One of the most baffling things to come out of the last summer transfer window was our activity (or inactivity) when it came to transfers involving attacking players. Let's quickly recap what we did:
-We sold Gylfi Sigurdsson, who provided 5 league goals, which accounted for roughly 10% of our goal output last season. Sigurdsson was one of the only squad members who has the ability to strike the ball with both feet.
-We sold Lewis Holtby, who contributed assists in Europa League matches, helping us comfortably qualify and leave first choice players at home to rest for league matches.
I think most people weren't overly upset with the thought of these two players being sold earlier in the summer, but I'm guessing that was based on everyone's assumption that we would at least bring in ONE attacking player to replace them. Instead we did nothing. No wing forward. No creative midfielder. No pacey winger. Nothing. This has been a problem for us, as Lennon and Townsend just don't have the end product we need to win games in a system where Pochettino employs two non-goal scoring midfielders. This means Pochettino has to do things like play Lamela in must win Europa group stage matches at home if we want to assure a victory, as our alternatives on the bench have been abysmal for a lengthy stretch of time. It also means that our options in games like today are limited when we are chasing a game and need a goal.
So the root of the issue is this: why did we not bring in an attacking player to help bolster our options? There certainly were plenty available we were linked with, so I don't think it went completely unnoticed that we needed some freshening up in our forward options. Is it a monetary issue? Was it an issue of us wanting one target and willing to chance missing out completely on us somehow signing Jay Rodriguez in January (which I think has little chance of happening)? If it was a monetary issue, why did we not opt for a few quality, experienced loan/free signings? Affelay, Song, Eto'o, Cambiasso on a free all would've had HUGE impacts on this squad. Our last quality loan signing turned out pretty well, so why not bring in these players who are proven and have leadership in spades, with no transfer outlay?
I fear the changes that need to be made to help address the holes in the squad can't be made until next summer, but those changes, based on recent evidence, will be subject to us being able to sell to buy (which could mean Lloris and others). In today's EPL, where the likes of West Ham, Hull, and Everton all have net spend between 25-30 million pounds, it's going to be tougher to compete (finish top 6 at the least) going forward if we are entirely reliant on incoming transfer fees from our best players to balance our outgoing transfer fees to really improve the squad.
-We sold Gylfi Sigurdsson, who provided 5 league goals, which accounted for roughly 10% of our goal output last season. Sigurdsson was one of the only squad members who has the ability to strike the ball with both feet.
-We sold Lewis Holtby, who contributed assists in Europa League matches, helping us comfortably qualify and leave first choice players at home to rest for league matches.
I think most people weren't overly upset with the thought of these two players being sold earlier in the summer, but I'm guessing that was based on everyone's assumption that we would at least bring in ONE attacking player to replace them. Instead we did nothing. No wing forward. No creative midfielder. No pacey winger. Nothing. This has been a problem for us, as Lennon and Townsend just don't have the end product we need to win games in a system where Pochettino employs two non-goal scoring midfielders. This means Pochettino has to do things like play Lamela in must win Europa group stage matches at home if we want to assure a victory, as our alternatives on the bench have been abysmal for a lengthy stretch of time. It also means that our options in games like today are limited when we are chasing a game and need a goal.
So the root of the issue is this: why did we not bring in an attacking player to help bolster our options? There certainly were plenty available we were linked with, so I don't think it went completely unnoticed that we needed some freshening up in our forward options. Is it a monetary issue? Was it an issue of us wanting one target and willing to chance missing out completely on us somehow signing Jay Rodriguez in January (which I think has little chance of happening)? If it was a monetary issue, why did we not opt for a few quality, experienced loan/free signings? Affelay, Song, Eto'o, Cambiasso on a free all would've had HUGE impacts on this squad. Our last quality loan signing turned out pretty well, so why not bring in these players who are proven and have leadership in spades, with no transfer outlay?
I fear the changes that need to be made to help address the holes in the squad can't be made until next summer, but those changes, based on recent evidence, will be subject to us being able to sell to buy (which could mean Lloris and others). In today's EPL, where the likes of West Ham, Hull, and Everton all have net spend between 25-30 million pounds, it's going to be tougher to compete (finish top 6 at the least) going forward if we are entirely reliant on incoming transfer fees from our best players to balance our outgoing transfer fees to really improve the squad.
