Spurs 2018/19

I can understand why some Spurs fans are worried, but they have a very good base to work from. Lloris, Vertonghen, Wanyama, Eriksen, Kane is a very good spine. It's not City levels of good but can compete with the rest.

More importantly, I don't see it as likely that Spurs will get displaced out of the top 4 which is probably the most important thing for them now. Chelsea have only just fixed the Bakoyoko problem and still have the Morata problem (who still can't hit a barn door in pre season). Arsenal have signed prospects and free transfers so it's difficult for them to match the quality of the other teams.

That's the way I see it, but what I'm saying is the media feed the fan thirst for signings and everyone jumps on the bandwagon.
 
Yeah yet he has seen overall a massive improvement in the club and squad? I've said before he has dome plenty wrong so I don't see how I'm blinkered.

I don't deny he's done great things for the club. That doesn't mean his methods are always beyond criticism, or that he can't make a mess of things, which I think he has done this window. Off the field Levy has been fantastic in terms of getting us the new stadium and pulling us away from a dangerous financial position, but some of his decisions have in the past cost us on the pitch. We've hired plenty of dud managers and had plenty of missed opportunities where a bit of investment may have pushed us all the way.

He's done a lot for the club. Nobody here (aside from maybe the odd United fan!) is claiming he's a cancer on the club like Mike Ashley, nobody wants him to leave. I'm not here chanting 'Levy out!' - all I'm arguing is that some of his methods can be to the detriment of the playing staff when he goes too far, and this is what it looks like has happened during this window. You may disagree and have your own take on things, that's entirely fair.
 
I don't see what the point of your first question mark was for?
I wanted to see how long that would go :lol:

It seemed like you were saying what you think other fans think before saying "don't act like you know what other fans think."
 
That's the way I see it, but what I'm saying is the media feed the fan thirst for signings and everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

Because we need depth, badly. It's continually been a big issue for us the last couple of seasons and it's one which could be even more of an issue due to some of the reasons I've previously outlined. I'm not a transfer muppet who sits up reading through tabloid articles and hanging on their every word, I don't even want/expect a marquee signing. Fan 'thirst' for signings is usually related to wanting a big name to get excited about, which isn't what most of our fans have been concerned about.

We just wanted the managers concerns going in to the window to be addressed, which they haven't been. Failing that, some signings that take place outside of deadline day and properly deal with the problems we have would be nice. Again: nobody expects 200 million spent on world class players just for the sake of being excited. You are acting as if this is what people are asking for, when it simply isn't true. The criticisms have been related to us being the only club who have done zero business thus far. There's a reason it's preferable to not wait till the last seconds of the window.
 
I wanted to see how long that would go :lol:

It seemed like you were saying what you think other fans think before saying "don't act like you know what other fans think."

No :lol:, I meant more like that I'm not sitting here saying he hasn't done things wrong during his tenure.
 
This is the time where Levy normally kicks in to gear is it not, this is the week of the year he lives for. Question has Kovacic been linked much with you guys at all? Just feel like if you were to sell Dembele he’d be a fantastic player for you guys.
I’m expecting Alderweireld to be a United player by the end of the window so what is the story with DeLigt?
 
This is the time where Levy normally kicks in to gear is it not, this is the week of the year he lives for. Question has Kovacic been linked much with you guys at all? Just feel like if you were to sell Dembele he’d be a fantastic player for you guys.
I’m expecting Alderweireld to be a United player by the end of the window so what is the story with DeLigt?

Not really on Kovacic to be honest more wishful thinking, De Ligt was then apparently City blew us out of the water transfer wise but he’s still at Ajax. I’d say at most 5% of transfer “news” is at best speculation and at worst absolute lies.
 
Wanyama has injury issues and is no longer really part of our 'spine'. Our excellent starting players have never been the issue, it's our lack of depth which is causing a massive headache for a lot of fans. We struggled with it last season and with another year gone we have fresh injury concerns, world cup fatigue, Son off to the Asian games and Dembele looking a bit shot. We will likely lean very heavily on youth this year (risky) unless we act pretty quickly in the last week of the window.

Think it's very dangerous to be making assumptions about Chelsea. We know they perform under a new manager, they have done it countless times before and I expect them to do it again. They have world class players in the side (Hazard and Kante as the two gems) and a manager who had Napoli challenging Juventus. Even with their team at odds with their own manager they pushed Liverpool till the final day for top four, and they've brought in Jorginho who was fantastic last season. I expect Hazard to tear it up under Sarri, too.

Arsenal are a bit of a mystery, but again .. new manager, fresher feeling surrounding the club and a few tidy additions. Can't be underestimated and the top 4 is nowhere even close to a gimme.

I thought Wanyama had gotten over his injury? He looked quite good at the end of the season.

I'm not really assuming anything about Chelsea, but looking at why they under performed and what they have done to fix it. Their biggest problem was replacing Matic and Costa, which they did a horrible job at doing last season. They have replaced Matic well, but still do not have a reliable goal scorer. Morata is so sub-par that I can't see them doing anything significant with him in the league.

Spurs have the best goalscorer in the league, one of the best suppliers in the league, a solid defensive partnership and very good fullbacks. They don't have the depth to compete on all fronts, but is that something on the agenda at the moment?
 
I thought Wanyama had gotten over his injury? He looked quite good at the end of the season.

I'm not really assuming anything about Chelsea, but looking at why they under performed and what they have done to fix it. Their biggest problem was replacing Matic and Costa, which they did a horrible job at doing last season. They have replaced Matic well, but still do not have a reliable goal scorer. Morata is so sub-par that I can't see them doing anything significant with him in the league.

Spurs have the best goalscorer in the league, one of the best suppliers in the league, a solid defensive partnership and very good fullbacks. They don't have the depth to compete on all fronts, but is that something on the agenda at the moment?

He did, but he's still not quite as good he was the previous season, I wouldn't have him as part of our 'core'.

Sarri had a similar problem with Higuain, he ended up converting Mertens to striker and basically playing a fluid system where there was no 'focal point' so to speak. I wouldn't be surprised (if Morata does fail under him too) if they went for a similar system. Even without a world class striker, they have Hazard... if he has one of his better seasons, they can easily make the top four. He can be the best player in the league when he's on full song. I just can't see past the Chelsea new manager effect, they were at war with their own manager last season yet still did pretty well. They are not a perfect side, but they are dangerous. Fantastic central midfield, very good defenders, and a world class attacking player in Hazard, with decent other options like Pedro and Willian. They might not win the league without a proper striker, but top 4 is achievable.

We have very good players, but similar comments could be made about other sides. It's very competitive, and I don't think we're better than the others to the point where we can go 'we're fine', because we aren't. Midfield badly needs investment with Dembele being phased out, like urgently. Depth is pretty horrible, as for 'being on the agenda' we have not long to go and are only seriously linked with Grealish. Start of the season we're going to be down to the barebones.
 
Not really on Kovacic to be honest more wishful thinking, De Ligt was then apparently City blew us out of the water transfer wise but he’s still at Ajax. I’d say at most 5% of transfer “news” is at best speculation and at worst absolute lies.
I agree with your figures on transfer “news” but I find it strange that Levy wouldn’t have eyes on a more extravagant name with moving in to the new stadium and all. Personally feel like you’ll sign DeLigt as soon as the Alderweireld to United move goes through, probably in the dying hours of TD. Will have to wait and see I guess. I’ve never really seen Grealish so can’t comment on him.
 
I agree with your figures on transfer “news” but I find it strange that Levy wouldn’t have eyes on a more extravagant name with moving in to the new stadium and all. Personally feel like you’ll sign DeLigt as soon as the Alderweireld to United move goes through, probably in the dying hours of TD. Will have to wait and see I guess. I’ve never really seen Grealish so can’t comment on him.

Can't see that, personally. Think De Ligt will give Ajax another season and then move if he has a good year, which is probably best as he's still very young to be making the step up.
 
He did, but he's still not quite as good he was the previous season, I wouldn't have him as part of our 'core'.

Sarri had a similar problem with Higuain, he ended up converting Mertens to striker and basically playing a fluid system where there was no 'focal point' so to speak. I wouldn't be surprised (if Morata does fail under him too) if they went for a similar system. Even without a world class striker, they have Hazard... if he has one of his better seasons, they can easily make the top four. He can be the best player in the league when he's on full song. I just can't see past the Chelsea new manager effect, they were at war with their own manager last season yet still did pretty well. They are not a perfect side, but they are dangerous. Fantastic central midfield, very good defenders, and a world class attacking player in Hazard, with decent other options like Pedro and Willian. They might not win the league without a proper striker, but top 4 is achievable.

We have very good players, but similar comments could be made about other sides. It's very competitive, and I don't think we're better than the others to the point where we can go 'we're fine', because we aren't. Midfield badly needs investment with Dembele being phased out, like urgently. Depth is pretty horrible, as for 'being on the agenda' we have not long to go and are only seriously linked with Grealish. Start of the season we're going to be down to the barebones.

Higuain is twice the striker Morata is, so it's going to be much more difficult to get him to fit in.

But you are right that the top 6 is extremely competitive. I think that it's a crap shoot for everyone except City who are virtually guaranteed a top 4 spot. You could conceivably see 4 teams get close to 80 points.
 
Higuain is twice the striker Morata is, so it's going to be much more difficult to get him to fit in.

But you are right that the top 6 is extremely competitive. I think that it's a crap shoot for everyone except City who are virtually guaranteed a top 4 spot. You could conceivably see 4 teams get close to 80 points.

By problem with Higuain I meant the problem was they sold him.. and were left with Milik who got injured. Ended up playing with basically a fluid front 3 with no traditional striker.
 
How long did you expect Levy/Pinocchio to carry on pulling off miracles? Low transfer spend/low wages wasn’t going to last forever and now with the stadium cost biting it will all add up nicely. Once this group of players falls apart so will Spurs it’s only a matter of time.
 
Courtesy of Spurs fan "leee":

"I had the immense pleasure today of being invited to see the inside of the new stadium. To say I was blown away is an understatement. We have the best stadium in the land. The views from even the top tier is breathtaking. You're so close to the pitch wherever you sit. Daniel Levy and the board have built something special that will be talked about for a very long time. I really didn't want to leave. Could have sat in the stands for hours just taking in the experience. Still work to do but it should be ready for Liverpool in 5 weeks time. It is truly an astonishing stadium, the pitch looks huge and everything about it just says world class. Seating is comfortable and not cramped at all. I could write about it for hours but I'll stop now."
 
Courtesy of Spurs fan "leee":

"I had the immense pleasure today of being invited to see the inside of the new stadium. To say I was blown away is an understatement. We have the best stadium in the land. The views from even the top tier is breathtaking. You're so close to the pitch wherever you sit. Daniel Levy and the board have built something special that will be talked about for a very long time. I really didn't want to leave. Could have sat in the stands for hours just taking in the experience. Still work to do but it should be ready for Liverpool in 5 weeks time. It is truly an astonishing stadium, the pitch looks huge and everything about it just says world class. Seating is comfortable and not cramped at all. I could write about it for hours but I'll stop now."

Find this cringey as hell. It's a new, modern stadium. Fantastic stuff, but let's go win something now rather than drooling over how world class our facilities are.
 
Find this cringey as hell. It's a new, modern stadium. Fantastic stuff, but let's go win something now rather than drooling over how world class our facilities are.

The two things are not mutually exclusive.

It must be being so cheerful as keeps you going … is Victor Meldrew your favourite character?
 
The two things are not mutually exclusive.

It must be being so cheerful as keeps you going … is Victor Meldrew your favourite character?

There's a difference between being happy about the new stadium (I can't wait to go, personally) and practically writing fan fiction about it. Guy sounds like he's popping a boner. And we aren't winning a damn thing the way we've been going this summer.
 
There's a difference between being happy about the new stadium (I can't wait to go, personally) and practically writing fan fiction about it. Guy sounds like he's popping a boner. And we aren't winning a damn thing the way we've been going this summer.

Well, he (or she) has been there and you haven't, so your basis for claiming "fan fiction" is zero.

All you do mainly seem to do is criticise, moan and wrap gloom around you like a warming cloak.

If the fan in question was blown away by their visit, what's wrong with that? But no, you have to jump in with your usual wet blanket.
 
Courtesy of Spurs fan "leee":

"I had the immense pleasure today of being invited to see the inside of the new stadium. To say I was blown away is an understatement. We have the best stadium in the land. The views from even the top tier is breathtaking. You're so close to the pitch wherever you sit. Daniel Levy and the board have built something special that will be talked about for a very long time. I really didn't want to leave. Could have sat in the stands for hours just taking in the experience. Still work to do but it should be ready for Liverpool in 5 weeks time. It is truly an astonishing stadium, the pitch looks huge and everything about it just says world class. Seating is comfortable and not cramped at all. I could write about it for hours but I'll stop now."

Is this your dream journal or something?
 
Well, he (or she) has been there and you haven't, so your basis for claiming "fan fiction" is zero.

All you do mainly seem to do is criticise, moan and wrap gloom around you like a warming cloak.

If the fan in question was blown away by their visit, what's wrong with that? But no, you have to jump in with your usual wet blanket.

I meant in terms of how OTT it was, not that it was actually fiction ffs. It's cringy and OTT, I'm sorry but that's a fact. Most people who aren't Spurs fans (and quite a few who are) will look at that and go 'it's a stadium mate, calm yourself. It's fantastic we're getting it but I'm far more concerned with what we do on the football pitch than how flashy our cafes/toilets are, to be honest with you. Guess that means I'm 'doom and gloom', rather than you know .. just interested in the footballing side of our FOOTBALL CLUB.

I'm not bothered about him being blown away, I'm sure it was a cool experience, like I said I can't wait. There's a difference between liking the stadium and ranting like a teenage girl with a crush about it, hence why I said I thought it was a bit cringey, at the end of the day from what I've seen it's very much your standard modern football stadium.

To be fair, I'd prefer to be a wet blanket than head of the Levy fan club. Do you sit at home after work every day and bash one out to stadium pics and our financial reports? All this hype about the stadium and them getting people to wax lyrical about it, is probably just to distract us from signing nobody with 4 days to go, with our manager not even sure we'll do business. Forgive me if I'm not in a dicks out for Levy mood when we've been an incompetent mess in the transfer market.
 
I meant in terms of how OTT it was, not that it was actually fiction ffs. It's cringy and OTT, I'm sorry but that's a fact. Most people who aren't Spurs fans (and quite a few who are) will look at that and go 'it's a stadium mate, calm yourself. It's fantastic we're getting it but I'm far more concerned with what we do on the football pitch than how flashy our cafes/toilets are, to be honest with you. Guess that means I'm 'doom and gloom', rather than you know .. just interested in the footballing side of our FOOTBALL CLUB.

I'm not bothered about him being blown away, I'm sure it was a cool experience, like I said I can't wait. There's a difference between liking the stadium and ranting like a teenage girl with a crush about it, hence why I said I thought it was a bit cringey, at the end of the day from what I've seen it's very much your standard modern football stadium.

To be fair, I'd prefer to be a wet blanket than head of the Levy fan club. Do you sit at home after work every day and bash one out to stadium pics and our financial reports? All this hype about the stadium and them getting people to wax lyrical about it, is probably just to distract us from signing nobody with 4 days to go, with our manager not even sure we'll do business. Forgive me if I'm not in a dicks out for Levy mood when we've been an incompetent mess in the transfer market.

You were bothered enough about it to post your usual complaining stuff, even tho' you've not been inside it.

Not every single fecking post has to be about the transfer window and the doom that apparently awaits Spurs.
 
You were bothered enough about it to post your usual complaining stuff, even tho' you've not been inside it.

Not every single fecking post has to be about the transfer window and the doom that apparently awaits Spurs.

I just found the description cringey .. because it was. And with 4 days to go and us being the only premier league club to have done no business, how are you even remotely surprised the vast majority of discussion is going to be transfer related? It's a bit relevant at the moment, mate. I know you want to talk about our net spend and the shiny stadium, but right now most fans who want the team to play well are a bit too concerned with the state of the squad to be getting too revved up about how nice the stadium looks.
 


The state of the Spurs team with a week to go until the start of the season. No Eriksen or Sanchez in squad either - injured?


They've been sold to give Levy a pay-rise and also enable us to sign a couple of non-league players.

@SquishyMcSquish
 


The state of the Spurs team with a week to go until the start of the season. No Eriksen or Sanchez in squad either - injured?



Ssshhh just talk about the stadium. Everything is absolutely fine.
 
How long did you expect Levy/Pinocchio to carry on pulling off miracles? Low transfer spend/low wages wasn’t going to last forever and now with the stadium cost biting it will all add up nicely. Once this group of players falls apart so will Spurs it’s only a matter of time.

Damn, I haven't heard that before, most of our player have just signed new contracts so it doesn't look like we're falling apart much no matter how much you wish it to be so.
 
It's a friendly, we actually play our youth players.

Pre-season is used to get your senior players fit and ready to play the next season. It's why most teams play pretty much as many first team players they can for some of the final games, have a look at Liverpool's lineup for today. They aren't playing their best players because they care about the result, but because they will be in the swing of things faster for when the season starts. If you don't do this, you go in to the season with a number of players still not up to speed and risk a slow start. Most sides incorporate a number of youth players in to pre-season, but still try and play their key/core players when they can do so.

Playing youth is admirable, but counter-productive to being as competitive as possible come the first game, unless we plan to include a bunch of them in the starting XI. This is why most teams put emphasis on getting their signings in early, Liverpool have had a number of games to test out the likes of Keita and Fabinho, for example. Alisson also gets a game today. Again, doing it differently will have a knock on effect, and will likely cost us points when the games start flying at us. Newcastle away isn't an easy 3 points, either.
 
What do you think your starting XI will look like next weekend?

We will have to wait and see.

Pre-season is used to get your senior players fit and ready to play the next season. It's why most teams play pretty much as many first team players they can for some of the final games, have a look at Liverpool's lineup for today. They aren't playing their best players because they care about the result, but because they will be in the swing of things faster for when the season starts. If you don't do this, you go in to the season with a number of players still not up to speed and risk a slow start. Most sides incorporate a number of youth players in to pre-season, but still try and play their key/core players when they can do so.

Playing youth is admirable, but counter-productive to being as competitive as possible come the first game, unless we plan to include a bunch of them in the starting XI. This is why most teams put emphasis on getting their signings in early, Liverpool have had a number of games to test out the likes of Keita and Fabinho, for example. Alisson also gets a game today. Again, doing it differently will have a knock on effect, and will likely cost us points when the games start flying at us. Newcastle away isn't an easy 3 points, either.

In pre-season, teams normally play their first team/close to so they get to gel and build fitness for the coming season. Seems pointless to field a bunch of players who won't even make an appearance for you during the season.

Well we did have have a lot of players at the World Cup, so Poch doesn't really have much choice as he is managaimg the squad. It's a match against Girona FC FFS :lol:.
 
Well we did have have a lot of players at the World Cup, so Poch doesn't really have much choice as he is managaimg the squad. It's a match against Girona FC FFS :lol:.

The opponent is irrelevant .. the point is to get the players who will be starting soon some gametime. Oh don't worry, I'm not blaming Pochettino for our squad situation.
 
Damn, I haven't heard that before, most of our player have just signed new contracts so it doesn't look like we're falling apart much no matter how much you wish it to be so.

You haven’t had this much stadium debt before either. Wait and see equilibrium will always be returned after a short variance. Quote me on it later.
 
The opponent is irrelevant .. the point is to get the players who will be starting soon some gametime. Oh don't worry, I'm not blaming Pochettino for our squad situation.

Lol of course Levy should have signed players to cover all the players involved in the WC. Of course the opponent is relevant, Poch has always played youth in the pre season, in fact Girona FC is the weakest opposition we have played maybe Poch was giving the players not involved in the tour a game?

You haven’t had this much stadium debt before either. Wait and see equilibrium will always be returned after a short variance. Quote me on it later.

I will, you think we are going to fall back to mid table, what's the time frame so I can't quote you correctly?
 
You haven’t had this much stadium debt before either. Wait and see equilibrium will always be returned after a short variance. Quote me on it later.


We are perfectly capable of servicing the stadium debt whilst investing the necessary funds in to the squad to keep it at a strong level. Especially since we have an extremely strong core nailed down to long term contracts, and if we can unearth another gem or two in the vein of Harry Kane we won't need to spend as much as the others. The problem is that Levy's priority is the bottom line, so what we can do and what we will do are two very different things.

Regardless, we're not just going to dissapear for the forseeable future. We have too many good players at the club for that, and plenty of young players who will likely improve. You're acting like you can predict the future when you can't, it's all just speculation. I have plenty of worries about what may happen to the squad in the future, but I'd be surprised if we weren't at least up there competing for a top four spot for the next few seasons. Anything more than that would require investment.
 
We are perfectly capable of servicing the stadium debt whilst investing the necessary funds in to the squad to keep it at a strong level. Especially since we have an extremely strong core nailed down to long term contracts, and if we can unearth another gem or two in the vein of Harry Kane we won't need to spend as much as the others. The problem is that Levy's priority is the bottom line, so what we can do and what we will do are two very different things.

Regardless, we're not just going to dissapear for the forseeable future. We have too many good players at the club for that, and plenty of young players who will likely improve. You're acting like you can predict the future when you can't, it's all just speculation. I have plenty of worries about what may happen to the squad in the future, but I'd be surprised if we weren't at least up there competing for a top four spot for the next few seasons. Anything more than that would require investment.

People have been trying to predict the future for Spurs for seasons, it's hilarious.
 
Lol of course Levy should have signed players to cover all the players involved in the WC. Of course the opponent is relevant, Poch has always played youth in the pre season, in fact Girona FC is the weakest opposition we have played maybe Poch was giving the players not involved in the tour a game?



I will, you think we are going to fall back to mid table, what's the time frame so I can't quote you correctly?

Just signing players would have done, to be fair. Or you know, a player.

Poch has always mixed his starting 11 players with a number of youth ones. Our starting 11 in the pre-season friendly against Manchester City last season was: Lloris, Trippier, Toby, Vert, Davies, Winks, Dier, Eriksen, Alli, Kane. The likes of Onomah, Walkers-Peters and CCV were tried out against Roma etc, but overall we had a healthy mix of seniors and starting players. At the moment we're leaning more heavily on youth than is wise, and will likely have a number of players nowhere near match ready when the league starts.

The world cup of course is partly to blame, but our very thin squad is also a major factor, and we've done nothing to remedy this in the market with four days to go. These are the kind of problems which arise as a result of this policy, right now the team against Newcastle could be very much barebones stuff.