The Tim Sherwood Era

Tim Sherwood was relived of his duties as head coach of Tottenham Hotspur on the 13th of May 2014 – two days after the closure of the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season. The news failed to surprise a vast majority of Spurs fans. Most people were already aware of the news, it was only a matter of time before Daniel Levy made it official. This article will consist of a summary of Tim Sherwood’s short reign as the manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

The club announced the sacking of former boss André Villas Boas in the wake of a demolishing 0-5 defeat at White Hart Lane by the hands of Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool. The official announcement was made by the club on the 16th December 2013. Enough was enough for Daniel Levy after seeing Tottenham experience a disastrous beginning to the season having spent over £100m in the summer.

It was time for a change.

Tim Sherwood took charge of first team duties and his first task was to overcome London rivals West Ham United at White Hart Lane in the Quarter Finals of the Capital One Cup. Making his return to the side, Emmanuel Adebayor put Tottenham into the lead midway through the second half. However, that lead didn’t last for long as goals from Matt Jarvis and Modibo Maiga sent the East Londoners into the Semi-Finals.

Not the best start that Tim Sherwood would have hoped for, but he quickly had to recruit the team back together in time for their trip to Southampton – the first Premier League game in which he would take charge of. Spurs won the game 2-3 and Emmanuel Adebayor stole the show yet again as he netted two goals on his Premier League return. Tottenham returned to winning ways in the Premier League, Emmanuel Adebayor was back in the team and amongst the goals and Spurs fans were satisfied with Tim Sherwood’s first impression as the care-taking manager. So far, so good.

The next night, Tottenham announced via their social media account, Twitter (@SpursOfficial), that Tim Sherwood signed an 18 month deal which would tie him to the club until the end of the 2014/15 season. At this moment in time, Spurs fans on Twitter had a mixture of feelings towards the newly appointed gaffer. Some thought “Let’s give him a chance, he’s English, he knows the club very well and hasn’t performed too badly ever since taking charge of first team duties”, whilst others thought “What on earth is Daniel Levy doing!? He’s appointed a person that has no managerial badges and no experience in managing in the football world, never mind the Premier League!”

For Tim Sherwood, it was time to hit the ground running. With two home games on the horizon (WBA and Stoke City), everyone wanted the new manager to get off to a rampant start. But that didn’t prove to be the case. Tottenham dropped two points at home to West Bromwich Albion, as The Baggies frustrated Spurs for majority of the game. We had to settle for a 1-1 draw. However, when Stoke City visited White Hart Lane four days after Christmas, Tottenham put in (arguably) their best performance of the season. We thrashed Mark Hughes’ Stoke side 3-0 and Spurs were back to playing their familiar attacking football which went AWOL during many games under André Villas Boas. Fans were excited at the possible prospect of having a strong finish to the second half of the season. The new boss was off to a great start.

On New Years Day, we traveled to Old Trafford. We won this fixture last season for the first time in 23 years. The monkey was off our back and Spurs fans were dreaming of another sensational victory for the second year in a row. And that is just what they got. Tottenham won the game 1-2 as goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and Christian Eriksen ensured Tottenham return back to N17 with all three points. Tim Sherwood couldn’t have wished for a much better start.

That League victory was followed by two more wins at the expense of Swansea City at The Liberty Stadium and Crystal Palace at The Lane. However, at the end of January when Manchester City visited White Hart Lane, everything put together over the past few weeks was blown out of the window. Goals from Sergio Agüero, Yaya Touré, Edin Džeko, Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany gave Manuel Pellegrini’s team a convincing 1-5 win in North London. One bad result, not the end of the world.. Right?..

February saw Tim Sherwood’s Tottenham Hotspur pick up seven points from four games and a stunning comeback to down FC Dnipro at The Lane. After a draw against Hull City and a loss at Carrow Road to Norwich City, many Spurs fans turned their backs to Tim Sherwood and wanted him out of the club. Many started to slate Daniel Levy for not having a replacement lined up for the sacking of former manager, Andre Villas Boas. To add insult to injury, a Vine was posted by a handful of anti-Sherwood fans which consisted of Sherwood admitting that he was a childhood Arsenal fan and that he would “love to see them do well.” The Vine eventually made its way down to rival supporters and as you’d expect, they made a huge mockery out of it and it was used against Spurs fans for the rest of the season. Surly it couldn’t get much worse for Tim Sherwood?

Yes it could.

March witnessed a diabolical month for Spurs which Tottenham supporters will quickly want to forget. The month saw Chelsea hammer Spurs 4-0, Arsenal win at White Hart Lane, Tottenham knocked out of the Europa League after a horrible showing against Benfica at home and the thrashing in the hands of Liverpool to edge them towards their first League title in 25 odd years. Tim Sherwood was now getting torn to pieces by a vast majority of Spurs fans and the newspapers weren’t doing him a favour either. After a satisfactory start to life as a Spurs manager, Tim Sherwood was now a dead man walking. Daniel Levy was not too impressed by his showings either. You couldn’t predict what Tim would say to the press; he didn’t like holding his thoughts back to himself and that didn’t do him any justice at all.

April took a turn for the better for Spurs after experiencing an annihilating month in March. We successfully collected 10 points from five games, which included a monumental 5-1 thrashing of Gus Poyet’s Sunderland. Doesn’t seem like a bad month, does it? Wrong. With Tim Sherwood in charge, controversy will not fail to pass you. Shortly after our 3-1 triumph against Fulham at White Hart Lane, Tim Sherwood admitted in an interview that Sandro was fit for selection, but was never selected because he’s not “good enough” to play in the team. That remarkable comment sent the whole of Twitter into a huge meltdown. Once the news reached Sandro, he tweeted “lol, lol, lol.” A comedic moment that will be remembered for some time to come for all Tottenham fans.

May was finally here, the ending of an exhausting and rather humiliating season was finally here. and many fans and newspapers insisted that the end of Tim Sherwood’s short reign at Spurs was finally here. Several newspapers and websites were reporting that Daniel Levy was already on the look for a new man to take charge as head coach as soon as the season climaxes. Louis Van Gaal, Frank De Boer, Mauricio Pochetinno and Rafael Benitez were the favourites to take over. But for now, normal services were resumed. Tottenham ended the season with a travel to West Ham before drawing the season to a close at home to Aston Villa. West Ham defeated Spurs for the third time on the trot which more or less told the story of Spurs’ season. We finished the season in some style as we scored three goals in the first half against Aston Villa and concluded the season with a 3-0 win.

Two days after, on May 13th 2014, Tim Sherwood was relived of his duties as manager of Tottenham Hotspur. I wish Tim Sherwood the best of luck in the future and wish him every success. Now we must focus on getting the right man for the job, to make us compete in all competitions and more importantly, bring silverware back to White Hart Lane.

Mid-Season Review

It’s fair to say that the 2013/2014 season hasn’t gone according to plan for Tottenham Hotspur. Last summer, Spurs fans (me included) were full of expectation, hope and excitement ahead of the upcoming season with a set of new exciting players, a young, hungry manager desperate for success and the prospect of reaching that illustrious Champions league spot. Some fans were even talking about the possibility of the Premier League heading down N17.

The season get off to a near perfect start with 4 wins from the first 5 games for Andre Villas-Boas’ new look Tottenham. However, on the 6 October 2013, Tottenham lost 3-0 to arch rivals West Ham at White Hart Lane. A shocking, bitter blow to Tottenham players and fans alike. For me, this was the beginning of the end for Andre Villas Boas. It was then that fans started questioning the new aquisitons such as Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli, Etienne Capoue and, perhaps, most of all: our record signing, Erik Lamela.

However, Spurs continued to grind out results via Soldado penalties and lucky goals for the next few games. This luck was brought to a staggering hault vs Manchester City at the Etihad. Tottenham lost 6-0 that day, a pitiful perfromance by the Lilywhites being outclassed in every department. It was on this day that fans began questioning AVB’s style of play and were we happy with what we were seeing? I certainly wasn’t. Not once all season had we shown “The Tottenham Way”; the flair, the style, the picking of the lock, none of it.

Fans began questioning AVB and Tottenham Hotspur as a club.
AVB clung to his job by the scruff of his neck for another month or so until yet another hammering was experineced, this time at the hands of Liverpool: 5-0 at home. This was considered an absolute outrage amongst Spurs fans. It was now universally thought that Andre Villas Boas had to be sacked by Tottenham, the man with the beautiful beard had to leave, and that he did.

The next day, Andre Villas-Boas was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur. Many thought this was the beginnig of the end for Tottenhams season, that this was a harsh decision (taking into consideration that players still had to settle), but irrelevant to what people thought, AVB had not produced the goods and the players he brought in were not showing any signs of proving their worth.

I personally thought it was a harsh decision and that AVB deserved more time to prove his worth. But this is Daniel Levy’s Tottenham Hotspur. “If you aren’t producing what I want to see, you’re not welcome here” seems to be the attitude Mr Levy adopts. But who is to question the man who signed Rafael Van Der Vaart for £8 million and Christian Eriksen for £11 million?

After much speculation about Louis Van Gaal, Frank De Boer, Glenn Hoddle and many others, Tottenham moved swiftly to appoint Youth Coach Tim Sherwood as our new manager on a one and a half year deal. Many were shocked to hear this news, as Sherwood had very little managerial experience, he didn’t even have his European managerial badge!

I felt as though this was a last resort decision by Tottenham Hotspur as their other managerial candidates did not want to move mid-season. Not many people gave Sherwood much hope of succeeding but the decision was made and all eyes were on young Sherwood as he vowed to bring back ‘the Tottenham Way’….

Sherwood’s first major decision as Tottenham boss was bringing back forgotten man, Emmanuel Adebayor and integrating Tottenham teenager Nabil Bentaleb into the first team squad. Tim Sherwood took on Southampton in his first game in charge where Spurs won 3-2 cortesy of a brace of one, Emmanuel Adebayor to give Timmy his dream start. This game also proved to be Erik Lamela’s last appearance for Tottenham this calendar year.

Tottenham then enjoyed a 6-game unbeaten run, our longest of the season to date which included a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, Jermain Defoe’s last goal for Tottenham, 5 Emmanuel Adebayor goals and Christian Eriksen beginning to show his outstanding talent.

“Daniel (Levy) keeps asking me: ‘Are you sure you don’t want to strengthen here?’ but I keep telling him that I’m happy with the squad” – Tim Sherwood, January, 2014 – a telling comment from Sherwood as most fans felt that Tottenham could do with a striker and a left back. Instead, it was announced that club legend, Jermain Defoe would be leaving for £8 million to ambitious Canadian side Toronto FC playing in the MLS.

Fan favourite, Lewis Holtby also departed the club on Transfer Deadline Day on loan to Fulham for the rest of the season. On 29 January, Sherwood’s streak of not losing a game came to an abrupt end at the hands of Manchester City yet again, 5-1 was the scoreline. Spurs were down to ten men with the score at 1-0 after a shocking refereeing decision to send off Danny Rose for a challenge on Edin Dzeko. City were rampant after that despite Etienne Capoue grabbing his first Tottenham goal.

Tottenham produced their best performance of the season vs. Newcastle away mid-February where the Spurs ran away with a 4-0 hammering of a decent team. An Adebayor brace, a Paulinho tap-in and Nacer Chadli’s first goal in the Premier League (and a belter too!) sealed a comprehensive win.

However, Tottenham then lost 1-0 to Norwich at Carrow Road the following week. Sherwood was interestingly quoted after the game:

“This isn’t my team. How can I be to blame? I didn’t sign these players. A lot of these guys have no passion, no desire.” Interesting he should say that after his previosuly mentioned!comment in January. Although Tim had a point about passion, his tactics were non-existent. An unacceptable defeat in my eyes, just as Champions League places were on the cards.

March was the month where the season would be defined for Tottenham Hotspur and the fate of Tim Sherwood’s future would probably be decided.

March fixtures for Tottenham Hotspur:

Cardiff (H)
Chelsea (A)
Arsenal (H)
Southampton (H)
Liverpool (A)

This month defined our season, and then some. I was expecting around the 10 point mark from March if we were to, realistically, get into the illusive Top 4. Spurs ended up with a dismal 6 points, 2 absoulte thrashings and a North London defeat at White Hart Lane (at which that c**t Woijcech Szcesny took the famous Arsenal selfie). The month started brightly with a 1-0 win over Cardiff, and Roberto Soldado ending his horrific goal drought by a grabbing himself a goal (FROM OPEN PLAY!) and some much-needed confidence. The next week, Spurs were comprehensively destroyed 4-0 by Chelsea at the Bridge. Demba Ba scored twice and Sigurdsson played defensive midfield…That’s all I’m going to say about that. At this stage, Tottenham had a minus goal difference and Spurs fans were beginning to get very impatient with Tim Sherwood and Daniel Levy. Some even suggested Sherwood was having a love affair with Nabil Bentaleb!

To make matters worse for Tottenham and Tim Sherwood, we lost the NLD 1-0 by a Rosicky screamer in the first minute. We actually played incredibly well that day but it’s a results game and Spurs know that as well as anyone.

I then attended my first game of the season vs. Southampton at the Lane and I couldn’t have chosen a better game to go to. Spurs were 2-0 down inside half an hour courtesy of the in-form Englishmen Jay Rodriguez and Adam Lallana and all I could think was “Spursy” and “just my luck”. But I was in for a treat, a Christian Eriksen double either side of half time brought the score back to 2-2 and in the dying stages a bit boot from Younes Kaboul was nodded down by Chadli, now Eriksen, SIGURDSSOON! 3-2 TOTTENHAM! White Hart Lane was rocking, an outstanding game to witness….and then the next week Liverpool tore us a new one and beat us 4-0 but ANYWAY..

Tottenham have started April quite decently with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Sunderland at the Lane amid earlier reports from Sky Sports that day that Tim Sherwood was to leave Tottenham this summer.

Last weekend Tottenham played out an enthralling 3-3 draw with West Brom at the Hawthorns. Spurs came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 in the 93rd minute from an Eriksen thump into the top corner. The introduction of the ‘HurriKane’ (Harry Kane) has been a pleasant surprise, he has impressed me a lot woth his hold up play and his aerial threat – one for the future.

This season has been a weird one, hasn’t it? It looks like this summer will be vital for Tottenham with talks about Louis Van Gaal, Romelu Lukaku and Yehven Konoplyanka all possibly coming to Tottenham. But the good thing about us Tottenham fans is that we’re used to the hardship (despite many Twitter breakdowns). It’s never boring supporting Tottenham Hotspur, whether we like it or not. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I’m Tottenham Till I Die!

Our Best XI 2013/2014:
Lloris
Walker Kaboul Chiriches Vertonghen
Paulinho Sandro Dembele
Chadli Adebayor Eriksen

Player of the Season: Christian Eriksen/Hugo Lloris.

Thank you all for reading my first article! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed it.

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The Summer Ahead For Tottenham Hotspur

We are approaching the end of the season and with only five games left to play and our season more or less over, it’s time to look at the Summer ahead which awaits us. It has been yet another disappointing season for Tottenham as we failed to reach the Champions League for the third season on the trot. We’ve lost to North London Rivals, Arsenal, three times this season and failed to record a win against any of the ‘big boys’ in the Premier League. Some things will have to change and they need to happen this summer in order for us to reach the Champions League next year and have a successful season filed with entertaining football and memorable moments – something we have severely lacked in the past 9 months.

Appointing Louis van Gaal:

For the past few months, several newspapers, websites and journalists have piled up numerous of stories stating that the Dutch manager will be appointed by Daniel Levy to resume head coach duties from the beginning of the 2014/15 season. Current Spurs manager, Tim Sherwood, looks set to be relieved of his managerial duties by Daniel Levy at the end of the season and this brings more fire to the flame to the Louis van Gaal stories. With the stories in the newspapers picking up pace and his appointment looking imminent, Daniel Levy cannot afford to mess this piece of business up. Louis van Gaal’s CV speaks for itself. He has won a trophy in every season for any club which he took charge of in the past. A truly stunning record. His list of honours include 11 trophies which he has triumphed during his time at Ajax – three of them being the Eredivisie trophy. During his short stay at European giants, FC Barcelona, he won the La Liga twice and the UEFA Super Cup once in 1997. He has a mindblowing managerial record and we would be more than stupid to refuse appointing him as our manager. He seems like the type that would bring the entertaining football that we were all once familiar with under the reign of Harry Redknapp, back to White Hart Lane. I’d have him in our club in a moments notice. You just need a glance at his CV to see how much success he can bring to our club.

Keeping a Hold of Hugo Lloris:

Keeping a hold of Hugo Lloris will be on the very top of our ‘to do’ list this Summer. Our French International goalkeeper has been one of very few Spurs players that have gave 100% almost every minute he played for us. He’s pulled of a series of world class saves against Newcastle United when we saw them off 0-4 at St. James’ Park and a stunning save to deny Sergio Agüero when Manchester City visited the Lane in January. He’s recently been linked with a big money move to Real Madrid. The Spanish Giants have purchased two of our main players in Luka Modric and then more recently, Gareth Bale. I for one won’t hold a grudge against Hugo Lloris if he is to leave us in the Summer as he has played with all his heart and gave everything he had left in the tank for us. In all fairness, a player of his calibre deserves to lift trophies every year and win major honours. If he does end up staying with us for at least another season, he should be given the captain’s armband and an improved contract by Daniel Levy. Hopefully if he does choose to stay at Spurs for one more season, we will reward him by winning a trophy next year and making it into the Champions League.

Transfers:

Obviously we will have to buy new players this Summer in order to strengthen our squad ahead of the new season and add more firepower to it, but we’ll have to make the correct transfers this summer in order to make a serious charge for a trophy and Champions League football next season. A player that has very recently been linked with a summer move to Tottenham is Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian International is currently on loan to Everton and seemingly as his parent club, Chelsea, no longer require his services, he’s been linked to a summer move across London to Tottenham Hotspur. In my opinion, Lukaku is just what we need at the Lane – a young striker that knows how to score at the top level. A proven Premier League goal scorer and has a lot of potential. If Chelsea do allow us to buy him, I think we should really go for it and sign him up as soon as we can or other clubs will nick him from underneath our nose. Another player that has also been linked with us is FC Dnipro’s star player, Yevhen Konoplyanka. He was Dnipro’s stand out player this season and against Spurs over the course of the two legs in the Europa League. The FC Dnipro president revealed that he is in ‘advanced talks’ with Daniel Levy and all there left to complete is Konoplyanka agreeing to the move. Huge transfer for us in prospect. One last position which we must strengthen is the left back position – arguably our weakest position this season. It’s not a confirmed rumour, but I’d love to see us go after Fábio Coentrão from Real Madrid. The Portuguese is believed to be unhappy at Real Madrid as he doesn’t get too many minutes on the pitch. If we do go in for him in the summer, there will be a good chance that we can land him if we put in a good offer. We shouldn’t make too many purchases this Summer as we did last year. We should only go after two or three players that will bring something new to the team and something that we will benefit from.

Hopefully if this all goes through, we will be in for an amazing 2014/15 season filled with amazing football and scintillating moments to remember. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Feel free to comment below what you believe we need to do in order to shape up for the new season.

The Struggling Spaniard

So far it’s been a season to forget for Spurs, the severe lack of the goals coming from the teams strikers is one of the main reasons they are languishing in sixth. The most obvious person to blame for the lack of goals is the £26 million striker Roberto Soldado who has only contributed 5 Premier League goals this season, with only one of them not being a penalty.

It’s been far from an easy start to life in England for the marksmen and I’m going to analyse the reasons why he hasn’t found the net as often as he would have liked to this season.

From the outside, it’s easy to blame Soldado for Spurs’ lack of goals but I believe that AVB and the players around him was the main reason he struggled to find the net earlier in the season. Under AVB, Spurs employed a 4-2-3-1 formation and this simply does not suit Soldado.

He is a striker who thrives on crosses into the box but with AVB’s inverted wingers this never happened meaning he was starved of any form of service and was living off scraps. Soldado’s best games this season have been when he is part of a 4-4-2 formation and has Christian Eriksen and Aaron Lennon supplying him.

Although he has still struggled to find the net Soldado has had so many more chances than when AVB was in charge. Aside from his obvious lack of goals Soldado has actually been very good for Spurs in terms of holding up the ball and playing a key pass to help his team, most evident in both games against Manchester United this season.

Of course he has to take some of the blame himself. As mentioned earlier he has had a lot more chances recently but has still failed to find the net. A positive about this is that he is getting himself into the positions and is receiving the ball in dangerous areas he just needs to regain his final touch and this comes with confidence. The game on Saturday against Hull really highlighted his lack of confidence at the moment and it’s a mystery amongst spurs how he wasn’t subbed off.

For me all Bobby needs is a couple of goals from open play against decent opposition to really boost his confidence and get back to form. It’s clear from his time at Valencia he is not a bad player by any stretch of the imagination and all he needs is for the players around him to supply him and Spurs will have themselves a great goal scorer.

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The Europa League Is Tottenham’s To Lose

​At the beginning of the 2013-2014 season, Tottenham had a chance at winning four competitions: The Premier League, the Capital One Cup, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Europa League. For all of those competitions, most fans (including myself) believed we had a good chance in winning any of them, the least likely being the Premier League. Fast forward to now, and we have been knocked out of the FA Cup and the Capital One Cup, chasing 4th in the Premier League (Which I think is ideal), but very much alive in the Europa League. For this writing, we will be focusing on Tottenham’s only chance for silverware.

An insight on the competition so far..

​Tottenham have absolutely dominated the Europa League so far, proving that they are the favorites to win the Europa League. Tottenham were one of two teams to sweep their division (The other is Red Bull Salzburg), winning all six of their games in scintillating fashion, scoring 15 goals and conceding only two. Also, soon-to-be Toronto FC striker Jermain Defoe became Tottenham Hotspur’s all time record goal scorer in Euro competition with 23 goals, surpassing Martin Chivers. The most challenging adversary that’s come from the group is the conditions that have been played in. Tottenham have had to travel to freezing cold Russia, an isolated city/state in Moldova, and near the Arctic Circle in Norway. Tottenham pulled off impressive 2-0 wins every time on the road, and won 4-1, 2-1, and 3-0 at home. It’s been impressive so far, but can this good form continue?

Fellow challengers for the cup

​Tottenham are one of the favorites, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only ones. The UCL teams that drop in always provide a challenge, and sometimes win the competition (Chelsea last year). This year they include Napoli, Benfica, Ajax, Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Victoria Plzen, Basel (knocked us out at the quarter finals last year), and Serie A toppers Juventus. Out of all those teams, the weakest teams are probably Donetsk and Plzen, the strongest being Juventus (favorite for the UCL before the tournament began), Napoli, and Basel. I must say, Juventus are probably expected to win the cup. If not Juventus, it’s a tossup between Basel, Benfica, Napoli, Tottenham, and dark horses Salzburg. Here are the two teams I think are most likely to win the Europa League:

1. Juventus: Not much explaining to do here. They have a fantastic squad, great depth, and some world class players. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon needs no introduction. The 2006 world cup winner is still a world class keeper at age 35, not much gets past him. Aruto Vidal is believed by many to be the most all around midfielder in the world, and rightfully so. Alongside him is Paul Pogba, the hottest young property in world football. It seems every other week he scores an impossible long range stunner. Up top, Carlos Tevez is in good form and has settled nicely at his new club. A world class team that surprisingly fell out of the group stages of the UCL, they’ll surely be terrorizing any team they come up against in the Europa League.

2. Tottenham: I believe Tottenham Hotspur are just behind Juventus in terms of being able to win the Europa League. Juventus has depth, but so do Tottenham. Even if you used a team entirely different than the usual starting lineup, that team would still be capable of winning this competition. They swept all before them in the group stages, and are tasked with facing FC Dnipro in the round of 32. Sure they are a decent team, but they shouldn’t be able to match up against Tottenham. Expect a lineup consisting of these players in the Europa League: Jermain Defoe (until he leaves), Andros Townsend, Brad Friedel, Lewis Holtby, Zeki Fryers, Kyle Naughton, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Erik Lamela, Etienne Capoue, Paulinho, and Roberto Soldado. All are decent players at worst, and some are truly class (Erik Lamela, Brad Friedel, Lewis Holtby). Some first team regulars will probably play as well.

Why I think Tottenham can triump

I have mentioned all of the teams participating in the Europa League capable of winning it all, and Tottenham top them all. I have Juventus at number one, but only because they are the proven team. Both Juventus and Tottenham have great squads, but Tottenham probably has better reserves to play in the Europa League. Juventus has little interest in the Europa League, so don’t expect players like Tevez, Chiellini, Buffon, Pirlo, and Pogba to see too much playing time. Their reserves aren’t nearly as good as the options Tottenham have. Also, Tottenham are used to playing in atrocious Europa League conditions, while Juventus aren’t subject to that in Serie A and didn’t have to travel very far in the UCL (aside from Denmark, and the conditions weren’t too bad. Also, the hailstorm in Turkey but that game was called off). Tottenham will triumph in the Europa League, and Tim Sherwood will add that to his CV alongside UCL qualification. Here come the Spurs..

The Top Four: Can Tottenham Do It?

The top four and its incentives have been a goal of Tottenham Hotspur for a very long time. It’s the one thing everyone affiliated with the club, from the fans to Dan Levy, desperately crave. Its eluded Spurs since that famous campaign in 2010, filled with memories of Gareth Bale putting Maicon on buttered toast, topping a group that included reigning champions Inter Milan, and famously squeezing past Milan 1-0 in the round of 16.

It ended in disappointment, but you can’t expect too much against Ronaldo and Real Madrid. That year was the first and (to this date) last time Tottenham Hotspur has played in the Champions League in its current format. Every challenge for the top four since then has fell short. The closest they’ve come since was in the following season, when Tottenham placed 4th, but Chelsea, placed 6th, won the Champions League in heartbreaking fashion, taking Tottenham’s spot.

Last year, Tottenham finished 1 point behind Arsenal, just missing the top 4.
This year, there is doubt as to whether Tottenham will make it that far. Coming into season, it seemed as if we were invincible. We had made some great signings.

Paulinho was believed by many to be one of the better Brazilian players, winning the Bronze Ball of the Confederations Cup, behind only Neymar. That is some pretty lofty company. Roberto Soldado was viewed as the solution to our lack of goals without Gareth Bale. He could finish anything you give him with Valencia. Nacer Chadli looked like a very good prospect for the left wing, a two footed player who could cut in and bang in goals as well as hug the touchline and put in a fine cross.

Étienne Capoue was a known ball winner, he could help shield the defense and hold the midfield. A further 3 signings were made near the end of the transfer window before our loss to Arsenal. Erik Lamela, future Ballon D’Or candidate according to those in Italy. Christian Eriksen, who guided Ajax to 3 straight Eredivise titles with an eye for a pass. Last but definitely not least, Vlad Chriches, an unknown but apparently decent Romanian center back only viewed in the Champions League.

All these signings seemed set to help Tottenham to the top four, and maybe even beyond those expectations. Some were expecting Tottenham to be lifting the Premier League trophy! Such lofty expectations, but such disappointment followed.

Brief Review of the Season so Far..

For the first two games of the season, Tottenham picked up two wins, but only scored twice, and both were penalties. Not much was going on in the creativity department, and no goals from open play were scored. How is that, with so much attacking talent? There was no time to worry, as upcoming was the North London Derby, and surely there will be goals in that match! The game ended 1-0 in Arsenal’s favor courtesy of a 22’ minute tap in from Olivier Giroud. Fear started to spread about our lack of goals. After that match, 2-0 and 1-0 were the score lines for the next two games, both wins for Tottenham over Norwich and Cardiff, respectively. A respectable 1-1 draw versus Chelsea followed, and after that a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of West Ham (let’s not go into to that much).

From then, Tottenham went 3 games undefeated, defeating Aston Villa (Roberto Soldado scored his first goal from open play and Andros Townsend accidentally scored first goal this season) and Hull, and a blank draw against Everton. The two games that followed were utter madness, in their unique ways.

The first game, a 1-0 loss to Newcastle, was the day Tim Krul decided to have the greatest goalkeeping performance in EPL history. He made 14 saves- the most by a keeper this term – and most of them were shots he wouldn’t have saved on another day. Albeit, he was helped at times by poor finishing. It was shocking that Tottenham didn’t win by at least 4 goals.

A trip to the Etihad followed, and no team that’s gone in has got out in one piece. After that day, Tottenham are definitely included. Manchester City scored after 12 seconds, and it one could easily predict that it wouldn’t be a bed of roses for Tottenham from then on. Manchester City scored 5 more goals, and that was the day most of us (unfortunately, me included) counted us out for the top 4. Top 4 teams do not lose 6-0 to direct rivals for those top 4 spots.

Over the next 3 games, Tottenham recovered in good fashion, gaining 7 points from 3 games, one of them against Manchester United. A big game against Liverpool loomed. Liverpool is a team that we will be competing directly against for the top 4, so a big result was needed. Liverpool showed up, Tottenham and their makeshift back line did not.

Tottenham Hotspur was mercilessly slaughtered in front of the home crowd 5 goals to nil. Dan Levy and the board were not happy. The foundations were rattling. AVB was going to be fired, everyone knew it. Dan Levy, the fans, and everyone else at the club were tired of being utterly demolished against teams they need results again.

Dan Levy did what he had to do. He sacked AVB, which caused the Great Schism 2.0 around world football. It was 50:50 in terms of opinions on AVB being sacked. Some believe he should’ve been given some more time, others (including myself) believe it was the right choice.

In stepped Tim Sherwood, who was eventually handed an eighteen month contract after a 3-2 win over Southampton. After a draw against WBA and two comprehensive wins over Stoke City and Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur are firmly in the race for the top four.

Reasons why Tottenham can make the top four:

• New look Spurs: Tim Sherwood has really revitalized the team. All he had to do is reintroduce Emmanuel Adebayor, who feels like a new signing. He has started all 5 of Tottenham’s games since Sherwood has been appointed, scoring 4 and assisting 1. That means he’s been directly involved in a goal per game. When he hasn’t scored or assisted (versus WBA) he’s still worked tirelessly and impressively. This is very unlike Adebayor, who we know as the guy who gives up easily, pisses off managers, and unsettles clubs. Also, Soldado is looking much better in the 4-4-2 formation next to Adebayor. Speaking of the formation…

• 4-4-2/4-4-1-1/4-3-3: Tim Sherwood organizes his squad initially as a 4-4-2. For example, his lineup against Manchester United originally was lined up in a 4-4-2, but throughout the game it formed into a 4-4-1-1 with Soldado up top and Adebayor moving from a CF position to a second striker position. After the substitutions, a shape of a 4-3-3 was starting to shape, but there was almost no offense in the last 20 minutes due to Manchester United’s desperate yet relentless bombardment. The only notable offense of note during that period was Harry Kane trolling United by booting the ball into the stands after he was called for offsides. This/these new formation(s) has really upped the ante in terms of excitement, attacking play, and goals. 10 goals in 5 games equals to 3 wins, a draw, a loss (who cares about the league cup anyway?) and some damn exciting play. Tim Sherwood seems to have cracked the code.

• The returns of Sandro and Jan Vertonghen: In my opinion, Jan Vertonghen and Sandro are the two most important players to Tottenham Hotspur (Kyle Walker and Adebayor definitely can make an argument for that title as well). Jan Vertonghen is a versatile defender who gives us a world class presence no matter what. He barely plays a bad game, and also is refined in terms of his technical skill. He showed that off versus Swansea last year, bringing a beautiful over the top ball from Gareth Bale down with one touch and then coolly slotting past Michel Vorm with another. He also claimed an assist on Bale’s goal. Sandro is a whole different monster. He brings a world class presence to our midfield, expertly playing the role of holding midfielder, while also containing a wicked shot in his locker. He lets no one get past him, attacks our only played down the wing as the opposition pees its pants when laying eyes upon Sandro. The opposing team doesn’t dare go down the middle of the pitch, as the beast waits for its prey. In all seriousness, Sandro and Jan Vertonghen bring something to the team that we need: a midfielder to keep things going smoothly and a defender that has no faults.

Can Tottenham make the top four?

I’m obviously a bit biased, but I firmly believe Tottenham Hotspur will finish fourth place. Why you say? I listed the reasons above already. Some say Tottenham are too far back, but they have gained 10 points in 4 games and are only 2 points behind Liverpool, who are in 4th. In fact, in a few weeks Everton and Liverpool go to battle (both occupy the two spaces above Tottenham) and present an opportunity to leap frog one or even both of them. Remember when Manchester City won the title? At this point in the season, they were farther off the top spot then we are now. I’m not suggesting a title run; I’m just noting our season isn’t over. Come May, Tottenham Hotspur will be reveling in the fact they’ve qualified for the UCL. COYS, strap in for this bumpy ride.

The Sherwood Effect

When Spurs announced that Tim Sherwood had taken over as the permanent replacement to Andre Villas Boas, I, like many other Spurs fans were apprehensive to say the least. An inexperienced manager who had admitted to being an Arsenal fan and did not even have the full license to manage in the league.

Not to mention the fact there was lots of rumours Sherwood had been leaking false information to the press about AVB in attempt to steal his job. But despite this Sherwood has done more than steady the ship, he has taken Spurs forward and put them right back in contention to the top four.

Now of course it is still very early in his time as Spurs manager and Spurs are still far from complete as can be seen from the games against West Brom and West Ham, but the early signs are very good.
Perhaps the most obvious change since Sherwood arrived is the increase in attacking play and more importantly, goals. This is down to him bringing Emmanuel Adebayor back into the fold and introducing the much maligned 4-4-2 formation.

Since he has been reintroduced into the starting eleven, Adebayor has been little short of incredible. Not only has he scored important goals against Southampton and Manchester United his movement and creativity has meant his strike partner Roberto Soldado has seen a huge increase in the amount of service he received.

Another player flourishing under Sherwood is the Danish midfielder Cristian Eriksen who has also been in great form since returning to the first team under Sherwood. Deployed initially in central midfield and then on the left against Stoke and Manchester United Eriksen has added consistency to his game and built on the flashes of quality seen in his first couple of games.

The best example of Sherwood’s 4-4-2 formation can be seen at Manchester City. At both clubs you have your standard back four and then in the centre of Midfield two incredibly strong midfielders who will break up play and create and is an area in which Spurs have several players who can fill this role.

On the left you have your most creative player which for Spurs is Cristian Eriksen,’but at Man City it is David Silva or Samir Nasri. This allows the player to come inside from the left and play through balls, and also be able to deliver crosses out wide. On the right you have the orthodox pacey right winger which at City is Jesus Navas, whilst at Spurs you have Aaron Lennon.

This allows the team to have an outlet and the vocal point for a counter attack. Up top you have your standard big man and little man, but both players can drop deep and help out the midfield if necessary. As mentioned earlier it is still very early into Sherwoods tenure of Spurs manager but the signs have been very good for Spurs fans and if he goes and gets a win against Arsenal on Saturday, then I’m sure he will gain the full support of every Spurs fan.

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Tim Sherwood – The Man, The Manager

It’s been a turbulent time for Tottenham in recent weeks. Thrashings at the hands of West Ham United, Manchester City and Liverpool signalled the end for André Villas-Boas. Many Spurs supporters were baffled by Daniel Levy’s decision to sack a man still in the process of moulding his squad. Some felt it was time for a change. But very few could have predicted his successor, Tim Sherwood.

Questions were raised immediately in regards to Sherwood’s demeanour off the field. A self-proclaimed Arsenal fan who “bleeds” Tottenham colours is not something you see everyday. But you’d be foolish to think that his heart isn’t in it, having described it as an “honour” to be appointed head coach. For the moment at least his loyalties lie with Spurs.
Despite this, many have accused Sherwood of being a treacherous character. Rumour has it he leaked negative stories to the press, undermining AVB and causing conflict within the camp. As I say, they are just rumours. Even if they were to be true, history has shown that being a nice guy doesn’t necessarily make you a successful manager. Just look to some of the most arrogant men in the game for proof of that.

The decision to appoint Sherwood on a full time basis came as a surprise to many, not least because the 44 year old lacks any real experience of top flight management. In fact, Sherwood is yet to complete his Pro License qualification – a necessity for all Premier League managers. Is that a reason to dismiss the him as a credible replacement for AVB? Not in my eyes. Since being appointed technical co-ordinator in 2010, Sherwood has proved to be a valuable asset to the club – managing the development of youth team players and monitoring the progress of loanees. There’s evidence to suggest Sherwood has made a positive contribution in the youth set up. Andros Townsend, Steven Caulker, Tom Carroll and Jake Livermore have all broken into the first team at some point in recent years. The most recent talent to profit from Sherwood’s youth policy being French U19 defensive midfielder Nabil Bentaleb.

André Villas-Boas was widely criticised for his conservative style of play, mainly focussing on ball retention rather than fluid distribution. By his own admission, Sherwood is a much more of a traditional coach in the mould of Harry Redknapp. He encourages a quick-tempo game which demands a high level of fitness from the players. In his recent programme notes, Sherwood stated that he is not one to complicate the game – “I like attacking players to attack, defenders to defend and midfielders to do a bit of both”. The early indications suggest Sherwood’s preferable formation is 4-4-2. Conventional wingers such as Andros Townsend and Aaron Lennon will be key to this system, providing the team with width and the ability to stretch defences – something the team lacked in the recent 1-1 draw with West Brom. Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor will surely benefit from the chances being created down the flanks. One downside to this expansive style of play is that the defence will be vulnerable to conceding. It is of paramount importance that there is a ball winner in centre midfield, be it Sandro or Etienne Capoue. Sherwood showed his first signs of tactical naïvety by starting a midfield pairing of Christian Eriksen and Lewis Holtby against West Brom. We can only hope that he learns from his mistakes. After all, that’s what becoming a good manager is all about.

In all honesty, it’s the uncertainty which excites me. I find it refreshing that one of the biggest clubs in England has put their faith in a young English manager. Sherwood could turn out to be a monumental failure or a masterstroke of an appointment.

Let’s hope it’s the latter.
COYS!

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Best Moments of 2013

2013 was a year of filled with mixed emotions for Tottenham Hotspur. Yes, we might have finished below Arsenal once again, but we did achieve 72 points from 38 games – our highest ever. On the way, we’ve had many ups and downs. In this blog, I will reflect on our top five moments of 2013. A year full of truly amazing moments.

5) Let’s start from number five. My fifth best moment of this year has to be the famous 3-0 win over the Italian giants, Inter Milan. We went into this game thinking it’ll be a tough and a long night, but the Tottenham boys showed the Italians how football is played. We ran out 3-0 winners as Gareth Bale scored 6 minutes into the game. Gylfi Sigurdsson made it 2-0 ten minutes after, and then Jan Vertonghen all but sealed the game early in the second half by heading in our third goal of the night.

4) My fourth best moment is probably the Clint Dempsey equaliser against Man United in the last minute of stoppage time. We looked to be on the verge of dropping three crucial points, but the American international had other ideas. Man United kept us out for the majority of the game,. However, in the last minute of the game, Aaron Lennon put in a low ball into the box and Clint Dempsey tapped it into the back of David De Gea’s net. I absolutely lost my head when we equalised and broke my Sky remote whilst celebrating. The celebration at the final whistle from the boys showed exactly what the result meant to them.

3) My third favourite moment of the year is when we came back from behind to defeat Manchester City. We looked like we were never going to score as Manchester City kept firm at the back for 70 minutes. But the next 7 minutes that followed were truly exceptional. Clint Dempsey equalised in the 72nd minute, and after that goal you could feel the fire and energy from the team. The Manchester City players looked shook after the equaliser. We went on to score two more goals as Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale found the back of Joe Hart’s net. A truly memorable game.

2) This is a very tough decision, but I’m going to have to go for the game in which we overcame the challenge of our North London rivals, Arsenal, at White Hart Lane. We came into this game high in confidence, beating West Ham at Upton Park in our last fixture, we were ready for the arrival of Arsenal. Gareth Bale opened the scoring ten minutes before half time, and then Aaron Lennon almost instantly scored our second goal two minutes after. Per Mertesacker pulled one back for the Gunners, but it wasn’t enough. The final whistle blew as we collected all three crucial points against our deadly rivals.

1) My first and most favourite moment of the year has to be Gareth Bale’s mouthwatering strike against West Ham in the last minute to award us all three points. What made this moment even more special, was the celebration that followed. After the goal, Gareth Bale famously ran to André Villas Boas, and sealed the win with a hug. A few of the players and staff also joined in on this group hug. It was a truly sensational night, and I will never in my life ever forget that moment.

The five moments that I’ve mentioned and discussed about above, I will never in my living memory ever forget them. They were all truly inspiring moment, and I remember going insane at the end of each of them. Let’s hope 2014 brings Tottenham Hotspur Football Club even more delightful and memorable moments. Onwards and upwards. COME ON YOU SPURS!!

Sandro Raniere – Future Spurs Legend

Whilst he is better known by other for his antics on YouTube, Spurs fans are the only people who really appreciate what a sensational player Sandro is. It’s almost impossible to describe how much Sandro contributes to Spurs, on and off the pitch. On the pitch he is a world class defensive midfielder, launching himself into every tackle and keeping the play ticking. Off it he is mental. Simple as that. He is absolutely mental, but we love him for it and characters like him are crucial to the dressing room.

Not only is he passionate and fully committed to the club, but he also has the ability to maintain his position in the team and take Spurs forward. A tough tackler who can also pick a pass. If it wasn’t for his lack of goals, Sandro would be the definition of the perfect midfielder.

When he doesn’t play, Spurs lack not only his presence in the middle of the park, but also his fight and passion which drives the team forward. For me, with Dawson struggling for form, he should be dropped and Sandro is the man to take the armband and be our captain.

Perhaps the saddest thing about our Brazilian beast is how underrated he is.
For me his the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League by some distance and Spurs simply are not the same without him as seen by us struggling when he got injured last year.

I even argue that had it not been for his injury, Sandro would have been a more worthy candidate for our player of the season than Bale. He was that good. It seems he is also underrated by Brazil who prefers to pick Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva ahead of him which is simply ludicrous. Hopefully the beast realises how loved he is by the fans and see out his career here cementing his status as a Spurs legend.

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