Fast forward four years to 2012 and once again we have all been blown away by the latest batman release and once again Spurs are to embark on another first full season with yet another manager. Now we all know the horror that followed in 2008 but I can’t help but notice so many similarities this time round also and I am now left worrying and believing, lightning is about to strike twice.
Firstly look at the two managers. Both are young, hungry and coming off the back of success on the continent but both unproven (AVB Chelsea hell aside) in the premiership and both perhaps lacking the real knowledge of the English game and what it really takes to challenge for the title here. Spurs have past form with foreign managers and it just seems that they do not work at Spurs. Gross, Santini and Ramos are the worse three managers of my twenty seven years supporting Spurs. And less we forget that like Ramos, AVB has arrived at Spurs under suspicious circumstances and following a manager who took us to the brink of the success we so crave.
2008 was also the summer that Spurs lost their star player, Dimitar Berbatov, to Man United and replaced him with a player not in the same class with Pavlyuchenko and this summer looks like the same thing could be happening with Luka Modric. Gylfi has looked impressive and at 22 is a great signing but can he replace Modric? I think anybody that says yes is in dream land. I’ll happily eat my own hat if he proves me wrong but selling your best players is never a step forward, even if they do want to leave.
The similarities don’t end there, we also lost our captain that year in Robbie Keane after he got his ‘dream move’ to Liverpool. Now I know this season King has been forced to retire but it still leaves a gaping hole in our squad that needs to be filled or have someone step up and be that leader every top club needs. Luckily for us this time round we have Michael Dawson who, if he stays fit, can be our new leader.