The transfer list

We should really be used to false dawns at Spurs by now. After 30 years, I know I certainly am. In the Summer of 2013, we apparently sold Elvis and got the Beatles! Sadly, it appears we got the bootleg Beatles rather than the real deal.

We all know that this season , is over and social websites etc are running at pace with opinions about who we should sell, who we should keep and stating that is one of the worst teams ever in Spurs' history. Now, I know I am not backward in coming forward, but I think to say this team is that bad is perhaps overstretching the point a little..

Whose players?

I doubt we will ever truly know who decided which players to sign with the Bale money, but it does seem that AVB chose some and Baldini the rest. Whoever did or didn't choose the players, once they were in the White of Tottenham Hotspur, it was then the manager’s job to get the best out of them. There were some signs that AVB could do this on occasions, but his constant changing of the line up, changing of natural positions just meant the players did not seem to know which way to go next.

Tim Sherwood has had a fair amount of criticism and although a lot of it is justified, I do feel he was on to a loser from the start. As soon as his Arsenal connections were bandied around (Although he had always been honest about who he supported as a kid even when he was a player), many people were just waiting to pounce when things went wrong.

Results wise, he hasn't actually done that bad when you consider he has no experience at this level and was starting at a huge club with ambition and a fantastic history. He dared to bring Adebayor back in and on the whole; Adebayor justified that decision with goals and some hard working displays. Sadly in the last few games, he has reverted back to type and has lost interest.

Sell who?

I have seen a lot said in the media that Spurs need a massive overhaul in the summer, but I am not so sure that is true.

Let's be clear about one thing. The players have been badly managed, but they have also shown poor attitudes in far too many games. I am a firm believer that when players step over the White line, they know what to do and showing no commitment is not acceptable.

So, who would I look to ship out this summer? I would not want to lose Vertonghen, because although his attitude has been poor, he is undoubtedly a good player and I would like to see him form a partnership at centre back with Chiriches. I can see a solid long term partnership there, but I think who takes over will depend on whether he stays or not.

My first player to sell, I am sad to say would be Dawson. He gives his all in terms of effort but he is often out of position and is far too slow for the Premier league. A likeable guy but has made too many errors this season for me.

Second to go is an easy choice. Danny Rose has shown the very odd signs of being an okay player, but to be honest he has given the ball away frequently, his crossing has been woeful and he doesn't seem to know where left back actually is.

Kyle Naughton's name crops as one to sell, but I actually think he does have potential. He has shown naivety at times but in terms of defending, I think he can be better than Walker, so I would keep hold of the young lad.

Only two others would I definitely look to sell. Lennon looks a shadow of the player he was under Redknapp and his continued failure to deliver final balls is no longer good enough for a winger so I think it is time he moved on.

Finally, and this may be the shock... Adebayor. I know he has put in some good shifts this season but his wages are high and once he proves himself, he still seems to get bored too easily. I would get some decent money for him now and put it toward a consistent striker. Mind you, we evidently did that by signing Soldado, although with the right manager, I believe he will come good next year.

Who to bring in

Levy has made it clear we will not be spending loads this Summer, but that may yet change once the new manager (if it isn't Sherwood) is installed.

Players I think we could get? I would love to see Luke Shaw come in at left back, and Lallana as well. Both are good on the ball, quick and could add a lot to Spurs. Rodriguez may be an option too as he certainly knows where the net is, and is unlucky to have got injured and miss the World Cup. I would certainly rather have him than Danny Welbeck. The other striker I would love to see at Spurs is Hernandez from Man. United. He reminds of Clive Allen and that is no bad thing.

Keep the rest?

Forget this season. We have not been great but there have been signs that we can be brilliant. Fair enough against Newcastle, we played a poor team, but we also played some fast paced, attacking football and it was good to watch.

I have a feeling Lamela may go back home, but if I was a manager looking at the squad, I would want the opportunity to manager them to success.

Lloris, Chiriches, Vertonghen, Walker, Dembele, Sandro, Paulinho, Soldado, Eriksen and possibly the likes of Shaw and Lallana. What a set of players and if someone can get them in the correct frame of mind and playing at pace with wide men, next season could be brilliant!!!

I would also mention that Carroll is due back from QPR where he has had a good season. He is a cultured young player although my concern would be he could do to bulk up a bit as in some of the games I have seen him this year, he has been knocked off the ball too easily.

Livermore is also due back from Hull. At Spurs he seemed to stand still and go backwards, but in the games I have seen this year, he has been box to box, supporting strikers and chipped in with the odd goal, so maybe in the right team, he could take his chance.

Whatever happens, this is not the worst team I have ever seen in thirty years, but yes it has been disappointing and frustrating but we don't need massive changes really.

To dare is to do and as ever...Come on you Spurs!!!!!

 

Players to go hurrah naughton dawson rose townsend lennon soldado adebyor sigurrdson paulhino kaboul chadli capoue .

 

gotta admit i agree with apart from one and that is Kyle naughton to many mistakes from him this season and he has been here just as long as walker but hasn't improved.for me Ryan fredricks is a much better understudy and he played in Europa league and looked good.he had a long at milwall this season and got more experience which will help him like tom Carroll.

 

Go along with that,I think Sherwood should stay,for the sake of some continuity and I dont think he's done to bad ,not that the whingers will agree .But if they tried supporting rather than being hyper critical and totally deluded about what we can acheive the whole time, we might just get somewhere.COYSaT

 

Naughton is forever portrayed as a 'young lad with potential'. He's 25 for crying out loud! I think it's time he lost the youth prospect tag and we realise he is only going to be as good as he is now. Certainly doesn't have a better potential than walker who is younger!

 

Agree, there should be no wholesale changes. The right manager is key, to firstly keep Lloris, Vertongen & Lamella, plus scotch any rumours about the likes of Paulinho going anywhere. Then focus on getting the best out these players. Soldado is not a target man for a long ball (although he holds quite well) he is a predator, latching on to balls played behind the opposition defence & in front of him or meeting whipped in crosses from either wing, play to his strengths for God sake! One other addition would be to buy Caulker back, need at least 3 good central defenders, it should have been Dawson we sold & thanked him for his outstanding service to the club and kept Caulker! Kaboul, still not sure about? Personally, if we're lucky, we should try to sign Shaw, Clyne & Lallana, means losing Rose, Naughton plus a below potential Dembele. Lastly, bring Holtby back - passion, commitment & never give up attitude, I believe that's what Sherwood wanted & we possibly sent the best exponent of those qualities out on loan!

 

heres a follow up for you mr knowledge:
Q. Who do we replace those 6 home grown players in a squad of 25 exactly? (siggy counts due to him time at reading)
A. You cant without spending ridiculous amounts for the 'home grown' tag every body else is hunting for. Managements so easy for the armchair fans, get real...

 

tim can take ade with him, hot (when interested) and cold (most of the time)

 

Sell-Naughton, Ady, Sigg, Rose, Lennon, Dawson, Kab, Gomis, Chadli
Buy-Danny Blind, Caulker, Burn, Benteke, Lallana
Bring in-Fredricks, Carroll, Pritchard

Squad

GK - lloris, Friedal,
RB - Walker, Fredricks
LB - Blind, Fryers
CB - Chris, Vert, Caulker, Burn
DM - Sandro, Capoue, Bentalab
CM - Carroll, Dembele, Holtby, Erikson, Paulinho
RM - Lallana, Townsend
LM - Pritchard, Lamela
FW - Soldado, Benteke, Kane

 

I think yehven konoplyanka would be a perfect and instant fix for our left wing, with eriksen in the middle and townsend/lamella on the right. Maybe get ashley cole if he leaves Chelsea. Wilfried bony/lukaku up front.

 

We can get Lallana and Rodrigues only if Mauricio is hired to replace Tim. Otherwise I think Lallana is destine to Rodgers' squad. I'm okay with Tim staying, though.

 

Carroll was poor at QPR from all accounts. We'll keep him to Christmas as backup for Europa l league and the league cup, then flog him.

Out: Friedel, Gomes, Lloris, BAE, Naughton, Vertongen, Chadli, Sigurdson, Capoue, Livermore

Loaned out: Fryers, Kane

 

I totally agree....we can't actually judge Soldado and Lamela just yet. SOLDADO: family problems, frustrated with lack of chances created for him ( as you say we currently don't play towards his strengths). LAMELA: lack of game time to build confidence, picked up a serious back injury....at the moment i would sell Adebayor while we still can and get a similar but better striker in Jackson Martinez (Porto)..we sell dawson, kaboul and rose ( keep naughton as a back up, he has been better defensively this season all though many will disagree), we have an abundance of midfielders which are very similar, therefore i would sell dembele (bentaleb is his replacement-very similar), sell paulinho, capoue and end Gylfi's nightmare at spurs and please get in a winger that can cross by selling lennon ( he served the club well, but is past his best)....and yeah bring back our German terror from fulham and give him a good run of games next to Eriksen...they are soooo creative and will compliment eachother. we also need a manager for at least 3 years so he can build the team...it does not help we fire the architect and get a new one with different building ideas

 

Firstly we need a new GK as Friedel is retiring, so would like Forster from Celtic.
Instead of Naughton, I would have somebody like Clyne to give Walker a run for his money.
As a Dawson replacement I'd get Caulker back, at LB for me it would have to be Bruno-Indi instead of Rose.
In midfield I would bring in two Dutchmen, Clasie and Strootman instead of Capoue and Holtby.
On the wings I would love to see Konoplyanka and Cuardado instead of Lennon and Chadli.
Up front if the gossip has any truth it would be amazing to see Martinez at Spurs.

 

We don't need a to buy loads of players like last year just need 2 good strikers that will get goals consistently and that are proven prem strikers i.e lukaku and bony get rid of Naughton chadli siggy soldado Adebayor Dawson kaboul (always injured) and give lamela a chance

Lloris
Walker chiriches Verthoghen Rose
Sandro Dembele eriksen
Lamela bony lukaku

That team has goals in it goals win games

 

I love the fantasy football wish lists people churn-out; our best players (such as they are this season) could hardly make it clearer that they're even more pissed-off than the fans, and yet the optimists on here are taking it as read that we get rid of the 'deadwood' and bring in the stars of the future, courtesy of Daniel Levy's ever-open chequebook, and thus have guaranteed success next year - always next year! If Lloris or Vertonghen want to leave, and Adebayor doesn't, there's nothing the club can do about it - ALL the power is with the players these days, as Modric and Bale on the one hand, and Gomes on the other, prove.

 

I agree that players have too much power but Liverpool were able to keep Suarez and he wanted to leave them. It hasn't affected his game so I don't buy the argument that we had no choice but to sell I am afraid.
If we want to be a top team, we need to keep players at the club and not be seen as a feeder club for bigger clubs which we currently seem to be.
Liverpool were not even in Europe this year and their ambitions were top four as were ours, so the idea that we have to sell every time is not always the case.

 

Jay Rodriguez
Fabio Coentrao
Gerard Deulofeu
Lukaku
Rakitic
Luke shaw
Baines
Kopolyanka
Nice thought but we won't attract any of them. We should try for Bony but doubt that too. Listen, Liverpool want 5 or 6 (and have the money) along with Mancs & Chelsea's targets ( they can have Paulinho for F*** All). Not much left for us then. Just saying......

 

Lloris is off, Schmichel or Marshall in. Jan is off bring back Caulker with cardiff going down. Lose Kaboul sick note past it, rose naughton chadli paulinho lennon adebyor and soldado all gota go not good enough or atitude all wrong. We have got to get Lukaku and Bony 2 strikers that give defenders a torrid time with their physicality hunger and actual finishing ability. Get holtby and lamela playing in a system ffs if it was me id sack about 80% of the squad we have its so unbalanced and poor

 

Nicely constructed article Matt.

I DON'T believe Spurs will sell any of the teams KEY personnel, which would include Jan AND Hugo. Levy can sell a vision to the blind, and I think he will use that ability to convince the players to give the club one more season under a new manager.

His pitch will be along the lines:

- the club is going to hire a manager who produces an attractive brand of football, returning to the clubs old traditions.

- the board plan to invest in 2/3 quality players to improve the squad.

-the clubs new signing will be better this year for having a FULL season in the EPL.

- with the club NOT qualifying for Europe, the team will be able to focus their attentions on the league and domestic cup success (like Liverpool this year)

- sign a new contract, give me one more year and if the club doesn't qualify for the CL, I flog you in the summer (alla Modric)

As long as the club hires a manager that EXCITES, APPEALS and INSPIRES confidence within the squad, the players WILL stay!!!

I don't think Vertonghen is DESPERATE to leave....I think Vertonghen is DESPERATE for success, and if Spurs hire a manager who Jan thinks can deliver that success, he like the rest of the lads WILL stay.

If Pochettino DOES sign though, I would be more than happy to see the following happen:

Incomings Outgoings (Levy prices)

Delph -£10m Paulinho- £22m (Delph can do his role, and better)
Loveren -£12m Vertonghen £17m (If he is REALLY unhappy)
Caulker/Smalling -£10m-12m ???? Dawson £6-7m (On the decline)
Morata- £10m Adebayor £8m (Getting on. Cash in while stock is high)
Umtiti -£7m Falque £4-5m (Again, unlikely to play)
Lallana £17m Livermore £6-7m (Unlikely to play. Quick cash)
Naughton £4m (Fredricks looks better)
Sigurdsson £7m (too good to sit on bench)
plus
Holtby
Carroll
Pritchard
Fredricks

Now I haven't done the maths but if Spurs were to conduct that business, with those prices (roughly), the club would (probably) turn over a profit. With the club out of Europe, Spurs will need to trim the squad. So the opportunity to sell a bit of dead wood and promote some hungry, young players is something that should NOT be overlooked, especially with Pochettino's ability to work and develop youngsters.

I believe ALL of those players would add REAL value to the Spurs squad, with the potential capture of Morata being the ideal opportunity to test the merits of that 'partnership' with Real Madrid. Personally, I would rather Spurs went for Benteke, instead, but with the Belgian unlikely to be fit until the start of the new campaign, the young Spaniard could come in and learn under Soldado's tutelage.

Umtiti had a great game against Spurs, for Lyon, in the Europa League, capping off an impressive display with a wonder goal at the Lane. Signing the versatile Frenchman would enable Spurs to sign just ONE CB with the youngster able to play at LB and CB. Fryers has also shown POTENTIAL at CB, which means Kaboul, Chiriches and Loveren, with Fryers/Umtiti should be enough cover to compensate for the loss of Daws and Vertonghen.

Delph, Lallana, Carroll, Fredricks and Pritchard would give Spurs a nice, young, British influence in the dressing room.

These deals are (REALISTIC) transfers that I would be happy to see the club conduct, NOT what I necessarily think will actually happen.