Team news and expected line-up vs Chelsea

14 months without Danny 5 months without Toby unbeaten in league since December after today's great performance thought it good time to pose question are these 2 players as important as we all thought 6 months ago

 

It's a Good point Mick, Rose for me is finished at the club he needs to be moved on.
As for Toby he is top top quality and surely Spurs with Toby are a better Spurs than without.
Also would we be strengthening rivals in selling him and are we again displaying selling club mentality that can have a knock on effect on others

 

I think the Rose injury is the key for me. With his generally poor attitude and the fact that recovering fully from that injury is difficult, I'd take the money. I'm with Felon on Toby, he's too good to lose. Now can we keep him, I doubt it, but if there is a way, then DL please find it.

 

Damn right Felon, though not so sure about Rose's importance anymore. He hasn't showed anything like his best although, to be fair, he may still have fitness issues since his return and also he hasn't featured that much anyway. I think I detect an attitude problem here but I may be wrong. Toby, however, is a different story; we're doing alright without him, yes, but he's a superb player and I see no reason just to dismiss him like he's last year's thing. If we let him go we may well regret it and unless he finally stamps his feet (maybe he has done so already, who knows) we should try to hold onto him. And if he does go, then where to ? Surely not to strengthen any PL rivals - that would be total folly but I guess where Levy is concerned, be ready for anything. Maybe it's part of his strategy - player reaching the end of his contract, sign a likely young replacement (Sanchez in this case) a season or so beforehand to allow him to bed in and then allow a situation to develop where the aforementioned Contract Person looks to leave and then flex your Hardball Negotiator muscle to get maximum dollar for him. Fine if it all works but calamity if your replacement turns out to be a dumpling. Watch this space.

 

Spurs are playing a dangerous game allowing players like walker rose and seemingly Toby to force their way out of the club and in particular to strengthen rivals. It was said by many at the timer allowing walker to leave in such circumstances would open the floodgates for others and that appears the scenario. Many made out he was a mercenary others thought it was good money to turn down. How's that working out for you now... He's already pocketed one trophy and one win away from his first league winners medal. Now you wouldn't blame any other spurs players from having a bit of the old green eyed envy would you?
On Rose I'm not sure how high is stock is right now compared to 12 month ago. He's not first choice for club and country and looks way off the pace.
On Toby we probably don't know the full story do we really. Obviously there is a situation there when he's clearly fit but omitted from squads. It's been reported that he wants x amount of money and we are only prepared to go to a certain threshold. However it maybe that he's told the club he wants out and is refusing to discuss a new deal. He maybe like walker wants to be paid his going market rate whilst also winning medals at his age time isn't on his side. If that is the case then personally I'd play him for the remainder of his contract next year and activate his extra year and cash in on his 25m clause. A profit on a player we've had the best out of for 4 year or so of around 15m whilst paying him 60 grand isn't too shoddy. By that time Sanchez and foyth will have developed some what and we will have a greater understanding of where Carter Vickers is at.
I suspect though Toby will be sold in the summer to the highest bidder. Traditionally Madrid and barca don't pay big money for defenders and wouldn't match his wage demands due to FFP restrictions. That leaves the Manchester clubs Liverpool or Psg. I've a feeling we will be strengthening another rival again. That leaves the question Who Will Be Next. ? What if its Kane? What do the club do then? When do we break the trend? When do we break the mould? Break the wage structure? When do we become the ambitious world class club with world class stadium, training ground, World class manager and players we are professing to be?

 

Not for the first time, I pressed the wrong button! Let's try again. After a fantastic result like yesterday's, the temptation to say that everything's right with the 'Project' is hard to resist (though not for a miserable git like me), but 'Big Fran' is absolutely right - the basic problems of PL economics remain unsolved, and the puzzle is that the unrest among the players is apparently confined to a handful of the old stagers, presumably looking for a last big payday, or trophies, or both. We can probably get over the loss of the likes of Rose, Alderweireld and Dembele (because their injury record means we've been doing without them for long periods already), but the knock-on effect on the likes of Kane, Alli and Sanchez would be a different matter entirely, and one we'd struggle to cope with. I think modern football is being destroyed by money, and the prospect of paying the players even more to support their pampered lifestyles is sickening, but it seems that we'll have to do it sooner rather than later, if this flirtation with the Big Boys isn't to end in tears, with a fantastic ground and a mediocre team playing in it.

 

Also Not only is Toby top class he also has an Experienced calming leadership quality about him something the Team aren't stock piled with.
If he goes to any of the other top 6 he improves them immediately something we can't afford to do no matter the price.

If he is squeezed out it would need to be abroad for it to not be detrimental to our causes here.

Football is all about timing and this team/squad/manager coming together and of age at the same time has needed many factors to it, there has been some good/clever recruitment, pochettino is a good coach and has installed a much more professional identity to the club, no one couldve predicted the meteoric rise of Kane from where he was many other players went from potential to fullfilment, and of course there has been a fortunate slip/collapse almost of the establishment.
Many of these factors have got us to where we are now on the verge of 3 consecutive CL campaigns and a possible FAcup trophy, this is all part of a so far 17year project (that's had more ups n downs than Katie Prices mattress) so with all the aforementioned above it seems everyone is doing their part against the odds while our Owners heap praise for it all. It's way beyond time Enic/Levy started behaving like big owners and delivering what is necessary for us to keep and attract Top players, not sit in this permanent state of limbo always touching distance of actual success but also of collapse.

This current phase we are in has at most i see another 2 years in it without substantial investment or a serious trophy haul because Top Players are mainly driven by 2 things Trophies and Money

This summer needs the investment to kick on and achieve

 

What are peoples thoughts on the lucas moura situation also. He's barely been seen... Is he a club signing rather than a poch signed one?

 

Hilarious Gordon Mc.......and, by the by, typically insightful!

 

Who knows Fran?
I think he should be starting way B4 Lamela/Sissoko any day of the week

 

So pleased to have seen that bit of history yesterday.. it's been a long time coming.

As for Rose and Alderweireld.. Mick poses a good question.

Perhaps the perception has changed but I think the reality remains the same.. we're better with both of them playing to their level.

We've had the best defence in the EPL the past two seasons (not so far this year).. yet come this summer it now appears a formality that we will have completed the sales of three of that back four.. the best RB in the league.. the best LB.. and the best CB.

I can understand why but it's disappointing.. and hardly seems like progress.

 

Thoughts....

Lucas .....my sense is that we'll likely see him as a sub in the big games, or a starter against the likes of Stoke, Newcastle, Huddersfield.

FA Cup...we may be getting ahead of ourselves a little, as Manure will be wise to us more for the semi than their league visit, and Pogba will not be as bad, plus there's still Chelski to follow. Now at our best we can handle them, but it's more of two neutral games than our Home Turf

Money/Future Team Building Funds....key to the obscene spending that goes on - Manure's Sanchez, Gooners Ozil's deal - is Sky & BT money. This latest round of bids went for less than before, all right not much less but less still. Strikes me that anything that blunts Sky/BT keenness to spend such crazy money in the future would materially harm the PL. With us needing to divert a large chunk of future cash to repay the Stadium Bankers, any fall off in downstream revenue could be.....worrying!

 

this site does make me laugh.
we beat Chelski on their own turf and its hardly mentioned. All the concern is about whether players will leave!
Newsflash people......for Levy... every player has a price. end of.

 

You know what to do Guesty ?????.........
Why don't you write something for everyone?

 

Might be wrong - but that seems to be a pressing concern at the moment. We can get over the scarf-waving euphoria in a few days, no bother, but keeping a side together that will be able to do the same thing again is another matter. Just a thought.......

 

Understand what your saying guest but the Toby situation was mentioned in the main article.. But on the match itself I didn't think we where all that good. Chelsea should have been out of sight by half time and again alonso was given far too much space but was very wasteful fortunately for ourselves. We lacked the final ball on the final third but a sublime Eriksen goal on the stroke of halftime and credit to the boys n poch tactical changes saved the day and we finally came over a mental block of beating a top club away from home and nearly 30 years of bottling at the bridge. For that I will give credit but it was far from vintage in my eyes.

 

Was lovely to finally beat them sh1t bags at their place .. Think we've actually played better against them at times and got nothing from it .. We were ropey enough defensively at times I taught , lucky enough to only conceed the one , it was kind of strange because individually you couldn't pick anyone out for having a stinker but they were fairly cutting through us at times I taught .. A good example of why you don't sell players of Alderweirerlds class i.m.o... All's well that ends well , puts us in pole position to achieve our top 4 target ... C.O.Y.S ...

Jeez , just looking at Juve game here , my god we let that one slip through our fingers .. Painful stuff indeed ...

 

apologies all....I think my comment came as I dislike Chelksi more than any other team. Just a horrible team in a horrible club.
West Ham after that! ditto the above. (especially that pikey Noble)
....to be honest....Arsenal are too close to home in terms of friends/family etc...so I can put up with them. (....I'm ready for the comments on that one! ha ha)


I think we have to somewhat realistic in terms of keeping players.
We simply will not pay the wages other clubs seem to throw around. Levy is too good at keeping our 'business' in order. ....maybe that will change once we have settled into the new stadium and the ticket revenue increases.....any more than reported this week that is!
Whether that keeps our current squad together....I'm not too sure. Having said that....they have been together a few years and we haven't won anything....so will a change of player be better or worse?? ...Pochy seems pretty sensible with his player purchases
...would a change of manager be worse?? (yes in my opinion)
NB.....as noted earlier up....the players watching Walker walk away to win trophies.....and doubling his wages! .....certainly won't help. ......you would say our big boys will look at that with interest.

If a big offer comes in to Levy for one of them.........

 

So if the media have got this correct and that's a big if , apparently a certain chairman more then doubled his own wages last year to becomeo one of if not the highest paid executive in P.L. football .. Wow , all things considered , in the current circumstances the the club find itself in if that's not two fingers up to his employees and the supporters then nothing is ... No wage restrictions when it comes to the old board members , what a shinning example you are setting to all others involved or connected to the club ... lol if this is accurate , well I really don't know what else to say ... Shocking stuff .... I'd love to have been a fly on the wall of that dressing room this morning ...