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Caution: Spurs at Work

4 min read
by The Fighting Cock
Its a known fact that supporting Spurs is never easy. However when you look at the bigger picture, and you need to do that sometimes, are Spurs fans really having a rough time? In short, the answer is no. We all think it’s time for the cockerel to start crowing, and I am sure, just like […]

Its a known fact that supporting Spurs is never easy. However when you look at the bigger picture, and you need to do that sometimes, are Spurs fans really having a rough time?

Tottenham ChelseaIn short, the answer is no. We all think it’s time for the cockerel to start crowing, and I am sure, just like I was in the summer, that he soon will.

Our club is without doubt one of the six biggest in the country currently. Of those six clubs we have had the longest journey building ourselves up. We have had to work slowly, bit by bit, without an oligarch or sheikh to speed us along. For the last few years we have found ourselves in the top five of the Premier League and as a result, expectations have risen.

It’s not too long ago we used to worry about whether Gary Doherty would be our lone striker, or praying that we wouldn’t collect too many bookings in order to have a shot in the UEFA-cup through the Fair-Play Draw. Times have changed.

[linequote]We have had to work slowly, bit by bit, without an oligarch or sheikh to speed us along[/linequote]

We as fans should stop feeling sorry for ourselves. If we are really honest about winning trophies this patient approach is what Spurs need. After Gareth Bale went in the summer we invested in new talent which was a wise move from Spurs. For the same money that we sold Bale, Steven Caulker and Clint Dempsey, we have upgraded the squad.

The upside of the summer is the fact that the squad is actually much better which will help us in the long run. The downside is of course is that it takes time and of course there will be the inevitable disappointments. It’s like a kid waiting for his Christmas presents. He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to enjoy all the shiny new toys, but he’s fairly certain that he’s getting some great presents and that he’ll have loads of fun with them in the not too distant future.

Look at the talent that have arrived at the Lane since AVB came to the club: Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen, Vlad Chiriches, Mousa Dembele, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Erik Lamela, Nacer Chadli, Christian Eriksen, Lewis Holtby, Roberto Soldado and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

[linequote]After Gareth Bale went in the summer we invested in new talent which was a wise move from Spurs[/linequote]

On top of that Danny Rose and Andros Townsend have been recalled from their loans and are being eased into the first team. Younes Kaboul and Sandro have had long term injuries, and are now also returning to the fold.

That’s 16 players of which most will and do need more time to adjust. It’s a huge amount of players to get to moving in the right direction, but the quality of the squad on top of what already was at the club gives us more than a hope that this will change.

This is not about making excuses. These are obvious challenges on the way to being a top team.

How well are we doing with all this new talent then?

If you ask the fans some are moaning, some are impatient, some have written us off already and some are worried it will never click. Truthfully you can never tell when things are going to work out well for you in football.

With the false dawns we have had, this could explain the insecurity. We need to work out how to break down 10-men behind the ball, especially at home, and we must look at different ways of creating chances, from different situations; open play and set pieces and we need to learn how to switch the pace in attack and do the unexpected.

There is difficult work ahead, but these are all things I expect AVB to work on. To expect it all to explode in the most fantastic fashion at a frequent rate this early, is too soon. Look at our neighbours down the road what can happen if you keep the team together. With the talent we have, the potential is frightening.

[linequote]We need to work out how to break down 10-men behind the ball, especially at home, and we must look at different ways of creating chances, from different situations[/linequote]

We are seeing improvement in an aspect of the game that has little to do with the beautiful football we strive after at Spurs. We are building from the back. We have already had an amazing amount of clean sheets and there are more to come. If you don’t let in goals you can’t lose.

Lastly, the entertainment value. It has been a bit lacking, but we support Spurs, and the fan that is claiming that they saw Spurs play boring football hasn’t been following Spurs for more than the last five minutes.

At times this season, we have had the small glimpses of the future epsecially in the fixture vs Norwich, that first half vs Chelsea, the first half vs Everton, the second half vs Newcastle and both games vs Villa. Brilliant football was there to be seen, but we didn’t always win those games, so the actual effect has been less than it would have been.

I see big things ahead and with so many players in our squad that can make us kick on I can’t wait for this team to finally get going, and I feel absolutely confident they will.

[author name=”Erlend André Nordmo” avatar=”https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000082146035/7785c1aba02bbc8b8d5d10a29e71c4f2_bigger.jpeg” twitter=”eanN17″ tag=”eanN17[/linequote]

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

10 Comments

  1. Jon
    13/11/2013 @ 2:14 pm

    Spurs are playing the worst kind of football they have ever played. It is mostly predictable and boring. Most of the midfield passing is sideways and backwards. Some of the new players bought in are only mediocre (Chadli, Sigurdsson, Paulinho, Dembele).

    Before this we had Modric, Krancjar, Van der Vaart, Bale. Now our midfield is made up of 2 from 4 defensive midfielders, who all lack creativity.

    AVB is way too negative in his tactics and doesn’t respect the Spurs traditions of entertaining football. This will never change and while he is in charge Spurs are doomed.

    • Sprucebandit
      13/11/2013 @ 7:52 pm

      Nothing like positive thinking eh?

  2. David
    13/11/2013 @ 2:59 pm

    At last. Wise words pal. I’m the most moany impatient git most of the time, especially during a game. When second place is there for the taking come a Sunday when our rivals have slipped, when we don’t take that chance, I just want to go out and kill someone.

    In time, when this whole thing clicks, when AVB gets the system just right that different players will come and go but the machine marches on, we will look back on these “barron times” of “boring football” we’ll give a knowing nod and say yeah, it’s a working progress alright. Man utd manage to win the title by a country mile with mostly ordinary players fitting into that well oiled machine. I’ll whinge and moan next game against Citeh but I’ll snap out of it in the cold light of day. On we roll COYS!

  3. Mr Greaves
    13/11/2013 @ 3:20 pm

    Surely with the talent we’ve got the quality of football should be better – playing lone striker for home games says it all – fans go to football matches to be entertained not to be put to sleep, I know were doing OK in the league and cups BUT the football we’ve been playing is diabolical and boring apart from first half v Chelski and second half v barcodes – and that is with nearly a third of season gone

  4. dagobert
    13/11/2013 @ 3:53 pm

    Listen, no matter how much talent we have, if the f…. manager is clueless, cannot manage them, then it’s all futile. And, it’s no good some are saying “give him time, he will improve”. But I say he will never improve. The way he doggedly refuses to field class players such as Lamela, makes one arrive at that conclusion.
    Apart from him declaring he is happy with our form; making all sorts of excuses for losing – never his fault. Oh, one time he declared a “wake-up call” after the WH thrashing at the Lane. What has he woken up to? Does anybody know?

    • Sprucebandit
      13/11/2013 @ 7:55 pm

      Mate, you’re all over these blogs giving it the biggun spreading your negative feelings. What do you hope to achieve? If you can offer an alternative manager who is realistically available and proven to be better than AVB then I’m all ears.
      If not, then get behind the team or shut it.
      Rant over….

  5. Have another rant...
    13/11/2013 @ 9:11 pm

    You have to be kidding. Firstly, nothing improves if you are too scared to say so and secondly finding a better boss than AVB is as easy as walking to your local park and asking a Sunday League manager to takeover as it would be impossible to play more negative football than our clown serves up. Wake up.

    • Sprucebandit
      13/11/2013 @ 10:17 pm

      Like I said, give me a name of a manager who has a proven record above AVB’s and is realistically available for us?

      Suggesting people who aren’t criticising the team are scared is an odd comment. Just odd. Simply doesn’t make sense.

      Deal in realism and be careful what you wish for….

  6. BigH
    13/11/2013 @ 10:56 pm

    I have regularly commented on various sites about patience, but now even my patience is being tested. Many good players have arrived and there is positivity, but for me AVB now needs to stop some of his poor choices as coach. Sandro is a must in front of the back 4, while you are developing you have to be hard to beat and we will not do that with the midfield of dembele, siggi and erikson together. Pualinho looks totally knackered and after that ballet style attempt to tackle against newcastle should be dropped!!!! I certainly at this stage am not pressing the panic button or wanting the managers head, but AVB must stop the arrogance and think strategically about the team. A bit of honesty with himself and admit some of the players have performed poorly at times. The new guys will need time and I really hope they get it, lamela is class. We missed a real trick in not also signing benteke, just to mix it up and take some of the pressure of soldado. AVB has shown in the past that he has learnt from his mistakes so lets hope he does. Last words. If just two or three of those 14 point blank chances had gone in on Sunday, we would be hailing a great second half performance and yes the Beast was on the pitch! That’s how fine the margins are. COYS

  7. David Patten
    15/11/2013 @ 4:00 am

    “but for me AVB now needs to stop some of his poor choices as coach.” Agreed. I see nothing wrong in this. Fans are entitled to second guess questionable decisions. Why not? You can still support and get behind the team at the same time.

    And I remember when Ardiles and Villa arrived. 1000% more culture shock for those lads back then, than for Lamela now. There was no waiting game for them, no waiting for them to get proficient in English and “settle”. They were very talented….and therefore were selected to play!

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