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Team Sheet or Balance Sheet?

Some of the moaning about a threadbare squad and that our season is over is pathetic in my opinion.

Sure not having an extra striker is a big gamble that could very easily bite us on the arse, but other than that are we really any worse off? Take a look at who our rivals have bought and perhaps only Liverpool can boast of doing more and maybe better business than us, but they were starting from a weaker position and still loon woefully inconsistent. Arsenal have bought in a left back, Chelsea, a second striker (yes they have two, or arguably one and a half..) Everton have signed an 18 year old right back. Did we really do that much worse?

The loss of Sandro is obviously a massive loss, but do you go and buy a replacement when a player gets injured? Scott Parker will surely get back to his best with games, Livermore is vastly under-rated. Huddlestone is also an option, though I am a little disappointed that he wasnt sold. If we lose Dembele, we have Lewis Holtby, who I feel could fit into a deeper role very easily. Similarly what about Tom Carroll. We were all raving about him a few months ago. I also like Dean Parrett and Massimo Louongo, who both have real Prem potential, but might just need the chance to prove it.

Lose Bale or Lennon, and I feel confident that we would actually see Dempsey and Sigurdsson step up their games and have a greater impact on the team. You can't really replace like for like in either case, but I do feel that as good as they are, their loss wouldn't be as catastrophic as it would have been last season.

We talk about lacking cover at LB, but we havent had BAE all season. Now we have three fit full backs and didn't we buy a LB, who when he signed people were wanting him to play straight away (despite never seeing him play) At CB we are in exactly the same position with four fit players. Kaboul will be back at the end of the month, all going well to make us embarrassed for cover. Also with 5 CB's we also have Vertonghen and Kaboul/Gallas for full back cover if we are desperate. In Goal, we have moved on Gomes and Carlo, but still have Lloris and Brad. How many times do clubs actually need a third keeper (I have not put the kiss of death on things...)

In attack we still have a worrying position of Defoe struggling with injury and Adebayor at the ACoN, however we could have Emmanuel back next week, if Togo lose, and is Dempsey totally incapable of playing No9, even if it isn't his best position? Again to show the fickleness of fans, a little while ago, Jon Obika was a superstar, just needing an opportunity, he misses a chance at Elland Road and he is useless. Didn't Cristiano Ronaldo miss from three yards the other day?

Perhaps we have a worry over squad numbers, but is that more from the bench as opposed to a starting XI? If we look at the stats, of all the players we have loaned out, only Jermaine Jenas started a Premiership game and in total we have seen six appearances from the bench, with Andros Townsend making five of those. Losing bench options might be a worry, but is it also an opportunity for the likes of Carroll, Obika, Loungo, Parrett and Bostock to stake their own claim for a place in the squad next season?

What we have clearly achieved, is to lighten the load on the clubs wage bill. Losing JJ, Gomes, Cudicini alone will probably cut £5m a year of that total. I believe that we can still offload players to the Championship, so will we also see the likes of David Bentley move in the very near future? As sad and frustrating as it is, we are in a situation where we have to find the balance between the team sheet and balance sheet, and getting that mix right is where we have to aim.

In future perhaps we need to forget the ITK and Media talk about £20m+ signings and accept that they will be extremely rare, to non existent under the current financial situation and if the means we lave to lower our expectations for bright and expensive superstars, then so be it. I actually like the idea of growing our own and I know I would get far more satisfaction in seeing Jon Obika or Harry Kane hit a winner that I ever would from Leandro Damiao or another overly hyped player that has little or no real affinity with my football club...

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Writer: OxfordSpur

Date:Friday February 1 2013

Time: 12:00PM

Your Comments

As a supporter, team sheet first:-)

Madaboutspurs

Like someone said in the last article, we'll all move from here and continue to cheer on the players and AVB, but make no mistake we missed a golden opportunity to consolidate by getting a striker at the appropriate price that AVB is happy with.

Madaboutspurs

To stimulate the support at home games in the future the balance sheet will be displayed on the big screen for 15 minutes before the game, it is suggested that a 1 minute burst of sustained applause would be appropriate. Donations can be made into the buckets circulating around the stadium at half time.

Frank

It's not that we didn't sign a Striker that annoys me, it is that YET AGAIN WE DIDN'T BUY A STRIKER!

4 Seasons we have been in need and have failed, until we resolve that problem we won't be top 4 consistently, if we get top 4 we won't buy because of the risk of not being top 4 next year (like last time).

Just get used to it, we won't buy a top quality striker.

stu_u2k

Short of owners dipping into their own pockets, which they are not obliged to do and have shown no inclination in the past, you can't have a healthy team sheet without a healthy balance sheet. It's a bitter pill for some, but there's nout to be done but swallow it. It's a big disappointment, and, IMNSHO, a(nother) wasted opportunity to strengthen the one department that really needed it. At the end of the day, however, we are, in all other respects doing very nicely.

darkenvai

darkenvai - chicken and egg. You could just as easily say that a FOOTBALL CLUB can't have a SUSTAINABLE balance sheet without a healthy team sheet.

SpuriousLife

i hope my disappointment doesn't linger until the end of the season. COYS

SPUDMAN

Interesting comments coming out of Reading saying that they were close to organising a deal (loan?) for Gylfi Sigurdsson with us yesterday!! That statement from Brian McDermot! Maybe we've got too many attackers / attacking midfielders!

SpuriousLife

"Threadbare squad"? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Airwave

Precisely, SpuriousLife. Since we have the most sustainable of balance sheets, we, ergo, have a healthy team sheet. Only, without a top, top, triffic striker...still.

darkenvai

"Always look on the bright side of life...". This might cheer up a few fans though others will find something wrong in it somewhere: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/jan/29/lewis-holtby-tottenham-hotspur

Airwave

On reflection I'm still disappointed about not adding a striker but also feel that by keeping Sigi, offloading Cudicini, Jenas, and Gomes, and signing Holtby and Fryers we should have enough until the summer. I think we expect more for our club and its not wrong, but deals have to be right and Levy will not just throw money around.lets hope this gives a boost to the players that we have in that they will feel wanted and have not been replaced by incoming signings.

Jantheman

OX, you seem to be one of only a few to consider Livermore underrated.. He is not. He is average at best. With a fight for fourth and and a possible Europa League run ahead of us our squad is too thin. We made the same mistake this time last year and it made us miss out on 3rd. AVB has a huge task on his hands now. Our beast is out, we have absolutely no cover for our wingers and Ade and Defoe havn't done anything in their recent matches for us which is frightening. God forbid a Gareth Bale injury and our season is over. Simple as.

TopSpur13

so reading failed with 3 attempts to buy siggy, AVB must see something in him

STEVEYNIX

maybe with the siggy money we could of paid the xtra 3 mill for Damiao

STEVEYNIX

but im not bitter, just twisted, hope we stay strong and qualify for CL and get a decent striker in the summer, reports are that Inter are looking for a replacement for Damiao, so they look like they are def letting him go in the summer/Jan

STEVEYNIX

Harry Kane returns. There is the answer to our striker shortage.

Wilts Spurs

Yay with Kane back we can think about challenging Man U for the title

STEVEYNIX

we need to never ever mention leandro damiao ever again-lets just wash our hands with him

ghulamville

The mans a... Buffoon.....a Buffoon..i tell you ! Said in my best scottish ascent. Keep siggy and let Townsend go !!!! I think AVB...is just keeping the ones he helped to sign, on his Fav' list.....or shall we say, the ones with him from the start.

82spursdebut

Now we have Holtby in, what about giving Dembele a shot up front? Im sure that when eh first arrived at Fulham that was his primary position before he moved further down the pitch due to lack of creative midfielders. Or even 4-3-3 with parker dembele and Holtby in midfield and bale lennon one of Defoe / ADE / Dempsey up top? You all know my feelings on the striker situation but with Holtby in surely we now posses a greater attacking threat than at the start of the window. If AVB wants a 4-4-2 the id even go with a midfield of Lennon Parker Dembele Holby with Bale and ADE up top? I know it doesn’t play to his strengths but bale is stronger, faster and has a better shot than any of our current forwards. I think we just need to change our personnel up top to get us out of this dry patch, in all fairness we have the players to score, just maybe not using the right system. We simply cant just keep throwing Dempsey and Defoe up top.

hudderspur

Hudders - Defoe isn't in a dry spell he's in the middle of his usual seasonal drought. He's drier than the fecking Sahara!

SpuriousLife

I see spurs have recalled Harry Kane. We might have a better balanced bench now, to choose from. That's something......a little bit of common sense.

82spursdebut

After considering our balance sheet, I think the team sheet is fine. Maybe another striker but, if AVB reverts to 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 that's an extra striker to keep happy. We only have 14 games in the PL and however many we manage in the EL. As mentioned above, we could use Dempsey at times, especially if the other 2 need a rest or are injured. I'm pleased with our squad, mostly young players, so should manage the rest of the season and retain a top 4 spot. AIMHO of course.

longtimespur

Team sheet anyday,balance sheets are for accontants and we are fans!!!!

SilwalYid

Team sheet anyday,balance sheets are for accontants and we are fans!!!!

SilwalYid

As long as natural progression continues the issue of a thread bare squad won't be raised, it never is when we are winning games, that said we have Kaboul who must be getting nearer returning, that gives us 5 centre backs DAWSON; KABOUL; CAULKER; VERTONGHEN; GALLAS, two can play full back if required; fullbacks/wingbacks WALKER; NAUGHTON;BAE; FRYERS; we have midfield players DEMBELE; PARKER; LIVERMORE; HUDD; adding HOLTBY and all this talk about not having strikers on the bench, we will now DEMPSEY; ADEBAYOR (when he comes back) AVB no1 striker is DEFOE, i'm reading Harry Kane has been recalled i would say more to do with Norwich signing the lad from Leeds, so add options of Harry Kane & Obika who both still have a lotto prove, that along with BALE LENNON & SIGGY, I know we will miss SANDRO his a top top player and from what i understand triffic around the dressing room with his guitar; So my call on it just adding HOLTBY has improved striker options from the bench, becauses this lad can play and is a must start in behind Defoe. Hardly call that thread bare, it's just got better by one player in and i hope fryers gets involved, Fergie used him in the carling cup games so he can't be all bad. We will lose a few, we will draw a few, but if winning out guns both we don't have a problem, keep faith with the lads, we all support one team on here, upson n downs, i have had 52 yrs of it, be cebralating 53 soon, god i need another drink !!!!!

spu 4 life

Yeah maybe I should get that name on the back of my spurs shirt instead of the new striker I thought we needed in. More pie in the sky from Levy. Time to go now and lets get someone in that can get deals done and a stadium built. I would like to see a director of football brought back to the club, someone who can get deals done and will work in a budget but get deals done and not just work two days of the year, like Levy seems to do now. We can conclude deals before the last days of the transfer window. If Levy really did turn down a £10 million bid for Siggy, then he is not as smart as he thinks he is. He will be in the next list of deadwood alongside Defoe, Bentley, Livermore, Thudd and Gallas.

nothappyharry

spot on OX, so pleased to hear the quiet majority of realistic spurs fans for once today on several blogs and sites. It gives massive hope for the future that all of our fans arent just part of the Sky/football manager generation. We all would have liked a £20m striker but if not then better we dont buy just for the sake of it. These days football is about team sheets AND balance sheets, this is what football is for right or wrong. One doesnt come without the other so you cant ignore the balance sheet just because its inconvenient for your shared dellusion.

jimmy-yid

Don't shoot me down; This Leandro saga; club own 70% third party own 30%, I have no idea what's involved to do this deal is it the 70% saying the fee is not enough or the 30%? So Levy said or reported if true we pay in 3 installments, well why not buy out the 30% if possible and buy out 30% of the 70%, that means we have paid up front 60% of the player in advance of the summer, the remaining 40% is paid to his club and a contract drawn up all legal and binding, with insurance cover against injury, if that happens and he can't join us, the deal is dead and money paid is returned, this shows we mean business and dig them out, just a thought?

spu 4 life

Some of the moaning about a threadbare squad and that our season is over is pathetic in my opinion.

Won`t sound so pathetic when we do a 3rd season in a row second half collapse & again surrender 4th to Arsenal ,& even 5th to Liverpool .

big cockeral

You start by saying it's a big gamble not to have a striker and then try and explain it away as a good policy. It's not it's fingers crossed time...Is dempsey able to play No9, yes, but so am I, the idea is to have your best players in their best positions! all of our competition have improved areas that they needed to...Holtby (looks good) is an attacking mid hardly a problem area for us with Dempsey and Gylfi...didn't we just turn down 10m for Gylfi!? You say you'll get satisfaction from watching a local kid score a goal, great, don't we all but if that's what football is about how come Enfield town don't get the same crowd numbers? You call it media BS that we're after a striker yet clearly we bid for leandro. the title of this article should have been 'clutching at straws'....

shedboy2

> Sure not having an extra striker is a big gamble that could very easily bite us on the arse, but other than that are we really any worse off? There is no "other than that". This in itself is sufficient enough to produce another pathetic meltdown and failure to secure the CL spot. If you had 1/100 of a brain you would have understood that.

Moscovite

spu 4 life- see what you're trying to do but after we purchase 30% of a player the price of the other 70% would go through the roof..

shedboy2

I find it pathetic the number of 'new faces' that turn up to spin for ENIC...wonder how much we're spending on PR as a club?

shedboy2

Fact is every fan wants lots of money to be spent. They'll also be the first to complain when irresponsible spending causes issues. Drop by the Leeds, Birmingham, Villa, Portsmouth et al Vital sites and see how contented those fans are with previous and current spending. Sign the incorrect striker now (ie one that AVB does not want) on the salary commensurate with someone you are buying for 20-25M and you have an issue. The salary won't be moveable if the player does not cut it and that represents money you then cannot spend.

I would have loved us to have added Son and Belhanda at the very least, but not if they do not fit the plan AVB has for this team.

Our revenues have gone from 113-119-163-144 from 2008-2009 to 2011-2012. I have not been able to find any figures on last year's wages, but from 2008-2009 to 2010-2011, our wages went from 60-67-91M. I can only presume last year was even higher as the squad was very bloated and we did add Adebayor. This seasoon will be even higher as Bale, Lennon, Walker, Defoe all signed extensions and we have signed players like Vertonghen< dempsey and Dembele who are not on chump's change. Holtby, if what I read is correct, is on 70k/week. So wages are going up every year and are likely to have almost doubled since 2008-2009. Revenues have only increased by about 30%.

There is a budget and there are players targeted. You certainly do not pay over the odds or sign players just for the sake of it. If a player is not part of the plan, they should not be brought in. Harry brought in Keane, Crouch, Defoe, Adebayor, Sigurdsson, Saha when he was here. He also inherited Bent and Pav. All of the ones that were brought in by Harry were band-aids, for the here and now. He wante nothing to do with what was already here. As a result, we have not really been cultivating our strikers. One cannot say thet we weren't paying strikers though. If we are to play 4-5-1 (or any version thereof) three strikers is enough. With Kane and Obika as numbers 4 and 5, we are covered. Dempsey and Adebayor scored 17 last season. Defoe scored 11. If they can just get back on track, we might well be ok. The long-term plan that Levy and AVB have for the team has not been compromised though.

Here's what I really don't understand. Virtually everyone on here stated that without Modric and VDV we would be lucky to finish in the top 6. Should all those people not be happy that we are in fourth, have gone 7W, 1L, 4D in the last 12 and have dealt with injuries to key players and misfiring strikers. If we get healthy and the strikers start scoring, there is no reason to believe that we will not be in the CL discussion. Could we finish 7th? Sure. But we could also finish 3rd. The League is a marathon. We will have to figh for every point the rest of the way. The indifferene in the QPR, Leeds and Norwich games needs to be gone. WBA next. Get it done. COYS

peterballb

shedboy, the gamble in not securing a fourth striker is that if Defoe and Adebayor do not find their scoring boots (maybe they are lacing them wrong) or get injured, we could be in trouble. That's a could. It was decided that Defoe and Adebayor were AVB's choices until "the striker" comes, so that is unlikely to change. It could also happen that Defoe returns to scoring here and there and Ade gets back in to the flow and develops a partnership with Holtby. If the right player at the right price was not out there, you do not buy. COYS

peterballb

@Peter A+ Post.

ledgespur

I can see the logic of Ox. Imagine you are buying a car from him. What he tells you is "Sure, not having a wheel/breaks is a big gamble that could very easily bite you on the arse, but other than that is it really any worse off than a normal car?". Well, I stopped reading after this sentiment.

Moscovite

Please tell me why Lewis and Levy would fire Levy. I'd love to hear the answer on that one. ENIC are here until, at the very least, the completion of the stadium. So, ask for him to leave all you wish. I'm sure it does not bother him nor will it dissuade him from his plan. The club value continues to rise and will likely be worth over 1B once the stadium is up, if not more. Selling now will not happen unless someone wants to throw absolutely ridiculous money at Tavistock and Levy. Oddly, I don't expect anyone to pay well over the odds for Spurs, much like Levy won't pay over the odds for players. COYS

peterballb

Perfect sense there peterb, no point just buying any old stop gap striker just because we can't get our prime target, when we already possess 2 in the form of Kane & Obika. Something that some on here can't or won't see. Gold star mate.

Spuds-U-Like

So there you have it, we were in for Willian and Leandro but both selling clubs wanted well above our valuation (and it seems Leandro wanted wages that were too steep - reading between the lines) so the deals were not done. He is not going to bring in players just for the sake of it. As I have said, there is a plan and players who will not fit that plan will not be brought in. COYS

peterballb

Peter- hope for the best, prepare for the worst...we've failed to do the latter. 3 points out of 9....we only have two strikers (dempsey is an attacking mid able to play the 10, have you seen him struggle up top?) one's injured and ones in Africa (and defoe by your reckoning is pants).

Stop by Wolves and Valencia and see what happens when you focus on stadium plans...fact is 3 teams drop out of the PL every year normally because they have the worst players, the worst manager or a combination of the two...I don't hear people screaming for a certain amount of money to be spent - they just want quality players yet we seem unable or unwilling to purchase them...comparing us with Leeds is scaremongering (yet they did just beat us!).

shedboy2

So Danny Graham for £5 million wouldn`t help things ?

big cockeral

Muscovite, keepers and strikers are more akin to a house. There are tons out there. Most you walk in to you walk straight back out. It doesn't fit what you want. So you don't buy it just because you need a house. You wait and get the best one you can that ticks all the boxes and that fits within your budget. If it is over-valued, you probably don't buy it unless you can see how it can e costed (potential). The wages are the mortgage, if you can't afford the payments, you don't do the deal. Investing 17M in Negredo and paying him over 100k/week is overpriced on both ends. The only thing that could make it a worse idea is if AVB didn't want him. We have not been stupid. I'd have at least bought Son, but then, perhaps AVB does not like what he sees. It's his team. Just like it was Harry's. COYS

peterballb

Peter- I need a car for work but my plan is to drive a Merc I only have funds for a Volvo, do I walk?

shedboy2

> "The indifferene in the QPR, Leeds and Norwich games needs to be gone". Well, more like a wishful thinking than anything. What if it won't? That's too much of indifference already, don't you think? It's not like it's an occasional indifference, it's 3 games in a row and counting. If you think that away trip to WBA will be any different (if not tougher) you're delusional. Things don't change themselves and turn in your favour magically. There should be a good reason for that to happen. And buying quality striker would do no harm apparently? Alas.

Moscovite

shedboy2 +1 . I`m just pi$$ed we`re on the verge of surrendering Champions league football again .Maybe some Spurs fans enjoy being laughed at ,because that`s what we are .
Arsenal fans can`t believe their luck we did nothing ,Liverpool rubbing their hands .Come May We will say " $hit we enjoy being bent over "

big cockeral

Kane=ford Ka, obika=scooter.

shedboy2

peterballb You bang on about how poor Defoe is ...but now we`re stuck with a player you don`t rate .So what`s your argument ?

big cockeral

we can't find a striker in the whole world who can improve us for under 14m? sack the scouts....

shedboy2

shedboy2 ..... +2

big cockeral

I'm all with the idea of spending within the clubs means, and not just buying players for the sake of it. Having a plan and only going for players that fit within it, is also incontestably sensible. What I find hard to believe is that, given the number of players out there and the amount of time available to us as a club to scout out the right ones, we have (once again) failed to get a striker. If (and this is purely conjecture) Willian and Damiao were the only players that we were looking at, then it seems to me that we aren't casting our nets widely enough. At the end of the day, we aren't looking to buy a striker for the sake of it, but because we need one. Definite missed opportunity, even if it doesn't pose the existential threat that some people on here seem to think it does.

darkenvai

shedboy, on the contrary, that is exactly what we have done. We have prepared for the worst, which is that we do not qualify for CL (because there are 5 teams in the race for 2 spots and we ave no entitlement to them). We will probably show a small loss, but will be able to invest next year as the TV deal will give another 20M, if Gomes does well, he will find a suitor, fringe players have been loaned out to see what they have in their lockers (all but Townsend I feel are good loans), and the wage bill will go down next season. All great news. We will hope that Ade and Defoe start scoring and that Dempsey continues to find the back of the net and that Holtby helps to propel us to CL. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That has been done. Our wages next year, while on average higher, will finally be under control after all of those years of bloated rosters. We hope, that like last season, Ade earns what we are paying him. We hope that Defoe will get back to his .6 goals per 90 minutes. We hope that Sigurdsson will start scoring. We will be relying on what has been a very good defence for the past two months. Vertonghen, BAE, Parker were all out. They have got game time. We will hope that the focus is there every game. If all goes well, we can finish third (IMO). If not, 7th is below my expectations, but not inconceivable. It will not, however stop us building towards what AVB envisions. Could Bale go? Sure. But that will ring true even if we qualify for CL. It's about money and the bigger club. We can offer neither. That is a generation or two of success away. We will get our money for him though which is why he was extended.

To me, this window was a success. Not on the striker front but Holtby, Fryers and Pritchard are huge signings for the future and for now. Don't discount Fryers playing this season. The loans could all help to deermine where we have quality cover and where we have players that need to be moved on. Townsend, IMO, is not the future. Pritchard and McEvoy are. Falque just isn't good enough. I can also see Luongo playing this season. Kane will now develop here - he was now unlikely to play at Norwich. I am not unhappy. I would have signed Belhanda and Son, but not if the don't fit the eye of AVB. COYS

peterballb

Another disappointing window where we did not address the striker issue. How much longer do we wait. It's not the fact that we didn't buy a striker that annoyed me the most, it was yet again the so- called 11th hour Dimao bid. That was frankly just insulting. Do they really think that the fans believe that there was an actual, serious bid for Dimao? Why would 2 clubs who are supposed to have a "partnership" wait until 4 hours until the end of a window to start dealing for a player that Inter knew we have been interested in for the last 2 years. Just BS in my eyes, and follows on from the Moutinho, Aguero Rossi crap we have been fed in previous windows. If we weren't prepared to buy a striker then DL should have come out and said so and why, a bit of honesty please. We as fans can accept that. To be fair to AVB, he did say we wouldn't buy, however DL goes ahead with this farce anyway which makes AVB look foolish. Apart from the striker issue, Holtby looks a good buy, Fryers is just more potential and wasn't priority for me, and the sale of Jenas was the highlight. Sad to see Gomes go, still think he is better than Friedel. If LLoris gets injured, Friedel is number 1. Joy. The only way we get 4th now is if Ade comes back from the ACON firing on all cylinders with Bale ably supporting him. The lack of a striker wouldn't be so bad if we had goals everywhere else, however as we know, Lennon hardly scores, nor does Dembele, nor does Parker, nor does Siggi and we don't have one of those CD's that contributes 5 or 6 goals per season regularly. I hope Holtby has goals in him, there's a lot of expectation riding on his young shoulders now. I think we will finish in 6th behind Arse and Pool.

Cleveland ARTSPURS

The club that once bought Bentley and Bent for over £30m combined (when we were outside of the CL zone) can not invest at least half of that money into one striker that will get us there? Surely makes sense.

Moscovite

Dark, perhaps, but then I didn't see any stikers move that were affordable and that I could say were ones to upgrade us immediately and be part of the future. Any signing is on a 4 or 5 year deal. If they are that good, you have cast your lot as you are stuck with those wages. So that player becomes the plan. Harry wanted cover last season. Saha came in and played 400 minutes in all competitions. He had, as I recall, 1 good game. The balance was pretty poor. I agree. It seems odd that we didn't have other targets, but then perhaps we did and they just aren't available or affordable. Perhaps plan B was to recall Harry Kane and have him as a 4th option so we can continue to play 4-4-. I don't know. It is what we are doing though. COYS

peterballb

shedboy, we already have a Volvo and a Saab in the drive. The lan is still to get the Mercedes but we're going to wait for next year's model. COYS

peterballb

Peter-Why say anything in a few words when you can write a book..;) We've not prepared for the worst 'on the pitch' which is where the game that attracts the fans, that pay the revenue is played. Even a mid table team need strikers....

shedboy2

Peter the Volvo has developed a nasty rattle and shouldn't be driven and the Saab has been taken for joy ride in Africa...

shedboy2

BigC, I do rate Defoe, just not in thestarting XI. Bringing Holtby in now means that 4-4-2 is not here for long. We saw that the other day. He will be behind a striker. Once Adebayor comes back, if Defoe remains pants as the starter, it will be the way it should have been in game one if greed were not on Ade's mind. Adebayor in front of Holtby with Defoe coming off the bench to run at tired defences and to collect on errors in the box. I see Holtby giving Adebayor the confidence he needs to play. He is very much a VDV like player. COYS

peterballb

Nearly forgot I have a bike in the garage it was the best mountain bike last year perhaps that'll work...(dempsey)

shedboy2

Shedboy, the 5 cylinder Volvo engine is bullet-proof. It'll be fine. It's getting that new spinning treatment so it should be fine. The Saab has been lowjacked, we know where it is and it should be back in the drive i a couple of weeks with new tires (Holtby). COYS

peterballb

The bike is nothing flashy but it does the job. Not got the speed of a road bike, but it can go in to those places that other bikes seem to avoid. COYS

peterballb

Muscovite, which striker are you referring to? Has to be affordable on he wage front, has to want to cme. The other team needs to want to sell at a price that we deem is within our valuation fro the player. Hearing what AVB said about the Leandro deal suggests to me that the selling club wanted beyond our valuation and the player wanted wages we were not prepared to give. You can bite the bullet or you can move on. AVB chose to live to fight another day. COYS

peterballb

This piece could have been written by either Doug or Dinsdale Piranha.

lordjohnny

What's your view on January lj? Debacle or master-stroke mate?

Crissybwoy

Firstly, we do not have a threadbare squad. We have used 28 players so far, only equalled by Newcastle. Secondly we sit in 4th place with ALL the same players still at the club, albeit some fringe players loaned out for experience. We still have a first team nucleus of 21 with Kane + Obika and other Nextgen's to add. We are covered in ALL areas still and have not lost our ability to win games as before Xmas. We need to stick together, play as a team and score from all over the pitch as we have been doing. We have rarely failed to score this season, and winning UGLY may need to be done on occasions. Winning is the key rather than the draws we have had, but still unbeaten in the PL for 8 games so keep believing we can beat everyone out there. 2 weeks ago we were brilliant against ManUre. We CAN do this with the players we have got. Both Balance sheet and Team sheet go hand in hand in the TOTTENHAM way.

COYS R US

we only have 23 senior players in the squad...including Sandro who's out for the season...1 striker in Africa, 1 injured and 1 not a striker but no we're not threadbare...right.

shedboy2

Sorry mate, but I don't think people are saying we have a threadbare squad at all, but they're saying that we're short of strikers that can actually put us up the table. Defoe has 2 goals in his last 10 games and Adebayor has got 2 in the 14 games he's played. Defoe's injured and Adebayor isn't here. Nobody was moaning about any other area of the pitch, especially now we've brought Holtby in for the creative spark we've perhaps lacked. Since all people wanted was a striker to be sorted and you've addressed the fact that having two strikers could bite us in the arse, I think calling people pathetic is a bit much.

As for Obika, I'd like to find any quote from anyone suggesting that Obika is or ever will be a superstar. I think people wanted to see him given a chance at times, just like any of our youngsters, but that doesn't mean we're fickle for not believing he can fire us to the Champions League.

This ISN'T a new problem. It's a problem we've had for years, which is why fans are continually frustrated and growing even more frustrated as time goes on. Defoe has gone from fourth choice striker 5 years ago to first choice striker now, without his game particularly improving. For me, there's something inherently wrong about that.

Bernio Villas-Spuras

Bernio, unfortunately there was a policy of applying band-aids on the striker situation prior to this season. Never bought for the future. Pav and Bent never wanted by Harry. Keane brought in, not wanted by Harry after one year. Defoe brought in an then relegated to impact sub. Crouch (1 in 21) was brought in and was paid to leave the club 2 years down the road. We completely neglected the future and now we have to sort that. There is no magic pill. The hope is that Defoe, Dempsey and Adebayor can find last season's form and propel us to the CL wher the extra revenue and prestige might get us the player that we need to make the others subs. Until then, I remain in hope. COYS

peterballb

peterballb,,,,Bernio Villas-Spuras,,,, great posting

Squad is not threadbare on numbers ,but threadbare on quality ,there`s a difference .

When we need a goal look at the bench on the hour mark in the last 4-5 games

big cockeral

Peterbalb, it would appear that Levy needs to manufacture a striker to his own unique recipe, there isn't one single striker in the whole of Europe and Sth America, that would suit AVB's needs, and fit into Levy's tight buget constraints. I'm sure a competent DOF would have found one, perhaps he should get out of the fecking way, and let competent football people do their job, rather than him trying to satisfy his considerable ego, by trying to do it all himself. Lastly if he can't, or won't, buy somebody to solve what is a serious situation, has he never heard of loans, a decent finisher in until the end of the season would have helped, for now at least.

Frank

big cockeral, in an ideal world we'd have Defoe to bring on in the last half hour or 20 minutes. I'm not his greatest fan, but he's exactly the sort of person you'd want to make an impact. Hopefully Adebayor will take the place of Defoe and hit a purple patch (when he comes back from SA). That's all we can hope for really, I mean, we're obviously in a better position now with Holtby, but we're really going into the rest of the season with fingers crossed; fingers crossed that Defoe will prove me wrong about being a half-season performer and that Adebayor will play better as the lone striker than a number 10 alongside Defoe.

Bernio Villas-Spuras

Big C. of course you are spot on, it's only the blind, and our chairman, that can't or won't see.

Frank

At last a sensible article aftet the window slammed shut!!! Yes we need a striker, but who and for what sort of money. There's an old sayng that you cut your cloth accordingly and some of you need to remove the rose tinted "We're a big club who can sign anyone" glasses and get real.

Iggspur

Iggspur- yes we need to get real there wasn't a single striker in the whole world that could improve us that we could afford...we're not a big club so no point building a colloseum.

shedboy2

Out of interest Iggspur, what are your opinions when it comes to scouting? We have a team of scouts all paid more than what we'll ever get in our lives to find talent across the globe. If we can't find anyone for £15m or less that will improve us then isn't it time for contracts to be terminated?

Bernio Villas-Spuras

Bernio - I agree that our scouting system doesn't seem that great and begs the question as to whether we actually have one! There doesn't seem to be a dearth out there though and whatever there is is snapped up by the so called bigger clubs. I guess I get frustrated with the Levy/ENIC bashing when for the last 4/5 years we've done well to get where we are, not at risk of going broke, new stadium coming, new training facilities, keeping up with the clubs that have bigger staduims and more wealth than us and yet for some its still not good enough!!

Iggspur

So who should we have brougt shed??? an unproven in the PL brazilian for £20m who would take time to settle? Falcao for £35m? I'm intrigued

Iggspur

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