Buying Bold - What's required

I read last week that Harry has called for the club to be bold this summer in their transfer dealings, which got the inner manager in me thinking – How would I change the squad? So here are my thoughts on the Tottenham squad starting from the back working my way forward.

Goalkeepers

Current Players

Brad Friedel
Carlo Cudicini
Heurelho Gomes
Ben Alnwick

To be honest I don’t know why I included Ben Alnwick, can someone explain to me why we ever signed a player who’s most notable appearance was in a sex tape? Sell him for whatever we can get; I’d take a Zat Knight esque exchange of player for tracksuits. One of the highlights of the season has been seeing Gomes sat on the bench, last season he was at fault for far too many goals, with his contract running out in the summer we’ll bid him a fond farewell. That leaves Friedel and Cudicini, with a combined age of one Judi Dench, their best years are behind them. With two safe pairs of hands at the club, I feel it’s a perfect time to sign a new ‘keeper in the summer, with the comfort that you can ease them in gently if required.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £0m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £50k
Transfer Required = Yes
Transfer suggestions = Tim Krul, Michel Vorm, Hugo Lloris

Alnwick playing a game for Spurs, I'm as surprised as you.

Defence

Right Back

Current Players

Kyle Walker
Vedran Corluka
Kyle Naughton

We currently have the PFA Young Player of the year at Right back, and what a player he’s going to be, he’ll hopefully usurp Stephen Carr in my Favourite Spurs XI and be a constant fixture in our side for years to come. So that leaves one place for a player who wants to play second fiddle. As we’ve seen, ‘Charlie’ wasn’t content and I would envisage him making a permanent move away from the Lane in the summer, which by default leaves Naughton. As far as back-up full-backs go I don’t think that’s too bad.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £5m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £40k
Transfer Required = No
Transfer suggestions = N/A

Left Back

Current Players

Benoit Assou-Ekotto
Danny Rose

‘Benny’ is a man who divides opinion, some people love him, and some people, well, don’t. I’m a fan, he’s ultra consistent and his distribution from deep is one of the best in the league. If he irons out some of his erratic clearances then he’d improve further, he's a keeper. Danny Rose, oh Danny boy, there’s only so long you can live of ‘that’ goal, and with your dismissal at the weekend that time has got a little shorter. The issue I have is for the consistency of Benoit, the lack of rotation Harry offers and the cost of buying a new player I just don’t think it’s worth it, Therefore I’d stick with what we have in this position

Estimated Transfer Revenue = N/A
Estimated Wage bill reduction = N/A
Transfer Required = No
Transfer suggestions = N/A

Centre Back

Current Players

Younes Kaboul
William Gallas
Ledley King
Michael Dawson
Ryan Nelsen
Bongani Khumalo
Sebastien Bassong
Steven Caulker

That’s eight centre backs, that’s as many times as we’ve won the FA Cup, one less than the amount of goals Andy Carroll has scored this season. We’ve got three players too many, the problem we also face is we’ve only got one player I’m really happy with, Younes. He’s been outstanding this season and he’s only going to get better. Straight out the door are Ryan Nelsen, Bongani Khumalo and Sebastien Bassong they aren’t good enough and are taking up valuable space. That leaves Kaboul, Gallas, Dawson, Caulker and...King. Oh Ledley, Ledley, you’re going to the glue factory. My favourite player of all time could have been an all-time great. That’s why I want him to bow out at the top, have an ambassador role, a coaching role, just not a role on the pitch, sorry Ledley love you really. That leaves only four centre backs left, so one place for a new signing.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £5m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £150k
Transfer Required = Yes
Transfer suggestions = Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Javi Martinez

A King amongst men, legend.

Midfield

Right Midfield

Current Players

Aaron Lennon
David Bentley

If we can get any money whatsoever for David Bentley then Daniel Levy is truly a Jedi master of negotiations, he’s been a complete and utter flop and is never ever going to make it for Spurs, he needs a fresh start. That leaves us with just ‘Azza’, whom I’m happy with; as second choice. He can win games on his own, and adds a lovely balance to our side when he plays, but I can’t help but feel we can do better. This is one position I think we really need buy big, Eden Hazard big.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £4m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £50k
Transfer Required = Yes
Transfer suggestions = Eden Hazard, Marko Marin, Mario Gotze, Iker Muniain

Left Midfield

Current Players

Gareth Bale
Niko Kranjcar
Steven Pienaar

With Gareth Bale *crosses fingers* at the club we only need one back-up player here, with Kranjcar and Pienaar we have two (I’m an accountant don’t you know). Pienaar’s Spurs career seems to be going the same way as David Bentley’s. It faltered, stuttered, stalled; it’s been shit. He looks a different player for Everton and I think that’s where he belongs, au revoir Mr Pienaar.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £3m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £50k
Transfer Required = No
Transfer suggestions = N/A


Central Midfield

Current Players

Luka Modric

Sandro
Tom Huddlestone
Scott Parker
Jake Livermore
Jermaine Jenas

Yes, we still own Jermaine Jenas unfortunate I know but it won’t be for long, hopefully. We have a fantastic midfield; the variety in there is what makes it so good. The exquisite class of Modric, the power and finesse in the tackle of Sandro, the range of passing from Huddlestone (how many of you missed those 60yrd passes this year), the tenacity and blocks of Parker and the, the, theee surprising ability of Jake Livermore, one of the surprise packages this season. So with all that, after selling Jenas our central midfield is complete.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £5m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £40k
Transfer Required = No
Transfer suggestions = N/A

Forwards

Support Striker 

Current Players

Rafael van der Vaart
Giovani dos Santos

I feel almost guilty for putting ‘Gio’ beneath a title of ‘current players’, the man the myth the never to be legend. We all wanted him to succeed, and who knows if he’d been played for more than 5min here and there he may have been, but he hasn’t, so he won’t be a success, bye Gio it was arduous and forgetful. That leaves ‘Rafa’, I love this man, the best technique in the team, an eye for goal, and a football brain as the men in the know always say. As a backup I’d like to see someone a bit more raw, some potential, a crowd pleaser.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £6m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £40k
Transfer Required = Yes
Transfer suggestions = Junior Hoilett, Younes Belhanda, Georginio Wijnaldum

Striker

Current Players

Emmanuel Adebayor
Jermain Defoe
Louis Saha

Well that’s a formidable trio. In truth I’m thankful for Adebayor, he’s been good for us this season. But I don’t think I’m alone in saying – Did you not think he’d be more clinical? He’s missed a lot, but he’s scored and setup a fair few so he’s partly forgiven. I really don’t think we’ll be able to afford to retain him next year, so goodbye Ade. Louis Saha, why did we sign you? I hated Pavlyuchenko so at least you’ve stopped me screaming at him, but now I just scream at you, bye. Jermain Defoe, what can I say that hasn’t already been said? A scorer of great goals, rather than a great scorer of goals, I still don’t forgive you for that miss at Eastlands; RUN YOU LAZY MIDGET. Ok now that’s out in the open, I’m going to implore Spurs to sell him, he’s had his time, he can’t score goals regularly, he can’t link up play, he can’t play up top on his own, he can’t be at our club anymore. The problem that this now creates is that there are no strikers left. Ever since Keane and Berbatov left we’ve struggled up front and it needs to change, we need to invest heavily in two or three strikers.

Estimated Transfer Revenue = £12m
Estimated Wage bill reduction = £150k
Transfer Required = Yes
Transfer suggestions - 

Expensive = Fernando Llorente, Seydou Doumbia, Gonzalo Higuain, Edinson Cavani, Leandro Damiao, Loic Remy, Olivier Giroud

Cheaper = Didier Drogba, Hugo Rodallega, Dimitar Berbatov, Jefferson Farfan, Demba Ba

Can you hear the drums Fernando?

So having rid the club of 13 players, raked in an estimated £40m and freed up almost 600k on the wage bill it’s now time to spend that money wisely. From our 2011-12 transfer dealings I would also estimate that we earned nigh on £50m, so I’ll add that to the war chest making £90m in total.

Goalkeeper = Hugo Lloris £15m
Centre Back = Jan Vertonghen £8m
Right Midfield = Eden Hazard £25m
Support Striker = Junior Hoilett £0m
Striker = Gonzalo Higuain £20m
Striker = Demba Ba £6m

Total Spend - £74m

Now obviously we aren’t going to get these players, in the four years that Harry has been at the club I can only think of one or two players that weren’t sourced from within the Premier league. But that doesn’t stop a man from dreaming. One thing that I would appreciate though is if we got our transfer dealings done early one, as much as I love a transfer deadline day, I'd rather not have to wait until then to see players come in. One final point worthy of a mention is the manager, I've got £16m left over there, more than enough to give Harry a nice pay off and bring a new manager in, suggestions anyone?

Josh

A Trip to the Camp Nou

Recently, I had the pleasure of being invited with a work colleague to go to Barcelona for 4 days with some of his friends. Whilst over there we decided to watch a certain team play in one of the greatest sporting arenas in the world.

Although picking up our pre-ordered tickets was rather harder than expected, we decided to also take in some local culture on match-day. Whilst hunting for the correct place to pick-up our tickets we took in the areas of Barcelona around the Camp Nou – it was a buzz of excitement and the ticket area outside the stadium was busy with punters looking to purchase last minute tickets.

The game in question was classified ‘Grade 2’, a minor detail of Barcelona vs. Getafe. A win would close the gap at the top of La Liga to 1 point. A near sell out crowd was expected and we were delighted to have pre-booked our tickets rather than fight the crowds on the day.

Once we picked up our tickets, a visit to the Barcelona store was in order. Although I had been to the 'club shop' before, myself and the others were blown away as soon as we stood inside the building. Covering 2 levels is an array of merchandise for the fans, visitors and corporate attendees to buy. Stock ranges from the brand-new, latest kits with printing and competition labels to a baby’s dummy, if you could think of it, they sold it…. Ever fancied a 24inch flat screen TV with built in DVD player in Barcelona colours? Yep, it’s in the store. 

Anyway, I digress. As you set foot in the store, you’re greeted by a large Barcelona crest with manikins sporting the latest home and away kits in a semi-circle, arching around a large set of stairs. The top floor is a mass of replica shirts – all the latest, all this years. Wherever you look kids are grabbing Messi, Iniesta and Xavi shirts, begging their parents to part with the frankly disgusting price of €99 (adults) or €79 (kids). In comparison to English club shirts, this is incredibly high.

Heading down to the 2nd floor, you are welcomed by the famous statement “'més que un club”. Not even half-way down the stairs and more replica kits are the first thing you see, a TV is playing clips of the Barcelona football and basketball squads whilst above is a gold F.C. Barcelona emblem on a dark wooden background. As you look around the 2nd floor, you see the quite spectacular floor-space the shop takes over. More merchandise is available, this time taking in previous kits, or kits with no names, numbers or badges. (Also, an interesting rail of shirts is spotted – the miss-prints and the errors. For some reason, a shirt with Bert #10 is hanging here; we wondered when Bert was planning to make his debut for the mighty Barcelona).

The shop continues to offer scarves, a varying size of footballs, photos, calendars and much more. As common with most football shops now-a-days, an in-house number printing is offered and many buyers are opting for this. An interesting feature that caught my eye is that Barcelona sell the Under Armour to match the home kit in their store – a crafty ploy for the eager child who wants the whole package. After taking all this in, some of the guys decided to purchase shirts (not the €99 ones I’m pleased to say!) and we moved on, wishing that time would speed up as we were eager to return for the game.

As kick-off time loomed we head to the stadium. The underground metro is rather quiet until the stop closest to the stadium – other foreign fans here for the day are easily spotted, but the crowds are mostly locals. We leave the station and wander down the streets mingling in the crowd. Beer is available to buy all the way up to the stadium and people are offering cans to anyone that passes. Street vendors are selling shirts, scarves and are selling them in large numbers. We stopped at a stall outside the stadium which sells official merchandise – the lads who didn’t buy a shirt in the stadium buy one now caught up in the buzz. For the first time in my life, I saw a street stall that did name printing – not missing the opportunity, names were printed – Xavi and Piqué proving popular. 

We enter the stadium and take our seats, only to be told we are sitting in the wrong place as some disgruntled Barca season ticket holders pointed out to us in very broken English. Failing to find are actual seats, we asked a steward, who was very helpful and showed us were to go. Sitting in the 2nd tier behind one of the goals gave us a fantastic view of the whole pitch.

The teams came out to warm up with Barcelona not really doing much. They pinged a few passes between them in groups of 3, did a little jog. High 5s for everyone and then went back in to prepare. The announcer read out the teams, no-one from Getafe got booed; everyone from Barcelona got a big cheer (no prizes for guessing who got the biggest cheer).

The teams lined up and we sat watching the end that Victor Valdes would defend in the first half. Immediately we saw how Barcelona was going to play – a dynamic 2-5-3 formation. Messi was allowed to drift were he pleased, Cuenca and Pedro performed the winger roles whilst Puyol and Adriano played as 2 of the most attacking full backs I’ve ever seen. The centre back partnership of Mascherano and Busquets was rarely challenged and were positioned mainly in the Getafe half. Xavi, Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez finished off the starting 11.

The game started at a frantic pace with Messi missing what seemed a guilt edged chance – however as we were at the wrong end, we gave him the benefit (later replays showed he probably should have scored). The first half flew by with the atmosphere building and chants seeming to be similar to an English game – a certain area starts them, everyone joins in and then it dies down as another starts. The score at half time was 2-0 to Barcelona, with goals from Alexis and Messi giving the home team a comfortable lead.

The second half was what we were waiting for – Barcelona, literally, attacking straight at us. Just as the 2nd half kicked off, the scoreboard showed a results which was greeted by a loud cheer, Osasuna 2 Espanyol 0. It appeared the local rivalry was still rather important.

Although the football was entertaining and warming, we were desperate for a goal as the wind had picked up and it had become incredibly cold. A women in front of us got hit by a puddle of water from the tier above which got a big cheer and laugh. The chants continued and seem to become more ferocious with every Barcelona attack. Eventually a sublime header from Alexis Sanchez gave us the goal we were so desperately waiting for. Messi swung in a free-kick and Sanchez performed a backward directed header which looped over Moya and into the Getafe goal. The crowd around us went wild and we joined in. 3-0 Barcelona.

Barcelona seemed to have their tails up now and scored the 4th in a matter of minutes – Pedro grabbing it. Puyol seemed desperate to get a goal and as he was rarely needed to perform his defence duties, he ventured up the pitch like a right winger. He eventually came close with a header which was well saved by Moya. 

With the game dead and buried at 4-0, Barcelona took their foot of the gas and started to play some exhibition football. At one point Messi had 2 people on him, he cut through the middle of them and was faced by another defender, a quick turn of pace beat this 3rd man taking him to the by-line. Knocking the ball round a 4th man and using his unbelievable agility, he went round the other side of the helpless defender. Literally standing on the by-line the keeper came rushing out; Messi scooped the ball over his head going for goal. The Getafe defenders could only stand and watch as the ball hit the bar and deflected to safety – denying Messi what would have been a truly outstanding goal.

As the final whistle went, the crowds took some last minute photos and then headed for the exits. Even the exiting crowds were a sight like nothing I've really seen. Swarms of people outside the stadium in one of the most organised bits of chaos ever witnessed. Again, beer was offered, we found a restaurant that was open and popped in for some food. Whilst eating, the TV was on and we found ourselves watching the game back and commenting on everything – as a side note, if you think SKY are bad for going over incidents, Spanish TV showed one little incident at least 20 times. We finished our beers and headed home. 
 

Overall the atmosphere was brilliant, the buzz before the game was huge and the enthralling way Barcelona play football is always going to be good to watch. The lack of away support did nothing to dampen the mood with the Barca crowd always making some sort of noise.

And of course, we saw the best player in the world. In my opinion, he had an off day, he looked lazy and disinterested – but, even in this sort of mood, Messi scored one and assisted another and produced some unbelievable pieces of skill.

It was a great trip and something that I would recommend any football fan to do and the sooner the better before the likes of Xavi and Iniesta retire. My one disappointment is that I didn't get to see David Villa play due to his injury - But, I think I can live with that.

Dave

Supporters - Be supportive

“It's getting tickly now - squeaky-bum time”

 

We have three separate races occurring between now and the end of the season, one just as enthralling as the next for the neutral, but for the interested parties its nerve wracking stuff.

In each race we have a seasoned pro, one who’s done it before and may feel they can do it again, we also have the inexperienced club, as talented as their competitor technically and physically but do they have the mentality for it.

At the top of the pile we have the Manchester duopoly City vs. United both vying for the title. In the race for Champions League football we have the London trio, Arsenal, Tottenham & Chelsea (yes Geordies and Newcastle, but that’s not happening now is it). Then in the race for Premier League survival we have a quintet of this season’s failures.

In recent weeks the results clubs have garnered are starting to develop a context, none more so than for Tottenham and Arsenal, in little over a month Tottenham have gone from potentially being 13 points ahead of their rivals; now find themselves 3 points behind. The balance has shifted, catastrophically if you are a Lilywhite.

The same can be said for Man City; at one stage they held a 5 point advantage over United, after a handful of poor results against lesser sides they find themselves 3 points behind. Not the ideal situation for a Citizen.

At the bottom of the pile we have QPR, clear winners of the Championship last season and started reasonably well this, finding themselves mid-table going into December. However now they have slipped further and further down the pile and now are in the lowly position of 18th, a shamed inhabitant of the relegation zone.

All these three clubs who had started so well yet now find themselves swimming against the tide all have something in common; they are the inexperienced party in their respective battles.

It is not necessarily the players themselves who are without experience, Man City have 9 players who have won a league title with other clubs, nor the managers, Mancini won three titles with Inter. But the fans.

We have all seen the footage of the Man City fans in recent weeks, tears have been shed, nails have been bitten and hair pulled from its roots. All the time the game isn’t going their way the fans are fretting, and even more so when the game is reaching the latter stages. The tension is building and this will be felt by the players. 

There's still 7 minutes left, why aren't you supporting!

At Spurs it’s an ominous situation, whenever a pass goes astray there’ an audible sigh from the crowd, when a goal scoring opportunity is spurned there is a disgruntled grumble. All this does is add more and more pressure to the players participating.

At Old Trafford, a fan who is under the age of 30 will have barely tasted the devastating heart break of being on the losing side week in week out, and the acrimony of finishing the season in the bottom half of the table. They only know success, when their side is level with 5 minutes to go, they have the inherent belief that a goal will come, because more often than not in the past 20 years, it has. Tension doesn’t build in these circumstances at Old Trafford, hope and ultimately expectation does. The same goes for Stamford Bridge, the Emirates and at the other end of the scale at the DW.

Wigan are coming alive again at the end of the season when all seemed lost. They have escaped from the near certain peril of relegation almost every season since they’ve been in the Premier League. Their fans have that hope and belief ingrained into them even if they don’t realise it.

This is a call to arms for the inexperienced fans, the ones who are striving for their side to triumph over the adversity that has tainted recent weeks, to overcome their old foes and achieve their goals this season. Do not underestimate your influence when watching your team live, have the hope and faith that your rivals posses, do not let them hold any advantage over you because otherwise you may find yourselves being a hindrance not a help. 

 

Josh

Sit down, shut up! The case for standing spectators in English football

The recent announcement that the Scottish Football Association are willing to give the idea of standing spectators a shot, has divided many football fans across the country. Some are completely against the idea; others think it’s just what the English game needs.

As some of you may know, I rarely come down on the side of anything to do with Scottish football, but in this instance I’m in complete agreement with the SFA, and I’m starting to ask the question, why is our own FA so adamant that we wont be following suit?

The Yellow Wall

These extra fans are surely great for business, as they generate extra income for the clubs, but they too must contribute to a far more impressive atmosphere during games (Dortmund’s Südtribüne terrace is nicknamed the ‘Yellow Wall’ in reference to its intense atmosphere).

Standing areas in the English game would benefit the average fan too, a standing ticket is likely to be substantially cheaper than a seated ticket, which, given the current economic climate is surely something that every football fan would appreciate. As I’ve previously mentioned, more fans in standing areas would undoubtedly lead to a better atmosphere. Personally I am always a little embarrassed to compare English stadium atmospheres to those on the continent, in comparison we’re silent!
 

A new record high attendance was set at the DW

It’s not a great surprise though, with the average age of an English Premier League supporter creeping ever closer to 50, there is a frighteningly low percentage, lower than 10%, of fans under the age of 24. Football, the once working class game, has been priced out of the reach of most.

It also seems fairly ridiculous that only the Premier League and Championship have to have all seated stadiums. Baring in mind that currently Charlton, a side with a 27,000 capacity stadium, and as recent as last season, Southampton, with a capacity of more than 30,000, would have been allowed standing areas for their fans, so any argument about crowd size can be dismissed.

In fact, the government’s ‘Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds’, which details the requirements for standing areas, states (among an exhaustive list of regulations) that as long as the amount of people allowed into a standing area “is counted and strictly controlled, according to the capacities set for those areas.” Then terracing is perfectly acceptable, if not as preferable as seating. The same document does acknowledge that the provision of seating does not ensure the safety of spectators. In fact, as more and more fans are choosing to stand in seated areas, particularly away fans, there is still a prominent danger that clubs are almost completely unable to prevent.

Standing backwards is the new sitting forwards

Football has come a long way since the 1980’s and so has its policing stewarding and general ground safety. You only have to glance at the 200 pages of the ‘Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds’ to acknowledge that a horrific disaster like the one at Hillsborough in 1987 is one that can, and in all probability would be able to be avoided.

Certainly in Germany, Shalke 04’s stadium, complete with standing section, has seen no injuries or incidents in the ten years that it’s been in use, Borussia Dortmund don’t even keep records on injuries sue to their infrequent nature.

While in this country there is still a lot of trepidation around the idea of standing terraces, due to the awful events at Hillsborough, the fact remains that properly overseen, and well maintained, standing terraces can improve the atmosphere, lower ticket prices and bring the game back to the working classes, where its history lies. I look forward to seeing how the Scottish teams get on with it and hope it’s as successful there as it is on the continent.