TOTTENHAM ARE STILL A BIG CLUB!

agree about walker/naughton/corluka providing the rb/rw cover adequately, absolutely

Caulker has been good, agreed. With he, dawson, kaboul, we'd still want a top-classer- king i spose could be valuable around the place with these guys.

Vertonghen sounds a v likely solution to lb/cb, yeah

Nakh- ok, a striker to get on the end of crosses needn't be a 'big', i'd like a player who could do the holdup job too. Pavlyuchenko, maybe?

I'd forgotten about Caulker, yeah he should definitely be in the mix for next year as he's had a really good first season in the Prem with Swansea. Are there any younger players who might come through, Walker-style?

Bostock joined Swindon Town on loan on 22 March 2012 for the remainder of the 2011-12 season. He joined Swindon after Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said it would be good if he played under Paolo Di Canio.[20] Initially he struggled to make an impact at the League Two side, remaining on the bench for the first four league games of his loan-spell. However, he did make an appearance from the bench in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley where Swindon were beaten 2-0 by Chesterfield.

'lay it off and get into the box' is great, as an option!

If drogba could be tempted, and trusted to stay fit, i'd love to see him leading an attack pointed by lennon/bale with vdv, modric given real free rein to exploit gaps

drogba is a total anomaly, there isn't another player like that and he is going to be 35 next season

he hasn't tended to play predominantly off crosses either, in his prime he played in a narrow 433 with anelka and malouda

Are there any younger players who might come through, Walker-style?

― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Monday, May 14, 2012 10:37 AM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

naughton and caulker the only ones likely to get anywhere with redknapp since they have pl experience. townsend didn't do much at birmingham, kane did well at milwall but is still a couple of years away probably. wonder if falque or ceballos will get more chances than dos santos, both are potential options on the wings.

although credit to harry for bringing in livermore this season, he has looked good every time he's played.

how old's coulibaly? 17? Is he too young/raw to loan out next season do you think?

tbh were i minded to allow 'arry 'is positives, livermore, bale, lennon, walker, ekotto- if we can add caulker and naughton to that list next year, there's clear evidence that he knows how to develop potential into consistent performance. BAE and Lennon were utter heartbreakers up until Redknapp arrived, and imo the others wouldn't have made it into anything other than jenas-type wastes under other managers we've had.

still dream of llorente

17 i think, i don't know if he'll go out on loan. there was news about a youth/reserve league that i don't remember.
xp

Redknapp didn't play Bale at all until he absolutely had to, ie when BAE got injured two years ago. I think he was taken completely be surprise when he suddenly turned into one of the best players in the world in his position. I don't think it was planned at all.

Bringing Livermore through has been progress, certainly. Weird to be supporting a Spurs team with three decent options at DM.

no, he didn't, and tbf i didn't really hold up bale as a prime example of what i was saying- but to leave him out of the list considering where he was when redknapp came and where he is now would surely be the height of churlishness.

i think that's harsh re bale. bale was dropped because he wasn't playing well, but harry for example brought him on as a sub in at the end of a game spurs were winning because bale had never played in premier leage match that spurs won in almost 2 years. he had one chance and didn't perform well so he had to wait for his next one. him taking that next chance might not be down to anything harry did, but i don't think he was frozen out or anything.

I don't think he was frozen out, but equally I really don't think he was central to Redknapp's 2-4 year plan either, assuming he had one. Obviously he came good but I don't think he was consciously cultivated in the way a Ferguson or Wenger or Moyes would bring up a young player.

he wasn't bought by redknapp, so it's not quite the same thing as comparing him to the MO of those guys imo? He inherited bale as a problematic but talented left back, remember.

interestingly enough, harry's first game in charge, he started bale in midfield

i think he'd been tried there on and off, tbf. But he'd not had a run there, nor had he particularly impressed (tho matt & i both were stanning for him prior to the notts forest loan talk iirc)

how good are the tottenham cbs and friedel at this point

which cbs. we've agreed that dawson, kaboul and caulker can stay, bassong's fat lady has bassung, gallas was p shit the last six months and king's prob finally ready to be a non-consideration. So at least one first-choice cb, if he can play lb as vertonghen is supposed to then perfect.

I'd have no prob with friedel another year tbh.

the tottenham cbs deems

kaboul
dawson
khumalo

i always thought dawson was a bit limited

kaboul tho, idk

Dawson will fling himself in the line of everything but needs a CB with a cool head next to him, dunno if Kaboul-Dawson will ever work as a pairing, although Kaboul is probably better by this point.

Ideally Harry would go for Vorm or Krul in the summer but another year of Brad could be fine, he barely fucked up this season. Of course when it goes it could all go very quickly but he's hardly likely to turn down the opportunity to play in the Champions League, if it materialises.

dawson is maximising within his limitations, with a classier player to cover behind his charges he's got a certain s/thing that almost passes for inspirational leadership.

Kaboul I like v much. Plays across the back to p good effect, but idk do the two of them as a pairing exhibit mutual positional excellence.

Khumalo is a professional footballer currently registered to tottenham as a centre half, yes.

krul would cost so much tho

i think matt and i are in basic agreement here

Corluka's strictly ok as cb cover, if he returns, but not to be discounted as important if arry ever realises e's got a squad btwn cb, rb, walker covering rw, etc

agree, caulker vertonghen should sort it and i'd hold on to naughton as well if charlie's off

attacking rb adam smith looked quite promising against qpr on loan to mk dons in the cup fwiw

also you appear to have an academy rb by the name of alexander mcqueen...?

he got ten mins against fulham... it may have been at cb tho.

naughton is p much a cert to make next year's squad, whether walker is to be used as rw cover or not in arry's 'ed will decide whether corluka stays or goes i think.

I don't really think Harry out.

I think that fourth, even in a hardly vintage race for fourth, is no mean achievement.

I think that Harry should have to answer some pretty tough questions as to why third wasn't secured, even though very good players were sent out on loan or just not utilised.

To finish fourth, fifth, fourth with a young team and playing good football is enough, though.

This summer is going to be tougher for the lack of CL at the end of it, but as Matt said in the other thread, a good pair of bids for Bale or Modric now would almost be welcome- if Redknapp can be trusted to spend the income wisely.

For large tranches of the season neither has performed to the level of player the worth of which they will be sold for. Carrick them off, by all means.

I'd be more worried at the prospect of losing Sandro or VDV tbph.

Interesting times.

I should say- I don't really think Harry out, but were he to go then I'd not be crying or anything. But I don't think he deserves the sack.

don't be a pussy

redknapp out

jol >>> redknapp

both had gutless flaky teams who couldn't really do it when it counted but redknapp had greater control over playing resources and a more expensive squad

spurs' form post february this year was one of the worst sustained periods of underperformance in recent memory

redknapp's gotten fourth twice in three years, winning many big matches in the cl and against big four teams in the league, has developed a squad of players that will at least sell for a huge amount to be re-invested if they go. he's also had more competition for the fourth spot.

how will u feel if tottenham finish fourth and chelsea win the cl thereby consigning u to the europa league?

― Ms Tum-Bla-Wi-Tee (nakhchivan), Sunday, April 29, 2012 5:38 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

how'd you think

― diafiyhm (darraghmac), Sunday, April 29, 2012 5:40 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

stoical imo

― Ms Tum-Bla-Wi-Tee (nakhchivan), Sunday, April 29, 2012 5:44 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

roberto di matteo looks vaguely like a harlequin foetus

― Ms Tum-Bla-Wi-Tee (nakhchivan), Sunday, April 29, 2012 5:45 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i gotta say tho, this is a piece of shit

chelsea have to be there but still it just isn't right

feel like if newcastle had got 4th, the outcry would have been so huge, poor little nukey trampled by uefa & the russian oligarch...

as it is, tottenham had 3rd sewn up for so long it's difficult to play to that gallery in the same way

otm

tho

again

it being a known possibility makes this unlike everton/lfc in 2005

http://windycoys.blogspot.com/2012/05/spurs-loanee-update-220512.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FcgaIL+%28Windy%27s+Blog%29

good round up of spurs loanees with some imput from fans of their clubs this past season.

ah Iago Falque, played once for Saints iirc. He's what, like, 22 now. He needs to go play somewhere.

now that i've read it that was a really good guide.

gah, David Bentley's 'career arc' is so depressing.

the depressing part is that comolli & co thought he was worth £11m more than the £4m player he was on a good day

horrible gutless little cunt given undue prominence for being technically above average in a truly terrible generation of england players

ah Iago Falque, played once for Saints iirc. He's what, like, 22 now. He needs to go play somewhere.

― pandemic, Tuesday, May 22, 2012 3:36 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

started once, was taken off at half-time. although he was trying to force his way into a first place team that didn't rotate much.

i remember him playing really well for b'burn vs man u once, i think.

xp re bentley

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m438q5meK11qck7blo1_400.gif

Comolli also spunked a load of money on Jordan Henderson and Andy Carroll so he's got form here.

Pretty sure if you banned him from signing Englishmen he'd have a pretty incredible hit ratio though, especially taking into account people like Kevin Prince Boateng who Spurs never worked out how to use.

yeah i can only think he was leaned on to buy oi mates british bloody old talent because levy saw how it attracted a premium at resale with carrick

remember how desperate they were to buy hutton that they gave him £1m or something to induce him to move when his pregnant fiancée/wife/gf wanted to stay in scotland

Would love to know what's been going on between Levy and Redknapp behind the scenes though because I'd expect Levy will be fucking furious at allowing that lead over Arsenal to evaporate and I'm not sure Redknapp even now had twigged what he did wrong.