By Sunshine
December 1 2004

Much dissatisfaction comes from unreasonable expectations. When traditions and past are rich in silverware, style and firsts, each major change at the club raises the hopes and ambitions of the fans. e fans. This season has proved this to an extent. We began by grinding out results, but when a couple went against us, out came the criticisms about Santini not allowing the full backs to get further forward than the halfway line and our poor strikers being starved of service.

So, out goes Santini, in comes Jol and, more importantly, Carrick.

Carrick plays a few matches and is, as so often happens with playmakers, not up to scratch. Fact is, Carrick is the type of player (of which there are very few) who is capable of illuminating the game and giving the fans the sort of football they’ve been starved of for so long. Unfortunately, it appears many supporters are not willing to give the lad time to find his feet and get to know his new surroundings and his new team mates. In the past, Carrick (now 23) has shown great potential, even managing to break into the senior England side aged 20, albeit fleetingly. For the Nth time, it should be remembered that Gascoigne was rubbish in his first few months at Spurs, whilst the even more illustrious Platini was appalling for the initial 6 months of his glorious time with Juventus. I don’t wish to compare Carrick’s ability to either of those two players, but his role in the team is similar and if they encountered difficulties, surely Carrick should be afforded the same patience.

I think that one of the problems is that certain fans simply don’t rate Carrick (which in turn means that they feel that giving him time is a pointless and wasteful exercise), but Arnesen and Jol are convinced that he has the ability to be the creative lynchpin of the midfield and if this is the case, then said fans should trust the judgement of the management team (we’ve no reason not to and every reason to do so) and cut Carrick some slack.

To put the entire issue into context, the playmaker needs to synchronise his movement and passing with the rest of the team, most of whom are themselves new to the club. Playmaker is probably the most delicate role on the pitch and it is difficult enough to slot a great player into a well oiled mechanism, let alone a team which is playing poorly and which was almost totally revamped over the summer.

Injuries to key players in an already flawed squad have not helped. Losing the entire first choice left flank at the same time, together with Davis, the midfield’s engine room, was always going to mean problems. With rebuilding only partially done, we were left with an unknown Swiss left back as cover for left midfield, no one at left back itself and no cover for the sort of player (a defensive midfielder) that Davis represents. Add to that a dip in form (possibly due to the restraints posed by the observance of Ramadan) of our defensive leader, Naybet, the unbelievably bad form of our only recognised, senior right midfield player, Davies and a chronic incompatibility between our top two strikers (Defoe and Keane) and what results is a recipe for disaster. And disaster is what struck. 6 league losses on the trot. Almost a record. We didn’t deserve to lose all 6 matches, but sometimes you get the rub of the green and sometimes you don’t. We didn’t, that’s undeniable.

By now, even the more optimistic supporters have realised that last summer’s revolution is not going to lead us to European football via our league placing, not during this campaign. What should be apparent, though, is that for the first time since the inception of the Premiership, Spurs are in a true transitional year. This is a term that the fans have grown to loathe, but only because it has been misused so many times. Having a poor squad, playing awful football and hoping that a couple of summer purchases would lead to a better season next time round can not, by any stretch of the imagination, be described as a period of transition: It’s merely an excuse to keep the punters happy (or keep them from tearing down the chairman’s office).

Looking at the squad Spurs currently have and the way in which the management team now work, the direction of the club is clear: Tottenham, the club, have a game plan, it is well thought out and it has every chance of working.

It has been over a decade since there was so little deadwood in the first team squad and with one or two exceptions, the average age of the players is enviably low. Quality young players who want to prove themselves, as opposed to what the fans had grown accustomed to, which was elderly journeymen on ludicrous contracts.

Sure, Arnesen had precious little time to work his magic in his first transfer window, but he still managed to do some excellent deals without breaking the bank and whilst our obvious need for wingers will mean we’ve got our backs against the wall during the January 2005 window (our needs will probably be greater than those of the selling clubs), the advantage of having Arnesen on board will be seen most effectively next summer, when any remaining flaws in the squad should be addressed.

At present, the defence (keeper included) is ok and represents the lowest priority for reinforcements.

Up front, there is a distinct feeling that something is going to change. Defoe and Keane don’t complement each other and Kanouté doesn’t seem to be regarded as the answer by Jol. Fortunately, both our midgets are worth a decent amount in the transfer market, so if one of them goes, the smart money is on Arnesen bringing in at least one, quality replacement, who chances are will actually be compatible with the strikers who will remain on our books.

As far as the midfield is concerned, Jol has actually come out and stated that we very much need wingers and that he expects a signing or two as early as January 2005. It is refreshing to learn that the man picking the team can see the same flaws as Joe Bloggs, the fan. In the recent past, this was certainly not the case, as Spurs suffered from not having a single first choice midfielder actually capable of keeping up with play and making tackles. The team was soft in the middle and everyone (opponents included), except the manager, seemed to know it. The summer of 2003, when the club failed to sign a single player with battling characteristics for one of the central midfield berths was nothing short of baffling. Instead, we got Postiga, Kanouté and Zamora and were around £12m lighter in the wallet. As if that wasn’t enough, we had the pleasure of seeing the likes of Poyet, Anderton, Bunjevcevic and an out-of-sorts Davies line up in midfield (I won’t count Redknapp and Ziege because neither were seemingly ever fit enough to put in an appearance). I’m still stunned that the then manager thought the club was on track in its 5 year plan. As luck would have it, Ricketts and Dalmat put in some decent performances and we got just enough points to keep us in the top flight. That said, these last two players, for different reasons, we not going to salvage what was to turn out a (predictably) awful season.

Looking at the state of the squad now, it can’t have escaped anyone’s notice that we are in a far, far better position.

The only thing that confounds me is the reluctance of Jol to ascribe to the Fabio Capello school of football strategy and tactics. Everyone has seen that the defence can be watertight: Naybet is a good organiser, King a faithful follower, Pamarot rock solid and Edman a quality defender. Robinson is in the form of his life, and his selection as England’s number 1 proves it, so the result is a unit which is the envy of the majority of other Premiership sides (not player for player, perhaps, but as a whole). In order to keep the ‘goals against’ column down, said unit needs to be on full alert for the full 90 minutes in every game they play, but that in itself isn’t enough. What the manager then needs to do is carefully place two quality midfielders right in front of the defence. Santini did this, with Davis and Mendes, and Spurs let in just 3 goals in 8 league matches, some of which were against very good teams indeed. Jol doesn’t have the ‘luxury’ of being able to pick Davis (who should be back no earlier than February), but what he can do is not mess about with the central pairing, for example by moving Mendes out onto the right. Now, I too may not be fit to mend Jol’s shoelaces, but on Sunday, he seems to have finally understood this simple rule, picking the kid Ricketts for the right midfield position. Ricketts may not have had a blinder, but Mendes was back to his natural position and it showed. If there’s one thing I disapprove of, it’s playing players out of position, especially when you then replace those players with someone who isn’t as good. If there aren’t enough players available to play a certain formation, change the formation to suit the players that are available.

We have three quality, central midfielders in Carrick, Davis and Mendes, if any two of them are available, they should always be paired together in the centre of midfield. Put anyone you like out on the right wing, be they Davies, Ricketts, Yeates or Dilevski, just leave the central midfielders to their best positions, since Brown, for example, is no substitute against rival Premiership teams, not unless there is a real emergency or the team is playing so well that slotting someone into the mechanism isn’t going to unduly affect performance.

Capello’s theory, having founded the team on a tight defence and two quality central midfielders is to throw a few flair players into the mix in the knowledge that sooner or later one of them is going to get a goal. Admittedly, Capello does have the likes of Nedved, Camoranesi, Del Piero, Trezeguet and Ibrahimovic to choose from, but that takes nothing away from the reasoning and he proved as much in the season he took over a beleaguered Real Madrid (pre-Galacticos) and won La Liga at his first, and to date only, attempt.

What Tottenham are missing is flair. We have no one, outside that defensive/midfield core, who can take a man on and provide or forwards with some decent service. Ziegler is doing his level best, but he isn’t the Waddle or Ginola that Jol has been talking to the papers about…and never will be. He’s a good player, but I think we’ll see the best of him at left back if we, as a club, are serious about wanting to get back into the big time. Atouba, too, is just a full back who fills in on the left of midfield due to a complete lack of quality left sided midfielders or wingers. On the right side, at least we have potential in Ricketts, Dilevski and Yeates, whilst Davies really is beginning to prove a frustrating player. If he’s not a wide midfielder, then I fear we have no place for someone of his characteristics and we would be best advised to see what we can get for him. It would be a great pity, since he has shown his ability in the past, but his complete lack of form can not be tolerated forever.

From the noises coming out of White Hart Lane, I’m convinced that the management know and understand the weaknesses of the team and I’m even more convinced that between the January and summer 2005 transfer windows, said weaknesses will be sorted out. That is why I’d be happy with a 9th or 10th place finish this season, but would be looking at nothing less than a top 6 finish one or two years from now.

It’s a nice, albeit unusual, feeling to trust the management of the club. I do, despite Spurs being 13th in the league, and that speaks volumes for the direction that the club, Levy in primis, has decided to take.

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