You see, thanks to those stat merchants over at TopSpurs, I have looked into this and bad starts are something of a tradition at Spurs! Let's just look at the last 6 years...
2008/2009 - W: 0 D: 2 L: 4So in reality we are only short of converting one of our draws this season into a win to be off to the same start as the previous 2 seasons! 2004/2005 looks like a bit of an anomaly doesn't it? You may be interested to know that in that season, after a loss in game 7 and a win in game 8 we went on to lose the next 6 games IN A ROW!!!!
2007/2008 - W: 1 D: 1 L: 4
2006/2007 - W: 1 D: 1 L: 4
2005/2006 - W: 2 D: 3 L: 1
2004/2005 - W: 2 D: 4 L: 0
2003/2004 - W: 1 D: 1 L: 4
Remove the emotion for a minute and think about this: Did we really have much chance of doing well in the league this year? What does "doing well in the league" really mean - 4th place? Where's the glory in that? We'd make it into the qualifiers for the Champions League and just ask Everton if you think those games are a foregone conclusion. We are still in all 3 cup competitions and are leading at half time in one of them. Personally I would rather win the UEFA Cup than scrape 4th in the league (hmm, unless it was to bump the Arse down to 5th!).
Of course, in a perfect world those goals are not mutually exclusive, it's not a perfect world but nonetheless our season is far from over. Were we infused with unrealistic expectations based on a tremendous preseason? I believe we were, maybe the powers that be will line up stiffer opposition next year! I admit that apart from the bonus point at the Bridge, all our games so far have fallen into the "haveable" category - but have we really been embarrassed in any of them? I don't think so.
If Ramos "doesn't know what he's doing" then I have a certain amount of sympathy for him. I reckon you could ask 10 Spurs fans for their starting XI against Hull next weekend and you'd get 10 different line-ups and 3 different systems! The board have conspired to make it impossible for him to experiment preseason and so he has no other option but to tinker now. It's not ideal, but we have to believe that he's going to figure it our sooner rather than later.
The alternatives are simply too distressing to think about. Put a note in your diary - the 12th of November is the date the panic can truly begin. By then we will have played the Poles in the UEFA, the Scousers in the Carling Cup and Arsenal in the league - three big opportunities for redemption right there. We also have a potentially morale boosting run of Hull, Bolton and Stoke before the North London Derby - 9 points would sort us right out, and by God do we need them.
So, whilst we all wanted to see visible signs of progress from the off, I'm afraid we are going to have to settle for the same old story this August/September. Hard work, a bit of belief, the backing of the fans and hopefully we can turn it round.
Tottenham have 44 days to do it.
15 comments:
the most interesting article i've read for ages.
well said
Interesting but I reckon if we lose the Poles, Mr Levy will not be happy losing out on the leagues stages of the UEFA cup. What is really disappointing about this campaign is the performances. Sometimes in the past we would play well and lose - and we would feel like we were unlucky. Also in the 2003 we really were not investing.
we are not playing well I agree but the main problem has be creativity and goals. Our defense is no worse than previous years in fact it may be better in many ways.
It is hardly a surprise that we find our self in this position after selling our three best strikers in six months and not replacing them. Other than that we have a large number of players not used to the premier league. Commoli is the one who should be gone and maybe the European system experiment should also be shown the door. But as was well said in the article lets not panic yet, the season is long and things can change very quickly with a couple of wins under the belt.
The article states ' have we been embaressed in any of them (the defeats) only possible answer is YES, all of them. For God's sake wake up and smell the coffee, the team has no shape, no pattern of play, no heart, little pace. We are in a serious relegation fight and it seems that everyone is in denial. I have never been a supporter who calls for the manager's head, indeed the worst mistake we ever made, as was clear to most of us at the time, was the undermining and sacking of BMJ, but unless Ramos can rapidly establish a settled team and formation (who exactly was supposed to be supporting the lone striker yesterday, the invisible man?)then he will have to dapart for the good of the club.
I agree the performances is what annoys more than the results, but I don't believe any of the players are truly abysmal - even Jenas/Zokora have their part to play and their place in the squad!
They just need to develop a clearer understanding of the system, each other and how to play as a team.
Well written.My complaint is not the usual poor form of Spurs but the very disappointing refereeing.Spurs should of had a penalty in the second half and with the score at 1-1 who knows what would of happened.Something really needs to be done about the refereeing,so much money at stake,so many heads to roll and i read so little about poor refereeing.
There is only one way that Ramos departing can be construed as "for the good of the club" and that is if we are in the Championship next year.
Give the man a bloody chance, he's only been working with half these players for a few weeks.
And how were we embarrassed - is it just because we lost? Sunderland are resurgent, Villa will beat better teams than us this year and Portsmouth are top 6 material. We had spells of playing well in all these games.
So you didn't think that any of our defeats were embarassing, Sunderland resurgent, oh yes with our cast off's, Roy Keane has only been working with those players for a 'few weeks', same as Ramos , didn't stop them beating us easily. Middlesboro away, let me think, oh yes West Brom won there on Saturday. Villa are a good side, with a top class manager, should have beaten us by 3 or 4 goals, on the night they murdered us. Draw at home to Wigan, we were truly awful, aside from the penalty shout didn't create a chance. Yesterday, hardly had a shot on target against a team that had leaked 10 goals in 2 games. Also poor performance when we beat the Poles and the first half against Newcastle was also terrible.
Do you lot believe that everythings ok down at the Lane and it will all come good?
With that attitude we will sleepwalk all the way to relegation.
The bottom line is this: Yes we have not won in 6 league games, but the bigger problem is that we have not been anywhere near good enough in any of them! This is the most worrying aspect of the season so far!!!
It is not the losses but the manner of loss. No shape, purpose and more worringly no heart. At fratton park no one wanted the ball, no one willing to throw themselves in front of shots. Also what is the problem at WHL with perpetual injuries to players, this seems to be going on for the last 15 years or so.
ENIC have lost so much in
the world financial disaster
that i guess if we dont show a
marked improvement fairly soon
we will be sold off to the highest
bidder.
Please get this right this time
Spurs, as the last 5 to 6 years
of buying and selling on mass
and chopping and changing is
nothing short of disastrous.
1. We are botton after 6 games.
2. No shape, no fight, no impact in front of goal
3. Apparently our 2 strikers cannot play together "Poyet quote"
4. Ramos won't speak to the press because apparently he does not want to learn English.
5. Commoli buying and selling above the managers head, what is that about!!!!
6. Selling 50+ goals a season and then replacing with a russian who complains about the training regime. Although I do think he will come good.
7. Absolutelty outplayed in every game this season.
8. We need a manager that gives them a B0llocking at half time and full time if they are not playing well. Can you imagine Roy Keane or Mark Hughes letting the players get away with those performances.
9. When is Zokora going to turn up !!!
10. BMJ is laughing over in Germany, what a joke Levy is.
As you can tell, im p1ssed off with all the excuses, we sold big, bought big and look half the team we were last season.
It seems to be a pattern going back 10yrs or so...we buy players with a good CV etc (eg Rebrov,Postiga,Kaboul,Gilberto,Murphy,the list goes on ,but something happens to them when they get here. I think its a mentality thing.We dont expect to win every game & so we don't. Carrick summed it up when he explained the difference between the mentality here compared to at Old Trafford.
I honestly don't have the cure(even though I am a doctor!)
I agree with most you've said, Ramos must be given a chance to turn it round. But the Prem seems to have knocked the stuffing out of him.
Remember those bold substitutions we saw after he first arrived? going three at the back when we needed to win a game.
Bent for Pavlyuchenko at the weekend was abject surrender.
The constant doomsayers and sniping press that I constantly read on Spurs websites really ought to take rest.
No team in the world could loose their two best players in the last week in August and expect to continue banging goals in!!!
Please, Please give Ramos time to re-build the team.
As for you twats that boo the team off at half time, do you really think that helps to fill them with confidence and gets them going for the second half?
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