Ain't no pleasing you.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 6:57PM

guest-blog by Chris King

When is it no longer acceptable to complain? To moan about a service
provided, an experience gained or an attitude presented to you?
What makes it unacceptable? Do you have to take in to consideration
everything that has gone before – to apply a “mus’n’ grumble” attitude
to everything you do – as hey, there is always going to be someone far
worse off than you; someone below you – way below you.
When do you hand over your right to complain? As soon as UEFA doles
out their 30 pieces of TV silver; or does it go back further than that –
to Eastlands last term, to when Harry signed, to when Jason Dozzell
went back east?
This is the picture currently being presented to Spurs fans – fans
who feel they want to exercise their right to politely point out where
the team has gone wrong over the last couple of months. To comment,
complain even criticise (lick windows and howl at the moon as some in
the media are suggesting us “nutters” do). Yet we are being reliably
informed that we are clueless; that we have no right to moan about this
past season – as this is the best it has ever been (since circa Sky and
all that).
Swallow your penance, shut up and accept your lot.
But what if you are one of those book learning types; you know –
those that can read. Can look at a set of results, the names in a squad;
understand maths sufficiently well to add up points that could (read:
should) have been gained against those clubs below yours. What if you
then came to the conclusion that all was not right? That something had
gone wrong; horribly wrong – and the slight swagger you presented to the
world back in March – was now a hunched shuffle, which had you sloping
back in to the pack – to where most believe you truly belong.
City beating us was no great shock last night – eggs, paper bags, and
the geek’s even nerdy dad could have Spurs in a rumble right about now.
Yet if you read twitter last night, or skimmed through the obituaries –
sorry – I mean match reports this morning - you’d think we were just
popping off cloud nine for a pint of milk, a decent keeper; and we’ll be
back amongst the big boys before next season was but a few weeks old.
It was official – we weren’t allowed to complain. We weren’t allowed
to pluck figures like one win in 10 (I appreciate it’s more, I just like
round figures) out of the cold, hard facts. We weren’t allowed to
comment on the apparent lack of desire at times against West Ham, West
Brom or Blackpool.
We weren’t allowed to question the tactical acumen applied to the
team selection in those game, or last night – or the switches made, and
the personnel introduced.
Unbeknown to Spurs fans, a new law was passed across the land placing
the penalty of treason on any negative comments directed at the Red
Top’s new “King of Hearts”. Harry is lauded as a very good manager who
had a bad run with a few dodgy decisions, sendings off, injuries – it
was always someone else’s fault.
But what if we want to complain? What’s stopping us?
Well there’s the ever so slightly patronising undertone that we’ve
been shockingly bad for so long that, To Dare – is apparently above us.
We should be happy with the fact that we’ve beaten AC and Inter Milan –
we’ve had a run in the Champions League that no one expected of us, and
that we took our beating against Madrid like men.
If there’s a Spurs fan out there that can’t find a positive from the
season, then there is a little more than something wrong with them – and
in fairness, to those baying for Harry’s head, only Vicente del Bosque
would get the sack after some of our European results this term – but
there is no disputing that our season was derailed sometime in March –
and if we can’t moan, then at least let us ask why it all went so wrong?
I don’t buy in to the notion that the European experience did for us.
We’ve been all over clubs at times – West Ham at home, City home and
away – and what have we got to show for it? If we can’t criticise Harry,
do we point the finger of blame at Dear Mr Levy? – who is so cunning in
his transfer bargaining that he left us a striker light, and gave us
Pieenar – a player who appears to have left what form he had, back up in
Liverpool – no doubt a victim of that gang that targets the prized
possessions of their local players.
But we can’t moan – nor question. So what do we do? We do what all
Spurs fans do at such times, we argue with each other. If no one is
prepared to listen, we find someone to at least shout over the top of on
the same subject matter; though for once, we all seem to be shouting
the same things.
No Journos will return our tweets, opposition fans only see the folly
in our arguments – we’re no longer the darlings – back to being the
overly expectant, laughing stock we’ve been since the ‘80s.
If last season delivered the earth, this season promised the moon and
the stars as well. There was, daft as it now seems - the faint glimmer
that we might even be the club to take the title race in to May. Looking
at our last 13 league games, the teams we’ve played and the points we
dropped – would it really have been so daft?
Though I guess it is not really our fault. United, Chelsea and
Arsenal are where they supposedly belong – City have bought their place
at the top table, and Liverpool – well, they’re just the Liverpool of
old; same efficiency, same manager, same reliance on the back pass to
the keeper. So if it feels like we robbed ourselves of glory; chances
are it just wasn’t meant to be.
So if you feel like moaning – ask yourself a few questions: are we
better than we were under Francis? Have we enjoyed some fantastic
European nights down the lane this term? If the Red Tops want Harry for
England, surely he’s still the man for us, right? If we’d have won half
of those last 13 games, would we be back in the Champions League next
year?
Actually, don’t ask that last question; it’ll only cause you to question, to moan….. To ultimately, be wrong!

lol great write up baz and so true ..

i gone through loads of replys but thats 2 long to give a sensible and rash reply this time of night lol i been out all night so ill read this one 2mz nite