I Know It’s Over

With three games to go it is perhaps too early to write an end of season obituary for Tottenham’s season. And while there is still the possibility we could finish in one of four different league positions (I am sure I am not the only one who thinks 7th could now be a possibility), a third consecutive Saturday of disappointment yesterday surely means our season is now effectively over.

If the season started like a thrilling rollercoaster - with a breathtaking but goalless performance at home to Manchester City, a return to the European Cup with the horror show of the first-half an hour in Berne, an excellent win at Stoke away, and then qualification for the group stages of the Champions League all in the first eleven days – it is ending like a very slow slide through the mud.

The twelve months from 14th April 2010 have been full of some great highs as a Spurs fan, some of the very best in the last quarter of a centaury in fact. And there were a quite few of them as well, as we put both Arsenal and Chelsea to the sword in the space of four days, qualified for the European Cup on a memorable evening in Manchester, outclassed Internazionale on one of the great nights at the Lane, won at the Emirates from two goals down, beat Milan in the San Siro, and took over 10,000 fans to Madrid.

But it is the knowledge that we have so painfully under-achieved this season in the League that is such a big disappointment at the moment, and one that can’t be ignored. In the unlikely event we now play to our potential, and win our last three games, and Man City were to fail to win both their last two games, we may still scrape fourth, but finishing above Manchester City and Liverpool this season should have been routine, and we should have instead, as Harry Redknapp was still saying in January, been challenging for the title.

We lost momentum in February, but January where was where it all started to go wrong because crucially we didn’t strengthen our squad. The areas where we lacking were fairly obvious even at that point – leaders, full-backs that could defend, and of course, a goalscorer.

In just our fifth game of the season our failings were crystallized in a one-goal home defeat to Wigan. We failed to put away a team despite being dominant in possession, and let in a crucial soft goal. And we have continued to concede soft goals, and they have been costly. Four times in big cup games away from home we have let in early soft goals (Young Boys, Inter, Fulham and Real Madrid) that have resulted in some form of capitulation. And it is now more likely then not, we will let in a soft goal to a team in the bottom half of the table.

Yet, come the end of January, a squad who rightly had title pretensions still only had one left-back, with no strengthening of the defence, and no leaders or a top quality finisher brought in. Pienaar was the only real addition to the first-team squad, a good bit of business by the Board for £3m in today’s market, but not enough on its own.

The squad that looked reasonably strong on paper at the start of the season wasn’t as strong in practice, as already prior to Christmas Redknapp appeared to have no faith in, or fell out with, several players including Kranjcar, Keane, Bentley, Dos Santos, O’Hara and Hutton respectively.

While some of those players may not be good enough now for where Spurs should currently be, his treatment of Dos Santos, one who surely has the potential to be a match winner at the highest level, was particularly bizarre. Named as one FIFA’s top three young players at the World Cup, apart from three brief substitute appearances when we were chasing games, his only half of football for the first team was against Arsenal in the League Cup where we had little possession while he had no service from the three defensive midfielders played behind him.

Last season one of Redknapp’s better qualities seemed to be pragmatism, picking players he didn’t like at crucial times, because it was the right thing to do, notably bringing in Pavlyuchenko and Bentley to effect, and finally giving Bale a run of games. But for all the plaudits he receives for his man-management style in the media, Redknapp does seem to lose a lot of players along the way. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and as the Manager it is right that he should be in charge and pick who he believes best taking both a short and mid-term view, but it is worrying how readily he is to criticise his players in public. And of course there is also a question about his judgment; as we know Bale was one of many he didn’t fancy, and there is the impression the best two signings made since he was manager – Rafael Van Der Vaart and Sandro – were not his signings.

With Javier Hernandez of Manchester United, Van Der Vaart has been the signing of the season. Of course, had our Board signed Hernandez in the summer, the likelihood is he would be out on loan somewhere in Europe now, having played 45 minutes of football in the League Cup without being given the ball once, plus maybe the odd five minutes here and there as a sub. But with Van Der Vaart, even Redknapp couldn’t ignore him, despite playing him out of position a few times.

Van Der Vaart has made a massive difference to the team, particularly prior to Christmas, and was the extra ingredient that gave both the players and the manager the belief that we could challenge for the title. And that is where Redknapp does deserve credit, for having that ambition, and instilling that belief in the players; a belief that has been exemplified by scoring a number of decisive late goals, the sure sign of a side with a winning mentality.

That belief was perhaps best shown through in the home game against Liverpool, when we were a goal down, and had missed yet another penalty. Modric, our player of the season, picked up the ball, and ran with a determination that led directly to an equaliser. And, as so often, Aaron Lennon made a late telling contribution, scoring a great winner.

That we have missed five penalties this season is another issue, but just as important, is that we have gone on to win all of those five games where we missed those penalties. And there is little doubt that at that stage, after Liverpool, the more experienced players in the team like Modric, Van Der Vaart, Gomes and Gallas believed we were challenging for the title.

And they weren’t the only ones. When Man Utd came in January, Sir Alex Ferguson thought Spurs were genuine challengers and he played for a 0-0 draw. Post-season statistics will now show how easy it actually was to get a draw it the league this season at White Hart Lane, but again Redknapp deserves credit for going for it in that game, finishing the game with two strikers, two wingers and Modric and Van Der Vaart in midfield.

With the exception of the cup defeat at Craven Cottage, the next few weeks were fruitful as well, a spell culminating in one of the great Tottenham Hotspur team performances of all-time, deservedly beating Italian league leaders Milan in the San Siro. Right from the first minute, when Van Der Vaart sparkled, we looked at it, and it was one of those nights when every single player played well, and we played to potential, even without Bale and not being able to play Modric and Van Der Vaart on the pitch at the same time. An unforgettable night and a reminder that nights like that make all the bad times worth it.

One week later though, and somehow despite creating several great opportunities, we lost at Blackpool, and we have never regained momentum since. Conversely, despite the squad being under strength, the domestic Cup exits didn’t help, as we had to wait two weeks for the next game after Blackpool, and only played three games in total in March.

Going back to that League Cup exit, Redknapp not only played his hand to hand too early by revealing he was going to play a weakened side, he also totally misjudged the importance of any North London Derby, as well as getting his team selection wrong. Bentley, who is not exactly blessed with pace, was on the left-hand side of a front three, rather than in a central trio who were struggling to keep possession or create, while Kranjcar was left on the bench until we were 4-1 down in extra time.

And the use of the squad since has also been questionable as we have hit our long-drawn out slump; Rafael Van Der Vaart has been fantastic this season, and is vital to us in big matches: having played up until the World Cup Final, not having had a proper pre-season and then playing two internationals in a week for Holland at the end of March, it may have been an idea to give him a break on 2 April away at Wigan ahead of the club’s biggest game in 49 years three days later in Madrid, rather than playing him out of position, while leaving Pienaar and Kranjcar on the bench.

If Ferguson, Wenger or Mourinho had been in charge of Spurs in the same situation, it is unimaginable that Van Der Vaart wouldn’t have been rested ahead of that Real Madrid game, and whether we go on to finish fourth or seventh this season, it is the knowledge we have not made the most of what we have had that is the big disappointment. We have under achieved this season with the players we have at the club, the unused resources when we should have strengthened, and our position and place in February in a League that was there for the taking.

Whatever Redknapp says about the money Man City spent, of all the players they have bought since the end of last season, only Kolorov would probably definitely be a starter for Spurs, while Yaya Toure adds experience and leadership which we lack, and we would probably have signed Dzeko if possible, although he has made little difference to City. We should be comfortably ahead of City in the League, and both the players and manager know it.

It was no surprise Everton beat them yesterday, and had we won our last four games, including winning at Eastlands on Tuesday, there was the distinct possibility City would fail to beat Bolton on the last day, with the pressure on. We can go away and perform well in big matches, which we showed at City last year, and of course at the San Siro and Arsenal this season, and we played our best half of football since Milan at Stamford Bridge last week.

Modric, Sandro and Van Der Vaart in particular looked brilliant as a central trio last week, not only as good as any in the country, but surely one of the best in Europe. With a win yesterday, wins against City and Liverpool were then on the cards, but the late kiss-of-life Everton gave us yesterday was not enough to revive us into a late run of form.

It is unlikely Redknapp will be the Manager beyond next season, and as with replacing Martin Jol and Juande Ramos before him, the Chairman is likely to already have alternatives in mind, as he should as the Club’s custodian.

It is not long ago we were in a good position as a club, and quickly regressed. After winning the League Cup largely with a side that finished in the top five two years running, we then made too many changes to the first team, with eight of the players who won the League Cup not being there the following season. And we suffered for that, as it took new players time to settle and get used to the weight of expectation that grows heavier at WHL when things aren’t going well.

The transfer business in the summer that preceded that season 08/09 was mixed, Modric of course the great signing, Pavlychenko understandable as Berbatov and Keane both left, while the signing of Bentley for £15 million, with Lennon apparently being offered as a makeweight, absolutely ridiculous. And in the early games of that season it was only Lennon, who had his first full pre-season behind him yet mainly being used from the bench, the one player who didn’t hide, and offered some hope.

The lessons from that two-year period are clear. We sold players that were key to our success, starting with Carrick, and then made too many wholesale changes, effectively giving us another season of transition when we should have been building on success. We are a much better team now than we were under Martin Jol. Where Jol had a tendency to be negative, particularly with substations, we are now more progressive, still playing passing football, but with the attitude we have the ability to win every game. (For all Redknapp’s faults, it is hard to believe he would have not gone for it against Sevilla for example, after equalizing, or that he would have taken Berbatov off when 3-1 up at Chelsea).

The recent poor run of form may overshadow the many strengths we have, and whether the manager decides to jump ship in the summer or not, the priority is keeping the nucleus of top quality players we have – namely Modric, Van Der Vaart, Bale, Lennon, Sandro and Dawson – and strengthening in the areas that are apparent.

With or without European football, now is the time for the Board to hold their nerve, build on what we have by investing in the first-team, and make sure we are challenging for the title next season.

Audere-est-Facere.

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after 49 seasons is available from Amazon and Smashwords.