Tottenham players give Harry Redknapp reason to question their heart
(Telegraph)
With respect to the memory of the late, great Danny Blanchflower, football is about grit as well as glory, and the current generation of those who wear Tottenham Hotspur's fabled white shirt need to take a long, hard look at themselves.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
Kick-off: Sat Jan 24, 5.15pm; Old Trafford, Manchester
TV: ITV1 (excluding Scotland), ITV HD, Setanta Sports 2 (in Scotland only)
Radio: Radio 5 Live
Their manager, Harry Redknapp, has taken took a pasting on various Spurs fans' forums for his pillorying of the squad in the wake of their flirtation with humiliation at Burnley. Redknapp was wrong to question the technical merits of some of the players he inherited but he had every reason to question their "mental strength''. In fact, he had 3,500 good reasons.
That figure represented the number of Spurs supporters who climbed into coaches and cars mid-afternoon on Wednesday. They need not have headed north to Turf Moor. The Carling Cup tie looked dead. The match was on the television, the weather was filthy, and times are tight. They could have stayed at home.
But they went, because that's what loyal supporters do. Some might consider it an affliction but it's in the blood. So the 3,500 diehards fought their way through assorted motorway roadworks and crashes, negotiated Burnley's traffic-filled centre, grabbed a Holland's "Big Eat'' pie and stood on the Cricket Field end of Turf Moor, the rain coming at them like a sliding tackle.
The 3,500 made an effort.
Sadly, many of Redknapp's players did not. Tom Huddlestone can move a ball beautifully over 40-50 yards, elegantly driving it to a team-mate with a hint of Glenn Hoddle, but he has to win the ball first. He cannot just watch Burnley players fly past him. He must show the grit to go out and gain possession. Barack Obama got to more balls than Huddlestone this week.
Pulling on the Tottenham shirt should not be the end of the ladder for young players, should not be a time to celebrate a boyhood mission accomplished. Entering Spurs' dressing room should be the start of the journey, the chance to seize glory through unstinting application.
As good a passer as he is, Huddlestone must graft more. Ditto David Bentley, another talent not living up to the hype or the generous salary. Ditto Gareth Bale. Great hair, good strut around the training ground but a left-back who still needs to learn his defensive trade.
Spurs are far from the only guilty ones. The malaise of under-achievement contaminates parts of other distinguished clubs. At Manchester City, Micah Richards and particularly Michael Johnson have failed to train on after impressing as colts. They could be England stalwarts but now face questions about their Eastlands futures, particularly Johnson. To think that Johnson was once compared with Colin Bell. How long ago that seems now. Terrace cynics at City could be forgiven for thinking that fame has gone to Johnson's young head.
All managers bemoan the "too much too young'' culture. One leading club politely requested this paper to refrain from lavishing praise on a youth-team starlet for fear it would turn his impressionable head. Talk to any groundsman; one caught a player trying to top up his tan under the huge, motorised sun-lamps used to nurture the grass.
In the age of the credit crunch, with thousands of jobs disappearing by the day and a house repossessed every seven minutes, fans' patience will quickly wear thin with those footballers who do not give value for money. Spurs fans have already turned on their own on occasion this season, Bentley, Bale and Darren Bent hearing the derision of the terraces.
Many stars work hard for their wealth, players such as John Terry, Jamie Carragher, Cesc Fabregas, Scott Parker and basically everyone at Manchester United (particularly now that Nani has responded to terrace calls for greater application). The reason why United are champions of England, Europe and the world is because of their technical aptitude and their appetite.
Take Ryan Giggs, that celebrated left-winger. "I want you in central midfield against Chelsea,'' said Sir Alex Ferguson. No complaint, no problem. Giggs ran the game. "I want you to play right wing against Derby County,'' said Ferguson. No bother. Giggs shone.
Giggs and his band of ambitious brothers host Bentley, Huddlestone and Bale in the FA Cup on Saturday: 3,500 Spurs fans will again take to the icy motorways, expecting this time to see some grit on the pitch, as well as the road.
(Telegraph)
With respect to the memory of the late, great Danny Blanchflower, football is about grit as well as glory, and the current generation of those who wear Tottenham Hotspur's fabled white shirt need to take a long, hard look at themselves.
Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
Kick-off: Sat Jan 24, 5.15pm; Old Trafford, Manchester
TV: ITV1 (excluding Scotland), ITV HD, Setanta Sports 2 (in Scotland only)
Radio: Radio 5 Live
Their manager, Harry Redknapp, has taken took a pasting on various Spurs fans' forums for his pillorying of the squad in the wake of their flirtation with humiliation at Burnley. Redknapp was wrong to question the technical merits of some of the players he inherited but he had every reason to question their "mental strength''. In fact, he had 3,500 good reasons.
That figure represented the number of Spurs supporters who climbed into coaches and cars mid-afternoon on Wednesday. They need not have headed north to Turf Moor. The Carling Cup tie looked dead. The match was on the television, the weather was filthy, and times are tight. They could have stayed at home.
But they went, because that's what loyal supporters do. Some might consider it an affliction but it's in the blood. So the 3,500 diehards fought their way through assorted motorway roadworks and crashes, negotiated Burnley's traffic-filled centre, grabbed a Holland's "Big Eat'' pie and stood on the Cricket Field end of Turf Moor, the rain coming at them like a sliding tackle.
The 3,500 made an effort.
Sadly, many of Redknapp's players did not. Tom Huddlestone can move a ball beautifully over 40-50 yards, elegantly driving it to a team-mate with a hint of Glenn Hoddle, but he has to win the ball first. He cannot just watch Burnley players fly past him. He must show the grit to go out and gain possession. Barack Obama got to more balls than Huddlestone this week.
Pulling on the Tottenham shirt should not be the end of the ladder for young players, should not be a time to celebrate a boyhood mission accomplished. Entering Spurs' dressing room should be the start of the journey, the chance to seize glory through unstinting application.
As good a passer as he is, Huddlestone must graft more. Ditto David Bentley, another talent not living up to the hype or the generous salary. Ditto Gareth Bale. Great hair, good strut around the training ground but a left-back who still needs to learn his defensive trade.
Spurs are far from the only guilty ones. The malaise of under-achievement contaminates parts of other distinguished clubs. At Manchester City, Micah Richards and particularly Michael Johnson have failed to train on after impressing as colts. They could be England stalwarts but now face questions about their Eastlands futures, particularly Johnson. To think that Johnson was once compared with Colin Bell. How long ago that seems now. Terrace cynics at City could be forgiven for thinking that fame has gone to Johnson's young head.
All managers bemoan the "too much too young'' culture. One leading club politely requested this paper to refrain from lavishing praise on a youth-team starlet for fear it would turn his impressionable head. Talk to any groundsman; one caught a player trying to top up his tan under the huge, motorised sun-lamps used to nurture the grass.
In the age of the credit crunch, with thousands of jobs disappearing by the day and a house repossessed every seven minutes, fans' patience will quickly wear thin with those footballers who do not give value for money. Spurs fans have already turned on their own on occasion this season, Bentley, Bale and Darren Bent hearing the derision of the terraces.
Many stars work hard for their wealth, players such as John Terry, Jamie Carragher, Cesc Fabregas, Scott Parker and basically everyone at Manchester United (particularly now that Nani has responded to terrace calls for greater application). The reason why United are champions of England, Europe and the world is because of their technical aptitude and their appetite.
Take Ryan Giggs, that celebrated left-winger. "I want you in central midfield against Chelsea,'' said Sir Alex Ferguson. No complaint, no problem. Giggs ran the game. "I want you to play right wing against Derby County,'' said Ferguson. No bother. Giggs shone.
Giggs and his band of ambitious brothers host Bentley, Huddlestone and Bale in the FA Cup on Saturday: 3,500 Spurs fans will again take to the icy motorways, expecting this time to see some grit on the pitch, as well as the road.
