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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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. has 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.
Excellent first post.
Never a fan of the stand up if you hate Woolwich as it gives them credence they don't deserve BUT I always assumed it was purely about getting the supporters standing up.
Now, if that immediately was followed by WE ARE TOTTENHAM FROM THE LANE or similar then no problem, but it seems to be the end of it.
Bring back the fkin drum, it was the rhythm that kept everyone together and the atmosphere hasn't been the same since
Blimey l never realised we were the guardian's of morality and a beacon of prudence sensibility.without careful preparation and risk management plans is not called ambitious; it's called suicidal.
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.
Blimey your quick. I like your style .You are a parody
You gave me my first ‘like’ Nick. You just don’t forget something like that.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.
Funnily enough, given the subsequent poster, it seems sammyspurs gave me mineYou gave me my first ‘like’ Nick. You just don’t forget something like that.
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.
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.
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 yearsWe'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
Welcome to TFC, DanielNot 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.
Welcome to TFC, Daniel