Where do we go from here? (End of this season and next)

[piedpiper]

the rot started lasted year when we signed 7 players of which most we did not need, with the Gareth Bale money we should have brought in maximum of 4 top players, from our summer buys I would only keep Eriksen(sp) and Capoue.

for next season a new manager (like LVG working with Sherwood) sell Chadli, Penaldado, Paulinho, and Lennon (whose time is up). I would also like us to go on a run of 4 defeats and 3 draws ( controversial I know )and pray we end seventh ( only so as not to get Europa league football) look at what it has done for Liverpool not playing in that useless competition.

we blew the one opportunity we had with buying the wrong type of players in the beginning of the season. for the life of me I cannot understand, see or reason how Paulinho/Chadli/Lamela have strengthen us as a team. I can understand the Penaldado purchase and accept that it just has not worked for us with him.

 

[Doctor Dinkey]

Sorry pied piper but we will almost certainly have to finish eighth to avoid the dreaded Europa.

 

[Nebby]

No manager will make top four with this squad. After all that money spent we are weak in too many key areas: left back, central defence, central midfield and up front. In some areas we lack talent, in others we don't have the right kind of players.

 

[luptic]

The sad thing about it is, we cant start over again until we appoint a manager. As there is no point in planning on what to do until he is appointed. If its LVG and if its after the world cup, that mid July, so how could you assess what is needed etc then? We are already behind.
Secondly LVG is a manager that would stay 2/3 seasons, he is 62 so he is hardly going to be long term(but i suppose none of our recent managers have seen past two years) . We need someone young, who if doing well is kept on to succeed at the club. Thats why i would get in FDB or someone similar.

As for the players, sort it out once and for all, two many square pegs in round holes being used at present.

 

[easley91]

We still have 3 months left of the season. Let's just see how it goes from here, because I don't know about the rest of you but all I'm caring about now is the Europa League and Benfica on Thursday. If Sherwood is to be leaving in the summer, I'd love it if he could win us a European trophy on the way out. Show that this squad is good enough, just hasn't played well enough until now. We have nowhere near a full strength squad thanks to injuries and suspensions. Had we had all those fully fit and able to play, I'd reckon we'd be much better off than we are.

 

[whitesocks]

Surely that would require us to dramatically better arse or pools form? I will eat my phone if we beat one of those 2 to 4th. Call me defeatist, whatever. The reality is bar an utter miracle it is not happening

Morally we absolutely do not deserve top 4.
We have been beaten and often humiliated in most of our top 4 clashes.
But it is a league, not a knock-out.

We are just 1 point off our record prem total with a home game in hand.
For all the misery and managerial mental breakdowns, this could/should be our best prem campaign ever.
The high-line is gaining us more points on average. This dull team of AVB's workhorses is doing better than the vdv and modric encrusted teams of legend. (I know who I'd rather watch though..)

Remember, these top sides can falter at the death of their seasons, when their dream of winning things lies in tatters. We need to make sure we beat who we should beat and set the bar as high as possible.
If you do not buy a lottery ticket.....

 

[Jimbolio]

I would argue he didn't invest anything at all, as our income was something similar to our expenditure. It's not his fault but the players we bought in have had very little impact on our season, and we have a £60m hole where Lamela and Soldado should be,

Fair point. I've no idea what's happened to Lamela, must be having a tough time with the transition but hopefully it'll work out for him

 

[Scottish Spur]

Don't recall ever feeling so downhearted about Spurs as I do this morning. We have to move forward. For me, I'd like the club is move on with the word 'honesty' as the focus for its improvement.

Honesty on the playing side. We know Naughton, Dawson, Rose, Townsend, Lennon, Sigurdsson etc aren't top four class. We knew it before the season if we're honest. Time to be up front about things. Is our aim to be top four or is our aim to be a comfortable top 6 side, with the occasional challenge ? If it's the latter, then these players are fine. If it's the former then they need to go.

Transfer dealings. This is where I really think ENIC take the fans for a ride. We now have a decade of evidence that ENIC are solely focused on profit. Off the top of my head, we've got the obsession with bargains in transfer windows, we've got the sale of nearly every top player we produce or develop. I contrast this with Liverpool. They faced the crossroads in the summer. Suarez in demand and release clause matched. Their response ? He still isn't going, despite the money offered. Look at us. From Carrick, Modric and Bale to the inevitable Lloris and Vertonghen, we sell at profit consistently. There's nothing particularly wrong in this except we maintain the same demands of top four and sack managers when it isn't achieved. What could we have achieved this season had we spent £50m AND kept Bale ? Imagine if we still had Modric alongside Sandro and Paulinho/Eriksen. We cannot keep up the 'elite' rhetoric whilst we clearly place more importance on the balance sheet.

Managers. We aren't going anywhere whilst we continue sacking managers. I hated Redknapp with a passion but we sacked a guy who had us playing incredibly entertaining football and getting us up there. We had 3rd in the league sewn up before the court case/England desires came along. 3rd in the league. Now look at us. AVB was dismissed despite a record points haul and being on target to beat it again this season. We replaced him with a guy with no experience. I mean, how can this be productive ? Where's the long term planning ? We sell our best players from under the feet of managers and maintain the same demands. When they inevitably aren't attained, we sack the manager and start the whole fucking process again. It's so ill thought out and unprofessional that I'm astounded we've stood for it for so long.

The stadium. This is a real shambles. I'd accept the flogging of all our top stars at a profit if I could see the foundations and structure of our modern, world class stadium that is going to put us in with the big boys. However, I can't. I read all the articles and hear all the talk but there's nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where's all the money going ? Again, all that is required is honesty. If the club spoke and kept their fans in the loop, much of this bad feeling would go away sharpish but they don't.

Attitudes. Confiscating an Israeli flag and then allowing a North Korean one. The 'Y' word debacle. The constant, deafening, silence. The Stubhub rip off. What the fuck is going on at Tottenham ? What do the board really want ? The board have caused this entire situation. The whole lot of it. It isn't Redknapp's fault. It isn't AVB's and nor is it Sherwood's. They didn't want to sell Modric, Bale, VDV etc. They didn't promise us a new ground. They aren't confiscating flags or charging absurd fees for tickets. It all stems from Levy and unless we open our eyes to it, we aren't going anywhere.

So, in a nutshell, I want some honesty. I want to know why we are left with this relic of a football club. This isn't what Bill Nick created. This isn't the club I watched Gazza represent, with the widest smile in football and the utter feel good factor everywhere. This isn't even the lot I saw Klinsmann diving for at Sheff Wed. What would Danny Blanchflower think of this 'club' ? Would Ricky Villa have been at Spurs to score THAT goal at Wembley or would we have flogged him on to the highest bidder by then ?

This is it for me. Spurs has an identity. It is Tottenham Hotspur, one of the grandest fucking football clubs in the entire world. It is not a small organisation that Levy and co have any right to take the piss out of to fill their own pockets. Time for honesty. Where is this club going ? Because if it isn't to the top, then I want new owners. I want someone that will tell Bale he's giving us one more year whether he likes it or not. I want someone that knows Kyle Naughton isn't a PL full back and isn't going to sack a manager halfway through a year so we can send Tim Sherwood to blow up when we get a royal dicking at Chelsea. Where is this new ground and is it even coming ? Because if it isn't, then you can go now and start apologising to every single Spurs supporter that you've had dancing to your tune for years. Either behave in the Tottenham manner or go away because right now, this isn't Tottenham Hotspur.

 

[Lilbaz]

Get some fans who support the team. Who don't cry and call for everyone to be got rid of when we lose. Who sing at games and don't boo.

That would do for me.

 

[shelfboy68]

The sad thing about it is, we cant start over again until we appoint a manager. As there is no point in planning on what to do until he is appointed. If its LVG and if its after the world cup, that mid July, so how could you assess what is needed etc then? We are already behind.
Secondly LVG is a manager that would stay 2/3 seasons, he is 62 so he is hardly going to be long term(but i suppose none of our recent managers have seen past two years) . We need someone young, who if doing well is kept on to succeed at the club. Thats why i would get in FDB or someone similar.

As for the players, sort it out once and for all, two many square pegs in round holes being used at present.

Mid to late July won't be a problem as we don't start buying anyone until the last week or the last day.

 

[Drexl]

Buy some mentally strong players who would run through a brick wall for us, mental strength is what the new manager needs to look for in players above anything else.

I don't mean buy a team of Charlie Adam's but the core players all need to have a ruthless streak

Make Sandro captain too

 

[Syn_13]

Buy some mentally strong players who would run through a brick wall for us, mental strength is what the new manager needs to look for in players above anything else.

I don't mean buy a team of Charlie Adam's but the core players all need to have a ruthless streak

Make Sandro captain too

100% behind Sandro as captain. A lot of people say Vertonghen because of his experience as captain with Ajax but, as much as I do like him and value him, I just don't think he seems the right kind of character on the pitch for it, in fact I think I'd rather Kaboul who has more of a commanding presence. Dawson is the opposite, a great character lacking the ability to lead by example. Sandro personifies both. A true fighter and one of our best players. Lloris would be a good shout too.

 

[Flashspur]

After Chelsea I honestly don't care who leaves. If they want to, then they should go. And if Verts wants the taxi fare he can feck off now as I can cover it. Barcelona - you are having a laugh, right?

I'd give TS another season just for the hell of it. I dont think LVG is the panacea for all that is wrong at this club. In fact I can see another accident waiting to happen if we appoint him. The longest tenure he has had anywhere before it all starts to go sour is 36 months apart from his first stint at Ajax.

 

[dougie]

Guys, I've got it.

Let's get another bargain from RM. Maybe they'll give us back Modric for 8.5 million? Fuck it. Let's offer the next wonderkid from Argentina 100k a weeK, a 5 year deal AND a 40 million transfer fee. If it didn't work out with Lamela then spend even more until it does work?

Sack the whole current squad, because they're all greedy buggers only in it for the money and they really hate us ordinary folk. Especially that backup full back Naughton. How dare he not put in Roberto Carlos esque performances. Don't get me started on that Dembele. Always getting beasted by players of higher value and ability. HOW DARE HE.

 

[THX2208]

 

[shelfboy68]

Morally we absolutely do not deserve top 4.
We have been beaten and often humiliated in most of our top 4 clashes.
But it is a league, not a knock-out.

We are just 1 point off our record prem total with a home game in hand.
For all the misery and managerial mental breakdowns, this could/should be our best prem campaign ever.
The high-line is gaining us more points on average. This dull team of AVB's workhorses is doing better than the vdv and modric encrusted teams of legend. (I know who I'd rather watch though..)

Remember, these top sides can falter at the death of their seasons, when their dream of winning things lies in tatters. We need to make sure we beat who we should beat and set the bar as high as possible.
If you do not buy a lottery ticket.....

Let's cut out all the shit and say with some certainty we are not getting top four this season or for the foreseeable.

 

[Tom Pops]

Which key players? Serious question, which of these players are key to THFC right now?

Personally I would let any player in this team go if they wanted to. My opinion for most of this season now is that the problem is not with any manager, coach, or Levy. It's these players, there is no display of character, passion, leadership, or desire with any of them. Any new manager should be given carte blanche to tear this team apart and completely rebuild.

Sandro fits that mould. Just wish he would stay fit long enough.

I do agree though. Is Lloris replaceable? Is Vertonghen replaceable? Probably. I was thinking we didn't need Elvis after signing The Beatles so I can''t say anything for sure.

 

[shelfboy68]

Don't recall ever feeling so downhearted about Spurs as I do this morning. We have to move forward. For me, I'd like the club is move on with the word 'honesty' as the focus for its improvement.

Honesty on the playing side. We know Naughton, Dawson, Rose, Townsend, Lennon, Sigurdsson etc aren't top four class. We knew it before the season if we're honest. Time to be up front about things. Is our aim to be top four or is our aim to be a comfortable top 6 side, with the occasional challenge ? If it's the latter, then these players are fine. If it's the former then they need to go.

Transfer dealings. This is where I really think ENIC take the fans for a ride. We now have a decade of evidence that ENIC are solely focused on profit. Off the top of my head, we've got the obsession with bargains in transfer windows, we've got the sale of nearly every top player we produce or develop. I contrast this with Liverpool. They faced the crossroads in the summer. Suarez in demand and release clause matched. Their response ? He still isn't going, despite the money offered. Look at us. From Carrick, Modric and Bale to the inevitable Lloris and Vertonghen, we sell at profit consistently. There's nothing particularly wrong in this except we maintain the same demands of top four and sack managers when it isn't achieved. What could we have achieved this season had we spent £50m AND kept Bale ? Imagine if we still had Modric alongside Sandro and Paulinho/Eriksen. We cannot keep up the 'elite' rhetoric whilst we clearly place more importance on the balance sheet.

Managers. We aren't going anywhere whilst we continue sacking managers. I hated Redknapp with a passion but we sacked a guy who had us playing incredibly entertaining football and getting us up there. We had 3rd in the league sewn up before the court case/England desires came along. 3rd in the league. Now look at us. AVB was dismissed despite a record points haul and being on target to beat it again this season. We replaced him with a guy with no experience. I mean, how can this be productive ? Where's the long term planning ? We sell our best players from under the feet of managers and maintain the same demands. When they inevitably aren't attained, we sack the manager and start the whole fucking process again. It's so ill thought out and unprofessional that I'm astounded we've stood for it for so long.

The stadium. This is a real shambles. I'd accept the flogging of all our top stars at a profit if I could see the foundations and structure of our modern, world class stadium that is going to put us in with the big boys. However, I can't. I read all the articles and hear all the talk but there's nothing. Absolutely nothing. Where's all the money going ? Again, all that is required is honesty. If the club spoke and kept their fans in the loop, much of this bad feeling would go away sharpish but they don't.

Attitudes. Confiscating an Israeli flag and then allowing a North Korean one. The 'Y' word debacle. The constant, deafening, silence. The Stubhub rip off. What the fuck is going on at Tottenham ? What do the board really want ? The board have caused this entire situation. The whole lot of it. It isn't Redknapp's fault. It isn't AVB's and nor is it Sherwood's. They didn't want to sell Modric, Bale, VDV etc. They didn't promise us a new ground. They aren't confiscating flags or charging absurd fees for tickets. It all stems from Levy and unless we open our eyes to it, we aren't going anywhere.

So, in a nutshell, I want some honesty. I want to know why we are left with this relic of a football club. This isn't what Bill Nick created. This isn't the club I watched Gazza represent, with the widest smile in football and the utter feel good factor everywhere. This isn't even the lot I saw Klinsmann diving for at Sheff Wed. What would Danny Blanchflower think of this 'club' ? Would Ricky Villa have been at Spurs to score THAT goal at Wembley or would we have flogged him on to the highest bidder by then ?

This is it for me. Spurs has an identity. It is Tottenham Hotspur, one of the grandest fucking football clubs in the entire world. It is not a small organisation that Levy and co have any right to take the piss out of to fill their own pockets. Time for honesty. Where is this club going ? Because if it isn't to the top, then I want new owners. I want someone that will tell Bale he's giving us one more year whether he likes it or not. I want someone that knows Kyle Naughton isn't a PL full back and isn't going to sack a manager halfway through a year so we can send Tim Sherwood to blow up when we get a royal dicking at Chelsea. Where is this new ground and is it even coming ? Because if it isn't, then you can go now and start apologising to every single Spurs supporter that you've had dancing to your tune for years. Either behave in the Tottenham manner or go away because right now, this isn't Tottenham Hotspur.

You said it no clarity or leadership on or off the pitch a laughing stock of the PL.

 

[Tom Pops]

Give whoever is in charge in he summer TIME, TIME and more TIME. Whoever it is needs to get his players in. He'd also need to inject some style and a bit of bollocks in to the team. That's not going to happen overnight.

If Levy really wants Van Gaal then he needs to make it perfectly clear that Van Gaal would have the benefit of plenty of time to improve, and we're not just talking about 4 months to play sexy football otherwise you're out.

The best possible thing that could happen to us in the summer, imo, would not be a new manager, not any big-named fancy new players, but a new mentality in our chairman's head. No more trigger fingers and, regardless of whether we have Frank De Boer or Louis Van Gaal or Tim Sherwood, we can actually progress.

 

[The Scarecrow]

This supposed English core we have is rotten. Seriously someone put up a compelling argument for Rose/Dawson/Naughton/Lennon/Townsend to be part of our first team squad next season....

The homegrown quota.