Spurs next season

PHB

Spurs loss yesterday puts serious question marks on whether they'd get 4th, but it's looking extremely likely that they won't be in the CL next season.

Why question is, where do they go from here?

First question for me is, without CL football, will their top players want to leave? Bale, Modric, VDV are all capable of playing at the top level, how strong will their desire to stay be and how strong will Spurs resolve be?

Second is, how can they possibly catch up with City after they are able to attract better players due to CL football? City are going to push on massively. IMO, the team is so good because the midfield is outstanding. Sandro, VDV, Modric are cracking players. Bale is a real threat, and Lennon is a good player. Jenas also is barely in there and is a very good player.

The issue though for me is that the rest of the team is weaker. Gomez costs points. None of the defenders are really top class, as you can tell by the fact that not a single time are they mentioned as players that any United, Chelsea or Arsenal fan would want in their team. None of them are going to get poached, and it's for a reason.

Then of course, there's the striker issue. With that midfield behind them, a top class striker would make the attack up their with the best in the league. However, how will they be able to attract them if they don't have CL football.

mike65

PHB wrote: »

Spurs loss yesterday puts serious question marks on whether they'd get 5th, it's looking extremely likely that they won't be in Europe next season.

Fyp

ShamoBuc

They will finish 6th - so no european football at all - they'll slowly go away to mid table, one hit wonders;)

Turtyturd

Spurs were never going to be a permanent fixture in the 'top 4'. City were always going to be overtake them and Liverpool are making steps back in the right direction.

I think the real test for them will be when 'Arry takes the England job...what kind of wheeler dealer will they be able to attract. If they attract a decent manager they might continue pushing for an EL place, if not it's back to chasing the FA cup.

Sirsok

Same way Liverpool attracted Carrol and Suarez this year

Spurs will have a harder job for sure, however they have been good at buying signings that arent huge names and making it work (Sandro Bale, Crouch,Modric,Huddlestone,Ekotto,and sure no one really wanted VDV) unlike city who seem to buy the flavour of the month,and with the exception of Tevez and Silva, they havent really worked out (Milner, Barry, Robiniho, Adebayor, Lescott, Balotelli). Arguably cities best buys have come in the form of relatively unknown players, such as Kompany, De Jong, Johnson.

Spurs will just have to go out of their way in searching for talent, which is something they all ready have done so it wont be a huge difference to them imo.

whatawaster

Jenas is awful

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

PHB wrote: »

None of the defenders are really top class, as you can tell by the fact that not a single time are they mentioned as players that any United, Chelsea or Arsenal fan would want in their team. None of them are going to get poached, and it's for a reason.

Dawson, Walker and King (when fit) would be regulars at every club in the PL. King's only drawback is his fitness, whereas Dawson has been fcuking immense for us this season - barely put a foot wrong. Walker wa playing Championship football for the first half of the season, and then went to Villa. At both clubs he has been a revelation. He can only improve. IMO we're one CB short of having a top, top defence. We're not going to get a better LB without splashing 20m+ and quite frankly thats not worth it. But the defence is not our problem area.

Our top priority is a world-class striker to supplement Modric, Bale and Lennon, and we've been linked with plenty over the past few months. After that we need a reliable keeper. Gomes (not Gomez!) will cost us 10+ points a season. The only other we're missing is a midf enforcer, and with Sandro I think we may have that. Tbh I don't think VDV fits into our team, and despite him being immense for the first half of the season with Modric, I think we can only choose one or the other, and it would be Modric all day long.

As regards to holding onto our best players I really don't think that will be an issue. Modric seems to have unwavering loyalty, Dawson and Lennon also seem to be fully committed to the club. As for Bale, I really couldn't be arsed whether or not he leaves in the summer. Being British, he's so over-rated, and if we get 40m+ for him (which we will) I'll be laughing, especially if Marin (Bremen) comes to us. Seems to be a rising star and he can play out wide as well as in the middle.

So I really don't think we have anything to worry about next season, despite this thread and worries over some of our players fate's (let me guess, Bale's and Modric?;)). I think most of our players realise that we can't guarantee them CL football every season, and they'll be content under Harry. I fully expect us to be challenging for CL again next year.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

mike65 wrote: »

Fyp

ShamoBuc wrote: »

They will finish 6th - so no european football at all - they'll slowly go away to mid table, one hit wonders;)

I think most Spurs fans have learned by now that no European football is better than Europa League. Look how teams over the past few seasons that were in Europe (Liverpool, Everton and Villa) have struggled with fatigue. 6th would be a blessing in disguise, I'd be more than happy to let Liverpool have yet another crack at the EL.

mike65

I agres with that as it happens, on the LFC thread its generally agreed that the kids/squad players should form the core of the EL team.

PHB

THFC wrote: »

Dawson, Walker and King (when fit) would be regulars at every club in the PL. King's only drawback is his fitness, whereas Dawson has been fcuking immense for us this season - barely put a foot wrong. Walker wa playing Championship football for the first half of the season, and then went to Villa. At both clubs he has been a revelation. He can only improve. IMO we're one CB short of having a top, top defence. We're not going to get a better LB without splashing 20m+ and quite frankly thats not worth it. But the defence is not our problem area.
.

Sorry what? Dawson would be a regular at every club in the PL? Dawson is up there with Ferdinand, Vidic, Vermalan? Let's not be stupid here. He's a solid player, but he's nowhere near that level.

Kyle Walker has done nothing, nothing, to show that he's going to be near the highest level.

King is as much a player as Hargreaves is. He's also 30 now. It's done. Ain't going to happen.

Spurs have concedded 43 this season. United 32. Chelsea 28. Arsenal 36. City 30. Spurs have a poor defence compared to the levels they need to be at, this really shouldn't be in dispute.

whatawaster

PHB wrote: »

Spurs have concedded 43 this season. United 32. Chelsea 28. Arsenal 36. City 30. Spurs have a poor defence compared to the levels they need to be at, this really shouldn't be in dispute.

and they've scored less than all the top 4 and Liverpool, I believe

mike65

2 goals less than Liverpool I think, not very good for such an attacking team when you think about it.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

PHB wrote: »

Sorry what? Dawson would be a regular at every club in the PL? Dawson is up there with Ferdinand, Vidic, Vermalan? Let's not be stupid here. He's a solid player, but he's nowhere near that level.

Kyle Walker has done nothing, nothing, to show that he's going to be near the highest level.

King is as much a player as Hargreaves is. He's also 30 now. It's done. Ain't going to happen.

Spurs have concedded 43 this season. United 32. Chelsea 28. Arsenal 36. City 30. Spurs have a poor defence compared to the levels they need to be at, this really shouldn't be in dispute.

Dawson has been exquisite this season. Let's not be stupid here, read my comment, I never said he is at the level of Ferdinand, Vidic and Vermaelen but he would certainly be a regular at every PL club. If I recall correctly Ferdinand and Vermaelen haven't been playing week in week out this season, have they? Dawson would certainly do a very good job at any club.

As for your point on Walker, please... Why don't you check him out first. He's already been called up to the England team and probably would have made his debut had he not been injured for the Ghana match.

I agree with your point on King, he's probably done, but he's still an exceptionally good CB. And if you had read my comment you might have noticed I said we're one CB short of a very good defence.

As for our high concession of goals this season I don't think that reflects very fairly on our defence. We haven't played a defensive midf on countless occasions, and Gomes had chipped in with his few howlers. Not to mention by October I think we had 13 different CB pairings, more than double the next highest in the league iirc.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

whatawaster wrote: »

and they've scored less than all the top 4 and Liverpool, I believe

mike65 wrote: »

2 goals less than Liverpool I think, not very good for such an attacking team when you think about it.

It's been said countless times that we're missing a world-class CF. Perhaps if we spend 50m + on a new partnership this summer we might score a few more;)

smokedeels

They need a decent striker...

ynwa_17

Sirsok wrote: »

Spurs will have a harder job for sure, however they have been good at buying signings that arent huge names and making it work (Sandro, Bale,,Modric, VDV

Sandro - One of the most talked about Brazilian Youths before he signed for Spurs. Everyone knows the reason he signed for them over one of the more 'glamorous' sides is due to the affiliation they have with Internacional

Bale - Wanted by United, Liverpool and Arsenal before he signed for Spurs

Modric - Was linked with every top club under the sun

VDV - Was linked with Bayern and Liverpool in the last few days of the window. Only reason he signed for Spurs was due to the deal with Bayern falling through late on.

Not really sure how you can claim them not to be big names.

yabadabado

I would have Dawson in before Vermaelen any day .he mightn't be world class but he is solid and reliable ,I think he is a better defender than Vermaelen.I reckon spurs conside so many goals because of their midfield.

flahavaj

Battle with Liverpool for 5th next season IMO, with a sustained challenge for 4th a possibility. I think they'll hang onto their players for at least one more season. They're all nailed down to very long contracts that were recently signed, so Spurs hold all the aces in that regard. They're a very well run club, with a good manager and a clutch of young players that would have every top club showing an interest if they did come on the market. I don't think they'll disappear out of sight, they'll be in and around the CL spots for a few years to come.

One thing they do need badly is a new keeper, Gomes is a joke. Add in a quality CB to play beside dawson on a regular basis and a striker who guarantees 25 goals a season and you have a serious team, with quality back up in most positions.

The Muppet

Spurs need a keeper , you can't gift goals like yesterday which wasn't a one off .

They need a few defenders too, Kaboul was poor yesterday, he gave the ball away way too often

VDV had a good start to the season, but hasn't really maintained that level of performance.

Paully D

They're a superbly well run club who have three of their best players on long-term contracts. If any of them do go they'll get decent money for them and replace them no problem. A London club challenging for Europe will always be able to attract players to replace them too. On top of that, Levy is the most financially astute chairman in the country.

They'll be absolutely fine and will challenge for Europe (Europa League as when City finish top 4 they won't be moved for the next 10 + years) again next season, regardless of where the finish this year.

However, I think they need to go all out and purchase a top goalkeeper, centre half and striker.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Spurs Supporters Club wrote:

Some stats from this season
Bottom six of the PL as of noon today are:

Blackburn
Birmingham
Blackpool
Wigan
Wolves
West Ham

With West Ham at the bottom of the table.

The top 6:

Man Utd - 73pts
Chelsea - 70pts
Arsenal - 64pts
Man City - 59pts
Spurs - 55pts
Liverpool - 52pts

Each of top 6 sides have achieved the following points vs the bottom six:

Man Utd 25pts from 10 games (31 possible)
Chelsea 30pts from 12 games
Arsenal 32pts from 12 games
Man City 24pts from 11 games (27 possible)
Spurs 13pts from 10 games (19 possible)
Liverpool 15pts from 12 games

Some context:

If we matched Man City's performance vs the bottom 6 we would be 4pts clear of them now with both sides still to play one more game.
If we matched Man Utd's performance we would have 67pts and be sitting in 3rd place 6pts behind the leaders.

It is our failure to beat these teams that has cost us a chance of CL football again.

Thought this was very interesting, just posted over in the SSC. Think it highlights our need even further for a 25 goal a season striker.

flahavaj

The Muppet wrote: »

Spurs need a keeper , you can't gift goals like yesterday which wasn't a one off .

They need a few defenders too, Kaboul was poor yesterday, he gave the ball away way too often

VDV had a good start to the season, but hasn't really maintained that level of performance.

I think VDV is over rated by a lot of people tbh. Decent player, but faded as the season went on and seemed to pick up injuries quite a lot. I've heard him described as world class with is crazy.

I thinka decision has to be made on Ledley King. While I understand he's worshipped at the Lane, and he's as good as anyone in the league when he plays, he is impossible to rely on, but keeping him and indeed Woodgate in the squad takes up two slots that someone like Cahill at Bolton or Kjaer at Hamburg could easily occupy alone.

whatawaster

THFC wrote: »

It's been said countless times that we're missing a world-class CF. Perhaps if we spend 50m + on a new partnership this summer we might score a few more;)

Or sell your entire strikeforce and replace it for 7 million extra

TheTownie

flahavaj wrote: »

I think VDV is over rated by a lot of people tbh. Decent player, but faded as the season went on and seemed to pick up injuries quite a lot. I've heard him described as world class with is crazy.

I thinka decision has to be made on Ledley King. While I understand he's worshipped at the Lane, and he's as good as anyone in the league when he plays, he is impossible to rely on, but keeping him and indeed Woodgate in the squad takes up two slots that someone like Cahill at Bolton or Kjaer at Hamburg Vfl Wolfsburg could easily occupy alone.

Had to be done!

invinciblePRSTV

THFC wrote: »

Dawson, Walker and King (when fit) would be regulars at every club in the PL. King's only drawback is his fitness, whereas Dawson has been fcuking immense for us this season - barely put a foot wrong. Walker wa playing Championship football for the first half of the season, and then went to Villa. At both clubs he has been a revelation. He can only improve. IMO we're one CB short of having a top, top defence. We're not going to get a better LB without splashing 20m+ and quite frankly thats not worth it. But the defence is not our problem area.

Easy there Tiger with the Hyperbole!

Walker is decent enough, but still raw and prone to howlers. He's only been a revelation at Villa in the sense that he can pass a ball forward, something Villa rightbacks have been having great difficulty doing over the past 18 months.

Definitely able to score peaches on his day and is a classic Spurs full back in that he's quite gung-ho.

As for Spurs in general, i reckon they can afford to cash in on one of their big names over the summer in order to pay for a clutch of new signings, it's how they've done their transfer dealings over the past few years.

For my money if they get silly money for Bale to fund that elusive new striker and keep hold of Modric then they'll have had an excellent summer.

Oat23

flahavaj wrote: »

I think VDV is over rated by a lot of people tbh. Decent player, but faded as the season went on and seemed to pick up injuries quite a lot. I've heard him described as world class with is crazy.

I thinka decision has to be made on Ledley King. While I understand he's worshipped at the Lane, and he's as good as anyone in the league when he plays, he is impossible to rely on, but keeping him and indeed Woodgate in the squad takes up two slots that someone like Cahill at Bolton or Kjaer at Hamburg could easily occupy alone.

VDV overrated but you think they should sign Kjaer? I don't know why he has been linked to Liverpool, Chelsea etc. because nearly every time I've watched him this year he's been average.
Seemed like a bargain last summer at 12m but it hasn't turned out to be. He's an overrated player, not VDV.

VDV has had a poor few months but he has still contributed 14 goals and 10 assists in 34 games. How long is his contract? I'll take him back tomorrow.

SantryRed

Gomes bashing is hilarious. Before the Madrid game had he made any mistakes all season?

NeoKubrick

SantryRed wrote: »

Gomes bashing is hilarious. Before the Madrid game had he made any mistakes all season?

He gifted Nani a goal at Old Trafford.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

SantryRed wrote: »

Gomes bashing is hilarious. Before the Madrid game had he made any mistakes all season?

Off the top of my head Arsenal away and United away, defintely been a few more. So it's not really hilarious..

everdead.ie

ynwa_17 wrote: »

Sandro - One of the most talked about Brazilian Youths before he signed for Spurs. Everyone knows the reason he signed for them over one of the more 'glamorous' sides is due to the affiliation they have with Internacional

Bale - Wanted by United, Liverpool and Arsenal before he signed for Spurs

Modric - Was linked with every top club under the sun

VDV - Was linked with Bayern and Liverpool in the last few days of the window. Only reason he signed for Spurs was due to the deal with Bayern falling through late on.

Not really sure how you can claim them not to be big names.

We spent 18 months trying to sign Sandro and we set up the tie between the two clubs as part of that process not sure if any other club actually put a bid in for him though but Dunga recommended him to us. We also now have a first option on their players I think as part of that deal

Not sure how things will go next year but I expect several players going out with just a few coming in. Modric and Bale should stay another year anyway unless there is a ridiculous offer for one of them.

Long term we have three really good youngsters in Caulker Walker and Townsend.

ShamoBuc

THFC wrote: »

Off the top of my head Arsenal away and United away, defintely been a few more. So it's not really hilarious..

I suppose it depends on your viewpoint;)

Kold

Gomes is one of the best stoppers in the Premiership... It's just the easy ones he struggles with. I would have defended him up to a few weeks ago. Now I agree that a keeper is a must in the Summer as Cudicini was even worse when he was called in at the start.

Dawson is by no means miles behind Vidic, Ferdinand and Vermaelen. He was poor yesterday but he is a great player and captain material.

I don't see anyone paying the £40m it would take to get Bale this summer at least. VDV, i love him, the one fiery player we have. Modric is on a new deal, BAE is criminally underrated, Corluka is decent cover for Hutton who has been immense this season. We're strong all over the part but in attack... and occasionally between the sticks. It's just the depth that needs beefing up because we suffer heavily when injuries set in.

If you ask me, the ball was dropped at the last transfer window. Had we been prepared to pay the money, Suarez could have been ours and he could well have been the difference in us getting 4th place. People forget that we're a team who hasn't overextended our funds, we don't have the cash that City or Chelsea have but Arsenal have proven that it isn't all about paying over the odds and with the way Arry's been speaking, it seems like we might be willing to spend some cash this summer.


Also, Jenas is awful. I hope we give him away.

Paully D

Kold wrote: »

Gomes is one of the best stoppers in the Premiership... It's just the easy ones he struggles with. I would have defended him up to a few weeks ago. Now I agree that a keeper is a must in the Summer as Cudicini was even worse when he was called in at the start.

Every single goalkeeper in the Premier League is a good shot stopper IMO.

However, what separates them is their distribution, concentration, decision-making, ability to command their area, consistency and temperament (for example Gomez can't seem to blank a mistake out of his mind, if he makes one mistake then he flaps at everything else during the game, makes silly decisions etc).

The top goalkeepers usually tick all the above boxes, and the weaker one's obviously tick less and less.

jive

If City spend big again this summer then Liverpool/Spurs can kiss 4th goodbye regardless of what they do in the transfer window.

They won't be able to match City spending was and money talks. I think Spurs peaked this year and showed their quality but unfortunately unless they spend big they are going to be left behind. They have a few too many injury prone players (King, Bale, VDV) but at least Woodgate is on the way out.

I think if they sell some of the dead weight to generate some money (they have a big squad) and get in a top striker and another defender they will be there or thereabouts though. The problem is they will struggle to find a good striker because they won't be in the CL next year and all the big guys want CL football.

Also with people saying they're going to struggle to get 5th now I wouldn't be surprised if they do finished 6th because the EL is actually a bad thing to get. It's become the competition none of the borderline CL teams want. It hinders them domestically and I think you're better off without it as a result. Not much money involved until the very late stages anyway, if you manage to get that far.

Paully D

jive wrote: »

If City spend big again this summer then Liverpool/Spurs can kiss 4th goodbye regardless of what they do in the transfer window.

The top 4 is a closed shop now for the next 10 years. Perhaps it will be broken into once but it won't happen any more than that, I guarantee it.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City will be the top 4 in the Premier League for the next 10 years at least.

Predictable and boring but that's Premier League football for you.

jive

Paully D wrote: »

The top 4 is a closed shop now for the next 10 years. Perhaps it will be broken into once but it won't happen any more than that, I guarantee it.

Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City will be the top 4 in the Premier League for the next 10 years at least.

Predictable and boring but that's Premier League football for you.

I agree

BUT

City need to spend if they are to cement their spot. They haven't been great this season and the distraction of the CL next year will only make them worse off. If they spend this summer (which you have to assume they will) then they have 4th spot realistically. I think if Spurs/Liverpool don't get top4 next year then your prediction won't be far off. Next year is really the year they need to do it to stand any chance of keeping up with City.

Degag

SantryRed wrote: »

Gomes bashing is hilarious. Before the Madrid game had he made any mistakes all season?

Gomes is probably the best shot stopper in the league, unfortunately he is a liability. For Spurs to become a top top side they really have to sign a more consistant GK i think.

Dawson and VDV are both great players too IMO.

eagle eye

Spurs have been hampered by a lack of depth in central defense and the lack of a really top striker and goalkeeper. They have a midfield which is as good as any other team in the Premier League and they have quality depth in midfield too. They are well covered at full back on both sides imo.

Just look at the games played in the Premier League for the central defenders.

William Gallas 24 + 1 sub
Michael Dawson 20
Younes Koboul 15 + 5 sub
Sebastien Bassong 7 + 4 sub
Ledley King 4

Out of that group Michael Dawson is world class(the only English player that might be underrated) and Ledley King too if he could stay fit. Problem is King cannot stay fit, Gallas, Kaboul and Bassong are not good enough to be starters on a team that wants to be challenging for honours, lets not even talk about Woodgate:rolleyes:. Gomes is a huge problem also and has to be replaced.
And the striker is hugely important or two of them maybe if VDV departs. I personally really like VDV, he works tirelessly and knows how to finish, he also adds a lot in the set piece department to a team. The man has 12 goals and 8 assists in 25 PL games this season. But they need the right man to play with him if he is staying. Crouch isn't good enough but is good backup to have, Defoe will never work with VDV. If Pavlyuchenko was a good finisher they would be all set up front but he is just so wasteful.

eagle eye

PHB wrote: »

Sorry what? Dawson would be a regular at every club in the PL? Dawson is up there with Ferdinand, Vidic, Vermalan? Let's not be stupid here. He's a solid player, but he's nowhere near that level.

I'm sorry but you lost me with the bolded bit. Michael Dawson is a far better central defender than Thomas Vermaelen on what we have seen to date. Vermaelen got this reputation as being great for some reason but I don't know how it came about unless if was for scoring goals. Arsenal conceded 41 goals last season but this guy came up smelling of roses and I don't know how.

Vidic is in a league all of his own as a central defender, Dawson is up there with anybody else in the Premier League.

Degag

eagle eye wrote: »

Spurs have been hampered by a lack of depth in central defense and the lack of a really top striker and goalkeeper. They have a midfield which is as good as any other team in the Premier League and they have quality depth in midfield too. They are well covered at full back on both sides imo.

Just look at the games played in the Premier League for the central defenders.

William Gallas 24 + 1 sub
Michael Dawson 20
Younes Koboul 15 + 5 sub
Sebastien Bassong 7 + 4 sub
Ledley King 4

Out of that group Michael Dawson is world class(the only English player that might be underrated) and Ledley King too if he could stay fit. Problem is King cannot stay fit, Gallas, Kaboul and Bassong are not good enough to be starters on a team that wants to be challenging for honours, lets not even talk about Woodgate:rolleyes:. Gomes is a huge problem also and has to be replaced.
And the striker is hugely important or two of them maybe if VDV departs. I personally really like VDV, he works tirelessly and knows how to finish, he also adds a lot in the set piece department to a team. The man has 12 goals and 8 assists in 25 PL games this season. But they need the right man to play with him if he is staying. Crouch isn't good enough but is good backup to have, Defoe will never work with VDV. If Pavlyuchenko was a good finisher they would be all set up front but he is just so wasteful.

Pretty much agree with everything you say, but i think you are underrating Kaboul somewhat. Beast of a player and still young enough to develop further.

Cianan2

Oatesy23 wrote: »

VDV overrated but you think they should sign Kjaer? I don't know why he has been linked to Liverpool, Chelsea etc. because nearly every time I've watched him this year he's been average.
Seemed like a bargain last summer at 12m but it hasn't turned out to be. He's an overrated player, not VDV.

VDV has had a poor few months but he has still contributed 14 goals and 10 assists in 34 games. How long is his contract? I'll take him back tomorrow.

He turns out good in a few of the recent Champo games, so thats probably why people are assuming he is good...

IIrc, Klose is free in the summer... Would be a good stop-gap!!

eZe^

everdead.ie

eZe^ wrote: »

Modric I wouldn't be too worried about leaving I definitely think he'll give us another year anyway.

Playboy

New Goalkeeper - Gomes is too inconsistent
New Right Back - Hutton cant defend and Corluka looks like he is running through cement. Not sure if Walker is the answer as havent watched him a lot. We need a defensively solid RB who is happy to let Lennon get forward and release the ball early to him
New CB - We need to say Goodbye to King & Woodgate. Both had the potential to be world class but were never fit enough to prove it consistently. Dawson + a top class CB with Gallas and Kaboul as Backup. Still think Bassong has potential so a loan deal for him might be good.
New LB - We need cover and competition for Ekotto. He can be top class on his day but is also inconsistent.
New Winger - We need cover for Lennon and Bale. Our Game is built around fast pacy wingers .. its not good enough to have no cover if one gets injured. Pienaar isnt a winger nor is Krancjar. Marin would be a good shout.
2 New Strikers - Crouch is a useful option to have but the rest cant leave quick enough. Hulk and Falcao from Porto would be good business .. both play together and have a good understanding already. We need to be playing two up top against most teams at home .. 4-5-1 away from home with VDV. If VDV isnt happy with that then he can go too. Isnt consistent enough and doesnt have his head screwed on tactically. Wanders way too much and plays too deep when he should be playing high alongside the striker. Gets in Modrics way.

Wouldnt be averse to a manager change either but there are only a handful of people in the world that I would consider .. and since we arent likely to get any of those we need to stick with Harry. For all his faults tactically he has built a great team-spirit at the club and the effects of that cannot be overstated. What he does need to get in is a couple of new first team coaches that have a good knowledge of tactics and can teach us how to defend.

It will be interesting to see how the new financial fair play rules are going to effect Chelsea and City in the next couple of years. None of the current top 4 look particularly strong imo. Utd havent been at their best and seemingly have cash flow issues. Chelsea could be changing their manager again and havent been playing wll for the majority of the season. Arsenal just cant seem to push on to the next level and players like Fabregas are getting frustrated with Wegner .. City dont seem to have any team spirit and could be losing their best player this summer. Also Mancini can be quite negative in his approach to games and some of the players get frustrated by that.

I think it will be a good league next season. Liverpool and Spurs will be improve and will be pushing the current top 4 until the end. I think City will suffer a european hangover just like spurs did in the first CL season. Hopefully Liverpool will get Europa as I'd rather Spurs just concentrate on the league next season. I think our top players like Bale and Modric will give us one more season to prove we can become a CL regular team and then they will be off. Hopefully our chairman will know this and splash the cash this summer.

We also have to sort out the stadium issue ASAP as this is the thing that is holding back this club above all others. If you dont have a big stadium you cant pay top wages and if you cant pay top wages you are always going to lose your best players and struggle to buy top players.

LuckyLloyd

The best thing Spurs could do this summer is oust Harry Redknapp and give Rafael Benitez a shout. They would never do such a thing of course. They had a chance this year and blew it. Easy come, easy go I guess.

PHB

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

The best thing Spurs could do this summer is oust Harry Redknapp and give Rafael Benitez a shout. They would never do such a thing of course. They had a chance this year and blew it. Easy come, easy go I guess.

You're ignoring one thing. It's not just about winning at Spurs, it's also about style. Spurs business model is built on entertaining football. They pack out their stadium week in week out at very high prices. They want to move to a bigger stadium also.

Their business model is based on the fact that they have incredibly interesting football games, 4-3 thrillers and the like. Benetiz would change that very quickly.

LuckyLloyd

PHB wrote: »

You're ignoring one thing. It's not just about winning at Spurs, it's also about style. Spurs business model is built on entertaining football. They pack out their stadium week in week out at very high prices. They want to move to a bigger stadium also.

Their business model is based on the fact that they have incredibly interesting football games, 4-3 thrillers and the like. Benetiz would change that very quickly.

No, that is very true. But unfortunately it renders much of the conversation irrelevant. As a club, Spurs are not really willing to do some of the things they would need to do to establish themselves as a top four force. It is similar to Wenger being seemingly unwilling to moderate his personnel and tactical philosophy to get Arsenal over the line and start winning things.

#15

eagle eye wrote: »

Michael Dawson is world class

So I guess that phrase has finally lost all meaning.

greendom

#15 wrote: »

So I guess that phrase has finally lost all meaning.

Seems to be devaluing as fast as the Zimbabwean dollar

stumpypeeps

PHB wrote: »

You're ignoring one thing. It's not just about winning at Spurs, it's also about style. Spurs business model is built on entertaining football. They pack out their stadium week in week out at very high prices. They want to move to a bigger stadium also.

Their business model is based on the fact that they have incredibly interesting football games, 4-3 thrillers and the like. Benetiz would change that very quickly.

I'd argue its not about winning at all at Spurs. Its purely about style. Despite all the hype surrounding Redknapp and the club, they are likely to finish 6th this year. Behind a Liverpool team that will not be as weak next season.

They lost out to Madrid in an embarrassing display, seeming to suggest they were happy to get as far as they did.

Thats an indictment of the mentality of the club.

SuprSi

stumpypeeps wrote: »

I'd argue its not about winning at all at Spurs. Its purely about style. Despite all the hype surrounding Redknapp and the club, they are likely to finish 6th this year. Behind a Liverpool team that will not be as weak next season.

They lost out to Madrid in an embarrassing display, seeming to suggest they were happy to get as far as they did.

Thats an indictment of the mentality of the club.

Sorry, but the bit in bold is only true when taken into context. Yes the scoreline was embarassing, but FFS it was Spurs, CL new boys, against Real Madrid, the most successful team in the history of the competition and one of the best in Europe, a man up after 15 minutes, at home. Spurs started with 2 strikers - how many other teams in that position would've done that? I think there's no doubt that they wanted to progress but because of Crouch's moments of madness didn't really stand much of a chance. Yes they were happy to get to that stage of the competition but to say that the two legs were an indictment of the mentality of the club is completely wrong.