Should Tottenham Stop Spending
by Mr Neutral on August 19th, 2009 580 words | 9 commentsPut the pen down and move away from the chequebook Harry!
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Now we all know that Harry Redknapp likes to dabble in the transfer market and he does on the most part get it right but he is also on the other hand famous for some of the biggest wastes of money the Premier League has ever known, the names Marco Booger and Florin R?ducioiu, isn’t that a type of cabbage? And a day barely goes by without the Spurs boss being linked with another big name signing and whilst 99.9% of these stories are pure fiction it can not be argued that Harry does have an insatiable appetite to mix up things at the club’s he manages, but perhaps he should quit whilst he’s ahead when it comes to his Tottenham squad.
Since Harry arrived at White Hart Lane the club has moved ever upwards and the club that looked destined to fight relegation when he joined ended the season painfully close to European qualification and now looks to cement their place in the top six, so how did Redknapp manage it?
Well clearly the former West Ham, Southampton, Bournemough and Portsmouth boss is a great motivator, unless of course you get on the wrong side of him then you are toast (David Bentley and Darren Bent know this more than most) but clearly his ability to bring in quality players has been a big part of the club’s upturn in fortunes.
Bringing back Jermain Defoe was a no brainer really, but a move that made solid financial and tactical sense. The nippy striker scores goals and will always do so wherever he goes and bringing back Robbie Keane was another intelligent move, although I have to say re-signing Pascal Chimbonda is a move I am still finding hard to fathom, but I digress.
However the cream of the crop of buys is for me Wilson Palacios. The man mountain is the perfect mix of controlled, sometimes uncontrolled, aggression and measured creativity. Some baulked at the £12m outlay but it’s a fee that will be more than repaid during his time at the club. His ability gives his fellow midfielders time and space on the ball. With the additions of Peter Crouch to the front line, the capture of Sebastien Bassong to beef up a injury prone back line and the signings for the future in Sheffield United pair Naughton and Walker I would say now is the time to stop. To put away the chequebook and leave things as they are.
There is no doubt that the north London club now has a squad that has the strength in depth to really fight for a place just outside the top four and with a bit of luck and if the players play beyond themselves week in, week out, then they could even try to crack the top four paradise but that may be too tall an order for this season.
Anyone looking for proof of the transformation beginning to take shape in N17 just has to cast their minds back to last season when it took the club until the 26th of October, a full 810 footballing minutes of disastrous defending, striking ineptitude and emotional upheaval, to get their first Premier League victory. In 2009/10 this was achieved in one glorious sunny afternoon against last year’s runners up Liverpool.
What a difference a year makes in football!
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The £47m Tottenham Quartet Who Can Clinch Top Four Spot
Archie - August 19th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Couldn’t agree more. Harry has assembled a good squad and whilst he could probably trim one or two players out, he doesn’t need to bring in anyone.
Yiddo - August 19th, 2009 at 10:14 am
Still in need of a decent central midfielder to play alongside Palacios. Jenas is not a bad player or Huddlestone but we need a slighltly more attacking option, someone like van der vaart would be ideal in my eyes.
RaNE - August 19th, 2009 at 10:37 am
if he has the cash to spend why not
White Knight - August 19th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I think we remain one or two short of a team to really challenge. A loss tonight against Hull may see you change your mind. I’d like to see a powerhouse midfielder so that we could play 4-2-3-1 and given mcgeady’s performance against the Arse last night a good out and out left winger to change the playing style would be good…..
JimB - August 19th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Despite Harry’s reputation, there has been very little transfer activity at Spurs this summer. Only three incoming (striker, right back and centre back) and three outgoing (striker, right back and central midfielder). Spurs are sorted in most positions now but we could do with one more signing…..another tough central midfielder. If Wilson Palacios was to pick up an injury, we’d be as vulnerable and lightweight in midfield as ever – especially on our travels. I like the sound of this kid from Toulouse, Moussa Sissoko, even if he does seem to be very highly priced by his club. Sign him and I think Spurs will be in for a good season, challenging hard for 5th.
Lucifer - August 19th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Why do you honestly think that Redknapp has always liked a high turnover of players? Why do you think that he has been investigated by the police over corruption and fraud allegations more than once?
Ted - August 19th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
What has he spent anyway ?
Hardly anything this summer and we are still short in midfield.
I hope Spurs buy until Harry is happy. He knows more about it that the rest of us.
splott for life - August 19th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
tottenham have ideas above their station. there is no way people like hunterlaar, vdv, sniedjer, sissoko etc etc will join a club not playing champions league football. you are all slightly deluded, yes redknapp has created a good foundation on which to build, but then so did jol. looking at the arsenal game last night mcgeady would be a cracking signing as would petrov. i know you all love modric but just imagine how much better and more influential he could be if played in his proper position with an out and out left winger like petrov playing a swell, especially as this is now his second season when most foreigners come into their own, bobby pires is a classic example of this. you do have a very good squad and in truth probably don’t need any more signings, more like the players that are already there need to be shown a little more faith from redknapp. hoddle was right spuds probably do have a better squad than liverpool, but its a fact benitez over the course of the season willl get more out of his squad. redknapp will hamper the careers of the young players at spurs because he won’t give them a long enough chance to prove themselves and instead come jan will buy some overrated and overpriced foreigner who won’t actually be any better than the youngster but because of the fee will probably have to play him to justify the outlay. another predictable season ahead for spuds, sorry!!
ps i’m an cardiff fan
JimB - August 19th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
@ splott
Hmmm……………………………….”BOBBY Pires”? “Spuds”? Cardiff fan, my arse.
For your information, if no club ever had ideas above its station then, by definition, no club would ever improve. The status quo would be maintained ad infinitum. What fun that would be………………..yawn!
Besides, Spurs aren’t interested in either VDV or Sneijder. There is no way that a Premier League team that plays 4-4-2 (like Spurs) could accomodate Modric, Sneijder and Lennon in the same midfield. Quite apart from the fact that it would be a midget midfield, it would be far too vulnerable when the opposition had the ball. It’s also, by the way, why Modric has been far, far more effective since being switched to left midfield, where he can drift wide or inside to dictate play.
As to Sissoko, he currently plays for Toulouse – a smallish Ligue 1 club that which attracts average crowds that barely exceed 20,000. No big Champions’ League club would be able to guarantee him sufficient game time right now, given his relative youth and inexperience. So of course he would jump at the chance of joining Spurs. It would be a massive step up for him but he could still expect to feature in the majority of games.
So, before you display your ignorance further, I suggest you get back to following Arsenal….ahem…..Cardiff.