Danners9
14 Sep 2003, 06:37 PM
from spurscommunity.co.uk
What annoys me most about us is that we seem to be stuck in a time warp - we are in the same position we were 9 years ago when Francis took over; 4-5 good players which are disgraced and maligned by a poor, substandard supporting squad. A more-than prudent board that would rather plough millions into a glittering stadium, rather than on a team worthy of playing in one.
When Francis took over we still had possibly one of the best attacking and midfield line-ups in the league with world cup stars littering our team, players like Klinsmann, Dumitrescu, Popescu etc. Excellent prospects throughout the team in Campbell, Barmby, Anderton etc and to cap it off a rather astute Teddy Sheringham to provide the icing on the cake.
After two seasons with Francis all of a sudden we didn't have world-cup stars, instead we purchasing substandard players like Wilson, Sinton, Fox, Vega, Scales etc whereas Arsenal were signing Petit, Overmars, Bergkamp, Viera to name but a few. The Sugar-Francis partnership retarded the club by 4 years at least on our other rivals.
Subsequent managers Gross & Graham further still added to our assortment of premiership rejects with players such as Tramezzani, Leonharsen, Dominguez etc. In fact the only other player of note that really showed some gusto since klinsmann was the immortal Ginola, which frankly isn't good enough when our rivals are churning out stars by the bucketload.
And now to Hoddle. a man who i believe is a very good manager as he showed with the England team and Southampton; i thought he would herald in a new era where we would see a pumped and primed tottenham team battling for every inch on that field, but 2 and half seasons later we are still being blighted by the same problems we have been suffering from these past 8 years.
Still we find that key positions are being inhabited by players who are frankly not Tottenham standard, players like taricco, perry, bunjevcevic, acimovic etc. Players that we once championed as being good prospects for the future of the club, players such as king, doherty, etherington etc have all been blighted by poor form. An anthesis to these players is of john o'shea who managed walk into the man utd and almost immediately showed a calm assurity and maturity that has not only made rio ferdinand's price tag seem a little over the top, but has spearheaded o'shea as one of the premiership's most effective and reliable young defenders. Yet King seems to be all at sea when there is no Richards to guide him, and this is two and a half years after he made his debut for us. Even though he he does put in good displays for us during the season, he however flatters only to decieve with his quite lack-lustre displays in other matches.
To be fair, Hoddle has been making certain calculating departures in the form of Thatcher, Sullivan, Iversen, Ferdinand, the loan exit of Perry and the hopeful drawn out transfer of Doherty. But its not a case of just 3-4 player but a case of huge wholesale changes. Radically decimating the extensive deadwood and building yet again. It seems no Spurs manager has really done that, only transfer a few players and then add more talentless trash to the graveyard of premiership rejects that already infest our team.
And so it comes to this. If not Hoddle, then who? This next section will probably echo 'The next Tottenham manager' post but this seems to be the natural progression of this post at this juncture, but i feel i must continue.
The candidate who i feel is probably suited to managing Tottenham is Louis Van Gaal.
Though there will be those who disagree i feel that he has the tough-minded tenacity to bring this team kicking and screaming in to the new millenium. Many forget that when in charge of Ajax and with the likes of Bergkamp, Seedorf and other Ajax stars having left he still managed to win the Champions League with Ajax, and its under him that stars like Overmars, Kliuvert, Reiziger and Davids etc really developed. When manager of Barcelona, i remember that he managed to yield a Spanish title with them (correct me if i am wrong please) something no subsequent Barca manager has been able to do.
Though he wasn't able to repeat the success the second time around, i still feel that if Tottenham were to sack Hoddle (which i sincerley hope they don't) then Van Gaal is the man. He is a tough disciplinarian in the Ferguson-mould who wants his teams to battle with finesse, but battle they shall. Van Gaal also has the standing in Europe that could attract some of the big stars in much the same as Wenger has been able to do at Arsenal.
This whole article may sound to most as the ramblings of an idiot, but this what i feel must be said.
So.. upshot of this.. Louis van Gaal, next in line for the throne?
Or Hoddle with a fit squad all playing well.
Still, managers are hired and fired way too quickly.. it's not good for the team. Continuity is best. Give Hoddle his chance.
What annoys me most about us is that we seem to be stuck in a time warp - we are in the same position we were 9 years ago when Francis took over; 4-5 good players which are disgraced and maligned by a poor, substandard supporting squad. A more-than prudent board that would rather plough millions into a glittering stadium, rather than on a team worthy of playing in one.
When Francis took over we still had possibly one of the best attacking and midfield line-ups in the league with world cup stars littering our team, players like Klinsmann, Dumitrescu, Popescu etc. Excellent prospects throughout the team in Campbell, Barmby, Anderton etc and to cap it off a rather astute Teddy Sheringham to provide the icing on the cake.
After two seasons with Francis all of a sudden we didn't have world-cup stars, instead we purchasing substandard players like Wilson, Sinton, Fox, Vega, Scales etc whereas Arsenal were signing Petit, Overmars, Bergkamp, Viera to name but a few. The Sugar-Francis partnership retarded the club by 4 years at least on our other rivals.
Subsequent managers Gross & Graham further still added to our assortment of premiership rejects with players such as Tramezzani, Leonharsen, Dominguez etc. In fact the only other player of note that really showed some gusto since klinsmann was the immortal Ginola, which frankly isn't good enough when our rivals are churning out stars by the bucketload.
And now to Hoddle. a man who i believe is a very good manager as he showed with the England team and Southampton; i thought he would herald in a new era where we would see a pumped and primed tottenham team battling for every inch on that field, but 2 and half seasons later we are still being blighted by the same problems we have been suffering from these past 8 years.
Still we find that key positions are being inhabited by players who are frankly not Tottenham standard, players like taricco, perry, bunjevcevic, acimovic etc. Players that we once championed as being good prospects for the future of the club, players such as king, doherty, etherington etc have all been blighted by poor form. An anthesis to these players is of john o'shea who managed walk into the man utd and almost immediately showed a calm assurity and maturity that has not only made rio ferdinand's price tag seem a little over the top, but has spearheaded o'shea as one of the premiership's most effective and reliable young defenders. Yet King seems to be all at sea when there is no Richards to guide him, and this is two and a half years after he made his debut for us. Even though he he does put in good displays for us during the season, he however flatters only to decieve with his quite lack-lustre displays in other matches.
To be fair, Hoddle has been making certain calculating departures in the form of Thatcher, Sullivan, Iversen, Ferdinand, the loan exit of Perry and the hopeful drawn out transfer of Doherty. But its not a case of just 3-4 player but a case of huge wholesale changes. Radically decimating the extensive deadwood and building yet again. It seems no Spurs manager has really done that, only transfer a few players and then add more talentless trash to the graveyard of premiership rejects that already infest our team.
And so it comes to this. If not Hoddle, then who? This next section will probably echo 'The next Tottenham manager' post but this seems to be the natural progression of this post at this juncture, but i feel i must continue.
The candidate who i feel is probably suited to managing Tottenham is Louis Van Gaal.
Though there will be those who disagree i feel that he has the tough-minded tenacity to bring this team kicking and screaming in to the new millenium. Many forget that when in charge of Ajax and with the likes of Bergkamp, Seedorf and other Ajax stars having left he still managed to win the Champions League with Ajax, and its under him that stars like Overmars, Kliuvert, Reiziger and Davids etc really developed. When manager of Barcelona, i remember that he managed to yield a Spanish title with them (correct me if i am wrong please) something no subsequent Barca manager has been able to do.
Though he wasn't able to repeat the success the second time around, i still feel that if Tottenham were to sack Hoddle (which i sincerley hope they don't) then Van Gaal is the man. He is a tough disciplinarian in the Ferguson-mould who wants his teams to battle with finesse, but battle they shall. Van Gaal also has the standing in Europe that could attract some of the big stars in much the same as Wenger has been able to do at Arsenal.
This whole article may sound to most as the ramblings of an idiot, but this what i feel must be said.
So.. upshot of this.. Louis van Gaal, next in line for the throne?
Or Hoddle with a fit squad all playing well.
Still, managers are hired and fired way too quickly.. it's not good for the team. Continuity is best. Give Hoddle his chance.