David Showell


Just five games into the current season, Tottenham Hotspur sit proudly in the upper echelons of the Premier League and not even a recent defeat from Manchester United should dishearten the Spurs faithful. 12 points and 12 goals are a deserved reward for their efforts so far. Harry Redknapp has them playing good football, attacking in numbers and defending with spirit. What a difference a year makes.

After five matches last season, Tottenham had won just two points. The team’s performances were disjointed and occasionally shambolic, with a pop-gun attack and a defence that played like they’d never met one another. Juande Ramos, at that time their manager and the man who was going to take the club forward into a new era, was struggling to convince supporters that he knew his best line-up. His new signings hadn’t galvanised the team, and the side was in big trouble. On paper, he had a good first eleven, but football is played on grass, not paper.

Tottenham’s first league win of 2008/09 came in their ninth match, but by that time Ramos had been asked to leave, and Harry Redknapp had moved into the manager’s office. As befits his wheeler-dealer reputation, there have been many comings and goings since his appointment. Rumours that the training ground is fitted with a revolving door now aren’t true, but the fact remains that Redknapp has changed the look of the squad dramatically.

The ex-Portsmouth boss has plundered his old club for several players in recent months. Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and Niko Kranjcar have all taken the A3 from Portsmouth to London, and it was rumoured that David James was set to take the same journey in the recent transfer window until chairman Daniel Levy vetoed the move. In the post-Ramos clear-out, Redknapp has said goodbye to Darren Bent, Didier Zokora and Pascal Chimbonda, among many others.

So far this season, Spurs have played with a renewed sense of freedom, and are back to their exciting best again. Defoe has always had a keen eye for goal, but recently he seems to have acquired some confidence to go with his undoubted ability. He scored a superb hat-trick at Hull, and one in a London derby at West Ham, and on top of that found the back of the net in recent internationals against Slovenia, Holland and Andorra.

The White Hart Lane faithful saw their side begin the season with a 2-1 home victory over Liverpool, an excellent start to a new campaign. New boy Sebastien Bassong scored the winner in an excellent match, and Redknapp’s boys had claimed a valuable scalp. A brilliant performance in their next match resulted in a 5-1 hammering of Hull City, which had the pundits sitting up to take notice. Then in a pulsating match at Upton Park, Spurs came from behind to win 2-1, the winner coming late on from Aaron Lennon. In their next league game Lennon left it later still, toppling Birmingham 2-1 in injury time.

Lennon in particular has started the season like a new man, and is back to his best again, running at defenders with a vigorous determination, and causing panic in the opposition. His form has earned him a well-deserved recall to the England team.

In the Carling Cup, Tottenham made light work of a potentially tricky tie at Doncaster.  Cruising into a 2-0 lead after just 11 minutes, they ran out 5-1 victors, and even last year’s blank-firing Roman Pavlyuchenko managed to find the net. Spurs will fancy their chances in the next round, despite it being another potential banana skin away to Preston. In recent times, the White Hart Lane side have shown a soft underbelly that has been catnip for some of the league’s lower clubs, but they appear to be a different kettle-full of fishes nowadays.

This could prove to be a watershed season in Tottenham’s history, as they may finally take the step up in class that’s needed to eat at the top table. The key to that success may not be who puts the ball in the net, though; the defence is potentially the make or break area for Spurs. Ledley King’s well-documented injury problems will cause some strain, and Jonathan Woodgate’s fitness will need to be maintained if they are to make an imprint on the top four. In midfield, Luka Modric’s broken leg, sustained in the Birmingham match, will be difficult to bear, particularly as he really does look a world-class passer of the ball.

It may be just about beyond the team to make the top four this season, though the defeat against Manchester United should not be taken as concrete proof of this, but it is still clearly apparent that Redknapp has Spurs on the right road at last, and that is progress at least. To paraphrase Churchill, it may not be the beginning, or the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. It may be that Spurs will be a good bet for a cup (or two) this season, and who knows, maybe a top four place next season?

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