So we are on the brink of a new season, one that could well determine the future of Tottenham Hotspur for the next decade. Normally this is the time for extreme feelings of optimism, despair, hope, fear, etc, to run riot in the minds of every supporter of every club. But for our club, this is not a normal time.
We all know the many issues that confront Spurs this season. The requirements to improve declining team performances have been discussed to infinity and back on VS. Given what we all know it is now time to bite the bullet and convey our expectations for the season.
For the past few seasons, there has been a consensus from most supporters on VS that we needed to remain in the top six and have decent runs in the various cups where the chance of silverware was considered possible. European football was a major focus. The expectations are likely to be rather different this season, despairingly so.
The cynics among us will probably hope that we achieve a top seventeen place in the league and hopefully reach the third round of the FA Cup (!!). They will also hope that we don’t use more than four new managers as the season progresses. That does seem to be quite achievable so ‘good on ya’ cynics.
The optimists among us will probably still be hoping for a top six finish in the league and a decent run in one or more of the cups so it’s another ‘thumbs up’ to the optimists.
Which of the above pathways each supporter dares to tread will depend on all the things that remain up in the air at the club, all the issues highlighted in lengthy and repetitive discussion on VS. Of course it’s difficult, actually, it’s impossible, to make any educated predictions when nobody quite knows what the team will look like when it steps on the park to face Manchester City. But it is what it is and when it comes to football most of our ideas are based on uneducated guesses at the best of times.
The truth is that all results, from winning the double to relegation, are possible. So I’ll start the ball rolling with my expectations for the season ahead.
I had to pause my writing here as I entered a few moments of deep and profound thought.
Those moments proved quite fruitless. I don’t seem to have any expectations, good or bad. I simply can’t find any base to sit an expectation on.
I’ll just have to resort to the tried and tested default expectation which has more to do with hope, than anything sensible or meaningful. Therefore, a top six finish in the league and a decent run in at least one of the cups!
Who knows?