There has been a lot of negativity flowing around the blogs and discussion boards regarding our beloved club and after back to back derby defeats it is understandable.
However, a lot of this ill-feeling is directed towards 'Arry, claiming that he has lost the plot and has taken us as far as he can etc etc. Basically every criticism certain fans had of Martin Jol, dusted off and recited re: Mr. Redknapp. I personally was a fan of our lager-drinking Dutchman and only conceded that he needed to go when it had appeared that he had lost the dressing room, an irreversible and fatal action. So why does 'Arry, in the eyes of many Spurs fans, need to go? To many, our indifferent start to the season suggests a return to inconsistency. A return to our soft underbelly away from home. A clear failure to adequately strengthen the side over the summer in the shape of a world class striker. With heightened expectations, 'Arry has revealed himself to be unable to cope with the pressure of juggling league and Champions League. He has shown himself not to be tactically astute enough to rotate players and tinker with formation. If 'Arry stays in charge, we will be out of the Champions League before Christmas and sitting in midtable. 'Arry out.
Absolute ballbags.
'Arry achieved what 99% of people thought wasn't possible, considering the strength on paper of the established 'Big 4' and the wallet of City, and qualified for the Champions League. We're not in the relegation, we're 8th. We're 3 points off 3rd. Wigan parked the bus and hit us with a sucker punch. It happens. A draw away at West Brom looks a credible result seeing as they turned over that lot down the road on their own patch. Two outstanding displays of goalkeeping kept us from thumping City and getting at the very very least a draw against the Spammers. A win at Stoke is difficult for anyone. Wolves beat us twice last season. 2-2 in Bremen is a very good result and should have been better.
Let's not forget our injuries. Sky Sports is awash with talk of injuries crippling United ahead of their game with Valencia. No Rooney. No Giggs. No Scholes. United have big problems they say. If they lose at the Mestalla this will be why. You can't underestimate the effect that injuries have on a team. No King, Dawson, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Kaboul, Defoe or Gomes against West Ham. Arguably 5 of our strongest 11 and 2 first choice back-ups. Away at a team that always raises their game against us. How is a defeat under those circumstances 'Arry's fault? Would Corluka have played like Beckenbauer at CB if Mourinho had been in charge? Would Green have played worse if 'Arry had picked a different lineup? Injuries disrupt consistency, confidence and fitness. If Chelsea had gone to Upton Park without Cech, Terry, Ivanovic, Alex, Ashley Cole, Essien and Drogba and lost, would people have been deriding Ancelotti's tactical know-how? Of course not. People will say that with players like VdV, Modric and Bale we should be beating teams like West Ham anyway. It doesn't work like that. If you have a patchwork defence in place ahead of a goalkeeper they may not be entirely confident in, then leaking goals is a distinct possibility.
Herein lies our connection with Real Madrid. Fans of Spurs and Real have unfulfillable expectations. At Real, Vicente Del Bosque won the domestic double but was sacked for failing to win the Champions League. Mangers since have been sacked for winning the league but not Champions League and more recently failing to topple a Barcelona side which is arguably the greatest ever. If Mourinho wins the Champions League and league this year but fails to defend one or both next year, he will probably be sacked. At Spurs we have lower but equally unattainable goals. Every time a manager achieves something at Spurs, we raise the bar too high too soon and sack him for failing to reach it. We want Martin Jol to get us into the top 6. Done. Keep us there? Done. Top 4? Failed and sacked. 'Arry. Champions League? Done. Signs in the first 6 games that we aren't going to mount a title challenge? Calls for his head.
Please please please let's stop the knee-jerking. 'Arry is the best we've had in years. We're 6 games into the season. Half our squad is injured. We will be ok. Believe. In 'Arry we trust.
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