If I'm going to be totally fair -- which wasn't easy for me even before I knew Arsenal and Tottenham even existed, thanks to the pathetic access we had to this sport in those days -- I have to acknowledge that, whatever flaws the current Tottenham team has, courage is not one of them. Nor is tenacity. They showed plenty of both on Sunday.
What they did not show was something Arsenal had in droves: Togetherness. These new signings and the established team don't know each other yet. Having an Interlull so soon after such a defeat doesn't help. Villas-Boas has his work cut out for him in trying to weave together all these disparate (not desperate -- yet) elements, and over the course of this season we will all, supporters of your club and not, find out how good a coach (not "manager") he really is. Plenty of talented teams have fallen short. Certainly, Arsenal have. Considering how much they've spent, both Chelsea and Emirates Marketing Project should have won more than they have.
A good manager/head coach is key. And the last manager Tottenham had who really knew what he was doing was George Graham -- and, well, you lot wanted "your Tottenham" back. If AVB is going to lead your team to anything worth having, he'll have to be better than Hoddle (great player at times but not a good manager), Jol (decent manager but no more), Ramos (did all right with Madrid's money but hopeless in England) and Redknapp (who has never been worth the hype).
Now that I've gotten that out of the way...
There is no power shift in North London. Massive spending guarantees nothing, and with everything going your way (aside from not being able to call on You Know Who), Arsenal still beat you. They were better, they were tougher, they were smarter.
Granted, it was a bit funny seeing a 6-3-1 at the end. Wenger didn't park the bus, he parked the Batmobile. (Driven by a better Welshman named Bale.) But it worked.
Okay, enough WUMming. As Susan Sarandon said in a movie about a very different sport, but very true in this one, "It's a long season, and you've got to trust it." But you also have to remember that the table ALWAYS lies, until the LAST one. So my advice is this: Stop comparing yourselves to Arsenal, or any other team, and just look ahead to the next game. Yes, it's a cliche, but, as Kevin Costner said in the same movie, cliches are your friends, and "One game at a time" works.
-- Uncle Mike, the New Jersey Gooner
What they did not show was something Arsenal had in droves: Togetherness. These new signings and the established team don't know each other yet. Having an Interlull so soon after such a defeat doesn't help. Villas-Boas has his work cut out for him in trying to weave together all these disparate (not desperate -- yet) elements, and over the course of this season we will all, supporters of your club and not, find out how good a coach (not "manager") he really is. Plenty of talented teams have fallen short. Certainly, Arsenal have. Considering how much they've spent, both Chelsea and Emirates Marketing Project should have won more than they have.
A good manager/head coach is key. And the last manager Tottenham had who really knew what he was doing was George Graham -- and, well, you lot wanted "your Tottenham" back. If AVB is going to lead your team to anything worth having, he'll have to be better than Hoddle (great player at times but not a good manager), Jol (decent manager but no more), Ramos (did all right with Madrid's money but hopeless in England) and Redknapp (who has never been worth the hype).
Now that I've gotten that out of the way...
There is no power shift in North London. Massive spending guarantees nothing, and with everything going your way (aside from not being able to call on You Know Who), Arsenal still beat you. They were better, they were tougher, they were smarter.
Granted, it was a bit funny seeing a 6-3-1 at the end. Wenger didn't park the bus, he parked the Batmobile. (Driven by a better Welshman named Bale.) But it worked.
Okay, enough WUMming. As Susan Sarandon said in a movie about a very different sport, but very true in this one, "It's a long season, and you've got to trust it." But you also have to remember that the table ALWAYS lies, until the LAST one. So my advice is this: Stop comparing yourselves to Arsenal, or any other team, and just look ahead to the next game. Yes, it's a cliche, but, as Kevin Costner said in the same movie, cliches are your friends, and "One game at a time" works.
-- Uncle Mike, the New Jersey Gooner
