There is no doubt that the battle for a place in the top four will be as fierce as ever this season. With Manchester City and Liverpool spending big to ensure they’re firmly in the mix and Arsenal doing some decent business on a frantic deadline day, where does it leave TottenhamHotspur?
With so much money being spent by their rivals it seems that Spurs have been left behind in the race to grab that elusive place in the Premier League’s elite mini-league. Boss Harry Redknapp has been used to having a substantial bank balance to go out and buy players who command a hefty transfer fee but will also improve the squad. It wasn’t so long ago he was shelling out £20 million to bring Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch to White Hart Lane but the 2011/12 summer window saw chairman Daniel Levy put a stranglehold on big spending. The ethos was to sell before you buy and by the 1st September the squad had been dramatically trimmed with 10 players either being sold or loaned out and four players being brought in. Around £30 million was brought in by the end of the transfer window along with getting some high earners off the wage bill which seemed like good business.
However with only Brad Friedel and Scott Parker signing on permanently and Emmanuel Adebayor and Yago Falque signing on loan till the end of the season the squad looks like it’s lacking at the moment. Whilst quality still remains in the ranks there is a worry that Spurs don’t have the strength in depth to mount a serious challenge for a top-four place. I personally think they should have looked to bring at least a few more players in to replace the ones that have departed. Looking at the squad they do have some very good players in all positions but as far as backup goes there isn’t much to shout home about. Throw Luka Modric’s yearning for a move to Chelsea into the mix and it could be recipe for disaster. Missing out on the Champions League last year hit Spurs hard in the arm financially. The extra money garnered from TV, sponsorship and actually finishing fourth severely hampered the budget Redknapp was hoping to get his hands on.
The squad they are left with now, in my opinion, will struggle to break back into the top four simply because the players warming the bench aren’t good enough to compete at the level required. The likes of Rafael Van der Vaart, Gareth Bale, Tom Huddlestone, Adebayor, Michael Dawson, Modric and Niko Kranjcar are of Champions League quality. They’ve shown that they can perform on the biggest stage and will be vital to Spurs’ chances of actually achieving the goal of returning to footballs biggest club competition. In fact on paper they have a starting XI containing players that would walk into any team in the top six.
The main concern I have is that the backup players aren’t of a sufficient standard. Hypothetically speaking, what happens if Dawson or Bale picks up a long-term injury? Would, for example, Sebastien Bassong or Steven Pienaar (who has been dreadful since moving from Everton) be able to match up to them? Are they of an adequate calibre to come into the team and offer the same level of performance and quality? Not that I’m signalling those two players out but it is an example that Redknapp has limited options and weak strength in depth which is a vital component of any side challenging at the Premier League summit. Even Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko have seen their standards fall dramatically in the last 12 months with the pair mustering less than 10 league goals between them last season. Adebayor has been brought in to remedy that and he is undoubtedly a top player when his head is focused on the game. But the majority of the time he is anonymous on the field and Spurs need a forward who is going to perform week in week out along with scoring goals. Redknapp also seems to be relying on youth players to provide backup, which could further hamper his chances of regaining Champions League football should they be pressed into action.
The 5-1 mauling at home to Man City certainly highlighted the division in class between a team who spends and one who doesn’t. I really can’t see Spurs making a major play for the top four especially if they pick up injuries to key players. Behind a very good starting eleven there are very few players who can step in and play to the same level. Unfortunaetly for Spurs fans the best you can hope for this season is anywhere between fifth and eighth spot!
Written by Jak Penny for FootballFanCast.com
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To be fair both the players you mention not being good enough (Bassong and Pienaar) are Redknapp buys. Perhaps ther-in lies the problem. Harry spends as if it’s Monopoly money, realises what he has bought is not good enough then moans when he cannot replace them.
yes we have a slim chance if any but i will still be a faithful yid. But don’t totally right us off, as on our day we can beat any team. The Champions league proved that, so all you Gooners and such…. we aint no push overs
Yid for life……. not a flaky gooner, who only sings when your winning…… . Maybe we are going to find it hard but so shall you muppets
we have got some better players.friedel,parker and adebayor,are 3 improvements.the worry is dawson,kaboul,roman and defoe.these players are not top class.maybe coulter,kane etc should be given their chance.we can do very little before jan 2012.
I think you’re right mate. But spurs cannot afford to constantly spend on new players, new contracts and a new stadium.
What Levy is doing is right, were just gunman have to grin and bear it this season.
Failure? Failure is not being in the top 4? In that case I suggest the 88 Premier League and Football League clubs not in the top 4 shut up shop immediately.
On the other hand football might just be about supporting your team and going to watch and enjoy a game, however they are doing. Muppet.
If we fail to secure top four it will be bad but if Liverpool fail it could be terminal once again. Liverpool have spent over 100 million buying a new team to catch up to Spurs there owner has a personell fortune of 375 million where has he got the funds from not his bank i will bet. Levey has done the right thing not spending millions because the problem and the gulf of 5-1 is not down to buying players, because last years dud scored four goals. No the problem is down to the high tempo that has flooded football both here and now in Spain Barcelona are the best exponents of this work rate and the rumors of dodgy doctors is not a surprise to me because they signed a player from a premiership team who i no got reported for energy drugs. So my observation is when these teams who occupy the top three positions start becoming ill with playing above there normal speed then Spurs will start to benefit or we can join in and play at the same Tempo and lose weight.
i think with the inclusion of parker and adebayor, were better geared this season and gives us more of a chance to push for top 4 with the added fact we’ve kept our star players while the goons down the road lost all theirs, so i’d worry about them at this time mate than us.
NO
Well, we could have let Harry spend last seasons Champions League money but given Harry’s targets (J.Cole, Neville, Bellamy etc), and the fact that Harry, one way or another, won’t be with us this time next season. Would it be prudent to let him spend? Should Harry get the England job (or go to gaol) would the next manager then come in and see some of Harry’s recent signings as ageing ‘deadwood’? I’m sure once we have a manager who has a long term future with the club, Levy will once again invest in players.
What a PATHETIC ARTICLE! You contradict your point so many times its unreal- You say who is going to replace Bale when he is injured then call Kranjcar WORLD CLASS when his main position is on the LEFT- You are a donut! Have you heard of 25 MAN SQUAD? I dont think you have mate, You say Parker is a good buy then you say he is not good enough to play in our team, then you forget the likes of Sandro who IS World Class though i doubt you know what that means with your football knowledge- Whats wrong with our youth- Walker was the best player in the under 21 tournament which also had Jones and Smalling but because they are United players everyone raves about them- Danny Rose was excellent last season when Assou- eketto got injred in which his stand out performances were against Liveerpool and Man City- Are you seriously telling me that Adam is a better buy than Parker? Downing- mate i would rather have Townsend and we didnt even have to spend a single penny on him, You also forgot to mention have 3 world class keepers, King, Gallas but according to you they are not World Class, You do remember that this is the same team that beat both the Milans with Adebayour replacing Crouch but hey thats not good business, Parker to relace Palacios but hey thats just pointless! You are just are probably just a scared gooner because for the first time in a long time our team is better than you ans we do not sell our best players!COYS!
@ilovespurs your response is heavily biased. I agree that spurs still do have some world clas players in their ranks, but the main flaw in this team is the lack of depth. While teams like Manu,Chelsea,Liverpool and ManC can easily field two sets of 11players who can challenge for a top 4 finish, spurs would struggle badly to do so. Yes the youth in the ranks hv potential, but we’ve seen how far youth can bring you,just look at arsenal for instance. Experience, as much as or more than hunger is required for teams to do well in BPL. If spurs’ first eleven remain fit thruout the season, spurs have a shot at a top 4 finish. But we all knw hw ruthless the league has become, so hvg an injury-free first 11 is almost impossible, factor in the fatigue too. When this happens, due to the lack of depth, spurs will struggle. Especially against the bigger teams. Peace
It is hard to compete with teams that have world class players sitting on the bench waiting for their turn. But that is it .. they will get their turn. A team of good all rounders can compete in this league as most other teams have specialists that sustain injuries, have their heads turned( hate that expression)or just don’t get their turn in rotation.
We need to be adaptable and react to other teams strategies. We need to be able to rotate in a way we know but they dont. The ability is there just not the strategies.