Lucky22
Active Member
- Dec 11, 2006
- 710
- 160
With our season effectively over, I thought I'd offer a my thoughts (for what they are worth) on our future plans.
This season has been very Tottenham – a real roller-coaster of emotions offering plenty to talk about. The Carling Cup success has given us a glimpse of what we are capable of, as has performances against ManU and Arsenal in both league and cup. Yet our league form under Ramos has been a bit hit or miss (it was pointed out to me by Allygold that Ramos was in a similar situation to when Jol took over from Santini and the results in the league were very different, which is in itself an interesting point).
But despite the erratic form, I can see plenty of positives, and I hope the board stick to their guns over the summer and retain the structure of buying players in young and moulding them. While I don't think we will ever 'do a Leeds' I think our financial prudence in the transfer market must continue. While I believe we have yet to see the best of Darren Bent, it is already clear that we paid well over the odds for him. Hopefully, it is a case of once bitten twice shy.
While I don't have the opportunity to watch the reserves, the reports are always encouraging. To see the likes of Tom Huddlestone. Jamie O'Hara and Adel Taarabat involved in the first team is more than encouraging, while others like Archibald-Henville have made the bench. By all accounts we have others waiting in the wings. This is something I think we need to continue build on.
However, the difficulty arises between finding quality replacements for the many players we are expected to shift out this season with the need to ensure we don't start paying over the odds because we have a few pounds.
The predicted loss of Berbatov will leave a huge gap and clearly we want to replace that with a quality player, yet we will obviously be hit with the problem that other cubs will know we have just received a hefty (and potentially record-breaking) fee for our beloved Bulgarian.
Realistically, players such as Woodgate, Hutton, Jenas and Keane are the only real certainties for a starting place next term, and even some of those are highly debatable. Berbatov is an obvious addition to that list if he remains at WHL while you could also include a fit-again King and Bale, but that leaves a lot of room for improvement and in key areas.
I think we need to build from within, rather than throwing money at the problem. Man United continue to produce promising youngsters and while the number making it to the first team has dwindled, they are of a standard that they still can demand a half-decent transfer fee. It still has to be remembered that the Ferguson's lot started onto the road of success with their 'team of youngsters'
Although the results are still to be seen, Chelsea have repeatedly stated that they want to bring their players through the youth team ranks and that was one of the reasons why they nabbed Frank from us. Liverpool, too, have been buying young players who have yet to be included in the first team yet they clearly have a long-term plan. Then there is the successful treadmill of talent at Arsenal.
While they are called a young side, the real key is that out of practically every player in Arsenal's starting XI none arrived into English football after 2005, with around nine being either at Arsenal (or Chelsea, in Gallas's case) in 2004. That is why they are so comfortable with our game and that is why they make the transition to the first team so smoothly.
It is this type of forward-thinking mentality that I think we have at Tottenham but, after at least three seasons of building, I believe we must start seeing the results next season – but only if the board stick to their guns.
The January transfer window offered some insight into that. We bought Hutton (who I doubt Ramos knew about and so was picked up because of our scouting system) and Gunter, who highlighted the youth buying policy. But alongside that we brought in the experience of Woodgate and Gilberto, which goes against the previous trends and possibly signals a change in tact. As we don't know who engineered the moves (Comolli, Ramos or a combination of both) then it is difficult to judge, but for once we filled a problem position (Woodgate), found a gem in Hutton and also looked ahead. Hopefully, this balance will continue in the summer.
These are interesting times at the Lane and my belief is that, next season, Levy's insistence on the Director of Football structure will begin to bear fruition on the pitch. The club have worked hard to develop an all-encompassing structure and to ensure that no matter who the manager is, that the 'system' is not tampered with. Transfers, too, have had an air of forward-thinking about them since Levy took over.
In Ramos we have the manager that Commoli and Levy worked so hard to get and now have the man who should be the final piece in a very complicated puzzle. He's had time to bed himself in and look closely at the players he has at his disposal while also implementing his own systems and methods.
It has all the ingredients for success. Let's hope that is the case.
This season has been very Tottenham – a real roller-coaster of emotions offering plenty to talk about. The Carling Cup success has given us a glimpse of what we are capable of, as has performances against ManU and Arsenal in both league and cup. Yet our league form under Ramos has been a bit hit or miss (it was pointed out to me by Allygold that Ramos was in a similar situation to when Jol took over from Santini and the results in the league were very different, which is in itself an interesting point).
But despite the erratic form, I can see plenty of positives, and I hope the board stick to their guns over the summer and retain the structure of buying players in young and moulding them. While I don't think we will ever 'do a Leeds' I think our financial prudence in the transfer market must continue. While I believe we have yet to see the best of Darren Bent, it is already clear that we paid well over the odds for him. Hopefully, it is a case of once bitten twice shy.
While I don't have the opportunity to watch the reserves, the reports are always encouraging. To see the likes of Tom Huddlestone. Jamie O'Hara and Adel Taarabat involved in the first team is more than encouraging, while others like Archibald-Henville have made the bench. By all accounts we have others waiting in the wings. This is something I think we need to continue build on.
However, the difficulty arises between finding quality replacements for the many players we are expected to shift out this season with the need to ensure we don't start paying over the odds because we have a few pounds.
The predicted loss of Berbatov will leave a huge gap and clearly we want to replace that with a quality player, yet we will obviously be hit with the problem that other cubs will know we have just received a hefty (and potentially record-breaking) fee for our beloved Bulgarian.
Realistically, players such as Woodgate, Hutton, Jenas and Keane are the only real certainties for a starting place next term, and even some of those are highly debatable. Berbatov is an obvious addition to that list if he remains at WHL while you could also include a fit-again King and Bale, but that leaves a lot of room for improvement and in key areas.
I think we need to build from within, rather than throwing money at the problem. Man United continue to produce promising youngsters and while the number making it to the first team has dwindled, they are of a standard that they still can demand a half-decent transfer fee. It still has to be remembered that the Ferguson's lot started onto the road of success with their 'team of youngsters'
Although the results are still to be seen, Chelsea have repeatedly stated that they want to bring their players through the youth team ranks and that was one of the reasons why they nabbed Frank from us. Liverpool, too, have been buying young players who have yet to be included in the first team yet they clearly have a long-term plan. Then there is the successful treadmill of talent at Arsenal.
While they are called a young side, the real key is that out of practically every player in Arsenal's starting XI none arrived into English football after 2005, with around nine being either at Arsenal (or Chelsea, in Gallas's case) in 2004. That is why they are so comfortable with our game and that is why they make the transition to the first team so smoothly.
It is this type of forward-thinking mentality that I think we have at Tottenham but, after at least three seasons of building, I believe we must start seeing the results next season – but only if the board stick to their guns.
The January transfer window offered some insight into that. We bought Hutton (who I doubt Ramos knew about and so was picked up because of our scouting system) and Gunter, who highlighted the youth buying policy. But alongside that we brought in the experience of Woodgate and Gilberto, which goes against the previous trends and possibly signals a change in tact. As we don't know who engineered the moves (Comolli, Ramos or a combination of both) then it is difficult to judge, but for once we filled a problem position (Woodgate), found a gem in Hutton and also looked ahead. Hopefully, this balance will continue in the summer.
These are interesting times at the Lane and my belief is that, next season, Levy's insistence on the Director of Football structure will begin to bear fruition on the pitch. The club have worked hard to develop an all-encompassing structure and to ensure that no matter who the manager is, that the 'system' is not tampered with. Transfers, too, have had an air of forward-thinking about them since Levy took over.
In Ramos we have the manager that Commoli and Levy worked so hard to get and now have the man who should be the final piece in a very complicated puzzle. He's had time to bed himself in and look closely at the players he has at his disposal while also implementing his own systems and methods.
It has all the ingredients for success. Let's hope that is the case.
