Everyone seems to be spending money and strengthening, yet we haven't signed anyone. Has your heart beat risen, has sweat started to form on your brow, do you need to strangle someone? If the answer is yes, take a deep breath and relax. It is July. Chill. It's just a case of Summertime Madness. Things […]
Summertime madness
Whoever created us was having a giggle at the time. In each and everyone of us, hidden deep amongst our algorithms and personality settings, the same default stance was programmed. You know what stance that is, some of you are already ramped up to the 5th level, whilst others are slowly pottering towards it. It’s the Spurs stance. It’s the “lets blow this thing out of proportion” setting.
I know this setting well, I love Spurs and for the most part I love Spurs fans, therefore I can identify when myself or another is about to pop. Unfortunately, we seem to be popping more often than we used to.
July is less than two weeks old. We have a manager in place, we have a few players making their way back from Brazil and we have had the first team squad in training for a week. Personally I am happy nothing has happened. Stability is the word that we have tried to tattoo into our very existence all last year, therefore why do we need to dive nuts first into a bubbling vat of transfer speculation?
[linequote]If we go into our first game having only added a left back, I would be quite happy[/linequote]
In all honesty I think very little needs to be added to our squad. Of course every squad can always be improved, but the reality is we are suffering the affects of not building from a position of power, or a semblance of power. The players we crave are unobtainable, they are nothing more than a fantasy, a wet dream.
This doesn’t mean I am writing off our season or we will be unable to “bridge the gap to the tap four,” a phrase I detest, it just means we will have to find more subtle means of improving from what was, points wise at least, an OK season last year.
For now transfers are something I can now live without. If we go into our first game having only added a left back, I would be quite happy, which is strange considering how exciting I found last summer.
Those warm months of July and August 2013 were some of the best moments to be a Spurs fan. It was a nuclear boom period, followed by a Peter North bust all over our faces. As great as the boom was, the bust was disgusting. AVB fired, losses to West Ham, thrashings and divisions in the changing room, on the bench and in the stands. I felt like a little boy taken to Disney Land, only to witness his parents hissing and swearing at each other on the Tea Cups.
This summer we should be cartwheeling with joy that there are no major sagas on the horizon. Our lack of England internationals and players in general at the World Cup, means we have our core rested and ready to right the wrongs suffered last season, whilst our neighbours have players returning late, some of whom will carry the scars of their failure for decades.
Fortunately for Spurs, our only player to have suffered that night in Belo Horzionte, actually played rather well when he came on, and is well versed in sucking up a thrashing. If anyone can survive the fallout that will linger with the Brazilians for the next 50 years, Paulinho can.
[linequote]The Sanchez signing means very little other than their manager admitting defeat and binning his whole belief system[/linequote]
One announcement that set some of us off-kilter was them lot reaching into their piggy bank and splashing the cash on a Chilean star, who is surplus to requirements at Barcelona and unwanted by any other major team in Europe, bar who he just signed for. This signing is not the green light to panic.
I agree that he is a great established player, but so is Mesut Ozil and his affect has been negligible. Even his national team has evolved beyond him and from a central role, he has become a marginalised wing man. The Sanchez signing means very little other than their manager admitting defeat and binning his whole belief system. Its like Abu Hamza shaving his head, wearing an orange robe and dancing through the street. They have become the Aldi of the free spending Premier League elite.
Instead we should focus solely on the good things, such as Hugo Lloris’ penmanship.
As the season drew to a close last year, I was concerned over the future of Lloris, but he has signed a new contract. This is a monumental moment, yet many have failed to comprehend this fantastic news and are passing it off more than proof he is off next year. If he is then so be it, personally I am happy to have the second best goalkeeper in the Premier League for one more year. Anyway since when did Spurs fans start thinking long term?
There is also the forgotten man, the butt of countless jokes and fake deaths, Erik Lamela, who can be seen running, smiling and looking rather toned. Its seems, admittedly from looking at pictures, no ITK here, as if along with his affliction to clothes, he has settled. Its a cliché, but he will be like a new signing, he hardly played last year, so he is pretty much a new signing.
[linequote]Had Lamela not suffered a string of injuries, he may have even started in place of the injured Angel Di Maria[/linequote]
It’s quite easy to forget that until he signed for Spurs, Lamela was a regular in the Argentina squad that has made it to the World Cup final. Had he not suffered a string of injuries, he may have even started in place of the injured Angel Di Maria and become possibly only the second player to win the World Cup whilst being a Spur. Football giveth and taketh away.
All of this means overreacting because they spent £30mill is an unnecessary distraction. Instead focus on enjoying the last few days of the World Cup and a peaceful preseason. We have enough quality in our squad to have a good season.
However with expectations always changing what can we define as a good season? Personally I am setting the bar no higher than playing decent football, making White Hart Lane a happy place and perhaps a Europa League win. No top four, but still pretty ambitious and if all three of these objectives are achieved we would be a heaving, cross-eyed and sticky mess.
The new season is coming, we have an autumn, winter and spring where we can overreact. For now enjoy the summer and stability, let’s try and work against our very fabric to overreact.
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.
29 Comments
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11/07/2014 @ 4:23 pm
1. Hugo Lloris is the best keeper in the PL and the second best keeper on the planet, end of story. Petr Cech has lost his throne in the PL.
2. It’s “Erik” Lamela. Not Eric.
11/07/2014 @ 5:12 pm
Preseason flabbyness. Need to get back in shape. Cheers for pointing that out.
11/07/2014 @ 4:26 pm
If you can keep your head when all around are loosing theirs. You are truly SPURS my son.
If we brought in no one we would at least have a much better established squad of settled players and an injury nightmare season behind us. Oh, and an adebeyor for the first half of the season. If pocho gets soldado and Lamala rocking were in for one hell of a treat.
11/07/2014 @ 4:39 pm
Liverpool are not coming top four this year in all likeliness. Arsenal will alway have trouble and I see no reason why we can’t pip them to it.
11/07/2014 @ 5:19 pm
Sanchez, Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey are good players, that’s why
11/07/2014 @ 5:55 pm
U lot are deluded.
What makes u think u can ‘pip us to the post’. What by relying on the same bunch of flops u did last season. Blog’s wenger comment is also comical, u will say anything to make the fans feel better. This stinks of trying to make the best of a bad situation.
No point replying to me as it’s the first and last time il be here. Just wondered how u guys were taking the Sanchez news…..reading this says it all
11/07/2014 @ 6:50 pm
Apparently Alexis has already said woolich stinks….
12/07/2014 @ 3:43 am
do one frog.
11/07/2014 @ 8:12 pm
Sweeping statements, lets just wait and see, but 5th or 6th seems most likely unless all our 7 suddenly blossom together. Don’t think Liverpool or Arsenal will struggle that much and let us in. I’ve heard it said that the bin-dippers won’t get top 4 this season because of Champions League; nonsense because Europa is an even bigger distraction for us as its always Thursdays and too close to the weekend, as well as taking us to the edge of the known world. Arse will always be there or thereabouts, thinking otherwise is wishful thinking. Sad but true.
11/07/2014 @ 4:47 pm
good article, looking forward to the new season… even more than last year… Expectation can Kill… just ask Brazil !!
11/07/2014 @ 5:24 pm
You say no other major club was in for Alexis, leaving aside Liverpool, who you may not see as major, Juventus were very much in for him. They thought they had some manner of agreement with him dating back to March or so, indeed, here in Spain, it was being reported until Tuesday or so that the player preferred Turin to London and that that was his most likely destination
11/07/2014 @ 6:46 pm
That only means the arse paid more for a guy who’s first choice was a nice villa in Turin, which one of your “world class” stars is he replacing?;-)
11/07/2014 @ 5:42 pm
All we can do is hope for the best and wonder if Levy will budget money for necessary January transfers
11/07/2014 @ 5:43 pm
Good article. I agree with just about everything, except I do believe we need to sort out another solid center back in addition to the left back vacancy. I’d love to see a Benteke, Lukaku or another monster forward added to the ranks but I won’t be crushed if that doesn’t happen. Our collective expectations were unreasonable last year. Integrating 7 new players, none of which were English or played in the EPL, and thinking they’d fit together immediately like puzzle pieces, was ridiculously unrealistic. With a bright new manager (experienced in the Prem), a crew of players who have been together for a while, a committed top keeper, and a degree of depth to account for unfortunate injuries, there’s reason enough to believe Spurs will have a solid side this time out.
11/07/2014 @ 6:07 pm
Very good article indeed.
After insanity of last summer’s transfer window, I’m definitely in for a quiet one this time.
However, if we’re looking to add anyone to our squad (1 or 2 will do), personally I would prefer them signed by now to have them for preseason.
11/07/2014 @ 6:43 pm
Well said that man!
11/07/2014 @ 6:52 pm
And the first player to win the World Cup whilst being a Spur was?
11/07/2014 @ 6:56 pm
Ardilles? Villa? That’s my best guess but I’m thinking hard now???
12/07/2014 @ 8:27 am
Both were signed in the summer of 78 when the world cup was over, so does that count?
11/07/2014 @ 7:01 pm
One or two to come in, but please no more reeling out the old chestnut possibles like Moutinho, Damieo and the like anymore. And what is it with us that we can have utter failures with the likes of Rebrov, Postiga, and Dos Santos etc., and yet they seem to go on for years after with their national sides, playing well?!
Yes, I know Rebrov’s now retired.
Anyway, I’d hate to get shot of Lamela now, and find him being brilliant for Argentina over the next four or five years!
Let’s hope Maurice gets rid of certain players’ sulks (eg Verts) and they all come to the fore next season, with fewer injury problems ..but add one forward and one left back please. I’d like to see a proper left winger and another playmaker too at the expense of getting rid of one of the DMs (possibly Sandro ..as I fear long term injury has affected permanently his qualities) and Sig.
I think Capoue, Dembele and Paulinho will have better seasons (the latter can hardly do worse, as he was a complete ‘luxury’ in the side last year). Bentaleb will also hopefully PROVE his worth under the new manager, rather than being a stuck record for Tim!
11/07/2014 @ 10:17 pm
Instead of reeling out chestnut possibles, I hope that’ll we go for Wolfsburg’s Rodriguez for our most problematic position, and though with regret swap Sig for Bony, who’s already proven PL goalscorer.
Personally, I value Sig, who didn’t complain about not being in starting XI and always showed desire to play, much higher than Capoue; and definitely wouldn’t get rid of Sandro at any cost, whose presence in middle of the park is unquestionable.
11/07/2014 @ 10:16 pm
I’ll settle for 2nd,Europa Cup,FA Cup,that other Cup what ever they call it now.Hey we’d qualify for CL twice ,that’ll do.Sod I just woke up,anything better than 8th will do……..
12/07/2014 @ 1:24 am
First World cup winner whilst a Spur? Why J Graves of course!
12/07/2014 @ 1:27 am
I meant Jimmy Greaves…….silly autocorrector!
12/07/2014 @ 8:30 am
Sorry but he didn’t play in the final due to injury, so in those days he never received a winners medal. This was corrected decades later (so yes maybe he does count)
12/07/2014 @ 10:50 am
Good article and I admire the optimism.
But our defence has been shaky at best for a couple of years and whilst I’m sure that decent coaching will address some weaknesses, we also need to strengthen personnel there.
Rose can give us left midfield cover but we need a new LB to replace him.
Daws has been great but is now too slow, especially for Poch’s preferred style.
Kaboul is too injury prone and we need more than Vlad to cover for him.
Up front, I’m sure Soldado can come good but Ade is a bit too unpredictable. We need more than Harry Kane as cover and did not replace Defoe.
So, a reshuffle of midfield might work but we need to freshen our defence and strike force. Unless we do, I’m not as optimistic as the author.
12/07/2014 @ 11:09 am
As a lifelong Spurs fan quite frankly nothing surprises me at the Lane and in order for Pocchettino to be succesful 3 things need to happen.
1.Poch will need to do a similar job to that of his previous club by integrating the existing squad with the excellent youth already at the lane.
2. Daniel Levy will have to do something he’s never managed so far and that is to believe in the long term project of his manager and back his vision of his manager.
3. Poch will need to get results from day one and hopefully see us make year on year improvements without breaking the bank.
I hope that with Poch at the helm we can finish as high in the table as possible whilst focusing on the youth players already at the lane.
Players like Tom Carroll, Nabil Bentaleb,Harry Kane,Ryan Fredericks, Zeki Fyers, Milos Veljikovic, Cristian Ceballos and Jordan Archer should all view pocchettino’s arrival as a chance to kick on and impress under the Argentine.
Lloris signing a new 5 year deal is also brilliant news for the club and whilst it’s always good to be linked with players such as Lukaku, Bony Remy, Lovren and Moreno we all read enough headlines by now to know that 99% of transfer rumours are totally fabricated to sell newspapers.
In fact the only player i would like Spurs to sign who we have been linked with Thus far is Jamaal Lascelles because he fits the mould of what Poch represents.
12/07/2014 @ 8:45 pm
Agree with most of what you said but Sanchez was Barcelona’s best player after Messi last season. He was linked to Liverpool and Juventus. Barcelona fans are annoyed at selling him and buying that annoying cannibal racist.
Also, Arsenal announced their new kit deals with Puma and Emirates. They now have more money than ever before, they signed a 10 year deal with Nike which only expired this summer. It hasn’t been perfect but this has been their plan all along.
Try to think clearly without bias. Spurs have building permission for a new stadium which will need loads of money, which will restrict Spurs like it restricted Arsenal. As much as Spurs fans would hate to admit it, Arsenal have pulled off their plan excellently. A famous quote from I think the Godfather “Never hate your enemy, it clouds your judgement.”
As much as you hate Arsenal, Spurs are about to build a new stadium and could do much worse than try to copy (and hopefully improve) how Arsenal built theirs.
14/07/2014 @ 9:27 pm
I love you Lombardi…. top bloke, proper Spurs. Great article..Those woolwich nomads from down the road can sign whoever they like, they’re still a bunch of horrible scum bags. WE ARE SPURS. COYS