Tottenham Hotspur - fan's 2008/09 Premier League preview
Wednesday, 06 Aug 2008 15:46
Tottenham Hotspur - fan's 2008/09 Premier League preview and predictions
A supporter's views and expectations for the 2008/09 season.
Last season
Premier League: 11th - P 38 W 11 D 13 L 14 GF 66 GA 61 GD +5 PTS 46
Uefa Cup: Last-16 - lost to PSV Eindhoven on penalties (1-1 AET)
FA Cup: Fourth round - lost 3-1 to Manchester United
League Cup: Winners - beat Chelsea 2-1 in final (AET)
The manager
Juande Ramos won a place in the fans' hearts after ending a long wait for a trophy with the Carling Cup win and masterminding the magical January night that was Spurs' 5-1 demolition of Arsenal.
However, he still has work to do if he wishes to become a legend at the Lane, especially after the sale of fan favourite Robbie Keane.
Pre-season form and some promising transfer market activity - apart from the departure of Keane and the seemingly imminent exit of Dimitar Berbatov - indicates that Ramos has a plan. But after the scale of change in north London since his arrival, nothing less than finishing in the top six can be accepted.
Chances of managerial change?
Very slim.
Even if Juande were to disappoint and either fail to add to the trophy cabinet or miss out on European qualification, the Spurs board have learned from the mess that was the sacking of Martin Jol and will at least keep any changes at the top behind closed doors.
The players
Exits
The Sunderland deals - Tainio, Malbranque and Chimbonda - represent good business, especially in the case of ridding the club of the mercenary full-back, though the heartfelt contributions of Teemu and Steed will be missed.
Younes Kaboul looks likely to take his hot-headed lack of positional sense to Portsmouth or Aston Villa while Spurs fans will hope that ten goals can be wiped off the goals-against column with the departure of Paul Robinson.
As for the loss of Keano - few exits have been so keenly felt by the north London faithful, but £20.3 million for a 28-year-old who gave his all for six years should not be sniffed at.
New arrivals
Heurelho Gomes' was dubbed 'the Octopus' by PSV Eindhoven fans and some security at the back is richly needed, while Luka Modric's assured work in the middle of the park during Croatia's Euro 2008 campaign bodes well for a fluid midfield.
The purchase of the boy Bentley - and the speed with which it was completed after the loss of Keane - demonstrates commendable ambition, while an initial fee of £4.7 million for the fleet-footed Giovani dos Santos looks to have been an absolute steal, with goals galore to come from the 19-year-old.
Needs
Should Berbatov go even the pleasing pre-season performances of Darren Bent won't be enough to placate the fans. Either a Roman Pavyluchenko, an Andrei Arshavin or - the least likely of the three - a David Villa must be snapped up to replace the absent front pairing of Keane and Berba.
Ramos has waved his magic Juande over the midfield and defence with new signings but a central spine of Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King is hardly the sturdiest. And despite his silky skills, it's questionable whether Tom Huddlestone is adept at the holding role so desperately needed.
The fanbase
Daniel Levy and Enic lost a substantial amount of respect from the fans for their treatment of Martin Jol and Levy's recent comments regarding Manchester United and Liverpool's alleged tapping-up of Berba and Keane should certainly be viewed with a bit of scepticism, so desperate is the chairman to worm his way back into the faithful's affections.
Furthermore, speaking out did not stop Keane leaving and is unlikely to prevent Berba's exit if United bid a sufficient amount. Ramos has a clean slate as such, having won a trophy in his first year, but must make good on his personnel changes with results and the new faces in the squad will have to gel quickly if Spurs are to avoid a repeat of last season's woeful start.
Prediction for 2008/09
There's a horrible predilection in being a Spurs fan that involves hopeless optimism followed by crushing disappointment. Things have changed a little in recent years and last season was basically a perfect encapsulation of life at the Lane, with upheaval, ins and outs, terrible defending, thrilling attacks, a Cup win and ignominious defeats.
Ramos has a fine record and seems to have bought intelligently, with only the sale of Keane (so far) the really loss to the squad and some chance for formation experimentation through moving Aaron Lennon, Modric, Bentley and Gio around in the midfield.
But this won't be Tottenham's year to enter the big four (who knows if it ever will?). The most we can hope for, and a not unreasonable expectation given the money spent and the personnel acquired, is a top-six finish - bettering last season's Uefa Cup run and hopefully not letting another nine-year gap between trophies develop.
Lewis Bazley