reasons to be cheerful (part 1961)
19.11.2004
... written for disconsolate family and friends the day after the
4-5 1. We got our Tottenham back and actually scored a few goals. Okay, it was Ossie's Tottenham but I actually would rather lose 5-4 than lose 1-0. Winning 5-4 would, of course, be somewhat better... 2. We got rid of Jacques Santini in less
than half a season. Of course we all got a brief thrill out of the
idea that he could instantly give us a decent defence, but the wheels
had already come off of that policy - there's something in the water at
Spurs that makes watertight defending impossible even if on Saturday the
defence descended to entirely new levels of farce. 3. We appointed Martin Jol rather than
going in search of other mythical White Knights on Chargers or stolid
English alternatives. He's got just as good a track record, speaks
English, gets on with Arnesen, understands Spurs' traditions - a much
more credible manager. Let's just hope he can coach. 4. Frank Arnesen. Not a dud signing
yet, with the possible exception of Atouba. Let all the Little
Englanders have their pop at the idea of a Director of Football, but I
feel a lot more secure with him at the helm for the duration. He
knows what he's doing. If Alan Hansen says it won't work, it
surely will. 5. The overall quality of the
squad. Call me crazy after a run of five defeats on the spin, but
I reckon this is the best, most promising squad we've had for
decades. It only needs a decent coach to knit them together. 6. Erik Edman. The best Spurs left
back since Cyril Knowles. 7. Calum Davenport. This boy looks
really special. We should recall him from West Ham and start
pairing him with Ledley now. Future/Now. 8. Reto Ziegler. Finally at
Tottenham, an 18-year-old is given his head. Sweet left foot.
Immediately in a different league from Atouba and Jackson. 9. Michael Carrick.
Quintessentially a Tottenham player. There may be a bit of bad in
that as well as all the good, but he's surely wound up in the right
place. 10. Paul Robinson. Certainly not
the best weekend to say it, but still no reason why he can't become the
best Spurs keeper since Ray Clemence and possibly since Pat Jennings. 11. Pedro Mendes and Sean Davis.
Both class acts in midfield in their different ways. And I'm not
even mentioning the established reasons to be cheerful in King, Keane
and Defoe. 12. The other teams down the bottom are so poor that no matter how long this tailspin lasts relegation is surely an impossibility. Chris B |