The recent story of Tottenham Hotspur is one of underachievement and false dawns. It’s now time to write a new chapter at White Hart Lane and break through the typecast.
It is almost as if Spurs receive the script each season and play their role to perfection. The tale of a team on the up, tipped to break the stranglehold on the top four. Sadly, this is a story that unfolds like Groundhog Day; culminating in a pre-eminent moment; one that would announce them as finally arriving, only to crumble under the pressure of expectation.
It comes down to stability, the single most important dynamic in the pursuit of success. When a club establishes the right set of standards over an extended period of time, success usually arrives in one form or another. Alternatively, when you create an environment that’s unstable, a poor culture can quickly develop and set a club on a course that’s difficult to correct.
It’s hard to quantify but certain teams have a sense of failure attached to them after a prolonged period of decline. Players become aware of outside opinion and start to buy in to the idea they are destined to disappoint. The burden of past failures can easily cripple the most talented of players.
Unfortunately failure seems to have ingrained its way into Tottenham Hotspur’s culture during the clubs recent period of instability and subsequent poor results.
‘The club is to blame. I certainly would not recommend it to anyone,’ were the words of past Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, when interviewed by ESPN on the clubs innate ability to ruin a career.
Only recently it felt like the page had been turned at Tottenham with Harry Redknapp in charge. There was a temporary shift in culture and belief at the club; it was the first time in years Spurs looked unencumbered by the results of the past.
Regrettably for Tottenham, Harry’s brief flirtation with the England job was too much for Chairman Daniel Levy and spelt the end of his time in charge, subsequently slipping the club back into the role they have been so desperate to shake.
The club now finds itself in the Bermuda Triangle of football once again. A vicious cycle, sitting on the precipice of Champions League football but unable to retain the players required to take them there.
Levy needs to resist the mega money deals and provide a stable and supportive environment for manger Mauricio Pochettino regardless of results. The club’s recent revolving door for players and managers needs to be shut with a shift towards a nonnegotiable policy of stability.
The upcoming move to a new 61,000-seat stadium is a must, if pace is to be kept with the top four. Financial muscle is critical, not only to attract new talent but to keep the current squad together. We are now beginning to see the benefits of stadium investment for a team like Arsenal, one of the few big clubs operating free of debt, allowing Arsene Wenger to bring in quality signings and retain his top line stars.
Tottenham must start holding onto players if they’re any chance of improving. World-class talents need to remain in the lily-white shirt, not sold off to turn a profit and inject a budget line of replacements. Levy may be notorious for driving a hard deal, but some players are truly priceless and simply irreplaceable to a team.
Only cruel timing has denied Spurs a squad that could have comprised Bale, Modric and Kane. But they must now look forward and ignore the past. They have a capable author in Pochettino and a new cast to call on, but whether Tottenham can forget past chapters and write a new story, only time will tell.
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