Misery continues for Spurs

Spurs boss, Juande Ramos, has recently described the current situation at the North London club as “delicate” and “complicated”. Tottenham fans, however, have been slightly less tentative in their opinions. After all, the club have just made their worst start to a season for over 50 years.

They remain rooted to the bottom of the Premier League, with a woeful 2 points won from a possible 18. More worryingly still, the Carling Cup holders have scored just 4 goals and have conceded a total of 9. For all Ramos’ calming words, Spurs fans just need to take one glance at the Premier League table and the alarming reality really does hit home.

This weekend’s 2-0 away defeat at Portsmouth was all the more disastrous given the identity of the goal scorers. Jermain Defoe claimed the opening goal and rubbed salt in the wounds of the beleaguered Spurs fans by putting in a scintillating performance.

The former White Hart Lane favourite played like his life depended on it and displayed touches of class sorely absent from recent Tottenham performances. Ex-Spurs striker, Peter Crouch, scored Portsmouth’s second goal, condemning the North London side to defeat and increasing speculation over the future of Juande Ramos.

The boss personally believes that he will live to fight another day, expressing his desire to “recover from this very quickly”. However, he also admitted that “whether I survive is for the chairman and the board to decide”.

So where has it all gone wrong for a Spurs side that defeated a typically strong Chelsea team in last season’s Carling Cup final? One primary factor lying behind the team’s disappointing start to the season is the immense squad upheaval seen over the summer.

Ten established members of the Tottenham squad left the club to make way for nine new signings. New players such as Roman Pavlyuchennko, who scored his first goal for the club during last week’s Carling Cup victory over Newcastle, have failed to make a real impression so far. Furthermore, the club was left hugely disappointed at their failure to capture the Zenit St. Petersburg star, Andrei Arshavin.

Spurs also desperately need more cover in central defence and have failed to find a suitable replacement for Jermain Defoe. This lack of balance and depth has blighted Tottenham’s season so far and the club will need to rectify the situation when the January transfer window opens.

However, fans of the club simply cannot wait until January for their team to improve. Improvements need to be made now and the team must start picking up points as well as putting in solid performances.

Ramos needs to improve the manner in which he motivates the club’s current players, many of whom are performing with a distinct lack of drive and energy. He needs to find a way to get the best out of previously erratic players, such as former Blackburn star, David Bentley, and, finally, he needs the continued support of the fans.

This support was not evident at the Portsmouth match, with certain members of the crowd chanting derogatory comments. This attitude, whilst understandable given the unusual position the club is finding itself in, will only bring harm to the manager and to the players.

Written by Charlotte Cook