Your title challenging side

[nicdic]

People are leaving out Palacios of their starting 11s because Huddlestone is our first choice central midfielder and Modric has to play. Doesn't mean he isn't an important part of the squad.

 

[DJS]

I'm going to go for getting Berbatov back - it's proven him and Keane are an electric strike pairing so re-unite them!

Dzeko would also be fantastic, but if Berb and Keano could reproduce their magic they are proven premiership class.

Midfield is a toughie, can't decide whether Modric on the left or the middle but probably going to go with him on the left in order to get a bit more height and physique in the middle.

I think with Bale at left back it gives us less of the predictable play with two wide wingers and gives us attacking options from left back with Modric helping to shore up the midfield being an extra central man when needed.

I'd then like someone else in the middle with a more all round game and an intelligent pass on him (Huddlestone is too hit and miss for me).


Gomes

Corkula Dawson King (Bassong) Bale

Lennon Palacios (Sandro?) Ozil Modric

Keane Berbatov

 

[kdspur]

I personally think if we can get in a really top drawer striker who will allow us to play 4-5-1 sometimes and a midfielder who could get 10-15 goals a season we would be in with a shout at the title

harry has made reference to this so many times using chelsea as his example but who are these two players? do we already have them maybe?

stating obvious but if u have a midfield player who scores 10 or more on top of at least ione striker scorong 15 or so or more you will be up there

im really at loss at who harry wud ideally like up front. we have talked to ajax about suarez last xmas but im not convinced by him to be honest, something just off for me. i think fabiano could be guy he wants to play up front on own which i think harry will play alot in champions league away games should we get there and also away to top 3 teams in league..

i would like to see fabiano and someone like ashley young come in. if not ashley young maybe ejis guy from hamburg or that turan guy. i also still feel we need someone extra in middle of park and wud love diarra

 

[THOWIG]

Jagielka, Arteta, Dzeko, Eto'o would do the trick.

Honda, Chung Yong Lee and Lukaku are positive shouts.

Has anyone on here seen Dzeko play the lone striker role? I've never.

 

[bryanabutler]

Gomes
Corluka Dawson King Bale

Lennon Huddlestone Modric Bellamy

Jovetic

one of M Gomez / Lukaku

Add to the young English players in the squad

C Wickham, P Jones, J Lewis

 

[michaelden]

Berbs, Jovetic are good shouts :clap:

 

[Yiddo1982]

People are leaving out Palacios of their starting 11s because Huddlestone is our first choice central midfielder and Modric has to play. Doesn't mean he isn't an important part of the squad.

Really? I wouldn't agree strongly with that.

 

[StockSpur]

a top class striker, a top class center back and a goalkeeper who doesnt ride fast motorbikes!

 

[nicdic]

Really? I wouldn't agree strongly with that.

Yet he was picked every game if fit...

We had the same debate last season, I can't believe people don't see him as first choice. At least now people aren't championing Jenas ahead of him.

 

[Yiddo1982]

Yet he was picked every game if fit...

We had the same debate last season, I can't believe people don't see him as first choice. At least now people aren't championing Jenas ahead of him.

But so was Palacios, bar the last couple when the team was on a roll and he was a little out-of-sorts.

Although, I'm not completely disagreeing with you on this.

However, I think Huddlestone has come on leaps and bounds since playing with Palacios. I think the whole team has being aided by Palacios' desire to get stuck in - even when he is not playing. Kind of like a knock-on effect, if you get what I'm saying.


EDIT - I've never liked Jenas.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Jovetic would be such a good signing!

 

[bubble07]

If Woody can improve his fitness all we really need and trying to be as realistic as possible is Forlan and Suarez with Pletikosa and Bellamy as squad players

 

[spurs mental]

Klose - lethal in the box. Would be fairly cheap and a realistic short term fix whilst we establish ourselves in the champions league.

I would love to see Klose playing for Spurs. He his absolutely top class, and coming off the back of yet another fantastic World Cup. Good in the air and good with his feet. Might only be a short term option, as I think he's 31 now, but as you say, would help us to get established in the CL and keep us up there in the league.

I'm going to go for getting Berbatov back - it's proven him and Keane are an electric strike pairing so re-unite them!

Oh how I have dreamt of seeing that partnership set the Lane alight once more. Or even just seeing Berbatov pull on the Spurs jersey. The man is a fantastic footballer, and the best I've seen play for Spurs so far. I would love Berbatov back.

Good points.

The fact is that we have a developing team who could probably play total football- but how many times did Lennon, Modric, Kranjcar and Bale start a pl game together last season? The answer is none! They only made 20,21,19,18 starts respectively - about half a season each. Dawson and Bassong made only 25 pl starts each. It is amazing that we could reach 4th with such a young squad, and so many team changes, but they have the potential to improve individually and collectively for several years.

To challenge at the top we need to make 2 top notch signings for the first eleven, a "Berbatov" - and a top class central defender.

This. Good post.

It's crucial that we don't have too much disruption within our first team. Our team spirit last season was fantastic. It reminded me of the Mourinho days when he was first at Chelsea. They won the league because of that team spirit, and I see it in our team now. Every goal was celebrated by every player together. There is a togetherness about our squad, and it was clearly shown in the final 4 games by us.

We created enough chances last season, and wouldn't have been far off the top two had we not dropped silly points against the likes of Hull, Stoke and Wolves. Our build up play is good enough, it doesn't need to change. Our back 5 are now one of the most solid in the league, and all we really missed last season at times was the cutting edge, someone to finish off all the chances we created in the games we dominated but couldn't find the net. We lacked someone clinical, someone like Klose, or Berbatov.

Keeping fit the spine of Gomes, Dawson, Huddlestone and Defoe is massive next season. Add to that the players around that spine in Modric, Lennon, Bale, Palacios, Corluka and King, all we really need is a top class striker, who can play the lone role at times, is good in the air, and is good with the ball at his feet, and his name is not Peter Crouch.

I would really love to see Berbatov back, but I don't think it's very realistic. I think we could go for Klose. Whether he would come is another thing, but I think he would be a fantastic signing, even for a couple of seasons until we find the right player.

So, against City on the first day of the season, I'd love to see;

Gomes

Corluka King Dawson(C) Bale

Lennon Palacios Huddlestone Modric

Defoe Klose/Berbatov​

But unfortunately, I think we'll be seeing the team that started last season, with Crouch instead of Keane, and Dawson instead of Bassong. Now, that's not a bad thing, we beat City twice last season, and absolutely murdered them at the Lane. I just want a top class striker to play alongside Defoe so badly, I think if he had someone like Berbatov, he'd score even more goals than last season.

 

[onthetwo]

???????????

So you'd prefer a mediocre psychopath to debatably the best winger in the world? SAY WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?

IMO - His brilliance as a winger is MORE than offset by his unrelenting, unpalatable, excrutiating, incessant WHINGEING when hes on the pitch.
He's like a shuffling gob on legs and I swear if i saw him in our club colours i might be tempted to end it all here and now.

Its actually too horrible to contemplate for too long.

 

[Archibald-CPH]

Dzeko, L. Diarra, Turan

 

[Rackybear]

-----------Gomes--------------
Corluka--Dawson--King--
----------------------------Bale
Lennon--Hudd--Palacios
-------------------Modric------
----Defoe---Dzeko-------​

Bale will push up and fill the gap modric will leave when he drifts into the middle. That leaves us a little exposed defensively, but we know bale has the fitness to go up and down that wing, whilst Modric can slot back onto the left when we dont have the ball.

Thatll do me.

 

[peter123]

I don't see why Berba would not consider a return.

He showed a lack of class when he wanted to leave spurs but his ego has been well and truly popped up there.

As mentioned earlier though we need Bellamy in there for another pace option upfront at the expense of Pav or Keane.


Bring him back - get his confidence back and we can win the title. This team is exceptional and this will be the year Huddlestone and Modric improve even more on last season and cement their place as the best central midfielders of a generation.

COYS!!!!!!

 

[yusrisafri]

................................................Gomes(cudicini).....................................

Corluka(Walker).........Dawson(Bassong).....King(Kaboul).......BAE(Bale)

...................................Sandro(Palacios)....Hudd(Jenas)...........................

Lennon(Krancjar/GDS)........Modric(Krancjar/Keane)...............Bale(Defoe)

........................................XXXXXX(Crouch/Pav)..............................................

Only Bentley would not fit anywhere in my team. The likes of youngsters like Rose, Naughton etc would stilll be useful backups in the event of injuries hitting both first teamer and backup for a particular position.

This is a very strong team, mind you, and they need to believe that they are strong and not fade with inferiority complex when they o away to the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal (and maybe Citeh as well). If they can tune themselves mentally, this team can be one fuckin hell of a team.

You see, we dont really need anybody except for a top striker to lead the line. I wont want to go and buy too many players and make the others unhappy.

So this is why Harry said that one world class signing would be enough. And if that signing were to eb a world class striker, then that would make my day.

 

[Jules77]

why would you put sandro in there ahead of palacios?

I do love that formation, but it is soooooo dependent on getting the right frontman.

 

[yusrisafri]

Well, it can be either Sandro and Palacios in those 2 DM roles, it could be Hudd and Sandro, it could be any of those 4, believe me, it would work wonders to us not conceding goals easily. I'm just putting the names there to indicate their best positions.