The Tottenham Hotspur theory of relativity
Only Juan point
The more you spend, the worse you play. That is it in a nutshell - Spurs never perform well when they have splashed the cash.
Juande Ramos and his team of multimillion-pound signings are bottom of the table with just one point from their opening four games after a 1-2 defeat at home to Aston Villa last night. Big things were expected of the likes of Luka Modric, David Bentley and Heurelho Gomes, but they have not delivered yet. The players themselves had been talking up the possibility of a top four finish, but the top four will have disappeared over the horizon if Spurs do not start their season soon.
The club is undoubtedly going through a period of transition. Sometimes bringing in as many players as Ramos has - £77 million worth - means they take time to gel. It is possible that once the new players have bedded in all this early season worry will be forgotten. But even the Spaniard could not have envisaged such difficulties for his new-look team. Some Spurs fans have begun to round on the coach, suggesting that his occasionally curious tactical approach is to blame. There are also grumblings that his work in the transfer market has been a bit like a scattergun. He has suddenly found himself with that age old White Hart Lane problem of an abundance of midfielders and nowhere to put them all. Hence Modric played on the left against Aston Villa last night.
But perhaps it has nothing to do with Ramos’ decisions, and more to do with expectation levels. Tottenham and Liverpool are the two clubs who invariably add to their squad in significant numbers, and are predicted to challenge for the title. What follows is a season of underachievement. Liverpool look to be in grave danger of finally breaking that cycle this season, but for Tottenham it is the same old story. Whether the weight of expectation does add extra pressure to the players is questionable - most of them have only been through the door for a few weeks so they can hardly be immersed in the club’s history just yet.
Maybe they should cash-in on their big-money stars and see if a few journeymen Bosman signings is what they need to propel them to Champions League football.
same old same old….every season we hear it….spurs are going to do this spurs are going to do that….they do nothing….ever (unless you count the worthless cup hehe).Take a look at your illustrious neighbours…..hold on to managers and don’t spend big ALL the time…maybe that’s the recipe for success….don’t think you will get relegated though!!!!!ahah
Oh so what your saying is that with so many signings its going to take time to settle but to solve this we should bring in a few more players that cost a little less. GREAT ARTICLE Where did you study journalism? Was Kermit the Frog sitting next to you in lectures?
More to the point yes Tottenham have brought in a lot of new players and no one can argue that they are quality signings. But it does take between 10-15 games at least for players to settle into the Premiership style of play and depending on where the players come from maybe even longer due to the change in culture and lifestyle in the UK. This season are we really going to be pressing for top 4. NO that is something that the press have put on us and the players for some reason seem to believe it. In 2 years with the same manager and keeping hold of the players we have (not selling them as soon as Man U come calling) then we will have a good chance. Villa are the team to watch out for this season. They were imperious on Monday and wouldn’t look out of place in the Champions League.
I for one think that Ramos is potentially better than any previous manager at Spurs for a good 20yrs, however, he needs to learn that unlike every other league, there are no easy games. Most football leagues have 2-4 big teams, about 3 almost teams and the rest fight not to get relegated. The EPL however have 4 big teams (same as the rest) at least 4-5 teams almost big enough to take the main 4, then another 5 teams fighting for Europe. Then there the rest are the relegation candidates.
We should try to keep our side together for at least 2years, then just add a proper top draw Defensive midfielder, and a world class striker. Spurs have the rest, but with the hole in the middle, and no-one for the opposition to worry about we will always lose.
As for your idea of a journeyman, I am not over keen on the thought, but the fact is true, We need one player to be a leader, a midfield general, and a ball winner. That will only come with experience, and we need it now. I agree about buying young players, but you need an old head in there somewhere, and Woodgate cant win them all (as last night showed)
Just want to point out to all the people talking about Modric being played out of position that at Zagreb he regularly played a wide left role, and for the moment, I think this may be his best position until he adapts to the pace of the prem league (prob around January)
I hate Spurs. But for that matter, every manager needs some time with his players to sort things out and Ramos is no different. Any other bunch of fans would be crying suicide after the team sells it’s two strikers. So what did the spurs fans expect at the start anyway? Bent to score 3 hat-tricks? At least the guy gave you your first title in a few decades. So chill and wait………………..