It’s such a shame.
It’s been a carnival of incompetence for decades, from this week’s farce with Martin Jol right back to Irving Scholar’s treatment of Keith Burkinshaw, who said, “There used to be a football club over there.”
Even before that Tottenham was a great club run out of a biscuit tin.
But the last 23 years at Spurs didn’t have to be so bad.
Scholar messed it up when he sold it to Sugar and Sugar made it worse when he sold it to ENIC, who should not own a football club.
Richard Littlejohn used to write columns taking chairman Alan Sugar apart and those pieces were hilarious. I still have one that I tore out of The Sun. Don’t know where it is right now but when I find it I’ll have a good laugh.
Sugar signed Jurgen Klinsmann, the finest striker Spurs have ever had, but could only keep him for one season. An electrifying Footballer of the Year, a talisman, a hero, a thrilling goalscorer, a public relations genius, one of the great football superstars of the last 50 years -and they only had him for a year. Klinsmann walked and Sugar said : I wouldn’t clean my car with his shirt. Then Sugar had to bring Klinsmann back to save Spurs from relegation.
Ever since Arsene Wenger arrived in 1996 the Spurs directors have been running around in ever-decreasing circles trying to keep up with Arsenal. Thery are obsessed with Arsenal and it’s so pathetic.
Gerry Francis was Spurs manager in 1996 and I have to admit I encouraged that. I used to ring Nick Hewer, Sugar’s sidekick, at his home in Pimlico and say, “Gerry’s a great coach. He’s done great things at QPR, he can be Tottenham’s George Graham, he’s like George, he’s very good tactically, he’s just what you need.”
Sugar and Hewer know nothing about football but I tried to help them because they sacked Venables. I’d stopped going to Spurs because of Venables. I decided one night, mid-season, that I was not gonna stand there and listen to his garbage any more. So I just stopped going. That’s my philosophy : Don’t hold onto the things that make you unhappy. Just let go.
Including Gerry, Spurs have had seven managers since Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal .
Gerry Francis was 1994-1997, Christian Gross was 1997-1998, George Graham was 1998-2001, then ENIC bought the club and sacked George within a week and hired Glenn Hoddle from Southampton but he only lasted till 2003, David Pleat was caretaker in 2003-2004, Jacques Santini was August to November, and then Martin Jol took over for the next two and a half years.
One of the most bizarre things about all this is that last Thursday vice-chairman Paul Kemsley had a big meeting with the planners and architects about a 50,000 capacity rebuild of White Hart Lane across the front car park and properties that the club has bought, towards Tottenham High Road. There’s only 3 properties that the club has not yet acquired. Kemsley is a property guy with his own agenda.
Spurs should forget about Arsenal. If they could do that, if they could forget about Arsenal, they would be happier. They could work sensibly to improve their team and improve their club.
But how can you do that if your chairman is a mild-mannered accountant ?
The story I heard on Tuesday : They sacked Jol and agreed £4 million compensation, thought they had Ramos from Seville, could not get Ramos, then told Jol he has to get 4th place or get the chop at the end of the season.
You could not make it up ! These people want to be in the Champions League !
Spurs can’t get Ramos because they don’t deserve Ramos. Because Seville to Spurs is not a step up, not a career move. Because Ramos was told by Capello that Capello’s friends at Chelsea reckon Ramos can go there after Mourinho leaves
It’s all a crying shame because Spurs used to have style and great players. When they signed Ardiles and Villa in 1978, every football fan in England was stunned by that news. Having bought a midfield in 1978, Spurs bought an attack in 1980 when they signed Archibald and Crooks.
I’ve seen a helluva lot at the Lane in hundreds of games and been to three AGM.s. I’ve seen Graham Roberts on fire in the Uefa Cup and Hoddle juggling the ball over the head of Johann Cruyff, who was about 49 at the time, and I’ve seen Ray Clemence let a 40-yard shot by Olmo of Barcelona go through his hands.
I’ve had high times and bad times and happy times and I’ve run to catch the overland train with Brian Glanville on many Saturday nights after we talked to the managers. I could write a book and in fact I did co-write a book, Mark Jacob’s season diary What’s the Story? Boring Glory.
Sadly, this ENIC lot don’t have a clue.
They thought they had Ramos so they sacked Jol and agreed £4 million compensation and then they found that Ramos wasn’t coming so they did a U-turn and told poor Jol it’s 4th place or your P45.
Unbelievable ! Who was more humiliated? Daniel Levy or Martin Jol ?
It’s such a shame.This latest farce just buys Levy time to talk to Mark Hughes and others.
I genuinely wish Spurs were better because London needs a good Spurs team. A good Spurs team is good for Arsenal because your rivals make you stronger. I’ve said that on ANR many times.
Nick Hewer now appears with Alan Sugar on his BBC show The Apprentice. I’ve never seen the show but I’ve seen a trailer. Nick once told me that Alan was very, very straight and would go through your lunch expenses in detail and ask, “Did you have to have the soup ?”
On Monday Rob Hughes was telling me about an idea for a piece which I thought was great and something only Rob would write.
But I forgot to link to his Four lessons in loyalty from Italy, which has a blinding photograph.