- Jan 7, 2007
- 3,613
- 3,372
Many people have deemed this season a failure or disappointment. There does appear some justification for this sentiment because Spurs have only managed one win in 13 games; a record that is poor whether your ambitions are to win the league or just avoid the drop.
However, the negative feelings at the moment are only in reaction to these 13 games and completely ignore what we have achieved this season.
A lot has been said, most of all from Redknapp, about the fact that we have had a great Champions League run. We have beaten the Champions League holders Inter Milan and knocked AC Milan out of the competition. We have been given many memories this season and we should look back fondly on a breakthrough season. This season was the first in decades where we left a mark in Europe.
You may feel that the Champions League was a pleasant distraction but ultimately any season is judged by where you finish in the league. To an extent this is true and in January we were still in contention for the league title. When has a Spurs side managed that in the Premier League era?
The following has also been said many times but it needs to be reiterated. Spurs fans are now disappointed by 5th and 6th, as if it is no longer good enough. We forget, however, that we have only finished above 5th once in the Premier League era. It is a little over optimistic to assume that once you have achieved something once you should keep on achieving it as a minimum. Such an expectation ignores the fact that Manchester City, who finished just behind us last season, spent almost nines times more than us on players since.
We could look back on defeats to Wigan, West Ham and Blackpool (this season's likely relegation fodder) and wonder what might have been had our mentality been stronger. Or we could look back on victories against Arsenal, Liverpool and AC Milan and celebrate the team's mental strength to pull through.
Moreover, while our results have not been quite what we hoped we have still managed to churn out a memorable season for all the right reasons. Gareth Bale and Van Der Vaart have produced moments of magic that will fill Spurs Youtube compilations for years. Modric has progressed this season and will only get better and Sandro is fast becoming the dominant holding midfielder we have craved for years.
Finally, we know where we need to improve and a small improvement will make a huge difference. We just need a striker who can score 15-20 league goals a season. If we had that we would still be fighting City for 4th now. I am sure we will have that shiny new striker soon.
So lets end the doom and gloom attitude and look forward to next season because there is plenty to be positive about.
(and if you are still not convinced then at least think: it could be worse, we could be West Ham)
However, the negative feelings at the moment are only in reaction to these 13 games and completely ignore what we have achieved this season.
A lot has been said, most of all from Redknapp, about the fact that we have had a great Champions League run. We have beaten the Champions League holders Inter Milan and knocked AC Milan out of the competition. We have been given many memories this season and we should look back fondly on a breakthrough season. This season was the first in decades where we left a mark in Europe.
You may feel that the Champions League was a pleasant distraction but ultimately any season is judged by where you finish in the league. To an extent this is true and in January we were still in contention for the league title. When has a Spurs side managed that in the Premier League era?
The following has also been said many times but it needs to be reiterated. Spurs fans are now disappointed by 5th and 6th, as if it is no longer good enough. We forget, however, that we have only finished above 5th once in the Premier League era. It is a little over optimistic to assume that once you have achieved something once you should keep on achieving it as a minimum. Such an expectation ignores the fact that Manchester City, who finished just behind us last season, spent almost nines times more than us on players since.
We could look back on defeats to Wigan, West Ham and Blackpool (this season's likely relegation fodder) and wonder what might have been had our mentality been stronger. Or we could look back on victories against Arsenal, Liverpool and AC Milan and celebrate the team's mental strength to pull through.
Moreover, while our results have not been quite what we hoped we have still managed to churn out a memorable season for all the right reasons. Gareth Bale and Van Der Vaart have produced moments of magic that will fill Spurs Youtube compilations for years. Modric has progressed this season and will only get better and Sandro is fast becoming the dominant holding midfielder we have craved for years.
Finally, we know where we need to improve and a small improvement will make a huge difference. We just need a striker who can score 15-20 league goals a season. If we had that we would still be fighting City for 4th now. I am sure we will have that shiny new striker soon.
So lets end the doom and gloom attitude and look forward to next season because there is plenty to be positive about.
(and if you are still not convinced then at least think: it could be worse, we could be West Ham)