Firstly, I'm duty bound to point out that Spurs fans are far from alone in picking an individual player from their team on which to saddle the majority of the blame for their current, past or even future predicament. The sad fact is, however, that it is something we are particularly good at. If we take the beginning of the season, for instance, both Jenas and Paul Robinson held the accolade of Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Official Scapegoat™ and as the team floundered embarrassingly in the depths of the relegation zone these two players bore the brunt of the abuse on Internet message boards and on the terraces. Now that Ramos has inspired a turnaround in the clubs fortunes, Jenas has escaped the yoke around his neck, an achievement Robinson has been unable to match because his form deteriorated to such an extent that criticism of his performance was no longer within the realms of 'scapegoatery' but actually based on hard, depressing truth. These two players are not alone in feeling the wrath of misguided blame; At various points Lee Young-Pyo, Mido, Paul Stalteri and even the imposing figure of Edgar Davids have been saddled with the ire of the Tottenham faithful. Ominously, until Jonathan Woodgate arrived at the club to place a reassuring arm around his shoulder, there were alarming whispers regarding Michael Dawson.
It is important to point out that, during the periods in which these players, for want of a better word, enjoyed the unenviable status of Official Scapegoat, they weren't themselves devoid of blame. At various times each of the players listed had been responsible for shocking laxes in concentration, repeated poor performances or, in the case of Mido, of being over-weight and lazy. The problem wasn't that they were blamed for poor results but that they were blamed week-in, week-out and it gets to the point where it's just easier to blame one or two individuals rather than attempting to get to the heart of the problem, which is, in the most part a more general issue that is causing a malaise that is effecting far more than just a few players. The point being that, at the start of the season it is true that neither Robinson or Jenas were covering themselves in glory but that too much of the blame was placed at their feet, when the problems were far deeper than just the under performing of a few members of the squad.
Ever since he joined the club, Jenas has been an easy target, not just for his own fans but for the opposition. Here was a player of obvious ability and potential who was under-performing and drifting through games without barely registering his present on the pitch. At one point, in some eyes, he became a symbol of the national sides woes - "If Jermaine Jenas gets picked then what hope do we have?" What a fantastic way of building a players confidence! It is no coincidence that been since a man of stature and real belief has taken the helm at the club that these qualities have been more evident in Jermaine's game after years plagued by self doubt that meant he could not impose himself on matches.
Now the reason for stressing the example of Jenas is that his recent return to form has bought into focus the ridiculous practice of scapegoating players and his is an example that is of particular relevance to another of our players, Kevin Prince-Boateng, a player who has, over the past few months, become the subject (and the cause) of a fair amount of disgruntlement amongst the fans at White Hart Lane. Barely half a year into his first season with the club and it appears after just 19 appearances, many of which have been cameo roles from the bench, fans have already written the young German off.
Now don't get me wrong, Boateng's few performances have hardly been spectacular since his first Premiership start against Middlesbrough in early November but to have written him off so early on is ridiculous. A player so young needs time and support in order to full adapt to the rigours of life in a foreign country, let alone the demands of Premiership football. Yet from several misplaced passes and ill-advised and wild shots on goal, some have decided he is not of the required standard. The same could not be said of Adel Taarabt, who is generally the subject of much purring and hyperbole but has had a similarly low key impact since joining the club. The only difference between the two players, in fact, seems to be that Taarabt boasts crowd pleasing skills where, at least at the moment, Boateng prefers to keep it simple. In short, fans seem to want to give Taarabt time because he can dribble but because Boateng's merits are less obvious, they've decided they've seen enough. That it's arguably easier to impress out on the wing than in the centre of the midfield, at least superficially, should be taken into consideration although whether this is the case of not the criticism that some have levelled in the direction of Boateng is unfair.
The point is that yes Boateng needs to do more to impose himself on games and he needs to show more composure rather than being wasteful in possession. But these qualities can come with time. Sure there are some players of his age who matured and adapted very quickly (Cesc Fabregas) but those players are a rare breed. Others need time and support, something I believe Ramos, who obviously rates Boateng, will give to all our younger players. And writing him off so early on in his Spurs career? Both Nemanja Vidic and Partrice Evra were subjected to heavy criticism during their first seasons in England and now they look superb players (and they had significantly more experience than Boateng before moving to England).
Hopefully the example of Jenas will serve to highlight the futility of making scapegoats out of individual players. Kevin Prince-Boateng has a lot of time to prove himself at the club and I, for one, hope that he proves the doubters wrong. I'm not saying he's going to become a world beating player, I'm just saying give the kid, or the Prince, a chance.