Tottenham Hotspurs: Sink or Swim?
If one had to pick two teams which set the EPL alight this past season, apart from the big four (who are fast turning into the big three), the most obvious choices would be Blackpool and Tottenham Hotspurs. While Blackpool trailed away and were relegated in sensational fashion, having led twice against the champions on the final day, Tottenham enthralled European football audiences with their spunk and nothing-to-lose attitude. This was no match, however, for moneybags Manchester City in the Premier League as Spurs, having lost Bale and Van der Vaart to injuries at crucial times, fell to fifth spot and therefore out of the Champions League.
When Dimitar Berbatov switched to United from Spurs, one of the reasons he mentioned was that he wanted to play in the Champions League. Now, having had a taste of the Champions League, one asks oneself, how long can the Spurs’ elite go without it? Players like Gareth Bale and Luka Modric will certainly believe that they deserve to be playing at the pinnacle of club football and with teams like Manchester United and Chelsea interested in their services, they will certainly be tempted. All this points to the fact that interference is needed from the homely-looking Harry Redknapp if Tottenham are to survive this situation and go on to become one of the big names of English football. The Spurs’ fans can take heart in the fact that Redknapp has announced he has no intentions of selling the club’s stars and that Tottenham will be looking to strengthen the squad and not weaken it. Also crucial is the fact that chairman Daniel Levy is willing to back Harry Redknapp and do the needful to ensure that the Spurs retain their stellar performers. Harry Redknapp is no stranger to the bizarre oddities of the transfer market, having landed Van der Vaart for a bargain 8 mil on deadline day last season. There is no doubt he will have a striker in mind alongside Brad Friedel who has been brought in as cover for butterfingers Haurelho Gomes. But his priority at the moment will be to keep the Croatian Luka Modric at the club. All his efforts might be in vain as Modric has been reported saying he would be open to a move to Old Trafford and with Sir Alex eager to replace Scholes that might well be the case. Modric has also said his Champions League experiences have left him hungry for more and that he would love to stay in London, indicating that a move to Chelsea could be on the cards. Totenham legend Gary Lineker says “My gut feeling says yes he will leave. It largely depends on Modric now. Players have a lot of power. If they want to leave they will make it awkward enough to enforce that.” Speaking of Tottenham missing out on Champions League football, he goes on to add “This is a defining moment where we will find out what will happen in the future for the club.”
“These are really testing times for Tottenham. It’s crunch time for them. Once you become a club that loses your best players it becomes awfully difficult to continue to compete and try to get back into the Champions League. If you lose someone like Modric he will be difficult to replace and for me, the club are now either going to go on to be one of the big clubs or one of the ones that are in the pack behind. If they do drop into that pack, they’ll probably be there for a long time.”
And, as is the opinion of many, Lineker believes Tottenham are in dire need of a striker as the last piece of the puzzle. He says “I think Spurs are genuinely only a couple of players short of being a side that can really compete with the big boys. They need a top-quality striker who will get them 20 or 30 goals a season guaranteed. That would make a significant difference. That’s what they lacked last season. None of the strikers scored enough goals.”
So, will the Spurs sink or swim? The answer will arrive, soon.
Tags: EPL, Football, Premier League, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspurs
