Drawing Level: Dempsey's New Digs



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By Joe Schackman

Better news off the pitch than on it for the Spurs over the last few weeks.

I’m three full weeks into the Drawing Level experiment and so far I’ve noticed two things. Premier League soccer is on way too early on Saturday mornings, and oh yeah: The Spurs kind of suck.

Is three games into my fandom too soon to be pissed off? Probably. But after spending years rooting for the Mets, Jets and Knicks, it’s hard to suppress that sense of impending doom. Especially when Tottenham has the same maddening knack for collapsing down the stretch.

In each match, the Spurs found a new way to throw points away. Tied with Newcastle in the first, they handed the Magpies an 80-minute penalty kick that would become the game-winning score. Their subsequent performances were almost identically disappointing, marked by a goalless and mediocre first half, a go-ahead goal around the 70th minute, and then a crushing equalizer minutes before what should have been a victory. Against West Brom, the tying goal came in the 90th minute; versus Norwich City, the 85th. Sloppy play in the waning minutes deprived them of a fast start to the season.

There is reason to be hopeful, though. Clint Dempsey is joining the Spurs at White Hart Lane in a high-profile move across London. The attacking midfielder is arguably the best player on the U.S. National team and easily the best American playing abroad. He’s coming off a monster year with Fulham, and should fill the midfield void left after Tottenham sold Luka Modric to Real Madrid. He’s also a personal favorite of mine, and I can’t wait to watch Dempsey take the field for my adopted sons.

The team also grabbed their keeper of the future in Frenchman Hugo Loris (from Lyon) and replaced midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart with Moussa Dembele (from Fulham). Dembele scored in his Spurs debut in what we can hope is a sign of things to come. Lloris looks set to back up American Brad Friedel, who turned in a strong game against Norwich.

Tottenham now just needs a top flight striker to pair with Dempsey. Emmanuel Adebayor is far removed from his best days, and from what I’ve gathered, the absence of a scorer up top is a problem that’s carried over from the last few seasons.

But it’s something to build on. I’m still very early in this new relationship with Tottenham, and I’d be crazy to think my rooting interest would make them all of the sudden play like Europe’s future champions. It would have been nice, though. Yet if the road is going to be bumpy, a few close losses will at least only endear me more and more to the team. I’ve learned that one from experience: The Mets and Jets haven’t given me a ton of positive memories, and their games can never come soon enough.

It might have just been my hangover, but each of Tottenham’s disappointing performances stung. And that’s a good sign. Even if just a little, I care. My ties to the Spurs are getting stronger.

Joe Schackman is a co-founder and editor at Began in '96. He is attempting to turn himself into a fan of European football.