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Was This Transfer Window That Bad?????

big_bear_jol

Well-Known Member
Apr 18, 2010
136
260
So another transfer window is shut and many of us are disappointed at our lack of intent in the transfer market. We've managed to get a an old yet top quality keeper, two very exciting young prospects, loaned a striker that can be unplayable, bought last season Football Writer's Player of the Year and loaned a young Spanish attacking midfielder who is yet to live up to much early promise.

Is that such a bad transfer window? Yes, many of us wanted that marquee striker signing after an impotent period for our strikers last season but have we not got a fantastic striker on board that has most if not all the attributes we want in a striker to play off VDV. In Adebayor we have a player that when centre of attention can be one of the best forwards in the premiership if not Europe, playing off one of best withdrawn forwards in the premiership.

Many of us wanted Cahill when he heard it was a possibility, but in all honesty, how many of you would have been happy to sign a defender for £15 million that had a year left on his contract if this deal had been protracted at the start of the transfer window. I know Kaboul has been defensively suspect at times, along with Dawson. However, please remember that these players were part of a squad that got us 4th in the first place. Plus we do still have Dawson, Kaboul, Bassong, Gallas, King and Huddlestone, Corluka and Sandro who could play there at a push. Add to this a quality selection of fullbacks in Walker and Corluka for the right (with Kaboul covering if needs be) and Ekotto and Rose on the left.

In midfield we have signed a 30 year - old box-to-box player who has the leadership qualities to try and halt a motivational decline that appears to sometimes take over our beloved Spurs when we go a goal down. This my fellow fans could play a big part in us not dropping out of games and give us a platform to develop the impetus to close games out. Put Parker alongside a fantastic midfield squad of Sandro (when he is back), Huddlestone, Livermore, Kranjcar, Bale, Modric, Lennon and the new loanee Falque and we have a midfield that easily has the talent to push for a 4th or 5th place. Also WE KEPT MODRIC. Yes I know his "head isn't right" but eventually it will be. Even if he is going to play in order to prove that he deserves a move and it is not doing well for Spurs that is his motivation. He is still a fantastic player that will make us tick again.

In terms of strikers we have Defoe, who yes had a terrible season last season, but he has looked very sharp when called upon in our two games this season, even if he has not yet scored. In Pav we have a player who was instrumental in the running that got us that 4th place finish. He has the ability to be a match winner and as many of us have seen, is probably more effective as an impact substitution. Finally we have Adebayor who fits the bill perfectly in terms of the attributes he has. He is able to hold the ball up with a decent first touch, can bring others into play and assist both with his head and quick feet, is effective in the box and can be a match winner.

More importantly this window we have managed to get rid of a lot of deadwood in the form of Woodgate, Bentley, Jenas, Hutton, Palacios (not necessarily deadwood but too good a player to be sitting on the bench) and Crouch (personally think people have been too harsh on him, even though it is obvious to everyone he has a lot of shortcomings). In doing this we have not only brought our wage bill down and made a few quid in transfer fees but we also will be in a better position to give a young players a go. Also just realised that GDS didn't leave in the end. I know HR hasn't been a fan (and he would know best about this), but we also have GDS who might just get a squad number and then have to perform when given the opportunity providing he could change his supposed attitude to life and football. Then maybe he could replicate the form he has for Mexico.

All in all, urge us as fans to realise what we do have rather than focus on who we didn't sign. We still have a fantastic squad that are very capable of great things. It's not necessarily the window we all wanted but it could have been worse.

I like to be a realist but also try to evaluate the positives without having the Spurs rose tinted glasses on. Please go easy on me as this is my first column
 

spud

Well-Known Member
Sep 2, 2003
5,850
8,794
No, it wasn't a bad window; for the reasons that you mention, and because when you already have good players, you are drawing from a smaller pool than many in the quest to improve.

There is, however, one glaring weakness in our squad: if Adebayor gets injured, we're screwed. If we have to rely on Defoe and Pav for goals, we can forget about challenging for a top four place. We need another decent striker, and we need him in January.
 

Kingstheman

No longer BSoDL
Mar 13, 2006
5,831
2,991
Was This Transfer Window That Bad?????

Depending on what THAT bad is (and I guess you mean very bad due to the number of question marks) then no.
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
For a specific group of people, it doesn't matter how a transfer window goes in reality. There is always going to be a flood of outlandish and false rumours that Spurs are imminently signing some unattainable player and it will reach its high-water-level in the last couple of days of the window.

These people erroneously think that the key to success for a club of our status is buying several very expensive and established players every transfer window. The false rumours get into their head and they mistake them for reality, with the result that, whatever else we have done over the previous two months, all they recall is the "failure" to sign players who were never actually going to join us. So they persist in an incurable state of disappointment tinged with rage.

I recall a year ago that many of these people's memories were so defective that we had the place full of posts furiously berating the management because "the only player we signed in the whole window was van der Vaart and that just fell into Levy's lap at the last minute". I found myself reminding them none-too-gently that we had also signed Sandro. They had completely forgotten about him within a few weeks. For these people, each transfer-window fix only lasts a few days and then they need another hit.
 

JimmyG2

SC Supporter
Dec 7, 2006
15,014
20,779
Get's better as you move further away and you get it into perspective.
Squad neatly trimmed, striker in if only for a year; midfield bolstered in the absence of Sandro though I am not a big fan of Parker, solid but limited.

Need another striker or Adabeyor will have too much responsibility.
Couple of youngsters, oh and Friedel.
Kranjcar and Bassong retained so not too much disruption.
And Modric still with us

Don't read ITK so not too involved with gossip and rumour.

I'm a manager and player holding the shirt on the pitch kind of guy.
 

Boony

Active Member
Feb 24, 2004
1,475
0
Good article. Im ok with the transfer window, and am pleased with the additions we have. Bit gutted about Cahill, but for me, we have a habit of moving players on too quickly before giving them time to settle and prove themselves. Think how many ex-Spurs play in the prem for other teams? The defence is fine, the midfield is good, and we still have a number of players, who when they hit form, will be good contributors to the season - Krancjar, Pinnear, GDS ??, Pav, Kaboul..
 

fedupyid

Well-Known Member
Dec 2, 2004
789
906
It was poor not matter how you look at it. We needed a new centre back bassong needs minutes otherwise he is going to be poor like he was last season. King and Gallas are not going to be able to put 38 games in all competitions between the two of them. Friedel is to old he has only got one season left in him if that he is a stop gap until harry gets the England job or is fired. I don't know where all spurs' cash has gone and if he is saving it for a new stadium that will not be finished to the year 2050 I give up. We took 20 years to build a new training ground because when we moved into spurs lodge it was only temporary even if we build the new stadium it will be empty if we are not competing would you spend over £900 on a season ticket for mediocracy.
 

lifeof...

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2005
2,073
248
THAT bad??? no, but it certainly wasn't a good one!

Shifting out the dead wood, well sort of as several are on loan. This was always going to be difficult to do and was always going to be at the end of transfer window, due to the 25 man rule. If the loaned players perform well, then they will become desired by other clubs and hopefully sold, if they don't then back they come...Overall I think this part of our transfer business was ok.

Getting strikers in and out....IMO we did poorly. Ade is the type of striker we needed and despite all the itk, it was clearly going to be late and quite possibly not happening, (RM decide they want him, anyone else offer man c a better deal etc) It is clear that we needed at least 2 1st 11 strikers, We didn't manage it, We have a loan player. A Loan player we are very unlikely to be able to buy (wages) If he gets injured....back to square one.You can make all the excuses / reasoning you want, but a fail is a fail.

Parker is a good signing, I can understand why this took awhile, its Wham after all. Friedel is good for a year, and I,m ok with it.

The two kids, well we will see.
 
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