The rise and fall of Tottenham Hotspur
As a Spurs fan for the past 6 years, I have this feeling that we have undone all our good work from the past few seasons in just 3 to 4 months. Who’s to blame? Daniel Levy, the man whose ambitions knows no limit and perhaps the one who can rightfully be blamed for the departure of Gareth Bale? Franco Baldini, Spurs Technical Director, who was responsible for the huge summer investment made by the club on perhaps an overrated bunch of players? Is it Andre Villas Boas and his ability to make a bad situation worse? Or is it us fans, who have gone on to expect a bit too much from our Spurs team?
All of us are to blame. The recent run of events at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club have been rather disappointing, embarrassing and quite unlike the Spurs we’ve seen in the past. For starters, there has been a complete transformation of our playing style; once known for the pacey counterattacks of Aaron Lennon and Bale, the flair of Luka Modric and Rafael Van Der Vaart and the killer instinct of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov.
What we find right now is a disjointed Spurs side who cannot string a combination of passes and create chances and are extremely fragile defensively with a high back line. The situation at Tottenham Hotspur is such that it has made a future potential star in 19-year-old Nabil Bentaleb as the highlight of anything and everything good happening at the club.
The sale of Gareth Bale was one that many believe is the reason for this dismal season. However, I’m of the opinion that despite the sale, the money could have been invested more wisely and sensibly with the consent of the manager. After being sacked, Andres Villas Boas complained that he never wanted to sign four of Tottenham’s seven summer arrivals – Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli and Vlad Chiriches. He instead wanted the signings of Hulk, David Villa and Joao Moutinho to go through. Perhaps going against the manager’s wishes was one of the reasons for the present dismal state of the club.
Another reason for the failure to achieve any kind of success has been the instability at both the managerial position as well as the squad as a whole. Sacking Andre Villas Boas was a huge mistake. Yes, Spurs got whacked 5-0 by Liverpool just a week or two after getting thrashed 6-0 by Manchester City. However, he was the manager who was starting to settle in, progress beautifully in the Europa League and yet stay in touch with the top 4 in the Premier League. Sacking him has resulted in elimination from the Europa League, being 9 points adrift of the top 4 and having players like Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen hinting at leaving the club in the summer.
As of now, all I can hope is that we retain all our top signings as well as Tim Sherwood, who I believe given time will certainly deliver. He is a manager full of aggression and passion and he can set a perfect example for the players, who this season have seemed dull, disinterested and lack any sort of passion. His faith in the youth system is another bright sign for the club’s future. Players like Bentaleb and Harry Kane can be essential for the future of the club. COYS!