I have done my best to avoid transfer talk, it is mostly rubbish and I find it particularly disrespectful when journalists continually speculate about our players, most of whom have never indicated, even off-the-record, that they would like to leave. But I do have some views how I would like to see the Spurs squad at the end of the transfer window.
The first thing is obvious, we need to keep our best players – and they are Luka Modric, Rafa Van Der Vaart, Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale, Sandro and Michael Dawson. And we can safely assume that our best player of all, Ledley King, won’t be going anywhere. And I think unless there is a falling out with the Manager, the others won’t be going anywhere either. Both the Chairman and Manager are strong and ambitious, and for all their other faults, won’t be bullied by other clubs or the players’ agents.
By and large over the last couple of seasons, unlike at other clubs, our best players have made no real noises about leaving, and the recent quotes from Modric while he was away at Croatia have been the exception. In the last year Rooney handed in a transfer request at Man Utd, Tevez has made no secret of wanting to leave City, Torres left Liverpool without a thought, and Arsenal’s captain has spoken non-stop about how he would like to sit on the Barcelona substitutes bench.
And that is why the recent quotes from Modric were disappointing, because there is a very good case for him to stay if he was given the choice about whether follow the footsteps of Carrick and Berbatov and sit in the shadows at Old Trafford (a choice I don’t think he will be given).
The idea that previous Spurs players were fed, that they could only win titles at Man United, and never at Spurs, should now be quashed. The fact that we have half a dozen players (including King) that would get into the United side shows there is no big gap. It is lazy, complacent thinking. It swallows the Sky status quo whole, and the broken logic that the World doesn’t spin around, but stands still with a manufactured ‘big four’. But, as Sir Alex Ferguson often acknowledges, football is cyclical.
United are in heavy debt, they have an ageing team to the extent where their biggest priority is now replacing Paul Scholes – a player who only started 16 League games last season, half the games started by Modric – and their cycle will end one day, just as Liverpool’s did before them. In 1992 we hadn’t won the league for 31 years. At the same time, Manchester United hadn’t won the League for 26 years. Things changed quickly in a short space of time. And with four teams now qualifying for the European Cup, the chance of success at the highest level is also now greater than it has been for many years, despite the down playing of expectations from Harry Redknapp.
Manchester City can spend silly money on James Milner, Liverpool can go to town on Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll, and United can spend big money on Phil Jones (who showed in the U21s last night he is comfortable losing possession with long balls, an attribute that no doubt made Sam Allardyce such a fan); but their extravagance doesn’t mean their teams are better than Spurs.
But, it is a squad that is needed to succeed, and whereas Spurs currently have a good team with some high quality players, there is a need to invest in good players that can step into the first team now – players that are comfortable on the ball, players that have a winning mentality, players that can change a game, and players who when used are effective enough so we don’t notice any of the aforementioned quality players are missing.
Players who fit that bill include players we have been linked with, and arguably players we should have signed before this summer. Had Scott Parker been a Spurs player last season I think there is a very good chance his dynamism could have made the difference in home games against Wigan, West Ham and Blackpool. Parker is a better player than Palacios, and he is a better player than Jenas, and when he did play last season he was often the best player on the pitch, who ever the opposition was. (When he was absent, West Ham suffered). And he has looked good at International level now he has finally been given the chance. (And from what I heard a while ago, he has been openly saying that he wants to join Spurs for some months).
Too often last season we persisted in relying on a small group of players. That was partly because the manager didn’t trust the squad enough, and this summer is the time to resolve that. He rotated his team more in his second spell at Portsmouth then he did at Spurs last season, and next season we should be having a real tilt at the title, as well as having a go in all the cups. Cups are important, we know that. Our History tells us that. And even Arsene Wenger is finding that out now from his own fans.
We shouldn’t have a situation where Van Der Vaart is playing two games for Holland and then playing out of position away at Wigan three days before the Club’s biggest game in Europe since 1984, as we did last season. Ideally, by the time the squad of 25 is named, we will have two quality players for every position, plus an extra keeper, a third striker (in additions to two ‘number 10s’ – VDV and one other), and a fifth CB who is versatile – i.e. Younes Kaboul.
It is not even worth speculating who the three strikers are at this stage, though I would expect at least two new ones, and maybe three, especially if the manager doesn’t want to have an exact like-for-like cover for VDV. (The fact that Modric played in the VDV position against Milan suggests that there is room for an extra midfielder).
There are strikers I like that we have been linked with, but nothing solid to suggest we are actively going for them, or that they want to come (unlike Scott Parker, where I understand West Ham want to sell him to anyone but Spurs). Likewise, we have been recently linked with Jack Rodwell, a real quality player who was originally an England Under-16 Centre Back and Captain, but who could go on to play in the holding room for the national team, and would be happy to start of as a squad player for Spurs as he is at Everton – but it could just be speculation, and the market for young talented English players seem to be inflated, to say the least.
So, credit to the scouts that bought Kyle Walker and Danny Rose, who regardless of their age, could now both be considered as first choices, which is particularly welcome, as the full-back positions have been a weakness for us for many years now. And for a club with our aspirations, we should never have a full season where we effectively only have one left-back, as we did last year, when the apparent decision was made that Bale’s permanent position was further forward. Regardless, with the amount of games we will be playing next season, both Walker and Rose will get games.
It is tempting to name the ideal 25 squad I would like see now, but as successive windows have proved, there is no point in second guessing. Not signing a World Class striker in January was a big disappointment, but getting Van Der Vaart in the previous window was an unexpected triumph.
So I’ll wait and see. (While checking the BBC gossip column every day, before they sell it off because of pressure from the Daily Mail and BSkyB).
MG
MG
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