Answer to forward conundrum must not take us backwards
Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 12:02PM Spurs down to 5th. Harry out.
In all seriousness (because I’m in a serious kinda mood), we are creeping ever closer to our old friend, the January transfer window, amidst all the hullabaloo of Harry and that marquee signing he (and Daniel) are apparently desperately itching to sign. It’s been the theme of the season, the slow brooding arc hiding in the shadows whilst the players we do have, parading with pomp in Lilywhite, get on with swaggering, swashbuckling and spurring their way onwards.
I’ve got a lot of time for Harry and what he does. He takes players, some broken others forgotten, and rejuvenates them. BAE and Bale two perfect examples. And even Hutton what with this recent realisation that discipline and positioning is vital to Lennon up ahead of him. He works his magic, via hugs I guess. Broken players are fixable. However, some of his transfer targets have at times been questionable. I cite Joe Cole, but then who knows what Cole would have brought to the team. Hardly a thing I expect as he tends to spend most of his time on the sidelines. van der Vaart was on ‘the list’ but you get the feeling we got lucky thanks to circumstance. Not that I’m complaining. I’m certain even on form Cole would not have come anywhere near producing what vdV does. Rafa is not just about the skills with his feet but more so about the mental strength and focus he brings to the side, which rubs off on other players. Master-stroke signing. And a lucky escape. Even though the fact of the matter is - it wasn't our first choice.
Goes to show what one world class player can bring to the table. And how others begin to click because of it. So what about the arrival of new blood in the new year?
We’re going to sell players, I’m sure of it. Decrease the wage bill, earn us a bit of wedge. What is certain is that consolidation is positively screaming out for attention. The Prem is wide open and what with our strength in depth, another player of similar ilk to vdV playing, dare I suggest, up front ahead of the Dutchman sitting in the hole – well, this would surely dilate the pupils and make hairs stand on back of neck, jigging and smoking Cuban cigars.
Momentum (sorry, I’m boring myself with repeatedly going back to this) is the key. There is no runaway leader(s) or packs. Other than a slight, ever so slight, gap beginning to appear just below us which might suggest last season’s top five will be repeated this season. But in what order?
If we’re going to stick around in the upper tier then we need to be clinical. We are doing so much right at the moment in terms of the midfield scoring a decent quota of goals. And sure, we need to keep more clean sheets and continue to win more games at home. But we certainly need to be scoring more as a general rule. And I know it’s the chicken and the egg in terms of actually creating the chances in the first instance, but place a world class striker in the team and watch how much easier it will be to do just that. It’s nothing that needs deep theoretical thought. Imagine say a twenty five year old Drogba up top for us. Woof, no?
Don’t ask me who our saviour will be because I don’t know (Carroll the most likely). I will say this – Spurs, Levy and Harry will sign the right player if we are looking for the right player in the forward position. It’s an assumption we are all making based on what we all know. Keane is spent, Pav scores but can offer too little at times and Crouch is better in defence than attack.
Harry has mentioned names in the past, but I tend to associate any talk at press conferences as the usual misinformation/deflection tactic. The recent Dzeko comments make me wonder if Harry is playing games and perhaps looking at one of Eastland’s ‘rejects’ (if City want to play ball this time round). Hopefully not on both accounts.
Regardless of all the forward talk, the one constant has been midfielder Scott Parker. Not a forward, a midfielder, obviously. Not a defensive midfielder (we have a couple of them already) but a robust ‘engine room’ type of box to box blah blah blah...haven’t we already got Jenas? So why the continuous linkage with the supposed Spurs fan who has already rejected us twice?
And here’s the conflict I have with this in terms of our gaffer and his initial stance on his first choice transfers. Harry does things, you scratch your head and question it and in the end he justifies it. If he thinks Parker could do a job then why question it? Even if all logic points to our already quite congested midfield pool. Personally, I don’t want us going anywhere near the player. And West Ham feel the same and he’s hardly ‘marquee’. But much like the Joe Cole saga before he did us a favour and signed for Liverpool, you wonder what Harry is looking for and how much of it is reactionary as opposed to planned (i.e. vdV and 451). If he doesn't get his man it's hardly been a disaster, has it? But this time round we need to be absolutely certain that the player(s) we sign is a perfect fit that doesn't cause ripples of regret when we look to fit him into the team.
So we await. In an ideal world, I’d sign a forward and another DM. Even with the wealth we have already in that congested middle order, even though I’ve downplayed the Parker obsession and even though Wilson is picking up form. Two world class players to our current side and, pinch yourself, we could even finish top three. And that ain’t the rum talking.
Of course, some might say why spend money on yet another forward that is meant to be the answer but might turn out to be a little too apologetic in performance (much like a certain Russian). But then Harry and Levy are more than aware that second best is not going to be a satisfactory option if there are viable targets out there that we could sign to take us to that next level.
Next month is going to be massive for us. No pressure then. But I won’t obsess too much. For me, and probably for you too, all we can ask for is continued form in the league and more points (cause they mean prizes).
New blood will only make us stronger. We're unlikely to make a wrong judgement with so much at stake. I have faith. So it's all good. Roll on 2011.
Spooky recommends...All-conquering Englishman spurs his way across Europe
Capital Punishment by Kris Mole - Ebook available here
extract:
Having blagged his way into a Barcelona FC press conference...
"My fantasy interview was cut short by someone entering the room talking on a mobile phone. I turned to see who it was and couldn’t believe my eyes. Xavi, all 5’7” of him (he’s a littl’un) was standing beside me having a chat to someone, probably his girlfriend, telling her he would be home for dinner soon and could she make sure there were a few San Miguels in the fridge. He glanced at me with a look that said,
“Who the **** are you?” and I nodded a greeting his way. He then looked down at the cockerel on my chest and sighed the kind of sigh that I knew meant, “If only they would put in a bid for me. I would love to play for Spurs one day.”
He finished his conversation and left me alone once again."
Reader Comments (68)
That last picture had me laughing out loud.
I don't see what Parker would add to the team, but Diarra would be a good signing. We need a striker, but who's available in Jan?
Hate to say this but I can see us buying nothing this Jan.
scott parker is a good solid passionate player and something about him has always screamed spurs. i won't complain if we sign him, he will be a very good addition to the side.
the striker situation is our number one priority - at this point in time our forwards do not do enough, even defoe seems very ineffective.
andy carroll is better than pav and crouch and makes a nuisance of himself. maybe, with lennon and bale feeding him on the wings he could prove to be an answer if not the answer.
imagine if berba had stayed and we had a fully fit ledley playing...
Freddie Kanoute please.
I would think we'll probably get a couple of loan signings.
If Parker signs how exactly are we meant to line up?
Lennon Parker Modric Bale
vdv
striker
?
If we had Berbatov and King in the team we'd be challenging for top spot. That's why signing a player in January can make all the difference.
Im pretty sure VDV would have been our first choice if we had known he was available when we were pressing for Cole.
Nothing would be preferable to the wrong player who could spoil the spirit. (Adebayor for instance). But oh please if we could unearth another Berba. Thought Carroll might be the answer but based on Tuesday what a thug - no thanks.
i loved kanoute, that guy was class
was gutted when we sold him
remember his goal against everton
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=MEqmRpGphXA
absolute magic, would welcome him back in an instant
Steven Pienaar if Parker doesn't sign.
Parker is a helluva player, but not another midfielder.. I think most of us are more than happy with what we have.
I am certain that Harry/Levy have a striker in mind for the window. But there will be two important criteria they will have in mind quality and price.
Kanoute ? Are you serious no chance.The add said not take us backwards.Carroll would be a good replacement for Crouch as for who else well most of the rest are cup tied for the champions league so anybody else would be to help us in the league.A loan signing with a view to buying maybe someone french from real madrid.If we were to add Diarra to this little deal i feel we would be very strong.Sell Crouch,Keane,Bentley,Dos Santos,O'Hara and Nico to get us the funds to buy these two players .I reckion 25-30ml should do it and you should come close with the sales.We get better in the places we are poor in and push on for a top 4 place.
Harry has a habit of preferring players he knows. Levy would have pushed Harry towards VDV if he was available earlier but something tells me we would not have signed him if others had a chance to get in there before us. Don't want Pienaar or Parker. We don't need either player.
I don't think you can compare Jenas (a player without personality) with Parker (a player with strong personality and winner's mentality). Parker would be a good reinforcement. Anyway if we want to move on to the next level we should pay attention also to the player's personality when we buy someone.
agree with IOANX above
it's all about the mentality
adebayor? no thanks
Kanoute is sadly past it now from what I've seen of La Liga.
think we should go all out and try and sign Saurez, should be able to fund the move by flogging off all our deadwood. VDV, Saurez, Bale, Lennon, Modric!! eye watering.
I'd like to see Benzema and Diarra come across from Real. in return we can promise that we'll give them first bid for Bale should we ever decide to cash in. I'd also like to see Young and Parker. I take the argument our midfield is overcrowded but the second tier dont seenm to cut it - they had their chance in the Carling Cup and choked! i want a second tier that you can be comfortable putting out and getting the result - retaining the momentum
Benzema? No chance not unless Madrid sign another forward. They've got players out injured and Benzema *is* scoring goals even if he's not fancied by JM too much. Diarra is a possibility but then he's linked as often as Parker. Anyone know how much money we actually have to spend? We'd have to sell a few to bag 2 players. I'll be happy with one.
What about Marin, the german werder bremen player. Hes looked incredible when ive seen him and would be great up front in my opinion
Marin looks quality but we can't have a team full of short lightweight players
we need some strength and agression up front
Marin is a good shout. A player much like Modric or Berba - known but nobody making that risky first move.
Why not think big no harm in a big money bid for Torres
He looks fed up at Liverpool he may be in a bad ran of form but thats where Harry comes in :)
1 big singing would be enough in my opinon
Steffen Iversen is currently considering his options. (!!)
I can't understand why people and the press go on about Pienaar, AYoung and even Parker. Pienaar and Young both will not start for us! As for Parker, he's only got a couple seasons left in him plus when Hudd is back he too won't start; i'd rather gamble (and educate) someone like Cattermole...
With all the talk of Suarez (who is not that great IMO) nobody seems to notice his brother in arms , Mounir el hamdaoui , he is a natural goalscorer with a lot of flair, just check out his goals on Youtube or other
That being said i am a fan of Forlan (the only player on the planet with two equally good feet) or even Aguero , Torres (lol) , Ola Toivonen from PSV (the undiscovered kind of player) or the man blessed with a name to frighten the opposition before even starting the game ... the Hulk , if we cant get Chewbacca , the Hulk would be a fine second choice.
And i still forgot Nilmar (injured for a month now), Llorente (still has to prove a lot) or Wellinton from Spartak Moscow and while we at it , lets get Dany from Zenith also :p
Keane out - Benzema in would be lovely. Maybe look at others; Pienaar ie if O'hara goes. Don't wanr Carroll - all thuggery, Parker can sod off. One in one out no need to change too much.
The one final 'brick' is a striker in the Drogba mould. Strong and belligerant , one who takes two defenders to deal with. The current crop of Spurs strikers all have their strengths but lack that fighting edge. Who? Maybe Caroll who is roughg and developing still. If not him I do not know.
Anyrate the pleasure of watching the Spurs play this year has been enormous. They are by far the best team to watch in the league.
A Drogbaesque signing would take us to that next level for sure.
Couldn't agree more about Parker. He calls himself a life long Spurs fan yet twice we went in for him and twice he went elsewhere. He's had his chance. He's 30 now anyway and WH would want more than £10m. If Man Utd are going in for Diarra at £12m we should match that and count on the player's relationship with Harry to sway his decision. Spurs are a huge team to play for at the moment anyway.
Up front I don't think we'll get Carroll before the summer. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't sign a big name forward in this window. If we do it will probably be someone who takes everyone by surprise.
Bobby Zamora
or swap Dos Santos, Pav, Bentley, O'Hara and Woodgate (loan) for Torres (I don't want to lose Kranjcar and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't entertain Keano)
No to Parker, isn't Hudd and Modric our first choice?
Connor Wickham?
Madrid want Tevez so Benzema to someone isn't an impossibility . If City sign Dzeko then it could happen. Perhaps a loan deal?
Are some of you pissed wanting Crouch out he has one of the best Internationals records and Champions league record. How much would you pay for Rooney or Brbatove a few months ago fuck all Crouch may not score plenty but he makes them has some neat skill helps out in defence is an out ball when we are playing against energised teams. I will give you a big hint don't judge any player in the premier league England have found this out and Argentina with Teves who slows down when he dons the Argy shirt. Trust me Crouch will score when it matters like at City Keane was prolific scorer now he cant get a game because he his expected to score in every game it wont happen Defoe has not scored fro nine or more games in the prem Keane has not played two games running. Pavlyuvhenko also suffers from rotation even Defoe get subbed . . Who do we buy who will be subbed if like Berbaotov did never scored for eight games we waited because we where building a team Harry wont wait for any new player to bed in we must not panic and lose good players who come back and haunt us . With all our players back we will be Blessed and a good defence means a confident attack when our defence had eight clean sheets Pavlyuchenko scored eight on the trott when we had King Dawson every week also Keane was outstanding at Celtic and in America Harry praised him and then Benched him after our 0-0 start and he has gone downhill fast in his head. So my argument is this who will score every week with a wobble defence , we have scored first and lost games or drew last year we had a defence one clean sheet should tell you we need a defence at the back
Thanks for the plug, mate. Good article as usual. Hoping there's nothing in today's paper rumours about us bringing Beckham to the lane. COYS
We want a forward who isn't just a 20 goal per season man (Defoe) but one that can bring quality and score important goals in important games. I think we do that already as a team but if you look at the impact VDV has on the team a player of similar ability would do wonders for us. Regardless of Crouchies record its not enough, same with Pav and same with Defoe.
I can't see Arry taking a huge risk with the amount of money he will need to spend to bring this striker to the lane, which is why I think we will see Carroll arriving. He is used to the premier league, scores a fair amount, is big and is hard to handle (O errr) In an ideal world we would be siging Drogba from a year ago but that will not happen at Spurs for a little while yet. Despite what Newcastle say, for the right deal they would sell him.
I see Keane being sold, and maybe OHara out on loan but thats it. Everyone saying get rid of kranjaar and crouch and keane etc etc are stupid, who do we then have sitting on our bench hey???
Carroll in and keane to be sold, with Ohara heading out on loan and thats it I reckon. But Crouch stays, he is a very important tool to this squad.
COYS.
PS: Adebeyour anyone???
is davspurs on crack? crouch is awful and useless; without those headed assists he would be a worst signing that gary doherty. i like strikers to score goals sorry.
those knocking carroll for his performance the other day are another example of the highlights watching crowd you dont understand football. i'm not saying he is world class but he's superior to what we have. except pav in terms of skill not effort obviously.
the barcodes came to defend and offered no creativity at all; routledge was there outlet for fuck sake, he had nothing to feed on except long balls and our dawson coped with most of those effectively. this did not suprise me as this is daws main strength. carroll still however carved out a couple of opportunities for himself and managed to get a couple of headers on target. it wasnst a great performance but dont right this guy off if we get him for a decent price he could be a great asset.
i personally would sell keane and crouch to obtain him and in the summer sell the vastly overrated defoe to get a proven world class performer. vdv is a second strikers for us so the only other strike option should be dos santos; if we could get the best out of him we have a player.
Carroll imo is the man to take us to the next level, he has huge potential an excellent work rate and arguably already more of a complete striker than any we currently have at the club. The question is could we prize him away from his beloved Newcastle and his barcode buddies? I'm not convinced we could.
That leaves us with any number of maybe's:
Suarez? Possibly, but he'd b a gamble and an expensive one, however he's probably the most likely I reckon.
Benzema? Getting more gametime at Real and delivering the goods, they're also short on numbers up top so unlikely they'll let him go.
Who else? If i'm speculating with those 3 above then the following are pie in the sky: how about throwing in some cheeky bids for: Torres, Eto'o or Milito? Whatever happens, as long as we replace either of Keane or Pav, I'll b happy to trust in Arry and Levy's judgement... they've probably already got someone lined up!
Btw, if we are to sell or loan out some of the deadwood (Keane, Bentley, Dos Santos and O'Hara), Parker and Young would be excellent signings and give the squad real added quality in depth and versatility. At the moment there's still a bit too much dependence on a select few which worries me especially with fixtures continuing to come thick and fast.
def need a striker possibly two but would keep crouch purely for champions league, our continental cousins don't like playing against him and never have, any doubt look at his record. Would love to see Benzema or Milito or Marin tbh, clueless as to the likelihood, parker at the right price maybe but JJ is improving and dare i say it sgt wilson is back to the biting by the looks. One final comment, i was truly disappointed with Carroll on Tuesday, in everyway. 20 mil??? Not on that showing I assure you.
Last year we had good results in Jan and Feb, and Pav's purple patch is on it's way...
that other blogging bloke, Harry Hotspur, is saying that Benzema on an initial loan is nailed on......that would be brillant. The guy knows where the net is. Only caution is that he is French and you never know what is really going on in a frenchman's head.
Pick a player, one of five, write something about it, live like a God if your one in five chance comes off. Not saying HH is making it up but how many times have people ITK passed on information which has been nothing more than BS.
Of course Spurs are trying to sign someone making inquiries.It's hardly the stuff of dreams.
Would bite Madrid's hand off for Benzema.
Anyone been watching the darts? With a little alteration, the van der Voort chant would sound rather good at The Lane...
How's it go? To the tune of?
Yeh I heard that - to the tune of "Give it up" by K.C. and The Sunshine Band :
Nanananananananana na, na; Rafa van de Vaart, van der Vaart, Rafa van der Vaart!
It's been sang by our lot already. Sadly also sang by gooners for Nasri.
Up front Carroll seems to be the only one I see possibly coming this way. It would be quite a coup to land him. Why on earth would Real loan out Benzema?!? That's so fantasyland. Real already gifted us once. Forlan and Suarez are quality but Forlan is old and Suarez just seems.....dodgy. I'm not sure these guys are going to adapt well to the EPL, especially coming in the middle of the season.
Aside from Carroll, many rumoured transfer targets seem either unrealistic or unconvincing. We are coming into some very nice form as 2010 ends and with goals coming in from all over the field, shoring up the defence should be priority #1. Perhaps we could tempt Newcastle with Keane and/or Crouch?