What can the Spurs do to break past the big 4?

cpawfan · Sep 8, 2008

In my effort to learn more about my newly adopted team, I found this fan opinion article. It initially talks about the transfer window, but it gets at the big question of what can Tottenham do to break past the big four?

http://archive.mehstg.com/kelly_richard5.htm#WINDOW

WINDOW ROUND-UP

In:

Gomes, Sanchez, Corluka, Modric, Bentley, Dos Santos, Pavlyuchenko, Campbell (Loan)

Out:

Keane, Berbatov, Robinson, Cerny, Chimbonda, Kaboul, Tainio, Gardner, Malbranque, Lee

As a Tottenham fan, you have to be excited at the dawn of each transfer window. Tottenham, after all, have a history of buying big names, a tradition which has continued into the Premiership Era. From Blanchflower and Greaves, through Chivers, Ardiles and Villa, Waddle, Lineker, and Gascoigne, to Klinsmann and Berbatov, Spurs have always gone for big name talents. Because, nothing gets the Tottenham fans going more that a superstar in our ranks.

West Ham might proclaim themselves the ‘Academy,’ and recently Middlesbrough and Manchester City might have put their faith in their youngsters, but Tottenham been about big name signings since they broke a transfer record to bring in future double winning captain Danny Blanchflower from Villa in the 1950s.

So naturally, with all that in mind, I entered this summer full of optimism. Looking at the squad at the end of last year, it seemed as though quite a bit of work was required. That said, it was achievable. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but looking back on the games I saw us play at the end of the 2006/07 season it seemed as though although we had the guile and quality in our attacking play, we were sorely limited at the back. That season a late surge saw us into fifth, optimism was unbound, the cracks were papered over, and talk of breaking the top four was widely suggested (including in the media and by other fans, although they all like to pretend they would never have said such a thing).

Last season was a nightmare in virtually every way bar the League Cup. Changes did have to be made, players did need to go to freshen up the squad, and new players were required. So at that stage, what did we require? Goalkeepers, a centre-back, a defensive midfielder, a left midfielder, and a forward to replace the obviously outbound Berbatov (seemingly obvious to everyone bar the Tottenham board). This, bear in mind, was May, before Liverpool had come calling to bring Robbie ‘home’.

Initially, the defensive portion of our team should have been our primary focus. So, how did we do on that score? Gomes and Sanchez are both good players, with plenty of experience. I have no doubts on either of them, and I even expect Gomes to improve in the Premiership against better players than he faced in Holland. Added to that, Corluka is a quality addition. Capable of playing at right-back or centre-back, he solves the short term issue of Hutton’s injury and will cover for the inevitable absence of King or Woodgate.

The club have done really well in this area as well, because they have cleared out a number of questionable players from this part of the pitch, and hopefully the woeful defensive lapses we have suffered over the past two seasons. Robinson had confidence at Tottenham and needed a move as much as Tottenham needed a new keeper. Cerny was reliable backup but no more, Gardner hadn’t progressed in about five years, Kaboul was error prone and reportedly fell out with Ramos, and Chimbonda has a questionable attitude. He was also surpassed in many regards by Hutton, who is a better player. The result is we now have quality at the back and a small amount of depth across the line. This area has been significantly strengthened and no Tottenham fan can deny that.

In the midfield, Tottenham have bought in quality players, although not in the positions we needed them. Modric was superb at Euro 2008, although he hasn’t got to grips with the Premiership yet. It seems the pace and energy required, more than the physical nature of the game, are where he needs to adapt. And that takes time. Dos Santos looks to be a good prospect, and from what I’ve seen so far, I’ve got no complaints with him. Bentley is an interesting buy. I thought his arrival would see the departure of Lennon, but that hasn’t been the case. I can’t make sense of it, apart from the club’s desire to bring in a good player who was made available, regardless of the need for him. And that’s my point, because even though I do think he will be a great player for the side, and I like what I have seen so far, I have to question the sense in bringing in another right sided player when we need a left winger.

I think part of the problem here is the strange scattergun approach Tottenham have to buying. There doesn’t seem to be any clear definition of who buys our players. For instance, Ramos seems to have been instrumental in bringing in Dos Santos, but Bentley seems to have been bought in by other contacts, as his initial interviews spoke of first impressions of Ramos in training, rather than respect of his record as was the case with Modric, Dos Santos and Woodgate. But then look at Aston Villa and Sunderland: at the end of last season Keane was unhappy with the quality in his squad, so he went about signing player to improve the club. The result is that now they have a squad more than able to ensure a mid-table finish. Villa, on the other hand, go from strength to strength. Whilst the Barry saga rumbled on, O’Neill went about signing ten players. Suddenly they have a team with depth and quality, to the degree that they are my tip for fifth this season.

But whilst purchases for the defence might have been good business, and midfield decent without actually signing a defensive midfielder or left winger, upfront we suffered a catastrophe. It seems to me that the powers that be at Tottenham felt that Berbatov would eventually be content to remain at the club. In fact, after the League Cup win there plenty of public praise for the forward, but to what end? The player, his agent, the media, the fans, and Manchester United all seemed to know he was leaving. They came knocking, he was eager to answer, and Tottenham seemed to gladly stand aside once the money was thrown our way.

But the Berbatov transfer was long expected, it was the Keane one which came out of the blue. Just a few weeks before he had claimed he would never leave Tottenham, yet as soon as Liverpool came along he was quite prepared to be off, and once more Spurs took the cash without putting up much of a fight. Aside from the lack of fight to keep our best players, I’m not going to blame the club for being unprepared for Keane’s departure. It came out of nowhere and was so fast they couldn’t have had a readymade replacement.

Yet they should have done so for Berbatov. That move was inevitable when Jol was edged towards the door, as that was the point where all hopes of a Champions League tilt had vanished. Pavlyuchenko might be a great player. He scored a few goals in the European Championship, and a quick search on You Tube found me a lot of tap ins he scored, but can he adapt? We desperately need him to, that’s for certain.

Because Campbell stinks of a panic buy to me. Supposedly the Berbatov deal went through with twenty minutes of the window left, so that hardly leave much scope for negotiation. The Tottenham website had a comment on the situation on Tuesday, hinting that the club were in for another forward but time and difficulties with the player’s agent were against them. Campbell was tacked on because we had no choice left. Yes, he might be highly rated, but just like Pavlyuchenko, he hasn’t got any proven pedigree in the Premiership.

But we had more time than this, didn’t we? And we didn’t need the money for Berbatov before we could buy. Perhaps we should have taken a leaf out of other club’s books and conducted our negotiations publicly? Okay, so everyone knew we needed a forward and were bumping their prices up, but £20 million would have secured Santa Cruz, and he is proven in the Premiership. Now we have a bundle of cash and no chance to spend it, with the hope that both Pavlyuchenko and Campbell take to the Premiership like ducks to water, and Bent rediscovers his pre-season form.

The aforementioned statement on the club’s website seems more like a plea to the fans not to blame the club for our position but our two former forwards who so willing jumped ship. In my opinion not enough was done. Villa did not wish to lose Barry to Liverpool, and they did everything in their power to keep an unhappy player at their club. Likewise, Manchester United showed exactly how to ward off persistent interest in one player by one club in the Ronaldo saga.

And what message does this whole debacle send out? That Tottenham will moan and groan loudly, when their players are coveted, to the degree that they will report those clubs to the FA, but then back down when enough cash is offered. It smacks of a lack of ambition. We didn’t put Keane and Berbatov in their place, and nor did we do enough to overturn other club’s interests in our playing staff.

And what of the Campbell deal ? We have loaned a player from a team we have openly stated we are aiming to overtake, at the same time selling our best player to them in the process. How can we expect to break the big four if we sell our best players to those clubs consistently ? Does this mean, then, that of Bale or Hutton were to have good seasons for us that if one of the big boys came sniffing we would once more allow them to go, if the price is right ? I guess the bottom line is that to the present Tottenham board, the bottom line speaks volumes.
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Colonel Ronan · Sep 8, 2008

Great article. If Spurs get good results against the top four, and don't lose silly points to the lower clubs, they do have a chance getting the number four spot - Nothing more. This season, I don't see them kicking Arsenal out though, I feel as though Liverpool have slipped from the top three, and need to step up their game. They don't seem very convincing with two late winners courtesy of Gerrard and Torres. I wish Tottenham luck - They're going to need it.

CelticKing · Sep 8, 2008

I agree great article cpaw.

I kinda started liking the Spurs and following them a bit more after they got Ramos as the coach. (from Sevilla) He's a really underrated coach IMO. I rate him as a top 5 in the EPL,

Spurs will have a lot in their plate to be able to crack the top 4 since you have United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and now Manchester City competing for those top spots. I personally think they can do it, barring any injuries, and having some luck of course.

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