Watching C4’s ‘Bring Back Star Wars’ last night it was difficult not to be reminded of Spurs. An incredibly over-hyped attempt to re-live past glories ending in all too fleeting glimpses of stars of genuine quality, key names missing resulting in a line-up featuring people who were either too mediocre or too short and a nagging sense that the whole thing was doomed from the start. Sound familiar?

Certainly, our start to the season thus far has been far too Phantom Menace in the expectation-meeting stakes for the liking of many of us.

That our season begins tonight is clear to all and it is as important as any game can be at this stage. Whilst on the face of it playing Bolton, Wigan, Stoke and Hull in 4 of our next 5 games makes it difficult to label tonight a must win; in terms of the psychology and momentum of the team it is a game Tottenham need to take 3 points from.

My feeling is our need will be greater and we will just nick it, kick starting a run of 3 or 4 weeks of football that will see the start to the season we wanted. Gomes looked excellent at Chelsea, Modric is settling and, fitness allowing, a back four of Corluka, King, Woodgate and Bale looks on paper as solid a defence as we’ve fielded in a long time.

With three deadline day signings likely to be on show plus four from the summer it is also a beginning for Ramos. Undermined by an already aborted season and a want away striker no more this is his Tottenham, both free of off-field distractions and playing competitive league football for the first time and though he must be given time and the patience of the fans, the honeymoon period is over and the chapter in which the success of his time in charge will be judged begins tonight.

Ramos’ current record of 10 wins, 10 defeats and 10 draws in the league as Spurs boss offers a symbolic relevance to tonight’s result as well as the more practical requirements. Other, more worrying stats are our failure to score more than once in a league game since March 22nd and having taken only 2 points from the 15 on offer in our last 5 premiership home games. Both provide damning evidence if needed of just how poor we have been in the league recently.

So with poor recent form, a new team and coming up against 1 of the toughest sides outside the top 4 you have to ask; why the optimism?

Well, with the transfer window shut and a new season beckoning; two things stand out as reasons to be cheerful.

We didn’t sign Stewart Downing and we’re not Newcastle.

Maybe the force is with us after all.