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Transfers January 2023 Transfer Thread. The Big One

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I disagree, our plan started with paratici and conte. 1 year ago
we added bentancur kulu richarlison bissouma perisic romero (udogie)
3 years ago Woolwich was a mess.
let's wait 2 years before judging this new cycle
Our plan of what exactly ? Conte is not a project manager everyone knows this. We will be starting a new “plan” in the summer. Whoever comes in might not even want to deal with paratici of who the jury is definitely still out on.
 
It's fair to say, our squad is looking rather fragile atm. Kulu is not even our player! This won't be fixed in this window; or the next. Summer 24 maybe; by which time Kane on Son will be drawing their pension.

For Sale
Ndombele
Lo Celso
Winks
Reguillon
Rodon
Moura

No future at club beyond this season
Doherty
Davies
Forster
Lloris

On thin ice!
Sanchez
Royal
Dier
Tanganga
Sessegnon

Likely to seek an exit
Kane
Romero
Holjberg
Gil
Why Romero and Hojberg seeking an exit? But i agree, the squad doesnt look so good at all.
 
Sorry, I was talking in general. Not if he was just plopped in as manager now. If he replaced Nuno., was given January and the summer as a window. We'd have seen an improvement in our play most definitely.

Though personally, I think if he was in charge, his team would likely look like this :

Lloris*
Spence - Romero - Lenglet - Perisic*
Bissouma - Hojbjerg - Bentancur
Kulusevski - Kane - Son
He'd have two full backs who are happy to get up and down the field. Ball playing centre backs. He knows and rates Hojbjerg from his Bayern days and in Bissouma and Bentancur he'd have two players very comfortable on the ball and able to press with the best of them.

I think he may actually try something different with Kulusevski and may even try turning him into his own version of de Bruyne. Kane and Son would start because he's Guardiola and we know how much he rates them.

Perisic and Lloris would both be upgraded though eventually as priority due to age and lack of technical ability on Lloris' part. Udogie probably comes in anyway.

Wouldn't win the league with that starting eleven. But we'd see a much improved style of play, a team that looks like it knows what it's doing and some semblance of pressing.

All hypothetical of course. Guardiola would never come to Spurs and we'd never give him the tools he needed to succeed here regardless.
Please explain how you press with Kane and Son?

It's no mystery as to why our pressing has fallen off a cliff. Those two don't have the legs for it anymore.
 
There seems to be a bit of a knee jerk reaction to our recent results (not against Levy - that has been a long time coming - but against Conte). Neither Brentford (who beat Man U, Man C and Liverpool) and Villa (who just effectively had a month of pre-season with a new manager and almost an entire squad not at the WC) were easy opponents. We saw dramatic improvement last season after the January window when Conte got to spend time on the training pitch with the players. We had out best ever start to a league season in my lifetime this season (and I am 50!). We have had the disruption of the WC this season (we had a lot of players out there 11). and also had injuries to key players in Kulusevski, Romero, Richarlison, and Bentancur. We do still need 4 or 5 more players (which Conte and Paratici said all along would not happen in the first 1 or 2 windows). Get Conte a RWB and another AM/WF this window, and 2 top CBs in the summer, and we'll be ready to compete. The key is whether the club are prepared to back Conte significantly in the transfer market both now and in the summer. Conte can still be a big success, but we need Levy to step aside or step up.
Some sensible reasoning, thank you. I've had a couple of days to get over the Villa result and am feeling more reflective on the situation now, as you have described above.
 
They did but they've changed and have had a plan for 2 or 3 years. Pay off the ageing wasters, invest in young techinally good players and back the coach all the way. We have no plan, throw coaches under the bus at the first hint of an issue and half heartedly back them at best.

Aren't Kulu, Romero, Sarr, Gil, Spence, Udogie (and yep; Ndombele) young and technically good(*)?

Bentancur, Bissouma too; only slightly older.

It seems like there is a pattern/plan; just that someone in the dug-out is getting cold feet.


(*The thing is when we do this they get called "punts" and we are falsely accused of only buying them to re-sell for profit.)
 
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Woolwich?

But the club is listed above them in the rich list and in terms of revenue.

There isn’t an obvious reason they go harder in the transfer market other than owners having the balls to take a risk.
The "rich list" is only based on revenue and does not equate to spending power.

We are only above them this year due to us having CL football and them not.
If they have CL football next year and we don't they will go above us in the rich list.

All that being said, they're is no reason why we shouldn't match their spending as the difference between the two is minimal.

We have only matched their income since the new stadium has been open to fans , i.e. the last two years.

Which is why we have matched their spending (more or less) only they have bought better than us.
 
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Please explain how you press with Kane and Son?

It's no mystery as to why our pressing has fallen off a cliff. Those two don't have the legs for it anymore.

Well we can’t, although neither of those two where great at pressing even years back, Son was often a headless chicken off the ball and Kane has never had speed or great mobility. Lamela was the press under Poch with Rose and Walker helping out. Just look at Mane and Liverpool, he has gone and now their press is shit, few players are that great at pressing, it’s not just mobility but timing and aggression.
 
The "rich list" is only based on revenue and does not equate to spending power.

We are only above them this year due to us having CL football and them not.
If they have CL football next year and we don't they will go above us in the rich list.

All that being said, they're is no reason why we shouldn't match their spending as the difference between the two is minimal.

Which is why we have matched their spending (more or less) only they have bought better than us.
They invested more and better then.
We are agreed.

Timing is the one part of this conversation that always gets missed out imo. We always seem to go soft at the worst times. This summer for example. We go into the summer full of big chat about going hard and full of enthusiasm because we have a world class coach that got us top 4 … We want Bastoni, we like Gvardiol, we like Skriniar, we are looking at all kinds of big name RWBs… Then we actually come out of it with a youngster at RWB that our coaching staff don’t trust yet and an on loan CB.
Sure you can point at Richy to say we spent but did we REALLY go hard against all our targets?

Or did we do another Nelson and Zaha? Or bottle it on Dybala because of naming rights? Or not Spend for a full calendar year when we had the best squad in 20 years?

Why is it that our owners bottle it precisely at the worst moments?
 
Aren't Kulu, Romero, Sarr, Gil, Spence, Udogie (and yep; Ndombele) young and technically good(*)?

Bentancur, Bissouma too; only slightly older.

It seems like there is a pattern/plan; just that someone in the dug-out is getting cold feet.


(*The thing is when we do this they get called "punts" and we are falsely accused of only buying them to re-sell for profit.)
Bentancur, Kulu and Romero have been good signings. The rest jury very much out. Ndombele, lack of due diligence.
We still have rubbish hanging around from years ago. It just doesnt look like any sort of strategy and thats why we have gaping holes at centre back, rwb, creative players and goalkeeper.
 
Bentancur, Kulu and Romero have been good signings. The rest jury very much out. Ndombele, lack of due diligence.
We still have rubbish hanging around from years ago. It just doesnt look like any sort of strategy and thats why we have gaping holes at centre back, rwb, creative players and goalkeeper.

Sorry mate; this is one of this instances where I've addressed something that you specifically said and now you're broadly throwing the kitchen sink back in response........

I didn't remotely suggest our squad was complete and flawless.
 
Sorry mate; this is one of this instances where I've addressed what you specifically said and now you're broadly throwing the kitchen sink back in response........

I didn't remotely suggest our squad was complete and flawless.
My main point was a lack of stategy and planning. I really dont think you can look at us over the last 2 or 3 years and think we have one. Are we win now at all costs or buying youngsters to improve, are we happy with poor football, are we ever going to see the back of Sanchez, Dier, Emerson, Doc etc. If i and many others could see a direction then you can put up with short term disruption. Its the lack of any identity.
 
They invested more and better then.
We are agreed.

Timing is the one part of this conversation that always gets missed out imo. We always seem to go soft at the worst times. This summer for example. We go into the summer full of big chat about going hard and full of enthusiasm because we have a world class coach that got us top 4 … We want Bastoni, we like Gvardiol, we like Skriniar, we are looking at all kinds of big name RWBs… Then we actually come out of it with a youngster at RWB that our coaching staff don’t trust yet and an on loan CB.
Sure you can point at Richy to say we spent but did we REALLY go hard against all our targets?

Or did we do another Nelson and Zaha? Or bottle it on Dybala because of naming rights? Or not Spend for a full calendar year when we had the best squad in 20 years?

Why is it that our owners bottle it precisely at the worst moments?
At yet we spent the same as Woolwich.🤷🤷

I've been saying for years that our recruitment is shite.
It has improved somewhat under Paratici, we have to wait to see if that continues.
 
Aren't Kulu, Romero, Sarr, Gil, Spence, Udogie (and yep; Ndombele) young and technically good(*)?

Bentancur, Bissouma too; only slightly older.

It seems like there is a pattern/plan; just that someone in the dug-out is getting cold feet.


(*The thing is when we do this they get called "punts" and we are falsely accused of only buying them to re-sell for profit.)
That someone in the dug out has never been a develop young players project manager, so it’s a pretty stupid plan to hire him and then sign a bunch of young players most of which aren’t first team ready or that he just doesn’t want.
 
Our recruitment is shite because it's driven by wages and agent fees. IE, an aversion to paying them.
I don't agree mate.

Someone put up a wages chart thing (can't be arsed to look for it)

5th/6th highest revenue in the league.
3rd highest spenders on transfers.
6th highest wage payers.

I'm assuming that that does not include our bonus system (?????) and only the flat wage.

For the record I think the bonus system Levy likes is bollocks.
 
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