Because we didn't spend a thing for two seasons prior to that window and our squad has obvious problems. We failed to sell a bunch of players who simply shouldn't be at the club, for a start.
Never. They're not always extremely blatant, though. We should've strengthened when we were doing well. We failed to do it and now we're seeing the outcome of that.
Woodgate, Palacious, Defoe and King all played most, if not all matches and made a big difference. There are players who can/would make a difference but whether we could get them or not is another thing.
That's a reasonable assumption to make but what we don't for sure why that was so. Pochettino said he didn't need anyone and Levy said money was available. Politics are involved so we don't know the truth of the matter. We don't know who was right or wrong and for what reasons. We can only look at long term results and long term Enic have raised Spurs and now they are in the process of raising the bar further with the new infrastructure.
It seems to me that this squad is crying out for an Egdar Davids figure. An experienced head who can make a difference to the team on the field during the game. Even during the success of the last 5 years we have not had such a player. Vertonghen perhaps closest but never as a constant figure of authority in games.
It was two windows not two seasons. Failing to sell players is quite common. We didn't get this right but taking a single season out of context doesn't help to decide what the right approach should be. Everyone on here now thinks Alderweireld, Vertonghen and Dier are past it. If anyone had said that this time last year there would have been howls of derision. Vertonghen was man of the match playing at LB in the CL last Feb.
Dier maybe but I am not convinced that Toby and Jan are over the top. Defenders always reached their peak in their 30's. Maybe that's not true anymore but I am not convinced yet about writing them off.
I don't think that Alderweireld or Vertonghen are past it, but Dier and Wanyama have been crocked for ages. Rose is fat and disinterested, Aurier can't defend and we've got no back-up for Kane.
There is no sensible way to have direct back up for Kane. We've tried. Just play 433 with three of Son, Lucas, Dele and Lamela up front. Something similar got us to the CL final last year.
I could name a few we did well not to sign too. But we never give credit for avoiding buying crap players.
Just because we haven't done it, doesn't mean that there isn't a sensible way to do it. Having an alternative system and targetman on the bench worked, but we've lost one part of that. We let Llorente go and didn't replace him, nor did we try something different.
The issue isn't who we should have bought, the issue was who we should have sold Poch was expecting Toby and Dembele to leave, and we should have dumped off Janssen and GKN, yet they all remained - true, Dembele and Janssen missed out on moves due to injury, but if we offloaded GKN that would have freed up a valuable place in the squad Similar can be said for last summer: the non-appearance of the expected Eriksen windfall was the headline, but failing to get Wanyama and Rose out the door is the real issue
To sell players you have to find a buyer. I cannot imagine anyone buying Wanyama with his injury record and Rose's options must be contracting by the year - especially as he has said he won't leave till his contract is up.
That may well be right but you cannot do much about players either for whom there are no realistic offers or who refuse to go like Rose because he won't earn as much elsewhere. Apart from give them away but even then they can just refuse to go.
He is no more than adequate. As was the case with Llorente he is a far inferior player to any of Son, Lamela, Lucas or Dele. So if we bought him he would only play in emergencies. Parrott can do that.
We had buyers for both, Brugge and Watford respectively, yet the pair of them tanked the moves because they didn't want to take wage cuts
