A New Striker in January

[Teemu]

Long shot but Olivier Giroud from Montpellier? He's a proper target man, good in the air, brings others into the game, scores goals. Big reason why they're top of the French league at the moment, lots of experts reckon he should get a France call up. And before anyone asks, he's rubbish on Football Manager, so I'm not basing it on that.

Just in general, there are some decent players in the French league, for example I really think we missed the boat with Gameiro this summer. He only cost about £10m, imagine how much a young English player who'd scored 20 goals for the past two seasons would cost...

 

[hughy]

I must be missing something - every game that I've seen Dembele play in he's been shit. Where's his best position?!

 

[PrettyColors]

Kenwyne Jones
Lacina Traore
Salomon Rondon
Abel Hernandez
Franco Di Santo (only if he keeps scoring goals)

There are more options as well but those off the top of my head.

Also, Olivier Giroud is an awesome shout, he's tearing up the French league ATM.

 

[SpurSince57]

It could be a misapprehension, but French strikers seem to have a habit of looking the nuts for a season or so and then disappearing. A couple of years ago everyone was raving about Gignac after one amazing season at Toulouse; then he had a very ho-hum one, after which he went to Marseille, was ho-hum again and apparently turned into a beachball Mido-fashion. Gomis has been the new Drogba for years, but patently isn't.

Convince me, someone.

 

[PrettyColors]

It could be a misapprehension, but French strikers seem to have a habit of looking the nuts for a season or so and then disappearing. A couple of years ago everyone was raving about Gignac after one amazing season at Toulouse; then he had a very ho-hum one, after which he went to Marseille, was ho-hum again and apparently turned into a beachball Mido-fashion. Gomis has been the new Drogba for years, but patently isn't.

Convince me, someone.

It's a very small sample size.. Benzema is pretty quality, although once he moved to RM he had a couple cold periods. He's back though.

I don't think it's down to nationality- although they do get a lot of pressure on them as France is a proud nation and they want the next Henry or the next Trezeguet. So I guess that argument could be made.

I've really no argument to make- you named two striker and I can name Benzema and Remy as a counter-argument. Gameiro and Giroud I think will be the next bunch of hyped French strikers- it's not worth discussing really until we see how they do.

 

[Teemu]

It could be a misapprehension, but French strikers seem to have a habit of looking the nuts for a season or so and then disappearing. A couple of years ago everyone was raving about Gignac after one amazing season at Toulouse; then he had a very ho-hum one, after which he went to Marseille, was ho-hum again and apparently turned into a beachball Mido-fashion. Gomis has been the new Drogba for years, but patently isn't.

Convince me, someone.

Agree to some extent, but you get strikers in every division who seem to bag a hatful so that everyone thinks they're the best thing since sliced bread, then they turn out to not be that good. Remember Michael Ricketts? Or Andy Carroll...

Anyway, I see where you're coming from, but at the same time from time to time you've just got to take a punt on these sorts of players, especially when you can't attract the biggest names. Gignac was a bit of a one-season wonder it's true but Gameiro for example has been scoring for fun for 3 seasons for a fairly average Lorient team. Lots of people are crying out for Levy to splash out £25m on Leandro but he's far less proven than Gameiro and it's only because he's Brazillian everyone is getting so excited.

I think Giroud would be a lot more of a risk but at the same time he'd be even cheaper and has the attributes. Two seasons ago he was playing for Tours in Ligue 2 and within just over a season he's already looking like a top striker.

 

[shelfmonkey]

Olivier Giroud. Looks like he knows where the goal is and how to put a football in it.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae765krer_k

 

[diegooners]

Good call on Giroud, like the look of him but only if he was cheap and as a backup initially. I wouldn't feel comfortable as an aspirational champions league team with him as our main striker if we can't sign Ade when his loan finishes.

Lacina Traore is certainly worth a look, plays quite like Adebayor and again if we could keep the latter I think he would be the perfect mentor for him. (in terms of skill set, I will decline to comment on his personality).

I think it is imperative we sign a forward in January in the lone ranger mould due to the fact that, as many have already pointed out, if Adebayor were to get injured I think we'd be in all sorts of trouble again. I have not been suitably convinced by the all round game of Damiao to think we should bid 20 million + on him. And since we convinced Adebayor to come I have become slightly more ambitious in my aspirations, I think it is genuinely worth a go now to try and get Dimi back. I am perhaps in the minority but I still regard him as the best all round forward we've had for 30 years and if there were any chance that he would entertain a return we should go all out to try and make that happen.

 

[kcmei]

I believe in leandeo, think he has the right physique and surprisingly skillful

 

[AngerManagement]

From recent reports, it seems that might be the case, and if last January's anything to go by anyone half-decent (or even pretty crap, in the case of Carroll) is going to cost a bomb.

:grin: I still remember posters on here claiming Carroll was worth the £35m and we would regret not signing him when he goes on to become the next Alan Shearer and is worth £50m in a few seasons (I won't hold my breath waiting for that one to happen ay?)

 

[THOWIG]

Be interesting to keep an eye on Jovetic and A.Hernandez this season.

 

[Paolo10]

Think it's very silly to write off Carroll, still maintain in the right side he'd score bucketloads.

 

[leffe186]

Think it's very silly to write off Carroll, still maintain in the right side he'd score bucketloads.

In the right side, with the right coaching and, most important, the right support off the pitch. That's a lot of variables. Newcastle were pretty close to all three, but decided to cash in.

 

[TH1239]

Internacional are going to want significantly more for Leandro now, as he has proven himself capable in the national side and is scoring goals for fun in league play. I can't imagine Levy paying more for a player than he was previously quoted (at least, not in this instance). I actually think he and Adebayor could play together, which would be ideal in any new signing we make in the winter window.

There's little doubt in my mind that we should have brought in a striker on top of Adebayor in the summer time, with an eye towards Pav's exit in January. However, we need someone who is more versatile than just a target man, in my opinion.

Gameiro is an interesting name that we were linked to over the summer. He has exceptional pace and would be brilliant next to Adebayor. However, PSG are no longer a selling club with their major financial backing, so I can't imagine them contemplating selling him.

Giroud has started very well, but Montpellier are on top of the Ligue 1 at the moment. I imagine they'd want a ton of money for him. He'd be very good cover for Adebayor, but they couldn't play alongside each other, in my opinion.

I still think the player that best fits our needs in January is Papiss Demba Cisse. The guy wasn't just a one-hit wonder last season. He's started off great again, and his goal-scoring record in the Bundesliga (probably the second most physical league behind the EPL) is 33 goals in 41 games. That's damn impressive, especially when you consider the guy is on an awful team.

Much like we were looking for a striker worthy of our midfield, Cisse, in my opinion, is in need of a midfield worthy of him. He has the size to lead the line, can actually trap the ball (unlike Pav), and is an excellent goal poacher. He could also play off Adebayor, as he has the pace and movement to compliment the big man.

The other thing about Cisse is that he is clearly interested in a move abroad. Freiburg are a small club and he isn't on huge wages. We shouldn't allow Newcastle to get him in January.

 

[Dare!]

^ Yes, yes, yes. I really wanted us to sign Cisse last summer. Kinda disappointed we weren't even linked with him.

 

[tobi]

Cisse signed a new contract and will be allowed to leave next summer, heavily linked with Bayern now.

Missed opportunity.

 

[DoublePivot]

You mean the Cisse that Freiburg wanted 15 million for last summer? That's not a missed opportunity as much as we couldn't afford it. Maybe in the winter, we can, now that we've recouped some cash. But at 26, with one proven year, it was a lot to ask last summer. It's why Schalke, Sunderland and Newcastle passed on him. I don't think it should be deemed as anything other than a prudent decision based on logical factors.

 

[TH1239]

You mean the Cisse that Freiburg wanted 15 million for last summer? That's not a missed opportunity as much as we couldn't afford it. Maybe in the winter, we can, now that we've recouped some cash. But at 26, with one proven year, it was a lot to ask last summer. It's why Schalke, Sunderland and Newcastle passed on him. I don't think it should be deemed as anything other than a prudent decision based on logical factors.

If we couldn't afford 15 million pounds on a single-player this past summer, how were we able to make 35-39 million pound bids on Giuseppe Rossi and Sergio Aguero only a few short months before that? Was Levy playing cynical transfer window games in January, or was he risking the financial future of the club on the hope that Rossi would fire us into the Champions League?

I have a very hard time believing that the club simply didn't have 15 million pounds ready for the right player. Now, I'm sure some will argue that Cisse isn't the right striker for us (much like they argued Cahill was not needed at Bolton's quoted rate, either), and perhaps Redknapp himself wasn't interested (he has shown an aversion to signing non-EPL based/proven players).

But what other striker, who will actually improve us, can you legitimately bring to the club that would cost less? Given the going rate for strikers on the continent, 15 million for someone who scored 28 goals in 35 Bundesliga games is a damn good calculated risk in my mind.

In these times, given our mediocre scouting network (purportedly passed on Cavani, Rossi, Suarez, and Falcao while at River Plate), Cisse still would represent good value at a figure around 15 million pounds in January.

The bottom line is, we aren't going to lowball any club into giving away their star striker on a permanent transfer on the cheap. There are richer clubs who they can sell to, so if we want to improve on the likes of Pavlyuchenko, we'll have to cough up the cash to bring in a proven player.

 

[DoublePivot]

Well whether or not we made such bids is up for debate. There is no definitive proof that we ever made such outlandish bids, other than the machinations of desperate supporters and reporters looking for sensational scoops.

But if we did, it was at a time when we were in the CL and were trying to protect the riches that it ensures. We don't have that now and while we want it again, we can't throw our future away on a 4th striker. And 15 million on a 4th striker to replace a 13 million pound Pavs is a desperate measure. It's been said before, but this isn't Leeds.

And believe what you will. I have provided my argument for why we were hamstrung in the market and I stick by it. It was by far the best investigation of the circumstances to date and nobody has been able to poke a hole in my case. They have been able to ignore it pedantically, but not factually.

So until a time that somebody can provide a better explanation, I will continue to doubt that Levy was rolling around the Spanish countryside with a bag of notes, begging for anybody. And we couldn't afford a 15 million player in the summer. If we could have then something could have been done with the likes of Hernandez or Leandro. We couldn't. The proof is in the fact that we spent a mere 7 million on Coulibaly and Parker (plus some additional monies on Adebayor to offset his wages)

 

[Spursidol]

I have provided my argument for why we were hamstrung in the market and I stick by it. It was by far the best investigation of the circumstances to date and nobody has been able to poke a hole in my case. They have been able to ignore it pedantically, but not factually.

So until a time that somebody can provide a better explanation, I will continue to doubt that Levy was rolling around the Spanish countryside with a bag of notes, begging for anybody. And we couldn't afford a 15 million player in the summer. If we could have then something could have been done with the likes of Hernandez or Leandro. We couldn't. The proof is in the fact that we spent a mere 7 million on Coulibaly and Parker (plus some additional monies on Adebayor to offset his wages)

I do not agree with your analysis. I think the facts you are relying upon are capable of different interpretations, and yours is not correct imo.

I do believe that Spurs could have afforded a good striker at the right price (funded from player sales and CL earnings) - however in the summer one was not available at the price Levy wanted, and Levy did not want to compromise. He will not overpay now - Spurs have been here before where Bentley was bought for c £16m (what is his value now ?), how much money have we lost on Palacios, Woodgate, Hutton et al ? Yes Levy will recognise that we need another striker but he is not going to overpay for a short term 'high' and jeopardise the future.

Buying Coulibaly is about taking a bet on the future - not jeopardising the current position as you mistakenly state.

What seems to be totally excluded from your analysis is :

1 Spurs have a good squad - as with all squads there are weaknesses but probably only Man U, Man City and Chelsea (but maybe ageing and they need to buy more players than Spurs over the next year) are better.

Look at Liverpool for example - how many of their outfield players would get into our first team ?

2 Most player aquisitions used to be partly funded by the banks etc - that finance is no longer there (world wide recesion and all that) and hence clubs buying players are relatively few. One result is that other clubs could not afford to buy Spurs excess players at decent prices - hence many players were sold at the end of the last window.

3 The FFP regulations mean that having over 21 year old players in excess of a 25 man squad, who therefore cannot play means that the wages paid to these excess players is a total waste of money - and might cause Spurs to fail to meet FFP.

Much of the Summer activity was focussed on selling these excess players so as to create room in the 25 man squad for new better players, hence limited buying.

4 Spurs will continue to buy top class players for the first team squad with a resale value - but what is also clear is that Spurs will buy top class overseas players at younger ages (eg 16) to add to UK/Irish players to bring players through the youth system - this season has shown the numbers of good young players Spurs are bringing through the youth system, not all will be successfull but a proportion will.

Next season expect to see Spurs have a 25 man squad supplemented by maybe 6 players under 21 able to deputise if required by injuries to the 25 man squad plus another few under 21 players coming up on the conveyor belt. That is the new future for Spurs and other succerssful sides.

Suggest you revisit and revise your 'arguments' with a vigerous analysis of the facts available and consider all the interpretsations available.