A review of Spurs transfers since the arrival of Ramos.
The window’s shut, the door’s locked, bridges are burned and
the drawbridge is up. It’s over now, and those inside White Hart Lane can look around and know
who their comrades are for the campaign ahead. Well, until January at least.
I thought it would be appropriate to do a balance sheet of
the comings and goings of the Ramos era thus far. Not just a financial balance
sheet, but a profit and loss in a football sense as well.
Actually, I’m not too fussed about the finances. As long as
the directors are not lining their own pockets at one extreme, or “doing a Leeds” at the other, I’ll happily leave the money side to
them. Nonetheless, it shows that we have recouped almost exactly what we have
spent, in a money sense at least.
|
IN
|
£M
|
OUT
|
£M
|
|
Gomes
|
8
|
Robbo
|
3.5
|
|
Cesar
|
0
|
Cerny
|
0
|
|
Woodgate
|
7
|
Kaboul
|
7
|
|
Corluka
|
8.5
|
Gardener
|
2.5
|
|
|
|
(Rocha)
|
|
|
Hutton
|
8
|
Chimbonda
|
5
|
|
Gunter
|
3
|
Lee
|
2
|
|
Gilberto
|
2
|
(Stalteri)
|
|
|
Modric
|
15.8
|
Tanio
|
5
|
|
Bentley
|
15
|
Malbranque
|
5
|
|
|
|
(Boateng)
|
|
|
Giovani
|
4.7
|
Defoe
|
7
|
|
Pavlyuchenko
|
13.8
|
Keane
|
20.3
|
|
F.
Campbell
|
Loan
|
Berbatov
|
30.75
|
|
Total
|
85.8
|
Total
|
88.05
|
When Harry Redknapp re-joined Portsmouth and declared he needed to buy a
whole new team, people sniggered. Old ‘Arry loves his wheeling and dealing.
When Ramos arrived at Spurs, no such extravagant statements were made, in
public at least. Ramos is too dignified for that.
Looking at the list of ins and outs however, it is clear
that a dramatic overhaul of the squad has been accomplished with ruthless
speed. Perhaps the closest we got to a public declaration was in the wake of the 2-1 defeat to Aston
Villa, after which an angry Gus Poyet said “We are going to have to change,
maybe we are going to make big changes."
The legacy of the Arneson/Jol era was that although a lot of
the players were deemed not good enough for a top 4 push, they at least had
sell on value. This has allowed Ramos to completely reshape the squad in
relatively short time, and he has improved almost every area individually as
well as changing the overall balance and characteristics of the group.
Any player who does not fit the Spaniard’s basic standards
of technique and athleticism has been added to the “no long term future” list
and shipped out as and when a suitable offer has come in. Ramos wants to move
the ball with pace and accuracy from back to front, and anyone likely to slow
this down either with mind or legs has been removed, even those with proven
reliability and commitment such as Malbranque and Tanio.
Here is my quick summary of each area of the team, a profit
or loss, in the footballing sense:
GK – so far so
good. If gomes can remain as solid as he was against Chelsea a definite upgrade.
CB – Woodgate and
Corluka, or Kaboul and Gardener? Easy decision, and Corluka is versatile as
well. One qualm would be that we now only have one “pacy” centre half in King.
FB – 1st
team quality not hugely improved (Hutton/Chimbonda) but a better attitude and
more balanced group with left footed left backs and more youth. All our
fullbacks are now comfortable going forwards, though some still have a few
questions to answer at the back.
Midfield – Modric
and Bently are easily superior players to Tanio and Malbranque, so a definite
upgrade here. With these two and Giovani we now have several players who can
link defence and attack with pace and verve, last season Lennon and Malbranque
were the closest we had.
Whilst I was sad to see our flying Finn leave (and
Steeeeeed, a bit) I feel we have lost a bit of reliability and gained a lot of
flair and dynamism, this group symbolises more than any other the new
philosophy under Ramos, and the old one under Jol. Still no specialist DM and
I’m sure the debate will rage on (and on, and on…) but whilst the club were
clearly after one (if rumours are to be believed!) Zokora has another half a
season to prove his case.
Forwards - The
one area that looks weaker is of course the striking department. Even this
looks more balanced to me, 4 strikers was always too many to keep happy, but
Defoe and Keane made it a necessity as we always needed 2 “big man” strikers as
well as them. They also made 442 mandatory, which would not have fitted the
fluidity of Ramos’ plans.
Giovani, as seen as a replacement for Defoe is perfect. A 4th
striker if needed but also a winger, giving flexibility for new formations. Of
course, the changes to the striking department unfortunately did not end here.
Pavlyuchenko may well turn out to be as good as Berbatov,
but probably not straight away.
The only explanation I can conjure up for Frazier Campbell
on loan is that having spend the past 8 months clearing out dead wood the last
thing Ramos wanted was a last minute panic signing who would not fit the
standard long term. Perhaps a loan signing to make up the numbers until the Jan
window was preferable, given the situation.
Quite how we got into that situation is of course another
matter entirely, but I feel one that is still shrouded in too much fog for a
clear insight. Too many deals at too many clubs went right down to the wire for
me to point a finger too accusingly at Levy, just yet anyway.
I know Ramos isn’t supposed to be directly involved in
transfers but it is clear that since his arrival we have seen a step change in
policy, a huge turnover of the squad, and in my eyes at least our football will
profit. If the cash in the bank is invested in January on a new striker, the
right buy rather than a rushed buy, it could just all turn out ok you know.
There will be many different views of the summer dealings (a
lot less charitable than mine no doubt!), but at least the uncertainty is now
over and fans and players alike can settle down to the real business at hand:
Football.