I'd like to maybe bring in an older deep playmaker, someone like Pirlo. That way we have experience/finished article and we can introduce players like Carroll and Pritchard as subs. I don't think just throwing kids on for 90mins early in their careers works that often. At least as a sub the pressure is off a bit and they can get accustomed to first team football.
If we are going to play 4231 then having Sandro, Capoue, Dembele, Paulinho, Carroll and Bentaleb to for the DM 2 and Lamela, Townsend, Chadli, Lennon, Eriksen, Holtby, Sigurdsson and Pritchard for the AM 2 with Ade, Soldado and Kane to cover the striker position is well good enough. It's not actually clear to me whether we need to do anything at all, except if 'better' players are available at a decent price. I'd be quite interested to see how Bentaleb, Carroll, Pritchard, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane got on as a combination: they could be our attacking force for 8 or 9 years if they all came good. The only example in the PL of such an experiment is Neville, Neville, Butt, Scholes, Beckham, Giggs at Man U which actually worked out OK. If they are good enough they are old enough. Telling who is good enough is a bit tricky though.
Yes - a lot better than OK! They also brought through Brown and O'Shea a bit later. It was interesting that when Brown, Neville, Butt and O'Shea moved on they didn't look too special. Teamwork was obviously very important.
And having the right manager, average players can achieve higher then their ability when playing for the right manager.
"I'd be quite interested to see how Bentaleb, Carroll, Pritchard, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane got on" Well we know that Carroll/Pritchard/Kane in a Spurs unit was too much for the rest of their peers in England last season.
Having referees in the club's pocket also goes a long way to saving their obvious limitations being exposed.
"The official site has now confirmed the departure of goalkeeping coach Tony Parks." Good or bad decision by the club ??
That is inevitable I guess, but is still a pity. Earned his place in Spurs folklore and it is sad when the club can't look after it's heroes.
A good bloke and a good coach. The club is just supporting the incoming manager in his choice of staff. When this happens, it is unfortunate that sometimes good club men are sacrificed.
There is a question to what degree the Academy coaching staff should be autonomous from the senior setup. What happens to Chris Ramsey I guess will answer this one.
It's not a popular move, judging by the responses on Facebook and Twattle. The club should probably announce the departures of Freund and Ferdinand PDQ, then...
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...s/cardiff-city-captain-steven-caulker-7199718 I really want us to resign Caulker, was a mistake to sell him in the first place imo. No offence to Swansea but I think he can do a lot better than them.
This problem is we seem to be looking after the wrong heroes! Les and Sherwood have been (were) on the coaching staff for years with little effect.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...th-summer-fitness-programme-in-Argentina.html Erik Lamela tries to kick-start his Tottenham career with summer fitness programme in Argentina Spurs hope training with his first club, River Plate, will help £30m forward become a success despite his miserable first season at White Hart Lane
If that's the reason he's doing it then it's excellent news. We need players making an effort to turn around their form, not just continuing on the same way and expecting different results. Defoe did something similar the last couple of summers, didn't he? It shows good character to get proactive rather than moping around and complaining.
One day I'll sit down every single football journalist in this country and explain to them, in short enough words so they can easily understand, that we did not pay £30m for Lamela and that our club-record signing is Soldado.