Spurs v Norwich, Mon 4/9 10AM @ Perdition

it's not about losing your religion, metaphorically or otherwise. it's practical thinking. let's put it in normal terms...

you and your group at work are doing really well, led by your boss who came in at a bad time and turned things around by letting everyone do what they're good at doing. it all looked peaches and you were all going to get promotions and big bonuses for as long as this guy was the boss and let you all do your thing.

but then you heard he was going to a bigger firm. and not taking you with him. and the most talented guy in your group now decides he's definitely leaving even though he was considering staying if the boss did. but bonuses, whatever they will be, aren't going to get paid for another six months.

so now everyone is just trying to not lose money instead of trying to make it because they know the party's ending after this bonus cycle anyway, but like the prevent defense this never works and you all start losing money. people are spending half their day looking for new jobs, updating their cv, etc. instead of doing work that will pay off next year when no one knows if they'll be here.

the threat of the new boss when your boss leaves is always that he'll decide you're surplus and he's got a guy who he likes better for your job. so even if you want to stay after the boss leaves, you're thinking about the future in a different way then you were when everything was peaches.

professional or not - and this happens in every field - performance is definitely going to be affected when the boss and the best performer are both lame ducks waiting to jump ship. no one's job is safe and, as such, no one gives a shit about the future that they might not be a part of when it comes.

the right thing, in hindsight, would have been to let harry go as soon as capello quit. water under the bridge for levy.

Vid, I don't think the analogy holds up. None of these guys are worried about not getting their bonuses or not having their manager take them with him. They were all playing well and feeling secure in the Top 3 despite Harry being tied up in court, which threatened to be a far greater distraction than having the FA come calling. They're all well compensated and will continue to be whether or not Harry's there.  Bale (who's even said Harry should take the FA job) and Modric know their stars will continue to rise whether here or elsewhere - though I hope that "elsewhere" is pushed off into the future as far as possible. As for the others, Ade's a rental anyway, VDV doesn't like getting pulled at the 60 min. mark, Defoe is always upset with his lack of playing time - don't see any of them tanking it because Harry might leave. As for the others, BAE is secure, Brad is a dependable vet, Walker was just named POTM. Parker seems to have the closest ties to Harry, and we'd be hard pressed to say he's ever not giving his all. King, well, he unfortunately might be wearing down, I can't blame the FA for that.

If anyone was distracted, as manhattanspur says, it would've been Harry himself, which would explain his questionable lineups of late. But then again, he would've been loads more distracted when he was facing jail time, yet there we were on the heels of Utd/City.

The biggest problems: a rough stretch in the schedule, lack of squad depth, Harry reacting slowly to in-game situations, and his infatuation with Saha and with experimenting with Bale on the right (particularly frustrating at Everton).

And I have to say it: I'm guessing Wigan is the only team that's lost more points to refereeing than Spurs have. Stoke away (obvious), Wolves home (phantom corner), City away (*two* red cards not given). Looking at possibly 8 pts out of 9 lost right there.

Ah well...onward. COYS.

manhattanspur wrote: He himself has been distracted (probably by thinking of how he can fit the golden triangle of Lampard, Rooney & Gerrard together at the Euros)

Jenks, granted I wasn't at WHL but Bale was a doubt going into the game because of the Sunderland injury, so we went in knowing his fitness was a concern. What's disappointing was he still seemed to be the only one offering any semblance of a consistent attack. And if his shot had bounced in off the crossbar, we go on to win and the next day everyone would be talking about his pace and passion. But he hits it one inch too high and we're talking about his being disinterested. VDV failed to convert point blank against Chelsea and Sunderland, but I doubt it's because he was disinterested or because he was stressing over beloved Harry possibly leaving for England. Players just miss, is all.

That said, it seems clear fatigue is playing a role. Biggest reasons we lost to Norwich were King getting bossed (game seemed to turn on a dime after that first scoring opportunity he gave up) and the midfield looking thin with Modric getting knocked off the ball. I'm a Mod fan but we've seen him get worn down at times by physical play, and not having Parker's support on Monday exposed that even more. The other big teams have the luxury of rotating their stars to stay fresh for crunch time, but we're forced to use the first team as much as possible because any alteration seems to jeopardize our whole style of play - esp. with the lack of activity at the transfer deadline and what we gave away on loan.

I think as a whole we're getting worn down and playing a little tight against these terms like Everton and Sunderland and Norwich that are neither playing for CL spot nor fighting relegation battles, and probably feel like they're playing with house money against one of the Top 4.

My opinion. COYS.