Where does it now leave Tottenham Hotspur?
There is no doubt that the battle for a place in the top four will be as fierce as ever this season. With Manchester City and Liverpool spending big to ensure they’re firmly in the mix and Arsenal doing some decent business on a frantic deadline day, where does it leave Tottenham Hotspur?
With so much money being spent by their rivals it seems that Spurs have been left behind in the race to grab that elusive place in the Premier League’s elite mini-league. Boss Harry Redknapp has been used to having a substantial bank balance to go out and buy players who command a hefty transfer fee but will also improve the squad. It wasn’t so long ago he was shelling out £20 million to bring Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch to White Hart Lane but the 2011/12 summer window saw chairman Daniel Levy put a stranglehold on big spending. The ethos was to sell before you buy and by the 1st September the squad had been dramatically trimmed with 10 players either being sold or loaned out and four players being brought in. Around £30 million was brought in by the end of the transfer window along with getting some high earners off the wage bill which seemed like good business.
However with only Brad Friedel and Scott Parker signing on permanently and Emmanuel Adebayor and Yago Falque signing on loan till the end of the season the squad looks like it’s lacking at the moment. Whilst quality still remains in the ranks there is a worry that Spurs don’t have the strength in depth to mount a serious challenge for a top-four place. I personally think they should have looked to bring at least a few more players in to replace the ones that have departed. Looking at the squad they do have some very good players in all positions but as far as backup goes there isn’t much to shout home about. Throw Luka Modric’s yearning for a move to Chelsea into the mix and it could be recipe for disaster. Missing out on the Champions League last year hit Spurs hard in the arm financially. The extra money garnered from TV, sponsorship and actually finishing fourth severely hampered the budget Redknapp was hoping to get his hands on.
The squad they are left with now, in my opinion, will struggle to break back into the top four simply because the players warming the bench aren’t good enough to compete at the level required. The likes of Rafael Van der Vaart, Gareth Bale, Tom Huddlestone, Adebayor, Michael Dawson, Modric and Niko Kranjcar are of Champions League quality. They’ve shown that they can perform on the biggest stage and will be vital to Spurs’ chances of actually achieving the goal of returning to footballs biggest club competition. In fact on paper they have a starting XI containing players that would walk into any team in the top six.
The main concern I have is that the backup players aren’t of a sufficient standard. Hypothetically speaking, what happens if Dawson or Bale picks up a long-term injury? Would, for example, Sebastien Bassong or Steven Pienaar (who has been dreadful since moving from Everton) be able to match up to them? Are they of an adequate calibre to come into the team and offer the same level of performance and quality? Not that I’m signalling those two players out but it is an example that Redknapp has limited options and weak strength in depth which is a vital component of any side challenging at the Premier League summit. Even Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko have seen their standards fall dramatically in the last 12 months with the pair mustering less than 10 league goals between them last season. Adebayor has been brought in to remedy that and he is undoubtedly a top player when his head is focused on the game. But the majority of the time he is anonymous on the field and Spurs need a forward who is going to perform week in week out along with scoring goals. Redknapp also seems to be relying on youth players to provide backup, which could further hamper his chances of regaining Champions League football should they be pressed into action.
The 5-1 mauling at home to Man City certainly highlighted the division in class between a team who spends and one who doesn’t. I really can’t see Spurs making a major play for the top four especially if they pick up injuries to key players. Behind a very good starting eleven there are very few players who can step in and play to the same level. Unfortunaetly for Spurs fans the best you can hope for this season is anywhere between fifth and eighth spot!
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Strange one really, as we all know the games played on grass not paper. That said, I feel as a club, we’re in a better position now than on Weds morning. We’ve got a stalwart in, and deadwood out, lot’s of it. We’ve consolidated our position and put money in the bank In many ways buying in the next window may enhance our position even more and the Modric position will be clearer as well. So it’s a tough one, but our manager will need to be on his game or buy a stab-proof vest with a reinforced back panel!
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mayur Reply:
September 3rd, 2011 at 9:22 pm
strange one really,
i meant that abt ur comment….the whole synopsis of the window is ..we have saved lots of money in wages n all BUT …WHAT REALLY STRANGE IS THIS IS MADE OUT AS IF …HOW SMART N INTELLIGENT WE HAVE BEEN.but in reality had this clear out been completed weeks earlier ..n atlest half of its money woulh been invested it would have been lot better ..then selling all the guys in last week ..GIVING U NO TIME TO USE THAT MONEY…all the money is in bank? well neither FOOTBALL IS PLAYED ON ACCOUNTS SHEET…ITS PLAYED ON GROUND ..our position in bank may have strengthen but what abt on the graound ..ohh sorry on the grass ?
u couldn’t do the need full this time n now hoping it will be done next time next window? WHAT USE OF IT WILL BE IF AT JANUARY WE MAY BE TOO MUCH BEHIND TO TAKE THAT 4 th spot back?
… 1st priority was to bring in a 20+ goals center forward ….has that been done? NO, HOLD ON MODRIC is been said as if greatest achievement …40 miln for a player ,,,who does not wants to play for us,,,n logically his goal+ assist ratio is too low to influence the result of the game(no matter how greatly he plays n pulls the strings if it cant be converted in goals) …ok n lets say u did good by not selling him n not accepting that 40miln (out of which atleast 25miln would have been spent good)…what abt next window ? with such weaker squad ..we might struggle to get in champions league again .then what? not only modric will say *AT LEAST NOW LET ME GO* THEIR WILL BE BALE ,VDV ALSO….im saying this coz *** our failure to get in champions league might not but LACK OF AMBITION N INVESTMENT WILL SURELY MAKE THE STARS LEAVE US.
n most of all….liverpool spent soo much ..soo early ..i dont want to go in it deep i dont care them but what shows they want to built a squad .the want to win……
n look at our aproch…always looking for cheap bargains …rejected or left behinds.. keep on testing the water till last day last minut hoping we will hit the mark…..this is so mediocre n midtable mind set …BUSINESS WISE U CAN CALL THIS SMART MOVE …BUT IN LONG TERM ITS NOT…WITH SUCH LIMITED MINDSET we will be always a top 4 wanna bes…missing out on all those big money lucrative sponserships..media rites ,,n all corporate stuff …
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Actually Roman Pavlyuchenko scored 10 last season and JD scored 4.
10+4=14
14>10
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Absolute rubbish what you are saying,Spurs will be 4th,they have a better squad than arse & Liverpool all they needed was a 20 goal striker & Adebayor is the man to do it..arse have got worse & Liverpool apart from Suarez have brought average players.
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With Gallas injured Spurs lack a sound back line. Dawson is good but only seems to play well when alongside King or Gallas. Failing to plug that ‘hole’ yet again coupled with what others have said here about the team makes it certain in my mind that we will struggle this year. The first two results tend to confirm that hypothesis. This is a season I am not looking forward to!
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