Tottenham Hotspur - Midseason report
Thursday, 17 Jan 2008 12:11
A look back over the first half of the 2007/08 season, and a look forward to what is still to come.
The season so far
While Spurs fans are typically accused of having delusions of grandeur, expectations of an assault on the top four seemed justifiable before this season.
Under Martin Jol the team had achieved two back-to-back fifth-place finishes playing attractive, resolutely Tottenham-esque football, as well as narrowly missing out on the Carling Cup final and the FA Cup and Uefa Cup semis.
Even a last-minute opening day defeat to newly-promoted Sunderland didn't seem to suggest any great cause for concern. But appalling defensive blunders led to a 3-1 home defeat to Everton and though the rot seemed to have been stemmed with a 4-0 crushing of woeful Derby, a terrible run of two points from a possible 12 followed (including utter capitulation at the Lane to Arsenal), and Jol's position seemed increasingly untenable.
The fight displayed in the thrilling 4-4 draw with Aston Villa and the unfortunate 2-2 at Anfield illustrated the players' passion for their manager but when the side succumbed to a depressing 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United, the writing seemed on the wall for the Dutchman.
And so it proved, with 'The Godfather' dismissed prior to the 2-1 home defeat to Getafe in the Uefa Cup. The long-courted Juande Ramos was snapped up for an extortionate amount from Sevilla and though his rein has so far stumbled with the same defensive frailties that dogged Jol resulting in losses to Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City and Arsenal, the team's attacking options look immediately enhanced.
Outplaying Arsenal twice in a row exemplifies the team's renewed confidence and the importance of the clean sheet to Reading in the FA Cup replay cannot be overstated.
As it stands, 12th in the league is simply not good enough. But if the cup runs can continue - including a Carling Cup final once Arsenal are vanquished, hopefully - an ascent to the team's rightful league position should be within this team's grasp.
The new signings
Jol's purchases during the January 2007 window have had a negligible impact on the Tottenham starting XI. The only notable repercussion from those buys was defender Ricardo Rocha being heralded as an Arsenal mascot by denizens of the Emirates Stadium after his weak defensive header fell straight to Jeremy Aliadiere in last season's Carling Cup semi-final.
Adel Taarabt looks impressive though has yet to sustain a run in the team, while Ben Alnwick has been loaned out to Leicester City until the summer.
The business embarked on in the summer window has had mixed success, with Gareth Bale the undoubted star buy and only denied to the team through an unfortunate run of injuries. The young Welshman is capable of solving the team's left-sided problem, as well as delivering a superb dead ball and seeming far less frightened at the prospect of defending than Young-Pyo Lee.
French centre-back Younes Kaboul has been snapped up from Auxerre for £8.2 million in the summer amid rave reviews, and his pre-season form indicated a strong, bold player in the mould of Rio Ferdinand.
Unfortunately, while Kaboul remains a potent force from set-pieces, his defensive naivety is infuriating at times and Ramos was utterly correct to drop him early in his tenure.
The £16.5 million spent on Darren Bent always seemed more dictated by his nationality - he's not worth more than Thierry Henry - than his talent and the manager's apparent willingness to let him go for £12.5 million is illustrative of the complete irrationality of buying a striker when the side already had a potent strike force. Whether anyone will want Bent after a paltry contribution of three goals is another matter.
Star man
In a largely disappointing season, only improved by the form of recent weeks and the chance of success in three cups, the progress of Steed Malbranque remains the most important part of the team's advance up the table.
While Dimitar Berbatov has contributed well of late, his attitude is still questionable and Aaron Lennon's apparent inability to cross has resulted in losing much of the momentum he'd built before the 2006 World Cup.
He must be fourth in the pecking for a slot on England's right flank now, behind David Beckham, David Bentley and Shaun Wright-Phillips, though it comes as no small pleasure to residents of the Lane that Lennon remains firmly ahead of Arsenal's Theo Walcott.
But Malbranque's consistency, willingness to track back and regular goalscoring puts him a step ahead of the frequently infuriating Spurs midfield.
Manager approval rating
Juande Ramos: 6/10
Ramos joined the club at its lowest ebb in recent years and while a spot in the top ten is still weeks away, he looks to have at least revived some of the confidence that had withered away in the last days of Martin Jol's reign.
Though the high-scoring tussles with Reading were undeniably entertaining, there is not one Spurs fan who would rather the team won 6-4 than 1-0 and if a serious challenge to the 'big four' is ever to be mounted, the team's defensive weaknesses have to be tackled.
The three cup competitions remain the manager's biggest chance of success this season and earning a Carling Cup final spot could be the key to winning over fans who still feel a little aggrieved at the necessary, but horribly handled, dismissal of long-time favourite Martin Jol.
The impressive recent performances against Arsenal - both their first and second-string outfits - bode well for the upcoming FA Cup tie against Manchester United and if Ramos manages to improve personnel rather than dispensing with crucial players - namely a Bulgarian frontman - then an assault on the European places seems possible, even if a fifth-place finish is almost certainly out of reach.
January wish-list
Paul Robinson's position seems to have become untenable amid rumours of a bust-up with Ramos and even the most loyal of fans have lost patience with the former Leeds man's dodgy hands.
While Radek Cerny has performed well when called upon, Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg looks the most likely replacement for Robinson, though the most optimistic/foolish of Spurs fans might hope Ramos could tempt the likes of Iker Casillas from Spain.
The left-wing remains a problem position, with Aaron Lennon and Steed Malbranque typically played out of position and though Stewart Downing would be an adequate fit, the £16.5 million spent on Darren Bent could have been put to far better use by snapping up the superb Morten Gamst Pedersen from Blackburn Rovers.
And as painful as it is for a Spurs fan to write these words - we need our own Patrick Vieira in midfield.
Lewis Bazley
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