We've plugged a hole

Tanguy N'dombele is our marquee signing we've been waiting for.

Record club signing a player who looks a real talent and was seeming to be sort after by some of the biggest clubs but has come to us instead.

From what I've seen he ticks all the right boxes young, physical, athletic, good close control but more importantly a forward thinking brain something Dembele was totally void of.

But this signing good though it is is just plugging the hole when Dembele left and wasn't replaced.

So as part of our 1 step forward 2 steps back routine were currently back to where we were on the CM front.

The boy Clarke looks a decent prospect , stays at Leeds so is of no help whatsoever. Will be interesting to see how he performs now after signing for a bigger team, does he keep the hunger/improvement up or does the I've made it lapse come into play?

And that's it , still lacking in depth , weak at FB , not enough competition for places and plenty of squad blocking dead wood.

35days left till window shuts.

 

Given the scale of our decline in the second half of last season, people must be expecting Ndombele to be a combination of Lampard, Scholes and Dave Mackay if they think he'll turn us into serious contenders only a few weeks after all our failings were on display in Madrid. With our recent track record when it comes to big money signings (by Spurs' standards, obviously), the precedents aren't good; Bentley, Lamela, Soldado, Sissoko (one good year out of three doesn't make him a success in my book) and Sanchez (who hasn't yet established himself as a first-choice centre-back coming into his third season here), and now Ndombele, who was transferred last year for barely one-tenth of what we're reportedly paying. Let's hope he's a Kante rather than a Palacios, and that his presence as the supposedly finished article at 22 will give the 23 year-old boy wonder Alli the kick up the backside that Pochettino seems incapable of delivering - I'll end on a positive note just for a change.

 

At this stage Tanguy is not enough. It will take another two windows to get the team up to the standard of 2016/17.
At least two more signings are needed this TW, and at least one has to be 1st team ready and the other very close. The lucky thing is that Manu, Arse and the Chavs are all in transition, so top4 should be safe. Coys

 

I'm just amazed at how signing someone we should've signed before or when the decision was made to let Dembele go has been greeted by a huge slice of our fan base as us moving forward.
It's just filled the gap.
We've been short , even in our previous better seasons, we still are, and unless these things are picked up it'll be more of the same again in this top 4 trophy project.
As Palmover says the fortunate thing for us is that Chavs without hazard look average , Scum r a shambles and Utd will either get there act together or crash again.
I've said it a few times now but it's never been easier to get in the top 4 and fortunately for us we seem the most stable of best of the rest.
So to qualify top 4 currently isn't the great success it's cracked out to be, a marker for next season would be to at least push City & Liverpool to be deemed an improvement.
Can't see us fluking a CL final again but it's way over due we scooped a domestic up , and all this Top 4 or a Trophy nonsense there's no reason we shouldn't be achieving both.

 

Absolutely unbelievable signing. Would have loved us to have followed it with tielemens and cannot believe Leicester have had a free run at the kid. Probably the best stocked midfield in the land right now and of eriksen goes the funds should be pumped hopefully into another attacker. Looking like Toby will stay right now so no problem at centre half. Right full bk is the most pressing issue right now. Reports seem that the signing of cebellos is impending right now. A player who I wasn't too interested in but he's ripped up the unde 21 tournament. Sessagnon looks to be a formality also. Coys.

 

Damned if you do. Damned if you don’t!

Félon , you (and everyone) want us to sign some players.
If we don’t you complain and now that we have you complain.
Let’s consider this as the first step. It’s clearly moving forward from before we signed him but did we move backwards by not replacing Dembele sooner? Probably but we can only address the here and now

So yes it’s moving forward, plugging a hole and progressing compared to the day before the signing

 

How is it a complaint ?

It's just a statement of fact that's not dressed up.
If we "moved backwards by not replacing Dembele sooner" then replacing him just has us back to square 1 it's not 'moving forward'.

My point is that if that's it (despite rating N'Dombele highly) then it's just more treading water and again not much to be expected next season because we're still short of quality and competition for certain positions.

If we get rid of some serial disapointments and bolster, + 2 more 1st team quality players then it would be a different story.
Anything else and we've all been sold the project con again.

 

He's not a Dembele replacement. Dembele was passed his best struggling to play bk to bk games or a full 90 mins. You've said many times that you didn't rate Dembele and he offered little a statement I don't agree with but that's your opinion which I respect. To all intent and purpose Dembele was a mere squad player so was replaced really by winks or sissoko. Ndombele is here hopefully to start given the outlay and how good he is in truth none of us will know until he plays. But in fairness it's a top end signing that we've all craved and one that heaven forbid goes straight into our 11 and other players now start looking to see where they fit into the managers plans... Players that may have considered themselves undroppable. The bench and squad thus get much stronger. The forward line now needs a considerable shake up with a versatile marquee signing.

 

He wasnt replaced both him a Vic were the foundation of the CM in our best season under Poch , both then slowed and Dembele who I've always said the most wasted of a talent going just became more and more negative but still did a job in the way only he could (keep ball).
Now Winks and Sissoko were basically utilised in a make do role there due to injuries and sales.
Niether is a replacement for Dembele where as N'dombele is , and I think Sissokos new found skillset would be that of a more mobile Vic & hopefully both make a formidable partnership that's positive/influential rather than just physical and good at keeping possession.

 

N'

N'dobele is a box-to-box MF in Pogba mold. So he is the replacement for the "failed Beatle" Paulinho we never had. As such he replaces none. Just huge improvement to MF, more than one hole is plugged.

 

Toby to Roma seems to be gathering momentum , what a ridiculous loss and move this would be for both parties.

27 days of the TW left...

 

Well the transfer already has become another disaster. We were a million miles behind the top two last season and if the season kicks off tomorrow are we any more equipped to challenge them or even somewhat close that gap. More unanswered questions than answers. Right back situation hasn't been resolved, the future of Toby and eriksen still not been resolved... Do we need replacing them or not? Another attacker/CF yet to be brought in. Players that need moving on or loaning out clogging up wage bills and squad ratios in regard to overseas players etc. It's a mess. We were led to believe that things would be different this time round with the club being decisive in bringing targets in early ready for the pre season and to go on tour bedded in properly come the first game of the season.

 

Pool and city don't need too do much and the chavs are on a ban, so it's understandable that these clubs have been relatively quiet. Spurs, arse and man.u all who need too sort out problems with their squads have up to this stage been quiet. Spurs have done the best bit of business so far buying Tanguy.

Selling Walker has proved to be a big mistake, as Mp has not come near to replacing him. Foyth played Rb in Copa so looks like the best option spurs have at the moment.

Looking at the players being linked with spurs Locelso and Sess and the positions they play i can already see another season of having an unbalanced team which i have come to accept as something Mp aims to achieve when he puts together a team.

It's been said that Toby, Ce and trippier will be sold. If spurs bring in their targets it could be argued that the squad might be weaker at CB, however, might be more balanced overall. Time will tell.

 

Much will depend on the replacements really. When Toby leaves and probably not replaced we are weaker than last season in terms of starters and thus bk up. If eriksen leaves then I'd argue alli is a stronger no 10 so no problem there. The problem then leads to after that moura and lamela become more frequent unreliable back ups. Personally don't think lo celso is the answer or type we need right now. We need more pace power and goals in the final third not another player clogging up the centre of the pitch. Where do u fit in wanyama dier ndombele alli winks sissoko and lo celso?

 

The freak accident of finding ourselves in the CL final will have further convinced the ENIC ultras that we are still progressing (on this snail pace upwards trajectory) despite all other evidence that we are on the decline from 16/17.

2 things will/should help us out , Dembele being replaced finally and the rest from no international football.
But factoring in the aging of the squad the pending loss of Toby n CE then we need 2 quality starters in just to stand still.

The full back situation needs massive improvement as a priority now followed by a 2nd Striker that will actually push/support Kane.

 

Koscielny's available!

 

Should have gone out and signed ndombele 55m bissaka 50m werner 50m straight off the bat regardless of player sales. Then take what you can for the deadwood. After then sit back and relax. If CE and Toby leave you have the money there to solve the situation no problem at all. Eriksen probably doesn't need replacing so it gives you 100m plus to offset the players already brought in or pump the lot into a top class centre half such as maguire otamendi umtitti etc.
The prospect of spending combined 40m on two players in jack clarke and William saliba just to loan back rather than strengthen your actual 11 for the coming season I can't comprehend when it seems we ain't got a pot to piss in.
Imagine lloris bissaka Toby Jan Rose sissoko winks ndombele Kane Son werner subs gazza dier moura alli eriksen sanchez sessagnon

 

Spurs will challenge for the title. Million miles will become meters with ease. In addition to Ndobele, the Sessegnon brothers will be signed, they both want to go to Spurs and it is matter of price, hence Levy plays his usual games, but it will end positively, I am sure. That is the answer to FBs. Poch will keep Rose at least until Jan window. Davies and Winks are secured. Ceballos will come on loan. Both Eriksen and Toby and, yes, Llorente will sign new contracts with Spurs, there are no takers for them at the moment. Baldini will go back to Rome emptyhanded. But if RM will fail to get Pogba, then Eriksen go, but there will be money to get after LoCelso with confidence. If Eriksen stays, which I hope he will, there is no room in MF for the Argentinian, even if Poch will play 4-3-3. We have to wait for Pogba thriller to end one way or another to get more clear on further steps. RM holds all cards so far.
Goodness me, I lived to see Gooners not being a competition to us in transfer market! What's not to like?

 

Agree with Big fran that spurs need more pacey players, that's why i dream of bale coming back on loan. Werner is a good shout and still possible, if spurs got Werner and bale then spurs would be making a statement, prefer those two to sess and locelso.
I am not sure how good Bissaka is, not convinced that he was worth 50m, however, he is gone so Foyth will have to do for now.

 

Looks like Tripier has been sold, feel sorry for the guy he was a perfect back up to Walker, however, was never good enough to be top dog.
There is talk that spurs could sell Rose and Serge. Both players seem to be injured too much, however, they have to be replaced with quality players if they leave. Coys