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 Blues
v Spurs - Pre-match Interview
16th March 2006 by
Kym Smith
Kym Smith spoke to Paul Smith of
www.spursodyssey.com, who is a long time supporter from
the "double" era. He is the owner and webmaster of Spurs
Odyssey, which was established in 1999, but includes some
archive material from the preceding year and also has
features such as a series on the Double Side of 1960-61. He
is a home and away season ticket holder who even manages to
attend most reserve games and some youth games. He
disparagingly describes himself as "quite an anorak really".
Surely not....
Q. What's your take on Spurs' season? To the
outside observer, the team (and results!) have changed
hugely since Martin Jol took over. Are you still surprised
at the position you're holding in the League?
I predicted at the start of the
season that we would finish fourth, but more realistically
said that if we did not qualify for
Europe
that would be a failure for the management, given the
resources at their disposal. Despite our own poor form since
hitting 40 points at the turn of the year, we have held
fourth place since early December. Arsenal’s poor away form
has been a big reason for that, as they have failed to take
advantage of us at crucial stages of the season. I now think
we will be very lucky to hold fourth. Lucky is the wrong
word really, because it is going to be a battle all the way
to the line, but I am not sure our young side has the guts
for a real fight. It is well known how we have dropped
precious points recently, and to last minute goals. I am
sure we will rue those silly concessions against West Ham,
Fulham,
Sunderland
and
Chelsea to name just four occasions. We also went out of both Cup
competitions to late goals.
Q. Looking at your run-in to the end of the
season, there are games that you're surely looking to pick
up points from, and some really tough games. Can you beat
off the challenge of Arsenal,
Blackburn
and
Bolton
for that coveted fourth place?
The way I see it is we have 9 Cup
Finals left to play. Most of the games are against teams
that will be desperate for points themselves. Our next two
games are against
Birmingham and
West Brom. This could work to our advantage, as one point won’t do them much
good, and they will have to come out and try to win. I fancy
us to win our last game at Highbury this year, and with
their games in hand,
Bolton
look formidable rivals.
Q. Do you think there are further advances that
can be made in the League next season, or is fourth place
the best that anyone outside the "big spenders" can hope for
these days?
On the basis that I do not
realistically see us finishing fourth this season, I would
accept that as progress next term! Hopefully Spurs will
develop their squad again in the summer and make the
acquisitions that could ready us for even better progress.
Apart from
Chelsea, each of the other teams up there at present should be within our
reach.
Q. If Arsenal manages to win the Champions League
this season, they will qualify automatically and push out
the fourth place holders. This could be a bitter pill to
swallow if you do hold on to fourth, so in the grand scheme
of things do you think it's a fair move for UEFA to make?
I would like to take the Fifth
Amendment on this, as I cannot imagine Arsenal winning the
trophy, but if it happened, then I have to say it is right
for the Champions to be allowed to defend their trophy.
Luckily,
Barcelona are going to beat everyone out of sight!
Q. Which other teams have surprised you most in
the Premiership this season, either in terms of how well
they have fared, or how badly?
It’s easy to mention
Wigan,
but I think the fact that Bolton has maintained their lofty position and challenged on all fronts
has been a real credit to Sam Allardyce and his team. West
Ham have also made great progress, and I admire the way they
have played their football in accordance with the
long-standing traditions of the club.
Q. Have supporters been filling
White Hart Lane this season, spurred on (sorry) by your good form, or are you
suffering from the dip in attendances that have affected
many other Premiership teams?
Spurs is a club that fills its
ground week-in week-out, come rain or shine in football
terms. Our away support is amongst the strongest in the
land, and as supporters we thoroughly deserve some glory,
which hopefully will be coming our way in the next few
years.
Q. While certain other
London
teams have very few native players, Martin Jol has
definitely bucked the trend and has packed his squad with
young Englishmen. Is this the way forward for Spurs?
It has been a clear strategy of Daniel Levy
and the rest of the management team. I am proud of the fact
that five of our squad were on the field for
England recently. I do not believe in excluding players from the
continent, and indeed we have thrived through the
inspiration of Edgar Davids, and the application of Teemu
Tainio. We have a good mix of cultures, skills, youth and
experience. We also have in Martin Jol the best Spurs
manager for years, who has behaved impeccably on and off the
field of play throughout his Spurs career to date. Just
think of his measured reaction to Mendes “goal that wasn’t”
at Old Trafford last year and imagine how
Ferguson, Wenger or Mourinho would have reacted, both at the time of the
incident, and in the press room afterwards. I am very proud
of the man that I hope will become a managerial legend at
White Hart Lane.
Q. Despite the fact he has figured in the
England squad, Jermaine Defoe seems to be short on first-team starts this
season. Are you expecting Defoe to move on in the summer to
a team that will guarantee him more first team action?
I have no such expectation. Robbie
Keane had to sit out most of the first half from the bench.
He dealt with it in a mature fashion and has left his goals
do the talking for him. Defoe seems to be dealing with the
situation well, and I do not expect him to leave, but who
knows what might happen?
Q. Who has been Martin Jol's best acquisition in
the last twelve months? (loan or purchase)
I think you have to say Davids, as
he is genuine world class, and has been a leader on the
field for the developing Spurs team. Aaron Lennon has made
his mark too. If I can stretch those twelve months to last
January’s window, then I would add Michael Dawson who has
been a superb addition to the defence, and is surely
destined for great things in the future. I think he may even
be an outsider for the World Cup squad this year!
Q. Who else would you like to see joining you in
the squad next season; is there likely to be more money in
the kitty
Spurs will no doubt exercise
“prudence”, but I would like to see a top class striker such
as Torres at the club. I also feel that our full backs are
not the most reliable, so there may be openings there.
Mido’s loan will expire at the end of the season. Personally
I am not convinced he would be the answer for Spurs over a
longer period of time, due to his temperament and personal
fitness levels.
Q. Biggest loss to the squad in recent seasons?
Kanoute’s sale as the transfer
window drew to a close in August was a bad move. The club
brought in Rasiak at the last minute, and he proved to be a
very inadequate replacement. His level seems to be in the
Championship, where he is doing well for
Southampton
at present.
Q. Nightmare player? (either in terms of form or
injuries)
There are always one or two who draw
the boos of the more cynical Spurs fans, but I do not
classify any of our present squad in this category.
Q. Outside London, the assumption is always that
the biggest local derby for you is with Arsenal; is this
right, or are there are others that turn into real grudge
matches too?
The Arsenal rivalry is without any
doubt the deepest, but Chelsea and West Ham are not that far
behind in the hate stakes of many Spurs fans
Q. And finally, a prediction for Saturday's game:
Much as I fear another upset for
Spurs, I do think that we will come out on top in this game
– probably by the odd goal in three. Nothing would surprise
me though!
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