By Deep Blue
December 28 2005

Sporting a gut still full from the stuffing (insert turkey joke here) it got the day before, Spurs fans sat down to watch, what can be best described as, “Jol’s blue and white army” grinding out a win against a Birmingham side looking to make this as difficult a task as possible. Combined with a sprinkling of other results going our way, this left the big Dutch man’s side sitting 4th (joint 3rd if it wasn’t for goal difference). As they say the table doesn’t lie, so Spurs must be currently the 4th best team in England, simple?

I don’t know why “they” say that (along with such pearls as stats don’t lie or the Earth is flat) however, the theory that the league position, come the end of the season, is an accurate reflection of the quality of the side, is quite simply male cow excretion.

Yes of course it is an indication of quality and more importantly consistency, but in all honestly were Everton the 4th best team in the Premiership last year? (I think their form this year goes to show not) Every year at least one team plays above its station and more to the point several teams will, for a variety of reasons, play below the standards that, under normal circumstances, the team would play to. The football league, as in nature, abours a vacuum, when a team is playing below par there is always another to take advantage of their slip ups and fill their spot in the table.

“Looks nice doesn't it"

By now I am sure you see where I am going with this, are Spurs really the 4th best team in England or are we taking advantage of other teams misfortune and more importantly does this mean the Lilywhites will come crashing down the table with the inevitable return to the status quo (no not a geriatric rock duo).

Firstly, I think it can be fairly stated that our own team has improved. Young players such as King, Carrick, Defoe, Robinson and Keane have all gained experience from last years campaign (in the case of Mido, Dawson and Reid, only ½ a campaign) and equally they will have got more used to what Jol wants from his side tactically and what to expect from each other in the team. The additions to the side this summer have, for the most part, been ones to add experience to the side.

Stalteri although basic in technique does add a gritty resilience and consistency to the defence. Both Lee and Tiano bring in flair and energy to the left flank and midfield respectively. With that, perhaps more importantly and despite their relative youth, they also bring experience of playing European football. To add to this, pure (and yet to be fully realised) talent came in, in the form of Jenas, Routledge, Huddlestone and Lennon. All of whom have been thrown into the melting pot of youth and experience now at the club and will all become better players and develop because of it (granted Huddlestone won’t until he returns, as with Ziegler he has been sent elsewhere to gain experience for the short term).

The unmistakeable catalyst (perhaps glue is a more apt metaphor) for this blending of youth and experience and making it work in the pitch comes in the dreadlocked form of Davids. On the pitch it’s his doggedness and determination to win (or at least not to lose) has worn off on the other players on the pitch. It is true to say that winning regularly is a habit and something you have to learn and all the great teams have this trait. More importantly, forgetting how to lose is something that can develop over time, a team that doesn’t know its beaten and always thinks it deserves something from a game is always a dangerous side to play (this is what made teams like Man U and the scum from down the road such tricky opponents). This is something, albeit in its infancy, that has developed in the squad and can be attributed to the results against Charlton and Boro for example, games, even last year, we would have rolled over and died in, we have instead picked up 4 points from.

Off the pitch the influence of Davids and Naybet is equally important, esp the extra lessons Davids is giving. They will steady the young ship and provide an insight into how to stay at the top and not chase other teams. There is no doubt that there is great team spirit now at the club and the strong English based spine will drive that, happy players play better. We are not playing stunning football yet but we are playing "well" as the players get used to Jol's requirements and each other that will improve, for only (just under) a year and a half in charge we are making great strides.

Credit goes to Jol for the use he has made of our huge squad and the variety of qualities within it. For me the way he has dealt with the potential bomb that is handling the egos of Keane and Defoe and showing that neither is an automatic starter and a drop in form means you lose you place, has been superb. As has been his grooming of a top (fat free and non trouble making) player in Mido.

“Sadly, it doesnt work in FM2006"

The system the team plays is a prototype but the 4-1-3-2 formation (that can be easily switched to 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 depending on circumstance) is not just a ploy to shoehorn as many of the “must start” midfielders into line up, but it has made the most of the talents of Carrick and our fallbacks. Having 3 midfielders probing from midfield allied with the quarter back (an English Pirlo imo) Carrick sweeping up in front of the back four, has allowed us to control the midfield in the majority of games we play.

There is still a large degree of tweaking to be made to allow this midfield to link up better with the forwards, but this will come with time and I have no doubts Jol is working on this aspect. Currently we are controlling most games and are very hard to score against and forcing errors (in the form of penalties given or defensive mistakes) in the opposition making for our main source of goals. The talent in the side shows through in the ability the team has to create goals from nothing on top of this. Players like Defoe, Carrick, Lennon, Tiano, Routledge, Jenas (esp. from free kicks) and Davids can produce solo goals and chances for others out of nothing and ones that are rarities for all but the top sides in the league; this is a quality along with our strength in the depth of our squad that sets us apart from the also-rans.

We are well on the way to becoming regular fixtures in the top 6 of the table; consistently qualifying for Europe in the coming years is the goal and something I think we are ahead of “the plan” in achieving. Something we are not, imo, is a top 4 team, not yet. Our current position does reflect the strides forward we have made as a club but it isn’t our true position.

“Cygan shows his class..."

Arsenal may be struggling without a presence in midfield without Viera but they are (as much as it pains me to say) a better team overall, playing better football. The bright side is that for the first time in a decade they are in catching distance if we continue our progress and they lose their last two key assets in Henry and Wenger. It would be a shock for them not to catch us up and overtake in the league and even if we stay ahead of them till the end of the season I don’t expect to finish ahead of them the following year. It will however be a closer contest next year.

Teams such as Charlton, Wigan and Bolton should not be the sort of teams we should worry about, and over the length of the season we should finish ahead of them in a “normal” season. Bolton especially have played above themselves in recent years and credit for that goes to Allardyce for this, but in the long run, they and Charlton along with one season wonders such as Wigan and Everton last year will find their real level lower down the table. Their lofty position comes, not from the quality of the side but that of the tactics they use and the consistency of grinding out results. We now have that but on top of that we also have class players who can add that extra something in tight games that separates the top sides from the others.

We have this year benefited from the teams that should be up there pushing us all the way for Europe every season, self-destructing. Boro have a solid side and one with real talent, but it is never fully realised under the negative management of McClaren. This year they have played well below themselves and next year (as the year before showed) will be right up there fighting to stay in the top six. Newcastle, under Souness will never finish high up the table and will always struggle and are a team cursed to shoot themselves in the foot on a regular basis. The reliance on appeasing the fans by buying “trophy” players and neglecting other areas (such as defence) they need improve first will always hinder them, they have put all their eggs in one basket and have a thin squad that struggles when they pick up injuries because of it. The danger is if they ever get a good manager in (and lose the chairman) and adds the missing pieces and squad depth to the talent they have, only then will they be pushing the top 6 again regularly.

“Owen tries to remember if he has any clauses to escape.."

Sides such as Man City, Villa and Everton are all teams that have struggled in the recent years along with Spurs with no longer being the top sides they were and have the potential to be. Spurs addressed this with Levy’s wholesale changes and we are reaping the rewards. Until they do the same the only threat from these side would be another “one season wonder” else despite having excellent managers they lack the depth of quality to mount a serious challenge.

Apologies for such a long winded article but I just wanted to sum up the feeling that we are well on the way to being established in the top 5 again, but due to circumstances such as other teams having poor seasons and luck going our way we are ahead of schedule and this may not always be a good thing. I think if we had scraped Europe last year (again ahead of schedule) we would have struggled much more this year and in the same way I don’t think we are ready to be 4th come the end of the season and we may end up crashing out and suffering in the league like Everton.

We are geared up now to handle playing Uefa Cup football and finish top 5 again next year, we are not yet ready to do the same (or finnish 4th) and handle playing Champs League (it would be fun while it lasts). I will be happy to finish 6th this year and improve again the following year, I hope our current (false imo) position wont leave to many upset at such an outcome come the end of the season.