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Secondly, they need a period of stability. In recent seasons, they've gone through to many managers. Most neutral observers rated Martin Jol highly but he paid the price for ambitions which perhaps were unrealistic. Similarly, Juande Ramos wasn't given the time that Manchester United afforded Alex Ferguson, despite the fact that Ramos secured Spurs a League Cup title. For Spurs to take the step up to the next level will require the owners to realise that Rome wasn't built in a day and lasting success comes from having patience and having belief in the person that you've appointed.

The third element which needs to fall into place is an understanding that winning ugly is permissible. Spurs teams, too often, seem to only be able to raise their game for glamorous matches; hence the fact that they tend to do well in cup matches. However, to obtain league success, you have to be able to go to place like Bolton, Stoke or Wigan on a cold wet December's day and grind out a win. That's what teams like Man Utd and Chelsea do and points picked up that way are worth the same as points picked up through thrilling free-flowing champagne football.

The 2008/09 season once again has demonstrated that Spurs are a long way short of their ambition of breaking into the top four. Their initial quest is to rise to the top of the aspiring second tier of Premier League teams. They are competing with the likes of Everton, Aston Villa and Man City to be the best of the rest and it is only once they can consistently achieve that goal that they might be able to make the big four sweat.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T ottenham_Hotspur#Honours

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