It is very hard to look at Tottenham at present and not show envious glances in their direction. Defoe, Crouch, Kranjcar and of course the main man Redknapp himself have ensured that the respective football club’s have gone full circle with us down at the bottom (as Spurs were) and them in the upper echelons of the Premier League vying for a Champions League spot. It is a tough one to take; however I doubt many Spurs fans or any neutrals in general will be shedding any tears at our plight.
Times are hard on the South Coast, that is no question and the criminal way the Premier League are doing their level best to make our lives harder, firstly by taking away our TV payment and secondly preventing us for entering in the loan market to bolster our squad. That £7m could have gone a long way in paying off some debt and help salvage the club from going out of business, a genuine possibility given its current state, however it appears that the welfare of players rather than the possible loss of one of its members is of greater significance the likes of Scudamore and co.
It appears we are on our own here and our agenda has to simply be to stay in the Premier League at all costs. While our financial plight is ropey now, you can only imagine what it will be in should the club drop out of the Premiership and all its riches that it brings. This current squad has to be preserved at all costs, even if it does mean that the Al Faraj brothers have to put their hands into their pockets further and pay-off the relevant debts to keep us afloat. As successful businessmen they must know that the importance to stay in the Premier League out ways the easy option of selling key figures, who could help us stay in this division, to help service the debt. Well you like to think they will.
Why Tottenham have taken key players from us in the past 12 months, for prices well below market value, I read in the week in the Express that they are supposedly going to come in as some sort of saviour and bring Younes Kaboul back to White Hart Lane in a deal that will allow repayments that we currently owe Tottenham to be waived, whilst bringing in funds to enable us to pay off various creditors. As I suggested before that the ultimate aim of the club has to be to stay in the Premiership, therefore we have a damn sight better chance with Younes in the team than without and therefore the club must do everything they can in order to keep him. After all the club has a far greater chance to survive as a business being in the Premier League and the financial rewards it brings, rather than being relegated to the Championship and therefore the owners cannot afford to resolve our issues by selling our top players like Younes Kaboul. They need to take on the debt themselves for the time being, because let’s be honest they won’t get much back for their investment, should we fall out of the league. They need to ignore Tottenham’s millions and look to give Grant every chance to pull off the great escape.
Written By Jim Preston