Written by Josh Sheridan for FootballFancast.com: Ordinarily, a team of Champions’ League quality who is eliminated from the competition at the quarter-final stage following a 5-0 aggregate defeat, the final nail in the coffin being a 1-0 home defeat, isn’t warmly received by an encompassing applause as appreciation for their efforts. But Tottenham’s players had warranted the acclaim for providing their fans, and the rest of Europe, with one of the most entertaining campaigns of any team in continental competition this season.
Nobody attended White Hart Lane two weeks ago expecting a miraculous comeback from the 4-0 deficit created at the Bernabeu a week earlier, especially considering Jose Mourinho was occupying the opposing dug-out, but Spurs displayed flashes of brilliance, which is what has characterised their first ever Champions’ League journey from qualification against Young Boys up until victory at the San Siro against seven-time winners, AC Milan.
But what now for the Lilywhites? Spurs have drawn their two League games since Madrid eliminated them and now find themselves four points behind Manchester City in the race for re-qualification with five games remaining and the sides set to meet in a potentially season-defining match at Eastlands on May 10th. The financial repercussions the club will face for settling in the Europa League next season are far-reaching considering their most important assets have now announced themselves on a universal stage. On the surface, Tottenham’s stars appear committed to Harry Redknapp’s vision, even if it now includes a year without Champions’ League football, but it is not inconceivable to imagine Gareth Bale or Luka Modric leaving for big money this summer.
Europe’s richest are likely to exploit Tottenham’s failings by offering significant fees which chairman, Daniel Levy, would be forced to consider to cushion the loss of Champions’ League revenue. More importantly, Redknapp’s squad is in need of improvement from its current condition, with the addition of at least one striker, perhaps midfield reinforcements and maybe another defender of the highest priority. If they fail to finish in the top 4 this term, Redknapp will find it difficult to court the sort of quality he was able to chase last January, when a bid of around £38million was made for 22 year-old Sergio Aguero.
Redknapp has been defiant in his belief that Spurs can still achieve their target, recently claiming: “I think we have always had the desire to get back in next season but it is not going to be easy. Manchester City finished a couple of points behind us last season and then went out and spent £150m to try to finish above us this year. It’s difficult.” Spurs’ rise under Redknapp has been meteoric, and a sudden halt to the dramatic progress the club has made over the last two years could set them back a further couple of seasons. The difference between Tottenham and their closest rival is that Manchester City can of course still afford to attract any talent they desire even if they remain outside the top 4 this year. It will be an intense and interesting race which will probably culminate at the Premier League’s natural conclusion in match-week 38, but the May 10th showpiece could provide us with an early indication as to whether City can join Europe’s elite, or whether Spurs can maintain their status amongst them.
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Harry! Dont Fuckin utilize the 150 m spending by Man City to be an excuse to our demise this season. It is you (personified) Levy & your “glorified players viz VDV, Bale, & the fuckin rest of your stalwarts that are responsible
– SO FUCK YOU FOR NOTHING!
Even Gooners aren’t as pathetic as Roy Singh – Probably written just to get a reaction -if not you are just they type of spurs supporter we can do without.
Do us all a favour and crawl back down your hole or go back to wherever you came from
COYS!
You TWAT……
And Roy is either a Gooner or a pleb. Answers on a postcard!
Wow! Roy Singh that is possibly the most ignorant comment I have ever read on the internet. Congratulations. I hope for your sake that you’re one of those pathetic Gooners that tries to make up for your feelings of inadequacy by writing utter drivel on Spurs boards. If not, grow up and sort your life out. You are clearly an idiot.
More bollocks.
Having read the infantile diatribe from the somewhat vocabulary challenged Roy Singh, isn’t it amazing that some feel Spurs fans are fickle!!!!Support your team if you really are a supporter. Having followed Spurs from the 1950’s and witnessed the Double team, I saw us fall ito the old Division team for a season in the late 1970s.The likes of the quisling fans , e.g. Mr Singh probably deserted for years until recently and weren’t missed. Supporting means being constructive about setbacks and not throwing your toys out of thge pram and searing. The resorting to swearing is a sign of an educational deficiency in being unable to express oneself in an adult manner. Please go and support a team that matches the neanderthal qualities shown as Spurs have many decent fans. This appears to be the rant of one who rarely frequents live matches.
He got us into the Champs Lge and got us out of a relegation position a few years ago. So the team underperformed in the league this year, but the Spurs hierarchy didn’t expect the team to do so well in the Champs Lge this year. Next year we will fight for Top 4 (with City and Liverpool again) and a good cup run WITH Bale, Modric and VdV…plus 4 or 5 new players and all 13 deadwood players SOLD !
Where do you expect a club to finish if their strikers score just 15 league goals all season?
Spurs refused to spend last summer and it has cost any chance of a return to the Champions League and all the income that brings. False economy.
We have suffered for not buying in strikers andgetting real competition for Gomes, I really think weshould have gone back for Robbo or even got Given in…We all knew we needed a striking line up to replace Keane and Berba yet nothing was done..roll on next season.
PS really dont get what Roy is on about you could blame Levi for being tight rather than spending big on a striker or Harry for not being strong enough to leave VDV or Gomes out for the good of the squad but to call our team of talent Stalwarts or assume it was VDV or Bale who ruined the season is nonsense.
Spurs has been great this year but to stay in top four the strikers need to sort plus the keeper issue …..redknapp has done fantastic in a quick time….so we have a team which knows itself very well for next year.
SPURS have just wasted a fantastic opportunity to consolidate and grow. NO strikers = NO chance. Surely a team with CL pedigree can attract & secure a leading marksmen!?? I spoke to Harry in a restaurant in January , (just after the transfer window had closed) and to say i was a little upset about our lack of transfer activity might be understatement. His response was … well we did have 4 bids placed for strikers….. my response was … well they must have all felt really special & wanted by us, its like me going up to 4 birds and saying RIght WHO FANCIES A PIECE OF ME???…. PATHETIC EFFORT!
We do need a prolific striker, that is true.
But just as urgently we need a decent keeper.
Gomez is now making the defence nervous & now all teams will have a pop from outside the box and more than likely score. He is definate liability.
he(levy) is to blame in the first place, y he wait on the last day of the window to place bids?
who knows if the sergio bid came 2days earlier, he would be at the lane.
Well, to add my two pence worth.
We’ve come back from losing positions to win games this year AND we’ve drawn too many games from winning positions and dropped points from winning positions too. Wins against West Ham, West Brom and Wolves to name a few would have put us in a clear 4th spot right now so how bad is it really?
I’m not saying we shouldn’t have gone out and bought someone in the window, far from it, because for me Chelsea and Liverpool spent big – really big and one team is pushing for the title again, the other just knocked us down to 6th place. Some people are saying the board lacked ambition but maybe there’s was a bit of complacency that we could perform in the CL and PL with the squad we had – the prob is that nobody accounted for the continued run of injuries which has meant the team as a whole has been stretched to the absolute maximum.
Spurs fans me included have to be realistic, we do not have that financial muscle the likes of Man City, Liverpool or Man Utd so should our boys summon a super effort to secure Europa footie for next term we can re-group and go again next year and that would do for me. HR does appear to have his favourites but so maybe he should sell those he doesn’t like and get 3 or 4 top-quality players that’ll make a difference as he says. The one add-on for me would be a top-notch goalie to give Gomez the kick up the backside he needs too.
If we do manage to keep the nucleus of the team together, add the quality HR speaks of, I’m sure we’ll be knocking on the door of a top 4 or 5 finish next season or higher if we can keep our best 11 fit. The next step is to establish ourselves as regular contenders for those places year in year out.
It really depends on how you far our chairman wants to take Spurs or whether he is waiting for the right time to sell.
Many true points Chris, however I don’t think its all about finance. Our failure to kill games off by changing our play has cost us dearly. The Chelsea game, regardless of dodgy goals we were getting the runaround by a chelsea midfield exploiting our attacking tendancies. We have not mastered locking a game down at the right times.
Of course our strikers were poor considering what they preach, our midfield, quality going forward but defensive a lot to be desired other than the emergence of sandro. Chelsea mid hunted in threes,
closing our wide men, we couldn’t adapt a sign of our season.