Whilst their North London rivals Arsenal have spent the entire summer resting on their laurels, Tottenham have taken the transfer market by storm. Andre Villas-Boas has made some shrewd purchases and there’s every reason to believe that Spurs will come back stronger next season, whether or not Gareth Bale is part of their squad.
Life will go on without the Welshman and the Tottenham top brass are doing a good job of creating a better, more well-rounded squad.
This brings me to the fact that Spurs are have secured a £9m move for Etienne Capoue (Source: The BBC).
His current club Toulouse seem have been resigned to losing him (ahem) for a while. The club’s owner, Olivier Sadran was recently asked about Capoue’s proposed move to Spurs and answered: ‘He will go there’.
With Scott Parker in tow and Sandro making a return from injury, it begs the question: do Spurs really need yet another combative midfielder?
Andre Villas-Boas has made some very exciting attacking additions (Paulinho and Roberto Soldado are sure to take the Premier League by storm next season). It makes sense that he should turn and look at his defense, even if it doesn’t appear to be an entirely pressing need.
At 24-years-old, Capoue has already attracted the attentions of some pretty big names. Cardiff City and Atletico Madrid are thought to be hovering around the player, whilst Arsenal have been interested in the past.
In that regard, his signing is quite the coup for Spurs. With Scott Parker getting on in years (yes, he’s only 32-years-old, but still!) and question marks surrounding Sandro’s ability to stay fit, maybe signing another defensive midfielder isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Whilst he’s tough in the tackle and positions himself well, It’s also worth noting that Capoue can contribute going forward as well. Last season he scored 7 goals and made 3 assists in 38 appearances. That’s a fine return for somebody who plays so deep in the midfield.
He’s versatile too – he’s been forced to fill at centre-back a number of times in Ligue 1 and this may appeal to AVB.
The player has already earned 5 caps for France, which is no mean feat considering the number of talented French midfielders.
So yes, this transfer doesn’t seem to fulfill any real need prevalent within Tottenham’s squad, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a smart deal for the club.
What’s your take? Should Spurs be taking the plunge on Etienne Capoue?
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Parker will leave. He’s terrible
Ever consider the possibility that Parker will be sold???
Parker’s legs have gone and therefore he is surplus to requirements especially as he is one of the top earners at the club. When Sandro got injured last season we pretty much collapsed so yes this was a vital signing.
Parker’s done and dusted, sell him to QPR as he ain’t good enough anymore.
Sandro, Paulinho and Capoue, bring it on!
I too think Parker will be on the move (probably to join ‘Arry) and Thud is gone as well
With Parker in the team the build up play is slow. More incisive players are needed. Time for Scott to go and help Harry at QPR. Capoue is a good move as he can cover at center back
Agreed, Parker is complete garbage, he can’t function when he has more than one job to do. Basically all he CAN do is run a lot, make pirouettes, and NOT pass the ball forward. At this point, cashing in on him, Huddlestone, Gomes, Livermore and Defoe is the right choice. Yea, Defoe will be trying hard to get a WC squad spot, but hes also almost 32 and he will have very little sell-on value after the WC. Better cash in on him now and use the money on a young, hungry striker who isn’t one dimensional like Defoe and can offer us more tactical options. Yea, Livermore is young, but he will never be a CL calibre player. He’s a 10-15th place calibre player. Huddlestone is also much to one dimebsional – all he can do is pass. He cant defend, he never scores and hes slow not to mention he definately does not fit in AVB’s system of play. Ideally for him is a club like Stoke who play a static style of football, not Spurs. Theres no point in keeping shitty Parker who has one year left in him. Let Carrol and Holtby play, let them develop, they already offer more now than Parker does, they just have less experience (Come to think of it Holtby has more experience than Parker seeing as he has played A LOT of CL matches for someone his age). Let them become the players they can be, dont let them stagnate like Livermore. One more striker, Christian Eriksen & Toby Alderweireld for a combined £15 million, sell the deadwood, keep Gareth Bale and we’re set for a title push.
COYS!!
As an Arsenal supporter I can understand what AVB is doing. Arsenal played their most potent football with first Viera/Petit and the Viera/Gilberto dominating midfield through strength and dominating power. Roy Kean at Man Utd had this factor in abundance too. Capoue and Paulinho will be a formidable pair. Sandro when he is in too. If Wenger does not buy this window this may be the year Tottenham finish above Arsenal. With some good buys for the Gunners it may not be the year Spurs break the hoodoo.
Lay off Parker! The guy was superb in 2011/12 and played through pain for the last two months of it. He therefore missed start of 2012/13 and came back only because of Sandros injury. He then found he was expected to play a dfferent style and role……further forward and frankly one he isnt suited to. Despite that he never goes hiding in a match which out of form players often do. He isnt worth a place in our new look midfield but lets not forget how good and vital he was in that first season. Thanks Scotty and good luck at Wet Spam or QPHAHAHA.
Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, it REALLY IS refreshing to see a Gunner post a SENSIBLE comment on a Spurs page. Thank you, your post IS appreciated. To reply to what you said, yes I 100% agree with you. It is very important to impose yourself physically, especially in the PL. I have a feelin gthat our midfield will beat the crap out of others with just brute strength. If Vermaelen returns to what he can be and you acquire another striker (that is better than Giroud) I can see us duelling it out for fourth again and maybe even third (United COULD shit the bed). If WE get another good striker/Ade shows up this year, and we end up buying Alderweireld and Eriksen (reports say we’re in for £15 mil for both combined) and Bale stays ( which is looking increasingly likely) I’m afraid I’d have to bet on us finally leapfrogging you and maybe even United if the afforementioned slip up were to happen. I think the difference this year is that we will be much more ruthless than last year when playing lower quality teams, enbling us to take away the three points on a weekly basis and cement a winning mentality that we always seem to lack. Furthermore, we have qualitt depth now, which we never seemed to have soany injuiris will not be of too much concern. Playintop 7 teams is no longer a problem as they dont park the bus, dissablibg us to counter attack. On! thevwhole, feeling very very confident!!
COYS
The most successful teams in any league around the world all have powerful midfields and equally strong replacements in the event of injuries. Last season, Spurs troubles began with the injury to Sandro at QPR with three months of the season remaining. It was quite evident that Parker was not an adequate replacement. As a result, our performances suffered. We didn’t exactly become a bad team overnight but we severely lacked the athleticism and power needed to propel the team forward and automatic Champions League qualification. Etienne Capoue on the other hand is a dynamic young midfielder blessed with both power and skill and I for one welcome him to WHL with open arms should he sign for us.
Could most agree more. Depth never hurts.
Why do we keep talking about Scott Parker as a valid defensive midfield option for Spurs,my apologies, but he has serious problems passing a ball accurately whilst he is moving. He continually loses the ball in dangerous areas and also commits too many fouls in dangerous areas. Scott at 32 is certainly no longer a top 4 player. I am still not sure whether Livermore is even good enough for the Premiership let alone a top 4 side. We definitely need strengthening in the defensive midfield department, particularly if Huddleston is moving
i’m only waiting for official confirmation on our website to pop d bottle. I wish for one more signing, a big striker to replace ade who i would rather we sold. A giant possibly- Lacina Traore.
Another Bale “will-he-won-he” garbage story. This media beat up has become nausiating. The issue of Capoue is a no brainer. Huddlestone will never fulfil whatever potential he had 8-9.years ago, Parker is past it, Sandro is sus in regards injury, Livermore a championship player atbest. So the more you go thru the current midfield contingent the more obvious the need for quality. For some inane reason in the past Spurs would hold onto no hopers. Lets hope all we seen of late is a new vision by Tottenham. Final say on Bale, he will be stripped down ready for game two of the year and in a Spurs shirt at that. Seriously the media should be ashamed of themselves
I was enjoying the comments until a bleeding heart jumped up and said lay off Parker. That’s been the problem at Spurs for years. keeping players past their sell by date. Parker just keeps turning in circles, loses the ball and dithers on it. Hudd is just the same and Livermore has nothing, nothing at all. Lennon is becoming a worry. He just loves standing on that wing. As much as I like watching him in full flight he doesn’t do it often enough.
Signing Capoue is a great idea. We’ll have options that will extend from where he might play to what formation we can adopt according to how the game is progressing. it’s time for Defoe, Livermore and Hudd to go. It’s also time for Lennon to step up and play a full season consistently. With Kaboul and Sandro back and new boys Soldado, Chadli, Paulinho and Capoue we have a very good squad. One in which Lennon should be able to shine in. Lets hope so.
Brilliant signing.
It looks like our squad is taking shape. I suspect this will be our 25 man squad next season:
Goalkeepers (3)
Lloris, Friedel, and ANOTHER (loan or a cheapie: unless Gomes is staying)
Defenders (8)
Walker, Naughton, Kaboul, Dawson, COVER, Vertonghen, NEW LEFTBACK, Rose/BAE
Midfielders (6)
Sandro, Paulinho, Capoue, Dembele, Holtby, PLAYMAKER, Livermore
Note – Dont be surprised if Livermore stays at Spurs. Limited player yes. But fits the mould of our other midfielders, is still young, English, and a Spurs fan. That is purely a wild guess.
Attackers (7)
Bale, Soldado, Chadli, Lennon, Townsend, Siggurdson, COVER.
So 5 new faces to come in:
A last resort keeper of sorts. (yournamehere)
Cover for defence. (Alderweireld)
New Left back (Fabio Coentrao)
Playmaker midfielder. (Eriksen)
Forward. (………………..)