Opinion: Spaghetti junction

So we have reached the halfway point of the season and Spurs are truly at a crossroads.

To left we have the glass half full brigade and to the right, it’s the doom and gloom highway!

Where do I sit? If I am honest I am not sure but by writing this article I hope to be able to fill myself with optimism for the remainder of the campaign!

If at the start of the season we had been offered the following at the end of January I think most of us would have taken it; 4 league defeats (2 against the reigning champions) and still alive in Europa, FA and league cup competitions – the latter being the final.

Dig a little deeper and those on ‘team negative’ will remind you that that the league cup run featured a bye and a penalty victory against Chelsea and that we are playing against a Man City side who have made the competition their own in previous seasons, in the final.

Our FA Cup victories have come against a team whose goalkeeper works at Sainsbury’s and the Championship’s bottom club. Add to this the up and down performances in the Europa League where Spurs eventually topped a group featuring by some accounts ‘farmers’. I do find this term derogatory but none the less there is no denying the opponents are a world away from the Champions League foes that we have faced in recent seasons.

Add to this the plethora of points dropped from winning positions, particularly at home, and the fact that our Claret neighbours (with their own supposed ‘dinosaur’ manager) are now looking down on us in the table.  Maybe things aren’t so rosy.

So are we in striking distance from the top 4 and well placed for a first trophy in 13 years? With a very topsy-turvy league it is a distinct possibility.

Or are we tumbling down the table, about to face final heartache at the hands of City, an FA Cup exit at Goodison and a struggle in the latter stage of the Europa League bloated by Champions league drop outs.

Not to mention a certain team in red breathing down our necks in the league and seemingly suffering a renaissance with a young team and manager.

It’s a crossroads and 50/50 for me. It’s a rollercoaster. When the tactics work it looks like everyone is buying into the coaches mentality such as Arsenal and Man City games.  When it doesn’t the performances seem abject and selection muddled, however, what does worry me is the mind-set of Jose.

He rode in into the job with a charm offensive and a happier disposition seemingly refreshed following his sabbatical.  There wasn’t a hair out of place and he looked pristine in his club suit.

The first signs of the ‘old’ Jose was the jettison of Danny Rose. At 29 (at the time) he should have been in his prime but decided to go head to head with the guvnor. As if this wasn’t bad enough it was in full view of the watching Amazon public. There was no coming back from this.

I’m not sure it’s necessary but we are told this is part of Jose’s strategy that makes him a winner. Banishing a player to train with the youth team is what he does. Ask Luke Shaw and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The latter who spoke surprisingly graciously about his own experiences with Jose (Sky Sports).

So if Rose is the sacrificial lamb what does that make Dele? Horribly out of form but amongst the most promising youngsters of a generation. Jose seems to be happy to wave him on his way.

If we are to believe rumours (and based on team selections) it would suggest in my opinion there may be ‘tension’ with Sissoko, Winks, Aurier, Sanchez and Alderweireld in recent weeks.

I know have to trust in the process and I know Levy has appointed a serial winner but at this rate the players that the coach seems to trust in his starting eleven are dropping like flies!

Having had a solid window in the summer I hope that the manager’s reshape is allowed to continue. Signs are this will take time and cost money.

Apparently, as Jose gets scruffy he gets grumpy (or is it the other way round) either way. Are there early signs………

You must forgive Spurs fans for fearing the worst. Let’s just hope we aren’t the challenge that proves 1 too far for Jose and the club where he fails to win a trophy.

To keep the likes of Kane and Son, a trophy is not enough. There needs to be top 4 and signs that we can challenge for the title or Champions League next year. To limp to a league cup alone isn’t enough……..

So we are at a crossroads, more accurately spaghetti junction – this could end up in so many different destinations……

Let’s keep the faith and dare to dream

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