itchy trigger-finger, most Spurs fans were prepared to wait patiently during this season of transition.

That was the mood in August, before a ball was kicked or a game was played. It is now January and the Premier League has surpassed the halfway point. Spurs sit in sixth, three points off fourth place, two points off bitter rivals Arsenal, two points above Liverpool. They are still fighting in all cup competitions: fourth round of the FA Cup, last 32 of the Europa League, semi final of the League Cup. Suddenly, the mood at Spurs has shifted to snowballing optimism.

You may be asking many questions. How have Spurs season turned out this way? Can Tottenham seriously get into the top four? Can they even win silverware?

I might as well attempt to tackle a few of these.

How?

Having watched Southampton excel last season, I had some sort of expectation as to what Tottenham under Pochettino would be like: high-pressing, possession-based attacking football. But what precisely is the substance of the team? What lies beyond the tactics?

Man-management. Both the previous two managers, Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood, had been charged with lacking in man-management skills. Whilst perhaps this criticism has been contested here and there, there is no denying that Pochettino has communicated superbly with the Tottenham players, particularly the youth. Names like Bentaleb, Kane and Mason were inherited from the previous management as prospects (credit where it’s due) and Pochettino has turned these squad players into starting players. That’s actually an understatement – they are now pivotal to the team! Bentaleb has conducted our build-up play perfectly in midfield. Mason has injected the energy and commitment long absent in defensive midfield at Spurs. Kane is currently Tottenham’s highest scorer in all competitions this season. A Spurs striker that scores goals?! It defies logic.

The cohesion of the squad is another area that has thoroughly improved as well this season. The absence of high-profile, big-money, big-expectation signings in August has allowed the current squad to attempt to prove themselves.  Some of these players have risen to the plate: Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela, Vertonghen and Rose spring to mind. Some have not and question marks remain: Soldado, Adebayor, Kaboul and Capoue have disappointed fans, the saddest one being Kaboul, the supposed skipper. Lloris is… well, Lloris – he was always going to be godlike between the posts.

The success of Tottenham this year has derived from a young, vibrant squad still in status of transition.

Top four? 

At the start of the year, not a single fan would have entertained the idea of a top four challenge, let alone a place. What has emerged this year, most surprisingly, is the failings and disappointments of the other top clubs. Manchester United, despite hammering open the multi-million pound piggy-bank in the summer, have been edgy. Arsenal are imitating the Spurs of 2012/13 and are being carried by their world-class talisman in the form of Alexis Sanchez. Liverpool are imitating the Spurs of 2013/14 and are suffering the loss of their world-class talent in the form of Luis Suarez. Everton are nowhere to be seen. This has paved the way for teams like West Ham and Southampton to cement themselves in the top half, and they don’t look like going away in a hurry.

What this means is that, to use a Sky Sports-style cliché, the race for the top four is completely wide open (*cue dramatic music*). Chelsea and Manchester City have first and second, but third and fourth belongs to whom? There is nothing that suggests to me that Spurs are incapable of challenging, despite whatever challenge surely being based on fragility.

Silverware? 

It is annoying and insipid to constantly having to listen to Sky Sports proclaim Champions League football as the be-all and end-all of a season. At Tottenham, silverware is their manifestation of glory in football, and every season, there burns a hope in Spurs fans’ hearts that they can claim this glory again.

As mentioned before, Spurs are still competing in all the cup competitions. Most immediately, Spurs take on Sheffield United in the League Cup Semi Final, and optimism is naturally high that the club will have another Wembley Final. Absolutely anything can happen in a cup final, so it would be foolish of me to make predictions. Needless to say, though, it would be the best opportunity for a trophy this season for Spurs.

The Europa League is a long and arduous journey from now till May if a club wants to reach the final. Previous seasons have despicably proved that it is the Champions League failures that succeed in the Europa League. Given the right sustenance and management, however, it is possible for Tottenham to endure a European challenge. The FA Cup is still a long way off completion, but Spurs face Leicester in the Fourth Round this Saturday, so it will be interesting is our progress furthers.

Tottenham are far from any sense of a finished article. Their defence has often been suspect. There has been a heavy reliance on last-minute victories to sustain periods of form. However, if progress during transition is to be suspected, is it so foolish to dream that Spurs can only get better from here on in?

Probably. Still, at least it’ll be fun to watch.

What Does The Future Hold For Erik Lamela?

Erik Lamela's first season at Spurs, in parallel with this season as a whole, has been one of great disappointment. Signed from Roma in August, Lamela seems to represent the plentiful nature of young talent in our squad without there being any great, world-class specimen. He has featured rarely, and his absence has become a great source of pain for Spurs fans. As we begin to hunger for a new start, I begin to question where exactly does the Argentinian go from here?

Let me give you the skinny. 21-year-old Erik Lamela, one of the top (if not the top) young talents in Serie A, signed for Spurs for £25.8million in August. He, together with Christian Eriksen, came to replace the departed Gareth Bale, last year's Player Of The Year. The two players potentially and logically had what Bale possessed together: goals from midfield, flair, creativity and an eye for set pieces. The eyes of Spurs fans passively looked to Lamela for guidance.

I felt euphoric when I first saw this photo. How times change.

With the weight of expectation on his shoulders, a burden shared by all of the summer signings, he was not planted straight into the first team, but eased in by Andre Villas-Boas, kept out by the bright but inconsistent Andros Townsend. Lamela and Spurs fans alike waited and waited and did a bit more waiting to see a performance from him. The wait briefly ended on November 7^th against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League – a goal, an assist and a match-winning performance. This would be, arguably, the one and only time we saw Lamela at his maximum.

The Spurs fans were once again left starved of Lamela and starved of his talent. When AVB was sacked in December, some began to speculate that he could get his chance, get his moment he and we had craved. Sadly not. Either by injury or (allegedly) through Tim Sherwood's over-zealous repression, Lamela has not featured in the first team since December 4^th.

I have too waited and, like this season, nothing” is the cry from many a fan. “What a waste of money!” some would even say. The outrage and knife-wielding cries of our fanbase forms a clear, Machiavellin-esque purging of our squad, such a purging that even Stalin could be proud. Out the signings. Out the deadwood. Out Tim Sherwood. New man comes in. Chuck in a few expletives and that's the gist of it, anyway.

I have become tired in my disappointment. “Thirty-million pound and

This may just be me – speaking as someone who has brooded over this season in a melancholic state for four months since we sacked Villas-Boas – but I once again will state that the worst thing for this squad would be a purging. In that case, I believe Lamela stays. But what do I expect from the young winger? Bale-esque glory? 30-yard screamers? 90^th minute winners?

I knew in my depths of my heart when we signed him that we were unlikely to get a top quality player in his first season in England. Across the road at Arsenal, the signing of Mesut Ozil has proved as inconsistent as any of Spurs' signings, has it not? We took the gamble of signing Eriksen and Lamela, two young foreign players to replace Bale. One has flourished. The other has not. This is the cold, disappointing truth.

Lamela gets his leg up against Tromso in the Europa League

However, it is not ludicrous to state that Lamela has a chance to flourish next season. At Roma, he rightly rose to prominence in the team, labelled by many of their fans as 'the next Totti'. He was versatile, operating both on the right as an inverted winger, and as a creative No. 10 on many occasions. He scored 15 goals and assisted five times in his last season in Serie A. Quite simply, you never gain a reputation as one of the best young talents in Europe unless you are really talented. Quite simply, there is no smoke without fire.

Erik Lamela has been absent in his debut season, both in his minute appearances on the pitch, and in his long time out of the Tottenham squad. A disappointment and a dead cert on many 'Worst Transfers of the Season' lists. It is my belief, however, that what will come of Lamela in his Spurs career will be no disappointment; he may even become extraordinary.

Last December, Lamela said in an interview to the Standard a telling quote: “I feel I need a bit of time. My moment will come and I will make the difference.” Let's hope so too.

What's Next For Tottenham Hotspur?

Two moments stand out and serves to summarise Tottenham’s season. The first is the euphoria felt by our fans after signing seven players with big reputations worldwide, for an investment of £105m and an investment of expectation. The second is Tim Sherwood throwing his gilet to the floor during the North London Derby at White Hart Lane.

Questions, questions, questions. How? Why? What now? What next?

When dissecting Tottenham’s season, most people go back to our transfer dealings (usually in the form of ‘they spent £100m on sh*t’). At the start of September, not one writer or punter saw those dealings as a negative; although we sold Bale, we seemingly replaced him by buying talent in all positions. The oracle that is Garth Crooks summed up this stance by boldly: “Tottenham had sold Elvis and bought The Beatles”.

As the season went on, a realisation grew amongst the footballing world: by selling Gareth Bale, Spurs lost their match-winner and the focal point of their team and that the players that Technical Director Franco Baldini brought in could not possibly replace what the Welshman possessed. By September, AVB had a team built around a man that no longer existed in Lilywhite. If you doubt the importance of a star player to a team, look no further than Liverpool, who’s focal point in Suarez has placed them in a title challenge. Melancholic it may be to think Tottenham could be achieving what Liverpool are doing right now, but it’s only the truth.

Tottenham find themselves currently in a position of numbness. Some say the season ended after being obliterated by Liverpool at Anfield, illustrating a start contrast between the two clubs at present. Others say it ended in December with the sacking of AVB and replacement of Tim Sherwood, seemingly gambling away the season before even the halfway point. Our squad is lacking confidence, form and desire, redeemed only by the successes of Adebayor and Eriksen. The media have condemned our club to our current place of purgatory – ‘Spurs are where they have always been and should expect no more’.

With the news that Sherwood will be replaced in the summer, fans can now think towards the future and what to expect for next season. Will we have a summer of upheaval and refurbishment, selling the players we signed and replacing them with more prospects? Will we try and build around the few gems carved from the pit that is this season?

The new manager, whoever he may be, must first look at what we have in our squad. I refuse to place the failures of our season on the players that we signed in August 2013. Take Soldado for instance. Yes, he has a had a dire season, failing to deliver on the promise of prolific goalscoring. My point is that Roberto Soldado was bought for £26m as one of the most prolific goalscorers in Europe, scoring more than 20 goals for each of the past four seasons. Just because Soldado has not lived up to expectations this season, it does not mean that there is nothing to be had in him next season.

This concept goes with the other players too. The Premier League is littered with players who came from foreign leagues who had poor first seasons but prospered in their future careers. Lamela showed glimpses of talent before being sidelined since December. Paulinho is still considered one of Brazil’s top talents, despite having a mediocre first season in England. Eriksen has been our stand out player this season, despite his inconsistent start.

There will be areas that will need improving in the summer. A young striker must be a priority after selling Jermain Defoe in January to Toronto. Younes Kaboul looks likely to be leaving in the summer when his contract runs out, so a centre-back should also be looked into. We currently possess average full-backs in Kyle Naughton and Danny Rose, so it is likely the new manager will need to strengthen there. On the whole though, our squad possesses talented individuals and is not in the need of another upheaval.

If Tottenham actually have the foundations of a talented squad, what is needed is somebody to create the blueprints needed for future success. Building this project will take years; we cannot hope for Chelsea-style instant success. A long process of evolution is needed, implementing the modern possession-based style of play which has proved successful in Europe, distancing the boardroom from management and stabilising a club in constant transition.

Tottenham’s season is a quagmire, an example of how to regress as a club. Selling your best players, sacking your manager midway through a season, replacing him with a manager with no professional experience whatsoever, deteriorating the relationship between the board and the fans off the pitch (the list goes on). Next season will have to be the start of an evolution and a project for future success if Spurs ever want to be at the top level of English football.

Roberto Soldado: How Spurs' Spaniard hit rock-bottom

Roberto Soldado's career has hit an almighty low, plunging into a pit of indecision and anxiety. A signing that promised a feast has left Spurs fans hungry for more. The Spanish striker has gone from one of the most clinical in Europe to an object of ridicule, condemnation and even pity.

The question on many's lips is how. How can such a potent striker fall so far? How can we have expected so much but see so little? How can Soldado hope to revive his career again?

Let's start where it all began for Spurs and Soldado.

Summer arrived. It is in no way hyperbolic to say that Spurs fans were gagging for a world-class striker, a classic number 9, the player who had been missing for so long from White Hart Lane. This clearly was on the mind of Andre Villas-Boas, who set Franco Baldini the task of finding this golden player. Rumour after rumour of courting strikers went by. Panic began to set in amongst the fanbase. Would our saviour arrive?

Rumours of Soldado to Spurs began after the failure to sign David Villa at the start of July. Roberto Soldado, a Spanish striker praised by their media, featuring in their national team and much revered for his consistency. More than 20 goals a season for the past four seasons in Spain. He fit the bill, the model striker, the marquee signing. '#SignSoldado' trended on twitter, and Baldini was set on a mission to secure Roberto's signature.

Roberto Soldado signed for Spurs on the 1st August, the North London club's third signing of the summer after Paulinho and Nacer Chadli in July. The fee was £26million, more than any spent on a Spurs player at the time. I felt the wave of optimism and excitement on his first match against Espanyol. Everyone wanted a glimpse of Soldado; this sacred figure burst onto the pitch and everyone saw the talent there. He scored a penalty and his all-round play was pure energy. It was a delight. Optimism. Expectation. That's what Soldado took with him from Spain.

Soldado's first goal for Spurs against Espanyol

It all went downhill from there.

At the first, he had many chances, both in the league and in the cups. His movement both in and outside the box was professional. He came so close so many times. He opened his tally through penalties in the league and standard goals in the Europa League. The talent was there, and Andre Villas-Boas was prepared to let that talent find its feet in the league. Expectation was still high.

October came. Soldado was struggling to get find that first goal from open play. Never had I heard the term 'open-play goal' more often since the Spaniard signed for us. Such scrutiny from the press. 'FLOP', declares the Daily Chip-wrap, 'Jermain Defoe is better', 'Let Defoe play for his England chances'. The pressure got to AVB and he dropped Soldado for Defoe in the league for the first time. Tottenham lost 3-0 to West Ham that day. Lesson learned. Back to you, Robbie.

A week later, Soldado scored his first goal from open-play in the league against Aston Villa, and that remains his only goal of that manner in the league this season. I see it over and over and over again, Vine after Vine, and it looks sexy and succinct; one touch - BANG - goal. This was the player we signed, I thought, Roberto Soldado — classic number 9! This goal was the first of many, I thought.

Soldado scores his first league goal from open play against Villa. What a mouthful.

I thought.

The weeks and the games went by quicker and quicker, and each like a painful dagger to Soldado torso. Expectation grew on Soldado more and more. Hull at home — penalty. Everton — no goals. Newcastle — no goals, loss. Manchester City — no goals, thrashed. A team of flops, they said. £100million down the drain! Soldado and the team broke under the scrutiny of the press and the expectation of the fans.

Things go from bad to worse for Soldado, now off-the-pitch. Soldado's wife suffered a miscarriage and his heart was as broken as his game. Amongst this tragedy, Soldado found a brave and outstanding strength and scored a hat-trick against Anzhi in the Europa League. I was there that game. I could see the energy and the movement I saw in August. We screamed and sung his name from first minute to last. He embraced our passion, and at last, I thought, at last Soldado has found his feet.

Hat-trick against Anzhi. A glimmer of hope.

Three days later, Liverpool came to the Lane and thrashed Tottenham 5-0. The humiliation. The depression. The sacking of Andre Villas-Boas. The inexperienced gamble of Sherwood filled the void. You know the story, I needn't elaborate.

Like after the City thrashing, there was a response from the players. Soldado partnered Adebayor upfront and they fed off each other. Hopes of a new partnership were conceived in the minds of Spurs fans that these two could feed off each other's play, in the same way that Liverpool and Man City had prospered in attack. It soon became apparent though that Adebayor's form exceeded that of Soldado's immensely, and Sherwood dropped the Spaniard and left Adebayor as the lone striker.

Soldado has made a few sub appearances since then, but has looked very disappointing in front of goal. Outside the box, he produces tricks and flicks that create chances and opens up play; inside the box, he has no confidence and no composure. His much maligned and ridiculed misses against Dnipro and Norwich serves as examples to Soldado's fall from grace. He is a shadow of the man I saw in August, a pitiful figure, and one fears for his career.

Despair

So, that's where he is right now: football despair. Many have decided his flop is permanent, his pitfall leaves no means of escape. Many have called for his departure and replacement with a talent much younger. However, I do not.

Whilst some Spurs fans laments at the signing, 'why couldn't we have signed Negredo/Benteke/Remy?', I state simply this: we have Soldado. Behind the mask of incompetence Soldado dons lies the free-scoring, consistent, lethal striker of La Liga, up with the highest echelons of Europe's strikers. It may take a matter of games for that mask to fall off. It may take months. It may even take till next season, under a new manager and a new system. But my faith is there: he will return.

Soldado's Spurs career has been poor and unhappy. It started so bright on that August day, the sun shining on Soldado and White Hart Lane, hope and expectation showering on all Spurs fans. Now, like the miserable British weather, his career has been flooded and saturated, broken, with the fear it may never return to its former light.

Sherwood: Disliked, disloyal and the blood will be on Levy's hands

"The Club can announce that Tim Sherwood has been appointed Head Coach with a contract to the end of the 2014/15 season." 

I never like to put gut reactions into articles. However, for the purposes of this article, I will describe to you my gut reaction to the news of Tim Sherwood's appointment as Tottenham manager. 

Picture Anakin Skywalker burning, writhing in pain, screaming, completing his transition into evil. It seemed like the world around me, already built on unstable molten rock and pain, was falling apart. In just one week, we had gone from Andre Villas-Boas, an image of class, of method, of intelligence, Tim Sherwood, a man who has discredited himself in his time at Tottenham. In my eyes, the only man who had any favour for this appointment was Daniel Levy (conveniently the only man necessary for the appointment to happen). I was distraught.

Meltdown: My reaction to Sherwood's appointment on Monday

Since Monday, I've taken time to mull over this move, assess whatever pros and cons I can muster up. Bear with me.

Under AVB, Tottenham's style of play became stagnant. It lacked rhythm, had very little cutting-edge in the final third and primarily, it lacked goals. With 15 goals in 16 matches in the league, Liverpool fans were quick to point out that Luis Suarez alone had scored 17 goals in 11 league games this season. Due to this lack of attack, the team could not respond when our defence capitulated (cite West Ham, Man City and Liverpool games as proof). Critics would label Villas-Boas as 'stubborn', 'arrogant' and 'tactically-rigid' in his final months. Can the same be said of his replacement?

Sherwood seems willing to play two upfront, introducing Emmanuel Adebayor back to the first team with immediate results. He has also abandoned the holding midfielder role, a short term measure to deal with injuries to Sandro and Paulinho, hoping to create an attacking intent. The team is looking more free and open, guaranteeing goals and more movement in the final third.

It is clear that Tottenham must possess a bigger attacking threat and something more in the final third to challenge for the top four this season. A big change was needed. From two games under Sherwood, it is evident that we will see more attacking intent. Change is guaranteed, at least in the short term. In the long term, this will not work. With an 18-month contract, Sherwood would be wise to factor in the long term.

Across AVB's tenure, the man was given the task of modelling a new squad after losing key players of Redknapp's regime, notably Rafael van der Vaart, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. In 18 months, 15 players came in and 17 players went out. AVB modelled his transfers to a 4-3-3 formation, focussing on a three-man midfield and one upfront. In this sense, there is no way that Sherwood can accommodate for the entire squad by playing 4-4-2. Sherwood's real aim should be making 4-3-3 work to Tottenham's gain.

Off the pitch, Tottenham are in a state of crisis. Fans are being overpriced and priced-out under the categorisation system, criminalised by over-zealous stewards and the police, dealing with legitimised ticket touting under StubHub, preparing for the effects of the new stadium in a few years time. The club have dealt with nine managerial changes across twelve years under Daniel Levy. Constant change. No stability. 

I tell you this in an attempt to explain why any manager will struggle with this job, why a completely inexperienced coach in Sherwood, already disliked by a large section of the support for ratting out the Tottenham staff to the media and tensions with Glenn Hoddle in his managerial tenure, will struggle to succeed at this club. 

Don't get me wrong, Sherwood has things going for him off the pitch as well. After being heavily involved with the youth setup since being appointed to Redknapp's coaching staff in 2008, Sherwood has spoken about his desire to promote more youth team players into the first team, something always pleasant to see. Sections of the media have praised Levy's willingness to give an English coach a chance at the top level, giving him the media backing that AVB never seemed to have.

Despite these things, despite weighing up both sides, despite the chairman's support for this appointment, I can only see Sherwood ending one way. The competition for the Champions League places this season is the most competitive ever. Many of the teams competing are in some sort of change, but none more so that Tottenham, on and off the pitch. The likelihood of a sustained challenge this year is unlikely. It'll all end in tears. It always does. 

The appointment of Tim Sherwood was a massive gamble; the man even admitted it himself. To give a coach with no professional managerial experience whatsoever, a tainted history at the club and all the problems and instability of Levy's regime and expect him to deliver is madness. I never saw Villas-Boas' sacking as a positive; I don't see Sherwood's appointment as a positive.

Come June, the blood will be on Daniel Levy's hands.

On AVB

Andre Villas-Boas has been sacked by Daniel Levy. No 'mutual consent' nonsense. He was ruthlessly sacked. The cold stare of Levy's bespectacled face was telling. His fate was decided on a cold, wet day at the Lane. With it comes the end of yet another era for Tottenham Hotspur.

I find myself experiencing a plethora of emotions - negative emotions - mostly anger. It's anger because this decision changes everything; our cracked season is now in ruins; any plans in place before has been swept away. It's anger because our club will have to go through further transitional phases to seek an end we may never even reach. It's anger because I don't know where we're going. 

However, some of the stress and anxiety that we have had to endure as Spurs fans this season has been unbearable. People isolate the West Ham shock defeat, the City drumming and the more recent Liverpool rape as big reasons for the stress and anxiety. These results were humiliating and traumatic; no fan wants to be humiliated by their own club. I'd rather consider AVB on a wider scale though. It's important we do as isolated results can be very misleading. 

AVB brought us our first win at Old Trafford
since 1989

AVB won 44 out of his 80 games at Spurs in all competitions. I needn't remind you that this is the highest win percentage of any of our managers since 1899. We gained a record points total of 72 points last season in the league, missing out on Champions League by the skin of our teeth. AVB's influence in molding Gareth Bale cannot be understated. He shaped the Welshman into the most expensive footballer in history. A difficult feat, but a feat very few people want to recall.

To me, this does not look like a tragic case of a doomed manager, an image the media have tried to promote throughout the past 18 months. I feel the problems AVB have had at Spurs are much more deep-rooted than that.

Some people were never supportive of AVB. They saw a failure at Chelsea come to the club, lambasted by every area of the press. They saw a young manager, a sign of inexperience, vulnerability. They refused to believe AVB could have a developed knowledge of the game, despite his successes at Porto. They saw the antithesis of his predecessor, Redknapp. Nothing AVB could have done as manager within reality would have changed their opinion. 

To the 'AVB out' moderates, who only really started to appear after the West Ham defeat, their opposition was rooted in Tottenham's playing style (argument that we were playing exactly the same way last year, but only started mentioning it when we were losing). It could have worked. It didn't. But there was signs of change, United, Fulham and Sunderland matches. Europa League matches. If we didn't lose yesterday, I doubt we'd be even having this discussion. Fickle football.

When people cite our transfer policy (£100m spent in summer, Erik Lamela, Soldado blah blah blah, football clichés), I think in my mind that this is no reason, that there was no other way. When you lose £85m worth of talent in Gareth Bale, perhaps the best player we've had in the Premier League era, you cannot not sign replacements. Failure after that would spring questions of 'reinvestment' and a clearly weak squad. We would be a threat to nobody if AVB didn't sign the players we did. I repeat, there was no other way. 

Elation: The height of AVB's era

AVB's comments about the fans were correct. Those who do not see the ailing atmosphere inside White Hart Lane are probably the ones content with sitting down, refusing to sing and giving out abuse at the players (you know who you are). Villas-Boas said this out of good intentions, a sense of encouragement to the fans. This shows a bit of inexperience as fans are fickle like fate and fortune and cannot be scrutinised for some reason that alludes me. 

This analysis is looking at the bigger picture, the wider scope to way 'AVB out' grew and grew during this season. It cannot be a case of simple black-and-white results; we are only 6 points off 4th. Hardly dire, is it?In the culture that is modern football though, the idea of 'the bigger picture' is rarely a factor in these decisions. Football is rife with knee-jerk decisions. Just this week, we've seen Steve Clarke sacked at West Brom, a club who would do well to finish in the top half this season, because of a recent bad run of form. Madness, utter madness.

 

I will repeat this word because it is the word I'd label our fans, the media, the directors and football in 2013: fickle. It is a word I detest. It is a word that will stunt the development of our club.

AVB came to Spurs as a successful and respected manager in Europe but damaged from his time at a detestable club. Hopes of a new Spurs, of progress and a future tinted lilywhite entered my horizon. He leaves 18 months later with fans dreaming of the past,  nostalgic of rose-tinted times, times rife with as many problems as times present, and demanding and expecting more and more and more. The man that represented the future to many fans has left Tottenham; our future is clouded.

Despair: AVB after the Liverpool defeat. The end was nigh.

Defoe must go: Tottenham should sell Jermain Defoe in January, for the good of the club

This is a sensitive subject. He's a man that a lot of people regard highly, very highly, chant about, even deify, a 'legend'. Even for those who do not regard him so much, most still have an utmost respect for the man. However, the time has come to face facts: Jermain Defoe faces the prospect of leaving in January.

Defoe has become a problem. His frequent outbursts to the media whenever the spotlight turns to him has become commonplace. Defoe's demands to be placed above Roberto Soldado in the striker pecking order at Spurs seems to come out every week, most recently after England's game to Chile. The debate over his place in the squad rages in the pubs and on the social networks. We all have an opinion on it.

What is Defoe as a player? Constantly throughout his career, he has been branded as a 'natural finisher' by the British media, even in 2013. Spurs fans know this branding is false. We know that in his years at Spurs, he has gone through spells of either intense form or complete disappearances from the side. Under Jol and Ramos, the combination of Berbatov and Keane was preferred. Under Redknapp, the likes of Crouch and Adebayor were preferred to him upfront. Last season under Villas-Boas, Defoe failed to overcome competition from Adebayor, despite the ex-Arsenal striker's massive lack of goals.

Amongst Defoe's on-field problems include his lack of wider contribution to the team; he refuses to bring other players into the attacking third, instead choosing an individual pursuit. True, his best games make him appear tenacious, a true finisher. His average game, however, is nothing of this sort. Defoe becomes a ghost, frequently found offside, failing that, squandering clear-cut chances. I highlight Defoe's only league appearance this year as proof of that. Just after half time, Defoe managed to get one-on-one with Jaaskeleinen, only to tamely squander the chance. Moments later, we went a goal down.

Knowing these facts, Daniel Levy invested money on another striker, a reputed striker, one of Europe's most prolific strikers: this was in the form of Roberto Soldado. The Spaniard has failed to hit the ground running, but his overall contribution to the team, awareness and movements surpasses Defoe. We did not spend £26million, beg for it to happen in the summer (#SignSoldado), condemn our current strikers, just to have Soldado undermined due to reactionary critics.

Don't get me wrong, I do have massive respect for Defoe. His goal in our 3-1 win to City last April was one of the highlights of the season. He is our highest scorer in European competitions. He is our 5th highest goalscorer of all time. Outside White Hart Lane, he has overcome personal tragedies, losing his father, brother and cousin unexpectedly. To overcome tragedy to that degree takes a lot of courage, and I applaud Defoe for that.

But his demands to play for the sake of his last chance to shine in an England shirt in Brazil massively undermines our manager. It undermines his ability to make decisions, something that destroyed his tenure at Chelsea, giving risk to alienating the fans, the media and even the other players against him. If AVB's tenure in undermined at Spurs, we will see a massive disruption in the club in this crucial season, where we have a chance to break the league mould, just as we did in 09/10.

With interest from West Ham growing due to the long term absence of Andy Carroll, there will definitely be bids for Defoe in January, with or without a transfer request. Therefore, the club would be wise to accept the right offer, stick with the strikers we have, and reinvest it on a young striker in the summer. This is for the good of the club.

AVB cannot bow to pressure. He saw Defoe's incapabilities this season and last, as have every Spurs fans. No matter how many pundits big Defoe up, how many goals he scores against teams like Tromso and Sheriff Tiraspol, or how many more of his personal claims of ability appear in the papers, his inabilities will remain and only more problems will be caused.

For the good of the squad, the tenure of the manager, even our league ambitions, it is time we face the prospect of parting company with Jermain Defoe. As the song goes, time to say goodbye...

Atmospheric Pressure

It was a horrid display of football. Tottenham, trying to split the 10-man defence of Hull, exhausted every possible means to get that first goal. Nothing worked. The possession-orientated play that Andre Villas-Boas has drummed into the squad wasn't enough to break the deadlock, just as it wasn't versus Swansea, just as it wasn't versus Crystal Palace. When Soldado converted his third penalty of the season, a gust of relief swept around White Hart Lane, and the match was won.

After the game, the main complaints about the football was a wide judgement across the season.

• "Our football is too cautious. It shouldn't be based on possession, but on unrestricted swashbuckle."
• "Soldado doesn't get enough chances. He's only good for penalties."
• "This is not the attitude of a top four team."

The football could have been less cautious this season. We certainly have the players to be more attacking and have more bite to it. It's just a case of gathering the right eleven players for it, and that will come with time (that benefiting to a large squad). If we play unrestricted attacking football a la Redknapp, we abandon a fantastic defence (6 clean sheets in 9 games) and I doubt Spurs could last till May. A conundrum, but 'patience' is word of the day. 

The 1882 Movement may be the answer to the dying atmosphere

AVB was surely thinking about tactics on how to improve the football. When faced with problems, he has clearly demonstrated an admirable pragmatic nature, a readiness to solve problems on the pitch through off-the-pitch tactics. AVB did tell the media the cause of the problem, quite explicitly:

"We looked like the away team. We played in a difficult atmosphere with almost no support,"
"Away from home their support has been amazing; we play with no fear and we need that atmosphere at White Hart Lane."
"We spoke about it at half-time. I told the players that we would have to do it on our own. They had to dig deep and look for the strength within themselves. They also believed that it's not easy to play in this stadium when the atmosphere is like this."

"We have a wonderful set of fans but they can do better."

To many Spurs fans (probably the ones inside the ground that day), this was a shocking statement. Their argument was that the team did nothing to get them going, that it was up to them to do their job and we cheer when they complete it, that forking out hundreds gives them the right to complain about it. If they have been quiet, it's because of AVB and the players.

The other camp to this argument supported AVB's verdict, not only supported, but knew it for many years. Their argument was that the Spurs fans have become too expectant, that the high ticket prices has brought in the wrong type of fan (I pay x-amount to watch this shit), that young, energetic fans have been skimmed out White Hart Lane due to the ticket prices. The argument was that White Hart Lane is just another product of modern football.

There's is no doubting that there is a massive atmosphere problem within the Lane. I remember Basel at home last season, where the silence of the Spurs fans was chilling, and the only voices that could be heard were Basel fans. It was no advert for White Hart Lane; it was not the way it should be. 

If the atmosphere has become so negative that the players had to talk to the manager about it, then it seems clear  that something has to change. The supporters don't do enough supporting. The fans are not fanatic enough. If you love your club, you have to do more than pay x-amount to show that. Paying £9 to watch Captain Phillips in the cinema doesn't make me a die-hard Tom Hanks fan. Paying £20 to watch Othello doesn't make you a Shakespeare ultra. You owe Tottenham Hotspur more than what you are giving them.

A 'fan', inside White Hart Lane, playing Candy Crush. Wow.

The majority of fans have become spectators, theatre-goers who would rather criticise the performance than get behind the team. The energy these people have exercising criticism could easily be put into singing 'Oh When The Spurs' or any other song. Why has the players turned you cynical? I idolise them.

I have heard some horrific stories. Fans starting songs, only to get glaring looks from the people around. I've heard of people standing up together, only to be told to sit down and shut up by the overpowered stewards. I've even heard of people reporting other fans for swearing, resulting in a three-game ban for the 'guilty' fan. Does this sound like support to you? 

Why have 90% of Tottenham fans become nihilistic? Why can't they go to the Lane, absorb in the moment and forget about negativity? Why can't they sing their hearts, show their colours, enjoy the moment? What good can criticism possibly achieve?

There are things the club need to do to help change the atmosphere, definitely. Reducing ticket prices, reducing steward and police presence, stop criminalising the fans and supporting safe-standing trials would all contribute towards an improved atmosphere. Outside of England, fans laugh at how stale we have become. Perhaps the 'product' is better, but what's the point if you can't enjoy it? 

Football is not a product, and fans are not customers. You have a duty to your football club. Stop fearing the fans around you, join arms and sing for the shirt you claim to love. AVB has given you a message, and it's time to listen, time to learn: 

Stand. Sing. Support. 

Reviewing our season: The Manager

Andre Villas-Boas came to Tottenham Hotspur as a disgraced manager, his reputation damaged by his 8-month tenure at Chelsea. When he was sacked after Chelsea's 1-0 loss to West Brom in March, I laughed at the club and the chairman for living up to their monstrous reputation and, I won't lie, I laughed at Villas-Boas as well. Too bold I thought. Too idealistic, could never be respected by English football.

AVB on his first day as our manager. 

So my reaction when he came to Tottenham? Confusion. Distress. I questioned why Levy removed the first manager
to put us into the Top 4 and replaced him with what I thought was a joke of a manager. I thought to myself right there 'we're losing key players, we don't have the funds, other teams will capitalize: sixth at best'.

11 months later, I feel ashamed of myself for what I thought in July.

We did not start well (but when do we ever?). Three last minute collapses against teams we would usually pick up points against. Analysis showed slow play, long balls, poor final balls. Compare this to last year's football and the future looked bleak for Spurs. I was swiftly proven wrong.  Four weeks later, we beat Manchester United at Old Trafford for the first time in 23 years. From then on, I believed in AVB.

What a day. 

Throughout the course of the year, we have seen AVB utilize the players at his disposal and turn them into a solid team, a team with a backbone. He made Mousa Dembele, an attacking midfielder, into a defensive midfielder who could abuse the opposing midfield. Wilshere, I believe, is still firmly lodged in his back pocket. Partnered up with Sandro, the beast, labelled by AVB as 'the best interceptor of the ball in th
e Premier League', you had a feared midfield pairing.

He chopped and changed the centre backs: Gallas-Kaboul; Gallas-Vertonghen; Vertonghen-Caulker; Caulker-Gallas. It turned out that Vertonghen-Dawson was the right partnership. Maybe it took him three-quarters of a season to work that out, but it was no easy feat, considering last years pair of King-Kaboul was no longer an option. Vertonghen was the best centre of the season and the skipper is on the verge of being England's centre back.

Bale started on the left, with the option of switching to the right if things looked stagnant. But throughout the season, AVB has gave him more of a role in the team. At the start of the year, he was not the player we boast as 'world class'. AVB understands Bale, his strengths, his limitations, his ambitions, his limitations. He could not be just chucked in the middle and told to have some fun, take some shots, or else last year he would've scored just as much. Under AVB, he is a goal-scoring machine, the best player in the league. He will do even more next season.

When it came to strikers, it looked like Defoe upfront could do the job. With 14 goals in the first half of the season I think, he looked liked the striker we had always wanted. He has scored just one goal in all of 2013. Inconsistency is Defoe's limitation. Adebayor has scored 8 goals all season, despite starting many of our games. He and Scott Parker are two players who have not benefitted from AVB. Yet in the final stretch of the season, we have seen the excellent player Adebayor can be. The funds were never there to go out and buy the striker AVB wanted. It was either buy a Louis Saha for half a season or wait till the summer. He made the right choice, although if it were me, I would have been tempted to resign Gregor Raziak.

Everything about this moment was glorious. No league
 position can take that from us.

Some of AVB's team selections this year have been brilliant, pure and utter class management. Bringing on Holtby, Huddlestone and Defoe against Manchester City changed the match on its head. It broke apart the best defense in the league. Sigurdsson's selections in the second half of the season won us vital points, especially against Arsenal, where he looked for large parts the most comfortable player on the pitch. He understands every player in the squad, their strengths, their limitations. Let's just say some have more than others...

In other seasons, 72 points would've been more than enough to get Top 4 and we'd be labeling AVB's first season as the best of the lot. We have lost only 3 games in 2013, 2 in the league. Compare that with last year's collapse, and we know just how solid we have been this season. However, AVB could do nothing to prevent our opponents' form. Arsenal didn't lose a single game since losing to us on March 2nd and picked up 39 points out of a possible 48 since January 23rd. Chelsea's overload of games never led to the collapse we predicted many times. I guess £90million buys you that at the very least.

You have some football fans out there that have said us losing a 7 point gap over Arsenal in the last 10 games warrants AVB's first season being labeled a failure. Believe me when I say it does not. He has exceeded what has been expected of him from after his appointment. Some pundits predicted us to finish below Newcastle and QPR this year! AVB took a broken squad, struck with long term injuries, retirements and big-money departures, and turned it into one of the most feared in the league. We competed for the Top 4 from the first day to the final day. 72 points is the most we have accumulated in the Premier League. And yet somehow, we expect more. It can get better.

Andre Villas-Boas did not want to come to Spurs to restore his reputation. It's just a happy coincidence then that it has turned out that way. I believe he can take us further as a club than we have ever gone before. I believe in AVB.

AVB's Blue and White Army