Consent Preferences Spurs Odyssey - Pleat - Hoddle "spat"
Spurs Odyssey Banner
January 12, 2025

Over 25 years of archives at Spurs Odyssey

Main Page
News and views from Paul Smith, and links to the interactive features of the Spurs Odyssey Site. [more..]
Features
Articles, reports, views, opinions, comments and other features all related to Spurs. [more..]
News

Harry Hotspur's valiant campaign goes on!

Buy this commemorative plate!

Match Reports
11.01.25
Latest News Stories
Check them out!
11.01.25
24/25 U-18 fixtures
Arsenal match postponed
10.01.25
Tamworth v Spurs FA Cup Preview
Ange has little scope for rotation
10.01.25
24/25 U-21 fixtures
Latest fixture dates
09.01.25
Spurs v Liverpool Carabao Cup SF(1) Report
Lucas has the energy, the goal, and the headlines!
09.01.25
24/25 First team fixtures and reports
Latest reports
09.01.25
24/25 First team Squad Numbers
Appearances, goals, cards
07.01.25
Latest Premier League Review
Matchday 20
07.01.25
Premier League Review Index
24-25 season
06.01.25
Remembering Our Jim as I reach 500
Giller's view
06.01.25
The Giller Index
Listing all of Norman Giller's articles for Spurs Odyssey
05.01.25
Spurs 1 Newcastle 2
Spurs' horrible run continues
05.01.25
Spurs 1 Newcastle 2
John Ellis's view
30.12.24
Spurs 2 Wolves 2
Another sub-optimal performance
27.12.24
Nottm Fst 1 Spurs 0
Spurs have the losing habit
09.12.24
Spurs Odyssey London Derby League Match reports
Since 1997
Press to blame for Pleat - Hoddle "spat"

The war of words between David Pleat and Glenn Hoddle, was inadvertently sparked off by Mr Pleat's candour, when intereviewed for The Times, but perpetuated with glee by the hacks from various arms of the press.

If you read the quotes that were attributed to David Pleat, such as Glenn being "obsessed with 3-5-2", then it would be difficult to argue factually with what was said. Mr Pleat has since said that with hindsight he should not have used the word "obsessed", but it is a fact. The wing-back formation was such an obsession with Hoddle that Spurs teams down to under 17 level were being forced to play it incessantly.

Of course there is a place for variety in tactics, but as I have written before, most teams were able to read the Spurs style like a book, and history shows that they often benefitted goal-wise too. This whole spat started after Pleat was interviewed before the televised game at Leicester, and you will find that most weeks, these games form the basis of lengthy features for the ardent football-reading public. Mr Pleat could hardly refuse to speak to the press on such an occasion, could he? Having been present at a number of question and answer sessions that Pleat has always been only too willing to attend, I do know that David Pleat finds it hard NOT to give a comment to questions, and it seems that on this occasion he was easily drawn into passing comment upon the ex-manager.

Following that, many papers leapt at the chance to spin negative headlines on Spurs, as is their wont, and often mis-construed Pleat's comments. For example, Pleat said about Hoddle words to the effect of - with my full support, Glenn "did" our money on Sergei Rebrov. Some papers even described this as Pleat criticising Hoddle over the money wasted on Rebrov. Well, Rebrov was actually bought when George Graham was manager, and what Pleat was saying was that Glenn acted with the board's support in letting Sergei go to Turkey on a loan deal, with little or no money coming Tottenham's way.

Perhaps Mr Pleat should not have made the comments about Glenn wanting to be the best player on the training ground, but clearly, the club had been worried about the lack of footballing progress after our ignominious cup exits last season. When Glenn was primed by the tabloid press, one of the things he complained about was Pleat effectively looking over his shoulder. I know that a year or two ago, Mr Pleat had an office allocated at Spurs Lodge, and as head of the football arm of the club, he of course had every right to oversee events at the training ground.

Of course it is a pity that Hoddle has been drawn to make bitter comments, after it looked as if he and the club had parted on fairly reasonable terms, but the results since his departure provide the evidence for the correct decision made. In Hoddle's last three games, Spurs conceded 10 goals - 6 of them in embarrassing home defeats against Fulham and Southampton. Pleat's Spurs have conceded only one in five games; remain unbeaten (at the time of writing); and have 4 clean sheets to their credit.

I know which of the two I would rather have in charge, although it can only be a benefit to the club to resolve the managerial vacancy sooner rather than later, to prevent any more of this tit for tat journalism.

Top of page | Back to Fixtures and Results

Statistics
Fixtures, appearances, current league table, form guide, reserves fixtures, and Spurs Honours. [more..]
Archives
Find match reports, appearances, goalscorers and features from previous seasons. [more..]
Pick of the Week
Every week we select a Spurs related site from the whole world wide web and highlight it in this section. [more..]
Links
View a comprehensive list of links to other Spurs related sites. (With a few extras) [more..]
About this site
· Overview
· History
· Contributors
Contacts
Site Owner
· Paul Smith

We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Full details van be found via the Spurs Odyssey Privacy Policy