Tottenham - Off to Reading, Where The Drama May Become a Crisis

Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy took a huge gamble when he sacked Harry Redknapp, replacing him with young gun Andre Vilas-Boas, a man who got the boot at Chelsea after just 9 months in charge.

OK, the jury was out on Redknapp, and Spurs fans were questioning his commitment (was he looking for a swan-song as England boss ?), and his tactical ability (which against top managers did often appear sadly lacking).

But at least Harry delivered - two fourth place Premier League finishes, and one fifth (the best in the club's Premier League history to date). Just how many Tottenham fans truly now believe that attaining these dizzy heights are a realistic prospect this season with Vilas-Boas ?

Sure, Tottenham got off to a lousy start last season, and only missed out on a Champions League place due to a number of freak Chelsea performances. Three games in last term, Tottenham had bagged 3 points from 3 games, just one more than they have after the same number of fixtures this term.

But let's look a little deeper. At the start of last season, Spurs lost their opening two games to Manchester United and Manchester City (who went on to finish in the top two Prem slots), and beat Wolves away. This term, under AVB, Tottenham lost the opener away at Newcastle, and then dropped points at the Lane against both West Brom and Norwich City. And the pressure is now on big time to get 3 points at Reading on the 16th - or the drama suddenly becomes a full-blown crisis.

One Tottenham fan told Here Is The City: 'I can't believe that we are now headed to Reading needing a result. We have got off to a dreadful start, and I have questions about the appetite of the players, our transfer policy, the ability of our new manager and the motivation of Levy in getting rid of Redknapp'.

He continued: 'This is all too familiar for Spurs fans - Levy sticks his neck out and appoints a foreign manager who hasn't proved himself in the Premier League. Results don't go our way and Levy, the man who is to blame for the appointment in the first place, either forces out the manager, or sacks him. Isn't this the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome ? It's madness'.