The Tottenham Thread (Merged)

[intheknow!]

Re: Tottenham

I'd rather Harry stayed. But, if not, Ancelotti would be a very good replacement.

I thought quite a few spurs fans were pissed off with 'arry and wanted him gone before the start of the season. Have you all changed your mind now you're doing well again?

I wouldn't know.

I only speak for myself.

For what it's worth, my impression is that the vast majority of Spurs fans have been delighted with the job that Harry's done since he's been at the club. Rightly so.

There are undeniably, however, a small minority of fans who, it seems, have never liked Harry and never wanted him at Spurs in the first place.

I dare say that you have similar fans at City.

Quite a few Spuds can't forgive 'Arry for his criticism of the Spurs faithful for the 'obscene' chanting about Sol Campbell when Arry was managing Pompey. Also the way Redknapp talks as if Spurs were nonentities until he started managing them!

 

[Crouchinho]

Re: Tottenham

We played reserve teams and youth players all the way through until yesterday. If we had played strong sides from the start then maybe we would have gone through.

Crashing out of the Europa league is no where near as bad as crashing out of the champions league. UEFA have made it such a pigs ear of a competition. You can play up to 20 games and win the thing and get less cash than you do winning the league cup

Is the point of football to you making money, or winning something?

As I said before I was gutted about going out of the competition, but as JimB and I stated before it's a bit of a farce the competition.

You can play 19 games to get to the final and then you only get 1m quid for your troubles. By the time you factor in wages and travel and bonuses it don't count for much. Only the fans are happy. Even rejects from the champions league are rewarded into the Europa league which makes it even more of a mockery.

The whole thing needs a revamp or scrap it altogether. I'd personally make it into a pure knockout competition over two legs. At least the managers who don't treat it seriously can get it over and done with in two games

 

[spurspinter1]

Re: Tottenham

With the next touted manager of England ( tax concerns notwithstanding ) about to lead his title challenging brilliantly assembled squad out of the first hurdle of the Europa League , it's worth noting the little criticism handbrake Harry is receiving.

For what its worth failure to reach the next stage of this competition when the likes of Stoke and Fulham are likely to go through could only be viewed and seen in a much poorer light than our failure to reach the knock out stage on the Champions League but of course Harry will point to the fact that Europa is a distraction to their efforts to finish in the top four this season and the press will buy it.

Not this shit again.....

Champions league quarter final last year has somehow managed to cushion this blow to be honest, I think us Spurs fans will just have to stick together and get through this tough phase.

Harry has said he is disappointed about going out. Before the game he said it was a must win. He picked a strong team considering the circumstances. Paok were very good and deserved to win. What more is there to it?

Saying that we haven't got through whilst Stoke and Fulham have makes it viewed in a worse light than your champions league campaign? Why is that exactly? apoel FC have qualified and it is unlikely that you will, are you sure that's not worse? I'm not sure I get your point here.

 

[LedleyKing]

Re: Tottenham

I'm OK with going out of the EL so long as Harry pays a bit more attention to the FA Cup. I think it is quite sad how devalued even the FA cup has become (perhaps the emphasis placed on the CL even has a residual effect on this?). I'd rather say we navigated a field of English competition to win hardware, as opposed to being able to claim we defeated the best second-rate European squads in the EL.

At the end of the day, fair play to PAOK. They scored two early goals and defended brilliantly, despite having 10 men for the entire second half. Spurs fans will certainly reference a decisions by the referee which was indeed shocking, but even despite this fact we did not deserve to win. Livermore and Corluka were simply useless, Bassong as well.

All will quickly be forgotten if we can keep the league form where it's at.

 

[mat]

Re: Tottenham

I've been disgusted with 'arrys attitude towards the EL. Ever since they qualified for it his arrogance and contempt for the competition and i for one are happy they could go out of it. The same attitude seems to have rubbed onto the fans that were on talkshite this morning.

 

[JimB]

Re: Tottenham

I've been disgusted with 'arrys attitude towards the EL. Ever since they qualified for it his arrogance and contempt for the competition and i for one are happy they could go out of it. The same attitude seems to have rubbed onto the fans that were on talkshite this morning.

UEFA can have no one but themselves to blame for the disrespect shown by clubs to the Europa League. UEFA are the ones who have systematically devalued the competition over the years. No amount of rebranding can hide that fact.

The old UEFA Cup was a great competition. Probably more difficult to win (though easier to qualify for) than the old European Cup.

But in its current format, it's just a bloated, unrewarding, unattractive and unexciting excuse for a competition. It's a dumping ground for the also rans in their respective domestic leagues. And, in its latter stages, it's also a dumping ground for Champions League failures and dropouts. No wonder no one cares.

The disparity in the kudos and rewards gained for winning the Champions League and those gained for winning the Europa League is so huge, such a chasm, that it is inevitable that clubs with realistic expectations will overwhelmingly prioritise qualifying for the Champions League over progressing further in the Europa League.

The same is also sadly true of the Carling Cup and even the FA Cup. And it's not just teams at the top. Staying in the Premier League, like qualifying for the Champions League, is of such paramount importance that other competitions are viewed as unwanted distractions and so sacrificed.

It's what football has come to. And it is sad. But it's not Harry's fault. Nor is it the fault of some silly people on TalkSport.

Football's administrators - and the greedy, big clubs they administer - are the ones to blame.

 

[moomba]

Re: Tottenham

I only wish that those clubs that can't be arsed, or think they're too important, or don't value competitions like the Europa League, and the league cup and FA cup just fuck off and don't register for them.

Before today Spurs were the bookies favourite to win the whole competition, for those that don't care that they might not make it out of the group stages I ask them, when you're old and crusty just how much would you value more. 4th place (maybe) in the league or a cup final, big day out and a chance to celebrate some actual silverware.

People say we're ruining football. It's the attitude that some competitions just aren't worth putting in the effort that is everything that is wrong with football today.

 

[spurspinter1]

Re: Tottenham

I've been disgusted with 'arrys attitude towards the EL. Ever since they qualified for it his arrogance and contempt for the competition and i for one are happy they could go out of it. The same attitude seems to have rubbed onto the fans that were on talkshite this morning.

What attitude?

I'm afraid we don't have a bench teeming with players who were bought for >15 million quid. You rotated your squad in the competition last season, so have we. Playing your strongest XI will ruin your league campaign so we chose to play some promising talent, in particular, Carroll has made a bit of a name for himself.

And why do you give a fuck how we treat the competion in the first place? We earnt the right to play in it by our leage positioning, there's not really much of a debate there

 

[moomba]

Re: Tottenham

What attitude?

I'm afraid we don't have a bench teeming with players who were bought for >15 million quid. You rotated your squad in the competition last season, so have we. Playing your strongest XI will ruin your league campaign so we chose to play some promising talent, in particular, Carroll has made a bit of a name for himself.

And why do you give a fuck how we treat the competion in the first place? We earnt the right to play in it by our leage positioning, there's not really much of a debate there

His attitude going back to April/May last year when he said he didn't want to play in the comp?

 

[JimB]

Re: Tottenham

I only wish that those clubs that can't be arsed, or think they're too important, or don't value competitions like the Europa League, and the league cup and FA cup just fuck off and don't register for them.

Before today Spurs were the bookies favourite to win the whole competition, for those that don't care that they might not make it out of the group stages I ask them, when you're old and crusty just how much would you value more. 4th place (maybe) in the league or a cup final, big day out and a chance to celebrate some actual silverware.

People say we're ruining football. It's the attitude that some competitions just aren't worth putting in the effort that is everything that is wrong with football today.

I don't disagree with the sentiment.

Of course winning trophies should be what it's all about.

But, I repeat, the blame for clubs prioritising some competitions over others is entirely the fault of UEFA and the big clubs to whom they are in thrall - not the likes of Harry Redknapp or Steve Kean or other managers who will survive or fall on the basis of their ability to qualify for the Champions League or their ability to keep their club in the Premier League.

Back in the day, failure to qualify for the European Cup wasn't a financial disaster. Neither was relegation to the old 2nd Division. The pressures on managers today are entirely different. You can't judge them by the standards of the past.

I'm pretty sure that, over the past few seasons, Mark Hughes and Roberto Mancini didn't always pick their full first choice teams for UEFA Cup / Europa League games?