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Silverware, Success & Sanity

4 min read
by Editor
As fans we long for silverware but is progression just as important? 78Spur from our forum wants a cup like the rest of us but the game has changed.

It’s now been 10 years since the club won some silverware and to a lot of our rivals it has been a comfort blanket to diminish Spurs and to argue against the notion that we’re actually a very good team. As I write, we have just completed our best unbeaten run since 1967.

There is, however, not just a set of people outside of Spurs who think that silverware is the only thing that will define success and happiness as a fan. I find myself writing this as I managed to get involved in an internet argument (more fool me) where a fellow fan argued that Levy & Pochettino were wrong for not making the FA Cup and League Cup a priority for this season and that the hunt for the Champions League was pointless and the club were wrongly hyper-focusing on the Champions League and remaining in the top 4. Why? Because we could not say the club is successful without a cup and the club was seeking money over glory.

The problem is that success has been redefined in modern times, the value of the Champions League is much higher than ever before because it elevates the status of the clubs involved. Yes, there is more money and that is an issue if you have romantic notions about the cup, being richer will not make us a super club but will allow us to attract and retain more talent, which should improve our ability to win games and remain competitive for a longer period of time.

[linequote]The problem is that success has been redefined in modern times, the value of the Champions League is much higher than ever before[/linequote]

Finishing in the top 4 of the Premier League is not a trophy, something we’ve found ourselves saying when looking at our rivals down the Seven Sisters Road. So should we now be collectively patting ourselves on the back because we’re getting top 4 more often?? Hmm, maybe we shouldn’t, but not finishing top 4 hasn’t exactly gone down well in the world of the Emirates either and the FA Cup has not papered over the cracks in their falling house. Also both clubs seem to be on very different arcs in terms of direction of travel.

We’ve managed to qualify for 2 seasons in a row for the Champions League for the first time in our history, last season was a horrible lesson in humility, this season has been a sea change. People are taking notice, we have potential to become a mainstay in the competition but that’s not a given, we don’t need to win it but we do need to show that we deserve to belong there, we proved that in Dortmund, Madrid and Turin, we have to keep on doing that because no one can keep ignoring that, least of all ourselves. We have progressed, quickly and dramatically.

We have to accept that domestic cups are not as important as they once were. This is a tricky one because I long for an FA Cup too, the last season we won it was 27 years ago and that does seem a day too long!

But the prestige and the glamour of the cup have faded somewhat, it’s a big competition for smaller teams, the likes of Newport & Rochdale have shown us how much it means to them but in modern parlance it is a secondary competition, winning the FA Cup would be wonderful, parading the cup past our new ground seems almost poetic but it still does not elevate the club in the same way as a Champions League place does, the reality is that it means more to beat Real Madrid than Rochdale. Winning as an underdog is always more attractive to the underdog and, domestically at least, we’ve stopped being an underdog!

[linequote]We have to accept that domestic cups are not as important as they once were[/linequote]

As a squad and as fans we’ll have to adapt to another new ground again next season, we will have to strengthen and be ready for the next level of opposition. We may not improve from this season, it’s not my belief but it is a possibility we may need to prepare for.That does not mean we should start to worry, it means that we should enjoy the moment here and now for what it is.

Regardless of silverware we are progressing and it’s important that we make the most of it, be it from solid professional performances against Huddersfield, new panels on side of our shiny new ground or a sublime moment of control by Dembele, it’s a good time to be a Spurs fan and there are a multitude of positive aspects to enjoy.

Whether there is treasure waiting for us at the end of the season or not, it’s been a heck of a ride.

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

1 Comment

  1. Keith Andrew
    07/03/2018 @ 11:10 am

    This is a very sensible article. I saw my first Spurs game in 1949 being 9 years old at the time so have seen the highs and lows some great sides and done very poor ones.
    It has never stopped me going and supporting the team as we always look to entertain, sometimes by mistake or in the wrong way.
    Like every fan I want us to win every game but of course that very seldom happend and of course I want us to win titles, but at the end of the day there can only be 4 winners per season so the odds are always against us given the financial resources available. So what Poch has achieved so far is excellent and for us is the way forward in the short term.
    Provided we play decent football and entertain that us my satisfaction and to say Poch Gas achieved nothing is both unfair and wrong. OK he has not won a trophy and if that is your benchmark fir success then you are right but it is not mine. Look at what he has achieved in developing players changing attitudes and even now got fans believing we can win.
    Porch keep up the good work you are already a winner in my book.

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