mrlilywhite
Well-Known Member
- Sep 1, 2008
- 3,174
- 4,992
The problems at our club do not stem from ENIC's inability to spend money, More of a lack of judgement and understanding football. Levy show's time and again that, Although his heart is in the club he makes poor decisions based on his understanding on what we need as a club, The people that advise him on the footballing side of things have made mistake after mistake, And continue to do so. It is easy to say get Baldini out, Sack the physios, Sack the manager, Get rid of all the deadwood and gutless players and start again, But at which point do you stop and address the real issue's when it goes tit's up again!? Let's look at the fundamental issues that stop us being a club that we can proud of.
1. Managers: Through my time of supporting our club there have been a staggering 24 managers/caretakers at our club that have taken the reigns, In contrast our neighbours, Arsenal have had 23 managers/caretaking staff since 1897, I have supported the club since the mid 70's. Arsenal's longest serving manager is wenger and since his appt, We have had a mind blowing 15 managers try and turn us around and failed to convince the board of their abilities. Since ENIC took full control in 2001, We have had a manager every 1.5 seasons, It is the biggest issue that continues to plague this club. This is the biggest indicator of why we have been so inconsistent. It tells me that we don't have a specific idea of the direction the club wants to go in. I don't understand the real reason why we are always in transition, What I do know is that Levy clearly has an expectation, Though this is not married with a clear direction of where the club is going. To have success in any business, Things need to work like clockwork. When those cogs keep getting changed, It becomes a stop/start affair which ultimately breaks down. Verdict: Stability and vision need addressing.
2. Players: This has been spoke about just about as much as any other issue recently and the opinion I take is that any player you bring into the club has to be right for the club and the style we play. As things stand, It could be any left back, centre back, midfielder or striker because we don't have a defined system that we want players to play in, As we are at the moment, Defenders defend, Midfielder's are your support and your attackers attack, That is all that is required from them. Tim has them playing in way that is basic and does not over complicate the issue with instructions that suit their abilities. If I have Aaron Lennon on the wing, Then I want him to exploit the byline and take on his man, His pace is his biggest threat. Kyle Walker can not cross a ball and has no place doing so, I want him to offer support to Lennon and give him something that gives him an advantage over his opposite fullback. I understand that Lennon can not get good crosses in but his pace can leave him in open space, Another is Lloris, Personally I love the guy and think he is a great GK, But his biggest flaw, Is his kicking, He rarley finds one of his players and more often or not ends up at opposition feet, Why would you want him to kick as much? If you want to play with pace, Then just throw it out to your full backs . The point is clear, There is no one on that pitch that has a clear option of doing something that their ability allows because no one allows for it to happen. This is another reason we fail so bad is because the poor selection of managers can not get the best out of the players they have. Redknapp saw it though, to his credit he did get the best out of most of his players and that was because he saw how there abilities worked in connection to the style he wanted to play. Lennon played the best football of his career under harry. In this instance, it is easy to see why AVB failed if the players he were given were not the ones he wanted. His biggest problem was his versatility and he struggled with players he knew he could do nothing with. I have a feeling that if he finds a club that will back him in the right way then he will be a success.
Even when we get the right players that move us fwd, They become disgruntled, They want to achieve bigger ambitions or bigger wages. Bale, Modric, Berbatov,Vdv have all moved on for one reason or another, Though with the exception of Vdv, The rest moved to bigger clubs that could sustain their appetite for success, Yet here you have Liverpool, who many believe to be our equal or even worse than us (recent times) and they keep hold of the talisman attacker, Suarez. It seems our soft under belly is not just confined to the pitch, It runs through our club. Verdict: unsuitable players bought and instability.
3. Injuries: I can't comment on this too much as I know naff all about sports injuries, What I do know though is that we are terrible at managing our injured players and have been for years. Lamela goes out with a injury that should last about a month and ends up going missing for the whole bloody season ( I have my suspicion that his injury is not all it seems, Though I will take it on face value). You have players like King, Kaboul, Sandro who have suffered some poor injuries that other clubs might see once in a while, I think our injuries are something to do with the clubs poor handling and is something that Sherwood has alluded to briefly. We need to get this right, far too many players go missing for longer periods than they should do. The list is exhaustive and we need to get players back in training far sooner than things currently. Verdict: poor understanding of what is needed to get players recovering quicker and efficiently
4. Scouting/DOF: For all of our excitement this summer at spending £100m on new players, it became quickly apparent that the new players were names pulled from a hat, There was no real understanding of what we actually needed,Problem areas were not addressed and we essentially wasted the money, To appease the fan's after Bale was sold, It does not stop there, Our scouting is non-existent and even if we get in potential future stars, they go missing into the abyss of the Tottenham academy. No one is brought into the first team with any conviction that they will progress and maintain a first team place. Bentaleb has granted, but at what cost? With each passing game he is looking more and more out of his depth, Use him by all means but should he be a starter and finisher in games?. The recent re-appt of Ian Broomfield, it perhaps shows that the club can see this needs addressing and is something that needs continued development. If we can't buy our future success, then we need to make sure that we are picking up the best young talent to ensure we have a fighting chance. Verdict: either stick with the DOF or ditch it once and for all.
5. Fans and expectation: On my time as a SC member, I have seen some of the most knowledgeable Spurs fans and some of them clearly know what is needed to make our club the club that we all want, Equally, Though both on here and other Spurs mates opinions have been nothing more than moronic and ill-educated, The god given right they have to expect us to fight for the league and fight on all fronts is sometimes nothing short of absurd. We need to understand that we have a place at the table and it ain't at the top table. We have punched above our weight for a good while and our expenditure shows this. I don't blame them really, The board give us every reason to be optimistic and exceed our expectation, But it does not reflect the realistic view that we really are not that good. If you want a real assessment of how good we are then listen to the opinions of other fans on our club, Because they see it without the spurs coloured specs that we wear. Our support at matches has been woeful and the sole reason is because we don't see the team performing to the expectations that we aspire to. If you understand anything about our club then your expectations should be limited to finishing in the top 5 or 6 places. Learn a bit about the problems we have when competing against the big boy's, understand what makes them successful and where we are. It is not rocket science nor is it subjective, It is fact. Opinions don't matter when the whole truth is there in front of you, If you understand your expectations, then you can support your club in the true manner it was meant. I don't see Norwich, Cardiff and Fulham booing their teams off nor do I see their support lacking and that is because they understand the expectations they have for their club, I doubt they are happy and that is expected but they know where they stand in the football world. Verdict: Change your views and realise where we are, The rest will take care of itself, Because you have no control.
6. ENIC: The board are like Marmite and it is easy to see why. What we have in one hand, We don't have in the other, I can't fault Levy and his boy's for their endeavour to turn us into something special, They have not been shy in getting what they perceive as the best for the club, But that is where it stops. rarely in any business do you get an opportunity to correct so many mistakes without consequence and so it is starting to prove. I feel we as a club are stuck in the middle of the road, On one side you have football clubs that have worked towards a sustainable package and included in that is stability, A clearly defined way of how their football is played and in the best interest's of all those concerned with the club, A system that determines what players are needed to play the way that system demands, We might not like it, But you only have to look at our neighbours to see that what can be achieved if you set out this way, Sure they are not winning titles or trophies but they are up there, Season after season, CL football for how many consecutive years? Is that by luck? Barca are an extreme version of arsenal, Yeah they have had a few managers, But those managers all maintain to the ethos to play the Barca way. There are many football clubs across this globe that determine their needs and stick to it, Do we? On the other side of the road you have your "Money buy's all" and stability is not necessarily the thing they need when money buy's them out of a hole. We can not compete with that and in the premier league, No one can compete with City or Chelsea, On any given Saturday or Sunday we might give them a game, but that is all. Right now we need a direction to go in that gives end product, I want to see ENIC define us a club, Give us stability and give us some kind of identity, I don't care much for £30m players if it does not keep us with-in the style that we are known for.On reflection, What Tim said was right and it seems at least someone has seen what many of us have seen for too long, I see his passion now! Verdict: ENIC and Levy need to get this right and it needs to start with the next manager.
Ultimately, We are not going to win league titles and I am ok with that, As long as we realise what our expectations are and how we go about achieving them is what will separate us from where we are now. It is too painful to watch what has been laid before us for much more. Can Levy change? Is he prepared to really re-build the club? I wish I had the answers for that, But that is the job that needs doing and we as fans need to give him patience to correct the problems, Get behind the team and club at all cost. Fans are as much part of this club as Levy is. We are Spurs, We dare to try but let's do it with-out putting hurdles in the way. COYS!!!!
1. Managers: Through my time of supporting our club there have been a staggering 24 managers/caretakers at our club that have taken the reigns, In contrast our neighbours, Arsenal have had 23 managers/caretaking staff since 1897, I have supported the club since the mid 70's. Arsenal's longest serving manager is wenger and since his appt, We have had a mind blowing 15 managers try and turn us around and failed to convince the board of their abilities. Since ENIC took full control in 2001, We have had a manager every 1.5 seasons, It is the biggest issue that continues to plague this club. This is the biggest indicator of why we have been so inconsistent. It tells me that we don't have a specific idea of the direction the club wants to go in. I don't understand the real reason why we are always in transition, What I do know is that Levy clearly has an expectation, Though this is not married with a clear direction of where the club is going. To have success in any business, Things need to work like clockwork. When those cogs keep getting changed, It becomes a stop/start affair which ultimately breaks down. Verdict: Stability and vision need addressing.
2. Players: This has been spoke about just about as much as any other issue recently and the opinion I take is that any player you bring into the club has to be right for the club and the style we play. As things stand, It could be any left back, centre back, midfielder or striker because we don't have a defined system that we want players to play in, As we are at the moment, Defenders defend, Midfielder's are your support and your attackers attack, That is all that is required from them. Tim has them playing in way that is basic and does not over complicate the issue with instructions that suit their abilities. If I have Aaron Lennon on the wing, Then I want him to exploit the byline and take on his man, His pace is his biggest threat. Kyle Walker can not cross a ball and has no place doing so, I want him to offer support to Lennon and give him something that gives him an advantage over his opposite fullback. I understand that Lennon can not get good crosses in but his pace can leave him in open space, Another is Lloris, Personally I love the guy and think he is a great GK, But his biggest flaw, Is his kicking, He rarley finds one of his players and more often or not ends up at opposition feet, Why would you want him to kick as much? If you want to play with pace, Then just throw it out to your full backs . The point is clear, There is no one on that pitch that has a clear option of doing something that their ability allows because no one allows for it to happen. This is another reason we fail so bad is because the poor selection of managers can not get the best out of the players they have. Redknapp saw it though, to his credit he did get the best out of most of his players and that was because he saw how there abilities worked in connection to the style he wanted to play. Lennon played the best football of his career under harry. In this instance, it is easy to see why AVB failed if the players he were given were not the ones he wanted. His biggest problem was his versatility and he struggled with players he knew he could do nothing with. I have a feeling that if he finds a club that will back him in the right way then he will be a success.
Even when we get the right players that move us fwd, They become disgruntled, They want to achieve bigger ambitions or bigger wages. Bale, Modric, Berbatov,Vdv have all moved on for one reason or another, Though with the exception of Vdv, The rest moved to bigger clubs that could sustain their appetite for success, Yet here you have Liverpool, who many believe to be our equal or even worse than us (recent times) and they keep hold of the talisman attacker, Suarez. It seems our soft under belly is not just confined to the pitch, It runs through our club. Verdict: unsuitable players bought and instability.
3. Injuries: I can't comment on this too much as I know naff all about sports injuries, What I do know though is that we are terrible at managing our injured players and have been for years. Lamela goes out with a injury that should last about a month and ends up going missing for the whole bloody season ( I have my suspicion that his injury is not all it seems, Though I will take it on face value). You have players like King, Kaboul, Sandro who have suffered some poor injuries that other clubs might see once in a while, I think our injuries are something to do with the clubs poor handling and is something that Sherwood has alluded to briefly. We need to get this right, far too many players go missing for longer periods than they should do. The list is exhaustive and we need to get players back in training far sooner than things currently. Verdict: poor understanding of what is needed to get players recovering quicker and efficiently
4. Scouting/DOF: For all of our excitement this summer at spending £100m on new players, it became quickly apparent that the new players were names pulled from a hat, There was no real understanding of what we actually needed,Problem areas were not addressed and we essentially wasted the money, To appease the fan's after Bale was sold, It does not stop there, Our scouting is non-existent and even if we get in potential future stars, they go missing into the abyss of the Tottenham academy. No one is brought into the first team with any conviction that they will progress and maintain a first team place. Bentaleb has granted, but at what cost? With each passing game he is looking more and more out of his depth, Use him by all means but should he be a starter and finisher in games?. The recent re-appt of Ian Broomfield, it perhaps shows that the club can see this needs addressing and is something that needs continued development. If we can't buy our future success, then we need to make sure that we are picking up the best young talent to ensure we have a fighting chance. Verdict: either stick with the DOF or ditch it once and for all.
5. Fans and expectation: On my time as a SC member, I have seen some of the most knowledgeable Spurs fans and some of them clearly know what is needed to make our club the club that we all want, Equally, Though both on here and other Spurs mates opinions have been nothing more than moronic and ill-educated, The god given right they have to expect us to fight for the league and fight on all fronts is sometimes nothing short of absurd. We need to understand that we have a place at the table and it ain't at the top table. We have punched above our weight for a good while and our expenditure shows this. I don't blame them really, The board give us every reason to be optimistic and exceed our expectation, But it does not reflect the realistic view that we really are not that good. If you want a real assessment of how good we are then listen to the opinions of other fans on our club, Because they see it without the spurs coloured specs that we wear. Our support at matches has been woeful and the sole reason is because we don't see the team performing to the expectations that we aspire to. If you understand anything about our club then your expectations should be limited to finishing in the top 5 or 6 places. Learn a bit about the problems we have when competing against the big boy's, understand what makes them successful and where we are. It is not rocket science nor is it subjective, It is fact. Opinions don't matter when the whole truth is there in front of you, If you understand your expectations, then you can support your club in the true manner it was meant. I don't see Norwich, Cardiff and Fulham booing their teams off nor do I see their support lacking and that is because they understand the expectations they have for their club, I doubt they are happy and that is expected but they know where they stand in the football world. Verdict: Change your views and realise where we are, The rest will take care of itself, Because you have no control.
6. ENIC: The board are like Marmite and it is easy to see why. What we have in one hand, We don't have in the other, I can't fault Levy and his boy's for their endeavour to turn us into something special, They have not been shy in getting what they perceive as the best for the club, But that is where it stops. rarely in any business do you get an opportunity to correct so many mistakes without consequence and so it is starting to prove. I feel we as a club are stuck in the middle of the road, On one side you have football clubs that have worked towards a sustainable package and included in that is stability, A clearly defined way of how their football is played and in the best interest's of all those concerned with the club, A system that determines what players are needed to play the way that system demands, We might not like it, But you only have to look at our neighbours to see that what can be achieved if you set out this way, Sure they are not winning titles or trophies but they are up there, Season after season, CL football for how many consecutive years? Is that by luck? Barca are an extreme version of arsenal, Yeah they have had a few managers, But those managers all maintain to the ethos to play the Barca way. There are many football clubs across this globe that determine their needs and stick to it, Do we? On the other side of the road you have your "Money buy's all" and stability is not necessarily the thing they need when money buy's them out of a hole. We can not compete with that and in the premier league, No one can compete with City or Chelsea, On any given Saturday or Sunday we might give them a game, but that is all. Right now we need a direction to go in that gives end product, I want to see ENIC define us a club, Give us stability and give us some kind of identity, I don't care much for £30m players if it does not keep us with-in the style that we are known for.On reflection, What Tim said was right and it seems at least someone has seen what many of us have seen for too long, I see his passion now! Verdict: ENIC and Levy need to get this right and it needs to start with the next manager.
Ultimately, We are not going to win league titles and I am ok with that, As long as we realise what our expectations are and how we go about achieving them is what will separate us from where we are now. It is too painful to watch what has been laid before us for much more. Can Levy change? Is he prepared to really re-build the club? I wish I had the answers for that, But that is the job that needs doing and we as fans need to give him patience to correct the problems, Get behind the team and club at all cost. Fans are as much part of this club as Levy is. We are Spurs, We dare to try but let's do it with-out putting hurdles in the way. COYS!!!!
