striker, who didn’t need someone alongside him to keep him company and
we would instantly be transformed into a top-four-bound, title-chasing,
goal machine.
I’m not quite sure why I got lulled into this false sense of
security. Our need for a quality forward was equally apparent in both
January and last summer. On neither occasion did we sign anyone and with
just over a week to the season kick off, it looks like we’ll start this
Premier League campaign with the same bunch of reliably useless
strikers.
The transfer window might not close till the end of August, but the
season starts on the 13th. If we leave our shopping to the last minute,
not only do we deprive any potential striker of a pre-season bedding in
period, but we also have to tackle a tough opening three games with an
attack that we know aren’t up to the task.
We might get away with an opening day win over Everton, playing
Crouch in front of Van der Vaart, or the Dutchman on the right side of a
4-4-2, but our televised Monday night trip to Manchester United the
following week, promises to be much trickier. The third game then sees
us face a Manchester City side who we failed to score against last
season, despite completely dominating the possession over both games.
The fixture list continues to challenge us over the next few games,
with the Sky cameras showing our encounter with Liverpool in September
and the North London derby against Arsenal in early October. It’s as
tough a start as I can remember and it would have been to our advantage
to get our transfer business dealt with early, as both Manchester United
and Liverpool have managed.
A lot of us have been moaning about Daniel Levy’s traditional
transfer window tactics, which have seen us do our business late to get
the best price. Sometimes he pulls a Van der Vaart out of the hat, but
equally we have suffered by not having the time to replace players that
we’ve sold at the last minute, or been caught desperately submitting
bids to clubs who are reluctant to part with a vital player so late in
the day.
Recently, the conspiracy theorists have been speculating as to
whether Levy has darker motives than penny pinching. With Harry Redknapp
embroiled in a court case with the HMRC and possibly due to spend some
time in prison, could Levy be reluctant to blow millions on players that
a new manager might not want?
Redknapp has sounded increasingly tetchy during his regular media
appearances lately, as he’s repeated the fact that Levy wants to sell
players before Tottenham buys anyone. You just get the sense that
something is not right in the relationship between manager and chairman.
Perhaps Levy would welcome the chance of getting rid of Harry on the
cheap, should he get banged up.
At a time when we should be enthusiastic about the start of the
season, I’m feeling slightly trepidatious. We could sign the players we
need within the next week and Harry might get away with a slap on the
wrist, but equally there’s the potential for the sort of early season
chaos that would see The Sun dig out their ‘CLUB IN CRISIS’ banner.
They say that the Premier League is a marathon and not a sprint, but
if you’ve ever watched a marathon you’ll know that the athletes at the
front at the end, are rarely the ones who are tripping over in their
fancy dress costumes at the start of the race.
Getting off to a flyer is always something to strive for. With a
tough set of opening fixtures and uncertainty about who will fill key
roles both on and off the pitch, Spurs have made that tricky start even
more daunting.
Spread The Spurs Love:
Thu Jan 21 2021, 20:01 by BazSpur
» Sky Sports News Links
Thu Oct 29 2020, 18:13 by DJSR
» Hello....the site is still alive!
Thu Oct 29 2020, 18:11 by DJSR
» 17 million deal for Musacchio
Fri Feb 24 2017, 18:39 by souptheyid
» How to Block Adverts on this Site !
Fri Feb 24 2017, 18:36 by souptheyid
» This is Our Season
Sun Aug 14 2016, 00:54 by vis
» 'appy New Season
Sat Aug 29 2015, 08:09 by BazSpur
» Time to say goodbye
Fri Aug 28 2015, 21:37 by Maximus
» Crouchinio
Thu Jan 15 2015, 03:00 by vis