if you look at signings from Italian football recently, you have Raminez Osvaldo Jovetic Lamela Thats four talented footballers, not fly by night performers but talented players and if all four can't settle then that says something about signing a certain player from Italian football. Some players like Zola, Balotelli are suited to our game yet on the whole it seems transfers between italy and here aren't much of a success.
Smashing plan (not!) assuming the remaining few stay fit...how many times has sailing close to the wind backfired on us. If Ade or Bobby cop an out for the season job in March after JD leaves, we're screwed. Plus we'll be left with two, Harry Kane is not an option for me. We will end up with nothing imo if thats how this pans out. Maybe thats the masterplan, no Euro next year and build as the two Mersey teams have. I've no idea now.
That's where the debate we've been having on here in regards to Kane becoming permanent 3rd choice or not comes in. I'd be happy to see him given a chance but if he doesn't come up with the goods when required, the fans will have another reason to moan at Levy for not replacing Defoe. If another striker is brought in while Defoe is still here then I don't think it's such a bad thing, Ade, Soldado, Player X and Defoe (Kane to go on loan if that happens I reckon) as the 4 strikers to choose from until March is only a good thing in my opinion, especially if Player X hasn't played in a European competition, we'll be able to field him and JD in those games to give Ade and Soldado a night off.
After our summer spending Levy won't trust Baldini to sign another big name player while our current big money signings are struggling to perform and then that leaves a short term option but if we go by what Sherwood has said (and done) it points to the short term option = play the kids. Maybe SC can enlighten us on how highly Sherwood rates Harry Kane or Sherwood may not be concerned if Ade or Soldado suffer injury as he could have a plan to use Lamela, but I'm not expecting any strikers to arrive.
I'm not going to agree or disagree, its all 'ifs' atm SoS, all 'ifs'! As for Kane, you've seen what I've put. I can only say what I've seen, and its very little. In all the times I've seen him play, and i do stress 'I've', as there are posters here who have obviously seen more, I just don't see that "thing" in him, nothing in his game excites me, other youngsters you see something, as I said, just can't see it in him...yet! . Don't get me wrong i don't think he's terrible or anything like that, just not our level.
We're not City, we have to be a bit smart about our acquisitions, especially in the expensive striker department and considering how expensive and ineffective (so far) Soldado has been. January is a sellers market and anyone decent is gonna be expensive. If Sherwood has faith in Kane (and he played him alone up front at the end against Utd which suggests he does) then i think its an acceptable risk. Ideally we would spunk £30-40m on a Defoe replacement in Jan, but this is Spurs, we can't do that.
I agree spending frivolously....again! is not an option and not what I'm implying, you can get strikers on loan. I just think 2 strikers Ade and Soldado + Kane for the final 2 months is lunacy if we have any real ambition of finishing in a European place this season. Are you honestly happy, and anyone else for that matter to have to rely on Kane if one of the other two gets injured? Its not unreasonable for 2 to have knocks. When JD goes we will be 2 strikers short, we could still be in the EL, who knows, if we are its poor planning for it.
I think he'd be more suited to the current 4-4-2 formation from what I've seen of him. He's been pretty clinical at youth level but at first team level has only scored 3 or 4 times, though whenever I've watched him, he's put a real shift in and worked hard for the team, that's what makes me think if he had a partner he'd possibly look better. I've likened him to Keano in the past due to his work ethic (not that he's anywhere near that level of course) and I felt Keane always worked well with a partner (Berbatov especially).
Soldado and Ade can play 1 up, Lamela, Eriksen, Holtby and Siggy can play behind the striker. Having 3 strikers if you are glued to 442 is lunacy, but i don't think our squad is glued to 442 and i hope Sherwood isn't. I don't see how the situation is worse than at the beginning of the season, where we had Soldado, Defoe and Kane. Ade was never gonna play.
I don't think we need another expensive striker, of course it'd be lovely to have the choice but I think someone that can literally replace Defoe as a 3rd choice is more than ideal. Long at £2m is probably the best option in terms of calibre of player and value for money. Then there's Fletcher (I'm still sticking by this one ) who'll probably be available for £6m-£7m. Maybe Rickie Lambert? Around the same age as Defoe I think and tends to be rotated with Osvaldo in the Soton line up. Doubt he'd cost a fortune.
We've seem all perms from 20 behind Soldado with that lot you've listed and nothing doing, none of them remotely like being as effective as VdV in the past, and Sig is a terrible no.10. Being forced to play one up top through injury is as bad as being stuck to 442 isn't it?, its certainly not a home game favourite. I'm also not saying we should stick with 442 either. I should think more often than not under TS, it'll be something similar to 442 at home and 1up when we're away. What I'm saying is our home games could be compromised at the end of the season with only 2 plus Kane. If you have a look at our end fixtures, we will want to be playing those teams with 2 fit senior strikers. The situation isn't different, quite right, the situation earlier in the season was no goals, so why risk that situation at the end of the season?
There is only any point in signing another striker if he is a better player than whoever has to be left out of the team to accommodate him. We've got loads of good attacking players most of whom have underperformed badly so far. I still think we will see more goals and crisper attacking play as the new signings get more used to the PL. I really don't see us being able to sign a striker who is a better player than Chadli, Lamela, Sig, Holtby or Kane, all of whom can fill in up front if Soldado and Ade are both out.
So, low on numbers is not a reason to sign a player?, its all very well listing all these midfielders who can allegedly fill in up front (based on what I don't know, as they've yet to do anything to suggest it to me), we were struggling for them in their normal position not too long ago. Are you serious about your last sentence? In fact, I don't want to know, thanks but no thanks, I'll give that line of....debate? a miss.
I just don't believe in signing players for short-term cover for any outfield position. If we can sign someone who will be a good long term addition to the squad then go for it. But I'd rather see Kane and Chadli playing up front in a 442 rather than sign a second rate stop gap.
Apparently RM have offered us 2 players on loan. - Don't faint!! I can't believe this Lamela scenario. What an absolute joke. Just give the kid time and play him. Part of me wonders whether Sherwood is purposely trying to make Baldini look like a mug, so it results in the heirachy set up changing in the near future to suit Sherwood. - has Sherwood got an agenda? I'd love to know how the two get on with one another. Also seen rumours of El Sharrawy. Although with Lamela being a "failure", I can't see how that one has much truth to it!
Liverpool realistically only have Suarez and Sturridge as strikers and when fit play both. But there manager gives youth a chance so they have players like Sterling to step in and change the system to play one up top. That's how I want us to be, if Ade or Soldado are injured we can play 451 or 433 and make use of our squad. We can then use Lamela in his best position which is an inside forward. Townsend is coming back and yes even Chadli can be used. But this does depend on how flexible Sherwood is and for that we can't answer yet as he's only been a manager for a handful of games.
He's out injured for the next couple of months, isn't he? Might coincide with the whole Defoe thing, but it seems unlikely at best.
