James Rollo takes a unique look ahead to the Premier League season for Totenham Hotspur.
As the dust settles on England’s early exit from the World Cup my overriding feeling is it could have all been quite different. Unlike recent tournaments, England had plenty of shots, the most in their group (38), allowed the opposition the fewest attempts (25) & had a more than credible pass completion rate of 85%. Stats do not show the full story as of course there was plenty to be disappointed about, but it does show they “weren’t that bad”. A bit more concentration here & a touch more composure there & England could of easily qualified, but instead they finished bottom.
Football is all about fine margins & as any Tottenham Hotspur fan will tell you, supporting England can feel very similar to supporting our team. Hope, expectation, a hard luck story here & there, & in the end, quite often at best – glorious failure.
Only one point separated Spurs & Arsenal (& guaranteed Champions League football) in Harry Redknapp’s last season & AVB’s first. If only a draw away to Aston Villa was a win, if only we beat Fulham at home as expected…. We could be sat here now having had three or four seasons of Champions League football, but unfortunately it’s just been the one.
Regrettably, attaining Champions League football is important now on so many levels; keeping your best players & attracting the very best; Income, for the new stadium, wages etc; Appeal to sponsors/partners. We all know this and for Daniel Levy & ENIC it seemingly has become an obsession.
As it is with Chelsea & Manchester City strengthening; Liverpool on the back of a great season; Arsenal winning a trophy finally & finishing in the top 4 for the sixteenth year in a row; Manchester United with Van Gaal at the helm, surely to improve with big signings no doubt, it does seem to me that it’s going to be harder than ever to bridge that gap. Have Spurs missed their opportunity? For the time being, without wanting to be too downbeat, I feel the answer is yes.
Manchester City were somewhat derided when they dismissed Mancini & spoke of a more ‘holistic approach’ under Pellegrini & his team. However, from the board down to the players last season they appeared from the outside like they were all ‘in it together’. It’s maybe easier when you’re near the top of the table to achieve this but I do feel that now is the time for Tottenham, with another new start, to ‘Join Together’ throughout the Club – from behind the scenes to the Managerial team, First team squad, Youth teams & the White Hart Lane support. This, to me, has been missing in recent years.
I hope the expectation of Champions League qualification is dampened and Pochettino can help the Players enjoy their football again & produce a side that the supporters can enjoy watching. Personally speaking, last season just felt like a chore. There is the argument that you enjoy playing when you’re winning & vice-versa, but last season under Sherwood & previously AVB at the start of the season, even when the team won, there seemed little real enjoyment. Perhaps it was the ‘If only’, ‘fine margin’ previous seasons that just added to the frustration of the support.
Who knows what the season will bring. All I will be asking for is a feeling of pulling in the same direction, progress in terms of performance on the pitch and in true Tottenham Hotspur tradition, a good Cup run or two, even if it’s glorious failure by a fine margin.
You can follow me on Twitter @J_Rollo