Transfer activity in and around London

As another season beckons ever closer, we are now at that time of year when rumours over who will join who are aplenty, and we tend to hope that it will be our team that strengthen and go on to be better than last season.

Early activity

The early signs are that, as far as London goes, Chelsea and Arsenal are going all out to strengthen their teams so that they can mount a title challenge.

Arsenal have been busy with selling players such as Sagna to Manchester City and avoiding signing Fabregas who has of course joined Mourinho at Chelsea, whilst also bringing in a top class player in Sanchez from Barca. He certainly looked the business at the World Cup and I can only hope that he flatters to deceive like Soldado in his first season at the Lane!!

Chelsea have made a massive signing in Costa and the pressure will be on him to perform and repay his hefty price tag very quickly. If we are to believe the papers, it looks as though both of those teams will continue their spending spree and I would expect both teams to be in the top four again this coming season, and would see Chelsea as potential title winners.

Arsenal will be in the top four but I still do not see them as being title challengers.

Outside of the Capital

It is not just in London that we are seeing a flurry activity. Manchester United have started to build a new team even before the new manager has arrived, although I expect LVG has still had considerable input from Brazil!

Manchester City are also starting to get busy although I wouldn't expect them to sign too many players and rather tie certain people to new contracts which they have started to do.

If Yaya Toure does leave however, it will be interesting to see how they deal with that because he was one of the best players in the league last year and would be very hard to replace his energy, tackling and his goals.

The one team that seems to be doing what we did last season are Liverpool. They are already up to at least four new signings and whilst Lallana is a good signing, we Spurs fans know only too well, that is not necessarily the answer to trying to consistently build a top four team. I can see why they need players as last season they had no strength in depth and if Liverpool had been in Champions league action last season, I doubt that they would have finished second. In fact, I think the top four may have been beyond them with that squad.

It's a little quiet at the Lane....

The one place there has been zero transfer activity so far is at our beloved White Hart Lane. The only piece of player news has been the extension to Hugo Lloris contract although, as I have said here before, I think it unlikely the contract will mean much if we fail to finish in the top four next season, and I don't think we will. But will a lack of transfer activity affect our league position in 2014/15?

The case for concern

The main concern would be that we have players who last season were clearly not playing for the cockerel on the shirt or the fans and that is always a bitter pill to swallow. If we are to go into the transfer market, then it is essential that we replace the dead wood with players of absolute quality.

Ben Davies is a name mentioned from Swansea but he is as of yet, a still unknown quantity, although if he comes as part of a swap deal, it could turn out to be good business.

Then again, I have think that Pochettino could get the very best out of Siggurdson and I am not sure a left back for a midfielder is the best deal out there.

The other concern is the amount of journeyman midfielders we seem to have on our books. Paulinho was poor last season and to be honest, his performances at the World Cup have not done anything to make me think he is worth keeping. Fabian Delph has been mentioned on here and having watched some of his performances last season on video, he could be a great alternative as he has a good engine and he would complement Dembele beautifully.

The issue of a striker divides opinion on here all the time but my view is that I would still like to see someone like Benteke coming in to replace Adebayor. Adebayor certainly had his good moments last year, but I still believe his unpredictability make him a wage we no longer need to carry. Soldado will be determined to prove everyone wrong this season and i am excited about Lamela working under his compatriot.

The main concern for me would be that we need to show our intent to our rivals and a lack of transfer activity could leave us looking weak and exposed.

The case for the 'status quo'

It is always nice to get excited about new talent and we always want the best at Spurs. I believe that a top six finish is the least we can expect even if we do not make any signings this summer.

If, and I think it is a big if, Vertonghen stays, I am looking forward to seeing a strong partnership with Chiriches who, I felt showed some true class last season and with a consistent run in the team, can be an essential part of our team this time around.

Left back is a concern, but I am not against Benni having a run out or ideally I would be happy to see what Pochettino can get out of young Fredericks.

Walker needs to be more consistent to be a top right back but with Lloris in goal, there is no reason why we should not have a solid defence.

Eriksen will get better this year and maybe Townsend will fulfil the potential that did not come to fruition last season. Soldado is not a bad player. He tried too hard at times last season and his confidence was shot to pieces when manager's dropped him after he did manage to get a goal. That is bad management and I think we could see a twenty plus season from him this season.

I am not convinced about Kane in the premiership, but signs seem to point to Pochettino seeing enough in him to make the grade and if he can produce with Kane what he did with Rodriguez at Southampton, I will be more than happy with not spending money on a new striker this summer.

Dembele played in the correct position can be an asset and then it is up to the manager to get the best from the underperforming players from last season if they are not sold.

Final position?

With transfers, there will always be what ifs, and a lot will depend on who we sell before we buy anyone at all. Whatever happens in the rest of London, I hope that Pochettino has a plan and that he can put it into practice with or without new signings. Only time will tell, but I have to trust that he will get it right, won't he?

As ever, COME.ON YOU SPURS!!!!!

 

I for one am not filled with confidence at the moment,most of last summers signings look at best average in fact the squad as whole looks average.I just dont see great things happening,8th would be my estimate.We have somevery good young prospects and I would like to see these given a chance rather than buying another lot of potential duds.I really hope I'm wrong.

 

Good article, and a nice read!

Still PLENTY of time to sign new players. The club is NOT in desperate need for signings with the dressing room still possessing 5/6 fairly new additions who we are still to see the best from.

However, I do expect their to be a significant amount of transfer activity, both outgoings and ins, before now and the closing of the transfer window, with Pochettino likely to want to put his own stamp on an already EXTREMELY talented squad.

I'm sure that Levy, Pochettino and Baldini have identified targets and are working towards completing deals, but at the same time considering the size of our current squad, I wouldn't be surprised if the powers that be were inclined to sell a few, before acquiring further bodies.

I expect at LEAST 5/6 players to leave, with around 3/4 coming in to replace them, as well as a few academy graduates, such as Carroll, (hopefully) Pritchard, Fredericks and Bentelab, being promoted to help replace them.

New signings are great, and I'm all for Pochettino having a few of his own men in the team/dressing room to deepen his voice around the training ground, and on the field of play. But, like I've said before, Spurs have an ABUNDANCE of untapped potential within the squad, and I honestly believe that Poch will be delighted with the pool of talent, at his disposal.

Spurs have the core of an excellent team/squad and should MP be able to extract the something like the best form from players such as Lennon, Townsend, Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela, Holtby, Dembele and Sigurdsson, then their will be no shortage of creativity and productivity in the forward areas.

I am especially looking forward to seeing how Nacer Chadli develops this year. I think if his name was more exotic sounding then he would be on more Spurs supporters minds than he currently is, at the moment, but as wide-men go- he has ALL the physical, and technical attributes required, to take the EPL by storm next season.

Two footed, quick, powerful - Nacer is a exciting blend of strength, balance and finesse. And after having had a (injury disrupted) season to settle into life in English football, I fully expect the Belgian to improve upon his decent (by his standard/potential) displays of last term.

A growing influence within the side, the more the season wore on, Chadli has only given Spurs supporters a glimpse of INCREDIBLE skill-set he possesses. If Pochettino is looking for someone to replicate the role that Lallana/Rodriguez fulfilled, for him, last year at Southampton, he could do a LOT worse than to entrust the multi talented Belgian with either of those very same duties.

Again, observe how much of Chadli's good work/excellent delivery goes unfinished... Does he therefore get the credit he deserves? No.... This is the life of a winger/wide man.

 

I think eighth is setting expectations very low indeed and we are nowhere near being that bad.
I admit I am not a Levy fan and think he is treading in dangerous waters, but I do believe that this manager will be given time. We need stability and I hope levy knows that but saying we are only as good as eighth makes me sound like the most positive Spurs fan in the World and I am sure my good pal Ramos will tell you that is not the case!!! We need to be realistic and I do believe we have a potentially great manager. Just how great he can be is yet to be seen.

 

After the big transfer activities at WHL last season, I'm expecting a quieter summer this time around with more players leaving than coming in. I don't expect to see more than 4 new faces this transfer open window and I'll be worried if we repeated our volume of transfers as we did last year. We definitely need a left back, maybe another centre back and a striker hopefully. All the new faces HAVE to be an upgrade on what we already have. Let's face it, we have a bloated squad as it is and it could do with a bit of trimming. I wouldn't be surprised if we started the season with no Brazilians at the Lane at all. Some painful and controversial decisions will have to be made because there were clearly performances last season which pointed to a lack of mental strength and focus. There simply too many of these performances for us to dismiss them as one-offs. There has to be some sort of shake-up in the dressing room or we risk the same problems this season. Nevertheless, I believe we have a fundamentally good squad which with good direction and tactics from our management, plus the addition of one or two quality players could do very well this season. Come on Poch! Lead us to Lilywhite Heaven!

 

I can see more leaving than coming in. I think last season was a case of we've got the money. Let's spend the lot rather than investing wisely. I still think we haven't really seen the best of the new signings with the exception if eriksen and even he will get better with a better all round team. Left back is a problem area and need a consistent centre back pairing as too much chopping and changing last season was a key factor in inconsistency. I'm prepared to give poch time as we need stability and let's get right behind the lads. Last season was a washout. Let's forget it. He who dares wins or as Del Boy would probably say Audere est facere !! Tottenham till I die!!!

 

In most cases hindsight is 20/20, so talk of whether last summers financial investment into the squad was spent wisely is EASY to criticise now, but NOBODY, myself included, was complaining about the standard/quality of player being snapped up to ply their trade at WHL ,then.

It's not like Levy and co brought in a bunch of unknown players from the outskirts of Malta or Chile to help boost the squad. We are talking about EXTREMELY talented players, most of which are associated to some of the biggest nations in world football.

Am I saying that if I was given £100m to improve the Spurs squad that I would of brought the same players, or even spent all of it over the course of one window? Maybe not. But I did see the logic behind most, if not all of the signings.

It was actually the late signing of Christian Eriksen that I found most bizarre, due to the number of players Spurs already had to play in that no10 role, but at £10m- I understood why Levy would of thought it was a GREAT investment to make at the time. And so it has proved!

The fact that Eriksen proved so influential in the 2nd half of the season, in terms of goals and assists, SHOULD give us all further reason to believe that he has now (practically) fully adapted to life in the EPL, and will be ready to pick up where he left of come August.

As productive/influential as Eriksen became last term, I definitely feel there is PLENTY of room for him to improve his OVERALL game and become more of a dominant figure in matches. The same applies with Chadli.

In fact I am extremely excited about all of the 'new' acquisitions we made last season and believe that their value to the team will become apparent under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino.

Even Paulinho, a player whose form last season could be described as inconsistent at best, possesses traits that, with the right system, a CLEARLY defined role within the team that caters to his skill-set, a manager who demands he EARNS his place in the team and the confidence that he currently seems bereft of, mean he CAN be a success in England.

For all of the Brazilians deficiencies last season, and, to be honest, I observed a fair few, Paulinho does have a great knack of finding himself in positions from which to score, inside the box. The ball just seems to be drawn to him, inside the opposing penalty area which is a lovely habit to have...providing that you can make the most of those chances, of course.

But, hey, let's be positive.
The biggest problem for Paulinho will be himself (i.e his mindset). His success or failure in England will ultimately be determined by his ability to ADAPT and EVOLVE. You see, having played in Brazil for the vast majority of his career, there are certain habits/patterns of play you learn in that country, that simply WON'T lend themselves to pace and rigours of the English game.

Paulinho, at 26 years old, and already an established Brazilian international, MUST be prepared to almost start his footballing education again, and in order to do that the 1st thing he has to change is his attitude!!!

Now I don't mean that in a 'bad', I simply mean it in a practical, and blunt, one!

I could go into all the ways that the changing of his attitude will GREATLY enhance his chances of success here in England, but I'm both hungry and tired. What I will say though is, a players attitude, will have a direct affect on the individuals commitment to adapt and evolve.

So before attempting to coach Paulinho on the pitch, I believe it is essential to breakdown the old programmes/thought patterns in his head. THIS will be Poch's biggest challenge ,with this particular player, should he choose to persevere with the Brazilian.

We should remember that Paulinho was becoming a big star in, and for, Brazil before his big money move to Spurs creating a fairly big ego, think it's safe to say.

Now there is NOTHING wrong with that, alone, but he must be able to use his ego to his advantage, rather then let it be amongst the reason for his demise.

The best players, with big egos, move teams and say ' what do I have to do to become the best/star player again'?

The not so good players, with big egos, move teams and say ' I don't have to change a thing. The club brought me because of the player I am, not because of the player I could be'.

And there it is, in simplistic terms. Paulinho has a choice to make this summer should he stay at Spurs. Which choice he makes will determine how fondly the Brazilian is remembered in the future. Or indeed, even, how long his career at WHL lasts, at all....

 

Well it was clearly evident last season that we have fallen behind the top4 teams (10 points behind) i have seen nothing to suggest that players such as chadli, paulinho, soldado, lennon, holtby etc are going to suddenly grow a pair and start turning their dissapearing acts into game changers.
We need quality not quantity and that means spending money and shifting the passengers. We are being left behind with the inactivity. A LB, 2 CBs, at least 1 top draw mobile prem striker is what we need desperately!

 

Felon - It's called a disappointing/bad SEASON. it happens... It does NOT mean that everything the club has done over the past 12-18 months needs to to be ripped through a fit of PANIC!

Considering the injury ravaged campaign the club endured with the likes of Daws, Verts, Vlad, Kaboul, Walker, Rose, Lennon, Capoue, Sandro, Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela, Townsend, Paulinho and Sigurdsson, all spending a CONSIDERABLE amount of time (3+ weeks) on the treatment table, you could say that still having the opportunity to equal our record breaking points tally up until the last 2/3 games is actually a good achievement!!!

At one time, Spurs didn't have a single CB (out of 4) to pick from! Now, I don't know about you ,my friend, but that sounds like exceptional/mitigating circumstances to me.

Add that to POOR team selection/ tactics (for example, turning up at Anfield, despite the reds being amongst the EPL top scorers and in contention for the title, in a must win game for us, with Benteleb and Sigurdsson as our CM combo DESPITE having Dembele and Sandro fit, sitting on the bench), the THOUGHTLESS integration of SOME of the new signings and both of our managers showing little regard/respect for a concept called TEAM BALANCE - is it any wonder the team, as well as some individuals, struggled?

What the team 'desperately needs' is:

• common sense management in term of team selection and good man management .
• a CLEAR philosophy/ game plan to work from.
• a solid team structure/strong foundation to build upon.

Without those 3 things, new signings WON'T make a blind bit of difference! I am CONVINCED that the talent is there already within the squad - although I DO believe that MP should have the opportunity to bring in his own men - and now we have a manager who can make the most of that talent!

 

As well as new players, one thing that I think is imperative is making sure we keep players fit. Players get injured on the pitch of course,but last season, players seemed to be injured in training or even walking the dog!
I think there were issues with the training regime last year's and I don't think that will happen under Pochettino. If we keep all.our players fit, that is like having a couple of new signings anyway.

 

From the comments on here mainly of the regulars and the ones who's opinions I value the consensus is pretty much the same and I agree. More will go out 6/7 than will come in 3/4 which should balance the squad up. A Lbk centre half and a goal scorer are necessary. Maybe a left winger if we are to assume that eriksen is move to a more influential no 10 role as I expect. Then the focus will be on getting the best out of the magnificent 7 of last summer and integrate them properly as last term they clearly were not. They were thrown in together with little thought in the deep end and expected to gel which is a nonsense. Thirdly which I believe is the main reason MP was brought in is to develop and give first team opportunities to the talented youth we have.

 

There is always a certain amount of dread when watching our rivals and competitors spend money and strengthening, and it sometimes feels as though we are watching our own team sitting around twiddling their thumbs while everyone else is doing the business, and of course the fear that we are slipping even further away from the top four. Unfortunately this is another year of transition and team building and for the Spurs fan that means bucket loads of patience again. I agree with most others, we need a FB, CB, and a striker but we might not even get that. Lets face it MP wasn't brought into Spurs because of his abilities to attract the top players, added to this is the fact that we don't offer CL football and in some cases the wages that some can.
Poch was brought in because of his ability to bring the best out of individual players and build a team that can play attractive football. In the last few years we've invested heavily with players, offsetted by the sale of Bale but invested heavily none the less so I don't expect us to be buying too many players until the current squad is given the opportunity to reach its potential. However don't expect any instant success or minor miracles this year, Poch has to unify and build a cohesive and hard working unit that fits his high pressing style of play mostly with what he's got to work with. Right now I still don't think we will crack the top four this year, id love it if we did, but its more probable that we wont. Saying that isn't defeatist or "lacking in a pair" as some might suggest. Its where we are at, we've been thereabouts for a few years and we've probably just dropped off the pace after a disastrous last season. Having said that for me anything out of the top six would be a fail for the new manager.

 

So in three words...a team identity.

You couldn't be more correct. The team lacked an identity and a direction last season which was evident by the way players didn't move without the ball and relied on one or two to create everything offensively plus coming back to the ball to pick it up and make passes forward. It seemed that these players sis not know what to expect of each other and simply waited for someone else to take responsibility. If Pochettino can implement a style/identity in the team then I can see how these very talented players can excel and put up a lot of points for us. I certainly do not believe a top four finish is beyond our capability.

With some slight tweaking and a few additions or maybe even a couple call ups, we very well could see a much improved squad. I, for one would love to see us play in a 4-1-4-1 at the start and as a base scheme. I fully believe Sandro or Capoue can play a lone role in front of the back four with either Dembele, Paulinho, and Bentaleb being paired forward with Eriksen much higher. It will still give us width with Chadli/Lamela and Lennon and it would give us the ability to switch in game easily to a plethora of formations such as the 4-2-3-1, 4-1-3-1-1, 4-4-1-1, 4-3-3, and when Eriksen needs a rest we could replace like for like with Sigurdsson or Lamela, or if we need to bring in one of the strikers and move to a 4-1-3-2 or a straight 4-4-2.

With the plethora of midfield talent at our disposal there should be no reason why we shouldn't be able to use 3 of them and change formations with ease. Obviously to me Adebayor will likely still be the number one target man unless Levy and co. are want to bring in a replacement like Bony who can hold the ball and involve others.

 

Michael - Spot on, My Friend. I COMPLETELY agree with all of that!

It was verging on painful AT TIMES, last season, watching Spurs toil aimlessly in trying to create opportunities, often at home, against teams who would sit in deep, leave little space in behind the back four, or in the area between defence and midfield, and make life difficult for Spurs, before attempting to hit us on the counter.

The lack of TEMPO, MOVEMENT and METHOD in our play (at WHL) at times was bewildering, and it's surprising AVB never seemed to able to address this problem with any sort of real resolution. Because had he done so, he probably would still be our head coach now.

Identity (and team balance), or the lack of it, has been something I've been concerned with since Redknapp left the club. Although, I really liked AVB, and thought he did a decent/good job overall in his time at Tottenham, I always believed his biggest failure as Spurs head coach was NOT providing Spurs with a CLEAR and EFFECTIVE identity/philosophy, as a team.

Nobody would've been able to tell you, with any degree of certainty, how Spurs were likely to play from one week to the next, under his stewardship. And, at times, it looked like that apparent uncertainty seemed to affect the team, with the side appearing DISJOINTED, UNBALANCED and PONDEROUS, on a number of different occasions.

That is why I always felt that Pochettino was the PERFECT appointment for Spurs, at this particular moment in time. It is also why I decided to write an article prior to the Argentines appointment, as Spurs Head Coach, explaining in detail, exactly, why I was of this opinion. Feel free to check it out if you wish: http://tottenhamlive.com/threads/users-guide-why-pochettino-is-a-spurfect-fit-for-tottenham.54/

I also agree that if Spurs can secure a Bony/Benteke in place of an ageing and expensive Adebayor, it can only be considered a good thing both in terms of the on, and off, the field impact it could will have on the club.

Ade is a top-player, and on his day WORLD-CLASS, but he is 30 now, and perhaps, after enjoying the kind of (2nd half to the) season he has, it's time to cash in on him while his stock and value are still relatively high. Besides, Adebayor can appear as a bit of a flat- track bully, for me. Great, in terms of displays, against the teams in the mid/bottom part of the table, not so impressive against those at the top end!

It that kind of inconsistency in his displays, as well as certain in-game traits (that I won't go into now) which would prompt me to attempt to sell the Togolese frontman and sign a younger, more robust, model.

 

Good points made about the complete lack of identity within the team last year, for me, and ironically so, it was our fearless manager at the time who while sounding out calls for "character and guts" was systematically destroying the teams unity and identity by constantly undermining the team as well as individual players in the media at every opportunity. Coming out with unnecessary fodder such as the players are much of a muchness in terms of our bloated MF and admitting that he didn't know there best positions. This might have been true but why even say it? Also references to players like Capoue saying he didn't know much of the player but doesn't rate holding MFs anyway. He then plays the player completely out of position and then dumps him for being rubbish. There were of course many incidents of fighting and public disputes with the manager and his big mouth, too many to mention, which turned our beloved club into a circus and an embarrassment.
My biggest fear at the end of last season was that many of our best players , the core of our team would head for the exits at the first opportunity. Fortunately the club acted swiftly enough to ( hopefully) keep the team together but some damage may have been done to the clubs reputation and credibility in the football world. I think MP has a lot of work to do this year in terms of rebuilding the teams unity and ethics on and off the field as well as team balance and identity.

 

We have an identity- its the nearly men feeder club.

Another day no signings, no ambition, still a number of painfully overpaid average players on the books, other than hugo n eriksen no top draw match winners, no consistant quality cb pairing, no 20 goal per season striker.

1 league cup- Enic and Levy out!