Tottenham – Second-season syndrome at the top?
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
The term is usually reserved to newly promoted sides which surprise everyone in their first season but then fail miserably in the following season. Hull City anyone? For the Spurs, last season’s exploits were one step backward on what they had done the previous season. If things keep moving down this lane, as the current turmoil at the club seems to suggest, they will fall far from their top-four finish target.
Manager: Redknapp
Tactics: 4-4-2
Players In: Friedel, Coulibaly, Ceballos
Players Out: Woodgate, O’Hara
Current Probable Formation: Friedel, Walker, Dawson, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Modric, Huddlestone, Bale, van der Vaart, Defoe
Last season Spurs had to wave goodbye to the Champions League requiring a great display of quality and luck at Anfield in the match before last in order to take their place in Europe, this time in the less lucrative Europa League.
The hype that was created around the team last year as the season was to kick off is nowhere near what the club can sense all around it this season. There is no Champions League to look forward to and the Europa League inevitably conjures less enthusiasm. The transfer request filed by key player Modric at the start of the summer transfer window, asking to leave for cross town rivals Chelsea, left fans all the more perplexed.
Attempts by the club to offload Crouch have raised less eyebrows though as he managed only four goals in 34 league appearances last season. After all his substitutes are already at the club with Pavlyuchenko eager to get more playing time and van der Vaart a definite starter filling in for the role as second-striker. Defoe should be the preferred choice ahead of the Russian striker though. Keane and Dos Santos have also returned to the club from their loan spells and will only serve as subs if they are not successfully offloaded. At least one of them should stay put if Crouch is sold.
Midfield options are quite limited despite the long list of midfielders enrolled at Spurs. In fact only two players can be considered true wingers and for a team which plays with a classic 4-4-2 system that is very much of a flaw. The two, however, are quality players – Bale and Lennon. They have speed, accuracy and pace. Redknapp will be relying a lot on their efforts just as much as Modric.
The Croatian midfielder is the master puppeteer at Tottenham. He dictates the pace of the game and provides the true danger balls for the wingers and the strikers. If he leaves the club he will be sorely missed. On the other hand, he has already vented his frustration at not being allowed to move on. If he stays on he may still produce at lower levels than he got the fans accustomed to. It is a dangerous situation which can very easily turn against Redknapp and Tottenham’s best interest.
Turning to the defensive aspect the club has finally recognized the ineptitude of Gomes. Friedel will bring much experience and is a man capable of injecting confidence in Tottenham’s defence. On the other hand he is 40 years old and at that age mistakes will inevitably happen a lot more frequently. A much better option than Gomes though.
When it comes to talking numbers Tottenham’s defence from last season can only claim 8 clean sheets from a total of 38 Premier League games and only half of those came along with three points. Little has changed back there for Spurs and I would not expect them to improve their results either. The central pair are quite solid when taken individually – Dawson and Gallas. Yet a defence is much more than the sum of the single players. Assou-Ekotto is in charge of left-back duties while the right-back position may be handed to emerging young talent Walker, back from loans to Aston Villa and QPR last season and fresh from some magnificent displays with the England-U21 side. He should have enough to displace Kaboul or Corluka and perhaps guarantee more cover on that side of the pitch.
Predicted finishing position: 10th
They are a strong side, on paper. The troubles they are facing during the summer transfer window do not augur much luck for the Spurs though. Crouch will most likely be sold and if not the club has been in lengthy talks to transfer him elsewhere, Stoke mainly. Modric has been nagging on and on to get his Chelsea wish granted and the defence is still the same old weak backline which conceded too many goals in the past seasons. Goals may be guaranteed by Defoe and van der Vaart but there are no such guarantees that the same thing won’t happen on the other side of the pitch even if Gomes has made way for Friedel.
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