I thought the point of this window was to leave the squad, a squad that should be geared towards a full-scale assault on 4th place, stronger when it shut than when it opened.
Now we have no cover at right full back and have let go a striker and captain, one who is albeit off form but form can return. Pav is not fit, clearly, because he thought he was off. The cover for two experienced and able centre halves is promising but has a lot to learn.
No back up keeper
And we are 4th.
There’s always action around Spurs in any window. As the Sky reporters jockey for seniority, surely the real mark of achievement is who gets to wear the badge of honour and stand outside the Lodge on transfer deadline day. “I can tell you exclusively, Jim, that here at Chigwell absolutely nothing is happening. WHATSOEVER!!! Just look at that – it’s a car park!! With cars!” Rolling news, thank goodness for the 21st century.
Closer to the real action, Spurs fans are accustomed to the strange and mysterious, with the peak (or trough) coming a few years ago with a frantic midnight search for a striker, any striker, which culminated in equipping Juande Ramos for his charge at the league with a Manchester United reserve. That combination of mismanagement and absurdity will never be surpassed (please…) but yesterday’s events were bewildering.
I know I have said this before, but whatever the relative merits of players, why at this point do we need to let any of our first team squad go anywhere? So Hutton, Keane and Pav stew on the bench, with limited opportunities. So what? They will have chances to play as the pressure builds towards the end of the season. They provide different tactical options, either from the start or during the match. Or they don’t play at all. So what?
Naughton can gain experience elsewhere, fair enough. But already there is serious consideration being given to Kaboul, a centre half who is talented but very much a work in progress, at full back or midfield. He’s the cover, but if we had kept established internationals who can play there if needed, the cover is totally unnecessary except in dire emergency.
Keane is a good player who occasionally showed flashes of greatness but ultimately his technique does not equip him for the very top. Sometimes when it all flows, or when men like Berbatov were combining effortlessly with him, Keano was the perfect modern striker, able to drop deep and link front and back, pick out the pass with a touch or canny flick, and strike like a rapier in front of goal. At other times, sadly exhibited so often this season, he needs that extra moment or three or unleashes that clumsy airshot like an unco-ordinated 10 year old trying to be a parklife Messi.
Now he has his dream move. No, hang on, that was Liverpool, or wait, back to the Lane…Well anyway, he’s off to Celtic but it could have been West Ham or Sunderland. Obviously Harry has said he’s surplus to requirements, at least for now. I knew that something was not right when he came over to the Shelf late on against Fulham. The brightness in the eyes of this wholehearted competitor had dimmed. Sad to see him off-form, but form returns. Captain, goalscorer, international – there is no reason to let him go at this point in the biggest season for years and years.
Pav’s a good player who has played in Spurs teams where the tactics did not fully utilise is talents. He’s no lone target man, for sure. His mobility could be very handy, but maybe that is as much a reflection of my frustration with Crouch as it is of his skill.
But my assessment is less important (amazing, I know) than Harry’s, and so what has happened in the last few weeks to turn him from an unfit lazy no hoper on his way out, with the club touting him around, to suddenly a crucial element of our strikeforce for the rest of the season? That description is not mine, it’s how Harry perceived him and how Harry talked about him, openly dismissive only comparatively recently. I assume that no one came in with the right offer so we are left with him and I hope he takes his chance, but having destroyed him, is Uncle H now going to put his armround his shoulders? Not long now until Harry takes full credit, saying that he always knew Pav had it in him and that he wanted to give him an opportunity.
The whole thing smacks of a lack of planning or consistency. Keane’s departure will save us around 250k a month, so in the absence of any other coherent strategy, this could be a sign that we need to watch the pennies. Maybe Levy is just being prudent, but on the field this is our chance. None of this is about who is better, Defoe or Keane, Crouch or Pav, Corluka or, um… There is no imperative to weaken our efforts to achieve fourth place. No reason at all.
Five Live last night, Harry – 3 youth teamplayers on the bench for Leeds, I don’t have a very big squad and Naughton, Hutton and Keane have gone. Even allowing for Harry’s Big Gob, words fail me. Not a good thing for a blogger, but hey, I haven’t time to worry about that. As a lifelong atheist, I’m off to find a deity and pray night and day that Gomes does not get injured. Join hands everyone….
TOTTENHAM ON MY MIND 
Seems like you’ve recalled Kyle Walker, would explain the departures of Naughton and Hutton.
LikeLike
Sadly I have to agree with you. If there’s a master plan it escapes me. Maybe Harry is trying to demonstrate that he has godlike qualities and can walk on water by weakening the squad that is (just about) hanging onto 4th; not filling our glaring holes (a CM and a backup goalie for the phsically fragile Gomes); relying on an unfit striker who hasnt scored for ages and a striker who doesnt want to be here as backup for our already misfiring first choice pairing and yet still getting us into the Champions League (in my dreams!)
LikeLike
Coops, where did you read about Walker and can anyone explain why we bought Walker/Naughton and didnt just keep Gunter plus approx 9 million that could have been spent elsewhere?
LikeLike
Reported on sheff utd website.
LikeLike
Hold on everyone. We haven’t sold Keane, Dos Santos or Hutton, they’ve gone to teams that will give them matches.
As for Keane he was on the subs bench because he was ineffective. It didn’t work out for him at Anfield and rather than pay money for a player Rafa didn’t want he was sent back to Spurs at a near £8M loss. No one was going to pay the £20M Liverpool paid for him. It was a ridiculous fee as it was – well done Spurs for that.
You can clearly see the importance of a player like Berbatov was for Keane. He was never going to play alongside Defoe and when partnered with Crouch it came to nothing. He had his opportunities against Hull, Fulham and Wolves which he didn’t take. It was either come as a sub for a striker or play wide left. He is truly a talented player but hasn’t found his feet since he came back to the Lane. It is almost as if he needed to find himself again. However I’m not sure he’ll be a Spurs player come next season. Maybe one of Celtic’s billionaire directors (Dermot Desmond) will pony up the necessary readies to keep him in Glasgow?
Dos Santos needs matches leading upto the World Cup. He’ll put on a solid showing I’m sure so I expect him in the shop window come July. Hutton also needs matches to get back to form that prompted us to pursue him. He’ll get that with Sunderland and come back stronger for the start of next season.
I’m hoping that O’ Hara’s extended loan-spell with Pompey brings better fortune upon his return. Maybe ‘Arry can off-load Jenas to Inter in the summer for a reasonable sum.
But as this transfer window has closed, I can’t help but hope that Palacios stays injury free for the remainder of the season.
LikeLike
We have turned into the red cross loaning players allover the place out DOSANTOS KEANE HUTTNON OHARA NAUGHTON TAARABT WALKER Plus all the kids. IN Gudjonson Kaboul ovverhaull assesment weaker WIGAN stronger Man city one in one out the same all the rest stronger reason UK sport and the FA turning a blind eye to energey cheats and steroid abusers. The lates one all the power no bulk look out for players running like usain bolt a MAN UTD supporter. LIVERPOOL EVERTON MAN UTD CHELSEA.Form this will be the top five Good Luck Robbie you where a victim of the worse case of energized goalkeepers and defecis in the history of the premership
LikeLike
DAVSPURS is a legend!
LikeLike
The acquisition of Gudjohnsen and Kaboul gives us plenty of options, Kaboul has been running the RB for Pompey and doing a very capable job. Gudjohnsen brings in the composure that we have been found wanting in in and around the opositions 18yrd box, he`s versatility is a bonus as he can cover a number of positions.
Cover for Palacios is the only worry for me, I see Kaboul taking on that role if needed, however, I would have wanted someone with a bit more experience.
Walker has been recalled for the RB role as well, so i see no need for panic.
Lets just get behind the boys, support and push them to the end of the season, and hopefully, some silver and a big euro place.
COYS!
LikeLike
Apart from the sheer idiocy of never giving Dos Santos a chance (let alone the many chances given to others) I’m not sure what Harry could have done. Clubs simply do not want to sell players at this stage of the season when they are still competing for titles/cups/promotion/avoid relegation/European qualification
LikeLike
Sorry, forgot to mention our Gomes. JUST DON`T GET BLOODY INJURED MATE.
LikeLike
Sounds more like an old ladies knitting circle on here then a forum of Spurs fans. You bang on and on about how sh*t Keane is then you start blubbing when the management listen and ship him out.
A quick reality check. Buying players in the real world isn’t as easy as it is on CM. I know that’s hard to understand but that’s the way it is. Sometimes a quick call from DL to Real Madrid won’t be enough to get Ronaldo to hop on a plane.
As for the GDS & Taraabt old chestnut, Jimmy Tarbaat can’t even get a regular game for the hoops and is regarded as a selfish showboater by the fans while GDS couldn’t stay off the ale long enough to train… NOT Prem material. Danny Rose has been given a chance recently and looks much more likely as the boy is a grafter.
As for keepers, we had one signed but then he decided he’d rather take the money and go to Stoke… Stoke! If that’s all the ambition you want then how about signing Lucas Neil for the defence.
We should only sign players who want to play for the club like Wilson, Dawson and Gomes.
LikeLike
Being as our Cpt has gone to another boyhood club, what about making Daws our No1 Cpt? He had started to really gell with Bassong and 5 clean sheets evidently proved their worth. I think we should look at Daws/Bassong as our main CB partnership, nothing like consistency to get the results. King and Woody should be used as back up as they are too injury prone.
LikeLike
Its good he’s gone now this will give a chance for the other players to step up and be leaders whoever that is.It wouldnt help to have 5 strikers with two sitting around sulking,same goes for the others we loaned out.If anyone expected us to spend £20 mill on a striker in jan their stupid .Wait till summer,Keane has been good for us but hes a relic from the Spurs of the past we have a different style now.We’ve done very well 2 get to this point,Bale is back ,Bentley even looks like hes improving imagine if Pav starts banging them in. Look at the positives.
LikeLike
Alan, this Gomes ordeal is frightening! Especially since Gomes manages to get beat up a bit during every match, only to follow with that “painful smile” of his. Is it just me or does anyone else see that too?
As EngNor said above, “Just Don’t Get Bloody Injured Mate”!
LikeLike
This all could make sense, at least in the forward area, if Pav can play as he did against Leeds. Then he looked the best forward we have. It’s the Crouch Defoe pairing that reduces us to drawing games we should have won by miles. I could put up a good and reasonable argument for us having ten more points than we do have. Just don’t see that Crouch is the prolific provider or scorer that we need, and needed e.g. against Bolton, Everton, Villa, Hull or Birmingham…and there’s the extra ten.
LikeLike
Gomes and Palacios are now key players as we have cover for neither – unless Kaboul can play in goal as well as the other positions I’ve seen him touted for (CB, RB, DM). Cudicini was injured in November, the failure to find experienced cover is pathetic. We better beat Leeds otherwise four strikers will look stupidly unnecessary for one competition. Not as stupid as West Ham having seven, I grant you.
LikeLike
BRING BACK BERBATOV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LikeLike
Just an idea, if Wilson gets injured, King for defensive midfield cover?
Just throwing it out there…
Plus Ben Alnwick was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread a few years ago, why is he not back up? He was at the same level as Loach or Westwood when we got him, surely he is still that good? Or has he lost one of his hands?
LikeLike
Did you see Alniwck at Burnley last season? A one-handed keeper would have done better!
LikeLike
Yes, Palacios irreplaceable. The diffrence in midfield v Leeds was insantly noticeable when he came on. But then I suspect he really is irreplaceable. There just is no one else like him so there has to be a different approach, game plan if he is not available. He’s a football equivalent of the Hindu God Shiva, the destroyer and creator! Step up a level Hudd? Probably not as it’s the Palacios Hudd partnership that’s so effective a lot of the time. Hmm….?
LikeLike