I am writing this the morning after I watched us lost at home 1-0 to Chelsea, that result coming hot on the heels of a 1-0 defeat at Brighton and another home loss before that to Liverpool. Three straight league defeats, the first time this has happened since AVB was in charge in 2012. Those that know me and/or those who listen to me speak on the Spurs News Podcast (a weekly show, like a blog but for your ears) will know that I struggled greatly during the era of AVB. Many really liked him but for me the football was so bad to watch that I just felt completely disconnected to the team, a squad full of what looked like mercenaries, it was poor. Really poor.
I actually during that time had to put some distance between myself and Spurs as was driving me insane however I soon realised it was actually just the first team I needed a break from and my love and support continued through me watching the academy teams and following some of the younger players and to be blunt about myself becoming a bit of a nerd about these things.
So here I am again, once more faced with watching a first team that appears to not care and a manager that seems unable to motivate or change things. There is one major difference this time and that is the man in charge is arguably the best manager working in club football today. Define “best” of course is a debate but when it comes to trophies and records he is second to none. Won the Premier League three times, Serie A, La Liga, Champions League, Europa League and records that are the envy of all. He has never not won a trophy with a club. He has always won something in his second season. However until last night he also had the record of having never lost two home league games back to back – he has now. Only time until those other stats are broken too?
The day we appointed Jose I had fears. They were around a playing style that would be ultra defensive and around a toxic atmosphere that he so often creates. There are examples at every club he has managed where he singles out players, where he attacks media and his own team, where it is never his fault and always someone to blame. He is very tactical in how he deals with the press and sometimes when his team have been poor you can see him attack the ref, the media, the pitch, the weather all to make the headlines about his rant and not the dire performance. The press have seen through that now and it is not working. The pundits on TV, the press writing about football and media in general are all focused on one thing and that is the way Tottenham are playing.
“…. just sitting deep and f**king lumping it long…..” -Dele Alli
The quote there is one that many believe ended Dele’s relationship with Jose. Of course he played many more times after that moment but he has certainly vanished from Jose’s plans with the manager even keen to see him move on, however Daniel Levy stepped in to insure he stayed in the hope that the relationship can be fixed and Dele can find his form again in a Spurs shirt. It was Daniel Levy who also kept Tanguy Ndombele when Jose was done with him; Tanguy could well be one of Spurs best players this season.
So the title of this blog is; ‘What now’ and to be blunt I have no idea. Daniel Levy will not sack Jose based on this. Especially with us in the League Cup final, still in the FA Cup, Europa League and despite having our worst points total in the league after 21 games since the 2008/9 season everyone else is so up and down we are actually still in with a shot at the top four. It is maddening to me and actually driving me insane that I am this conflicted.
I know at the end of the season we have lifted one or maybe two trophies it would have been a great season. We have a real shot at that as in one off games no matter what I might think of his brand of football over all, you would back Jose to get results. We can beat City. We can beat anyone in the Europa League and if you win that its not just a trophy but also a Champions League spot for the 2021/22 season no matter where we end up in the league.
So with all of that said Daniel Levy will not pull the trigger BUT and I must say this, it could also all come crumbling down fast. Lose the League Cup final and the rot will set in badly. Lose to Everton in the FA Cup and exit, Europa league can be unpredictable if we play a weakened team and if our league form continues we will be lucky to finish mid table.
Sadly we must rely on individual brilliance to maybe get us out of this funk. To kick on and get back on track. Football is an odd game and the feelings you have about it are often extreme in both directions. Recent results has all thinking Jose needs to go and we are struggling to ever win a game again. We however from here get on a run, beat West Brom, then Everton and Man City we are back in the mix for top four and into the quarter final of the FA Cup and the feeling is good again.
I can admit I am struggling with it all and struggling with this mixed up feeling over Jose however I have come to accept that he is not going anywhere for some time unless something really extreme happens. All I do know is this is not an easy period for us and so I just want to remind everyone if you are reading this the people who run Spurs News are fans. Like you! We make no money, we do it for the fun of interaction with our fellow fans and so therefore when you are mad at the team and the club be mad at them and not us… thank you.
-SJ
