Transfer speculation

[thfcsteff]

Agree with you completely. We had many, many games last year where we had the likes of Janssen, Sissoko, GKN and Onomah on the bench who were miles short of the people on the pitch. Adding some depth to our squad should be our priority this summer which, as you say, is the point Samuel was making

And then

harr1984 said <<You might not think Chelsea re doing good business, but the point is you can't afford to stand still. Manchester clubs have strengthened, Arsenal and Liverpool. We need to at the very least improve the quality of some of our back up options, which was pretty much the point Samuel was making....>>

(apologies, my multi-quote skills failed me miserably!)

Samuel came across to me like some encouraging a club to over-spend on over-rated players for the sake of spending.
Chelski got lucky last season and Conte knows it, thus the strengthening. They will be lucky to have such an injury-free season again, especially now they are in more competitions again (no CL = a massive help). Arsenal need to offset some sales/discontent within their squad yet still don't have a proper defender other than the Cone-head. Liverpool have, IMO, over-paid for a player that will not be consistent, and Man U can afford to throw money around and hope it works (sadly, Mourinho has a plan so they will be tough). Emirates Marketing Project? Incomparable. The model they are run on makes no sense to me. FFP is obviously a joke. Guardiola, the 'great' Guardiola, can only do things if his club spend 200 million on players (OK, 150 if we adjust the overpaying to something, err, 'reasonable').

All these clubs are trying to buy an Alli, a Kane, an Eriksen, an Alderweireld. Jesus, they'd all love a Trippier and a Lloris too while we're at it.
Josh Onomah just won an international tournament.
Harry Winks is an established squad player who will push hard for regular first-team football.
I believe we will end up with Barkley close to deadline day.
I believe we will sign a right-back at some point soon.

Why should we charge about signing players though? If the Sissoko situation has taught us anything, it is that we absolutely must be careful when spending. only to bring players into our club.

I think that once again, we have to trust the manager, trust what he knows and trust what he's seeing.

 

[Hotshot-Tottenham]

Agree with you completely. We had many, many games last year where we had the likes of Janssen, Sissoko, GKN and Onomah on the bench who were miles short of the people on the pitch. Adding some depth to our squad should be our priority this summer which, as you say, is the point Samuel was making

But they were on the bench because the other squad players were on the pitch covering injuries to, variously, Toby, Vertonghen, Rose, Lamela, Kane, Dembele and Winks.

It's asking a lot of any non-doped club to cover that many injuries with no drop off in squad quality.

Sure, we need to strengthen if we can, but, a) finding players that will improve us are hard to come by, and b) this market is totally unprecedented; it's so white hot it's unbelievable, and getting worse even over the short time frame of half a summer.

We just can't compete with the money.

 

[harr1984]

Do you not think that some of our back up options have been improved from a year ago just by dint of spending more time in training, being subject to focused attention by the coaches and have another year as part of this team unit?

Yes I do keeping a settled and constantly improving unit are the main advantages we have. But with the others having the scope to massively improve their personnel in one window that doesn't mean will be enough to even secure top 4. I'm not saying we should spend spend spend but some improvements can definitely been made as has been mentioned before and after this Samuel piece....

 

[harr1984]

I will add that their adding players to catch us up too don't forget

United have to make up 30 goals on us for example

Liverpool have had an odd window in that they brought in an area of strength and haven't yet address their defensive weaknesses other than in an unproven but decent left back

Of course but unless you want them to overtake us we have to add too. So far all we've done is weaken, but I'm not worried the transfer window is a long way from finishing....

 

[harr1984]

Who says we are standing still though? we have a lot of younger players who are improving all the time ( just like they have done over the last couple of seasons) so who would say the same improvement will not continue?

As for our back up options, we i would suggest that the likes of Winks, Janssen, and others are all young enough to become even better. As for that articule well i guess its all about the readers opinions but for me he was talking out of his arse.

It's very simplistic to suggest just because we have a young squad of players we are going to get better every season and they are going to get better every season just because they are young. We need some established quality too. Fair enough if you think he's talking out of his arse but I'm yet to find anyone quote parts where he's talking nonsense. The smug comment aside obviously....

 

[greatwhitenorf]

I think this is a decent little article by Martin Samuel, even though it is the Mail.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4722852/Tottenham-t-afford-smug.html

Sums it up really.

Sums up what? Martin Samuel going on holidays with a grin on his fat face?

I'll grant you he has his moments as a thoughtful and observant writer, but this big West Ham fan has long poked a stick at Spurs whenever he wants to stir up comments. He's off on holidays for a couple of weeks chuckling to himself about getting clicks and comments.

He's a fat, manipulative fcukwit who enjoys having his fun with a club he and his brethren in the Jellied Eel Lodge can't stand.

He's like a lot of football journos who hate Spurs for not playing the game they like to see played. And that is driving up viewer/readership by creating all manner of alarmist tales based on leaks, tweets and quiet chats about transfers. Spurs let 'em go starving for that shyt. And the payback is this sort of bottom-feeding commentary.

I wouldn't wipe my arse with it.

 

[greatwhitenorf]

THFCSteff:

Already given you a like and would add nine more for that comment.

The last line hits it off the screws (old golfing compliment, btw, from the age of persimmon heads, which I have only recently re-discovered).

 

[parklane1]

It's very simplistic to suggest just because we have a young squad of players we are going to get better every season and they are going to get better every season just because they are young. We need some established quality too. Fair enough if you think he's talking out of his arse but I'm yet to find anyone quote parts where he's talking nonsense. The smug comment aside obviously....

Well i guess we will have to agree to disagree on that.

 

[JerusalemMan]

It's very simplistic to suggest just because we have a young squad of players we are going to get better every season and they are going to get better every season just because they are young. We need some established quality too. Fair enough if you think he's talking out of his arse but I'm yet to find anyone quote parts where he's talking nonsense. The smug comment aside obviously....

"And certainly, a club who have come up just short in the last two seasons would be forgiven for concluding the answer might not lie within."
He ignores that before the last two seasons we were nowhere near 'coming up just short', the significant improvement that led to the last two seasons has primarily come from within. Especially because of the manager's unusually strong focus on belief, the team, and demands on players that requires time to adapt and learn as a unit as well as individuals about what is required of them during a game.

"Cue swooning. We love to beat up our own league, to re-imagine a success story as a colossal failure, and we love the negative idea of stupid English money, clubs wasting fortunes on colossal acquisitions. But it isn't quite like that.
Do we? He has done that himself in the past. No-one re-imagines a success as a failure, but instead perhaps points at it not being such a huge achievement when hundreds of millions of pounds are deployed to bring it about. Clubs DO waste fortunes, but no-one would claim that is the only outcome.

"Most of the players who have got Tottenham where they are now — including Eric Dier and Dele Alli — were bought."
Yes Martin, but not for the eye-watering sums that caused this little discussion to start. They weren't part of a torrent of signings at £30-50 million apiece.

 

[Kandi1977]

This

How many times did we actually play with our best XI last season? You need quality backup in every position. And we have added quality every season so far with Pochettino in charge, and we need to do so this year also. Not many, but 1 or 2 who can step in and strengthen the team. Would you feel comfortable with CCV and KWP playing for an extended period and in the CL? Yes they are good talents, but would be a significant step down from Toby and Trippier.

 

[Kandi1977]

I will add that their adding players to catch us up too don't forget

United have to make up 30 goals on us for example

Liverpool have had an odd window in that they brought in an area of strength and haven't yet address their defensive weaknesses other than in an unproven but decent left back

They don't need to make up anything. All teams start at 0 you know. We're not playing last season again.

 

[AdamB]

How many times did we actually play with our best XI last season? You need quality backup in every position. And we have added quality every season so far with Pochettino in charge, and we need to do so this year also. Not many, but 1 or 2 who can step in and strengthen the team. Would you feel comfortable with CCV and KWP playing for an extended period and in the CL? Yes they are good talents, but would be a significant step down from Toby and Trippier.

Agreed, and we don't have that back-up today. I don't know why people take issue with the Samuel article - he sais we lack cover in places, which is true. He didnt say we should spend £60m on Carlos Kickaball (to quote someone!) but if we don't have that cover by the end of the window then we go into next season crossing our fingers about injuries

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Of course but unless you want them to overtake us we have to add too. So far all we've done is weaken, but I'm not worried the transfer window is a long way from finishing....

Fair comments but who is to say ANY of the players the others have signed will work???

Don't get me wrong there has been some very good players signed but there are a lot of unknowns and variable sin they too

Second season syndrome for managers and players happens

Heightened expectation and pressure takes it's toll too

And we all know that too many signings make it hard to integrate

 

[AdamB]

It's very simplistic to suggest just because we have a young squad of players we are going to get better every season and they are going to get better every season just because they are young. We need some established quality too. Fair enough if you think he's talking out of his arse but I'm yet to find anyone quote parts where he's talking nonsense. The smug comment aside obviously....

Yes, agreed, though re 'established quality' I have no problem with our reasonably consistent policy of buying players who are say 22-24, on the fringes of international footballetc. It's generally worked ok. We do need more depth brought in this summer though. Buying peak age players though won't be Spurrs for years, and I'm good with that

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Yes, agreed, though re 'established quality' I have no problem with our reasonably consistent policy of buying players who are say 22-24, on the fringes of international footballetc. It's generally worked ok. We do need more depth brought in this summer though. Buying peak age players though won't be Spurrs for years, and I'm good with that

It's not Emirates Marketing Project either

Or united if you look at their dealings

No one wants to pay big money for old heads (although Chelsea are now rumoured to be buying some to fill the squad)

The challenge is to develop the players we buy into better ones

 

[thfcsteff]

It's very simplistic to suggest just because we have a young squad of players we are going to get better every season and they are going to get better every season just because they are young. We need some established quality too. Fair enough if you think he's talking out of his arse but I'm yet to find anyone quote parts where he's talking nonsense. The smug comment aside obviously....

OK, here you go.

<<We would all like to see Chelsea's young players given more of a chance, but it is impossible to argue with the return on the way the club are run. Since Roman Abramovich took over they have matched Manchester United's 14 trophies.>>

There's a slab of nonsense. Impossible to argue with the return on the way club are run? In what context? They have a billionaire oligarch owner who has basically thrown heaving great tonnes of cash at a tinpot club. IF your perspective is that that is the way to run a football club, then we are at the avenue of opinions. If we are looking to compare Spurs and Chelski as models, then let's ponder why a banana doesn't taste like an apple.

<<Could Ross Barkley improve the group, by offering an alternative to Eriksen once the demands of a European campaign take hold? Yes. Does Harry Kane need better back-up? Yes. Are Tottenham vulnerable without either of their starting centre halves? Yes. Can all of these problems be solved by promotion from the youth ranks? Well, they couldn't last season.>>

Firstly, Samuel knows as well as anyone that the Barkley deal stands a 70/30 chance of going through. So that's just mischievous on his part. Vulnerable? We appeared to have the best defensive record in the league despite all that. He says our 'youth promotion couldn't solve our problems'? Looked they did to me. In fact, the soft moment of the season was early on, when with three major injuries and a few other knocks, plus Euros fatigue, we drew a few games we should've won. Samuel should look at our record coming into the end of the season; it was terrific, and we had several important members out.

<<Will Tottenham even acknowledge their fate these last two seasons?>>

Will Samuel acknowledge where we are? We have a massive season to bridge here. Once we are in the new stadium we can pay the massive, over-inflated salaries...IF we want to. Our first order will be to pay up the world stars we have. The ones every other club wants. The FACT is that we cannot afford another Sissoko mistake right now. We cannot buy a Lemar for massive wages and fee and have him only be average. ANY signing we make HAS to be better than what we have in the manager's eyes. So yes, Samuel is talking nonsense mate...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4722852/Tottenham-t-afford-smug.html#ixzz4no7e0HrT
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[StephenH]

How many times did we actually play with our best XI last season? You need quality backup in every position. And we have added quality every season so far with Pochettino in charge, and we need to do so this year also. Not many, but 1 or 2 who can step in and strengthen the team. Would you feel comfortable with CCV and KWP playing for an extended period and in the CL? Yes they are good talents, but would be a significant step down from Toby and Trippier.

No crossed wire here!

Of course we need new 'quality' additions.
It's the getting that quality in, is the difficulty.
This window's spending has blown any chance of 'obvious' quality players coming in i.e City spending £200m+ on fullbacks

 

[harr1984]

OK, here you go.

<<We would all like to see Chelsea's young players given more of a chance, but it is impossible to argue with the return on the way the club are run. Since Roman Abramovich took over they have matched Manchester United's 14 trophies.>>

There's a slab of nonsense. Impossible to argue with the return on the way club are run? In what context? They have a billionaire oligarch owner who has basically thrown heaving great tonnes of cash at a tinpot club. IF your perspective is that that is the way to run a football club, then we are at the avenue of opinions. If we are looking to compare Spurs and Chelski as models, then let's ponder why a banana doesn't taste like an apple.

<<Could Ross Barkley improve the group, by offering an alternative to Eriksen once the demands of a European campaign take hold? Yes. Does Harry Kane need better back-up? Yes. Are Tottenham vulnerable without either of their starting centre halves? Yes. Can all of these problems be solved by promotion from the youth ranks? Well, they couldn't last season.>>

Firstly, Samuel knows as well as anyone that the Barkley deal stands a 70/30 chance of going through. So that's just mischievous on his part. Vulnerable? We appeared to have the best defensive record in the league despite all that. He says our 'youth promotion couldn't solve our problems'? Looked they did to me. In fact, the soft moment of the season was early on, when with three major injuries and a few other knocks, plus Euros fatigue, we drew a few games we should've won. Samuel should look at our record coming into the end of the season; it was terrific, and we had several important members out.

<<Will Tottenham even acknowledge their fate these last two seasons?>>

Will Samuel acknowledge where we are? We have a massive season to bridge here. Once we are in the new stadium we can pay the massive, over-inflated salaries...IF we want to. Our first order will be to pay up the world stars we have. The ones every other club wants. The FACT is that we cannot afford another Sissoko mistake right now. We cannot buy a Lemar for massive wages and fee and have him only be average. ANY signing we make HAS to be better than what we have in the manager's eyes. So yes, Samuel is talking nonsense mate...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4722852/Tottenham-t-afford-smug.html#ixzz4no7e0HrT
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4722852/Tottenham-t-afford-smug.html#ixzz4no5wszBe
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Steff I think we just interpret things differently - For example I dont see how Samuel saying we should get Barkley as cover as mischevous, just an obvious and likely recruitment suggestion. Always enjoy reading your slant on things, I just feel like you look a little too deeply into what is being said sometimes, or perhaps its just me being too naive....

 

[Kandi1977]

No crossed wire here!

Of course we need new 'quality' additions.
It's the getting that quality in, is the difficulty.
This window's spending has blown any chance of 'obvious' quality players coming in i.e City spending £200m+ on fullbacks

Just read that City spend more on their defence yearly, than Bosnia does! Let that sink in! They use more on brick footballers than an average country's military defence budget!!!

 

[StephenH]

Just read that City spend more on their defence yearly, than Bosnia does! Let that sink in! They use more on brick footballers than an average country's military defence budget!!!

Bosnia's is better!