Over the past few seasons Spurs have repeatedly shown that they can compete for the fabled top 4, but what steps need to be taken to take Spurs to the next level? Below are the 8 steps that I believe Spurs need to take in order to consistently compete on the world's biggest stage..... the Champions League.
1) Sign a Top Striker! (not Louis Saha)
Over the past three years Tottenham fans have been begging Levy to get his cheque book out and sign a top striker. Unfortunately Levy has decided to sign more 'cost effective' strikers such as Saha. This probably cost us third place last year and fourth this year, with Spurs scoring less than any top four side.
2)
Sign a Director of Football (Preferably
Baldini)
This one may be a bit questionable (especially as
Baldini has blamed himself for Roma's disappointing season), but one of the
things that has held Spurs back in past years was issues in communication
between the manager and the chairman. A director of football would solve this
problem by aiding effective communication between the two; therefore making Spurs
more likely to meet their targets and progress. Signing a Director of Football
would also give Spurs invaluable contacts, which will allow Spurs to be more
effective in the transfer market.3) Keep Gareth Bale for as Long as Possible
Every top club needs top players and Tottenham has
a world class player in Gareth Bale. Not only has Bale scored 21 goals in the
premier league, he has also scored many match deciding goals. Without Bale, Spurs
may struggle to edge out top sides and secure vital points. However it does seem
inevitable that Bale will go to Real Madrid within the next few seasons. It may
be inevitable but Levy needs to do his upmost to delay this for as long as
possible.
4)
Beat the Teams in the Bottom Half of the Table
In order to climb higher up the table Spurs need
to consistently beat the bottom half of teams. No one needs to be reminded of
our 1-0 loss to Fulham (courtesy of Dimitar Berbatov) and our seemingly annual
1-0 loss to Wigan. If Spurs had beaten just one of these teams they would
have finished in the top four. The importance of beating the small teams is
shown by Arsenal; Arsenal did not beat any of the top three teams but still
managed to finish above Spurs, as they beat the 'smaller' clubs.5) Develop and Integrate the Youth Team Players Into the First Team
Tottenham has some fantastic up and coming players
in the youth team, such as: Steven Caulker, Souleymane Coulibaly, Harry Kane,
Tom Carrol, Andros Townsend and many others. Developing players like these will
be essential for Spurs to compete at the highest level in the future, once
current players start to drop in form due to age or leave the club.
6)
Sign a World Class Creative Midfield Midfielder
Last season Spurs sold Luka Modric and ever since have struggled to find the connection between midfield and attack; last season
the signing of Moussa Dembele helped to ease this struggle. But as a player
that recently joined the club and is adapting to a relatively new position, he
was only able to provide so much. Furthermore I personally think Dembele lacks
a third dimension, as he doesn't really provide the cross-field balls that
Modric did, and only seems to pass on the ground. The obvious choice would have
been Moutinho, but obviously he has gone to Monaco now, which leaves the
options for a creative player quite limited. However this once again comes down
to Levy's willingness to get the cheque book out, as world class players demand
a high premium.
7)
Get Rid of Underperforming and Peripheral Players
The bottom line is that Spurs have too many
peripheral players on their wage bill. Getting rid of these players from the wage
bill will allow Spurs to be able to 'tie' top players to new contacts and
will also provide Spurs with additional transfer funds in order to meet some of
the above targets (e.g. sign a top striker and creative midfielder). It is
astounding that players like Gomes are still on Spurs' wage bill and they need
to be sold as soon as possible. Even selling players such as Huddlestone might
be a good idea to provide much needed additional funds. Tom Huddlestone could
also be replaced in the squad with Tom Carroll at no additional cost.
8)
Build a 60,000+ Seater Stadium
In order to compete on the big stage, Spurs need
to increase their revenue to cover the costs of moving for big players in the
transfer market and cover their wages. A new stadium will also provide the
opportunity to sell the naming rights in a lucrative deal. The new stadium
appears to be the key for Spurs to achieve the above targets, as one of the
biggest things holding Spurs back at the moment is revenue.
If the above steps are taken I would be very
surprised if Spurs do not regularly meet their target of competing the
Champions League.
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A very honest article.While we have a very good squad,as you have mentioned,the club will need too off load,those players who really do not come up to expectations.ie.Tom Huddleston,yes he is a very good passer of that long ball,but if one looks at his overall performance,the times he gets caught in posession is unblelievable.Ane the fact that we sorely missed Sandro did not help our cause either.Defensive lapses against Liverpool at the Kop cost ud dearlymwhen on the day we were overall the better footballing side.Then there was our very poor performance against Fulham.All up we were master of our own demise.
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