The Circle Of Spurs

Unbeaten since the opening day, a progressive young manager, a talented and energetic young team realising his vision, and the little matter of a new stadium on the horizon – the future looks lilywhite. But there is one question nagging away in the mind of this hardened Tottenham fan. How are we going to mess it all up this time?

It’s not that us Spurs lot are pessimists or don’t believe, frankly we are often castigated for our own inflated idea of where we stand, it is that we have been here many times before and we have always managed to find creative ways of making it all go a bit, well, Spursy. So why would it be any different this time?

It is widely acknowledged that Mauricio Pochettino is doing a fine job as manager in a refreshingly understated manner. Understated enough for it to be unlikely to prick the interest of, say, Real Madrid or, heaven forbid, Chelsea. Pochettino’s rise has not been about big spending and marquee signings, so you would expect that he would not be the right fit for their ideal. Let’s be honest too, he is far from the finished article himself. Flexibility in formation and an ability to successfully juggle the demands of competing on multiple fronts are just a couple of the points yet to be seen.

A poached manager has surprisingly not been the reason for a memorable Spurs downfall. The distraction of a prospective job has been. It is still a raw wound as good old Harry eyed up the England job at the same time our form nose-dived in the final third of 2011/12. Not that anyone needs reminding but it was a dive drastic enough to miss out on Champions League football, with the help of a more than fortunate Chelsea European Cup triumph, which lead to the break-up of that particular Spurs vintage and saw Harry out of work with the national job filled. Our January reinforcements when clear in 3rd spot were two free transfers, Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen. A damning and unforgivable opportunity missed.

[linequote]Mauricio Pochettino is doing a fine job as manager in a refreshingly understated manner.[/linequote]

With ten of the last eighteen England debutants having been coached by Pochettino, it may not be such a random suggestion to put him in the frame to replace Roy Hodgson should the European Championships be a disappointment. However, he is surely more valuable to England by carrying on with what he has been doing, coaching young English players on a daily basis and entrusting them with Premier League football. You would also presume it is not a job that holds any attraction for him, particularly at this early stage of his managerial career.

So if the manager is settled with no viable suitors sniffing around, what of the Chairman? Can he be trusted to trust? Daniel Levy and the Tottenham board have never been ones to hold back following a wobble no matter how unpopular the decision with the majority of fans. The firing of Martin Jol on the back of two fifth placed finishes was handled with all the sensitivity and dignity of a Geoff Shreeves interview. With news breaking during a UEFA Cup tie, Jol looked on from the touchline like a discarded teddy-bear in the gutter.

While never as popular as the big Dutchman, Andre Villas Boas went from the X Factor of posting a record Premier League points total to being dumped only less unceremoniously than if by an Olly Murs slip of the tongue. The point here, as and when this Spurs side hit a sticky patch, is to avoid any knee-jerk reactions.

The signs are that the manager should have no reason to worry. For Levy, a manager who will develop and utilise youth and academy products without badgering for big money or big ego signings must be a god send, especially with that shiny new stadium to pay for. Not that he will be content with a Saha or a Nelsen here and there and Levy did fail to land him Morgan Schneiderlin. The response? To convert Eric Dier into the impressive midfield enforcer we have craved instead.

The signing of Son Heung-min for £22 million should indicate money will be made available although that’s a point I say in hope rather than with confidence. Reasonably competitive with the books balancing, that’s the Levy mantra of late and Pochettino is reciprocating.

With exciting young talent comes predictable and tiresome transfer rumours and the process has already begun with Harry Kane. The press have tapped into their inner Paddy McGuinness desperate to pair him with the bubbly and flirtatious United from Manchester. It is unsurprising given the inevitability of the football food-chain that we have succumbed to so often of late. He’s one of our own. For now.

[fullquote]It’s not that us Spurs lot are pessimists or don’t believe, it is that we have been here many times before and we have always managed to find creative ways of making it all go a bit, well, Spursy.[/fullquote]

Of course, Levy drives a hard deal, squeezing every last conceivable pound where he can. But, rather than a lump sum in the bank, what would you have given for a team boasting Carrick, Berbatov, Modric and Bale?

Still in the memory is the summer we managed a major coup in attracting Gary Lineker back to England to be fed by the creativity and class of Paul Gascoigne and Chris Waddle only for the latter was sold a week later. We finished the ensuing season in 3rd place and, not beyond argument, a mullet away from the league title.

When the team steps out onto the pitch at the new White Hart Lane Naming Rights Arena in two and a half years time, the dream is that donning those lilywhite shirts are still the likes of Kane, Dier and Dele Alli. Are we putting our fingers in our ears and la-la-la-ing to think this can be realised? At such an important crossroads in our modern history, it would surely be madness to entertain the thought of cashing in with the stadium to fill.

With such positivity abound, are there any trouble-makers or egos in the ranks to undermine the hard work and upset the apple cart? Well, no. Pochettino screwed on his silencer and calmly went about erasing those he deemed surplus to requirements without leaving any traces for forensics. We all know we are mainly talking about Emmanuel Adebayor here. He was given a chance at the start, shown patience during a troubled period of his private life, and then the manager made up his mind and quietly removed him from the pack. Younes Kaboul and Etienne Capoue, the same.

The case of Aaron Lennon was a tad more questionable by virtue of the winger’s long and healthy service to the club. For whatever reason, he did not take Pochettino’s fancy and so was allowed to move on without any drama. Paulinho and Roberto Soldaldo had a red line crossed through their price tags like a Sports Direct Lonsdale T-shirt. No point in having them around clogging up the place.

The squad has gone from being bloated and unbalanced to being hungry and willing. It may be thin in certain areas, no spotter’s badge for highlighting the lack of back-up to Kane, but it is still work in progress and on the right track. They are players who are untainted and buying into the manager’s philosophy. Redefining a style or a culture doesn’t happen overnight. Many were initially worried that we were seeing a continuation of the AVB straitjacket football. Those worries have now been banished, in particular with the recent performances against Woolwich and West Ham where the evidence was a pattern and the style starting to really click.

[linequote]The squad has gone from being bloated and unbalanced to being hungry and willing.[/linequote]

The current squad has shades of the 1992/93 team that once threatened to be future contenders. A team with a blossoming Darren Anderton and with big hopes for youth team product Nicky Barmby. That’s not to mention the goals of Teddy Sheringham, the potential of Ian Walker and a pre-Judas Sulzeer Campbell who also featured. They were slowly being moulded into an attractive team overseen by the footballing nous of Terry Venables. What went wrong? Rightly or wrongly, and it is begrudgingly accepted now to lean more towards rightly, Alan Sugar put in some early practice for The Apprentice and delivered a “You’re Fired” to the shady Venables.

To answer the question posed at the top, how will we mess it all up this time? Despite the arguments made here, the brutal truth is that we all know we will. How? It is that unpredictability that keeps us all hooked. The earlier you accept the circle of Spurs, the more you can then free yourself to enjoy the ride. We carry the scars of false dawns, lost favourites, dashed hopes and sheer stupidity. All of this and there was not even a mention of a bloody lasagne.