Does anyone really know what's going on with Toby? Jennifer Annely tries to make sense of it all - from the players perspective and ours.
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IT is not just Toby. Last season Kane, Toby, Jan all had injuries but as soon as fit were back in the team. This season Lamela (was out a very long time) took a long time to reestablish himself after injury, Rose, Toby and Wanyama are all supposedly now fit but cannot get their place back despite all being first choices last season when we finished second. Toby and Rose have other issues but Wanyama? Still not reestablished in the team. Whilst a case can be made for how well their replacements have performed, it is still a big difference to putting established players straight back in the team as happened in the past.
Not much to say that adds to what's in the article - the situation is more than just "PAY THE MONEY HE'S OUR BEST DEFENDER" cries from some of the fans observing it. It's both a testament and a warning to the kind of football team spurs have been for the past four years.
Poch, Levy, and Co. have built a marvelous bubble of a team that is unique in modern football, untarnished by ultra-capitalism driven by "bored" billionaires or oil tycoons, (fairly) distant from the media drama created by managers and players, and showing the slow/steady/gigantic progress that football fans of current generation seem to value less than paying everything to win everything. The fact that all the media moan about spurs nowadays are piles of they-don't-win-anything gibberish mixed with bottlers banjo and divers dips**t is indicative of how goody two-shoes spurs have been in building/progressing the team towards the group of elite clubs in Europe.
But because this team is such an outlier of what modern football is becoming of, it's highly fragile & unsustainable in the long run. The article nails this down with Toby's contract situation - that players are staying partly (if not mostly) because of future prospect of winning trophies and getting better contracts, and forcibly speeding up this process harbors a risk of unsustainable wage structure and a potential exodus of players who get disillusioned by such decisions. You simply don't risk that by giving into one player's demand now when all others have (grudgingly) accepted that they'll have to wait for another season or two to get their demands met by the club.
Bottom line: I think we have to accept that Toby's likely to leave this summer, and we'll have to figure out a way without him. I like him as a footballer, but no player's bigger than the football club, and this football club is progressing with identity, connection, and stability that were lacking for so many years.
To those who think this means that "the club is lacking ambitions" (and I sincerely hope many of you don't think like this): stepping into a minefield without careful preparation and risk management plans is not called ambitious; it's called suicidal.
Poch, Levy, and Co. have built a marvelous bubble of a team that is unique in modern football, untarnished by ultra-capitalism driven by "bored" billionaires or oil tycoons, (fairly) distant from the media drama created by managers and players, and showing the slow/steady/gigantic progress that football fans of current generation seem to value less than paying everything to win everything. The fact that all the media moan about spurs nowadays are piles of they-don't-win-anything gibberish mixed with bottlers banjo and divers dips**t is indicative of how goody two-shoes spurs have been in building/progressing the team towards the group of elite clubs in Europe.
But because this team is such an outlier of what modern football is becoming of, it's highly fragile & unsustainable in the long run. The article nails this down with Toby's contract situation - that players are staying partly (if not mostly) because of future prospect of winning trophies and getting better contracts, and forcibly speeding up this process harbors a risk of unsustainable wage structure and a potential exodus of players who get disillusioned by such decisions. You simply don't risk that by giving into one player's demand now when all others have (grudgingly) accepted that they'll have to wait for another season or two to get their demands met by the club.
Bottom line: I think we have to accept that Toby's likely to leave this summer, and we'll have to figure out a way without him. I like him as a footballer, but no player's bigger than the football club, and this football club is progressing with identity, connection, and stability that were lacking for so many years.
To those who think this means that "the club is lacking ambitions" (and I sincerely hope many of you don't think like this): stepping into a minefield without careful preparation and risk management plans is not called ambitious; it's called suicidal.
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Excellent first post.
Got me thinking. Apparently this was my first post, and I STAND BY IT DAMMIT:
Blimey l never realised we were the guardian's of morality and a beacon of prudence sensibility.
Let' hope we don't accept their inflated dirty cash when they come knocking , so we can walk with the Angels .
I didn't know we were on a verge of a "Leeds" if we upped our game.
You are a parody
Blimey your quick. I like your style .
You gave me my first ‘like’ Nick. You just don’t forget something like that.
We have upped our game, all within our wage cap and spending policy.
We have overtaken Woolwich, and are now par with Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool, and regularly finish above them, just like we have finished above City the last two years.
Sorry, did we over spend to get here? Did we pander to ludicrous wage demands?
No, so then our policy is working isnt it.
Funnily enough, given the subsequent poster, it seems
sammyspurs
gave me mineIf you consider the contrast between Garry Monk's Swansea 14-15 & 15-16, pre/post signing Andre Ayew at a wage packet that destroyed their wage structure, then you realize how easily & quickly underpaid/overperforming players can turn sour from decisions like that, regardless of how good the individual in question is. This has nothing to do with morality - it's a cautioned voice against unplanned short-termism.
I see your points and somewhat agree but we are where we are because of the brilliance of Poch . It is admirable that we buck the trend but long term our league position is very precarious if we maintain such financial frugality as players will constantly move on .
Have we really overtaken those others clubs ?
Till we can win trophies then l am not so sure.
Have we really overtaken those others clubs ?
Till we can win trophies then l am not so sure.
We've been progressing since Jol, minus the Ramos and AVB blips. I dont think just winning a trophy is the marker to be honest. If we win the FA Cup we have overtaken Woolwich, but if we lose the final, we havent?
I think it goes ways beyond that, and as Poch has said, the journey is as important as the end product.
We are still on that journey. Stop and think about the fact that we are seriously talking about title challenges these days......even dare to talk about winning the CL. No one is laughing anymore.
Now call Woolwich title challengers, and CL dark horses........and try not to burst out laughing.
I still cant get out of the "first target is 42 points" mentality that I got into when holding a season ticket during the Sugar years
It amazes me....anyone that supported through the Sugar Years shouldnt be criticising the current set up too often.
The only thing that Sugar holds is that he saved the club..for a mere 20 million debt. and even then , it was driven by Venables
Sugar spun that line but it’s bollocks.
As you say it was just 20M and we would never have gone bust for that. We’re not Charlton, the club would have been bought.
All sugar did was renogiate the terms of our debt with midland, and he had massive help from the trust.
He made a fortune from Spurs.....he invested his money, not donated it, and led people to believe he gave up his personal fortune and asked for nothing back.
Welcome to TFC, Daniel
What do you mean? I can't possibly be chuckling in my room as I wait for WBA to be relegated..