The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - THE BIG POST MORTEM

[totty]

6/10 - no more no less.

Yes we had a plan and delivered a large-ish part of it. But what always strikes me is how we never in any way react to what's going on in the wider world of the premier league, but doggedly try to stick to whatever plan we concocted beforehand, in the solitude of the Hotspur Way offices.
This summer is a case in point. We went about our business, but early in July it became apparent that the other kids in our play group (Chelsea, City, United, Arsenal) were busy moving the goalposts. As they are the ones we have to compete with, one could reasonably expect a reaction, like an increase in budget and/or a more aggressive pursuit of game-changing players. But nothing of the sort happened. Instead we froze into some kind of stupor, frantically telling ourselves how brilliant we were and that all was going to plan.
And now the window has ended for us with a whimper and the realities of an unfinished rebuild are starting to manifest themselves already. Never mind progressing - another uphill struggle to stand still beckons. We've left ourselves short again. And we are again left with the question: "Why?"

In which areas are we left short?

RWB?
We have 3 RWBs, this is real world with real money, not FM.

Need to get rid of at least one of Royal/Doherty and besides which RWB that would improve our XI is out there?

Hakimi?


LCB?
Its apparent Bastoni is not that keen on joining us, certainly less keen than Kane joining City last season. Hence its more down to the player than the price tag

Gvardiol did not even join Chelsea, so that speaks volumns.

Lenglet’s loan always meant that this position is slated for next season cos the prime target Bastoni wasnt available.

Liverpool are lauded for waiting on Virgil, Allison but some of our fan base are plain impatient just cos “its not their money”


AM?
Maddison and Zaniolo also did not show enough desire to join us, some would point to Paqueta for £35m, and these same lot would be the ones cheering Ndombele’s move before jeering him 3 years later.


Signing just anyone on deadline day will mean bloating the squad further should our prime targets become available.

Look at the big picture and not knee jerk

 

[Hotspur33]

I'd also say 7/10. I like all the signings we've made. But I would have felt happier if we had made a statement signing to get really excited about.
I do like the efficiency with which we got the players in. I shows that Paritici is working on transfers outside of the window.
Im sure we had ITK that suggested that Levy was heavily involved with the Spence transfer and I dragged on.
I just hope the likes of Bissouma, Richarlison and perisic can have a big impact and give us something to celebrate come the end of the season.

 

[dirtyh]

simply for the shithousery that richy brings it's at least an 8.

 

[VoteMe4Prez]

simply for the shithousery that richy brings it's at least an 8.

And he's an absolute baller

 

[Pochie]

I’m pleased we had a window which showed some joined up thinking.
Big plus for getting a genuine back up for Kane & Son.
Big plus on moving players out who Conte doesn’t want, even if only on loans.
Extra big plus to get most signings early so Conte could torture them.
COYS!

 

[FloridaSpur]

Obviously time will tell if this was a good window or not. Time will tell if Conte is happy with the squad. This is crucial.
It’s very early in the season, but the way Conte isn’t using/trusting the bench already is worrying.
I feel after a couple of bad results Conte will go back to blaming the lack of options.
Have we really backed Conte? Could/Should we have done more?
I believe so.
On the face of it I do think it’s another opportunity missed.
Where did all that money ‘invested’ for transfers gone?
Yes, we did good business early, but we needed 1/2 more.
We have such a crazy schedule that we’ll get more injuries and need more rotation.
Another forward had to come in as Conte obviously doesn’t rate/trust Gil.
I reckon Son, Kane and Kulusevski are going to be run into the ground this season.
A couple of injuries up there and we’re fucked.
Central midfield looks good. No complaints.
LWB is sorted. Perisic is top quality.
Now to my two main issues CB and RWB.
For a team in the Champions League and wanting to push on our CB options are not good enough.
Romero, Dier, Davies, Sanchez, Tanganga, Lenglet.
That set of CB’s isn’t closing any gap.
5 of those are good back-up players and not good enough at the highest level. Needed either a top quality CCB or (preferably) a LCB starter. Lenglet was the cheap option and can’t see him making much difference.
This area is a massive fail in my opinion and will cost us this season.
RWB is farcical in we obviously needed an upgrade on Royal/Doherty and had all summer to sign one.
We spent weeks/months looking at Spence, signed him, then continue to play Royal who clearly isn’t good enough.
Spence may in time become first choice, but Conte has already said it was a club signing so I don’t expect him to be a regular starter anytime soon.
Another massive fail.
Now this might(hopefully) be a very successful season and we achieve great things.??
And that Conte is happy with this new squad and it’s happy days.
Time will tell.
COYS

par·a·graph
noun

1. a distinct section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line, indentation, or numbering.
   "the concluding paragraph"
   
   
   

 

[Yid-ol]

We have enough players to be versatile. Do we have the coach?

That's what we need to wait and see! As that wasn't something we would have wanted to change this window.

 

[soflapaul]

Time will tell but i'll give it 8/10 for the following reasons.

• Bissouma will likely be the most important signing of this window, at least short term. If he was that dominant on a terrible team, consider what he'll be able to with a better supporting cast. When he's off, we're not taking a big as step down as we were before. Ultiamtely, our defense may not be impregnable but the CBs will be more effective with that kind of protection in front of them. Think Waynama that can carry the ball effectively.
• Peresic is probably the second biggest signing because of what he will do on the field and in the dressing room. His ability to beat players 1 v 1 and then get a good cross in will have two impacts.
  • Goals - Consider how bad are delivery was last year from the left or right side. +5 to 10 goals whether or not he gets the assist
  • Dressing Room - All indications are that this guy is a model pro. not only will Ryan benefit from it but even the best of the best will learn a thing or two from him and vice versa. Add to that that he does appear to be an outfield player who can lead. And in tight games, his remonstrations will be effective given the respect other players give him which is rather evident
• Richarlson - We now have four bona fide starters in the forward position where we don't lost one iota when he steps on the pitch. in fact, in many cases, he brings something on that others don't always have - a never say die attitude.
• Djed. Given what Roy H and others have said, if he responds to Antonio's approach, he will likely be the crown jewel of the crop. Can't put too many points on the board yet, but in retrospect, this could be the pick that makes it a 9
• All the others are bonus if they work out.

While two of our weakest positions weren't improved, the leveraged impact on the field and in the dressing room of the first three shouldn't be underestimated. And the value of improvements on the field and in the dressing room could have an impact on both AC and HK's view of where the club is going. 0

 

[crazyguitarman]

We can only judge based on the identified weaknesses in the squad and the moves made to cover them in the window. For me we still need an upgrade at RWB, a new RW option to rotate with Kulusevski, and a new CB to rotate with Dier. Now it very well may turn out that Spence is the upgrade we need at RWB, but since he has been signed as a prospect for the future it's difficult to be fully satisfied right now with our activity to that end.

On the other hand, we've signed three first XI quality players in Perisic, Bissouma and Richarlison, to improve our strength in depth, along with cover for LCB which we were missing last season. Add to that two exciting prospects and a backup GK and we are definitely improved overall in comparison to 21/22. For me it's been one of the best transfer windows we've had in recent years, if a little mired by our failure towards the end to fill the remaining weaknesses in the squad.

It's a 7/10 overall, which might rise throughout the season depending to some extent on the performances of Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet and Bryan Gil (perhaps negating a need for another RW - let's see). Obviously we all expect Perisic, Bissouma and Richarlison to do well but if they don't it's hardly a criticism of our intentions with regards to transfer activity.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

That's what we need to wait and see! As that wasn't something we would have wanted to change this window.

That’s my point, it was a rhetorical question. As you would well know, if you paid attention to every post I’ve ever made on here, and gave them full consideration.

Dunno why I bother…

 

[0-Tibsy-0]

6.9 out of 10

 

[synththfc]

doesn’t sound like the gaffer is overly pleased

 

[brasil_spur]

6/10 window for me, need improvement at LCB, RWB and ideally an AM to allow us to change tactics...

I mean Lenglet is the LCB improvement. We have about 12 RWBs now with Spence coming in to be the main improvement. I agree to an extent about an AM, although we would need to start playing a different formation for that to be relevant.

What we really needed was a Dier rotation/back up player and a Deki rotation/back up player, we got neither of these.

 

[bbunc]

doesn’t sound like the gaffer is overly pleased

That sounds sub optimal.

 

[Guntz]

doesn’t sound like the gaffer is overly pleased

Bit concerning ngl

 

[Wig]

doesn’t sound like the gaffer is overly pleased

Managing expectations.

 

[JayB]

Those quotes don’t necessarily indicate that Conte is displeased. It could just as easily be the case that he understands that the squad needs to be re-shaped in a gradual process.

It’s perfectly reasonable to say that we had a good (but not great) window that has left us well short of competing against the likes of City, and that the process of improvement needs to continue from this point.

 

[Freddie]

In which areas are we left short?

RWB?
We have 3 RWBs, this is real world with real money, not FM.

Need to get rid of at least one of Royal/Doherty and besides which RWB that would improve our XI is out there?

Hakimi?


LCB?
Its apparent Bastoni is not that keen on joining us, certainly less keen than Kane joining City last season. Hence its more down to the player than the price tag

Gvardiol did not even join Chelsea, so that speaks volumns.

Lenglet’s loan always meant that this position is slated for next season cos the prime target Bastoni wasnt available.

Liverpool are lauded for waiting on Virgil, Allison but some of our fan base are plain impatient just cos “its not their money”


AM?
Maddison and Zaniolo also did not show enough desire to join us, some would point to Paqueta for £35m, and these same lot would be the ones cheering Ndombele’s move before jeering him 3 years later.


Signing just anyone on deadline day will mean bloating the squad further should our prime targets become available.

Look at the big picture and not knee jerk

To suggest there are no RWB's out there better than Royal is a bit of a stretch. We did some good business but to not sign decent a RWB that improves our first team and that Conte is willing to use was a disappointment.

 

[Tucker]

To suggest there are no RWB's out there better than Royal is a bit of a stretch. We did some good business but to not sign decent RWB that improves our first team and that Conte is willing to use was a disappointment.

Care to name some realistic targets?

 

[Freddie]

Those quotes don’t necessarily indicate that Conte is displeased. It could just as easily be the case that he understands that the squad needs to be re-shaped in a gradual process.

It’s perfectly reasonable to say that we had a good (but not great) window that has left us well short of competing against the likes of City, and that the process of improvement needs to continue from this point.

Either that or he agrees with a lot of people commenting here that we could have done more but keep getting shot down for daring to say so.