Ok let's put it another way. Who do you think Spurs can buy that will make a significant difference to your league position?
We will do pretty well, we have some fantastic players in the team which makes up a very good starting XI. We'll absolutely compete for top four on the basis of that, but we won't make the next step and probably won't have the depth to go and win a trophy. We're taking a big risk though in that with Liverpool strengthening and Chelsea going to enjoy their new manager effect, competition for top four could be extremely fierce. Even if we're good, it may not be enough, and across the season our lack of depth is going to be an issue.
Grealish or Cook would be good, they would make a difference because we need the depth. They'd make us less reliant on a single, extremely injury prone and fading player, and Cook at least has already proved he's very capable of operating at a decent level. A proven CM (like a Kondogbia or a Brozovic) would have been fantastic, as they could have come straight in and removed the dangerous nature of our reliance on Dembele. I'm a big fan of Doucoure personally and think he would have been a good Dembele replacement, but I don't think we were interested in him ever.
Ok that is a good post. But in your heart of hearts, even if you buy all these players, do you see Spurs winning the title?
I really can't argue with what you are saying at all, I'd certainly rather do that than buy more payers like Sissoko or Jansson. I think Cook and Grealish would be good business from us and help us in the home grown area too.
No.
Depends, if City have a repeat of last season we (and everyone else) has no chance. We're not far off the others though, and it is conceivable that their level could be lower, so I don't see why we couldn't at least be up there with the rest of the pack had we had a strong summer. If an opportunity arises you should at least be in a position to take it, whereas right now we aren't. Even discounting that, if the league is unattainable then an FA or League cup, or strong champions league run could be crucial for a proper sign of progress. You (generally) don't achieve that unless you have decent depth throughout the side.
It could be rational if this didn't happen every summer though.
Janssen was a decent punt. He was Eredivisie top scorer and worth having a go at, his success didn't translate in to the Premier League but that's the risk you take. I'd rather we at least take risks like that (they do sometimes pay off, Eriksen, Sanchez, Vertonghen etc translated their success there in to the Prem) than give up on them.
We've got a fantastic squad which Pochettino has done wonders in forming. He's a brilliant manager and I'm going to be devastated when he eventually leaves, because finding a replacement is going to be a major challenge. We definitely don't need a shake up and nobody is asking for one, merely a bit of investment and trust placed in our manager, who had made certain requests which so far have been ignored. I personally believe that this team is on the verge of being able to challenge for trophies and needs that extra bit in terms of squad depth and maybe that one extra fantastic player in order to get there.
What is your evidence for these ignored requests?
If we sign nobody we will be likely be falling back on mediocrity throughout the season anyway. Except this will be proven mediocrity instead of players who could possibly step up. In the past we've brought in key players for reasonable prices, you don't need to spend huge money to find a game changer. Alli came from the championship and now starts.
Pochettino at the start of the season asked to sign players early so they could get a pre-season. He complained that in the past we have done business late and he hasn't had time to work with them, and suggested that this had been a problem. He didn't want this to happen again, and it did. That is an ignored request.
I would say probably not. But I would also say it is likely not because of 'ignored requests', but the normal difficulties in negotiations, the Villa deal which messed up the chances of getting Grealish cheap, and the delay in a lot of deals caused by the world cup and the holidays after it, rather than Levy ignoring what Poch wants.
Plenty of other clubs managed to get their business done earlier. The market is the same for everybody, the Grealish deal is not one which is impossible to negotiate, and if it is we should have switched targets. We have had an entire summer, Grealish wasn't involved with the world cup. We've struggled more than others because Levy has done his usual routine of wait till the absolute last minute because he thinks he'll get a bargain this way, it's not something new, he's been doing it for years.
I was excited by Janssen myself and while he wasn’t that exspensive it just shows that there are no guarantees when it comes to signings. Plus we now find it seemingly impossible to offload him.
I agree with pretty much everything you said. Yet I think the market has been a letdown for most of the big guns in the market.
It has been a bit of a dead market, to be fair. I feel like our targets are a little more attainable than some of the big guns those teams would be after though, and at least they've signed .. somebody as opposed to doing nothing. I don't see the likes of Grealish as unattainable for example, it's a deal I strongly feel should have been sorted a lot earlier, absolutely feels like a Levy special where he's trying to call Villa's bluff and will end up rushing it on deadline day. That being said, even someone like Felipe Anderson who ended up going to West Ham could have been a strong option. Offers the work rate Pochettino loves, as well as a bit of pace, and can cover both Alli/wider positions. Ended up going for around 39 million though, so in fairness at that price there is an argument it needs to be somebody who can come in and immediately start.
Truth.
In fairness someone who isn't Moussa Sissoko would do like.
I kind of agree with this, it's not like Spurs are trying to sign a De Ligt, Pulisic, or some big name youth 'star' player. They are trying to sign Jack feckin Grealish, a championship midfielder. Who is one for the future but certainly a step down from Dembele, well both Cook and Grealish are steps down from Dembele. Spurs certainly are not stumping up the 60mil or so it would take to get a midfielder of equal skill to Dembele.
I think Spurs are only interested in Grealish for the right price, so I don't think it's fair to say that lesser player = easier player to sign. If the clubs valuation is not close then it require one of the clubs to budge. I personally don't think Grealish is a signing Spurs care much about, and it's more a if we can get him for the right price type of signing.
We already have players who aren't Sissoko, if we slightly upgrade on Sissoko it's hardly money well spent
Then move on. If Villa are being totally unreasonable and we're not interested at their price, then go look elsewhere. We've had all summer to do it, I don't see how leaving it to the last three days helps matters whatsoever. It just makes things desperate, and we end up with the likes of a Sissoko. Pochettino seems to want Grealish and needs a player in that area.I think Spurs are only interested in Grealish for the right price, so I don't think it's fair to say that lesser player = easier player to sign. If the clubs valuation is not close then it require one of the clubs to budge. I personally don't think Grealish is a signing Spurs care much about, and it's more a if we can get him for the right price type of signing.
We already have players who aren't Sissoko, if we slightly upgrade on Sissoko it's hardly money well spent
Truth is that although we should do something in the market, and definitely more than what we've done so far, it's still important to find the right player for a fee and wage that works for the club. It's definitely not easy, but we do need new players and I don't believe that it's impossible to find players who can improve the squad.
. Although we're often forced to turn to him due to poor depth, so a wide player coming in to limit his gametime would be nice. The club has people being paid to find the right people, there are players out there and other clubs are finding them. The truth is Levy waits till the last minute no matter how the market is so it's a moot point, this is his gameplan.That’s not really true, Poch has form for not playing players that want to leave. He still played towards the end of the season.
He gave him a view sporadic appearances, but it was obvious Sanchez was preferred. In fairness that's also down to tactical reasons and because Sanchez turned out very well, but I imagine Toby would have gotten plenty more opportunities had he not been having difficulties with the club. Pochettino also phased out Walker after he asked to leave and began giving Trippier far more gametime, he wants players who are dedicated to the team.
The thing with this, is that in the last 3 seasons, Utd have won more than Spurs have in the last 20 years...
You've won more trophies but we've been at a similar level in terms of team quality in the league etc, there isn't a big gap basically. Do you think otherwise?
There's a gap in mentality. And it's a huge one.
Yeah, don’t get me wrong Sanchez has been good, but he’s not dislodged Toby on form alone. I was going to compare it to the Walker situation directly, but that was what I was inferring.
Is there? I'd say there's a huge gap in expectations, not mentality. What does that even mean anyway? Obviously not a great deal if it doesn't lead to more points on the table.
Not sure why you think we got worse last season. We ended the season third in the league, got to semi's of FA cup and through to the last 16 of the Champions League whilst getting out of probably the toughest group. In what way did we get worse?
Not a big deal if they are worse given that they've had two seasons with their Stadium being an issue. 19/20 season is the one they need to pull out the stops for and start moving forward again as they'll be used to their new stadium and won't have the World Cup causing them problems.
You finished the season with 9 fewer points. Granted it's not always as straight forward as that, so I'd also point to my eyes determining that you appeared to be a weaker side than the previous season
