Last week’s Arsenal game left me with that feeling once again, frustration mixed with irritation mixed with anger at letting a lead slip to our rivals and once again, committing the ultimate sin of standing off them and allowing them to dictate play for the entire uncomfortable second half.
By Thursday I was considering returning to my special tree and settling up there in the same manner as last month following the ‘Emirates incident’ on 2<sup>nd</sup> December. I was certain I could survive as I’m sure there’s still mince pies up there which were thrown to me by worried relatives. But I decided against it, on the basis that a) my ASBO for howling obscenities at the moon is still in place and I’d rather not be arrested and b) I watched the game with a Gooner, which led me to be slightly more reflective and to take something of a step back from the raw emotion of the game and examine things with a more dispassionate eye. In doing this I was helped by my current location in Manchester, as there are very few people around here who give two hoots about the North London derby, so there’s no-one really there to rant at. Watching the internet message boards light up in rage the following day, and listening to the rantings of football’s most inarticulate commentators - the 606-radio-phone-in brigade - a few things struck me. <o></o>
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First we need to dispense with the illusion, promoted by some of our more negative fans, that last week’s result was a disgrace and a disaster because we were playing a ‘second string’ and therefore should have been murdering them 12-nil at half time. Not so. Wenger may have made a big play of resting key members of the squad, but he was still playing Almunia, Senderos, Toure, Fabregas, and Baptista, with Aliadiere, Walcott and Hoyte backing that up. That means they had a very strong spine to the team, with some of their most talented up-and-coming players with Premiership experience playing. Playing Charlton’s second string is one thing. Playing this lot is quite another. <o></o>
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The most worrying fact for a Spurs fan is that even when Arsenal rest players, they can move, pass and string attacking moves together with much the same skill and devastating effect that they are capable of when they are at ‘full strength’. Christ, at times last Wednesday it was like watching a mixture of football and pinball, so fast and accurate was their passing and movement. The uncomfortable truth is that Wenger has been allowed to realise a vision at Arsenal and every player brought into their youth set-up is now brought in with a view to fulfilling a role within his starting line up. His younger Gunners might not have many Champions’ League appearances to their name, but they are extremely talented and very, very hungry. When given the chance, the onus is on them to seize it, and more often than not they do so, in going to grounds such as Anfield and playing the home side off the park. This is the football equivalent of sharks' teeth; even as one player is rested or injured, another comes forward to take his place, and the opposition see no real difference in the level of football being played against them. <o></o>
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Spurs have (sensibly) been moving in this sort of direction for the last couple of years, although it’s important for everyone to realise that we’re about a tenth of the way there yet. Jol has been allowed to exercise a good deal of control over the club and in consultation with his director of football is on the way towards building a very decent team. Thing is, after over two years, we’re now getting to the stage where this team of Jol’s is going to have to produce a Cup-winning performance of some sort to keep momentum and to hold our attention as fans. Although in my opinion the reactionary calls of ‘Jol out’ were ludicrously premature following last week’s draw, it is the case that those of us who think Jol is building something special are running low on ammo to prove it. <o></o>
<o></o>
Under Jol, Spurs have moved forward in terms of playing staff; any fool can see that from looking at the team when he arrived and the team now. However, in terms of the actual results, all we really have to show is a slightly more efficient disposal of mediocre opposition, which wasn’t really what we had in mind. What Jol’s team has yet to produce – what every Spurs team has failed to manage for the last 15 years – is a victory which is built on by further victories, a win of real relevance against a top team in a game of real significance which gets confidence flowing through the squad and which is then built on; in a success-breeds-success kind of way. This has patently not happened over the last few years (the closest we got was beating Chelsea in ‘that’ Worthington semi-final, the memory of which is tainted by the double 4-0 defeats to the same opposition a month later combined with the fact we lost the final in a pretty limp manner). Even Jol’s team has only been truly convincing in the most sporadic fashion, probably the best moment being away at Arsenal last spring, in a game which marked the first time I recall the Gooners actually being frightened of what a Tottenham team could do to them. <o></o>
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In the end, there is little point in appointing a manager and letting him build a team, only to wave goodbye less than 36 months later. The Gooners are where they are in part because they have picked a high calibre manager and backed him every inch of the way, even when results have been disappointing. Such stability is extremely valuable, as long as the person in charge is of the right quality. I tend to believe that Jol is still a relatively inexperienced manager, is learning with his team and that long term, we will find that he is the man to lead us forward. Given Tottenham’s habit over the past ten years of picking a mediocre manager, giving him half-arsed backing, then looking for a reason to dismiss him when the team proves to be shocking has gained us little so far, it may be sensible to stick with what we have here and see how far Jol can get us. <o></o>
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So to tonight. We’re away at the Emirates in what amounts to a one-off game for a place in the final. Should we be level after 90 minutes, it’s into extra time, after which time, if still level, away goals get taken into account. If we’re still level, it’s penalties. I’d say we have to score at least twice to have a chance here. Both teams have injuries, but it’s clear that Spurs as a club need a place in the final more than Arsenal do. It is time that this club won a match of this size and importance, and used that success as a springboard to further success. It is time Jol’s team stood up and showed us what they’re capable of doing and this game – this next four months to be blunt – is the acid test of how far they’ve come, and how far they have to go.<o></o>
By Thursday I was considering returning to my special tree and settling up there in the same manner as last month following the ‘Emirates incident’ on 2<sup>nd</sup> December. I was certain I could survive as I’m sure there’s still mince pies up there which were thrown to me by worried relatives. But I decided against it, on the basis that a) my ASBO for howling obscenities at the moon is still in place and I’d rather not be arrested and b) I watched the game with a Gooner, which led me to be slightly more reflective and to take something of a step back from the raw emotion of the game and examine things with a more dispassionate eye. In doing this I was helped by my current location in Manchester, as there are very few people around here who give two hoots about the North London derby, so there’s no-one really there to rant at. Watching the internet message boards light up in rage the following day, and listening to the rantings of football’s most inarticulate commentators - the 606-radio-phone-in brigade - a few things struck me. <o></o>
<o></o>
First we need to dispense with the illusion, promoted by some of our more negative fans, that last week’s result was a disgrace and a disaster because we were playing a ‘second string’ and therefore should have been murdering them 12-nil at half time. Not so. Wenger may have made a big play of resting key members of the squad, but he was still playing Almunia, Senderos, Toure, Fabregas, and Baptista, with Aliadiere, Walcott and Hoyte backing that up. That means they had a very strong spine to the team, with some of their most talented up-and-coming players with Premiership experience playing. Playing Charlton’s second string is one thing. Playing this lot is quite another. <o></o>
<o></o>
The most worrying fact for a Spurs fan is that even when Arsenal rest players, they can move, pass and string attacking moves together with much the same skill and devastating effect that they are capable of when they are at ‘full strength’. Christ, at times last Wednesday it was like watching a mixture of football and pinball, so fast and accurate was their passing and movement. The uncomfortable truth is that Wenger has been allowed to realise a vision at Arsenal and every player brought into their youth set-up is now brought in with a view to fulfilling a role within his starting line up. His younger Gunners might not have many Champions’ League appearances to their name, but they are extremely talented and very, very hungry. When given the chance, the onus is on them to seize it, and more often than not they do so, in going to grounds such as Anfield and playing the home side off the park. This is the football equivalent of sharks' teeth; even as one player is rested or injured, another comes forward to take his place, and the opposition see no real difference in the level of football being played against them. <o></o>
<o></o>
Spurs have (sensibly) been moving in this sort of direction for the last couple of years, although it’s important for everyone to realise that we’re about a tenth of the way there yet. Jol has been allowed to exercise a good deal of control over the club and in consultation with his director of football is on the way towards building a very decent team. Thing is, after over two years, we’re now getting to the stage where this team of Jol’s is going to have to produce a Cup-winning performance of some sort to keep momentum and to hold our attention as fans. Although in my opinion the reactionary calls of ‘Jol out’ were ludicrously premature following last week’s draw, it is the case that those of us who think Jol is building something special are running low on ammo to prove it. <o></o>
<o></o>
Under Jol, Spurs have moved forward in terms of playing staff; any fool can see that from looking at the team when he arrived and the team now. However, in terms of the actual results, all we really have to show is a slightly more efficient disposal of mediocre opposition, which wasn’t really what we had in mind. What Jol’s team has yet to produce – what every Spurs team has failed to manage for the last 15 years – is a victory which is built on by further victories, a win of real relevance against a top team in a game of real significance which gets confidence flowing through the squad and which is then built on; in a success-breeds-success kind of way. This has patently not happened over the last few years (the closest we got was beating Chelsea in ‘that’ Worthington semi-final, the memory of which is tainted by the double 4-0 defeats to the same opposition a month later combined with the fact we lost the final in a pretty limp manner). Even Jol’s team has only been truly convincing in the most sporadic fashion, probably the best moment being away at Arsenal last spring, in a game which marked the first time I recall the Gooners actually being frightened of what a Tottenham team could do to them. <o></o>
<o></o>
In the end, there is little point in appointing a manager and letting him build a team, only to wave goodbye less than 36 months later. The Gooners are where they are in part because they have picked a high calibre manager and backed him every inch of the way, even when results have been disappointing. Such stability is extremely valuable, as long as the person in charge is of the right quality. I tend to believe that Jol is still a relatively inexperienced manager, is learning with his team and that long term, we will find that he is the man to lead us forward. Given Tottenham’s habit over the past ten years of picking a mediocre manager, giving him half-arsed backing, then looking for a reason to dismiss him when the team proves to be shocking has gained us little so far, it may be sensible to stick with what we have here and see how far Jol can get us. <o></o>
<o></o>
So to tonight. We’re away at the Emirates in what amounts to a one-off game for a place in the final. Should we be level after 90 minutes, it’s into extra time, after which time, if still level, away goals get taken into account. If we’re still level, it’s penalties. I’d say we have to score at least twice to have a chance here. Both teams have injuries, but it’s clear that Spurs as a club need a place in the final more than Arsenal do. It is time that this club won a match of this size and importance, and used that success as a springboard to further success. It is time Jol’s team stood up and showed us what they’re capable of doing and this game – this next four months to be blunt – is the acid test of how far they’ve come, and how far they have to go.<o></o>