monkeybarry
Jack Jull
What do you feel Townsend has to offer?
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I liked Erik Lamela before it was cool
- Thread starter SuprSi
- Start date
What do you feel Townsend has to offer?
DHSF
Les Ferdinand
Not saying we had to go for them, hell even I didnt know who they are then again it isnt my job.
Its funny but the players from the Dutch leagues in my view are more suited to this league than perhaps from other leagues yet people would say that its an easier league and they wouldnt be able to handle the pace here etc. Im all up for bringing in players from the Dutch or German leagues.
Baleforce
Arthur Rowe
i agree its not a right, but bearing in mind the strength of our squad and/or transfer funds each season since we first qualified for CL us not doing so has been underperformance
Our biggest mistake IMO was putting the league on the backburner in our CL season. We could easily have qualified again if we'd gone about it properly, but all the focus was on the glamour ties.
What strength? Pick out 3 or 4 players that would make it at either Chelsea or Emirates Marketing Project, and by make it I mean 1st choice at their position over the current incumbent, I seriously cannot think of ANY. In fact I can't think of many that would do the same at Arsenal or Liverpool or Man Utd the teams we're supposed to be challenging for 3rd and 4th with.
Mulletperm
Mauricio Taricco
Lloris, easily. Apart from him, nobody.
jurgen lineker
Radek Cerny
Basically what we saw at the start of last season (especially with England); pace, the potential for goals, the ability to take people on and a willingness to drive games forward and make something happen.
The issue currently with Townsend for me is that his game is a little too direct, he too often tries to make something happen when the opportunity to do so is just not there, and he also has a tendency to shoot far too often when a simple side-ways pass is the better option. If he can incorporate a bit of patience to his game then I think we’ll see his game possibly progress a fair bit. I won’t go as far as to say it will definitely progress as I still don’t feel even now that we have seen enough of him to make that sort of judgement, but it does have the potential to do so.
I wouldn’t start him ahead of Lamela, Eriksen or Chadli, I regard them three as our first-teamers, but i do still feel he has the ability to play an important role for the club.
Sorry GS, I'm not trying to have it both ways. I didn't want Lamela starting, I wanted Stambouli who can defend better than Lamela. And while Lamela keeps making huge mistakes I don't want him playing away against any of the top teams. We need to play it tight and mean against such teams, certainly while we're saddled with ENIC and their lack of ambition. Oh for an owner like City have.
They may have done, but seriously who cares? I remember Spurs fans turning their noses up at Jagielka and Young when they were at Sheff U and Watford respectively. Yet many got really excited by the two overpriced players we bought, who have disappointed to say the least, in Lamela and Soldado. So many football fans are clueless when it comes to signings/potential signings so why worry about their opinions?
EDIT Except of course some take their prejudices to the ground and boo/cheer accordingly, which is a genuine problem.
But what do we want, our fans supporting duffers or ****ging off players who actually achieve something with the club? Classic cases in recent years being Jenas, Dawson and Crouch who helped us to be far more successful than Lamela and Soldado, for example, have done, yet got lots more abuse for the privilege.
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Just to say I've been supporting Spurs for well over 50 years and vividly remember our first European Cup adventure, where we had a great chance of winning it. First time Spurs broke my heart was v Benfica in 62. It's because we've fallen so far from the greatness we had then, that I am so negative about the current set up and the way people are so accepting of the fact we now languish in Arsenal and Chelsea's shadow. In those days we were the top London team, indeed the top team in the country. Alas days long gone, and while we have owners like ENIC in charge, days that will never return.
When I'm at the ground where support actually matters I back the team 100%, but unfortunately so many don't and it's the negativity at the ground that has driven me away from the Lane. Anyone can be positive (or negative) on a message board, it's what you do at the game that counts as a fan.
Incidentally in those true 'glory glory' days of the late 50s/early 60s we outspent the likes of Arsenal, City, Chelsea and Liverpool, which is basically why we were much better than them. Billy Nick was backed by a board who allowed him to spend a fortune back then, doubtless if we had owners these days who would back a manager like that, we would have a chance of glory again.
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Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
That's not true. The players naturally eased off in some league games before we played the likes of Real Madrid but we definitely did not "ease off". United and Chelsea both had better teams than us, City went out and signed Yaya Toure, Silva, Dzeko and Tevez. And then you have Arsenal....well they always finish in the top 4 so to say we could have "easily" finished in the top 4 is just as unrealistic as some of the posters you and others have been critical of. Finishing 4th again was always going to be incredibly difficult.
If anything, the board/Levy have a lot to answer for by not supplying more funds to consolidate our position.
How do you know they were deliberately withholding funds?
We lost our chance to qualify again when we lost to Blackpool and drew with West Ham, Wolves and Wigan in between the games against AC Milan and Real.
Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
Who do you know they weren't? It seems odd that we spend heavily each season to get in the CL, then we get there and we choose to not bolster our squad. VDV was last minute deal that caught everyone unawares.
The games above are perfect examples of games where we dominated but couldn't score, maybe if we had signed another striker we may not have battered so many teams with little to show for it. It's easy to pick out random games to back up an argument but the fact is they were 4 teams with better squads than Spurs that season.
Funny you mention how we eased off in the league as you for one are always to keen to point out how it's a fallacy to suggest we look lethargic/poor after long trips to the **** end of nowhere in the Europa League on a Thursday followed by a league game on Sunday. You can't have it both ways. You seem to be suggesting it's fine to mug off the league for FC Tripoli or Aalborg but it's not OK to do it against Real Madrid? Should be the other way round surely.
I've always stated that the league is the priority. I just don't agree with those that think the EL is a nuisance and we'd be better off without it. Our aim should always be to qualify for a European competition. Easiest way to do that? Do well in the league.
If used correctly, EL games can be beneficial to the manager and squad. Should we find ourselves in the latter stages I might change my priorities for a one-off game, depending on where we are in the table and our chance of going through.
monkeybarry
Jack Jull
Unfortunately I think the spell at QPR and then a few games for us were his purple patch
Aside from that, he has been abject, predictable and wasteful
Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
I honestly don't think we mugged off the league games that season. There's no question the the players and the fans looked forward to the CL games more than say Wigan away which is only natural, but it was not a lack of effort in the league that cost us.
We absololutely dominated the West Ham game you mentioned and would have won if not for some wasteful finishing by Defoe.
We had about 30 shots on goal against Blackpool and somehow lost 3-1, it happens sometimes. In the home game, Coco the clown decided to act like a nutter and give away a penalty just seconds after saving the previous one. He must have cost us about 10 goals that season, individual mistakes that were not due to a lack of effort.
Wolves, we scored 3 but still didn't win, you would expect to beat Wolves if you score 3 away from home surely?
The Wigan game I will give you but again, it's only natural for players to look towards bigger games. Hell, you could argue Liverpool did the same thing today.
It just seems like yet another stick to beat Arry with if I'm honest. I sometimes wonder if he managed Arsenal to years of glory and somehow I missed it, would explain the resentment. If I'm wrong then I apologise but can you clarify what you mean? Do you mean the players or the manager or both?
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Because the wage bill almost doubled during Redknapps time and the clubs overall spending on players remained the same as it always has (in relation to turnover) so it's basically there in black and white that we weren't witholding funds. If you need to buy players halfway through the season to consolidate an 11 point lead i think that says quite a lot really - we could have spent money to have a real shot at the title - that's worthy of complaining about, but using it as an excuse for letting Arsenal overtake us? Nah im not having that
Jurgen the German
Erik Thorstvedt
The wages went up because we enjoyed success, i.e. players get offered new deals to try and keep them at the club. The actual spending on players went down relative to what it was years before.
I believe you are mistaken billy, me and Jordinho are talking about the season before, the one we actually were in the CL. We were never 11 points clear ahead of Arsenal. It was a straight fight for 4th with Emirates Marketing Project until about April when they pushed on and eventually finished 2nd.