This weekend Tottenham play Cardiff City at White Hart Lane, but the day before Liverpool play Southampton. We no longer only look towards the match we’ve got in hand, but over our shoulders’ to see what Liverpool is up to (sounds familiar). Because no matter what we do, no matter how spectacular we smash our opponents (actually we can’t say we’ve “smashed” anybody this season, just defeated them on a wing and a prayer) we will always be looking over our shoulders’ towards the Beatles holy ground called Liverpool. Liverpool seems to be on the rise again (under Brendon Rodgers), while we seem to be on the decline with two different managers; and Sherwood, it seems, as only a stop gap.
Rodgers joined on the 1st June 2012, while AVB was given the Spurs job one month later. AVB has gone and an inexperienced youth coach put in his place. Rodgers has been allowed to steadily build his team to a point where they are now challenging for a European Championship placing. Luis Suárez, like Gareth Bale, wanted to leave and Arsenal came in with a £40 million offer. The Liverpool board and their manager (Brendan Rodgers) rejected that offer because he was essential to their plans. Real Madrid came in for Bale and offered £85 million and Levy and the board overruled AVB and jumped at the offer. I bet Luis Suárez was glad he stayed, and with Bale at the top with Real Madrid and all that quality around him I bet he was glad he had left Spurs and the chance to actually win trophies. Spurs are 5th and losing to the likes of Norwich City, while Liverpool continues marching on and beating all that oppose them. Granted, Spurs spent £101 million on players, but the best will in the world you can’t replace one player with eight and expect to embed them in instantly. For that AVB was sacked. Liverpool, it looks like, will offer a new and improved contract to Mr Rodgers. I am also sure that by the time Rodgers comes to the end of his footballing career (at least with Liverpool) Spurs will have seen off more managers, and sold many more players than the average Spurs fan has jiggled his testicles in the course of a day (apologies to Spurs female fans for not having the required specifications to compete in the same way; but that is probably a blessing in disguise). So what does that tell you about the two clubs? That Liverpool’s board, players and manager have ambitions, dreams and expectation for the highest level. As for Spurs; that depends on what players we get, what we can sell them for and what managers will come and go. Of course I am speaking out of anger and annoyance after many, many years of support, loyalty and the continuance of watching Spurs collapse at the last hurdle. I, like all Spurs fans, expected this season, and with every new manager coming on-board, the spark that will propel us to that magical 1st or 2nd placing (I dream this every year, and every year it is the same old bollocks… but one day, I keep telling myself, fantasies can turn into reality). But let us not jump ahead of what could be another groundhog eternity day, for now we’ve got Cardiff at home. So one step at a time, as the hangman said to the condemned man.
Of course we can beat Cardiff City I hear you cry, as we cried when it was told that we would play Norwich city (don’t be stupid, we are Spurs and 5th and they are Norwich and just above the drop into oblivion zone) and yes Southampton can beat Liverpool the day before. Chelsea will probably be a draw (I hear you cry) a week later, followed then by Arsenal and then it will all boil down to Liverpool at Anfield (easy!). If, yes, IF, we can achieve such results – and miracles can happen, the 4th spot is assured and women will grow testicles so that they can compete the scratchy itchy testicle challenge.
While I am at it I might as well mention Man United; they are not having the season they expected, but that won’t last. With the backing they’ve got it won’t be too long before they are back on track and being a regular top 4 team. If Liverpool can keep up their momentum where does that leave Spurs?
Anyway, back to…. Well, what? Let us be honest, what else have we got left this season other than to dream that impossible dream. Next season is another dream (and probably another manager). As for the Europa league this season? Yeah, right! (but we did beat FC Dnipro and now we’ve got Benfica next) but let us not over tax ourselves. Too much too soon is not really the Spurs way. Actually; what is the Spurs way in the 21st Century? At the moment we, us Spurs supporters, are the Janus of mythology (in Roman mythology Janus is the god of beginnings, past and the future); at the moment we look back to past glories while the Tottenham Hotspur board play authoritarian football with our future. Don’t you just love Spurs?
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