11 points clear at that stage of the season, it was signed, sealed and delivered, only 1 organisation in the history of sport could have ****ed it up
guaranteed
Oh i agree, unfortunately
11 points clear at that stage of the season, it was signed, sealed and delivered, only 1 organisation in the history of sport could have ****ed it up
guaranteed
Vertonghen was lined up for the summer lets not forget- i don't think it's unlikely that after two first choice targets of Cahil/Samba he was happy for a stop gap.
You do realize we were 3rd and looking the best team in the country at this point? im not sure why everyone now thinks we needed major investment halfway through the season to see us over the line.
I remember Saudi Sportswashing Machine investing midway through the season the year they ****ed a similar lead to us up - worth bearing in mind next time someone talks about it guaranteeing us 3rd...
Definitely not kick backs.No I really don't. Everyone knows Arry loves spending money, so why would he settle on Nelsen and Saha? Especially when he admitted who he wanted to sign.
11 points clear at that stage of the season, it was signed, sealed and delivered, only 1 organisation in the history of sport could have ****ed it up
guaranteed
IMO the transfer window of Jan '12 was pretty far down on the list of reasons for us throwing 3rd away.
Regardless of the uncertainty attached to any signing (let alone a January signing), no player would have guarded against the systemic problem that had been setting us up for a downfall all season.
Many advocate playing the same in 'week-in, week-out'. As chief of football's soundbite phalanx, Redknapp took this to the extreme.
It worked a charm for the first half/two-thirds of the season - but playing the same first team in every league and domestic cup match meant that fatigue built up in our best players across the board. Our entire team collapsed. Physically and mentally, we were spent by Spring.
One or two signings would not have prevented the other nine or ten first-teamers from hitting the wall; Redknapp managed his squad's physical and mental endurance terribly.
I know you're consistent on that Jurgen, fair play, that comment was more in referernce to the recent discussions on the board where Levy is made out as cheif culprit for the 11/12 collapse (something i strongly disagree with)
I agree we've been in situations where reinforcments were required and we haven't got them - most notably AVBs first Jan when we only had Defoe/Adebayor as forwards - and it's a problem, hopegully the revamp of the transfer team over the last year or so will limit the chances if this being a reacurring theme in the future. Im not sure if you specifically meant Jan of 11/12 but if so i think this is the sticking point : i don't think we was crying out for strengthening in any positions really, not when you consider the players at the club who weren't being utilised.
Serious relegation fears...
Levy was not responsible for the collapse in 2011/2012.
Redknapp wanted January reinforcements, he wants reinforcements in every window. Redknapp gets bored/changes his mind a lot.
If you consider the squad we had in 11/12, those bitching and moaning about Levy not signing Cahill should consider the following:
CBs:
King
Dawson
Gallas
Kaboul
Two club legends and two players signed by Redknapp. Not exactly short of quality, or incapable of delivering better form than was shown in the run-in.
Forwards:
Adebayor and Defoe were on the books, two top-quality forwards, in a 1 up-front system.
The club was doing well, we had strength in depth. The need to pay over the odds to sign players in January was not there.
No, it was as mixed a topic as anything was and no it wasn't desperately needed, for the many reasons put forward so far in this thread. There was plenty on here at the time who said as much, and even some, including myself, who were happy enough with Saha and Nelsen.
Funny thing is Nelsen actually came here and played well in the games selected - Saha went from a 'masterstroke' after the Saudi Sportswashing Machine game to proof of Levy stitching HR up several games later.
Steff i agree, said it at the time, said it everytime the topic crops up - you don't give a manager money to spend if he's walking out the door in 5 months not to mention we didn't actually need first team signings what with us being pretty awesome up tonthat point.
We didn't NEED Cahil by the way, we was in for him that window to try and steal a march on our rivals signing him on a free in the summer - as in maybe he'd prefer to sign for us now than he would wait and sign for Chelsea in the summer - but alas, no unsurprisingly he chose them over us
Funny thing is Nelsen actually came here and played well in the games selected - Saha went from a 'masterstroke' after the Saudi Sportswashing Machine game to proof of Levy stitching HR up several games later.
Steff i agree, said it at the time, said it everytime the topic crops up - you don't give a manager money to spend if he's walking out the door in 5 months not to mention we didn't actually need first team signings what with us being pretty awesome up tonthat point.
We didn't NEED Cahil by the way, we was in for him that window to try and steal a march on our rivals signing him on a free in the summer - as in maybe he'd prefer to sign for us now than he would wait and sign for Chelsea in the summer - but alas, no unsurprisingly he chose them over us
IMO the transfer window of Jan '12 was pretty far down on the list of reasons for us throwing 3rd away.
Regardless of the uncertainty attached to any signing (let alone a January signing), no player would have guarded against the systemic problem that had been setting us up for a downfall all season.
Many advocate playing the same in 'week-in, week-out'. As chief of football's soundbite phalanx, Redknapp took this to the extreme.
It worked a charm for the first half/two-thirds of the season - but playing the same first team in every league and domestic cup match meant that fatigue built up in our best players across the board. Our entire team collapsed. Physically and mentally, we were spent by Spring.
One or two signings would not have prevented the other nine or ten first-teamers from hitting the wall; Redknapp managed his squad's physical and mental endurance terribly.