Same Old Tottenham, Always Bottling It

RedSky

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This hasn't been comparable to last year. No bottle job from Spurs this time. They've had s great season.

It's a huge Summer for them.
Agreed Carl, can't really fault them this season. They probably should have invested in a striker last summer. They've not been as exciting as last season under Harry but they've added a bit of steeliness. Add a striker and pray that Bale stays and they'll be doing good next season.
 

Snow

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That 1-0 home defeat to Fulham has ultimately cost them big. And it should never have happened.
They were the only team in the top 5 to lose points to Wigan. Lost 5 points to them actually.

No one game ultimately costs them more than any other game that loses you points.
 

Snow

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First you said they did not bid for him. Now you are saying they bid for him but wasnt accepted by Fulham and then he did not talk to Liverpool.
No. I said I wasn't even sure that they bid for Dempsey at first. Then I said the other thing. He can't talk to Liverpool if he hasn't got an offer accepted. Fulham had to accept a bid for him so he could choose Tottenham over Liverpool. But I'm pretty sure that didn't happen and googling it confirms it. They declined Liverpool's bid, accepted it from Tottenham and Villa.
 

Snow

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Michu obviously.....(no one predicted how good he would be in fairness)

Berbatov would have been a good choice but there are any number of strikers they could have gone in for.....

even if they had outbid Liverpool for Daniel Sturridge in January I think his goals would have made the difference

going into the season with Defoe - decent but one dimensional and Adebayor - ineffectual and lazy 75% of the time was silly

for the last few transfer windows they have messed up flirting with buying players at the last minute to try and save a few quid and ultimately failing

they did it with Moutinho last summer
for the last couple of windows they have done it with Leandro Damião

if they actually did their business early and got things in place I think they would have achieved a top 4 place
Almost no one had heard of Michu. Laudrup had. Laudrup had also been a manager in Spain for some years and thus has connections and scouts that Tottenham don't.

You've got no idea what kind of dealings they've had with Damiao. Their dealings with Moutinho and Negredo are different. Those players are partly owned by a 3rd party. It's illegal for PL clubs to buy them. Chelsea and City have circumvented that but it's very expensive to so.

Berbatov has scored more than 15 goals once in his PL career. Same as Defoe and one times less than Adebayor. He's also 32 and not the right direction to go.

Buying a quality striker isn't easy. Look at Chelsea and City. They're struggling with filling their wanted quota. Tevez would be long gone had there been a replacement available. Balotelli has left and Dzeko wants to leave. City will need to spend big to replace them.
Chelsea should be fine with Ba or Lukaku but they don't seem to feel fine about it. They're right to not feel fine since those two aren't in the same caliber as RvP or Aguero but the pickens are slim.

The lack of striker purchase isn't what cost Tottenham. They're in the exact same position as Arsenal in that regard. Giroud wouldn't be a superior striker in the Tottenham squad.

The way the market is now Hernandez is worth 30m. Teams would love to get him. But hopefully he isn't for sale. Higuain is though and he'll cost a pretty penny for whomever that claims his signature.
 

cesc's_mullet

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I'm genuinely surprised Glastonspud has shown his e-face around here.

Anyway, I would have rather see them finish above the Chavs.
 

ghaliboy

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Feel for the spurs. Genuinely think they have the platform to launch a top 4 sortie for years to come.
 

Amir

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Almost no one had heard of Michu
If any top football club hasn't heard of him, they should sack their scouts. You and I are allowed not to have heard about him. A big football club is not. Doesn't mean they have to buy him, but they should know the name.
 

Skorenzy

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If any top football club hasn't heard of him, they should sack their scouts. You and I are allowed not to have heard about him. A big football club is not. Doesn't mean they have to buy him, but they should know the name.
Yeah, what kind of top club doesn't scout the Segunda... :rolleyes:
 

Isotope

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The sugar daddy's clubs really destroyed the competitiveness of the league. And we have two of them, outside one of the biggest club in the world. Then there's Arsenal who's been managed by experience manager and never dropped out of top four for 16 years in a row.

The longer one team out of the CL spot, the harder they get back into it, where CL money strengthen the established top 4. Just look at Liverpool.
 

ghaliboy

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The longer one team out of the CL spot, the harder they are to get into, where CL money strengthen the established top 4. Just look at Liverpool.
This is why I didn't understand the vicarious 'we won the title' gloating when city won it last year. They club single handedly bought out one of Liverpools spots.
 

Ludens the Red

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They were the only team in the top 5 to lose points to Wigan. Lost 5 points to them actually.

No one game ultimately costs them more than any other game that loses you points.
Dropping points against Wigan at the back end of the season is understandable.
Dropping points at home to a Fulham side who never win away is not understandable.
 

Isotope

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This is why I didn't understand the vicarious 'we won the title' gloating when city won it last year. They club single handedly bought out one of Liverpools spots.
Yeah. Their hate for United clouded their judgement on what is best for their own club. Although given the choice between us and the City to win the league, there's only one answer there.
 

Jimy_Hills_Chin

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So Spurs ended up 3 points better off but one place worse off than last year. Is this progress or is it a case of being relative to what you face at a given time?

Villas Boas came in with his swept hairstyle and his tactical acumen, but is he really a better manager than 'Arry' who tells the players that they are 'triffic', gives them a pat on the bum and tells them to go and kick better than the other team?
 

RDCR07

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So Spurs ended up 3 points better off but one place worse off than last year. Is this progress or is it a case of being relative to what you face at a given time?

Villas Boas came in with his swept hairstyle and his tactical acumen, but is he really a better manager than 'Arry' who tells the players that they are 'triffic', gives them a pat on the bum and tells them to go and kick better than the other team?
I think he will be in the coming years. He made some shrewd signings this season and they were all pretty good. They just need a striker and a proper winger and they can challenge for the 4th spot. But Arsenal might also spend this summer, so its essentially for Spurs to get their business done quickly, like Neville said although he was referring to Arsenal.
 

Sarni

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Who exactly, apart from Vertonghan?
Dembele has been good for them and didn't cost a bomb, Lloris is one of the best goalkeepers in the league and Dempsey has also been solid at a decent price. You can't really look at Villas Boas transfers and say that he hasn't done well in the market.
 

Jimy_Hills_Chin

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Dembele has been good for them and didn't cost a bomb, Lloris is one of the best goalkeepers in the league and Dempsey has also been solid at a decent price. You can't really look at Villas Boas transfers and say that he hasn't done well in the market.
I think that Lloris and Dempsey are worth what he paid for them. Dempsey is not a top four player IMO. I don't think that he has done that great TBH. Nothing to get excited about anyway.

Can you remember a team in the Premier League that has been so dependent on one player for their success?
 

africanspur

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I think that Lloris and Dempsey are worth what he paid for them. Dempsey is not a top four player IMO. I don't think that he has done that great TBH. Nothing to get excited about anyway.

Can you remember a team in the Premier League that has been so dependent on one player for their success?
How does that stop them being shrewd signings? Ferdinand, Rooney and Keane were all shrewd signings and they all broke transfer records.

Yes, the team that finished a point above us last season for one thing. And Van Persie as a % of your league goals this season is only marginally ahead of Bale as a % of ours and was ahead of him in that regard for most of the season. Yet no-one would have said Van Persie was carrying you.
 

Siorac

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How does that stop them being shrewd signings? Ferdinand, Rooney and Keane were all shrewd signings and they all broke transfer records.

Yes, the team that finished a point above us last season for one thing. And Van Persie as a % of your league goals this season is only marginally ahead of Bale as a % of ours and was ahead of him in that regard for most of the season. Yet no-one would have said Van Persie was carrying you.
Plenty of people DID say that.
 

Jimy_Hills_Chin

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Yes, the team that finished a point above us last season for one thing. And Van Persie as a % of your league goals this season is only marginally ahead of Bale as a % of ours and was ahead of him in that regard for most of the season. Yet no-one would have said Van Persie was carrying you.
No, Schmeichel, Hernandez, Solskjaer, Rafael, Cantona and so on were shrewd signings.

They have said that! When RVP went on his drought I think that we still won every game. When Bale was injured for a little while Spurs looked like they would fade away. % of goals is not the important stat, it is decisive goals.
 

africanspur

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No, Schmeichel, Hernandez, Solskjaer, Rafael, Cantona and so on were shrewd signings.

They have said that! When RVP went on his drought I think that we still won every game. When Bale was injured for a little while Spurs looked like they would fade away. % of goals is not the important stat, it is decisive goals.
Shrewd just means showing good judgement effectively. Buying Lloris, Dembele, Keane, Ferdinand and Rooney all showed good judgement, regardless of the price. Same for Real and Ronaldo.

Sorry, brain fart. They did say that and I'm sure most of you disagreed. ;) Until about 3 months ago, Bale wasn't really scoring and yet we were still up in the same kind of position.

And it isn't like RVP was scoring the 5th goal in 5-0 wins. He was scoring some desperately vital goals for you in games in which you didn't look like the team most likely to win. Often goals out of nowhere. Just like a little Welsh boy in North London.

Funny, for the past few seasons, people have been going on about the big difference between us and the other teams around is that player who can make the difference. The Drogba, the RVP, Fabregas, Rooney etc etc. We finally have that player and now we're a one man team.
 

Shinjisan

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Tough to last an entire season without adequate depth in the attacking positions. It was a stupid idea to go into the season with two wingers and two strikers, one of whom is the definition of a contract player. What was the point of buying all those attacking midfielders and then playing them out of position? Wouldn't it better to have replacements on the wings?

A better points total also doesn't amount to a better season. The goal was to finish in the top 4 and the hard fact is that the Spurs failed in the quest.
 

coolredwine

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Spurs also had Sandro missing. Would have meant a lot considering they were playing Parker in his place, who has been absolutely abysmal this season. Rather, should have played Huddlestone more.
 

Carl

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Is it really worth arguing over the meaning of a word?

The sentiment was obviously that he's made good signings, which he has.

Lloris, Vethonghen, Dempsey, Sigurddson and Dembele. (for a combined total of around £50mil I think)

What's debatable I guess is who is actually responsible for them. I always got the impression that at Spurs it wasn't necessarily the manager.
 

Carl

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Spurs also had Sandro missing. Would have meant a lot considering they were playing Parker in his place, who has been absolutely abysmal this season. Rather, should have played Huddlestone more.
Huddlestone has been fecking gash pretty much every time he's played.
 

Cina

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Didn't he actually want Moutinho and that Brazilian chap but Levy wouldn't give him the money for them? I think he bought well, considering that Spurs had a pretty thin squad that needed bulking up, and he didn't have a fortune to do it with.
 

africanspur

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Didn't he actually want Moutinho and that Brazilian chap but Levy wouldn't give him the money for them? I think he bought well, considering that Spurs had a pretty thin squad that needed bulking up, and he didn't have a fortune to do it with.
Moutinho, Damio, Willian and Lloris seemed to be his main targets for the summer.


For the Europa league criticisms before, just seen this actually


Spurs 3-0 Inter
Liverpool 3-2 Spurs

Inter 4-1 Spurs
Spurs 0-1 Fulham

Spurs 2-2 Basel
Spurs 2-2 Everton

Oh dear
 

AngeloHenriquez

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They are in for Moutinho and Leandro every time a window opens... That's a long way from thinking you will get them, those 2 have to be the funniest transfers in a while, I swear I read they signed for you 2 seasons ago, only for it to be too late in that transfer window?
 

Spiersey

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Moutinho, Damio, Willian and Lloris seemed to be his main targets for the summer.


For the Europa league criticisms before, just seen this actually


Spurs 3-0 Inter
Liverpool 3-2 Spurs

Inter 4-1 Spurs
Spurs 0-1 Fulham

Spurs 2-2 Basel
Spurs 2-2 Everton

Oh dear
No guarentee any of the results would have been different. Liverpool and Everton are both tough games for anyone. That Fulham game was just a classic example of a game you would win almost every other time, Spurs battered them that day but just couldn't score.
 

africanspur

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They are in for Moutinho and Leandro every time a window opens... That's a long way from thinking you will get them, those 2 have to be the funniest transfers in a while, I swear I read they signed for you 2 seasons ago, only for it to be too late in that transfer window?
Wait what? Last window was the first time we were in for Moutinho and it seems like we ended up pretty close to getting him in the end. The only reason we were really in ith a chance fo getting him was AVB and them having worked together in the past.

Damio seems to be a pisstake now, lets just move on ffs.
 

finneh

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I don't think Spurs bottled it. But then again in recent times they've suffered from the same problem, their failure to put their hands in their pockets, spend an extra £5-10m above what Levy considers someones "value" and actually get a quality striker.

It seems that he'd prefer to not get slightly ripped off than to get Champions League Football. Although he does have form for squeezing every last penny at the expense of the squad. The ultimate shame of it is because of their failure to spend the extra few million to get a striker - costing them 4th place, they will now probably lose Bale as well.

I'm betting with Levy the cycle will repeat itself - spend all Summer turning down bids for Bale, whilst not sanctioning the funds to sufficiently strengthen the squad. Last few days of the transfer window finally selling him for that extra few million he craved, but as a result not have the time to successfully find a replacement (at the right price).
 

Brophs

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As usual on here, people get stuck on the idea of bottling every time a team gets a bad result. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the team you're up against. Arsenal got 8 wins and 2 draws in their last ten. That's great form. Spurs fell off a bit, but then they had injuries and the latter stages of the Europa League to deal with, so they had quite a bit on their plate. I'd say Spurs finished exactly where most expected them to, over the course of an entire season.
 

starman

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They got a record amount of points for them and had it been any other season, bar 2008/09 they would have finished 4th. They would have even finished 2nd 10/11
 

NotoriousISSY

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The worst thing about Spurs finishing 5th is Arsenal fans suddenly going along with this idea that 4th place is as good as a trophy and milking it. I've never seen a place in the CL qualifying rounds celebrated like this.

Shame for Spurs, but if they hold on to their key players and sign a quality striker they can definitely go again. They just don't score enough and are over-reliant on Bale, not much of a plan B.
 

cesc's_mullet

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It was a great season for Tottenham, and they didn't exactly bottle it. The time that they were ahead of us was before they had played most of the top sides.

Though not enough has been made of our great late season form, 26 points from a possible 30 is a great effort for any side. And considering 3 of front 4 were new to the club (all came from different leagues too) there was always going to be a bedding period. And lastly thank christ Cazorla is as good as he is, because if he didn't take to the league quickly we we're screwed.