Uncharted territory

[HotspurFC1950]

The next step is can we play with the current intensity thoughout the season?

Thats what Manure have done. Thats what Chelski did.

Is our squad good enough ?

A lot of games at Xmas and New Year too.

We talk about squad depth. Is it good enough to keep these winning ways ?

Is Rose good enough as back up left back ?

Bassong is not good enough as center back back up and what about Charlie at right back if needs be ?

Pienaar for Lennon or Bale ? ....nup

Livermore for Parker or Modric ? ....nup

Sandro ? Is he gonna be fit ? He is no Modric.

Pav ? nah

Teams are as strong as their weakest player.

BUT....if we are not hit by injuries to Parker, Modric, Bale, Lennon, Kaboul all at the same time then thats a different story.

We have not been in this situation for a very long while of actually vying to win the League.

The great thing is that it should leave us with less worries about finishing somewhere in the top four and push on again next season.

Mental intensity game in game out from regulars and fill-ins will be all important.

COYS

 

[3Dnata]

At the moment I think without Ade we could slip back to the sort of stuff we had at the end of last season (and against PAOK). Anelka could be a short term stop gap but I'd rather see us get a long term replacement that we own.

 

[HotspurFC1950]

At the moment I think without Ade we could slip back to the sort of stuff we had at the end of last season (and against PAOK). Anelka could be a short term stop gap but I'd rather see us get a long term replacement that we own.

Agreed !

 

[lifeof...]

I think your post is quiet simplistic..... you mention Bassong, But not the fact of Dawson coming back, also Kranny. for example.

and this bit....

BUT....if we are not hit by injuries to Parker, Modric, Bale, Lennon, Kaboul all at the same time then thats a different story.

is a little ridiculous, any team losing 5 key players at the same time, 3 of those arguable world class. would struggle. Any Player not is the starting 11 is the back up to 1st choice, therefore deemed not as good (of course that is a POV argument, But it is H's choice) So any replacement is either a "can do a job", or a good replacement. eg Sandro for Parker.

We have not been in this situation for a very long while of actually vying to win the League.

Well we have, we have been 2nd before you know. But right now, with our current position. how we are playing. and our fixture list till the end of Jan, does open the door to the impossible dream.

 

[davros]

I hope we can keep our form and intensity, but we will slip up against a 'poor' team before the end of the season. Next game is Stoke away (I think), and I feel quite confident we can get three points there.

Don't underestimate the strength of our squad. As long as we don't have a lot of injuries at once, I think we'll be ok. A couple of good signings in January might be smart business, though.

Teams are as strong as their weakest player.

No, they aren't.

 

[brasil_spur]

At the moment I think without Ade we could slip back to the sort of stuff we had at the end of last season (and against PAOK). Anelka could be a short term stop gap but I'd rather see us get a long term replacement that we own.

If we buy Anelka in Jan then we're covered until the summer, if we can't tie Manu into a permenant deal then we need to find a replacement for him, whilst still having Anelka as back-up.

 

[nailsy]

I think we've got a great squad and we've got decent back-ups for most positions. If we make one or two very good signings in the transfer window then we can keep the pressure on the Manchester clubs.

 

[lifeof...]

If we buy Anelka in Jan then we're covered until the summer, if we can't tie Manu into a permenant deal then we need to find a replacement for him, whilst still having Anelka as back-up.

Don't disagree with this, thou you mean Man C Or sign a top notch anyway, if poss. We do need cover for Ade now....and before anyone even thinks about saying Pav....Don't

 

[Legacy]

Cudicini and Gomes are more than able back up should we lose Friedel to injury.
Corluka, while having different strengths and weaknesses, is probably still a better defender than Walker.
You're never going to replace King with an equal player, but Gallas is a decent option for now.
Dawson can come in for Kaboul soon.
Sandro for Parker is simple enough.
Modric, like King, is impossible to replace, but Huddlestone coming back offers a reasonable alternative.
Kranjcar for van der Vaart is something a lot of us have wanted to see for a while. And Gio, I guess.
Lennon and Bale are hard to replace because of their pace. Townsend and Pienaar are quick though, and I've been impressed with Falque.
Losing Adebayor means we're stuck with Defoe or Pav, which is the swap that would really hurt us.

Any team, perhaps barring City, that loses their first choice player will see a noticeable drop in quality in their replacement. What Harry and the coaching staff really need to do is make sure that the players filling in are fit, sharp and hungry enough to slot straight into the team without showing signs of rust, which I think is where our main problem will lie.

Of the players who aren't in our first choice XI, only Defoe gets regular and consistent game time with the first team.

 

[spursgirls]

If we buy Anelka in Jan then we're covered until the summer, if we can't tie Manu into a permenant deal then we need to find a replacement for him, whilst still having Anelka as back-up.

Don't disagree with this, thou you mean Man C Or sign a top notch anyway, if poss. We do need cover for Ade now....and before anyone even thinks about saying Pav....Don't

I think he meant Manu as in Emmanuel Adebayor!

With King now injured, I worry a bit more. It's surprising how we have come to rely on him again. Thank goodness Gallas is fit again though. I do worry about injuries to key players, but you have to keep the faith and if they do get injured, we have to deal with it, same as anyone else.

 

[dynamoSpurs]

We need Thudd back! He is the only one (including Kranny) that can create chances for us and give us a bit of flair in the middle... What's his status?

 

[fazza]

If we do sign Vertonghen that will put an end to Bassong anyway. Anelka would be a decent option on lets say an 18 month contract especially if Pavlyuchenko does leave in January, Will give us a year and a half to scout and find the right player. Demba Ba is interesting me a lot at the moment, Will be interesting to see if he can continue in the same form he's shown at Newcastle.

 

[There's always next year]

Anelka won't come to sit on the bench, which while Adebayor is fit and playing will be his only option. He'll also being looking a wage parity, which again will make it difficult as he is alleged to earn £100K.

If we got Damiao in January, we could bed him slowly, and if for any reason Adebayor is out, could come into the team. It will also prepare him for the following season, when he can become Adebayor's replacement.

 

[ealingspur]

I dont think the point of "is pienaar as good as bale" or "is bassong as good as king" is valid. It's a squad/team game. Defoe isn't as good as VDV, but the system shifts to accomodate him, as it would if we need to bring Hudd/Sandro in. If Kaboul is out, but we have gallas and dawson, we'll be ok for a few games. Rose could sub in for a couple of games because we can compensate in other ways.

 

[StartingPrice]

The next step is can we play with the current intensity thoughout the season?

Thats what Manure have done - quite often, they have dropped in intensity and somehow won games on auto-pilot. Thats what Chelski did - yeah, a high intensity of dullness. What these teams have done is ground results out and won games throughout a season, not maintained ahigh intensity of performance throughout the season.

Is our squad good enough ? ???

A lot of games at Xmas and New Year too. :hump::hump::hump:

We talk about squad depth. Is it good enough to keep these winning ways ? ???

Is Rose good enough as back up left back ? Before teh PAOK game I would have said yes, but how much of that performance was down to being exposed by a young, inexperienced team, bulked out with non-first teamers, borderline first teams (some of whom were returning from injury), and one single first teamer - returning from sickness.

Bassong is not good enough as center back back up and what about Charlie at right back if needs be ? Bassong is, when all of our centre-halves are fir, are fifth choice for that position - we have King, Gallas, Kaboul and Dawson ahead of him. I can't answer for the Charlie situation as we don't know tht he will be sold. If he isn't I believe he is clearly good enough to compete with Walker.

Pienaar for Lennon or Bale ? ....nup Based on what? He has been bought to be a useful utility player because he takes up one bench position but can cover right across the midfield. he isn't here to be better in any one position that Bale, Modric, Parker or Lennon. He wasn't fully integrated into the squad when he got injured, and on Wednesday night wad not that bad, in incredibly difficult circumstances. I rate him quite highly. Besides, Krankjar is also cover for Bale, so it would be likely that if Bale got injured Pienaar would still be on the bench as cover across the midfield.

Livermore for Parker or Modric ? ....nup Livermore is third choice cover for Parker, after Sandro.

Sandro ? Is he gonna be fit ? He is no Modric. Sandro is, currently, seconds choice behinid Parker, and fantastic cover. If needs be, he can play alongside Parker (as demonstrated recently - when we lost VDV as well and still ran out comfortable winners).

Pav ? nah Well, yeah, but, firstly, Pav usually does score when he comes in, even if he is turd in other ways, and is likely to be replaced if sold. But, again, you are being massively selective. Pav is 4th choice behind Adebayor, VDV and Defoe - you make it seem that a thin veil is keeping him from the first team.

Teams are as strong as their weakest player. Are they - so we are as strong as our 25th squad player...not sure I accept that.

BUT....if we are not hit by injuries to Parker, Modric, Bale, Lennon, Kaboul all at the same time then thats a different story. And we will be getting some very effective squad players back from injury, soon. You can't ask a question with ramifications over the whole season, and consider that our first team players could be injured at any time in that season, and then ignore these players just because they are currently out injured.

We have not been in this situation for a very long while of actually vying to win the League. This is correct.

The great thing is that it should leave us with less worries about finishing somewhere in the top four and push on again next season.

Mental intensity game in game out from regulars and fill-ins will be all important.

COYS

Don't agree with your analysis at all. You are being incredibly selective to make our actually very strong squad appear as though it is very thin by painting worst case scenarios, leaving players out who need to be included, trying to shoe-players into rthe wrong positions/make players appear like they are on the verge of the first team when they are nowhere near it and (IMHO) massively underrating players and failing to understand their role in the squad.