Transfer window over.... how did Spurs fare?

So, the moment has come that most football managers can't wait for. The transfer window is over.

Managers can now get on with planning for their next games in the knowledge that they now have their squad...until January comes around!!

Farewell and good luck

It was always likely that we would be saying goodbye to certain players in this window, so who are the main departures from White Hart Lane, and were the sales or loan deals right for the club?

The first confirmed departure today was that of Lewis Holtby on a season long loan to Hamburg. Holtby is a committed player, but has never really held down a first team place at Spurs, and although he performed well in pre-season, his departure was inevitable. What is interesting is the fact that it is only a loan deal, so maybe Spurs are covering themselves in case of injuries.

Next out of the Lane was Zeki Fryers who has left the club and moved on to Crystal Palace. In the few games he played for spurs, Fryers did look like a good prospect, and I had hoped that we may see him a bit more this season, but with the signings coming in to the club, his time has come to move on. Considering the effort and drama we went through to sign him, I am a little surprised this wasn't just a loan deal, but I wish him good luck and think Palace have signed a really good young player.

Apart from a couple of loan deals, the saddest news, in my view, is that of the departure of 'the beast' Sandro, who has joined Harry again at QPR. Sandro has suffered with injuries, but against Limassol I saw enough to suggest he was fit and ready to go this season and I believe he is a better all-round player than Capoue. I love the way he gets stuck in and breaks up play, but sadly he is now gone. What surprises even more though is that he has only gone for six million pounds. QPR have done great business there, although we all know Harry is a master negotiator. I would say he has got one over levy on this one!!

Welcome to the rollercoaster that is Tottenham Hotspur!

Stambouli and Fazio are new arrivals at the lane. Stambouli is a player in the mould of Schneiderlin who is a protective midfielder and May slot in along with Capoue or even instead of him. Once this signing was done, the departure of Sandro was inevitable.

The back four were run ragged last season, and on Sunday there were clear signs that the defence is far from a solid unit. Fazio is over six foot and it will be intriguing to see whether he will partner Kaboul or Vertonghen. For me, it should be a no brainer and would look to see him play with Vertonghen, but that may depend on Pochettino's choice of Captain. Kaboul has had the armband so far, but his performances last season and early this season have been shambolic and giving him the captaincy on a permanent basis is surely not an option?

The two new guys are no doubt here with an eye on the future and we hope that they can go on to become legends at the mighty Spurs!!!

Of course, we have also brought in Ben Davies from Swansea as well as Vorm and both will be assets to the squad. Welcome fellas.

Didn't they do well?

How did Spurs fare in this transfer window then? Well, we already have a talented squad, so I wasn't too surprised to see fairly little activity from Spurs this time around. A few have moved on, and the only real surprise for me is the departure of Sandro as he is a strong player and clearly popular around the dressing room.

The signings coming in seem like gambles as they are not players with Premier league experience, so how they will slot into the team will be intriguing to watch.

Ben Davies is a great young prospect and it should be a good battle between him and Rose for the left back berth.

The best bit of business though has to be the signing of Eric Dier. The England under 21 has come straight into the team and had a dream start, getting two goals in his first two appearances for us. He looks quick and strong, and against QPR showed he is comfortable on the ball.
He had a harder time of things against Liverpool but considering his age, we have signed a future England defender, and he looks to be a brilliant bit of business!!!

I would say that the business done has been okay, but still cannot understand the lack of effort put into trying to get a striker or attacking player. The Welbeck deal seems to have turned into a farce, and while it seemed he would only join on loan, it looks like he will now be joining Arsenal for around sixteen million pounds.

With Adebayor still looking like he will go to the Africa cup of Nations in January, I would be worried about our goal scoring options this season. Soldado needs confidence to start firing and he isn't going to get that confidence, sitting on the bench every week.

Sunday's game against Liverpool showed up our lack of firepower, so I find it almost unbelievable that attacking signing has been made.

I still believe we have a good squad, but it seems getting money in was the priority this summer and I think it could prove to be an opportunity missed.

Back to the season now and as ever, come on you spurs!!

 

Don't forget our top scorer - Mr Dier .....best buy of the closed season and a future England defender (somewhere along that back line)

 

We got a great new manager and signed some good players but Levys let us down again by not getting a striker in mans got no ambition

 

Maybe Dier will move up front. He certainly seems to have an eye for goal. The lack of a striker is disappointing.

 

When are we going to sign a goal scorer!
Or was that what Dier was brought in to do?

 

I think we done well,people having a go about a striker but as soon as poch decided that Soldado was staying,we were never going to sign another.people have got to get over the fact that like it or not we are run as a business and not as a football club so profit will always come above trophies. It why they are building the stadium to increase funds

 

Dont get your hopes to high looks like a very average season,cant see us winning anything,6th is a hope more than reality.

 

Gutted to see Sandro go, was it 6m or somewhere near 10? we knew it was coming, unfortunatly for Sandro injuries have impeded his standing in the team and if MP cant find a place for him then we have to trust that, however I still feel that a fit Sandro is the best enforcer in the league and will be missed. Stambouli will not be a replacement for Capoue who has been our most consistent player by far, although im interested to see what the player offers after seeing the likes of Siggy, Sandro and Holtby leave im a bit underwhelmed by this arrival. More interested to have a look at Fazio as Kaboul has been atrocious so far, defence was our biggest problem area last year so its good to see that this has been our priority this window, I hope that I never have to watch a LB run 60 yards at us unchallenged by a static Kaboul ever again. Very dissapointed that during this window we have not reinforced our attack, there have been lots of options and opportunities and Levy has done nothing. This will cost us. Also, good work and well done to all the writers who have kept up to date with all the latest. cheers

 

Our need for a physically imposing striker is blatently obvious, but I didn't expect us to get one because tight-arse Levy doesn't do the obvious.

Instead he sells us short time and time again by penny pinching and doing it on the cheap.

Another transfer window where we turn a profit which, to him, is what its all about and not really being top four / CL material.

We get Southampton's one-trick pony of a manager, instead of Ajax's who has won 4 league titles on the bounce.

No real ambition and we fall further behind all the time. We are a joke.

 

Did spurs win the title last year ?
We brought in Stambouli back up for capoue
We brought in Worm back up for Lloris
We brought in davies back for Rose
We brought in Fazio For Dawson
We brought in Dier very cheap but has been great
I could swear we need a striker Ade a handy player who gets way to up the ground leaving no striker at home for half the game
Im sick of Leavy trying to buy cheap players with the view of selling them later
You cant win titles with that formular
How long until he wants to cash in on Erikson and Lamela

 

At the minute having lost Sigurdsson, and losing two fans favorites like Sandro and Holtby on deadline day, with no-one exciting coming in is a bit soul destroying.

Last season we had bags of squad depth to win against the weaker teams but lacked something in the big games, this summer we've invested in 5 up squad players that aren't likely to make much difference in the big games.

I was hoping we would sign another player of the same ilk as Eriksen or Lamela to give us a good chance in the bigger games.

I think I might be a bit more positive if we had fielded a better team against Liverpool and we'd have got a result, but think Pochettino needs more time to work out his best 11 and get everyone that we already have playing well. Seeing Dembele coming on in the second half against Liverpool did offer some hope for pragmatism, and one would also hope that Kaboul has firmly established himself as 5th choice centre back after Vertonghen, Fazio, Chiriches and Dier following Saturdays performance.

I remember feeling similarly deflated when the Moutinho deal fell through on deadline day, and whilst one can only speculate as to whether or not it cost us champions league football, we had a pretty good season anyway so I figure its best to just get behind the team, not hope for too much initially and hope for some exciting football win, lose or draw...this season will be about gelling the players we already have in a new system and hopefully see a couple start to flourish

 

The Van der Vaart signing was the worst thing that ever happened to Spurs, as ever since, Levy has relied on his brinksmanship to bag him a last day bargain. It's no way to strategically build a successful football club and must change if Spurs are to move forward.

I don't mind Sandro going. Like BAE (although to a lesser extent in Sandro's case), his persona has become bigger than his performances. Clearly MP wanted Schneiderlin badly, but Levy wouldn't pay what admittedly was an inflated fee and we end up with an unknown from Ligue 1 instead. Still, at least he was cheap.

Dier looks a decent prospect, but it's a big ask for him to be expected to perform consistently at his age, even if he has started with promise. Fazio has come in, again as we couldn't get MP's main man in Musacchio, it remains to be seen how he does. In any event, it was high time that Daws moved on after 9 years of glowing service to Spurs. I had very much hoped that the welcome signing of Davies would mean the end of Rose's time at WHL, but instead, he's been rewarded for his dire showing last season with a 5 year contract and a place in the starting XI. I find this extraordinary.

Spurs' glaring main issue is a lack of goals. Soldado looked a great signing, but hasn't come good. It's been suggested that the reason for this to be a lack of service and this may be true. Lennon is incredibly predictable; quick, yes, but clumsy and his delivery is woeful. Townsend, after a bright start, has caught the contagion and looks a shadow of the player he was prior to getting injured. So there's surely the second priority for the summer - sell both to make way for, eg Konoplyanka/Depay. After all, we've given the others a good go and they still have sell-on value. With the window now closed, we do not have new blood on the flanks, so we continue with Lennon, whose crosses don't beat the first defender and Townsend, who has become greedy and loses possession all too easily.

We all know Ade blows hot and cold. He is also likely to head off for the African Cup of Nations come Jan. Soldado looks completely devoid of confidence and Kane is still far from the complete package. So a 20/25 goal a season man is imperative if we're to push on. So, with a few guys potentially available, who will it be? Lukaku? Bony? Martinez? Llorente? Destro? Negredo? No-one, absolutely no-one. Rather than going into the season with cause for optimism and with the psychological edge that we've strengthened, we will once again be competing on 4 fronts with only 3 strikers, none of whom it's possible to have complete confidence in. If Ade is injured next game, we have Soldado and Kane. I cannot even begin to understand how this has been allowed to happen.

Levy's greatest coup has been to secure MP. What a shame, then, that he's failed to learn from the frustrations of previous seasons when we went into a campaign under-resourced up front. Football is ultimately very simple - you score more goals than the opponent - we do not have a squad capable of doing that consistently enough to finish higher than at least 5 other teams in the league. In fact, we hardly managed a shot in anger against any of the big boys last term while they hammered us at the other end.

I would LOVE to be proved wrong, but having both failed to strengthen where is was desperately needed and failed to secure any of our main targets in other positions, I don't see anything other than more frustration. Even without one of their marquee signings Lallana (who we also failed to get), Liverpool limited us to ONE shot on target in 90 mins and showed how far we are behind them. I can't see the story being any different home or away at Chelsea, Man City & Arsenal. Factor in the quality and number of signings at Man U and you quickly realise how far behind our ambitions are.

It's not easy following Spurs at the best of times, but right now this feels like one window of nonsensical decisions too far. I've always supported Spurs and always will, but it's maddening to see the same mistakes repeated year after year and even harder to foresee anything other than exactly the same outcome as a result.

 

The Liverpool game showed everyone where we are.Mediocrity.Without creative players to unlock tight defences and a quality goalscorer any team will struggle.Our defence has been the centre of investment this summer, fine and no doubt it will improve but goals ultimetely win games.Soldado,Adebayor and Kane are not going to win us trophies or achieve champions league football.And when Adebayor leaves for the Africas Cup then what happens.Its absolutley incredible that once again we spent absolutely nothing on improving our attack.How many heavy defeats does it take to realise that we have a very serious problem up front.Yes this football club is a business but the real profits and success is in winnings trophies and the champions league.How many QPRs as they were are we going to face this season.

 

We needed a true ST and we didn't get one. The other players we brought in are definitely assets but we needed a proven BPL goalscorer like Bony... so with that, I don't think we had a good window. That was our most glaring need and we didn't address it.

 

A goof transfer window except for the failure to get Sadio Mane. Spurs flank is weak. Chadlii is inconsistent. Lennon has pace but very little accuracy in th crosses. Townsend is just plain useless.

 

Ade doesn't have the legs for a full season and by the time the African nations has been and gone so would have Ade, he will be a spent force. I dont have any faith that Soldado will be our top striker and score enuf goals so that leaves Kane for the time of the season where we would like to be competing in the league as well as a few cups. Not good enuf Mr Levy

 

All spurs fans,pundits, commentators and opposition managers know we lack creativity up front and proven goalscoring ability.Having a solid defence is great if we can achieve that aim, but without any genuine spark up front we will never threaten the top 4 places. I think Pottechino has been licenced to win the Europa Cup to get into the champions league because we are light years away from a top 4 spot with this squad.Does anyone really believe we are capable of winning any cup with our forwards at present.So who really is to blame for the mess we are in.The same person who sold Bale, sactioned the magnificent 7 , sacked numerous managers he himself appointed, gave Danny rose and Harry Kane 5 year contracts?? and continually avoids investing in the front half of the team.He also appointed Baldini.He sits there at games overlooking the mess and is still in his job.I want a chairman who is also as passionate as the fans who fill the ground each home game and travel in large numbers away, seeing the team doing well year in year out ...thats what i regard as profit...success.Whats the point of a state of the art training ground and new stadium with 58,000 passionate spurs fans if there is no success on the pitch.

 

Another woeful window from levy who refuses to strengthen the team upfront with the exception when he had the bale money he continues to ignore the attack (obviously as it is the most expensive to strengthen) bony was a must and why we didn't sign depay is beyond me another season of challenging and falling just short again! Thanks levy

 

After watching Manu spend something like 150m in this window its easy to see why we didnt end up with LVG or someone like him who may have demanded some funds for players. I have every faith in MP and believe he's a good fit for this club but from Levy's point of view its even better, heres a young, reletively inexperienced manager who is just happy to be given his chance and not in a position to make any demands of the chairman, he's here to shut up, put up and do something with what weve already got, end of. Good luck Poch.

 

We would have a good season - now we know what we have, the coach will weald us into a solid team capable of competing for major honors . The versatility in our team gives me a lot of hope - Kaboul ( shocking against liverpool) Vlad can all be used as defensive midfielders. Dembele (used to be a striker) should be pushed further forward, as in my opinion he takes too many touches in dangerous areas. Chadli is another potential striker.
Liverpool did a number on both Erickson and Lamela by bunching up on them when they had the ball , not many teams have the midfield to be able to do that especially Arsenal and Man City - so as long as we cut out the over elaboration and stick to the one/two touch philosophy, we would be alright.
Loris should be captain with Ventoghen , Erickson and Adebayor as possible deputies . Or maybe added responsibility would remove the complacency from Lennon' s game.
All in all I think we would do well, we just need to dare to do!!