would a spurs team with no english players in it bother you?

[C0YS]

When I hear the likes of Bridge and Konchesky attempt communication, I wonder how many English players have GCSE English.

I can tell you that out of the 6 players in are school who are being signed in the youth acadamies of the football leagues (one PL club one) only 2-3 of them have a chance of getting a English GSCE...but I think its a different thing when your abroad

 

[dcarney75]

But what if they won the title with that team?

Call me cynical, but I suspect no-one would care!

 

[doowaa]

Call me cynical, but I suspect no-one would care!

So then it wouldn't bother you? Thats what I'm asking.

 

[milkman]

Tottenham will always have at least one English player in the 1st XI...
so it will never happen

 

[Kendall]

Yea, because I think you need a mix.

 

[dcarney75]

So then it wouldn't bother you?

Not at all. I'd be much more concerned with the way we played. If we won the league playing dour stuff with a load of foreigners that would feel slightly hollow, but it would be the style of football rather than where the players were from which would make me feel like that.

Any tradition this club can be said to have is based on a specific style of play, a drive to entertain and excite the fans. I'd much rather we be known for that than for where our players were born.

If anything pre-Premiership era, we were looking overseas long before the likes of Chelsea were - Villa/Ardiles, Claesen, Metgod, Chiedozie etc... - so I really don't think any tradition/longstanding reputation we can be said to have is geographically grounded in any way.

At the end of the day, if the man's wearing a shirt with a cockerel on it and giving his all, that's enough for me!

 

[don1]

wouldnt care if they were from mars once we were winning

 

[doowaa]

Not at all. I'd be much more concerned with the way we played. If we won the league playing dour stuff with a load of foreigners that would feel slightly hollow, but it would be the style of football rather than where the players were from which would make me feel like that.

Any tradition this club can be said to have is based on a specific style of play, a drive to entertain and excite the fans. I'd much rather we be known for that than for where our players were born.

If anything pre-Premiership era, we were looking overseas long before the likes of Chelsea were - Villa/Ardiles, Claesen, Metgod, Chiedozie etc... - so I really don't think any tradition/longstanding reputation we can be said to have is geographically grounded in any way.

At the end of the day, if the man's wearing a shirt with a cockerel on it and giving his all, that's enough for me!

Right I agree with you that we've had a tradition of being linked with overseas players before others were. But the fact is in this present climate of loads of foreign players in the big teams and us being linked with loads as well are we not in danger of losing our soul as an English team doing well with english players.

I'd much prefer our summer targets to include Bentley, young and barry. Call me pretentious but I beliveve this is the spurs way.

 

[rez9000]

I think there should be a cap on foreign players in the Premiership in the interests of English international football. But if the rest of the Prem is succeeding with foreign players, then sign 'em up!

 

[dcarney75]

are we not in danger of losing our soul as an English team doing well with english players.

I'm not sure that our 'soul' could ever be described like that.

I'm not advocating foreign over English or vice versa - I'm saying that for me, and in the context of what I believe to be the club's tradition or soul, geography doesn't matter - Ginola is more 'Spurs' than Ruel Fox, just as Lineker is more 'Spurs' than Mido.

I'd love to get Bentley or Barry this summer, but I'd also love to get Eto'o and Capel.

Good footballers are good footballers, and someone from Ecuador could encapsulate what this club's about better than someone from Edmonton, and vice versa.

 

[tommo84]

in this present climate of loads of foreign players in the big teams and us being linked with loads as well are we not in danger of losing our soul as an English team doing well with english players.

I think you're jumping the gun big time. Yes we're being linked with foreign players, but most of it is just paper talk based 99% on the fact we have a Spanish coach. The signings we made in January of Woodgate and Hutton suggest that Levy and Comolli are still not prepared to abandon their pro-British transfer policy. The likelihood is that of the foreign players we bring in this summer, the majority of those will be replacing foreigners we already have at the club who are bound for the exits (i.e Berbatov, Chimbonda, Tainio, Kaboul) rather than the British talent we have at the club, with the obvious exception of Robinson and the possible (but imo unlikely) exception of Lennon. So come next season, when Ramos will have made his biggest wholesale changes, we will still have an impressive array of British talent to boast.

As to whether it bothers me that we're targetting foreigners - depends who they are. If we're looking abroad purely fo the Modric's and Eto'o's of this world then us targetting them does not represent a shift in transfer policy, but rather a shift in ambitions. It used to be that a club tried to compete in their domestic league first, and when they achieved that they then looked to Europe. These days you have to treat them one and the same and so competing in the EPL requires the same ambition as competing in Europe. To sum up, these days you have to become a global force on the pitch before you can even compete in your own back yard. Signings like Dawson and Huddlestone don't achieve that. Signings like Modric and Eto'o just might.

 

[Bulletspur]

As long as we were getting the results, a spurs team consisting entirely of mutes would not bother me.

 

[muffwah]

good foreign players > shit english players

shit foreign players < good english players

There's my answer.

 

[PLTuck]

I would rather forever come 5th or 6th in the league with 4-6 British players in the regular starting 11, than win it every year with no British players.

We are a british owned, English Premier League club, which is based in the capital city of England. Having no regular English, or even British players would just feel so wrong.

Think I'd throw my support to Woking if Spurs ever got to the stage where we had no British regulars.

 

[Bingy]

What is the big problem with having the BEST players at our club? I am not on any way interested in the quality, or perceived quality, of the England team. I am a YID and I am only interested in where THFC end each season. IF, in the future, there are players who warrant a WC description....I would encourage their inclusion in the THFC squad....but not just because they are black, white or yellow....or whatever. This is a new European game....nay, a World game, so we need to play '11 of the best' in each and every game....The England team will be no better or worse as a result. There was no marked improvement in the 70's when there was a largely British (and Rep /Ireland) ONLY playing population. The influx of better 'foreign' players has revolutionized British soccer beyond belief. IF the players are good enough they will be chosen in their first 11....if not, TOUGH Titty! COYS!

 

[dynamoSpurs]

No.

On the contrary, I'd prefer an entire Brazilian team, or French, Spanish, Portuguese or Italian team. Or German team. or entire Argentinian team. Or entire Dutch team.

There aren't enough good British players. None that can rival foreign players anyways. Whilst they may be "good", you can't compare them to the best players in the world. Bently Joe Cole and Rooney? Really??? I think an English defence would be good.. But afraid it has to be all foreign after that.

....That is if you actually want Spurs to win anything...?

If you people are happy to continue mediocrity, with an English team, then I guess you're loco.

 

[worcestersauce]

Yes it would.

 

[Tottenham_OZpur]

simple answer, yes it would bother me

have had a dig at the Arse about this issue, would be hypocritical to say its ok for Spurs :wink:

 

[Bakez]

I would probably call it a day too if we consistently fielded a team with no British players in it

 

[ginola99]

In some ways yes but times have changed so NO.