NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK KEEP ON ROCKING

Spurs maiden CL campaign continues to amaze

The sight of an ageing Milan side being brought to an aggregate defeat at White Hart Lane by a young team of hungry hopefuls was a joy to behold on Wednesday night.

Here was a club that had lifted the European Cup on no fewer than nine occasions, and is steeped in history and expectance.

However, it also perhaps was a changing of the guard in European football. The likes of Nesta, Jankulovski and Seedorf are not likely to have many Euro campaigns left, whilst Spurs go from strength to strength with their young, attacking score-one-more-than-you philosophy.

It is still hard to believe that Spurs are in their debut season in the modern-era of the Champions League. There is no doubting that they have been a breath of fresh air to the competition. Their progress to the final eight of Europe’s elite only highlights even more, the quite sensational turnaround that Harry Redknapp has masterminded since his arrival at the club three years ago.

When he turned up at the club, it is no secret that Spurs were in a state of disarray. The Carling Cup success that they had enjoyed under Juande Ramos had faded significantly and they were only going in one direction: down.

Fast forward to the present day and Tottenham are an outfit whose displays are breathtaking, most notably on Champions League nights.

25 goals in ten games in Europe this season shows just how attack-minded they are. But do not think that they are only capable of outscoring opponents.

The endeavour the team displayed to keep a clean sheet against Milan showed that they are also capable of frustrating opponents when necessary.

If you glanced at the bench in that last 16, second leg, then the players at Redknapp’s disposal is just another sign that Tottenham are no longer an also-ran outfit. Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe and Ledley King (injury permitting) would have been dead-cert inclusions in any other Spurs starting line-up. The fact that Redknapp does not feel the need to include them from the start shows the trust that he places in the squad that he has spent the best part of thirty-six months building.

Whether Spurs European journey ends at the quarter-finals or not, Redknapp, his coaching staff and the entire Tottenham fans can all be proud of their achievement, and the quick-timing of it.

One thing for sure is that if their European form transfers into the Premier League, then many more nights like this will be taking place at “the lane” in the coming years.