Football FanCast columnist Bill Johnson cannot understand Spurs’ failure to address an old aged problem.

If there is one thing that you can guarantee about Tottenham is that it is never a dull place. This summer has certainly been no different with a hive of transfer activity as Juande Ramos looks to streamline his squad and make his overall mark on the football club.

From the outset it looks like a job well done and there aren’t many who will have failed to have been impressed with the arrivals. The additions of Modric, Bentley, Gomes and Dos Santos are certainly of the highest order and a damn sight improvement of what we currently have, but the failure once again of bringing in that midfield general has left me bemused beyond belief. I appreciate the window is still open, but surely this should have been the priority summer signing along with a centre half.

So why has this been overlooked? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but the only fault I saw in our squad last season, was not scoring goals but our inability to keep them out. Surrendered Spurs leads cost the club some 35pts last season and surely that should have dictated our transfer policy. I have great sympathy for the Spurs defence because man for man they are more than capable; it was just the inability of the midfield to defend which left them woefully exposed last year. What I find crazy is that every successful football club builds their team around a strong holding midfielder and yet we seem to fail to grasp that. I hope Ramos experiment of playing Jenas in that role on Saturday, won’t be repeated otherwise we may as well pack up the season. JJ has flattered to deceive for far too long and doesn’t offer anything; surely Modric deserves better than him?

I doubt many fans were surprised about Saturday’s result once they glanced at the suicidal line-up we produced. I don’t know if Ramos felt we would just out score the opposition, but he must surely realise that the Premier League doesn’t operate like that. The way Middlesbrough controlled the midfield and the scandalous amount of time they possessed must have raised some alarm bells – well you only hope they did.

Every given day we are being linked with strikers, to replace Keane and the imminent departure of Berbatov; a holding midfielder and centre half doesn’t even seem to be a passing thought. I firmly believe that ship has sailed and believe that if we were going to bring one in then they would have been already installed by now. I may be proved wrong and I look on with baited breath everyday in the hope I am, but I feel that Ramos and Comolli are taking one hell of a calculated risk in failing to address this problem.