Palace have completed the signing of Ajax CB Jairo Reidewald. We are now the only team in the PL yet to sign someone.
They'd already loaned loftus-cheek. We've been holders of the "signed no one" award for about 10 days to 2 weeks now!
I would. Make no mistake I do want us to make a couple of squad signings to increase competition and add cover but if we didn't nab anyone I'd still fancy us to do pretty well. FWIW, I definitely think we'll sign at least two players, Barkley being one of them. Though right now, saying we didn't get anyone, we're still in a very strong position to do well. Reasons being: 1) Last season in the first few months, we got a TON of injuries, more than just the usual one or two players out. Had any team suffered as badly as us, they'd have likely been far worse off than how we managed it. I can't remember exactly but I'm sure when I looked at it last season, within the first 8 weeks or so, we were on average missing two key players and that wasn't the same two, overall we had about 8 players out at different times and that massively disrupted our rhythm. If we manage to avoid the clusterfuck we had last year, there's a chance we'll do better off in the first set of games by turning those draws into wins (and doing better in the CL). 2) We've lost one key player, a damn shame at that BUT we already have cover. Tripps goes up to first choice and then faith is put in KWP to step up as his back up. Alternatively Dier can play RB if needed and in fairness, although only one game, Sissoko did look pretty decent at RWB against Leicester. 3) Lamela returning will feel like a new signing. I think he only played about 5 games before missing the season. With him back, that gives an excellent added option in the CAM roles where Son, Alli and Eriksen excelled last season. 4) IF, and it is an IF, one of GKN, Sissoko or Janssen can have a second season like Son did, that too will act as a new signing. Of those I'd say GKN has the best chance. He has blistering pace, something at times we could do with in a game and with only Son and Rose as our two speed merchants now that Walker has gone, Poch may find more minutes for the young Frenchman. 5) Winks, Onomah and CCV will be a year older. Hopefully that also means wiser and we can see them feature more without looking at them as "youngsters" and more of a case of solid squad options (Winks in fairness is already at that level). 6) Back our academy. John McDermott and his team have been working wonders and I genuinely feel we can unearth more gems that can step up unexpectedly. They don't have to make the same impact as Kane to be a success. Edwards is looking likely to be the next one to breakthrough, while Sterling and one or two others could also feature. 7) Finally and most importantly, we have Pochettino. 'Nuff said.
I agree with pretty much all of this I would add a little motto. Settled teams win more than newly constructed teams. This is a luxury we have not had at Spurs for so long. MP built a superb balanced squad and if you keep them together they have years of being formidable. The more you sign the more disruptive it is. The current squad will feel more confident if trust is placed in them and like all sport so much is in the head you ignore this aspect at your peril. We should only sign players to improve our squad the back up mentality is a bad one IMO because it means you are buying slightly lesser players. Every signing should be a first teamer in waiting..
We have a good side but not great yet people are happy to stick with what we have. I'm utterly confused.
There's very little point in buying another Sissoko. I'd rather keep the money than waste more of it. That said, we really need a right back. KWP's just not ready yet. We could do with a centre half.......and an attacking midfielder......and a deep-lying playmaker.......and another striker wouldn't go amiss either. I'm pretty sure that we're working hard at bringing them in but buying really good players on the cheap takes time. I've given up on getting players in early. The only way to do that is throw money around or buy beneath us. Mauricio Pochettino knows what he's doing, doesn't he? Someone please tell me that he knows what he's doing! Someone....please? Waaaaaaaaahhhh!
You sound like a Gooner. Finishing 2nd and 3rd is great but it needs to lead to something. Atm it's looking like we've peaked. Where's the ambition to win trophies? At the moment the only thing Spurs is number 1 at is, is being a money making business.
I think what's hardest for us is that any potential target of ours likely knows they won't be first choice, so trying to convince a good player to take a squad role when we can't offer City/ Utd/ Chelsea wages is proving problematic.
Alright, King, so how do we get those trophies? What constitutes as ambition to winning them? I'm presuming you have a fail-proof plan that's going to ensure that we bring home a trophy this season? I'd seriously love to hear it because maybe we can then send a letter to Poch and tell him how it's done. As for the money making business, I'd say a recently built state of the art training facility and a £700m-£800m stadium on the horizon might say otherwise.
Our current setup makes it easier to convince a player who's 18/19 to sign as we can point to the likes of Kane, Alli, Dier, Winks et al and say that they too can be first team players within a couple of seasons - but that doesn't really work on players who are 24/5, who expect to be established first teamers at that stage. The only positions we can realistically offer regular first team football at the moment are right back, while the lack of depth in defence and central midfield mean we can offer the potential of a run of games in those positions. That's the issue with adding depth, the options are either players who can be first teamers a season or two down the line or experienced players who can fill in when needed - but in our case it's youngsters and the annual signing of some rando with Ligue 1 experience that never makes sense to anyone.
Whether or not spending money we don't have is lacking ambition is getting the cart before the thingy.........first let's sell half the current team. Then we can go nuts shopping for players. Everton are going to win the league, right? I love it when a plan comes together.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4722852/amp/Tottenham-t-afford-smug.html "Tottenham can't afford to be smug in the transfer window" Yep, we're that skint, we can't even afford to be smug.
i understand the point regarding new signings struggling to get into the first 11, but if we're saying that our RB position is a little precarious at the moment, why wouldn't we be able to sign a 24/25 year old player to play in a rotation policy like the one who left? There's plenty of games and it's a lot to ask 1 player to play 50-60 games, and that's not considering the possibility of injuries. Also, with Dele, Son and Eriksen being the 3 prioities in our attacking midfield roles, and Lamela having injury problems, could the same not be said for another player coming into that area of the team? 5 players, lots of games, potential injuries over the season. Surely plenty of opportunity?
So it took three hours before I saw the following headline Tottenham Transfer News – Pochettino Plans Double Transfer For £45.5million Croatian Duo ...okay, so it's for Kovacic and Benkovic, but for a moment I though my passing comment about a Coric/Benkovic double deal made its way onto the blogosphere.
No fail proof plan and I repeat I'm not asking for wholesale changes. But I find it hard to believe that there is no1 out there than could be signed to improve the team/squad. Also where's the competition for places? If I'm reading this thread correctly, basically the team picks itself and we only need cover for our current players because they're that great?
***To be read in the voice of Rafa Benitez*** FACT: Kyle Walker-Peters hasn't kicked a ball for the senior team. Not even as a substitute in a cup game against lower league fodder. Nada. To hear him yesterday saying that he would like to be 2nd choice RB is cute and all, and I admire his ambition, but is utterly deluded. Even Dele Alli, a once in a generation mercurial talent, had to learn the ropes at one of the best sides in League 1. No experience = no thank you. FACT: We have seen NOTHING. I repeat: nothing from any of Sissoko, GKN or Janssen to suggest that they will improve in the long run. Son at least showed numerous glimpses of real quality in his first season. Other than a couple of flicks and decent passes, I cannot see what Vince offers. Much as I love him for the effort he puts in, he only looks capable of shooting if the ball happens to fall to him in the right place at the right time. If Kane picks up another medium term injury, we are screwed. FACT: Both Dier and Wanyama were chronically overworked last season as we don't really have like-for-like cover for either. Which brings me to my next point... FACT: CCV has made a grand total of 4 appearances for us, all in cup games. Toby has 103, Eric has 135 and Jan has a round 200. Do we seriously think that the young American born in Southend will provide capable cover? Personally, every time I've seen him play it has been blatantly obvious that he is years off of being ready for the PL, as is to be expected from a player who is only 19. FACT: This whole transfer business is rapidly becoming a matter of personal pride and tribalism. We're Tottenham Hotspur, we don't need to sign . It's all well and good hearing Kane, Eriksen and most recently Dembele come out and condemn signing 5-6 players...none of us will argue with that, especially after witnessing the fallout from Baldini's Travelling Circus. But to interpret that sentiment to the extreme and say that we shouldn't sign anyone is frankly madness. Poch is fully deserving of the high praise he receives on here for the job he has done, but the bottom line is: it is precisely our dealings in the market that have provided the foundations for his success. Dier, Alli, Toby, Vic, Davies, Son...where would we be without these guys? As much as the Academy team have shown more than enough evidence to deserve our trust, so have the scouting team. We had a very, very disappointing window last summer bar Vic...and somehow this has created a 'fear of the unknown' whereby we automatically assume that any new signing will be detrimental to the squad. FACT: We have reached the stage where it is financially impossible to improve the starting XI. If our least talented player (sorry Kyle, it's true) just went for £50m, imagine how much it would cost to improve on the others. Doing so would require either: a) a miracle, b) breaking the bank and demolishing the new stadium, c) obliterating a carefully managed wage structure. But by the same token, improving the overall squad can and therefore must be done without any of the above needing to happen. All the arguments I've seen in favour of zero signings (not necessarily on this forum) revolve around far too many 'IFs' for my liking. If Janssen...If GKN...If Lamela...If Sissoko...If Winks...If KWP...If CCV... And then there's the biggest 'IF' of them all: If all our rivals' signings flop... If.
I think we are talking squad not just 11, but of course if the right players are available, of course, but I don't think this squad has reached it's full potential yet. So I am very happy to leave this to MP who has done a fantastic job so far and has identified our weak areas very clearly with his signings. Relax King
