The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - THE BIG POST MORTEM

[RuskyM]

For years we've been clamouring for us to get our business done early and now we have, everyone feels disappointed.

The simple truth is most transfers do not work out due to the huge amount of variables, and having less time to prepare for a season doesn't help anyone. We've all seen good signings not work out - hell, our best player came from two of them being flops.
But, somewhat hypocritically after that sentence, if you'd have told me after that Burnley game we'd sign Richy, Bissouma, Perisic and Spence to bolster our CL squad I'd consider that an absolute win.

 

[Tucker]

I’ll go back to what I essentially said the other day. We’ve addressed several key weaknesses in our squad. We now how cover up front, we now have a more complete set of midfielders for the way Conte wants to play, we now have competition for Davies, we have signed a world class left wingback, we’ve addressed our back up keeper situation, and we’ve signed a prospect for the right wing. None of the signings we’ve made are scattergun, or outside of our plan.

We’ve barely integrated any of our signings yet for one reason or another, not because they are poor signings but because they’ve been injured, either since the season started or during preseason.

Richarlison has started really well, he’s going to be a fan favourite for sure. He’s providing a real threat from the bench so far, and while I get the calls for him to start ahead of Son, his energy and work rate are such a useful tool to have in reserve for later in games. IMO he’s earned up 4 points already with his performances against Chelsea and Forest.

Bissouma had an unfortunate set back during the key weeks of preseason with his covid stuff, he missed all that crazy running in Korea as well as vital getting to know you time. While he wasn’t great against West Ham, I’m sure once he’s properly up to speed he’s going to be game changing for us.

Perisic is class, he’s already had a huge impact both on and off the pitch. He’s influencing our youngsters like Spence and Sess, while also getting assists and being a key player in our attacks. Brilliant VDV type signing imo. Also I’m a sucker for a left winger wearing 14.

Lenglet like Biss, this guy has suffered an unfortunate setback at the start of the season, missing vital time with training etc. When he gets up to speed we will finally have a player who can push Davies for a starting spot. No, he’s not Bastoni, but that was always a long shot. And it seems obvious we will revisit that when and if we can. Lenglet is no mug though, he had a rough time at Barca playing in a back four, but a three will suit him and I’d not be surprised if he took Davies‘ starting spot (and I really rate Ben.) He’ll also be able to rotate/cover for Dier in the middle.
Our defence has been solid so far and we don't give up many chances. I just hope we have enough numbers here.

Spence we were all pleased to get him, and he looks a talent, physically imposing and fast too. He has to prove himself to Conte, and the right wing remains our weakest area. It's the main miss of the window imo, but hopefully Djed can work his way into the team.

Forster corrects the mistakes of several previous windows where we haven’t addressed our back up to Hugo. Gollini was a disaster, and forcing Hart to leave seemed like such a bizarre move last summer considering he was home grown etc.

With those six signings we have improved a weakness, we have left ourselves in a far stronger position than when we ended the season on a high. We are now better, fitter, and ready to fight hard for our goals again this season. Tying up the permanent deal for Cuti, and having Udogie lined up for next summer are also nice bonuses.

This has been one of the best windows we’ve ever had Imo. Yes we’d have all loved to get a shiny new toy in the last few days, but far better to address key problems, early on and not be left in the lurch like on previous occasions. We need more of the same approach in January and next Summer.

 

[Frozen_Waffles]

Compared to other windows it's actually spectacular, however we were in desperate need and probably needed a couple more.

Negatives - not selling players, winks, ndombele and lo Celso being the obvious ones.

Centre backs, hopefully Lenglet is great, because we need him to be. I worry about our centre backs on the ball.

Someone who can back up kulusevski, clearly we were after a ball carrier.

Our three proper first team players are great, Richy impressing me most so far, but I have so much expectation of bissouma.

Some quality youngsters and squad players.

Overall a good window and I think we need to be careful about signing too many in one window. Let's get the new players settled and take another look in January.

Paratici earning his money and he has signed more than a first eleven in a little over a year. Most of which have been improvements.

We were heading to oblivion before paratici, now we have direction.

We really haven't played that well so far this season so far, but we find ourselves unbeaten and with the results. I'm very optimistic that when everyone is up to speed and firing we wil be a force.

 

[vegassd]

Major thanks to the guys here who keep everything running. Rob, A&C and chrissivad spring to mind but I know there will be more of you involved in keeping this part of the forum running so effectively. You know who you are so thank you.

And obviously thanks to the ITKs as well. You stick your necks on the line time and time again despite the risk of pelters from some people on here. It's hugely appreciated by me and I'm sure the majority of the forum. ?

As for the window I think we can describe it as professional rather than the emotional rollercoaster we have faced in the past. I'm all up for that. Key incomings done early, with the outs causing a headache that left us slightly underwhelmed. There are improvements to be made still but that's the same for everybody (bar City). Rome wasn't built in a day and all that.

 

[smithym]

Gutted we missed out on Dan James tbh. Superstar in the making. Him and Traore would of been unreal business, singings of the window they would of been. Fingers crossed for January.

 

[Scot-Spur]

I think it feels a little disappointing considering how it started. We do need to use perspective however, just look back 12 months. This squad had been stagnant for too long and we have started to overturn the mistakes that were made.
The only thing that niggles me is that Kane and Son are both around 30. Conte needs backed in the next two transfers windows. Those 2 and Lloris not winning anything with us would be tragic.

 

[thelak]

I strongly disagree with people saying if we had signed the players we did at the end of the window we would all have been happy

happy relative to the likely wrist slitting that would have been taking place sure but i think anyone rating the window as good but not amazing is being objective

for me it’s nothing to do with the sequencing but have we massively improved the first team, the squad, addressed our weaknesses and crucially have we strengthened relative to our rivals

First team improvement - Perisic, Bissouma I think over time and arguably Richy. 6-7/10

Squad - Happy with the squad iMprovement. This time last year our front 3 included Lucas. Our midfield was PEH and Skipp. We’ve not added much depth to the CB position with Lenglet tbc. 7-8/10

addressed weaknesses - RWB, ball progression out of the back 3 and creativity still big issues. Back up to our forwards, LWB clearly addressed and CM looks robust for Contes system. Not much tactical flexibility. 6/10

Vs rivals. Hard to say but generally they have all strengthen with the exception of Liverpool it seems. Haaland is cheat mode for City. Chelsea is scattergun but some good signings and Arsenal have had a plan that looks like it might pay off despite not getting CL. 7/10

so a 7/10 window for me Personally

 

[spursfan77]

Paratici’s first full summer window and there seemed to be a plan. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

No more badly scouted punts on players from France. No more hoping to see what falls in our laps.

Now it just seems organised and acting like a proper club. Man City, Liverpool for example get their players in early and work with them and they only need a couple of players and fine tuning while we need more changes but it’s the route we look to have started to go down.

I am starting to believe that if paratici stays for a while then we will look back on the period of levy/Hitchen driving recruitment as a time that properly held us back.

It’s why I think you can’t look at this window in isolation. It’s been about building a better squad whilst righting previous wrongs. It’s why I think rating the window now is pointless. It can only be done in a few months time at the earliest.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Personally going into this window I viewed getting a quality RWB, a quality LCB and a good back up to Kane as the most important things to achieve. Secondary to that were a creative attacker, another starting CM, an improved LWB and lastly a HG back up GK. For me a top class attacking RWB considering Conte's tactics was, in my mind, at the very very top of the list and not getting one I think was a big error. I realise that Royal has improved but he will never get anywhere near the attacking level needed from our wing backs. In general I feel that the focus should always be on improving the starting 11 first, if it needs improving, then moving on to the rotation options. I know that there shouldn't be necessarily 11 players who are guaranteed starters with a drop off on the bench but even so every team will have star players that rotate less and in our case we certainly have players such as Davies and Royal that shouldn't be starters. So for me, not getting an improvement at LCB and/or RWB makes this window flawed regardless of our other business.

That being said, considering the amount of work the squad needed we were never going to bring our team up to scratch in one window, there just wouldn't be enough time and money. And it does seem we were focusing on the deals that could be done rather then in order of importance which I understand when realistically you need to bring in 7/8/9 players plus get rid of a lot of unwanted. I think our best bit of business was Perisic, probably because he is the only player we brought in that immediately improves our first 11. Also in his brief time here has highlighted how important and deadly attacking wing backs are in this system. Its just a shame that he won't be paired with an equally attacking option on the right as I doubt we will see much of Spence this season, although i hope we do. Richy and Bissouma where needed solid addition and it already looks like they will be getting a lot of game time this season, Richy especially seems to have taken his brief chances to shine with aplomb. Lenglet I believe could turn out to be very good business and i wouldn't be overly surprised if he ends up excelling resulting in us keep him beyond next summer.

I do think considering we finalised Spence so early we really missed a trick not bringing one more in, I think already our attack looks thin on the ground and as much as i would love him to, i just don't believe Conte will put any faith in Gil. I can really see him getting played one cup game, not doing anything remarkable probably because he hasn't had any game time then not getting another significant chance, i really feel sorry for the kid as he does have a lot of potential imo. To me it seemed like Conte only had eye's for Zaniolo and considering we tracked him for long enough, in Paratici's case for years, that maybe we could have made that deal happen if we had been a little more flexible. Ultimately we know about his injury issues and yet still seemed to want him above all others. IDK what will happen in the coming months, but considering the tactics and the pile up of games, I personally don't see a scenario were injuries and exhaustion don't ruin our regular front three. I just hope if that happens Conte doesn't start moaning about the lack of options because we had time to rectify it and chose not to. Also, as i mentioned in a previous post, I would really like to actually compete in the CL rather then drift through it with exhausted players, looking at our group we could do very well in it but that will require Conte rotating a lot in the league and putting his faith in the likes of Lucas and GIl.

All together I think it was a decent to good window considering the amount of work that needed and still needs doing but i also feel we did the bare minimum and could have been bolder.

Overall id give it 7 out of 10.

 

[wrd]

I think fantastic window, I try and judge on what I hoped for at the start rather than changing my expectations because we met a lot of those expectations so early in the window.

I think in Bissouma other than landing Frenkie De Jong we could not have landed a better midfielder and I believe he is the best CM in the league over recent seasons.

Richarlison whilst he was not my cup of tea in terms of diving antics looks like he is going to kick on massively with us.

Spence is probably the one I'm most excited about, I think the signing of Udogie was an excellent piece of business to do.

Perisic does not feel like a spurs signing to me and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible to all involved. He just has a technical level to him that I feel I'm just not used to. We are a club that typically has the odd magical player but this is a person who just seems a master of his craft, his ability to consistently cross the ball the way he does or shift his opponent to win a header, that isn't magic, that's mastery.

Where the window didn't meet my hopes from the start of summer was the LCB we landed, I really hoped this was where we were going to really show that we were serious about our intention to battle for titles right away but that wasn't viable due to external factors. I was very happy with the decisions the club made as a contingency to find an alternative who personally I believe is going to be a masterstroke and a very moneyball esque signing in terms of landing a player whose reputation has taken a dent from being a square peg in a round whole and using him to do what he is excellent at and I think when signing of the season comes up, I anticipate Lenglet will be mentioned. Very happy the club decided to wait for a signing that we actually want, very happy that Conte seems to be approaching Spurs as a project rather even though I of course wanted us to be going for the title this season, I believe this approach yields a better chance of winning a major trophy but also is a structure that should usher in an era of winning several trophies.

The one hair in the soup for me is the Eriksen situation. I don't know what his financial demands were but he had a skillset which would have added so many stringers to our squad's bow, I genuinely think he could have been the difference between say turning 4-5 draws into wins and the fact he knew the manager and the club, I really was dissappointed we didn't make that a reality for whatever reason, I assumed we would go a different direction with his spot but that never manifested either.

So I think this window has done the rebuild we desperately needed. I think it's understandable from a realistic perspective of harmonious squad building to stagger the business. I believe our first 11 during the 2016 era was the best I've seen, I believe the team we are capable of putting out now runs that pretty close but that we have far better depth this time round. So what I anticipate is a similar season to that with the bonus of Conte's managerial ability and style giving the slim chance of going all the way in 1 of the competitions but lacking the additional world class CB and a player in the squad capable of a Eriksen style pass or finish to likely overthrow the likes of City.

To be totally honest there's a part of me that just wants to get to next summer to see if the club learns from the mistakes of 2016 (i could totally have the year wrong, last year at the lane) and actually produces the business required to truly go toe to toe with these behemoths ahead of us currently. With Conte we have the manager who has the ability to negate their ridiculous wealth advantages but he needs those final components.

I will give Conte the respect he clearly has earnt though and not write off him achieving something incredible this season. I fully believe he's capable of winning the league or Champions League with the squad he has now but that's due to the esteem I hold Conte in but I think it would be unfair for that to be the expectation this year so I'm trying to not let my idealisation of Conte make me hold him to unrealistic expectations

 

[Johnny J]

I agree 7/10 is about right. I think we're short of a reliable, productive forward option. And seems we need another ball playing CB, based on the first free games. We've certainly improved the squad, undoubtedly. Not sure we've improved the first team, Perisic aside. But not everything can be done in one window.

 

[Rob]

we will look back on the period of levy/Hitchen driving recruitment as a time that properly held us back.

I'm still waiting for the ITK post-mortems that bemoan Levy's meddling and scuppering of deals.

 

[Rob]

we need another ball playing CB, based on the first free games

Isn't that what Lenglet was billed as? I've not seen enough of him but that was how he was decribed.

 

[spursfan77]

I'm still waiting for the ITK post-mortems that bemoan Levy's meddling and scuppering of deals.

Ffs Levy, you let James go to Fulham…..like that you mean?!?! ?

 

[talbot64]

You can see the squad has been built with a plan. However it’s incredibly disappointing that we couldn’t get another top drawer attacker in for RWF which would have given Conte option to rotate more. To me the opportunities were Raphinha and Zaniolo but the transfer market is never easy which I understand

Between now and January we really need to build with

1. Conte new deal
2. Kane new deal
3. Dier new deal
4. Would also like to see Sess and personally Sanchez get new deals

In January I think only 2 needed but they need to top level

1. RWB
2. RWF

Next summer we have a lot of players returning from loans or in final 12 months so the more that can be done now the better

 

[Rogmeister]

I think we've done enough to tred water. Everyone else around us have strengthened as well.

We haven't done any business to close the gap on city but let's be honest, who can.

Should be enough to battle for 2nd and down

 

[Johnny J]

Isn't that what Lenglet was billed as? I've not seen enough of him but that was how he was decribed.

He is, you're right. But watching the last two games, playing out from the back seems so fundamental to Conte's plan, and really we just have Romero and (hopefully) Lenglet (clearly second choice after Davies, at least for now) who can do that.

Obviously we would have bought Bastoni if we could. I'm sure we'll go in for one in Jan or next summer.

 

[jurgen11]

Great window
Must be hard balancing books with two years of no gate receipts with the pandemic and trying to juggle off loading the result of poor recruiting and replacing with good players
Add last Jan and next Jan and as long as we strengthen in the right areas , which we should now we have a regular inclome stream at the stadium , then next season should be a banger !
Did we all think that the team would be 100% fixed in this window ?
8/10

 

[White_Midget]

I'm quite happy with the window as a whole, and also happy we haven't gone for more stop-gap signings who we'll struggle to shift down the line.
In other words as long as AC is happy, that works for me.
The squad we have compared to last season has improved and is now all about gelling together and players rediscovering form (the bonus being that although performances have not been great we also remain unbeaten)
So, bit of patience required but when it all comes together I think we're in for a cracking season

 

[cider spurs]

It's a good start. We've added some quality, but we're not there yet.

2-3 more quality additions would finish us off nicely. Of course wasn't expecting that all in one window.

Bit disappointing that so many of those deemed surplus only went out on loan, but hopefully it'll be a catalyst for a sale further down the line.

On a closing note, big thanks to all the ITKs, A&C, chrissivad and mods for your efforts.

COYS !!