Barclays Premier League

[Kralik]

Spurs lose again....is this the year they go down?

Them and Newcastle.. actually Newcastle has a greater probibility.. lets wait and see. Ramos can be home in 3 months time if they are near the dropzone..

[ViZioN]

It's amazing we're actually considering spurs might go down. With the team they've got I thought they would be doing pretty well this year

[Rappy Veteran]

It's amazing we're actually considering spurs might go down. With the team they've got I thought they would be doing pretty well this year

I think most of us did but it just seems watching it today they can't gel as a squad they looked lost today.

[Martyn]

Spurs were in the same situation last year, and we all know what happened then.

[Rappy Veteran]

Spurs were in the same situation last year, and we all know what happened then.

So its time for managerial change? :p

[Shibby]

Spurs under Jol weren't a bad side. They lost three good strikers, a goalkeeper, even if it was paul robinson, they could have always worked on his small problems. I still think the keepers in the league aren't all that bad.

[Martyn]

So its time for managerial change? :p

Definitely not. Juande Ramos is an excellent manager, but so was Martin Jol.

He just needs time and support, and to get rid of the shithouse players.

[Rappy Veteran]

Definitely not. Juande Ramos is an excellent manager, but so was Martin Jol.

He just needs time and support, and to get rid of the shithouse players.

Whos crap in your eyes then Martyn out of interest?

[Martyn]

Whos crap in your eyes then Martyn out of interest?

I don't mean crap as in lack of quality, I mean crap as in when the chips are down certain players don't fight for their team.

Bentley, Lennon, Zokora, Gilberto, Modric, Dos Santos are all good players, but are they fighters? They are the type of players who only seem to perform when the going is good, which is why I think is half of the reason Spurs are struggling.

Oh, and I don't think Ramos should get rid of Bentley and Modric, because they are top class players, I just don't think he should be playing so many players at the same time who are doing nothing except watching the game go by.

[Powa]

You need some ugly workhorses in your team to make the likes of Modric look good.

[HilariousNinja]

I think Martyn hits the nail on the head here.

There's certainly a lack of belief and effort from Spurs and when you're up against the cosh, which Spurs have been over the past few games, they need that effort that lifts the crowd.

But I don't think thats the only cause, I think its just a transition period with the two main men leaving and many new players come in. They just need time.

As for Newcastle, well they could well go down, because all that seems to be going on over there is off the pitch.

[FaRSightxc2]

It was a slow day at work on Friday so I decided to start a piece on my views of the problems at Spurs at the moment for another message board - I didn't finish, wrote some more today, and thought I would pass it on to Neowin given the last few posts in this thread.

Basically it is an overview on my view if problems on and off the pitch in the last few months at Tottenham.

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Problems with Spurs ATM:

1) What is going wrong on the pitch (the players)

i) Players we have lost:

We greatly miss the players we have sold. I defy any team to sell ?70m worth of strikers - whoever they are - and still be scoring as freely as they were when they had them. To put names to these values, Berbatov and Keane are exceptional strikers, proven in the league, are strong and work very well together. The are the kind of strikers that carve openings for themselves. Teaming this with the selling of Defoe in January, we have lost a lost three of the best strikers in the league. This not only leaves us with a lack of goals, but a huge personality gulf. Keano in particular was a huge character in the dressing room and there is no one that has stepped into his shoes. Pav is new to the league and cannot expect to perform miracles, from the off. Never mind that, he is cup-tied and cannot play in Europe. We also still appear to have problems playing to Bents strengths. Campbell is an enigma as he is not our player, we do not know his strengths and he is in need of further development. There is a general mood that in signing him, we are acting like a training camp for UTD - this teamed with the selling of all our best strikers and not replacing them with the standard of player we expected has left a lot of fans either scratching their heads or downright angry at the situation. Campbell may well win the fans over, but it is no wonder there is a visible problem on the pitch up front, that the fans are discontent and that Ramos is having selection issues. This all shows that there are obviously huge implications of selling Berbs and Keane that go beyond simply 'not having them any more'. We have a crisis up front, and no real answers.

We have also lost Steed and Chimbo. These two were very much central to our good performances last year, and I believe were very underrated by managerial and coaching staff at the Lane. Hutton was supposed to replace Chimbo, and in fact is a very good - if not better - replacement. His injury, however, is leaving a big gap in our defence as Chorluca is yet to settle and Gunter is only 19 and miracles cannot be expected. Steed, however, is the biggest miss. He was certainly a 'no frills' player, but he certainly did the business. He had our most assists last season, he was a proven prem player, he always put in 100% and popped up with the occasional goal. The consensus was 'we could do better' but in reality, we failed to bring anyone in that is ready to fill his boots. His absence also leaves a round gap, to which we are desperately trying to put square pegs: who should play left? Giovanni, a young, talented but unproven player who is not physically up to the league yet? Play Modric there? Play Bentley there? Play Lennon there? Is Bale good enough? Non of these have worked, and in the process of 'trying people out' we have been left with very good players out of position, and an extremely unbalanced midfield.

ii) Players we have brought in:

The players we have brought in all have one thing in common. Young, talented, attack minded. But non are without their flaws. Giovanni is an amazing prospect, but he is incredibly young and has yet to set the team alight. No wonder - he is new to a very physical league and will need a lot of time to adapt and develop. To assume that he was going to solve all our problems is nieve to the point of stupid. At another club perhaps he would be a super-sub. At Spurs, he has to take the weight of the team and he just isn't ready yet He is surely one for the future, but until the future comes we are going to struggle. Modric is another class act. But to expect him to come along and instantly boss our midfield is again, stupid. He is young and needs time to settle. He is also being played out of position - he has been tried deep and on the left, neither position plays to his strengths. He is best in an AM role with less defensive responsibilities, with a good DM behind him - something he does not have right now at spurs. He will be a good player, but again, since he needs time, it is obvious we were going to struggle. Bentley is a player with heaps of talent, an excellent cross and was at one point tipped to be Beckham's replacement. But he has been brought into a team with a striker problem, obvious midfield weaknesses and a huge confidence problem. It is no wonder he is not at his best, because good though he is, he was never - and never will be - the kind of player who can boss things and turn them around. That is not his role. He is best when linking up play and putting in dangerous crosses to confident strikers, and at the moment there is just no provision for him to do this. He has also been 'tried' in several positions - LM, CM even playing off Bent as a forward! Bentley is best wide right in a 4-4-2 as he can play to his strengths. He has not been playing there enough.

On the positive side, Gomes does look good in goal and has stopped us almost single handedly conceeding a lot of goals already this season. Sure, there was a mistake against Villa but to be fair, he has done very well so far. Choluka also doesn't look too shabby at RB.

iii) Players we still have / leaders.

The players we still have are a real mixed bag. Starting from the back, we have Woodgate - very solid, excellent defender and a leader. He always looks solid and composed and is the only player so far this season that looks like he could play top 4. Quality. Then we have King - the hero, the captain the rock at the back. Although is he any more? Much though it pains me to say it, Ledley is crocked and has been for some time and will therefore only play a bit-part role for us from now on. It is so sad, but it is the reality. When he plays or defence does look very strong, especially alongside Woody - if he can stay fit, bonus, but if not I am afraid we will have to look elsewhere for a centre back. If the word 'Donkey' was coined for anyone, it would be for Michael Dawson. I do not dislike him per-ce, and he is an excellent '3rd choice' CB, but unfortunately due to King's injury problems he is now very much a starting 11 player. I was appalled at him against Villa and he was quite rightly taken off. Sometimes he can look OK, especially if we can sure up our midfield and perhaps give him more cover, but he is certainly a problem area. But, in fairness, he gives it his all and there are worse CB's in the league. Garath Bale is an excellent young left-back, and one of our shining lights. He is big, strong, great on the overlap and has a dangerous cross, and can take good free kicks. However, he is also proving to be a selection problem - where is he best? Left back, or left mid? Because of the void left by Steed, Ramos has given Bale a chance to play Left Mid with Ekotto behind him. Bale is definitely best overlapping from Left Back, but, I think, will be used as a left mid until we get a suitable replacement. Since we have not had a 'real' left mid since Ginola, he may be there a while. So in short - Bale is an excellent player, but is perhaps not being played to his strengths. He is also, like Bentley, not going to boss games from a wide position. Last we have Ekotto who has come in for a lot of criticism from Spurs fans recently - partly because we have been playing to poorly, partly because they want Bale at left back and partly because he as made a few mistakes - losing his man against Newcastle is perhaps the best example. In my opinion, however, he has a lot of good assets and perhaps alongside a more assured, confident and hardened team with more cover from midfield he could prosper. He is quick, good on the overlap, has good feet and is not too bad positionally. He is certainly, after Bale, our best alternative at left back. No world beater, but a solid player and certainly not the crux of our problems. Or defence, then, is probably the most solid it has been in years, especially with Gomes at the back who is much more a safe pair of hands than Robbo was towards the end of his time at Spurs. Unfortunately, our defensive problems does not completely lie with the defence - with no proper DM and little cover, our defence is left very exposed.

So the midfield. The Midfield.....Where to start? We'll start with an easy one - Aaron Lennon. On his day, he is a top player. Quick, skilful and quite frankly scares left-backs with his pace. However, he often lacks any kind of final product, and for a player that spends so much time out wide in attacking positions, this is pretty unacceptable. He is also a player that was supposed to develop and get better - he has ended up plateauing and has not really improved in a year. He is also a player suffering from being moved around and has played both left and right midfield this season - hardly ideal for a player to settle in with new midfield partners. It is not ideal that he plays best in the same position as Bentley - why do we need both when there are a lot more pressing problems to fix? It is indeed a mystery. One argument is that it will give Lennon some competition and improve him. But you can't just spend 16.5m on a player that is going to give him 'competition' - for that money, Bentley has to be a starter...but then where to play Lennon? It is a conundrum.

Then there are the centre midfield four who personify entirely the on-pitch problems at Spurs. Jenas, Zokora, Huddlestone and O'Hara. They all have their plus points, but there are lot of negatives about all four of them. So we will start with Jenas. On his day, he is a box-to-box player of the highest calibre - he is a true athlete in every sense of the word, can take on players and is most effective breaking into the box from midfield. On his day. However, when it is not 'his day' he is incredibly ordinary and goes missing for long periods - and, for my money, it is only 'his day' perhaps once in five games, and this is simply not good enough. He has also been given the honour of being Spurs 'vice captain' since Robbie Keane left. This is, in effect, the same as being the overall captaincy as Ledley King, as I have discussed, has become a bit-part player and will for the foreseeable future be more of a figurehead than an ever-present leader. Jenas is not fit to captain any team. He is not loud, he is not commanding, he will not control a game and he will not put in consistent performances to lead by example. He is simply not a captain. Alongside a decent DM he could perhaps be given a more free reign and could concentrate on the attacking side of his game and maybe then lead by example, but in the current climate he is a poor choice as captain. Or is he? What are the alternatives? They are few. The only realistic prospect is Woodgate - my personal choice - but he has only been at the club 6 months and he does have a bit of a 'past record' when you look back four years or so that is perhaps not a desirable quality in a captain. He is, however, certainly more of a leader on the pitch and has certainly grown up since his Leeds days. Given circumstances, therefore, Jenas is as good as anyone else - but that is only because there is no one else. He is certainly not of captain ilk, and in times of uncertainty and low confidence, he will not be the man to dig in deep and command the pitch. And, unfortunately, nor will anyone else. Except for perhaps Woodgate.

Didier 'the goal machine' Zokora is one of those frustrating players that almost defies description, and this is why I have chosen to leave him until last. What actually is he? What position does he play in best? How can we utilise him effectively? The problem is that he is not defensive enough to be a defensive midfielder, and doesn't have the range of passing to sit deep like Hargreves or Carrick. He is not an attacking midfielder because he is useless in and around the box and the fact he has never scored for us, despite being a first team regular for as long as he has been here, speaks for itself. He also does not have the creativity or flair to create a chance for someone else. So is he an out and our centre midfielder. Well, I don't know: these players tend have to have elements of attacking qualities, whilst still being able to perform defensive duties and are usually good passers of the ball and keep things moving. Again, Didier does not fit into this role either. He also suffers from clumsiness that can be incredibly costly and he doesn't seem to read the game too well at all. In short, it is very hard to put your finger on what he actually brings to the team. So what is he good at? Well, he has an excellent engine and will give it his all. He is brilliant at breaking from defence with the ball (as long as it is in a perfectly straight line and he doesn't have to take anyone on). He is also a scrapper and can sometimes be effective getting in amongst the opposition and breaking things down. To be honest, I find it hard to identify any other redeeming feature. You may think from this that I don't like Zokora. Well, although it is true that I am not a huge fan, I also recognise he has probably been our best midfielder so far this season. I also appreciate his effort, and he certainly seems to be popular with his team mates. So perhaps he does bring something, it is just hard to define what.

(summation of inadequacy of others)

Tom Huddlestone is a player with a lot of talent, but appears to have been born in the wrong body. His ball playing ability when he has a little time and space really is sublime and he really can shoot. He is a great passer of the ball and keeps things moving in midfield. He is also big and powerful and a dominant force against more light-weight opposition. When he sits back in a Carrick-esque role and sprays balls around the pitch he is most definitely at his best, and is probably the best link to Bent that we have. If he was smaller, he really could be a world class player, but therein lies the problem: he is too big. He has the ability to spray the ball around and pass like Carrick, but he just doesn't have the mobility to get into position to defend a shut down. He is also not particularly fast. People who watched Carrick a lot know that his tackling was not his strong point - like Tom - but Carrick made up for this by superb positional play. He was in the right place to intercept the ball and to put pressure on a player - he just used to nick the ball in a defensive position by being in the right place. Tom has tried hard to lose weight and improve his build, but this can only go so far - he is by nature a big lad and his lack of mobility shows. For me, then, Tom is a very 'horses for courses' kind of player. In games where he is likely to have a little time and space then he can be integral to linking the midfield with the attack and use his range of passing to good effect. In tighter games, with stronger or quicker midfielders, however, he needs to be dropped in favour of someone who can keep up with the play and get amongst the opposition. He is simply not mobile enough to keep up with the play and is easily bypassed. He is, in short, a liability in these kinds of games

Lastly we have Jamie O'Hara. He is a young player with a lot of guts and tenacity. He reminds me of a young Lee Cattermole. He likes to get stuck in and will chase players all day like a terrier. He can also finish, as he showed against Newcastle - although they were probably the worst premiership team we have played in a very long time in the Carling Cup game last week. He is not the most talented of footballers, but makes up for it with effort. He would never normally be a starting player, but given the state of out midfield he has been given a chance to show what he can do. He has done relatively well and his effort is certainly appreciated, but again he is a player who is played in various positions - left back and the now infamous left mid. Not the answer to our midfield problems, then, but a versatile player who will give 100%

The problems with the strikers/forwards I have discussed before, but in addition there is a problem in link up between the two. Ideally, Modric would be the man that would link the two but without another midfield - a defensive midfielder - behind him, mopping up and challenging, he will not have a free enough reign to get forward and do what he does best. It is also unhelpful that Jenas cannot be dropped in the eyes of Ramos as he is, when Ledley isn't playing, the most senior player, and of course the captain, and playing the two together would give our defence no protection whatsoever. It is a conundrum.

iii) Priority positions we need to fill

We have sold some players, we have kept some players but we are still incredibly short in key areas. I have touched on this above, and it is blatantly obvious Spurs need strengthening in several key positions:

1) A strong, commanding presence in the centre of the park. Ideally this would be a defensive midfielder, someone who would sit behind Jenas or Modric and allow them to get forward: a Carrick, a Hargreaves, a Veloso. All three sit in-front of the defence and give a degree of protection, but also help link the play from the back to the front, and this is something we are desperately lacking.

However, equally effectively would be a strong, pacey central midfielder, perhaps in the 'Viera' or 'Gatusso' mould: players that can boss the game by their presence, will put the opposition under pressure and will stop them from playing, thus allowing Spurs to play their football, and stifle the opposition.

2) An out-and-out left midfielder, or someone who can play this role week-in week-out to good effect. Previously we had Malbranque to perform this role, and he did a very good job. As above, not only did he give us threat going forward and as good work ethic, he also added a degree of balance and consistency. Right now we are throwing a different player in there every 45 minutes, and are expecting them to put in a performance with little time to acclimatise to the role. Bale, Dos Santos, O'Hara, Modric, Bentley, Lennon...it just isn't good enough.

3) Another striker. After losing Berbatov, Keane and Defoe we were always going to have problems upfront. Again, I have touched on this before: Bent will always try hard and does get goals. But if he was 4th choice behind the three that left, it shows a significant step down in terms of quality up front. Pavlyuchenko does have ability, and is strong. But he needs time to settle and must be absolutely knackered from playing close to 15 months of football without a break - remembering that the Russian season does not run parallel with our own and he was at the Euros. He is also cup-tied for the UEFA cup. Campbell is a young player and no doubt has talent. He is somewhat of an unknown quantity, but it would suggest that if he is so far down the pecking order at UTD that he can be loaned out to another club, he probably isn't anywhere near the finished article yet. We should have been seeking out another striker from the moment Defoe left, and it is pathetic that we failed to sign anyone. We all knew Berbs was off for big money, so why we weren't looking for someone to replace him months and months ago is beyond me. You can't wait for the money to come in before you look - you have to have a new deal lined up before the asset goes. Unfortunately, we did the opposite and signing Campbell in return is hardly a suitable replacement. Keane's departure may well have been more of a surprise, but there is still no excuse for having no one lined up. Clubs employ scouts all year round: it is their job to spot talent and make connections and have a whole list of alternatives when the club is looking to buy. There should have been a whole host of players we could have turned to - especially with the money we had to offer. Alas, no signing was forthcoming and we are left with a huge gap up front.

In my opinion it is unforgivable that we did not fill these positions adequately during the summer. It was obvious to all the Spurs fans I knew before the window even opened that we were short in these positions, and it is a disgrace that it was not addressed, and instead we chased players in positions we really didn't need, or young, unproven talent that would need a lot of time to develop whilst ignoring the gaping holes in what we already had. Even more annoyingly we sold all the players that actually were doing a job: Berba, Keane, Malbranque, Chimbonda even Tanio. Maybe we didn't have a choice on the former two, but we could most certainly have kept 'the Sunderland three'. Sure, they are not world beaters, but they gave us grit and experience and we have not only not replaced them, but huge selection problems have been created in their absence.

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2) Coaching and tactics:

Juande Ramos is a coach that has come in from Servilla with a huge reputation and has an impressive CV. He also masterminded the winning of our first trophy in nine years as we lifted the Carling Cup. However, his league performances leave a lot to be desired, and we went extremely flat after winning the cup, finished 11th and have made a dire start to this season. So what is wrong?

I have made a lot of references to players being played out of position and not utilised correctly, and, ultimately, the buck has to stop with Ramos and Poyet (although I am not sure how much influence the later has on actual team selection). Quite simply, it is unacceptable to play so many players out of position and change where they play so often: Bale LM and LB; Bentley RM, LM, CM, SS; Giovanni LM, RM, SS, O'Hara LB, CM, LM; Zokora RB, CM, RM....the list goes on. No wonder the players lack - composure and confidence and any real understanding of their role - they must be highly uncomfortable and disorientated and downright confused about what they were supposed to be doing. It would even be better to play players out of position, but keep them out of position for a run of games: at least they could grow into their role week-on-week and gain a degree of familiarity. Quite simply, the messing around has got to stop or we are going to suffer even more because of it. Ramos needs to pick a team and stick with it.

Perhaps, however, there is a reason for this. As mentioned before, there are a lot of ambiguities and uncertainties and a lot of players who 'can't play together'. One might argue that, as professionals, any player should be able to build a working relationship with any other regardless. However, at this level of professionalism, each player is highly specialised to perform an individual role and the smallest differences in style and positioning can create huge problems and create holes for the opposition to exploit. For this reason, Modric really can't play alongside Jenas, Huddlestone really can't be effective when he doesn't have time and space, and, as Poyet said recently, maybe Bent and Pavlyuchenko really can't play together (although I disagree with this).

More to the point, however, I really don't think that Ramos knows what his best side is, and probably hasn't been given the tools to create a balanced team. The team also lacks any real spine to build around, regardless of who he picks. This must be a dilemma for Juande. By some of the decisions he is making with regard to selection, you can certainly see what he is trying to do. Bale can do a job left-mid, O'hara and Zokora are very versatile, the various strikers do need to be tested in varying roles. What he is trying is therefore not without logic. The centre of the park is his biggest problem: who do you play? Jenas because he is the vice captain and a good hard working player? Modric because he is a new big-money signing and needs the minutes in order to adapt? And if you play these two, there is no automatic name on the team sheet to fill in behind: O'Hara, Zokora and Huddlestone all have their plus points, but not one of them is an automatic choice. Without a 'first name on the team sheet' central player, it is incredibly difficult to choose who should play in the middle: no wonder Ramos is scratching his head. Likewise, on the right wing there is a problem: play the young, quick lively Lennon or go for the big-money new boy? And if one doesn't perform, how long do you give them to settle and make an impact? Or do you, in fact, accomodate both by playing on of them on the left, or centrally, or supporting the strikers? It is just one more selection problem, and in this case, is one we could easily have avoided if the money spent on Bentley was used to buy a DM, CM, LM or a CF. I am not saying I don't rate Bentley - on the contrary, he is a class player - but I do question the logic of his purchase when there were a lot more pressing positions to fill and it creates the selection problem we now have.

Another problem is formation. Aside from goalkeeper and a back four, there are six more positions to fill and a million different combinations. Since the team does lack a spine (and by spine I mean players who pick themselves that can have a squad build around them), there are no straightforward choices. 4-4-2, -4-3-3, 4-5-1, 4-1-3-2, 4-2-3-1 have all been tried this season. One might think it is a luxury to have some many young and diverse players that can play in many positions, or have strikers that can play either alone of up front, but in reality it is a huge problem when you don't know your best side. Alongside all these formations, there are players which can play in several of the positions: but which to pick, and where? There are so many choices and no obvious answers. Yes, it is the head coaches job to pick the team and yes, he is a professional getting paid vast amounts of money to do so and should make the right decision, but you do have to feel for Juande: right decisions or not, it is a damn tough position to be in. All the players at his disposal have talent, but can they play together, and if so, how?

So Ramos really does have a huge problem in working out - quickly - where to play his players to good effect. It isn't as straightforward as it first looks. Although I am personally of the opinion that we need to stick with one system for a little while, grind out some results, and fit in other pieces of the jigsaw at a later time, you can see what Juande is trying to find out. Maybe this scatter-gun 'throw it together, and see what sticks' approach is not the prettiest, but perhaps it is best in the long run.

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3) Buying players - the Levy/Comolli/Ramos question.

So whose fault is it that we have not filled the positions we desperately? This is a tough question, and for all the best analysis in the world, I simply do not know enough about the behind the scenes working at the club. I can, however, touch upon what I do know and draw upon the analysis of others who are perhaps more 'in the know' than I am.

The purchasing and sale of players in a system that includes Director of Football suggests that it is he who will have the most to do with this side of the club. So let's start with Comolli. David Comolli has to take a huge share of the blame for not bringing in the right players. I don't care if he approached the right players and they didn't want to come; or Levy wouldn't put up the money; or Ramos didn't approve; or the scouts weren't doing their jobs properly. Ultimately, as the Director of Football, it is his job to make sure these things get done properly, and therefore the buck has to stop with him, regardless of the whys and wherefores. The players we desperately needed were not brought in: it is as simple as that. There was a lot of information circling the media - and revealed by certain 'In The Know' sources - that linked us to many-a top (and not so top) names: Ronaldiniho, Eto'o, Veloso, Arshavin, De-la-Red, Milto, Capel...the list really is endless. Now whether these links were accurate or not, one of three things is certain: we were wasting time chasing players that were unrealistic prospects (Eto'o, Ronaldiniho fall into this bracket), we were not shrewd enough in our business dealings or willing enough to stump up the money (Arshavin is definitely an example of this), or we were not targeting these players at all. If the later is the case it is just as inexcusable: the players we were linked with could have done the jobs we required, but if we weren't targeting them who, exactly,were> we targeting, because we still didn't managed to being in the players we needed. No DM. No LM. No CF.

And Comolli has previous: Boetang, Kaboul, Tarrabat, Rocha even Bent...and many more have been brought in for countless millions, and non of them have settled: quite simply, they have not made the grade. Sure, every player shouldn't be expected to make the grade, but the success rate for so much money just has to be higher. It is totally unacceptable and Tottenham Hotspur's transfer policy truly is terrible, and this man has to take a vast proportion of the blame. I will not go into the supposed 'pushing out' of Jol by Comolli as this piece is intended to talk about purely footballing reasons for Spurs lack of form, but one might suggest that this is a worrying thing to occur in the back room of any football club, with staff undermining each other.

Juande Ramos's role in transfers is unclear. Some believe that he has the final say on transfers that are picked by the scouts and Comolli that identified as realistic targets. Some say he picks the targets himself and Comolli and Levy then chase them if they are realistic and affordable. Some say he has an even greater role than Comolli, and is in fact the prime mover on the transfer front. However, whatever the case, I will give Juande a bit of leeway here: whether he identifies players or not, it is certainly not his job to chase them, offer them terms, convince them to join the club and tie them up. Perhaps without a Director of Football it would be different: other Premiership managers do play a lot bigger role in player negotiation and signings, but in this case Juande has to be given some slack. It is not his fault the right players have not been brought in. No one can be sure who Juande wanted in or why they didn't come, but I am convinced that if he had the choice he would be happy with the squad that he has been given. It has youth, it has flair, but it lacks substance.

So attention turns to Chairman Levy. What is his role in transfers? Again, I cannot personally define the role he plays in transfers, any more than anyone else can. But he has also come in for a lot of criticism. Now Daniel has done a lot of positive things for the club: he has put us on a sound financial footing, will fight tooth and nail in the transfer market and has very definitely brought the club forward from the days of Sugar. His qualities as a business man are not in question here. But does he know about football, and do his loyalties like in the wrong place? His qualities as a business man have positives and negatives: he is certainly apt at getting value for money when selling players. Getting ?20m for Keane was - despite the loss of a very good player - a good bit of 'business', and he was certainly seen to scrape every penny possible for Berbatov - ?30.75m and a loan player for a season is an incredible deal. Carrick for 18m was also a huge sum of money. One could argue that Levy could and perhaps should have said 'no' to all these transfers, but in fairness every player has their price, and these offers were most certainly towards the top end of their value. Another argument is that 'O'Neil managed to keep hold of Barry, why couldn't Levy keep hold of Berbatov or Keane?'. I think the answer is simply that Liverpool were not in the position to buy both Barry and Keane this season: it was literally a case of one or there other. I am sure that had Liverpool met the asking price, Barry would now be wearing a scarlet shirt as oppose to a claret one, and so perhaps Levy did the best he could given the circumstances. Losing these players has no doubt cost Spurs on the pitch, but Levy has very definitely sent out the message that 'if you want our players....it will cost you'. Given the position of the club compared to the lure of 'the big four' perhaps this is all he can say.

Unfortunately, it seems that this is where things backfire. Levy's penny pinching and desire - even need - to get the best value for money has definitely cost the club. Eventually, the price has to be met and you either pay the price, or don't get the player. This appears to have happened this transfer window in the failure to bring in so many of the players we were linked with. Although Zenith St.Petersburg have been accused of 'moving the goalposts' (so to speak), it has been widely suggested that had Levy put up the extra million pounds, he would have landed his player, and we would perhaps have had an answer to one (or perhaps two) of our on-the-field problems (Arshavin can play LWF, LM or as a striker). One million is obviously a lot of money, but in footballing terms perhaps it is better to speculate to accumulate - especially when you have ?70m coming the other way through sales. One has to wonder how many more players would be at the club this window if someone else had been in charge.

Even more cynically - although this is, at the moment, speculation there is a worry amongst some fans that he treats players like assets: buy 'em young and cheap, bring 'em on a bit and flog 'em at grossly inflated prices. Carrick and Berbatov are examples of this, and there is worry that the likes of Bale and Giovanni Dos Santos are being groomed for this purpose. If this truly is the case it is extremely worrying and I would be calling for Levy's head outside the ground like a raving Newcastle fan...However, there is a counter thesis. If this was the case and all Levy wants to do is make money by selling, why would he have spent so much? He has spent 17m on Bentley, 16.5m on both Bent and Modric, 14m on Pavlyuchenko, 9m on Hutton...these are players which undermine this hypothesis as they are hardly likely to go up too much in value, and therefore appear to be brought in for footballing reasons - not business ones. This is certainly my stance.

Levy is first and foremost a business man, and he is not necessarily supposed to know about the 'football' side of football. That is perhaps why he favours the Director of Football system and has employed Comolli to deal with this side of the game. Comolli identifies the players - perhaps alongside the manager - and the Levy and Cimolli try to seal the deal. Another criticism of Levy is this reliance on Comolli is fallacy and he is simply not good enough to play the role. He was brought in after the departure of Arnesen and really has not lived up to expectations. I argue that Levy - whether all his business dealings are in part responsible for not bringing player in or not - has to hold Commoli responsible for our poor performance at bringing in the correct players. However, I feel this may not happen because Levy relies on him too much, and sacking him would be, in fact, an admission of failure. This of course is understandable, but not forgiveable as it does not act to the direct benefit of the football club.

As a summery, there is little transparency over how transfers are made, who makes the decisions and who should be held accountable: Ramos for picking the wrong players? Ramos for not making the players he has work effectively together? Comolli as Director of Football and therefore the one responsible? Comoli for being slow to tie up deals and not being competent enough in his role to identify and purchase players? Levy for his trust in Comolli or his too-businesslike approach to buying new players? It is simply not clear. What is clear, however, is that we are not bringing the right players in, we still have three absolutely gaping holes in fundamental positions, someone is to blame. Only the spurs board and staff can answer this, and it is an issue that needs to be addressed. And quickly.

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So we can see Spurs problems aren't because of one, single factor. Problems on the pitch, issues with the players, the lack of leadership, the management and coaching, the tactics, the transfer policies, Levy, Comoli have the cumulative effect of putting us in our current predicament.

If just one of these factors can be improved, the knock-on effect could be a big improvement across the board. Lets hope Ramos and the players can get us on the right track before the January window comes along. Then it is up to Comoli and Levy.

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I hope you had time to read all that, and I have not had any time to check through it so I apologise for any mistakes.

Comments welcome.

FaRSight:)2 :)

Edited October 4, 2008 by FaRSightxc2

[Martyn]

****ing get in there Redmen ;D!!!!

Amazing game of football! Shame about Skrtel, hope he gets better soon :(

[rajputwarrior]

great game :)

[bush]

Nice to see spurs rock bottom. Not that i don't like them, it's just.. i had the same joy if Man Utd/Arsenal/Liverpool/Chelsea were there too.

[FaRSightxc2]

Sack full of sh 1t (Y)

[L3thal Veteran]

What a goal by Sunderland's Leadbitter yesterday.

[Guyro]

Nice to see spurs rock bottom. Not that i don't like them, it's just.. i had the same joy if Man Utd/Arsenal/Liverpool/Chelsea were there too.

are you a fulham fan

[Kralik]

Didnt know where else to post this..

Here's the TOP 20 from the latest FIFA world rankings..

Team +/- RankingSep 08

1 Spain 0

2 Italy 0

3 Germany 0

4 Brazil 2

5 Netherlands -1

6 Croatia -1

7 Argentina 0

8 Czech Republic 0

9 Russia 3

10 Portugal -1

11 France 0

12 Cameroon 2

13 Turkey -3

14 England 1

15 Bulgaria 1

16 Israel 3

17 Greece 1

18 Romania -5

19 Ukraine 7

20 Uruguay 2

Edited October 8, 2008 by Kralik

[Crazysah]

hahaha! England 14th!

Anyways... Spurs are rock bottom! YES! Has any team ever survived after being rock bottom after these many games? I don't think so!

[Rappy Veteran]

hahaha! England 14th!

Anyways... Spurs are rock bottom! YES! Has any team ever survived after being rock bottom after these many games? I don't think so!

Theres really not that much of a gap between the bottom and the above like 2 or 3 points a couple of wins and they are out of there.

[rajputwarrior]

damn french... way to slip.

[FaRSightxc2]

hahaha! England 14th!

Anyways... Spurs are rock bottom! YES! Has any team ever survived after being rock bottom after these many games? I don't think so!

Of course they have.

Its the 'bottom at christmas' stat that is the all telling one. And even West Ham got out of that the season before last.

I'm panicking, but there is a hell of a long way to go.

[Martyn]

I doubt Spurs will get relegated, and I hope they don't.

There is no way they can play as badly as they are now for the rest of the season, everyone knows the potential they have.

Although, I hope Spurs form continues until after we play them ;)

[FaRSightxc2]

I doubt Spurs will get relegated, and I hope they don't.

There is no way they can play as badly as they are now for the rest of the season, everyone knows the potential they have.

Although, I hope Spurs form continues until after we play them ;)

Playing you lot twice in the first two weeks of November, and going to the league game at the Lane. God I hope we can start putting in some performances before then :s :s :s