I think probably the less said about Tottenham Hotspur’s trip to the Library to face Arsenal in the North London Derby at the weekend is probably for the better, so let’s quickly turn our attentions towards NS Mura in Thursday’s Group G Europa Conference League clash.
We will undoubtedly see plenty of rotation again under head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, as despite growing calls for a change, I don’t see the club pulling the rug just yet, but pressure is undoubtedly growing and of more concern than the results of late, the performances are chalk and cheese to what we know this squad is capable of…even if we all accept we need significant improvement.
I know absolutely nothing about our next opponents other than what I’ve read on Wikipedia but with no disrespect meant, a Slovenian side with a Stadium capacity of circa 5500 leaves me thinking of a backwater club that will be physical and competitively ugly. Everything says it should be an easy victory but these are exactly the kind of European games that catch sides out and leave players not enjoying the trip.
This is another behind the settee game in my book, but we surely can’t lose again…can we?
TQ 2 completely take your point. That’s a pretty good analogy re HK.
I suppose none of us know and much of what we are saying is speculation.
For me I just thought at times HK was over used and over depended upon and looked a bit at times close to burnout, not just by Spurs but by England.
For me the guy looks a bit off the boil and unhappy at Tottenham.
Is (valid) criticism actually slating a player, I feel many said similar about CE before he left how he stopped being able to get free kicks and corners past the first man.
For me I think HK wanted away last season, but JM talked him into staying, promising (almost successfully) a trophy.
Given JM’s pedigree, HK stayed and gave it a go, but when it went a bit sour both in footballing style and lack of trophies, HK wanted away, it hasn’t happened.
And though he is a great player and professional unfortunately for him and Spurs his candle may have gone out.
That’s just my take, it may all be right, it may all be wrong, I’m speculating, not slating, it’s not all Harry Kanes fault, but currently he is part of the problem at Spurs which needs fixing.
Interesting read
https://www.spurs-web.com/spurs-news/theres-no-hiding-glenn-hoddle-claims-spurs-star-is-not-at-the-races/
Lots of comments from ex Spurs players saying we should have appointed the exciting prospect Graham Potter instead of the defensive Nuno.
Problem was he did not want to come and work for Levy with the latter controlling all transfers and interfering with so many aspects of running team selections. This is coming from Paul Robinson, Alan Mullery and Jamie O’Hara who are still loyal fans and supporters.
Levy stuck out for the unrealistic 150 million for Kane. (will be less than 100 million by next summer). Also the totally unrealistic 40 million for the hapless Winks. Levy then buys players that don’t get picked.. Romero and Gil that might have put up a fight against Arsenal.
It seems we cannot get rid of Levy who has created a wonderful stadium and training facilities. This is all going to look rather silly in The Championship which seems to be where we are heading. Only Norwich have worse statistics than us in goalscoring and shots on goal. Norwich are already down. Will we be one of the other two to join them….the next three Prem games are crucial Newcastle (A), West Ham (H) and Man Utd (H)? Where will we be at the end of October having gone from 1st to 11th in three easy stages?
Glenn Hoddle is entitled to his opinion but in the end, it is just another opinion. He’s been wrong before, he’ll be wrong again. Personally I found Sky Sports’ analysis of Kane’s first 3 games far more objective and based on facts, rather than subjective opinion.
Maybe we are learning about the consequences of keeping a player at the club against his will.
Maybe by the end of next month, he’ll have scored 10 goals and we’ll be laughing about these first games.
But very pragmatically, in the short term, we can all talk about the merits of dropping Kane for his own form, but when I look at the alternatives (ie starting a teenage, inexperienced striker with no PL exposure), it’s unlikely that dropping Kane would result in an uptick in results.
I’d much rather bank on the proven commodity rediscovering form at some point, than taking a gamble on an unknown.
But BS. We don’t have to play a teenager in place of Kane. We have Son. I think he would happily take Kanes place as our ‘main striker’ and do a fine job. Especially with the likes of Gil, Berg, Dele, Moura, Ndombele, Lo Celso and Sess in and around him.
And then, slowly to introduce Parrott into games, from the bench and in the cup games, is the way to go, imo.
We need to look beyond Kane, Hugo and others. We need to look to the near future and to the younger crop of players we already have at the club. And ones yet to arrive. Kane has tried at Spurs and (in his mind) failed with Spurs. He wants to move on, and he should move on, asap. Please! …….
Wentworth, Kane was given the high price tag because Levy wanted him to stay. Surely that is not a bad thing for you, if you would also prefer Harry to remain.
I meant Scarlett, of course.
That’s assuming that 1) you rate Son as an out and out striker, which I don’t, and 2) you think we’re better off with whhoever would play in KAne’s place in the team, which I’m not.
Let’s face it, plenty of question marks exist about those players too.
By the way… It is Paratici and not Levy that has brought in the new guys, not Levy. And it is Nuno that either choses to play them, or not.
If it were just down to a lack of form I would agree with you, if it is due to the disappointment of not getting a move his prescence and attitude on the pitch could have a detrimental effect on the rest of the players, in this instance we might not be any worse off replacing him. It doesn’t have to be with a teenager, we beat City with Son playing in the middle, in fact I think the front three were fairly fluid throughout the game causing problems for their defence as a result.
haha….you beat me to it HT!
How is this for an opinion on the HK Saga, Son took a long while to sign his new contract and when he finally did it was in the belief that HK was gone/being sold, thus he Son became the main man up front and our focul point, HK stayed, Son’s head and belief dropped, just my opinion. COYS
Yep BS
Re Glenn Hoddle,
It’s just another opinion, however it is an opinion that I value because it comes from a former player and Manager of both Tottenham and England and several other clubs , still highly respected in footballing circles.
He may have just a bit of nouse on how professional footballers think and also may still have some insider knowledge on what has been happening re HK and Tottenham due to his long term association and support for the club.
Now if he were talking about ice skating or tennis then, yeah it’s just another opinion, but with football I personally feel that he comes from a position of some greater knowledge than the likes of me.
I hope as you state maybe he’ll score a bag full of goals come October.
I personally didn’t call for him to be dropped, but I can see some merit in others wanting it.
And I think as TQ said we sort of did OK against City without HK and indeed, As HT stated we could play Sonny thru the middle..
But I do hope HK finds some form for us at the weekend.
BS/Niall.
It’s not just Hoddle that doesn’t know what he is talking about.
It’s Garth Crooks, Roy Keane, Graeme Souness, Shearer, Jenas, Lineker, G Neville and a good few more… LOL
But maybe Danny Murphy knows the real truth of it all, because he at least, kind of agrees with you, BS. ð
That’s 4 ex Spurs players right there, that haven’t a clue waht they are talking about. And 1 ex-spur that does!
Yes, 5 in total… Souness started his career at Spurs! He played 1 match for us! As a sub! ð
But HT. Levy holds the purse strings and dictates what and who can be bought and sold. He stopped Harry from leaving and has caused Harry to feel disgruntled no doubt affecting his play. His market value will drop by next summer…..he is going whether we or Levy like it or not. If Levy had accepted a lower price earlier, we could have brought at least 2 top players instead of the usual cheapies. Also Winks shouldhave been sold for about 20 million which would have helped again. Levy’s stubborness is a constant problem. Paratici may be the scout but Levy always has the last word.
Yes Nuno may pick the team but he is undoubtedly aware of the shadow of Levy hovering over his shoulder. A scary position to be in.
I feel our club is in desperate straits after the excitement of the Poch era. The performance against Arsenal was catastrophic from every point of view. A ship with no captain or rudder and a crew that were unable find any direction.
The next three Prem matches are probably the most crucial in recent years. I just don’t think we’ve got the players to provide us with many thrills this season. Avoiding relegation could well be the aim.
Harry is under a hefty contract at Spurs. His contract still has another 3 years on it. (I think). Levy is not obliged to sell him. And Levy obviously wants to keep him. Hence the tall asking price. It’s ridiculous to criticise Levy for not wanting to sell last seasons top PL striker for what would be considered by many, a lot less than his worth. If we are to believe the talk of City’s lower than asking price offers. Not as they had just spent £100m on JG.
If Levy had sold Harry at around 20/30/40m less than had been touted. Spurs supporters would’ve crucified him. And of course, he would’ve been criticised for just wanting the cash and with no care for the team, the club.
Levy can’t bloody win in this scenario. Not with some supporters anyway.
By the by… When 150m was said to be THFC’s asking price for Harry, there were many supporters that thought he was being undervalued. Then the media seemed to up this to 160m! I insisted that no one would pay anywhere near this, post Covid etc. I think Levy knew this to.
For years Levy has been slated for just wanting rid of our best players for a pretty sum. Now he is slated for not getting rid of our players for a pretty sum…
That makes sense!
As for Harry being disgruntled? That his down to him, not anyone else. If anything though, it’s City he should be disgruntled at. They were not that desperate for him, to pay up for him, were they?
He needs to be a pro. And give his all for his boyhood club. And, he needs to grow up, if he is indeed sulking!
The man is privileged beyond most of our dreams… And it’s not all about him when it’s a fucking team game! It’s THFC and us the supporters that need to see him earn his bread. Levy too!
This goes for all of them!
HT….congratulations a spot bollock post, all very true, I am in 100% agreement with you there.
I still find it silly to use the “money” argument all the time.
There’s too much of it in football and that’s a problem, sure.
But given the confines of PL football, Levy isn’t exactly the highest payer, and by industry standards, he can be called tight.
No point compring it to the average person’s wages because that’s not a relevant benchmark.
We may rue the rules of the game, but they are the rules. Either play them or get out.
Not 5, 6! Including Hoddle…
I’d just as soon see Harry K go sit on a beach somewhere for a few weeks as see him mope about on the pitch. Watching him not play while he’s on the pitch is painful–especially having seen him at his magnificent best. Or perhaps he could wander about the highlands in Scotland for a bit. Like Sisyphus he could kick a ball up a hill until it rolls back down and then he could start over again. Yes, that’s it! He needs to start all over again. But he shouldn’t stay on the pitch pretending he’s playing when clearly he isn’t It’s embarrassing to watch. He shouldn’t be exposed in this way.
Now who do we play and how do we play while Harry’s on his leave? Whoever amongst those with the basic talent, the one who is most hungry.
Paratici is not a scout. His title is the Managing Director of Football. He is in charge of all matters, football. But Hitchen, Nuno (and of course) Levy will all have their say in their various roles and as a committee.
Wentworth, your logic seems to suggest that Levy had the final word in choosing all our new players. But that he has then advised Nuno (somehow) not to play them ???
I’m also thinking to myself: Levy is such a tight-arse apparently. And yet he pays all these guys very large sums of money NOT to do their jobs! ð
That makes sense!
DL has moved on from being the managing director of a football team. His ambition is clear: to surpass P.T. Barnum as the world’s greatest promoter of scam entertainment. He’s got the stadium for championship boxing, rock shows, and soon to come–grand religious events. 40,000 Moonie marriages in one place at one time. Wrestling extravaganzas featuring wrestlers dressed up a Boris Johnson pretending to wrestle against others dressed up as coal miners. Wine tasting events with Stilton cheese. Money raiser rallies to fund separation of Wales and Scotland in the heart of the demon English.
Soon football will be banished from the stadium because it’s getting in the way of other gladiator events.
Can this be right? NÅ Mura plays in a stadium with only 3,780 capacity?
It is Slovenia TK. ð
And the club was only founded in 2015!
HT some good stuff I forgot there were just as many ex Spurs players saying similar. ðð