Spurs: The Perennial Underachievers

Much has been said about Andre Villas Boas and his Spurs squad since the summer. The departure of their marquee player Gareth Bale was a huge disappointment for the clubs hierarchy and the fans alike, but what it brought was a world record transfer fees of 100 million euros. What followed was a splurge in the transfer market which brought seasoned players such as Soldado and Paulinho to the club, whilst young talents such as Eric Lamela and Christian Eriksen were also recruited. Many experts considered this Spurs squad to challenge for major honors, some also labeling them as the best squad in the country, well at least on paper.

But as is often the case in football, realities are a far cry from expectation. Spurs have had a lackadaisical start to the season, stuttering to score goals and create chances from open play. With 11 goals from 13 games, only the bottom two clubs have a worse scoring record then Spurs. Home defeats to West ham, Newcastle and the 6-0 debacle at Eastlands have only added to their woes, with the manager complaining of a “lack of atmosphere” at White Hart lane during games. His recent outburst at the media in the post match press conference clearly highlighted the growing problems at the club.

Much of their problems arise from a surplus of attacking midfielders available to them with the likes of Sigurdsson, Dembele, Holtby and Eriksen all vying for the same spot in the team. Added to that, AVB continues to remain unsure of his best eleven, chopping and changing the squad in every game. Some of the players have themselves failed to integrate and gel in the squad; club record signing Eric Lamela being top on that list.

AVB came to England as one of the most brightest and youngest prospects of Europe, with people comparing him to his mentor Jose Mourinho . A domestic and European double with Porto is well worth of that distinction, but one must realize that football in England is totally a different ball game than that of any other country. His baptism was complete when he fell out of favor with  Chelsea’s old guard and then sacked within 250 days of his appointment.

Daniel Levy gave him a new project with Spurs, with the aim to do what no previous manager had done, to finish above fellow North-London rivals Arsenal and qualify for the Champions League in the process, but such has been the case in recent years that a dramatic downward spiral towards the end resulted in them finishing in a Europa League position again, despite being 6 points clear with 10 games to go.

Spurs currently lie 9th in the league, ten points off the pace and with the amount of money they have spent you’ve got to put a question on the manager’s ability. To put things into perspective, AVB has had no full time playing experience in his life, and he’s only thirty five, six years younger than Brad Friedel. Levy certainly has a better temperament then Abramovich, but surely his patience will waver one day.

With trips to Fulham and Sunderland looming in the coming days, Tottenham must finally gear up and show some character, if they want to be in the mix for the top four places, let aside title aspirations come the end of the season. The players and the manager must step up a level, if ever they are to move out of the shadow of their illustrious neighbors.