I have been a long suffering Tottenham Hotspur fan for more years than I care to remember, and on yet another big match occasion they never fail to disappoint me. This season, Spurs qualified to play in the Champions League for the first time in their history. They performed very well in the group stage defeating the holders Inter Milan, and then proceeded to beat AC Milan in the knockout stage to reach the last eight. They were drawn against one of football giants of Europe, Real Madrid, and realistically I was not expecting them to overcome their illustrious Spanish opponents over two legs.
Neither did I expect them to capitulate in such an abject fashion. Last Tuesday, they played the first leg away to Madrid and lost 0-4. Five minutes before the teams were to enter the cauldron of Bernabeau Stadium; Aaron Lennon cried off sick and was quickly replaced by Jerman Jenas. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was forced to change tactics to suit the new formation which had a very unsettling effect on the team.
Unsurprisingly, they conceded a goal after only 4 minutes. To make matters worse, their lone striker, Peter Crouch, received two yellow cards for reckless challenges within 16 minutes and was duly sent off leaving the team to play the rest of the match with 10 men. The mountain they had to climb at the beginning of the match had changed its name from Kilvey to Everest.
Lennon later claimed that he had felt unwell for a few days, but decided to “give it a go.” I’m sorry but that’s unforgivable when you consider the number and expertise of medical staff employed by premiership clubs. Harry Redknapp also has to take his share of responsibility for allowing such a bizarre incident to happen. The manager and players have all made similar stereotype noises by claiming they can overcome a four goal deficit with the crowd behind them in Wednesday’s second leg. Don’t hold your breath, and will the last one to leave please switch the ventilator off.
Postscipt: In 1962 Spurs reached the semi-final under the old format of the European Cup. In those halcyon days only the champions of their respective countries were admitted to the competition. Under the rules of the Champions League the top four teams in the English Premiership are invited to compete. Spurs finished fourth in the premiership last season to claim their place which also broke the recent monopoly of Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
PPS: Tottenham Hotspur predictably lost the second leg 0-1 to Real Madrid, going down on aggregate by 0-5. Only 5 minutes into the game they had a genuine claim for a penalty which was ignored by the Italian referee. I believe that was the turning point since an early goal would have put pressure on Real and given the home crowd something to cheer about.
Otherwise, Spurs confirmed they are good team who can hold their own in the top six in the premiership but are unlikely to make any serious waves in the Champions League. Some of the individual performances by Spurs players left something to be desired. Apart from a couple of telling contributions, Lennon and Van der Vaart were missing in action presumably enjoying cucumber crustless sandwiches on the patio. It’s difficult to imagine Pavlychenko as an international striker, but that’s the reality. He received a glorious opportunity to score from one of Lennon”s rare passes and ballooned his shot way over the bar.
Gareth Bale looked quite dangerous in the first twenty minutes and then proceeded to drift out the game. I hope I’m wrong but I get the feeling he’s a one trick pony. He has speed and acceleration but is very left footed and becoming quite predictable. Tom Huddleston returned to first team action following a lengthy layoff through injury and needn’t have bothered. He is very one paced which is not effective at this level. The Brazilian goalkeeper Gomez committed a schoolboy error by allowing Ronaldo’s tepid shot to bounce out of his hands and roll tantalizingly over the line. Quite frankly he cannot be trusted at this level and is another player who needs to be on his way at season end.
Spurs achieved a great victory over two legs in the qualifying stages over the holders, Inter Milan. However that result has now been placed in perspective by Inter Milan’s comprehensive defeat against German side Schalke, losing 3-7 on aggregate. Schalke play Manchester Utd in the semi-final and they could provide an upset since everyman and his dog are anticipating a final at Wembley between Manchester Utd and Barcelona.
It is 24th May and the 2010-11 The Premiership finished on Sunday which resulted in Man Utd being crowned champions for a record 19th time. Following a dogfight at the lower end of the table, Blackpool, Birmingham (winners of the Carling Cup) and West Ham were relegated. Tottenham finished 5th which means they will play in the second tier Europa Cup next season. Incredulously, manager Harry Redknapp claimed that this was Spurs’ best season ever.
Once again, Harry revealed his barrow boy tendencies by attempting to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. Does he think long suffering Spurs fans are stupid? We were well beaten by Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Champions League by an aggregate score of 0-5 and he has the audacity to commend such a performance. Following their removal from the competition they then proceeded to give up the ghost on 4th spot in the premiership which would have secured another season in the Champions League.
Unbelievably he then trots out some hogwash about requiring only two players for next season to challenge the top four. Yes, you guessed it; yet another midfielder, and a wait for it, a new striker. Look Harry, as any decent manager worth his salt knows, the good and consistent teams are built from the back. Gomez is a clown and needs to be replaced. The back four is a shambles because your best partnership in cenral defense are Dawson and King. King cannot be wrapped in cotton wool for another season and sadly he has to go.
In addition to Gomez and King the following players need to be shown the door: Hutton, Crouch, Defoe, Kranckjer, Woodgate, Huddlestone, Polaccios, and Lennon. In my opinion Redknapp has a major rebuilding job on his hands and minor tweaking is not going to cut it.
