Tottenham Hotspur finished 10 points above the relegation zone last season, after failing yet again to break in to the top 4, an ambition that is voiced at the start of every season.
So, why is it that they’re failing so badly?
It surely has nothing to do with the fact they sold on Steed Malbranque (37 appearances last season), Paul Robinson (37 appearances last season), Younes Kaboul (29 appearances) and Pascal Chimbonda (49 appearances last season).
No no, it’s all to do with the “greed, mismanagement, egos and selfishness” of Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane.
Terry Venables, the washed up former England and Leeds United manager, who in his 16 year long playing career won one League Cup and one FA Cup, and who in his 27 year long managerial career has won one league title (in Spain) and one FA Cup, has got on his soap box today and laid in to Berbatov for a few quid from The Sun.
Bulgarian strike ace Berbatov kept telling us he had a ‘dream’. Well, good for you Dimi, you had a dream with a few extra noughts added to your bank balance. But don’t you think Spurs had a dream too? Don’t you think that when they bought you and helped you blossom into one of the best strikers in the world, you had a duty to reward them by helping them fulfil THEIR dream.
You got your way but your poisonous presence at the start of this season — the pouting, the brooding and the reluctance to play — has cost the club that believed in you. And what about the team-mates you left behind, how do you reckon they feel now?
Dimitar Berbatov gave two years of his career to Tottenham Hotspur, signing for them on the promise that they would be challenging for a top 4 position. Now 27-years-old, Berbatov doesn’t haven’t time to sit and wait around, hoping that the rest of the team can pull their finger out and do their share of the work, after all the goals he’s scored. Spurs haven’t broken in to the top 4 and even with Berbatov, there’s no way this current Spurs outfit would be getting anywhere near one of those Champions League spots.
Berbatov had a dream to play for Manchester United and to play Champions League football, both more important than his bank balance. After all, if our new striker was just interested in money, he would have at least called City back and hear what they had to offer. He didn’t want to know though, because they weren’t Manchester United and they couldn’t offer him Champions League football.
The seasons before Spurs signed him, he’d scored 24 and 26 goals per season, including 5 goals in the Champions League in 2005. What did Spurs have to do with his blossoming? If anything, they held him back!
People compare this situation to that of Cristiano Ronaldo, but it just doesn’t weigh up to me. Ronaldo wanted to swap one club for another and whilst Real Madrid would have paid him more, I don’t think this was his motivation. However, as a Champion of England and of Europe, he wasn’t being held back at United. Berbatov was being held back though, being denied the opportunity to play alongside and against the best talents in the World in the Champions League. With Spurs finishing 5th the season before, the club will have talked the talk, insisting it wouldn’t be long until they were playing in the competition for Europe’s elite. It never happened though.
There are so many victims in all of this — not least the 36,000 who turn up every other week at White Hart Lane and who dared to dream just like Berbatov did. The only winners are the ‘Big Four.’ For it is the super powers such as United and Liverpool that turn players’ heads and, in the process, leave lesser clubs crippled.
Of course, Venables, it’s only the top 4 who turn player’s heads, isn’t it?
“We are obviously going to have to deal with a lot of speculation,” said Paul Ince in June. “But as far as I’m concerned, I want David here next season and I’m looking forward to seeing him on 7th July for pre-season training.”
During the same week, Blackburn chairman, John Williams, confirmed that they did not want David Bentley to leave, despite his pleas. “There is only one player who has publicly stated he would like to leave,” said Williams. “Mark Hughes has said before, with my support, ‘no you can’t’ to David Bentley.”
A month later, Bentley was revealed as a Spurs player. So, is Bentley a greedy bastard? Does he not care about Blackburn’s dream? Are Spurs bang out of order for signing a player the club didn’t want to sell?
Let’s face it, career wise, Spurs are a step down from Blackburn, finishing four places behind the north west club last season. However, Spurs would be able to offer more pay than Blackburn, so if anyone is concerned about their bank balance, it’s Bentley, not Berbatov!
For most clubs, there’s always going to be another club that is bigger or better than yours, which will offer your players more benefits that your club can. It might be trophies, it might be a bigger bank balance, it might be football from a division above, it might be football in Europe, but in most circumstances, there will always be somewhere that appeals more to your players.
For Bentley, the London lifestyle and inflated pay packet appealed more than anything Blackburn had to offer. For Berbatov, the chance to play for Manchester United and in the Champions League appealed more than anything Spurs had to offer. That doesn’t make Bentley the bad guy, or Berbatov. In ordinary life, us normal people move from job to job, seeking better pay, more perks, improved job satisfaction, and nobody bats an eyelid. I realise the two situations aren’t directly comparable, as I don’t have 70,000 people singing my name when I do something well at work, all investing their time and energy in supporting me.
I don’t think club-hopping is a wise move, and nobody likes to see one of their best loved players looking for a way out, but essentially, if a player can improve their career, either with trophies or salary, should they be held personally responsible for the failure of the club they leave behind?
Ol’ Venables is just a whinging bastard who needs to get a grip of reality. If Blackburn were scraping around the bottom of the table, with just 2 points from a possible 18, then maybe one of their old managers could be picking up a few quid from a trashy tabloid slamming the behaviour of Bentley. As it is, we have to listen to this wideboy mouthing off about our player. I can only imagine how far he’ll go when Spurs get relegated this season…
Dont forget how Spurs got their manager Mr Ramos last year aswell, it wasnt exactly all above board. The Sevilla Chairman went nuts.
Or how Spurs grabbed the young lad from Crystal Palace – John Bostock, paid £750,000 after a tribunal, and Simon Jordon went mental after that too. Spurs arent exactly whiter than white. They blame everyone apart from themselves, and thats why they’ll struggle to get their house in order.
El Tel needs to stick to the cocktails and sunbeds…
Doesn’t terry tibbs I mean terry vegetable waffle on…
My obvious thoughts are prob like everyone else is that spurs are playing sh1te as a team, just like last season and the season before so no change and he obviously wants a dig, or a assistant job at spurs, but not a mention about united nearly got berb before going to spurs but missed the deadline(peter kenyon fault), well I blame him anyway even if it wasn’t ;0), muppet..
I always thought old fat head terry.v said one player doesn’t make a team, huuuum…
You can always tell when a manager is looking for a job when he comes out with critism for other teams and players, like he knows something everone else doesn’t
He’s been hanging out with gazza again.
“greed, mismanagement, egos and selfishness” Thats rich commimg from him.
One can say no more than:
What a prat Terry Venables turned out to be.
Actually, I think the person to blame for Tottenham’s situation now is actually their chairman, Levy. Had he commissioned Berbatov’s move earlier, Ramos would have gotten his new striker alot earlier, and Ramos would have been able to get the team training together. Now, it is as if Tottenham started the season without pre-season, so no surprises they are not clicking as a team
Tottenham have only themselves to blame. They knew for months United wanted Berbatov (hence their risible official complaint) and they also knew the player wanted to go to Old Trafford. They then spent the whole summer trying to find another buyer, and when that failed they tried to act clever in delaying any deal to the last minute, to screw the max out of United, still hoping right up to the end they’d get a bigger offer. It was a crazy tactic, even if they got a couple of million extra, because they left themselves with no time to buy replacements for Berbatov, not to mention Keane.I have no sympathy for Spurs, who treated Martin Jol, an honourable and decent man , like sh*t.However, I do feel sorry for long-suffering Tottenham fans, who traditionally understand good football. Having seen the great Spurs teams of the 60s (one of my earliest Red memories was seeing Spurs demolish United 4-1 at White Hart Lane in 1960) I could almost weep for their fans now. Almost.
Terry… get a job ya cunt…
Spurts are more than happy with the money they got…as they were with Carrick…
Fuckin ell, anyone would think we paid peanuts to get him… we didnt we paid top dollar… and spurts, terry “aint got a job” venables can go get fucked as far as im concerned…
No one player is bigger than a club… and if they cant utilise the players which they have bought, then that is tough wankypoos as far as im concerned…
I am right by saying £100m spent since Ramos took over?? Well if you are bottom of the league after spending that dough even though 2 players have left… then you aint got a defence… like venables aint got a defence for his dodgy fake tans and outfits..
Terry… do us a favour … rather than commenting on Uniteds business.. give Trinny and Susannah a call and sort ya tanned barnet out ya muppet.
Excellent article. Venables is a twat.
I expected to see this on here after reading it today… and had exactly the same thoughts as you.
If he isn’t in the papers trying to grab attention when flirting with Newcastle he is ranting about total shite in the sun! For a man who really hasn’t done anything useful in football, especially over the last few years, I have no respect for his opinions.
The Sun: El Tel, be controversial, you little bitch.
El Tel: Ok Daddy.
Tott don’t know what they’re doing.
El Tel forgets to mention what must of been internal strife at White hart lane, MR D Levy , Treatment of Martin Jol . Wasted transfer revenue , The list goes on. But why let truth get in the way for a few seconds fame in a red top article (plus a few sheckles in the ole bank account eh Tel).
Levy tried to blakmail us…commoli doesnt know what he’s doing…spent millions yet got nowhere…2nd biggest spenders this summer….money to burn…..still got decent players…..poyet wants to leave.
how is all that our fault terry??????
p off you bung taker