Tottenham Vs Sunderland: Match Thread

[pundits folly]

It is highly unlikely that we will be spending money on high profile, established, star players this Summer, so people might sensibly stop using it as a test of our ambition before July even starts.

The test of our ambition is building a stadium. We can afford the occasional big transfer fee, but we cannot handle the wages that come with established star players, not until we have a 56k capacity and the turnover that comes with it.

So it will be business as usual: early signings like Modric and Vertonghen when there's an exciting young player who wants to come to us, but won't command star wages, plus last minute bargains.

Unless we can find an exciting striker who will work for normal wages, we'll be waiting - and waiting - until we can find someone better-than-decent who is willing to come. That might be on 10 July, but it's more likely to be on 31 August.

This isn't Levy being cheap. It's our status and our size as a club, until we have a bigger stadium.

We have a set of priorities and building a stadium is the top one. We can't do that if our wage bill gets out of proportion to our turnover. If we let that happen, no one will lend us the money for the stadium. That's the connection. The banks won't fund the stadium if we have an unsustainable business plan because of a too-high wage bill.

Where does Joe Lewis fit into this though? Isn't he mindbendingly rich?

 

[Sweetsman]

"If you don't win anything, you have had a bad season" ~ Bill Nicholson

I loathe the contempt with which Harry Redknapp viewed the Europa League, and I'm glad AVB treats it with the respect it deserves.

If we're in it, we should be in it to win it. Not using it solely as a breeding ground for our youngsters who we inevitably sell anyway.

This year SAF retired as the mos successful in English domestic football. Look at how he started and the targeting of cups. This fourth place business would be a mirage if it wasn't for the money involved. I would rather have a team with a winning mentality and cups in the cabinet.

 

[eViL]

I don't like to criticise the supporters that go every week, as it's impossible for me to do it, but the atmosphere has been a shadow of previous seasons this year.

Today it showed what the stadium is capable of - 12th man FTW!

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

We're not talking about iniesta and falcao We're talking about buying players to improve the squad Players who can score goals and/or create them Players like Berbatov & Modric when we signed them

Correct i think Lukaku scored his seventeenth goal of the season. Not bad for a bench player at the start of the season. Betenke didn't cost thirty odd million either.

 

[seanwhite1961]

What?

From that point, clearly it was in our hands.

 

[Sweetsman]

Can't blame the fans for this again this lays at the feet of the players, manager and partially levy.
Certainly not our fault we are all sick of being the bridesmaid and not the bride question is when will it stop.

Explain the away form then.

 

[seanwhite1961]

Where does Joe Lewis fit into this though? Isn't he mindbendingly rich?

Also mindbendingly greedy and mindbendingly loves golf - witness that absurd sum he paid for a round with Tiger Woods. Was it a million?

 

[will8587]

For those who say our lack of strikers was our problem this season look at the facts. We scored the same amount of goals as Man City, 66. I admit it was a problem but equally so was or inability to keep clean sheets especially at home. We threw away so many points after taking the lead and that was our real issue. Only 5 clean sheets at home all season.

Look at the facts yourself:
City strikers scored 38 of their goals (adding 12 assists). Tottenham strikers scored 16 goals (with 4 assists).

If we had strikers that were halfway decent, we'd have another 10-20 goals.

Spurs created 488 chances this season. That's third best in the league to Liverpool and City (524 and 492 chances). Nevertheless, Spurs scored the 6th most goals. United (428 chances, 88 goals), Arsenal (453 chances, 72 goals) and Chelsea (425 chances, 75 goals) were all much more efficient with their chances. Ultimately, that comes down to converting chances to goals. Our strikers were prolifically wasteful this season, and in the end that was the difference between 4th and 5th.

 

[Davo99]

We're not talking about iniesta and falcao We're talking about buying players to improve the squad Players who can score goals and/or create them Players like Berbatov & Modric when we signed them

Yeah mate I think you've completely missed the point of what I was saying..

 

[talkshowhost86]

From that point, clearly it was in our hands.

After which we lost to Fulham and drew with Wigan. Not quite sure what your point is.

 

[riggi]

Just got back. Im getting to old for this shit.

 

[chrissivad]

Look at the facts yourself:
City strikers scored 38 of their goals (adding 12 assists). Tottenham strikers scored 16 goals (with 4 assists).

Not much to go on there though.

How much game time did all the strikers have? If your not counting Bale as a striker, even if he and Dempsey both played as one for parts of the season then we have only played with 1 striker most of the time.

 

[shelfboy68]

But do you not think that it helps the players play to the best of their abilities if they haven't got their own crowd groaning, jeering and - in some cases- abusing them?

I take your point but as with anything in life there is expectation and for the third time we have gone into the last day up against arsenal and failed its not good enough and it makes me sick to go back to work and get sniggers off gooners and Blue scum.
I think the one time we got top four is our last similar to everton one season wonders I'm afraid also look at our recent cup records two semi final defeats in the fa cup plus our poor show against basle which chelsea showed us how.
Our penalty shoot out record is also a joke which like everything else I've mentioned is not bad luck its poor ability to see the job through.
Oh and also I never jeer our players I might add.

 

[shelfboy68]

Explain the away form then.

We are a better counter attacking team as we lack creativity in the side as we didn't purchase anyone simples.

 

[greaves]

Where does Joe Lewis fit into this though? Isn't he mindbendingly rich?

There's a reason for why people get mindbendingly rich. They watch how they spend their money.

 

[Francis Gibbs]

Huddlestone today - Pmsl wtf

 

[Sweetsman]

Our penalty record goes back decades

 

[Sweetsman]

We are a better counter attacking team as we lack creativity in the side as we didn't purchase anyone simples.

We lack creativity compared to last year, but that doesn't explain everything. Don't quote meerkats.

 

[Smokinhotspur]

Also mindbendingly greedy and mindbendingly loves golf - witness that absurd sum he paid for a round with Tiger Woods. Was it a million?

He paid double that US.

 

[buttons]

But do you not think that it helps the players play to the best of their abilities if they haven't got their own crowd groaning, jeering and - in some cases- abusing them?

Agree completely, for the first half of the season our home support was pretty poor.