Best window ever

[degoose]

It's very tiring hearing so many people talk about Son and Njie in a bad way. Son was the most expensive asian player to be bought in europe and rightly so as he is quality and njie is a younger player but with pace and skill. Both though play as strikers and also on the wing, you do know Kane was played on the wing loads and behind a striker before being moved in to the striker position (he also played in centre mid for millwall i believe when on loan). Son should get more respect and i really hope he bangs a load of goals in and plays really well just to annoy all the people who keep coming out with so much uneducated rubbish.

I think this forum is getting more and more full of fans who are just spoilt kids who want new signings that other teams want or basically just want to play football manager. Just give it a break.

 

[eddiebailey]

All this stuff about we're fine for strikers, we've got Chadli, Son, N'jie, Vorm, Chirpy etc who can play there: if the club honestly thought that why were we still chasing targets up until the close of the window?

We may have decided that whatever deadbeat was still available at the eleventh hour would not improve us, and declined to make a Rasiak-Campbell-Booth type acquisition, but that does not mean that the club thought that the squad did not need improving.

 

[SamR]

I think this forum is getting more and more full of fans who are just spoilt kids who want new signings that other teams want or basically just want to play football manager. Just give it a break.

I actually think the argument is slightly different to that. It's not supporters seeking squad improvements, it's supporters seeinget two holes in the squad that haven't been addressed; A true backup ST and a true CDM.

I'm inclined to side with the 'gaps need filling' group - something we should have addressed this window.

We can argue all day about players covering this position, but we are light and a few injuries could really harm us this season.

As a whole, the squad has trimmed the fat and improved, but so has half the PL. Right now I'd think it would be an amazing season to match last year's 5th place and a cup final.

 

[degoose]

I actually think the argument is slightly different to that. It's not supporters seeking squad improvements, it's supporters seeinget two holes in the squad that haven't been addressed; A true backup ST and a true CDM.

I'm inclined to side with the 'gaps need filling' group - something we should have addressed this window.

We can argue all day about players covering this position, but we are light and a few injuries could really harm us this season.

As a whole, the squad has trimmed the fat and improved, but so has half the PL. Right now I'd think it would be an amazing season to match last year's 5th place and a cup final.

The biggest issue is people heard rumours and suspected we needed to fill those positions but if you review the squad as a whole it's perfectly fine and has plenty of numbers with a lot more flexibility. Everyone just loves that big marquee signing but really do we all really think berahino is worth 25 mill and would have made a huge difference. Nobody knows but everyone always thinks the grass is always greener.

 

[nicdic]

All this stuff about we're fine for strikers, we've got Chadli, Son, N'jie, Vorm, Chirpy etc who can play there: if the club honestly thought that why were we still chasing targets up until the close of the window?

We may have decided that whatever deadbeat was still available at the eleventh hour would not improve us, and declined to make a Rasiak-Campbell-Booth type acquisition, but that does not mean that the club thought that the squad did not need improving.

Don't think anyone has said we didn't and don't need improving. What people are saying is that it's not just as simple as saying we only have one striker, because we have players who are capable of playing there if needed. Two different things. We clearly wanted Berahino, we didn't get him. We have to make do. Trying to see how we can seems more productive than just moaning and whinging.

 

[Hotspur33]

I have come to the conclusion that ignorance is bliss when it comes to transfers.
I would have liked a striker, and I think we made a mistake in not signing Cambiasso the minute we realised Schneidelin wasn't an option.
But because of the the internet and it's accessibility now, there are so many false hopes. Back when the news papers, teletext and Match magazine were my only source of transfer news, it was much more exciting and the stuff reported seemed more reliable.
With things like the scouting thread, ITK sections and national papers having to fill their websites I feel constantly let down as most of it is utter rubbish.

 

[jonathanhotspur]

All this stuff about we're fine for strikers, we've got Chadli, Son, N'jie, Vorm, Chirpy etc who can play there: if the club honestly thought that why were we still chasing targets up until the close of the window?

Bingo.

 

[Styopa]

To call it a good window because we've moved out a load of 'deadwood' sounds like doublespeak to me. No doubt many of the same supporters who lauded the arrivals of Paulinho, Soldado, Capoue etc two years ago are now congratulating the club on moving these players out at mostly reduced transfer fees. Whether we've replaced the outgoings with better remains to be seen - I sure hope so. But we've gambled again on potential and on leaving our squad unbalanced in key areas.

 

[HailKingLevy]

We obviously wanted Berahino we made 4 bids on deadline day. Now if you want to buy something off someone who doesn't want to sell then you have to pay over the odds. Be it a yacht, a speedboat, a classic car or a berahino, we wanted him, we should of paid the extra and got him, our valuation of him is irrelevant really. If they would of sold at 26ish and we were offering 20ish, then we are mugs, or Levy had no intention of buying and the bids were to appease us fans.

 

[poc]

To call it a good window because we've moved out a load of 'deadwood' sounds like doublespeak to me. No doubt many of the same supporters who lauded the arrivals of Paulinho, Soldado, Capoue etc two years ago are now congratulating the club on moving these players out at mostly reduced transfer fees. Whether we've replaced the outgoings with better remains to be seen - I sure hope so. But we've gambled again on potential and on leaving our squad unbalanced in key areas.

It is what the removal represents. To those of us seeing it as a good thing it means the manager is being backed and if he doesn't fancy a player can perform for him he is getting rid giving space to add what he thinks he needs or promote a younger player and seeing if they can do a job. In the past it has seemed buy random player, give to the manager and effectively say get on with it, make it work.

 

[BuryMeInEngland]

I miss you already Bobby Soldier

Blimey, things really ARE bad.

 

[essex_spur]

Assuming the numbers on this site are accurate, we have more or less broken even during the current season.

http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/tottenham-hotspur/transfers/verein/148/saison_id/2015

It's inevitable that during a period where we are spending large (£400m?) on the new stadium, then transfer spending is going to be much reduced. We are not Chelsea/Man City with billionaire backers who spend, we are a sound business who makes a real profit.

I would love us to have splashed on various strikers - but has anyone noticed the building site just north of the lane? Until that's finished and we get the enhanced revenue we are going to managing on meager rations.

 

[Ossie85]

Firstly, I've been researching N'Jie and it seems he is primarily a striker and played most of his minutes for Lyon up top. I wouldn't say he's a BPL proven striker, but from what I've read and seen, he is definately a forward, not a winger/midfielder.

Secondly, Soldado contributed nothing last season. Really, Chadli would contribute more upfront than he did and carry more goal threat.

Why keep Stambouli? If we performed better without a DM than WITH Stambouli last season and he couldn't displace Mason & Bentaleb, what does that say? Now Dier is playing twice as well as he ever did as a DM, so what would be the point in keeping him, even without a DM signing?

What do you mean by researching? looking at pages or actually watching videos? because he was clearly a wing forward at Lyon. He can't lead the line. Unless we are going to switch back to a 442 in which he could play.
Stambouli had only one season. I would def have preferred to keep him if we weren't going to sign a replacement. He went to PSG, not Derby. He's clearly not as bad as you are making him sound.

I'm not trying to convince anyone though, it's only my opinion. The only thing that I ask is that if things turn bad, don't turn on the manager. This happens every year, and every year we take it on the manager. It's not the manager.
Every season after the window closes, I read messages trying to look positive, and I totally respect that. But after years and years of the same, the only thing that positivity contributes is to let Levy do every year the same. On top of that every year we are fed with bs that this year we learned from errors, and that it will not be the same.

Sorry if this message bothers anyone, but after years of being the positive guy, the bubble finally burst.

 

[jurgen]

It's very tiring hearing so many people talk about Son and Njie in a bad way. Son was the most expensive asian player to be bought in europe and rightly so as he is quality and njie is a younger player but with pace and skill. Both though play as strikers and also on the wing, you do know Kane was played on the wing loads and behind a striker before being moved in to the striker position (he also played in centre mid for millwall i believe when on loan). Son should get more respect and i really hope he bangs a load of goals in and plays really well just to annoy all the people who keep coming out with so much uneducated rubbish.

I think this forum is getting more and more full of fans who are just spoilt kids who want new signings that other teams want or basically just want to play football manager. Just give it a break.

Hmm, not sure that's what most people are arguing, the reaction to those signings has been generally very positive.

It's not a diss against Son to question whether he's a suitable epl lone striker. I want to see him playing in his best role so he can show off his talents - not taking flak
If he gets shoehorned into a role that is very difficult due to the physicality in England. Ditto plus more for N'Jie who is still a young lad and needs support as such. And if Chadli goes up there and doesn't convince, you can guarantee the nobs that slated him for a whole season will be piling straight back in. Maybe any or all of them will excel in the role but I'd like us to give them the best platform to perform in the prem...

 

[14/04/91]

All this stuff about we're fine for strikers, we've got Chadli, Son, N'jie, Vorm, Chirpy etc who can play there: if the club honestly thought that why were we still chasing targets up until the close of the window?

We may have decided that whatever deadbeat was still available at the eleventh hour would not improve us, and declined to make a Rasiak-Campbell-Booth type acquisition, but that does not mean that the club thought that the squad did not need improving.

Exactly. All I've read today is 'fill in' and 'make do'.
Berahino was a must have, our only striker target.
Deadline day haggling is for nice to haves.

 

[Xeeleeyid]

i like chadli even though hes a bit inconsistent. i also think he has the tools to play there. he my prove a lot of people wrong. but i agree suggesting he or son are ready is laughable. ive only peeked at njies youtube action but saw him breaking at speed in wide areas. we are taking a massive gamble.

the levyites say hold it till the window closes. now they say hold it till january or longer. i will always hope they are right. but lets see. our schedule is tough and middle of the road fans might turn given we like a cup at spurs and theres a good chance only the fa cup will remain by the time we can address the situtation.

To be fair, we would have been taking a massive gamble regardless of what we did. Say we'd have completed the Berahino signing, for £25m, he's had one good season. Let's say he didn't start well, his form left him and confidence left him and he had a Soldado type season, we'd effectively be left with just Kane anyway, as we were when we had Ade and Soldado last season. Do you think we're in any way worse off in terms of forward options this season to last with N'Jie and the fall back of Chadli or an academy player after Kane? As opposed to Nogoaldo and Ade?

We had a list of striking targets that we thought would improve the situation we have upfront and we obviously had a price or risk we were prepared to take on to get those targets. Clearly, we couldn't get them at the price/risk we were prepared to take. I don't see that's any more of a gamble than paying over £25m for Berahino?

Any decision you make in this business is a gamble.

 

[Xeeleeyid]

The 'deadwood' was predominantly made up of players signed less than 24 months ago! That's 7 players (and would've been 8 if Fazio had accepted) our 'transfer committee' brought in then concentrated on flogging because they weren't good enough. Astonishing.

And yet again we're unbalanced. The last 2 years have seen us collect Centre Mids but now we've decided we need a plethora of Attacking Mids. Eriksen, Chadli, Dembele, Lamela, Townsend, Carroll, N'jie, Alli, Pritchard, Son all play in the 3 behind a striker. Which you have to assume is the formation we'll play as he's not changed since day 1.

No DM is farcical. We've seen a shift from the double pivot of Mason & Bentaleb to Dier sitting as a DM and dropping into the back line if the full backs push on. So we're expecting him to play the whole season there?? Even if you include Dembele (who the coach seems to want to play further forward) we've only got 4 centre midfielders and one of those is a centre back.

And what can you say about having 1 centre forward in your squad?! It's shocking. Clearly we didn't fancy anyone other than Berahino and decided against signing a Plan B for the sake of it (as we've done previously - Stambouli, Fazio) so why didn't we get this deal done?! It was the one position we HAD to strengthen.
Son is a 2nd striker and N'jie is a kid who will need time in a new league.
People quote Chadli as 'filling in' but is this what we've come to?? Making do with a midfielder up front?
Certainly seems to be the case.

I'm sorry that the negatives of this window outweigh the positives imo but after 4 unimpressive games thus far, the holes in the squad worry me even more.

Because West Brom's chairman dug himself into a hole with his initial strongly worded statement and was clearly going to reject any bid we made from then on in. I think once you've got to your 4th bid of £25m that gets rejected out of hand, you know you're not going to get him no matter what. It's not like his market value wasn't on the table.

I'd also like to pick up on your point of 4 central midfield players. I think you'll find we have Mason, Bentaleb, Carroll, Winks, Dembele (who is being converted further forward from several years of being a CM) before you even think of Dier.

 

[Shea]

If as reported we offered £25m cash for the lad and it was still rejected we were right not to offer any more

What was wrong was leaving the haggling to the last day and having no time to switch to alternative targets (or indeed seemingly not having any alternative targets)

Really Berahino should have been concluded by the weekend and if not we should have moved on and still had time to bring someone in

Hopefully it won't be as costly as we all fear.

I also wonder what we will do in Jan now - go back for Berahino? or identify a new target and make that move? (or indeed make no real moves like usual in the winter window and hope for the best)

 

[cliff jones]

To be fair, we would have been taking a massive gamble regardless of what we did. Say we'd have completed the Berahino signing, for £25m, he's had one good season. Let's say he didn't start well, his form left him and confidence left him and he had a Soldado type season, we'd effectively be left with just Kane anyway, as we were when we had Ade and Soldado last season. Do you think we're in any way worse off in terms of forward options this season to last with N'Jie and the fall back of Chadli or an academy player after Kane? As opposed to Nogoaldo and Ade?

We had a list of striking targets that we thought would improve the situation we have upfront and we obviously had a price or risk we were prepared to take on to get those targets. Clearly, we couldn't get them at the price/risk we were prepared to take. I don't see that's any more of a gamble than paying over £25m for Berahino?

Any decision you make in this business is a gamble.

good post. comes down to judgement in the end. on relative risks. i agree with the clubs pursuit of bera, just not the payment terms, timing in particular. levys talks of pragmatic player trading. getting the deal over the line even two months ago could have increased the risk by no more than 5%. the benefit?surely at least equal to that from a preseason training schedule etc..

 

[Xeeleeyid]

good post. comes down to judgement in the end. on relative risks. i agree with the clubs pursuit of bera, just not the payment terms, timing in particular. levys talks of pragmatic player trading. getting the deal over the line even two months ago could have increased the risk by no more than 5%. the benefit?surely at least equal to that from a preseason training schedule etc..

I do agree that we left the reported "£25m straight cash offer" too late, although at the same time, I think everyone at Spurs will have been pretty shocked that it was rejected. I think it was probably rejected out of principle at that stage, either that or WBA felt they didn't have enough time to benefit from it, which would be silly of them as if there was a good chance of them getting that offer at some point, they should have been working on their own deals in the case the Bera deal went through (i.e. Austin or whoever Pulis wanted).

The thing is that it appears Pulis and the coaching staff are as pissed off with Peace as Berahino was and it appears his behaviour during this episode has come as a surprise to everyone involved.

Press are saying he refused to answer phone calls from Levy, Pulis and Berahino's camp when offers were being made and then chose to communicate the decision to reject by official statements on the club's website.

I do think if Levy did anything was misjudge just what a tool Peace was and should have put in the what should have been unrefusable offer sooner, to allow the pressure to sell from Pulis and Bera to become too much.

I also think Berahino is slightly to blame too, in that if he was willing to go nuclear and state he was going to refuse to play much like Berbatov did to us that forced us to sell him, he did it too late to really have an impact as any pressure on Peace to do a deal wouldn't have mattered by the time he tweeted what he did, as it was too late by that stage to do any deal.