You got it SOS, can I recommend the Telegraph spending article I've just posted, it's fascinating. Gives really in-depth analysis of net spending and wages, but in an easily accessible graphic bar format. Mind you if we are in a mini-crisis by January, we'll probably have to pay over the odds to get any decent players. Rubbish manager, poor support at the Lane, no CL, internal fighting, we probably won't be much of an attraction.
I just noticed I put "£16m", was meant to write £6m! Apologies about that. The fee was something like 22m Brazilian Real which I think comes to £6m/£7m when I checked it back then. Yeah Sig and Dempsey have been massive let downs. Odemwingie's been a hit in England but like you say he's had a few injuries so would it be worth brining in another injury prone player with the list we already have. Ba would have been an awesome signing, very suprised if the buy out clause was true and we never took up the option.
Will check it out, cheers mate. Yeah, I've been so surprised at the lack of enthusiasm at the Lane, regardless of what I feel for the manager, I always sing and cheer at the Lane including any AVB song that pops up and I think others should do the game. Quite annoyed really as one of the reasons I enjoy going to matches is because of the atmosphere (hence why I love away games). Hopefully the players we press for in Jan (if we do press for players that is) will notice the potential of the squad and see past the negative atmosphere around the place at the moment.
This is the sort of thing that wouldn't surprise me, although I don't think we'll actually sign this player. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...7m-transfer-target-for-tottenham-8289451.html Huntelaar's out of contract in the summer, so he'd be available relatively cheaply in January. The same probably applies to a host of other players, though I can't see Llorente's price dropping.
I think the problems for both Dempsay & Sigurdsson are, firstly they have both come from a relatively small pond where they were the big fish, into a much larger pond where they are the small fish. That has probably affected their confidence somewhat. Also, it takes almost any new player time to settle in to a new team, new system, etc.
Ah right, I had in my head that it was about £8mill but figured you probably weren't that far out and went for £10mill With getting a 3rd striker I don't see the problem with them being a bit injury prone. I think we'd struggle to get anyone all that good when it's going to be 3 players fighting it out for 1 position on the teamsheet.
Dempsey started well though and Sigurdsson looked settled in the system and with his new teammates over preseason. It's just one of those things that seems to be very Spurs, once a player signs for us they seem to immediately lose any ability to take set pieces and score screamers, except if they're a fullback bizzarely.
Yeah true. I mentioned in another post that I was quite surprised we let Saha go, especially as at the time it was unsure whether Ade would definitely sign a perm or not. Personally thought Saha was a decent player and I'm sure he said in an interview when he was still here that he'd like to extend his deal. Could really have done with him at times this season. A bigger loss than perhaps the board and probably anyone else were expecting.
you're right though PNP, the quality of Huntelaar and Llorente is the standard we have to be trying to sign. Huntelaar would be a very wise move, but he'll want games. That's why he's switched clubs so bloody often. we know how much Ade goes on about wanting to play, we know how much JD wants to play... so to have 3 of them feeling so strongly about starting and getting regular football might cause some problems. - I don't know how equipped AVB is to deal with that! what I had forgotten about, is the ACONs. there was no certainty that ade would be going, but there was a good chance. I am astounded that we've taken the approach we have. Now (unsurprisingly really) he's going, what on earth were we thinking in the summer? we don't like to make much of a net spend if we can help it, so why the hell have we put ourselves in a position where we could be forced to purchase a striker in Jan, where everyone knows our situation, and prices are sky high? January is a bad month anyway, but essentially, we knew of our potential/likely predicament. - it's not like injuries have caused an unforeseen situation. what a precarious position to put ourselves in, where we are the only ones to blame. injuries cannot be helped, but this could have been. we've already had a taste of what it's like with Ade being injured already this season, which has left us with no option but to play Defoe (as good as he's done) but it's given us no alternative when things aren't working. hypothetically, we could see another 7mill+ on huntelaar (fine by me), but that's 13 mill or so when you consider what we spend on Dempsey, for two 29 year olds with not much resale value. i didn't think this was levy's idea of good business? not to mention that it could have been 13 mill towards the young highly rated marquee striker we've needed for a few seasons. and some might argue that those two players were panic buys, for one reason or another. we're mind boggling at times.
this is quite interesting too, chaps. http://www.london24.com/sport/totte..._solution_to_spurs_striking_problem_1_1682980 some reasons why perhaps Sig and Demps aren't working at the moment, but why they did at their former clubs. - perhaps part of the reason that Defoe only got 11 touches of the ball against Wigan? (unbelievable) Also explains some of the best attributes of a couple of other players such as Ade and why his style is so very suited to what we need. then there's the main part of the story which is a potential "number 10" solution...Have a read.
Many of us have expressed dismay at the fact that Ade has not started more games. I agree. I see little point in having a player of his capabilities idling his time away on the bench. Perhaps he and Defoe should be given a run of games together in a 4-4-2?
Yeah, that's why I went for Falque, Sigurdsson and Dempsey behind Adebayor in my preferred team for the Maribor game, Roo. We've not kept possession well enough this season, nor done enough with it when we've had it. Adebayor's not played because he hasn't been available, NSIS. I'm sure Villas-Boas would've picked him more often if he were.
I know he was injured at the start of he season. He then recovered, but became mysteriously "ill" after not being selected.
Just that this " illness" was never specified. Yes, it's possible he genuinely was ill. But it just seems rather strange that nobody ever expanded on the subject. It also coincided with the stories about him being unhappy and looking for a move.
I thought the club said he missed the Maribor and Southampton games because of a back injury and the Norwich game through sickness.
