The great PRETENDERS
IT IS hard to imagine in the Arsene Wenger era but there was a time when Tottenham and Arsenal were more or less equal.
In the late Seventies and early Eighties, both clubs lived off their Double-winning history, Tottenham’s from 1960-61 and Arsenal’s from 1970-71. Tottenham were the more likely challengers in the league; the 1984-85 season seeing them go head to head with Everton for the title, at least until April.
And it was Tottenham who had the superior European pedigree, UEFA Cup winners in 1984, a trophy they had also won in 1972 along with the Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1963.
It was only the arrival of Wenger in 1996 which solidified the status of each club and a generation has now grown up with the notion that Tottenham live in Arsenal’s shadow.
For 20 years now Arsenal fans have celebrated St Totteringham’s Day, that point in the season when it is no longer mathematically possible for Spurs to finish above Arsenal.
The most painful of those, perhaps, was last season. Not only did Tottenham see a title challenge fall apart but there was the further indignity of seeing Arsenal move above them on the final day.
It is 15 years since Daniel Levy became chairman when ENIC, the company controlled by billionaire Joe Lewis, took over Tottenham. At that time, Levy pledged to close the gap on Arsenal, bring through young players and build a stadium. It may have taken a decade and a half and 11 managers but he is at last in sight of fulfilling that vision.
The latest illustrations of the new stadium at White Hart Lane, which will open in 2018, look impressive. It will house 61,000 supporters, 568 more than the Emirates.
Wenger has, of course, been here before and endured many challenges from up the Seven Sisters Road in his tenure. And he is reluctant to consider just how much more of a threat Tottenham might become in their new stadium. ‘I don’t think about Tottenham like that,’ he said. ‘I think about Arsenal and to make Arsenal as big as possible. That is my job. It’s just down to how well we do. We have a strong fan base — maybe the strongest in London. As long as we do our job well, Arsenal will always be the strongest.
‘No position is guaranteed. Life is movement, competition is movement. But at the end of the day it’s decided by the quality of the team on the pitch. That is what the size of clubs is about and consistency of results at the top level. And that’s just down to us.
‘On a game like this you focus on your side. You do not go into your game thinking: “Oh, Spurs might have more spectators or fans in their new stadium”. You concentrate on your performance on Sunday. And no matter what happens, I believe it’s too early to have any prognosis on what will happen at the end of the season.’
Today’s derby comes at an unfortunate time for Spurs. The juxtaposition between their aspirations off the pitch and the shortfall on it was evident on Wednesday. An English record crowd of 85,512 watched a lame, disjointed 1-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris summed up the gap between the ambitions and the performance. ‘You can win, you can lose in football but the most important thing is to keep playing the right way and against Bayer Leverkusen that was not the case,’ said Lloris.
‘We need to be honest with each other. Maybe in the last few games in the Premier League we were a bit unfortunate in some games but you cannot pretend to be a challenger, you cannot pretend to be a big club in Europe if you are not ready to compete. Against Bayer Leverkusen, my feeling was that the team was not ready to compete because, under pressure, we lost our strength a bit. We didn’t create a lot, we made a lot of mistakes. I didn’t recognise the team.’
Hard words indeed but also an indication that Tottenham do finally aspire to be title challengers and to be a major European force.
Within the club there is a feeling that they have at least cleared one hurdle. There was a time, in the days of Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Carrick and Teddy Sheringham when, if Manchester United came calling, it was hard to hang on to players. ‘We’ve come through that,’ said one club insider. Now, only Real Madrid and their like can stalk Spurs, as they can most clubs.
‘The real shame was that the club couldn’t hang on to Gareth Bale. He was insistent on going and that was the only reason why he was sold. It was never the club’s aim to sell him and, had he stayed, he might have been the difference now.’
Certainly last season he might have nudged a hard-running, defensively resolute Mauricio Pochettino team over the line to a first title win in 55 years.
Levy’s supporters feel the chairman’s role has been under appreciated. ‘It’s maybe not a miracle but it’ s a terrific achievement that he has kept the club in the top echelons and balanced the books on crowds of just over 30,000 when Arsenal are getting 60,000 and Manchester United 75,000,’ said the source. And, it might be added, when Chelsea and Manchester City have been hugely subsidised.
However, the estimated £750million cost, some of which will be funded by naming rights, and the NFL games planned to take place, means that it will take some time before Tottenham can be properly up and running. As Arsenal discovered, stadium costs can hold you back in the short term.
But there is understandable pride at the club’s youth development which dovetails with Pochettino’s own enthusiasm for young players. In fact, Spurs are suffering. Bottom of the Under-23 Premier League Two at present but that is partly because Pochettino has brought the likes of Harry Winks, 20, Josh Onoma, 19 and Cameron Carter-Vickers, 18, into first-team training.
The club’s view is that the Premier League Two is for development rather than winning and those players need first-team experience. It is indicative of Pochettino’s commitment to academy players that he promotes them quickly. The
As long as we do our job well Arsenal will always be strongest ARSENE WENGER You cannot claim to be a big club in Europe if you are not ready to compete HUGO LLORIS
day Tottenham have truly made it however will be the day when they stop worrying about Arsenal and instead focus on matching Barcelona and Real Madrid.
While respectful of the rivalry, Lloris seems to have broader ambitions. ‘In football, you cannot fight only against one club,’ he said. ‘I can understand the importance between the fans — but that belongs to the fans. We are players. Of course they are a rival but that’s not only Arsenal. There are a lot of great teams in this league.
‘There will be a lot of expectation, a lot of motivation on Sunday and a derby is always important for players, for the fans, for the club, so I hope we’re going to bounce back and at least make a great performance. You win, you lose. But you cannot leave the pitch with that feeling we had after the Leverkusen game.’
But the last word falls to Wenger. ‘They have been more stable at the top in recent years,’ he said. ‘Though last year they did not play in the Champions League.’
He does not say it but he is surely thinking it. ‘Come back and speak to me when you have 19 successive years in the Champions League’ would seem to be the thinly veiled subtext to his comment.