Today, Spurs lost for the third time against West Ham. This time, by two goals to nil. It was yet another dire performance which really wasn’t acceptable.
The second goal was unbelievable. Stewart Downing scores from a freekick. But, the freekick itself was utter rubbish, but this was dwarfed by the absolutely cowardly action of Emmanuel Adebayor and Paulinho. The two players moved out of the way of the ball to create a hole in the middle of the wall in which the ball flew through, and into the net. Now, many fans (and some players too) would take a bullet to be able to play for Spurs, let alone a mere ball in the chest. Grown men scared of a football…really?
Lack of passion. Having passion for a club will make a player do anything on the pitch and off it, to show ones love for it. Feeling lacklustre, out of sorts, demotivated, why get hit by a ball? Why make that last ditch tackle? Why bother? Just do the bare minimum, collect the money. Love the money, not the shirt.
Paulinho and Adebayor have shown really good moments this season, especially Adebayor. Without him, Tottenham would have dropped many places down the league table. His goals have been invaluable in the league, but also the Europa league. Paulinho, a new signing, has been very indifferent, moments of class, but mainly mediocre performances. But, to back out of the wall paints a very dark picture on both of them. A wall is meant for blocking shots. That is clearly very, very obvious. It is not obvious to why two professional footballers, both with lots of experience would step aside and let a shot go through? Okay, maybe the players did not jump out of the way, but they still turned as if a cannon ball was flying at them. There was no need for that.
If Tottenham had more bite, more passion this season, then a higher finish surely would of prevailed. A change of management during the season may have dented the players confidence. Change of tactics, personnel and management style can take a while to get used to. It is quite likely, according to many rumours in the papers, and online, that Tim Sherwood will be replaced in the summer. Sherwood has not been a popular manager compared to previous managers, but he hasn’t done all that badly either. He has both the best win percentage and worst loss percentage of the Spurs managers in the last decade. A new manager may be able to just provide the players with more motivation. A new manager might even be able to beat a team in the Top Four too…
But, Tim Sherwood does have passion. He does show commitment to his job. If his team score a goal, he’ll celebrate it like a fan. Likewise, conceding a goal, he might toss his gilet into the near distance. He needs to find a way of injecting it into some of his players.
One player needs to come back to the Spurs first team next season. Lewis Holtby. He shows passion. He shows love for the shirt. He can also play some quality football on his day too. Sherwood, or the new manager, must bring him back. If one player gets working hard, then others will follow his lead if they want to get in the first team.
It’s been a mediocre season. But, a few changes in the summer could do Tottenham the world of good.
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