It is well known that the media have a habit of building you up only to knock you down and Fleet Street are starting to chip away at Tottenham Hotspur in the past few weeks. The knives are certainly out and how Spurs respond to it that will define whether they’ll continue to rise, or spectacularly fall.
I suppose the positive press was nice while it lasted and the Spurs faithful will have to accept that now being established as a top five club and dining at the top table in Europe will see them under greater scrutiny and open to more criticism than others. Rather than look upon Tottenham as the breath of fresh air they have been in Europe and the Premier League, it seems that the order of the day is to focus on the best ways of derailing the football club.
Whether it is looking to drive a wedge between Daniel Levy and Harry Redknapp with persistent talk of streamlining the squad; highlighting frictions between the likes of Van der Vaart and the manager, while the misquoting Gareth Bale over his future at White Hart Lane are just some of the little stories that the press are hoping will manifest into bigger headlines in the coming weeks, especially if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League next season. Why they feel the need to plant seeds of content is beyond me and further highlights their desperate need to create a story.
I brought this very subject up with Neil Ruddock the other day and he suggested that the problem with the modern media is that in the old days the journalists could get close to the players, befriend them and share stories over a drink; however in the modern era that doesn’t happen. Clubs are strict on what their players can say and the relationship between them and the press is now practically non-existent they have to look elsewhere for their stories as they aren’t being fed sufficient information on a weekly basis. Some journalists therefore have little to do other than create their own stories, despite how negative and particularly damaging it could prove to be.
Unfortunately it appears to that be Tottenham have taken over from City in being the media’s plaything and they’ll continue to attempt to create divisions and unrest. The club and the supporters shouldn’t take the bait or give them the satisfaction by reacting to their negativity and provocation, but look to what appears to be a positive future at White Hart Lane. They have made giant strides and laid down the foundations for a side that could be capable of challenging for the title in the next few years, although you won’t hear a press man saying that; there just isn’t enough scandal in that I guess.
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