Let's Be Brutally Honest - Our Matchday Squad is No Longer Top 6 Quality

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Are We Still Top 6 Quality?


  • Total voters
    84
that's encouraging until you realize despite that, they are still superior at every defensive position other than GK than us.

I'm not trying to peddle false hope; just objectivity.

Their lads back 4 can be pretty shit when they want to be; we're just more tuned into our woes becasue they're ours.
 
With the exception of Zouma - any of the their back 4 would currently improve us

I maintain there's very little in it but still; I'm sure the purpose of this thread isn't to play top trumps with me about who's got the best players...

'What next?' is a the forefront of my thoughts after considering your OP.
 
We are 2 full backs away from winning the title. All we need is some decent width and service from wide areas.

We dominated Sheffield, but gave nothing to our strikers.

We held off united, forcing them to play for pens.

Sess needs to be given a run to see if he is a candidate the play next season and 50+ on the best right back money can buy.
 
Hmm... I’d say 6th is where we are currently. In a highly competitive season where someone surprises like Sheffield and wolves have that puts us where we are today. When we get lucky like last season It’ll put us 4th.
 
we are nowhere near man utd and Chelsea. except for son and kane they are better man for man
I’m not sure that’s true of Chelsea. Their defence is equally poor (if not worse) GLC would make their team, Son and Kane are a given to start and I’d probably have Bergy over Willian too.

Obviously that will change next season when Werner and Ziyech arrive, but for now there isn’t much between our sides.

I’d agree the Utd starting XI is better though.
 
With the exception of Zouma - any of the their back 4 would currently improve us
I don’t think that’s true. You have to remember that horrific Chelsea back line is supplemented by a world class holding MF in front in Kante. Ours has Sissoko, so it inevitably looks worse.

Azpi is well past it, Alonso is a defensive horror show, Christiensen Zouma and Tamori are very average. Rudiger is decent I’ll give you that, but I’m pretty sure every Chelsea fan would take Toby at CB for their team still.
 
On paper, I don't actually think our squad is bad.

Lloris is still a brilliant goalkeeper and saves us a lot more points than he loses. The fans do tend to go through phases of "Lloris is shit" to "What a goalkeeper" though so don't let that skew your judgement

Defence is obviously our weakest area.

But midfield we have Ndombele, Lo Celso, Dele, Bergwijn, Son which is a great selection of talent, you then have Lucas and Lamela, who aren't truly good enough to start week in and week out but both have proven to be able to change games at times when they do come off the bench. That's without even mentioning Winks and Sissoko who again, provide decent depth and can be useful in certain games.

Kane as our only attacker is a problem of course, but you'd argue we had a top 6 squad when we finished 3rd in 15/16 and Kane was our only attacker then too.

It obviously has areas it needs improving:

RB, CB, LB and DM most importantly as we have failed to really replace what Walker, Rose and Wanyama meant to us - I do think the loss of the aggressive full backs and a defensive midfielder has hindered our centre backs but we still haven't really replaced Vertonghen and that left sided area, whereas I think Dier/Sanchez/Tanganga could quite easily fill in at right sided centre back WITH the right partner on the left.

It's definitely top 6 material.

But it needs significant improvement as well as great coaching and a system that compliments every single player if we are to be that challenging team again that was hard to beat and feared before a ball was even kicked.

Lloris
RB - Dier* - CB - LB
Lo Celso - DM - Ndombele
Bergwijn - Kane - Son​
* Dier/Sanchez/Tanganga

Of those listed, that is a highly talented squad with players who only want to move forward with the ball and aim to play great football. Getting the right players in however has never been an easy thing to do for Tottenham and how soon can we really get 4 new players, especially in the defensive third, working together and forming a cohesive unit?

Not really sure where someone like Dele fits in to that system however, though if it came to it, I wouldn't be against selling Dele if the price is right and bringing in a monstrous DM like Partey from Atletico Madrid for what would likely be a similar fee. (I believe he has a release clause)
 
I don’t think that’s true. You have to remember that horrific Chelsea back line is supplemented by a world class holding MF in front in Kante. Ours has Sissoko, so it inevitably looks worse.

Azpi is well past it, Alonso is a defensive horror show, Christiensen Zouma and Tamori are very average. Rudiger is decent I’ll give you that, but I’m pretty sure every Chelsea fan would take Toby at CB for their team still.
Are you related to GGK , MVP MVP or Col_McCafferty Col_McCafferty by any chance?
 
On paper, I don't actually think our squad is bad.

Lloris is still a brilliant goalkeeper and saves us a lot more points than he loses. The fans do tend to go through phases of "Lloris is shit" to "What a goalkeeper" though so don't let that skew your judgement

Defence is obviously our weakest area.

But midfield we have Ndombele, Lo Celso, Dele, Bergwijn, Son which is a great selection of talent, you then have Lucas and Lamela, who aren't truly good enough to start week in and week out but both have proven to be able to change games at times when they do come off the bench. That's without even mentioning Winks and Sissoko who again, provide decent depth and can be useful in certain games.

Kane as our only attacker is a problem of course, but you'd argue we had a top 6 squad when we finished 3rd in 15/16 and Kane was our only attacker then too.

It obviously has areas it needs improving:

RB, CB, LB and DM most importantly as we have failed to really replace what Walker, Rose and Wanyama meant to us - I do think the loss of the aggressive full backs and a defensive midfielder has hindered our centre backs but we still haven't really replaced Vertonghen and that left sided area, whereas I think Dier/Sanchez/Tanganga could quite easily fill in at right sided centre back WITH the right partner on the left.

It's definitely top 6 material.

But it needs significant improvement as well as great coaching and a system that compliments every single player if we are to be that challenging team again that was hard to beat and feared before a ball was even kicked.

Lloris
RB - Dier* - CB - LB
Lo Celso - DM - Ndombele
Bergwijn - Kane - Son​
* Dier/Sanchez/Tanganga

Of those listed, that is a highly talented squad with players who only want to move forward with the ball and aim to play great football. Getting the right players in however has never been an easy thing to do for Tottenham and how soon can we really get 4 new players, especially in the defensive third, working together and forming a cohesive unit?

Not really sure where someone like Dele fits in to that system however, though if it came to it, I wouldn't be against selling Dele if the price is right and bringing in a monstrous DM like Partey from Atletico Madrid for what would likely be a similar fee. (I believe he has a release clause)
Dude your wishing on a star . That midfield is so crapsville , the worse in a decade , so mid table.
Squad players , prospects , busted , underperforming , poor technically .
 
On paper, I don't actually think our squad is bad.

Lloris is still a brilliant goalkeeper and saves us a lot more points than he loses. The fans do tend to go through phases of "Lloris is shit" to "What a goalkeeper" though so don't let that skew your judgement

Defence is obviously our weakest area.

But midfield we have Ndombele, Lo Celso, Dele, Bergwijn, Son which is a great selection of talent, you then have Lucas and Lamela, who aren't truly good enough to start week in and week out but both have proven to be able to change games at times when they do come off the bench. That's without even mentioning Winks and Sissoko who again, provide decent depth and can be useful in certain games.

Kane as our only attacker is a problem of course, but you'd argue we had a top 6 squad when we finished 3rd in 15/16 and Kane was our only attacker then too.

It obviously has areas it needs improving:

RB, CB, LB and DM most importantly as we have failed to really replace what Walker, Rose and Wanyama meant to us - I do think the loss of the aggressive full backs and a defensive midfielder has hindered our centre backs but we still haven't really replaced Vertonghen and that left sided area, whereas I think Dier/Sanchez/Tanganga could quite easily fill in at right sided centre back WITH the right partner on the left.

It's definitely top 6 material.

But it needs significant improvement as well as great coaching and a system that compliments every single player if we are to be that challenging team again that was hard to beat and feared before a ball was even kicked.

Lloris
RB - Dier* - CB - LB
Lo Celso - DM - Ndombele
Bergwijn - Kane - Son​
* Dier/Sanchez/Tanganga

Of those listed, that is a highly talented squad with players who only want to move forward with the ball and aim to play great football. Getting the right players in however has never been an easy thing to do for Tottenham and how soon can we really get 4 new players, especially in the defensive third, working together and forming a cohesive unit?

Not really sure where someone like Dele fits in to that system however, though if it came to it, I wouldn't be against selling Dele if the price is right and bringing in a monstrous DM like Partey from Atletico Madrid for what would likely be a similar fee. (I believe he has a release clause)
Good post. The only additional point I’d make is that I haven’t given up on Toby yet. It’s too easy when a player has a bad patch and they’re over 30 to say they’re done, but it isn’t always the case. It can just be a bad patch.

Gary Cahill looks excellent at Palace this season after being written off by Chelsea as “shot“ a year ago.

Injury has precluded it, but I would have really enjoyed a run with Toby and Tango CB, with Japhet being able to learn from easily the most intelligent defender at the club.

I guess without even adequate DCM protection in front, our defence is always overly exposed though.

Look how good Morgan and Huth looked with Kante in front!
 
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