Article by e-Spurs Correspondent Christo WalkerClick here to get the latest news and views on e-Spurs Twitter feed!
With the Football World Cup in full flow in Brazil, scouts will have a very busy time ahead. Whether it’s spending time in the stands in Rio, or keeping an eye on the unlucky lads who didn’t make it to Brazil, vacant/problematic positions have been discussed and transfer targets pin-pointed.
Technical Director of Spurs, Franco Baldini, had a coffer full of Pounds to spend last season following the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid. Spurs had their vulnerable positions at the time and incoming transfers were imperative. After all, Bale’s shoes weren’t going to fill themselves! Baldini and Daniel Levy, Spurs Chairman, decided to spend $108m on 7 players: Capoue, Paulinho, Chadli, Eriksen, Chiriches, Soldado and Lamela. 5 Midfielders, a striker and a central defender, all of whom had never played in the English Premier League, arguably the fastest and toughest league in the World. Granted they are all quality footballers (as their price tags suggest), they would all clearly need some time to adapt to a new country and a new league. The results confirmed just that. Soldado wasn’t the player he was at Valencia. Chadli didn’t live up to the promise he showed on Youtube. Capoue never really got an extended run in the team and struggled at times to keep up with the pace of the league. Paulinho had his moments, but had a tendency to drift in and out of games. Lamela was and still is adapting to a new country and didn’t play enough to impress. Chiriches sometimes looked off pace and a bit light for the Premier league. Eriksen was the only one who could say he was earning his keep. The team never lived up to its price tag and AVB ultimately paid for it with his job, even though previously mentioned players needed at least 1 season to settle, adapt and grow in the new environment of the Barclays Premier league. Sherwood tried his best but was always a stop-gap. In steps Pochettino...
Now most Spurs supporters would agree that we have a great squad that just needs 3 or 4 additions to take us to another level. A left back is crucial; at least 2 more central defenders and 1 more creative player in the midfield would round it off. Baldini, Levy and Pochettino know which players they want to bring to Spurs, and no doubt some negotiating is being done while you are reading this. Unfortunately there are some speed bumps in the road. For one, the player you want needs to be available to purchase and at the right price. Next, the player must want to transfer to your club. All this needs to be done while the transfer window is open. The last thing to consider and as far as I’m concerned; the most important thing: Does the player have Premier League experience?
Spurs have learnt the hard way that spending lots and lots of money on players outside England will not guarantee an immediate success. Hell, even Manchester City didn’t win the league the first year they spent all their oil money on a new team. It took them 3 seasons of building to get there.
Has Pochettino been given 2 seasons to build his team? The length of his contract seems to make you think that. If so then by all means buy the best of what’s available out there, no matter what league they are playing in. Levy’s track record however does not make me think Pochettino has more time than any of his predecessors.
My suggestion: Spend the money on players currently playing their trade in the Premier League. Fill the gaps and do it fast. Luke Shaw would be a great addition, even Ashley Cole. Bring back Stephen Caulker! These are the kind of local players that would almost certainly improve Spurs immediately, and thus give the foreigners another season to fully settle into new surroundings. Momentum is key, and the only way to get momentum is to start off like a rocket.
But then I’m not the Chairman or the Manager, so I don’t think I have all the answers. My faith is still fully loaded on the men in charge...
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The only truly critical need is one or two dependable strikers to lead the strike force along with Kane and (hopefully) Soldado. Ade's sporatic demonstrations of skill will not suffice for this team to advance; he needs to move on.. (Lukaku; Benteke; Hernandez come to mind). A defender or two would be helpful, but given Pochettino's reputation, He might bring along Fryers and some others. I agree it would be great to add as you suggest in this area.
ReplyDeleteThe team has plenty of very high quality midfielders. It would be a mistake to spend time and energy pursuing another one. There is a lot of quality and a lot of potential in the midfield group, Over the last couple of years; Levy has collected them like souvenir spoons. Pochetino has lots of talent to work with. He may have trouble creating player opportunities for all the good midfielders. First focus must be to find a reliable and consistent striker.
Dembele had experience of the Premier League but he was no better last season than the "foreign players. So your agreement is not a guarantee of success.
ReplyDeleteDisagree with both comments made above. Firstly our pathetic goal difference shows we desperately need to shore up our defence as a priority. Kaboul & Dawson are past their best, all our left backs are not top flight class. We also lack a player to turn defence into attack effectively. Eriksen is a number 10 and not that player. So this article is on fact spot on. We need players with PL experience to pull this side together. All top sides do. So to contradict that is utter drivel!
ReplyDeleteCaulker is a nail on for me, home grown and ironically would have featured in the same amount of games as he did in Cardiff due injuries and the poor form of others.As a Kaboul fan I think we should get rid of him as he was shocking, Daws is to slow despite all of his effort, would probably go for Ashley Williams who seems to be available for 5 million, great passer, composed and was exceptional with Caulker in there first season. De Ridj would be another good shout for me.
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