cockerel downunder's Blog

And… breathe

2008-09-02T11:21:00Z

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 – 1^st 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 4^th 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.

Season Preview 08/09

2008-08-15T12:42:00Z

By cockerel downunder

Well, the Spurs are about to go marching in... excitement’s building, travelling fans planning their journeys, the manager finalising his team selection, the big premier league kick off is only one day away.

And yet... this feels like an odd time to be previewing the season, and reviewing the summer. With the small matter of our first choice strike pairing for the season still up in the air, and 2 weeks before the transfer window mercifully shuts, it’s hard to predict what kind of season awaits. Difficult also to judge the success of the summer dealings. Valiantly though, I will try.

Despite this uncertainty in hard facts, there is a feeling, an aura, surrounding the club that radiates confidence and more importantly, competence. Whatever happens in the next 2 weeks, you get the impression that we will have a good season.

No longer do we rely on one or two star players, but we have a talented, energetic squad with firm, decisive management and an excellent support structure. We have momentum, and it’s very hard to envisage anything other than forward movement, although the speed may depend on how the balls currently in the air, fall to the ground.

Hitting the ground running is of course vital for any team with ambitions of breaking the top four monopoly (well oligopoly, technically). Conventional wisdom is that you can’t change half your team without a period of adjustment, especially if your imports include foreigners with no Premiership experience. Luckily for us, Juande Ramos is anything but conventional, and pre season form would suggest a team that is already clicking.

In fact, from Juande’s viewpoint, being able to train this group of players for several weeks without competitive games is a relative luxury when compared to last season. Matches were already coming thick and fast by the time he took over, and results took priority over ingraining his style on the team.

(On a side note, why did Ashley Cole just pop into my head? Oh yes, thick and fast, that’ll do it.)

Running is a pretty important part of football, and our lads have done plenty of it this summer. A strict diet and fierce pre season has left them in the best condition of their lives. Strength, speed and stamina will provide a solid framework to our season, upon which the more silky elements may be hung.

What amazes me is that such a marked improvement in fitness was possible for a group of professional athletes, but the important thing is that they are now the best they can be, and no longer will we roll over in the last ten minutes of a match and concede a last gasp equaliser in a match we dominated. (Well, hopefully not too often anyway. I mean fit they may be, driven on by a great motivator and organised by a master tactician, but it’s still Spurs after all.)

Getting the best out of players is a common thread in Juande’s management career, especially at Seville where he left a team of household names behind, created mainly from players who did not cost a great deal. Our own former striker Freddie Kanoute is testament to this. After half a season the asses the Spurs squad, the ever decisive Ramos has shipped out those without promise, and extended contracts of those he intends to work on.

Chief among these must be Jermaine Jenas, a player many fans wanted replaced in the summer, but Juande has promoted to vice captain. The promise that he has always shown looks set to be fulfilled, and I think he will be a vital component of our team this season. It looks as though JJ will be the workman in midfield, after playing deeper and with more discipline that usual in pre season.

Ahead of him will be an (as yet incomplete, but mouth watering none the less) array of interchangeable attacking talent that could really bring the glory days back to the lane. Behind him, a new look defence and keeper look solid and classy, albeit with the usual injury concern caveats.

I wont go into detail about our signings and departures, as there’s been plenty said already, and a proper assessment will have to wait a couple of weeks anyway.

Gus Poyet recently said that the signing of Bentley will give us a free kick specialist which we missed last season, that we might convert more of those set pieces we win. This kind of pragmatism would perhaps invoke a distasteful response from Spurs fans had it been said by George Graham, among other past managers.

Like the fitness improvements though, it shows the management team know how to play the percentages, shows they have common sense (how refreshing) and that they know what they are doing. The fact that this approach is coupled with an exciting brand of fluid, attacking football (and the purchase of a raft of flair players,) makes it not only palatable, but compelling.

Even with all the uncertainty, even with the dragging on (and on, and on) of certain “will he, wont he” transfer sagas, I feel nothing but confidence, optimism and excitement for the season ahead.

Middlesbrough away is the first real test of this new Spurs team, and we will soon find out if my optimism is misplaced. This is no pre season friendly, this is a tough game against a decent team. It’s also the kind of game that a top four side would want three points from, whether they have finished their transfer dealings or not. That’s what we need to do, and I think we can and indeed will.

Ohhhhhhhhhh wheeeeen theeeee Spuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrssssss……