It’s tough being a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. Last year I travelled to the Stadium of Light to see a lacklustre performance and last minute defeat and we then lost our first home game to Everton – the top four a million miles away. This year we’ve repeated that feat but thankfully I invested nothing in tickets! Both seasons have an air of predictability about them. Last year we had paid far too much money for a striker no one particularly wanted and then substituted Berbatov for him in the first game provoking a strop as he left the field. Not a surprise, our midfield had failed to produce anything for Berba or Keane so was it their fault they had not scored? And this summed up our Premier League season, particularly after the Carling Cup victory where instead of pushing on our form deteriorated leaving them alienated up the pitch and forced to retreat deep to find the ball.
At the seasons end we sign Modric and Dos Santos and though this adds little steel to the defensive part of our midfield game it should produce the service our strikers need and certainly so after the signing of David Bentley. However, then the strikers issue rears up again. Keane is approached by Liverpool, as witnessed by their “charity payment” when signing the player and Berba wants away to Manchester United. Having let Defoe leave Bent remains our only option and an average one at that.
This is the problem that faces every club wishing to break into the top 4 and win a Champions League spot. The team has to improve year on year. But to do so it has to hold onto its best players and add quality around them. I have no doubt that Spurs have added quality in the signing of Gomes and the aforementioned midfielders but after the loss of Keane and surely now Berbatov are we any further forward or effectively a team of equivalent strength but with weaknesses in different areas of the field.
The first two games have shown up our continued inability to make tackles in the midfield leaving our back four to make the first effort at regaining possession. To succeed in the Premier League you cannot give teams this amount of room yet it is a lesson we appear not to learn. The injury to Alan Hutton has seen Zokora playing at right back despite him being a defensive midfielder and whilst he only presses rather than tackles he must be better in this position? I had a feeling that Modric would replace Jenas as I could not see how both could be accommodated yet Jenas was stepped up to captain for the season opener. I know we were light that day with captain options but surely Woodgate was a better option as Jenas cannot organise himself let alone his colleagues!
With Keane and Berbatov up front and the signings we had made we were only a defensive midfielder away from “no excuses” over a top 4 spot. We still need that player. When I talked with fellow supporters at the end of last season we figured signing Bentley and Gareth Barry would add to Modric and Malbranque thinking no chance of signing either. Would Barry come – probably not and he is cup tied for Europe. But do we need him for the UEFA games where space is easier to find? It is in the Premier League where our lack of commitment finds us undone and the Liverpool saga looks over and he does need a new challenge. A cheeky bid maybe?
And what of Berba? Unfortunately from a business perspective he needs to be sold, as we cannot guarantee what may happen to his value post 1 September. Brian Clough would put him in the reserves but that was then. I expected him rather than Keane leaving the club and was hopeful that he might give it to Christmas to see if we were improving or not before putting in the transfer request. But one window to the next is a long time these days and Berba wants to play in the Champions League once more. Who can blame him. And let’s be fair we’ve seen it all before at White Hart Lane with Klinsman coming and going. If he leaves good luck to him; thanks for the quality and excitement he brought to White Hart Lane – if he doesn’t knuckle down and help get the team out of jail – that’s all any Spurs fan would ask.
