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As the title suggests, this is indeed a tale of three seasons. Nope, this is not your usual spring-summer-winter tale. Nor does this resemble the Shahid Kapoor-Sonam Kapoor starrer ‘Mausam’, the movie in which the seasons were agonisingly long. This is the story of a team called Tottenham Hotspur, a team that is based in North London and have this cozy little home in White Hart Lane.
Like any other typical tale, this one has a prologue, or rather a flashback as I call it. It’s 2009-10, and Spurs seemed to be finally getting out of their perennial ‘underachiever’ tag. Having finished 8th the earlier season after a poor start and lost the League Cup final to Manchester United on penalties, Spurs were ready to take the big leap finally. And they did – a really big one.
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2009-10: Rise of the Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur achieved their highest league finish ever in the Premier League era – they finished 4th, narrowly pipping Manchester City to the final Champions League spot. Jermaine Defoe had his best season ever, the Englishman scoring 24 goals in all competitions, 18 of them being were in the league. Luka Modric emerged as the midfield marshal for Spurs’, a remarkable contrast from a rather poor first season. Ledley King and Michael Dawson were rock-solid at the back, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto slowly made himself indispensable to Harry Redknapp. Heurelho Gomes, though erratic at times, continued to pull off miraculous saves in goal. And last but not the least, there was this little-known-before Welshman whose time was soon to come.
Then came 2010-11, the season most would remember as Manchester United ‘knocking Liverpool off their f*****g perch’ (and getting another hiding from Barcelona). But it was also the year of Tottenham’s European fairytale, a tale that saw them overcome initial qualifying hurdles to become one of the most attractive teams to play in their Champions League debut season and going on to reach the last eight.
2010-11: A tryst with Europe
Harry Redknapp’s wheeler-dealer skills were again on display when he snapped up Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid for a bargain price of £8 million on deadline day. And the Dutch attacking midfielder proved to be worth every penny, if not more. Gareth Bale finally arrived on the world stage, when he amazed one and all with his dribbling, ball control, speed and finishing on the left flank and put in glittering performances both in Europe as well as the league. Luka Modric, though operating as a deep-lying playmaker, became the fulcrum of every counterattack. William Gallas, a free signing from arch-rivals Arsenal in the summer, proved to be another masterstroke as his experience was vital in the absence of the frequently injured King.
However, the real problem lay in the forward line. While Tottenham had the talented and experienced quartet of Defoe, Crouch, Pavlyuchenko and Keane in their ranks, the goals just didn’t come. For some time, van der Vaart and Bale made up for the lack of goals from the strikers but whenever they were sidelined or had to be rested, the effect was there for all to see. This lack of goals eventually meant a lot of draws in the league, which eventually culminated in Spurs finishing 5th in the league and missing out on the Champions League.
Now we come back to the present day after a prolonged prologue. Redknapp is still here (which continues to defy his reputation of being a ‘nomadic’ manager) and he brought in Scott Parker, the former West Ham captain. When his attempts to bring a world-class striker failed, he turned to Manchester City’s out-of-favour striker Emmanuel Adebayor and brought him to White Hart Lane on a season-long loan.
2011-12: Best team in England?
And how have the two vindicated him. While Parker has added steel to a strong midfield and liberated Modric to play a more attacking role, Adebayor has linked up very well with the likes of Bale and van der Vaart. 9 goals and 7 assists this season stand testament to the contribution the Togolese forward has made to the Spurs’ league campaign so far. Younes Kaboul and Kyle Walker have matured and are slowly coming into their own, whereas veteran Brad Friedel continues to defy age for another season with assured displays between the sticks.
Redknapp’s reputation for bringing out the best in his players has proved itself once again. Spurs are on a great run at the moment, having lost just one league game since the arrivals of Parker and Adebayor. And now that they are out of the Europa League, they no longer have the distraction of playing on Thursday nights. Their good form even prompted Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to state that Spurs were ‘by far the best team in the country at the moment’. And given they can hold on to this kind of form, few would bet against them featuring in the Champions League next season.
