Highs and lows, Europa Final and Ange out!!
There have been highs and lows, hopefully culminating in Ange’s firing at the end of the season (no matter how he does in the Europa League Final).
I last wrote an article over a month ago. I travelled here, there, and everywhere (supporting my team). I was also depressed about our decline as a footballing club, at least in the Premier League and the FA & League Cups. As I am sure you all were. Then there was Daniel Levy to add insult to misery!
We can’t get relegated, but we will end the season just above the relegation zone. The only good bit of sunshine is that we are in the Europa Cup final, where we will face United in Bilbao, Spain.
The last time I wrote was about our humiliation against Fulham at Craven Cottage. It was that match that made me decide that Ange had to go. Since then, we have been beaten by Chelsea, saw us beat relegation fodder Southampton, then back to our losing ways to Wolves 4-2 away. Misery on misery saw us get another nail in our coffin when we were defeated 2-1 at home to Forest. Then we faced Liverpool at Anfield, who needed a point to win the League trophy… and guess what… yes, they won it by doing the predictable and shamed us in front of their and our crowd; thrashing us 5-1, to rub salt in our wounds.
A trip to see fellow strugglers, the Spammers, saw us draw. Then, a home game against Palace produced another humiliating result. These results so far put us just above the relegation zone in 17th place, one below United.
If there are any positives, it is that we got to the Europa League Cup Final and will now face fellow strugglers Manchester United.
We’ve had one of the worst League seasons in our history, certainly in the Premier League. Talking to fans, people behind the scenes, players’ parents, etc., there is no doubt that Ange will be gone at the end of the season, whether we win the Europa League or not. And good riddance, I say.
Ange is a one-trick pony and won’t deviate from that position, and is prepared to go down with the ship rather than compromise his idiotic principles. He’s never worked in a top-tier League, only managed in an inferior league like Scotland… managing Celtic, where it is a one-horse race (occasionally Rangers getting a look in)—not forgetting Asia and Australia.
If we win the Europa League, we will be in the Champions League, and hopefully, with prospects of getting a top European manager (Laughing!) … Fail to win the Europa League, then there will be no European football, no top-flight manager, and players must be sold to buy new ones. As for getting a new manager and no European football, it will be a sticky plaster approach to finding somebody that will probably last a season or two before Levy chucks him on the pile of other discarded failures. All in the Levy style of running a football club.
And what of Levy: he will continue building his entertainment hub, and so long as the football side sees bums on seats, he will be happy. Levy has a mid-table mentality. His millions will continue to rise while the fans shout and boo as he looks on… smiling and clutching his wad of money…
Where did it go wrong? It started in Daniel Levy’s money-making mind (not a footballing one)? Thinking cheapness over quality, we ended up with a long line of failures. Daniel Levy became chairman of Tottenham in February 2001 following the departure of Alan Sugar. In 24 years, he has overseen the rise and fall of 16 managers, including caretakers. Also, in that time, we managed to win one trophy. We saw him build an empire and become the highest-paid football director, while the team faltered between a Champions League spot and relegation… more relegation/ midtable than a top spot.
My worries are that if we go on to win the Europa League—and I hope we do— he will see it as vindication of his approach. Over the years, the wage bill for the players has declined while the likes of Liverpool, City, Arsenal, etc., so their wage bill rise… This was reflected in their teams rising up the League table and winning trophies.
Levy is a man focused on his legacy, the stadium project, where he sees money flowing in one direction, not to the team that has the Cockerel proudly displayed over His money-making stadium.
I only see despair while Levy pulls the strings. Any chance of competing with the best is if a takeover is on the cards. True; we must be careful what we wish for… but could it be any worse for our beloved club and history?
Next up will be Villa away, which I see Villa winning. Then comes the big one, the Europa League… followed by our final game of the season against Brighton… where I expect the Seagulls to do the double over us (as so many have this season).
On a positive note, the trips I/ we (Janette, Mel, Janet, and myself) took around Europe and the UK have taken some of the pain away, as have the victories that propelled us to the final.
What are your thoughts?
Up the Spurs!
Glenn