Wooden Spoon For Spurs

Being young and of a generation brought up on a diet of Premiership football supported by sponsorship en masse, it’s quite refreshing to settle down and tune my freeview box to Sky Three, where a rerun of Football Years can take us back down a memory lane we’ve yet to venture in to. For those not familiar with Football Years, the show is essentially an irreverent look at a particular football season and the cultural impacts of the time. It’s lazily put together with old archive clips and ex-pro and D-list celebrity talking heads, but it’s become compulsive viewing – staple diet of late evening telly.

The other night the show focussed on the 1989-1990 season. In the twilight years of the old Division One, we could hardly believe our eyes when MC Harvey (who else) told us of the sad state of affairs Manchester United was in. What, THE Man Yoo? Left to languish in 13^th place? Yup, that’s where finished. One place beneath Coventry City. To say that their fledgling manager was under pressure was under pressure is a bit of an understatement. But somehow, despite months of media and fan hounding, the United board stuck with Alex Ferguson. The mind starts to unravel at an alarming rate when you wonder what would’ve happened if United had lost their patience too early.

So, when should you start to worry about the team’s performance enough to take action? One man under the cosh is Spurs manager Martin Jol. Bottom of the league without a point is, quite frankly, rubbish. But is it really that bad with just two games played? Well, let’s examine the facts. Firstly, their loss against Sunderland is a tough one to call. Many have the Mackems marked down for a bottom-of-the-table finish or a golden era under Roy Keane. I must confess I’m in the latter camp. But until we see who the real Sunderland is, we can’t say too much about them.

We’re left with the midweek opponents Everton. Spurs fans had a right to boo their team off the field. But were they ever dead-cert favourites to beat the Toffees? No.

Everton are a very respectable side, and to assume you’re going to beat them is asking for trouble. They scored three very good goals to win. But the sports reporters told the story that Tottenham conceded three goals and lost. This is grossly unfair on Everton, and I anticipate a great season for them if they can maintain this sort of performance week in, week out.

It all boils down to this – would these two losses have the same shock value to the White Hart Lane faithful if they happened midseason? Just because it’s the first two games it’s certainly not a precedent. Other teams have picked themselves up after poor starts and finished respectably without having to sack the manager. Jol is a godsend for Tottenham, who have had some turkey managers in recent times, and it would be unwise stare at these first two games under the microscope for too long.

If nul points is a bad start for Tottenham, two points out of six for Manchester United – disastrous, surely? Without Rooney or Ronaldo for the next few matches, Ferguson is probably thankful he was attack-minded in the transfer market this year. The derby game against City looks a mouthwatering treat, and the match against Chelsea looms heavy. In the past few seasons, the race for the title has always been a game of catch-up; keep winning and hope your opponents slip up. Now Chelsea already has a four point head start. This makes the game against Liverpool crucial for ensuring the Blues don’t drop valuable points.

Only one week in, this weekend’s Premiership fixture list never looked so good.