I did warn for some pre-emptive sphincter-clenching... Also, all the Diop talk has vanished overnight. What gives? ...and, yes, I am aware that question can be answered with an unflattering pic of Levy.
But all those ifs are essentially added bonuses on top of what is already a good squad. GK, Sissoko and Janssen barely contributed last year, while Rose and Lamela missed huge chunks. If say just two or three of those, along with any of the potential new guys can have positive effects on the squad this season then that's surely a massive bonus, no? Minus Walker and any potential new signings and this squad finished second in the league last season. Scored the most goals in the league. Had the best defensive record in the league. Those aren't ifs, they're facts. But despite all that, there's still - as always from Spurs fans - way too much pessimism and panic going into the new season. Surely Poch and co have done enough by now to make people realise that this is a seriously good side and that whether we add many players or not, it's still likely going to do well regardless?
I'm not being overly pessimistic but the reality of the situation is that we're light going into the last week of the window and as we all know, that hasn't served us well on a significant number of occasions. I don't believe that we wanted Sissoko until we ran out of options. We left Berahino too late.....and Moutinho......etc. I want us to be pragmatic. We need a right back. We need an attacking midfielder and a striker. We have little use for Wimmer, Sissoko, Janssen and GKN. There's little point in keeping them if we are not going to use them. We've got a week. Let's make really good use of it. Flog the dead wood and get in what we really need. Having one player we will actually use is better than having 2 that Mauricio Pochettino won't use. To Dare is To Do
Say we had a perfect scenario of a fully fit squad, our bench would consist of (in a 3-4-2-1 set up): Vorm, Sanchez, Davies, Winks, Son, Lamela and Janssen. Vorm = One of the best back ups in the Prem. Sanchez = If he impacts like we hope he does, will end up being in the first XI sooner rather than later. Davies = Better than most LBs in the Prem. Winks = Impressed everyone last season and will only improve. Son = Very harsh to bench him but doesn't get in over Alli/ Eriksen in the two AM spots, a lot better than most AMs in the Prem. Lamela = Similar to Son. Janssen = The only genuine weak link in my eyes, hence why I've mentioned about improving striking options. Then if Aurier, Barkley and Foyth join, I'd say the first two make the squad, with Aurier likely becoming a first XI player, pushing Tripps to the bench. So what I'd pose to you is this: 1 - Who's XI do you feel is substantially better than ours? 2 - Who's squad players are making you envious/ concerned that our squad players aren't good enough? Because for me, I feel as first XI's go, we can beat any side on our day, regardless of the millions others have spent. I look around other squads and I genuinely don't see star studded benches at any side. Even Chelsea and City, for all they've spent, only the likes of Fabregas and Willian of Chelsea and Yaya, Sterling and Bernardo Silva are players of genuine quality that could help change a game. Arsenal only have Giroud who is a top striker in reserve. Liverpool only have Sturridge. Utd have Martial, Herrera and now Zlatan who'll likely play second fiddle to Lukaku. That's only a few players from each top side that can make genuine impacts off the bench - just as the likes of Son, Lamela and Winks could do for us. I think there's too much of a myth that opposition sides have far better - if at all - squads we do.
This season's trophies aren't handed out for last season's performances. That's a fact. Spurs were very impressive most of the time last season, but never realistically threatened Chelsea for the title and bar a decent run in the F.A. Cup didn't do well in the cups. With the benefit of hindsight, it's clear that the lack of squad depth was a factor. Alli's performances were mixed in the first half of the season. Kane started slowly and had a spell injured. During this period there was an ordinary period of form in the league which resulted in an 11 point swing to Chelsea in the league in just over a month and losses in the CL leading to elimination. Who could make a contribution to match Kane or Alli if either were injured or had a dip in form this season? So far, there is no better answer than last season - and without wishing to repeat the point, it's not a question of form dipping over a long period, 3 or 4 poor results can make the difference between a creditable 2nd and the title or making a go of it in the CL.
Utd done well in the cups but poor in the league, so it's swings and roundabouts as to what your club's focus is on. It's extremely unlikely a team can compete fiercely in both the league and all cup competitions, there's literally only a select few in Europe that can do that. Let's also not forget that Chelsea didn't have to worry about European football last season, so were solely able to focus on the league and domestics. With regards to Kane and Alli being injured, that would also apply to every squad. Take Hazard and Kante out of Chelsea for a sustained period. Lukaku and Pogba out of Utd. De Bruyne and Silva out of City. Firmino and Mane out Liverpool. Sanchez out of Arsenal - which as we've already seen they struggle. And for what it's worth, we were without Kane for a combined total of ten weeks last season, so I'd say we done reasonably well coping without him.
Chelsky were at least 10 pts ahead of Spurs at the halfway point, and at the final reckoning effectively matched Spurs pts performance over the season and got an extra 2 wins / 1 draw. They kept their performance high enough for the last half of the season precisely because the threat was there.
Davinson Sanchez Awaiting work permit. How long does this take? Why is everything so labour intensive with us?
I agree with what you say. I was just observing that it did cost Spurs last season. That period in October/November made all the difference between where you were and where you wanted to be. That doesn't devalue how well you did, but I'm sure you'd sooner be talking about how to defend your title than how to repeat coming close again. Kane and Alli contributed around 50 league goals. Who carries a goal threat if either/both are injured? Son does, but he doesn't play in either position. The failure to bring in someone who provides back up for such important players would concern me at this point. The focus seems to be on strengthening the defence.
There doesn't seem a lot of point in talking about a perfect scenario IMO though mate. Surely we're better off talking about what the actual scenario is? injuries will always be a problem, as will suspensions. Therefore just from the players on your list, it looks like Vorm and Janssen could be off, and Lamela is out indefinitely. Winks might have been impressive, and Son is always a threat, but the players you've mentioned from other teams IMO have attacking game changers/threats. Yes we have Son, but that's really all we have available, and that's presuming we're playing the formation you mention. Go to a 4231 and all of our current attackers who are fit and/or can actually put in a decent performance for us (i.e not Sissoko), are already on the pitch. What I'm getting at, is that it'd be nice to have more than 1 attacking option on the bench. Just more than 1. Not city levels of 3 or 4 in the same position, but more than 1! (or none ).
Last season we were naturally hoping Janssen would chip-in in Kane's absence but that wasn't to be, no one sort of envisaged Janssen being a donkey after costing us £17m and smashing goals in for fun back in Holland. That's why I said earlier on that bringing in a striker would be ideal for this window but we're in a tricky situation, it's harder for a club like us to persuade a good striker to sit on the bench than it is for the likes of Utd, Chelsea, City etc. You can all eclipse us in the financial aspects and with Utd in particular, the lure of playing for the biggest team in England and one of the biggest in the world is massive for many players, hence why you currently have both Zlatan and Lukaku on your books. Ideally it'd be great if we could have a 15-20 goal a season striker to bring on/ rotate with Harry but the reality is we just can't get that, unless we of course get lucky with an unknown. As for Alli, realistically this is a kid who we plucked from MK just two and half years ago and is now one of Europe's most coveted stars, I don't think anyone expected him to become the player he is, certainly not in such a short time frame but getting back up for him now is similar to Kane. Who would realistically want to join Spurs as a back up that can emulate what Alli does? We have Lamela to return from injury who, on his day, is a top player while the Barkley links aren't going away but even if he joins he won't be ready from the off. It's difficult for us, although we've been great the past couple seasons, we still don't have that glamour and financial lure of other sides so our dealings need to be smart and well thought out. The chances are is that we're not going to sign a £30m-rated player to come in as a squad option, we have to somewhat hope that we can buy a player and pray he becomes a £30m star in a relatively short amount of time.
The simple reason for that is nobody envisioned Janssen having to be thrown in at the deep end, sort of like how Kaboul's first stint at the club went so badly as he was never intended to be starting a run of games so early in his career and it went tits up.
Gazza may be Vorm's insurance policy for if he does decide to pursue more first team football. Janssen going won't make much of a loss . But as I've said, I want a new striker regardless of whether he stays or goes. Though I don't think we'll sell until we have someone lined up. If we go with 4-2-3-1, I appreciate that we don't have an immediate sub available to come on for one of Alli/ Eriksen/ Son that can make the desired impact we'd hope for until Lamela is fit. Although similar to what I've said before, not many other sides do either with perhaps Chelsea (Willian) and City (Bernardo Silva/ Sterling) aside. It's very difficult to persuade good players to take up bench roles, for sure they can be told the drivel of there's plenty of games etc but ultimately they'll either want a guaranteed starting spot or a massive wage to make up for it in order to join.
Aurier and Sanchez are good players but yeah we have need someone at the other end of the pitch who can make a difference in close games.
