New season, new manager, some new players and some old ones gone. What do you think will happen? Obviously the big question is around Kane. Will he stay will he go? Maybe that question is not as important as we think it is. Over the years Spurs have lost many great players, and often come out of it in a better position with a better team. The last one was maybe Bale and Modric and this was followed by the Pochettino era and some of Spurs best football for years. No reason that could not happen again. There are 3 Kane options and they are well known so I won't repeat them all again but lets remember it's not just about Kane we have players like Bisouma, Sarr, Udogi almost untried at Spurs and others like Bentancur, Son and Kulusevski who we know were carrying injuries. Other players may come into the reckoning like Lo Celso appears to have done in pre season, following the introduction of a new Postegoglu style of play. New goalkeeper, hopefully some new defenders, a revised midfield with the creativity of Maddison. All in all there are a lot of changes over last season, what's your take on all of this?
There have definitely been sone initial positives - admittedly starting from a very low base - which give some hope for the season ahead. Personally have no expectations beyond wanting to see some cohesive attacking football. Hoping to see some of the youngsters get opportunities and start making their mark and genuinely excited around the likes of Udogie, Sarr and even Spence. New starts for a few too and early indicators are that Ange is rating Bissouma and Lo Celso. If Bentancur can recover fitness then MF looks sound enough. Just need to get those CB's in and hold in to Kane for another season. Not much to ask!
Set objective targets. So for the PL the target should be at worst to match the finish of 2021/22 (pts/GF/GA etc) . With no UEFA land this season, and the squad strength as it will likely be, there should be a strong showing in the domestic cups (strongest starting XIs can be fielded where the opponent demands it) .
I'm expecting that Not606 won't be able to handle Threads posts, meaning a lot of teamsheets via Instagram
I’m only hoping that the team changes its mindset and plays more positive and attacking football. Once that is mastered, then concentrate on challenging for trophies etc.
I think we are all suffering from the negative football we have watched over the past 3 seasons, or is it 4? If Ange brings positive football back to Spurs we will all love him and he will get at least one season of understanding if all does not go perfectly. We are still to strengthen our defence and that should be our first priority and there will be no understanding if we do not do that.
TBH some of the players are, too After 3-4 years of "If you score, line up on the edge of the penalty area" and "FFS don't pass it forwards" is going to imprint a lot of bad habits in players brains and muscle memory, regardless of Ryan Mason's efforts in deprogramming it
I think generally I’m excited with some trepidation. I’ve fallen for Ange already, love his energy and having watched the two pre-season games and every minute of training footage I can get my grubby mitts on, I think the style of football, when we nail it, is something we’re going to really enjoy. My concerns are - how long it’ll truly take us to nail the football. Some of the attacking patterns in the games are there but there’s a lot of unlearning and learning to do in tandem. - transfer window progress has ground to a halt. We need the CB situation sorted immediately and badly need to trim the squad, which is enormous. While I can’t accept the tour as an excuse for stalling recruitment, I hope that now Ange has had a good look at the vast majority of players, he’ll have a better idea of who he wants to work with and who needs to be moved on. - while the football is a work in progress I’m a bit concerned about the amount and kind of chances we’re creating with relatively low goal output. I know it’s skewed because we played a PL team who had done more pre-season matches than us first time round, then played less high quality opposition. And we’re still getting used to the movements and patterns of crosses, passes etc. So I’ll reserve judgement for now - the defence is a mess, but that needs to be solved by recruitment The big elephant in the room is Kane. I’m kind of resigned to whatever happens, happens. I’m less down on Richy as an option because I think while Kane is obviously the far superior player, Richy is an excellent stylistic fit for Ange and it’s as much about the system as it is individual quality while we get that all bedded in. I can live with it especially if we get a big fee and can reinvest in another player to compete with Richy and maybe be better long-term. It’s going to be a transitional season in so many ways so I’m trying to not get swept up in the love for Ange. His teams have often had rocky starts in early first seasons and the squad needs so much work that it can’t be done in one window. The least we can expect is to put together a good starting XI though, and to make serious progress on moving players on, so that really needs to be the focus now in the coming weeks.
Cannot even access Threads. Apparently EU and Ireland haven't been brought on the platform yet! Maybe by the end of the year it seems...
I have 3 hope s: I ain't bored watching us as I have been for the best part of 4 years. we actually take the cups seriously. I can afford to go to a few games. COYS
There's plenty of UK people on Threads, Spurs and Alasdair Gold spring to mind The issue is there isn't a desktop version of the app, and given the app version of Instagram barely works on my phone instead I'm walking the streets at night, desperately pleading with passersby for a SBluesky invite
Good thread Spurf. A lot can change, for better or worse but my early thoughts so far are: Ange has brought a lot of positivity, his demeanour and the way he conducts himself really makes you get behind him but unfortunately the club is combatting it with tons of negativity. Style of football is going to be enjoyable after years of depressive nonsense, albeit hard to predict if results will be better at the moment as our defence is toilet and for all the possession and shots we're taking there's not too many clear cut chances. No new CBs is ridiculous and it's been exposed already in both games, it doesn't look like we'll have a new one in for the Shakhtar game either. Maddison and especially Solomon have made very bright early impressions, the latter's versatility on both flanks will be a welcomed addition. Udogie also looks like he's going to settle very nicely. Vicario however has disappointed, I was sceptical over him initially and he's done little to ease that scepticism early on. Looking more Gollini than Buffon, again though I do stress - very early doors. Porro still can't defend for **** and I think he'll struggle to keep his spot in the side if he doesn't sort it out, right now Emerson's defensive game is more impressive than Porro's attacking game but ultimately we need a player capable of both. Disappointed we've therefore not seen Spence, especially due to Porro's poor showings. Keeping Kane is far better for our prospects than selling him. The worst thing I think fans can do is get sucked into the idea we can afford to sell him and be "fine" because Richarlison managed to score a few against National League calibre opposition, the Brazilian just isn't a great/ good enough starting player for where we want our club to be. My expectations for the season are: Develop Ange's style as it goes on and really enjoy it, if there's one thing I've learnt it's that I won't take attacking football for granted any more. I think right now, with the transitional phase and strengthening needed, a top four, possibly even top six finish may be out of reach but I'd love us to have a real go in the cups. I'll sacrifice a few three points here and there in order to go full strength in the Carabou and FA Cup. 7th/ 8th and a cup will be a very sound first season.
Yeah jury is definitely still out as to whether Richy can be the guy to fulfil our long term ambitions. I suspect perhaps he won’t be but hopefully a healthy pigeon will get more opportunities to show us he might be able to this year. I think his natural game is a strong fit as it stands for Ange. Kane has had to adapt to basically be our entire attacking structure the last few years and therefore is still getting used to not dropping off as much. I think Kane can obviously do everything Richy can do and more, though the latter is perhaps more of a natural runner off the shoulder and has more energy in the press and in unsettling defenders. Right now in pre-season I think Richy is doing a better job of getting into positions where Ange’s teams create chances for the striker, though Kane is a consummate adapter and the far superior all round player. Richy has also been playing against more fatigued players in second halves too which might have made him look better.
If Ange wants to play a high line with the current crop of defenders then we will get torn a new one by fast tricky forwards. If Kane leaves I can see us being less potent attacking wise but with everybody pulling in the same direction and no Europe we could improve on last season`s points tally. It will depend on who stays and who arrives, I will assess at the end of the window.
We played a high pressing and possession based system under Poch and Kane was excellent, so I don't think it's a case of one or the other being better suited. It's just a case of Kane reverting back to the style of player he was under Poch, which in a few games I think he will (if he stays). If there was a way you could simulate separate seasons with Kane in one and Richarlison in the other, I'd bank on Kane hitting double, probably treble the amount Richarlison does. I'll personally be devastated and livid if we do sell Kane and simply sign a striker to basically backup Richarlison. Think it'll be a level of attacking suicide. Edit: I should add, that's what I actually think will happen too if Kane goes, I think Levy will want to get his money's worth out of the Brazilian and won't sanction a substantial bid for a genuinely good striker.
Yeah that’s what I mean by adaptable. Kane is good enough to do anything. He obviously has a lot of football in the tank since the early Poch high pressing days but I think he’s intelligent enough a player to still press effectively. I’ve always thought the notions he couldn’t are nonsense and based on cliched views about his injury record and lack of mobility, neither of which are nearly as bad as is always assumed. I think if we sell Kane we’re more likely to get a striker from outside the PL who will need some time to adapt so would expect Richy to start the season and then phase out of the team if he’s not performing. If he does then it’s happy days all round. My bullishness on Richy is because I think he’s an excellent fit right now for what Ange wants, though the quality drop off is obviously noticeable. Kane based on the evidence of pre-season is still adapting, though last game he was definitely working the CBs more and dropping off less, which is a good sign. The Kane replacement, if he does this summer, is more likely to map onto Richy’s attributes with a higher ceiling, than be a direct replacement for Kane in terms of current style of play (or as close as you can get, like say Ivan Toney), IMO.
Personally I believe the faith some have in Richarlison is very misguided, for me he's one of the most overhyped players on the planet which I think stems more from his persona than his ability. I've not seen anything in his career to date to lead me to believe we should even give him a chance at replacing Kane. Ability wise I find him painfully average with no standout attribute other than his willingness to graft, which in some aspects is a basic necessity for most players, I wouldn't put him inside the top ten strikers in the Prem at present and so the idea of having that replace arguably the best striker in Europe both blows my mind and seriously worries me. I don't really have an idea on who I'd want to replace Harry if he does go but I'm certain in that I don't want it to be Richarlison. I feel the drop in quality will be similar to like Jan and Toby to Dier and Sanchez, or Walker to Aurier/ Doherty, it just won't end well.
Guess we’ll just have to see. There’s obviously a quality gap. We’ll probably find out this season though, one way or another.
The only way the gap won’t be hugely noticeable is if Kulu adds about 10+ league goals to his game and Son regains his usual form, that way Richarlison hitting around 15 will be acceptable, and it’s worth noting he’s never hit 15 league goals before…
