Reflections on the League Cup Final 2002

Coming home from Cardiff, all we heard on the radio was about the great stadium and how terrible it was that Glenn Hoddle hadn’t gone to collect his loser’s medal and that the Spurs fans had left without waiting for the ceremony.

For a start, the Stadium wasn’t all that it had been cracked up to be.  The roof appeared to deaden the atmosphere, so that you couldn’t even hear what the Spurs fans in the next section were singing, let alone the ones at the other end of the stadium, who were jumping up and down in apparent silence !!  I don’t know if the roof being closed had any effect on the pitch, which seemed very slick. Maybe they had to water it to get it to play something near normally, but the way that Sherwood and Anderton kept slipping over, it must have been cutting up pretty badly.  Having had an indoors international and a rugby match on it within the preceding ten days, it might not have been in top notch condition anyway.

The view from behind the goal was not brilliant and I understand that some people who had £60 seats were not too impressed with their seats either.  I wonder what the best seats actually were ?  The leg-room was better than at most stadia, but the toilets left me longing for the ones running with urine at Wembley as there were not enough and they were right at one end of the stand.

Having said that, it is nicely located and getting around town was simple and there were plenty of people around to offer directions and help.  Closing the town centre was a good idea and there was so much to do within an easy walk of the ground, unlike Wembley (unless you are interested in DIY !!).  The pubs were packed out because of the rain, but there was no trouble as far as I saw and getting away was not too bad for us, although some people did get snarled up in traffic.

At the end of the game (although it might still be going on as Graham Poll didn’t seem to realise he had blown for time), most Spurs fans wanted to make their way home.  Having been stuck on the motorway getting there, the prospect of a repeat was not welcomed on the journey home, so people made their way back.  Wembley is different as most fans lived within reasonable reach, so it didn’t matter about staying on as we did in 1987.  When you are a long way from home, perhaps with the prospect of having to go to work the next day, you just want to get home.  That’s one by-product of having a Sunday match.  We even saw some Blackburn supporters heading for the station as we came out, so even they must have thought beating the traffic was better than seeing their team pick up their first trophy in 74 years.

We heard that it was bad form that Hoddle hadn’t gone up to get his medal with the rest of the Spurs players and that most neutrals (mostly Gooners, SCBC fans and an Evertonian) thought that he must have done something terrible in a previous life to have suffered this defeat (Ha Ha).  It appears today that he didn’t know that managers picked up medals for the game and that was why he didn’t go up and get on.  He was also lambasted for not comforting his players after the game, but he was probably as gutted as the rest of us.  Being a fan, player and manager, Glenn must have been desperate to win something for the club.  The empty feeling inside will have hurt him, but on the day, Spurs didn’t do it.  Blackburn did and that is why they went home with the Cup.

His view that we were denied a penalty was one that some callers used as a means for him to cover up the inadequacies of the team on the day.  Indeed, Oliver Holt, not a Hoddle fan, wrote in the Times on Monday about how Hoddle was arrogant and unable to accept defeat gracefully.  As a manager, he has to do that, but as a person who has a burning desire to do well for the club, like the fans, he probably finds it hard to accept that Tottenham have come back from Cardiff empty handed.  That is what being a fan is all about.  Perhaps broadcasters and journalists find this hard to understand, but as they must follow clubs, they should be more sympathetic to the feelings of the supporters.  Some will win and go home happy, others will not.

With a long day out behind us, Tottenham fans have much to look forward to in the future.  Before Holt’s assertion that Spurs will not win anything under Hoddle, he should look at the way we have played this season and the players who are at the club.  There is still some parts of the squad to iron out, but there are good players there and more to come, so it just depends on when rather than if.  The five year plan continues and there could be a wait until Glenn achieves what he wants, but there will be some good times on the way, as well as some bad times.

What counts is this is Tottenham.  We never do things the easy way.  But it is about Glory.  And while we have lost the short term success of the Worthington Cup, that must be our long term aim.

I for one am happy to see this ride through.

Sterling Performance

A number of key issues arose from the Worthington Cup Final regarding tactics, players and the long-term management of the club.

Firstly, apart from all the players who didn’t perform, when this happens to a team it is the manager’s job to put it right as soon as possible.  It has been obvious, for example, that Sheringham has been playing embarrassingly badly for the past three months, the only real exception being the Chelsea 5-1.  He could and should have been substituted in a number of matches during this period, but hasn’t been once and his performance on Sunday was laughable.  I’m beginning to think that he has a clause in his contract preventing him being taken off unless he’s injured.  And someone should tell Teddy that we haven’t had any decent refereeing decisions since Sugar successfully sued the FA to get our points back.  He defied FIFA and UEFA to do it and won.  It’s unprecedented and still rankles with the footy establishment.

Our goalkeeper is a major problem.  Anyone who’s watched him this season knows Sullivan is slow coming off his line which causes hesitancy in defence.  The second goal at Elland Road was a prime example of him not taking control when he could see defenders faffing around in front of him.  I’d prefer to forget the first Leeds goal entirely.  Can you imagine Shay Given doing this?  You have to think – would Friedel have saved one or both Blackburn goals and I’m sure he would have got the first and maybe the second as well.  This is doubly galling for Keller who had to sit on the bench again, watching Sullivan’s fumblings and carefully studied rituals, while seeing Friedel steal the show and probably his place in the USA World Cup team.  It’s surely time for Hoddle to reinstate Keller for a longer run.  After all, how much worse could it be?

More worryingly than any individual player problems, however, is Hoddle’s overall management style.  He frequently seems unwilling or unable to make changes to the team when things are not going right.  Constantly bringing on players too late in the game for them to do anything meaningful and sticking to the wrong tactics when his team is being out-thought and outplayed.  I’m not sure whether this stems from arrogance or sheer bloody-mindedness, but whatever the source it’s selling Tottenham short and has resulted in a number of unnecessary defeats this season, the latest on Sunday.

There are also clearly some locker room grievances at the Lane.  Rebrov’s is the most obvious and puzzling – how can he show what he can do if he’s never played?  And this our biggest player investment.  What surprised me was Sherwood giving an interview on the day of the final to the Sunday Times in which his strong dislike of Hoddle and his management style was all too apparent.  How many other current Spurs players still align themselves with George Graham, for example, as Sherwood clearly does?  You can’t keep everyone happy all the time, but how deep does this mood go?

Hoddle has taken a gamble that his oldies can get Spurs into Europe in two seasons because they are not going to be around after that.  Winning the League Cup would have put us ahead of schedule, but anyone who knows Spurs and their somewhat fragile mentality can’t be hopeful now of another win over Chelsea and further progress in the FA Cup.  If we don’t get any further or to the final, Hoddle should relax his tactical straitjacket when necessary, bring in more youngsters and try to win as many league matches as he can between now and the end of the season.  What is certain is that if he carries this present attitude into next season, he may very well not be around to see his five-year plan come to fruition.

Macker

Before the Match…Preparation.

Do I go to the local Casino to watch it on Sky [45 kms away]  or do I stay home and listen to the broadcast on BBC Live…over the Net… at 3.00 a.m. our time.

Superstition wins (If we win I can get the tape later) … I plump for the broadcast after a day with a tummy full of butterflies and nervous expectation … same thing !!! Particularly when you follow the “Lilywhites”. It is always nervous material.

Monday Morning … Aus Time.

After a fitful nap I make my way to the computer and dial online .. the BBC booms through on a 12000 km line and the Cup is on…remember it’s 3.00 am here  and I’m  up hoping it’s  not a disaster…Some others in the Aussie cheer squad have chosen bed / sleep as a more sensible choice. Probably nerves!!

The worry about listening on the radio is anytime anyone goes anywhere the penalty area…..you cannot see what is happening.

It is not nerve-wracking it is positively heart attack material!

The Match.

I listen to the Match…hoping…but…there you go { an Australian expression uttered when one tries to cover bitter disappointment} …. shame Davies was not in the starting eleven.

Post Disaster/Match.

I guess you always wonder (having played albeit on a much lesser level, how and if the Players are feeling as shell-shocked/despairing and desolate as you are) … I am sure they are.

I write this note some days after the “Event’ … the pain has subsided, the disappointment still there but hope and anticipation of our Spurs springs eternal.

“If onlys” abound, but Spurs were second/silver in a strong Cup competition, the FA Cup beckons as does the prospect for you people that have the undoubted privilege/luck/good fortune to see the Blanchflower tradition endure on a weekly live basis at White Hart Lane and beyond.

The future is sunshine. Davies, Etherington, King etc. Hoddle attracts optimism, charisma, a degree of most times footballing acumen, yes the lack of adventure/conservatism with subs is a worry, in short Spurs are on their way in a very difficult football environment.

Yours, Greg Meyer … from the bottom of Australia … Recovering Supporter of the Greatest Side in the World … Glory Glory ….