Looking at the worst case situation, we finish 5/6th and win nothing, Bale wants to go. I would be surprised if any of the others would want to go just yet. Vertonghen, Dembele, Holtby, Lloris, Sigurdsen have only joined us recently. Sandro is looking like next October before he returns so we should still have him. Kaboul, Lennon, Defoe would surprise me if they left. So in other words we lose Bale but keep most of this current first team. We would then have the means to strengthen the squad because Levy will not let Bale go cheap. If we handled it right we could be stronger next season than we are now. AVB would start at a more confident level with some of his own players and then perhaps we might see what all the fuss was about when Abramovich was prepared to spend 13 million to get him.
C or D for me. While it's more important to get fourth, I would be absolutely overjoyed to win the Europa. Don't get me wrong. The team and manager have already overachieved in my book for being in third when Bale was injured (after Lennon, Defoe, Sandro, and Kaboul were injured). But overachievement is one thing and calling the season a success is another, and I can't call the season a success without either a CL spot or a trophy.
At the start of the season i said 5th,so 5th and a europa would be a good season,seeing as we lost a creative midfielder and not replaced him,and only have 2 misfiring striker's,AVB has done well to get us into the top 4
It would be a tough ask to be stronger next year than this if Bale left. He is THE key to us ticking at the moment, similar to Carrick, Berbatov and Modders. We did well to negate the effect Modders leaving had on us but we suffered badly with Carrick and we are STILL suffering from Berbs. If Bale was to leave it has to be done early, with our business being done early too. We know that ain't gonna happen. So, if Bale leaves i can see us being absolute ****e for the first 10 games or so.
When Carrick and Berbatov left we (after transfers) became stronger (as a team). The teams these two players left were not as strong as the current team. Of course it would be great to still have them it would have made us stronger. Losing Bale would be a blow but providing we invest the released funds wisely we could again become stronger. The team of late have become perhaps too reliant on Bale, the rest of the team will have to step up in the next couple of games and there is no reason why they can't. Of course I hope Bale does not leave, I am just speculating, if he were to.
I think Spurs have had a good season whatever happens from here. To finish fourth ahead of one of Chelsea or Arsenal after making wholesale changes, including the loss of two of your best players, would be impressive.
Until we get a new stadium and the ability to spend what the other big sides do, then last 8 of cup competitions and challenging for Champions League is the best we can hope for imho. If we go on to finish 5th or 6th then i'll be disappointed but let's not go overboard with the doom and gloom.
As Spurs fans, what's the chances of us not going overboard???? So its looking like E, unless fingers are pulled out But I expected 6th or 7th at the start of the season, and that's what I stand by. IF (and its a bloody great, whopping in fact IF) we get fourth, I think that I may be sooooo overcome that I'll even praise Anybuyer, FREEdel, Dumbsey, Hopelessstone and Lessismore
This doesn't do a bad job of summing up the current situation. In these circumstances, AVB hasn't done a bad job. http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2915...p-must-be-put-to-one-side-for-villas-boas-to-
yep, exactly how I feel and have done since he took over. He wouldn't have been my first choice, but i was never against him. - since becoming our coach he's done a great job and I think Duncan Castles highlights here what the real issues are. We aren't going to see names like Eriksen, Damiao, Moutinho etc, unless Bale is sold, IMO. I don't think we were ever serious about the Moutinho & Damiao attempts, as I've said before. For me, they were publicity stunts to keep the fans happy so it looked like "we tried". I also don't think that the CL qualification will necessarily be enough revenue to sort us out with what we really need. If what DC says is true, about AVB not necessarily getting a fair chunk of the bale money to reinvest in players, then why would the attitude be any different with the CL revenue? 1 striker will not be enough. we need depth, and good quality in depth. It doesn't matter how you look at this, there's going to have to be some real financial commitment from the club. The attitude and approach needs to change slightly to achieve our goals, IMO.
All true, they never reinvested the CL money in the team, so when they sell Bale they most probably will not spend, just some token buys (selected by "find them cheap Sherwood" and " I offer you half the price Levy". ) As each year the team will be slightly downgraded as each of the star players are not replaced. Bale is our last star so they will be up the swanee when he's gone. More Texan Thunderbolts Dempsey, mediocrity Sigs, worth a punt because he is peanuts Holtby, sign Ade because nobody else wants him, One good game in 5 Dembele . We leave the cream for the teams who actually want to win things. The future is our's , no it's silver lined for Uncle Joe and Danny boy.
I agree with you sidney, but i think that's a little harsh on Dembele and Sig. I am first to admit I was a critic of Sig early on, but he's adapted well and gives his all now. He's scored some good goals recently and looks like he's settling. Certainly a good squad player. Dembele is a class player IMO. Played far to much and probably nakered, but he's a massive asset. Early days with Holtby too and to me it looks like he needs to be playing in the centre. But yes, I expect the "peanuts" element certainly came into it! still, if we don't make top 4 again, at least Levy might finally wake up and realise the current approach isn't working. Unfortunately, by that point, we've sold all our best players.
C would be an incredible season given our current form and those around us (I can't see Arsenal faltering now and Chelsea, despite being a little inconsistent, are still better than us). I'm almost apathetic about the situation - given that Mr Levy is so unwilling to invest in players upfront I've just become resigned to the fact that we won't achieve anything. But - what I would say is, if you'd given everyone the same options at the start of the season (when half of the people were unsure about AVB), people probably would have said E would be acceptable given the players we lost and the fact it's AVB's first season. People need to remember that - AVB has had little to no opportunity to mould the team into his own (in terms of bringing quality in)
Utterly disagree. Your argument bears no relation to reality, particularly financial reality. You want us to break the bank to get certain players - to compete with teams that don't have to comply with any sort of normal business model, that can pay twice what we can afford in weekly salaries. You want us live beyond our means? You want us to risk our future to do so (and ignore the example of other clubs that tried it). And don't tell me CL qualification will remedy all this - the teams you want us to compete with are operating beyond what you can even earn from the CL! Frankly I think we've done great to get the quality we have. And as for your examples, most of which I disagree with, I note you don't mention VdV (for example) that came in under the sort of system you are knocking (even though I don't think is really how it works anyway). The article quoted earlier is interesting, although I'm not sure how much of it is factual or otherwise manufactured to place the writer as an "ITK". I would be surprised if AVB had said the things attributed to him there. Anyway, if you do believe it you'll note the Internacional *agreed* to sell Damiao on deadline day then changed there mind. So whose brinkmanship is that? Are you suggesting that we pay anything that the other club want to secure the deal? Is that a strong negotiation position? As soon as that is know any transfer target we ever go for is suddenly doubled in cost! I understand that Porto did a similar thing in the Summer. All I'm saying is that regardless of how early you want to make a deal, it is not necessarily Spurs fault that a deal is not possible, and it may be unwise to make a deal "at any cost" and articles that state Spurs shouldn't try "brinkmanship" could just as easily accuse the other club, for surely Internacional and Porto were just as guilty?
