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Player Squad 2024 - 2025

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If we had not named Forster then Spence could have been included. Why include Forster (who is past it now) when you have Austin as the 2nd choice? Or, why give Austin a 5 year contract if he is not 2nd choice? Spence coudl have covered RB and LB.

Most posters seem to agree it would make more sense to name Spence - covering RB and LB - rather than Forster in EL.

Elsewhere it was suggested Forster could have a clause in his contract which means he should play in EL matches - hence he's in squad.

Spurs could well play 60+ games (maximum is 69) this season of which EL might be up to 15, so Spence will still be eligible to be in the squad to play some 50 odd games this season in PL and domestic cups.

Spurs could have been looking at beyond this season by giving Austin a 5 year contract to secure a Club trained player who can occupy a 3rd GK place for a few seasons
 
I've not seen any convincing reasons for the decision to include Forster at expense of Spence, have you?.
Presumably because they don't trust Austin to be 2nd choice for 8 games. The bit that makes no sense is why they gave Austin a 5 year contract. He probably won't even make the squad in 3 years time when we'll probably have enough club trained. He's 25 and has played less games of men's football than Josh Keeley
Very possibly, but its one possible explanation, and seems more logical than other reasons.
It's not a possible explanation, the club would never agree to putting a clause in a contract guaranteeing a squad place, let alone to somebody like Forster. Imagine it's just one of those slightly illogical decisions, like last season when they gave Scarlett 45 minutes in the cup and then loaned him out so he lost the ability to be re-loaned.
 
Presumably because they don't trust Austin to be 2nd choice for 8 games. The bit that makes no sense is why they gave Austin a 5 year contract. He probably won't even make the squad in 3 years time when we'll probably have enough club trained. He's 25 and has played less games of men's football than Josh Keeley

It's not a possible explanation, the club would never agree to putting a clause in a contract guaranteeing a squad place, let alone to somebody like Forster. Imagine it's just one of those slightly illogical decisions, like last season when they gave Scarlett 45 minutes in the cup and then loaned him out so he lost the ability to be re-loaned.

Yes, the logic for it all is not straight forward to understand - generally its not logical..

The bit that makes even less sense is not including Spence in EL squad - yes we have some cover (eg Davies and Gray) but having Spence covering both RB and LB would be better cover - and with Spence playing in preseason its difficult to surmise he's fallen out with Ange so quickly for that to be a reason.
 
Thought it would be useful to look at our players aged under 21 who seem to have potential to become first Team squad members
- starting with three who joined in the summer as first team ready,
- listing others who have already shown they might be good enough to join the first team squad (including Vuskovic and Yang who were bought with first team in mind)
- ending with a few who seem most likely to join the ranks, recognising there are others particularly those younger who might have a claim to be on this list by the end of this season (eg Hardy, Byfield and Williams-Barnett or Olusesi)

Players who are Under 21 with Significant Potential

Archie Gray (Age 18) CM/CB/RB (First Team squad member)
Lucas Bergvall (Age 18) CM/AM (First Team squad member)
Wilson Odobert (Age 19) RW/LW (First Team squad member)

Will Lankshear (Age 18) Striker
Mikey Moore (Age 17) RW/LW/Striker
Lucca Gunter (Age 19) GK

Out on Loan
Luka Vuskovic (Age 17) CB (Joining Spurs Summer 2025)
Yang Min-Hyuk (Age 18) Winger (Joining Spurs January 2025)
Ashley Phillips (Age 18) CB
Alfie Devine (Age 20) AM/DLP
Jamie Donley (Age 19) No 10
Dane Scarlett (Age 20) Striker
Alejo Veliz (Age 21) Striker
George Abbott (Age 19) DM/RB/LB
Josh Keeley (Age 21) GK

Others Showing Promise playing in u21/u18
Alfie Dorrington (Age 19) CB (Would probably have been loan out if not injured)
Rio Kyerematen (Age 18) CM/LB
Tyrese Hall (Age 19) CM
Leo Black (Age 18) AM/RB
Damola Ajayi (Age 18) CM/FWD.

That's a lot of names. But all look interesting prospects. Of course not all will make it to play for Spurs first team for any length of time - is it feasible to think we could get 3/4/5/6 of these players though to join Gray, Bergvall and Odobert in the first team ?.

But its probably the longest list of youngsters with credible claims to join the first team ranks for probably a decade since Kane made it through (and around that time Townsend, Carroll, Bentaleb, Mason, Veljkovic, Carter-Vickers, Pritchard, Onomah, Oduwa et al were all in or around the first team),
 
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Thought it would be useful to look at our players aged under 21 who seem to have potential to become first Team squad members
- starting with three who joined in the summer as first team ready,
- listing others who have already shown they might be good enough to join the first team squad (including Vuskovic and Yang who were bought with first team in mind)
- ending with a few who seem most likely to join the ranks, recognising there are others particularly those younger who might have a claim to be on this list by the end of this season (eg Hardy, Byfield and Williams-Barnett or Olusesi)

Players who are Under 21 with Significant Potential

Archie Gray (Age 18) CM/CB/RB (First Team squad member)
Lucas Bergvall (Age 18) CM/AM (First Team squad member)
Wilson Odobert (Age 19) RW/LW (First Team squad member)

Will Lankshear (Age 18) Striker
Mikey Moore (Age 17) RW/LW/Striker
Lucca Gunter (Age 19) GK

Out on Loan
Luka Vuskovic (Age 17) CB (Joining Spurs Summer 2025)
Yang Min-Hyuk (Age 18) Winger (Joining Spurs January 2025)
Ashley Phillips (Age 18) CB
Alfie Devine (Age 20) AM/DLP
Jamie Donley (Age 19) No 10
Dane Scarlett (Age 20) Striker
Alejo Veliz (Age 21) Striker
George Abbott (Age 19) DM/RB/LB
Josh Keeley (Age 21) GK

Others Showing Promise playing in u21/u18
Alfie Dorrington (Age 19) CB (Would probably have been loan out if not injured)
Rio Kyerematen (Age 18) CM/LB
Tyrese Hall (Age 19) CM
Leo Black (Age 18) AM/RB
Damola Ajayi (Age 18) CM/FWD.

That's a lot of names. But all look interesting prospects. Of course not all will make it to play for Spurs first team for any length of time - is it feasible to think we could get 3/4/5/6 of these players though to join Gray, Bergvall and Odobert in the first team ?.

But its probably the longest list of youngsters with credible claims to join the first team ranks for probably a decade since Kane made it through (and around that time Townsend, Carroll, Bentaleb, Mason, Veljkovic, Carter-Vickers, Pritchard, Onomah, Oduwa et al were all in or around the first team),
If two out of that bunch are established first team players in two seasons it will be a good result…. I would guess plenty will be sold for a good profit and have good careers as professionals. Moore is most likely I reckon but has a few years or so before he’s anywhere near his potential. I don’t think Gray, Odobert or Berg will be first teamers, will probably be a couple of random late bloomers like Hall and Vuskovic

Loads of potential imo - Scarlett, Veliz and Phillips won’t be pros in five years based on what I’ve seen but who knows!!!
 
If two out of that bunch are established first team players in two seasons it will be a good result…. I would guess plenty will be sold for a good profit and have good careers as professionals. Moore is most likely I reckon but has a few years or so before he’s anywhere near his potential. I don’t think Gray, Odobert or Berg will be first teamers, will probably be a couple of random late bloomers like Hall and Vuskovic

Loads of potential imo - Scarlett, Veliz and Phillips won’t be pros in five years based on what I’ve seen but who knows!!!

I'd say more than 75% of that list (maybe even as high as 90%) will go on to make a good living out of the game, but which of them do and which do not imo is pretty much impossible to tell.

And how many will make it at Spurs is a near impossible question - I'd really like at least half a dozen, but the difference between those and others who end up at lower PL clubs and Championship clubs is actually wafer thin and maybe a bit of a lottery.

When Kane scored 3 goals in 7 Spurs first team games right at the end of Sherwood's tenure as first team coach I was really glad as I thought we then had a squad level striker (rather than one of the world's best ever strikers as he became) whereas most of posters on SC (where I was at the time) were sure he was Championship level at best - and one poster foolishly bet that he'd eat his underpants if he made it in the pro game : for some reason that poster wasn't seen again for almost a year as Kane notched up his goals and assists. So everyone underestimated Kane's level....... just as most overestimated Saido Berahino (last seen playing in a 10th rated league) when demanding Spurs pay £40m to WBA for his services.
 
I'd say more than 75% of that list (maybe even as high as 90%) will go on to make a good living out of the game, but which of them do and which do not imo is pretty much impossible to tell.

And how many will make it at Spurs is a near impossible question - I'd really like at least half a dozen, but the difference between those and others who end up at lower PL clubs and Championship clubs is actually wafer thin and maybe a bit of a lottery.

When Kane scored 3 goals in 7 Spurs first team games right at the end of Sherwood's tenure as first team coach I was really glad as I thought we then had a squad level striker (rather than one of the world's best ever strikers as he became) whereas most of posters on SC (where I was at the time) were sure he was Championship level at best - and one poster foolishly bet that he'd eat his underpants if he made it in the pro game : for some reason that poster wasn't seen again for almost a year as Kane notched up his goals and assists. So everyone underestimated Kane's level....... just as most overestimated Saido Berahino (last seen playing in a 10th rated league) when demanding Spurs pay £40m to WBA for his services.
I hope you are right and as many as possible make a good career in the PL including in our first team. However there will also be much pressure to buy expensive players for the first team and if the club does not spend but relies on home grown then the anti ENIC/levy lobby will Be unhappy. There clearly has been a lack of home grown players making the first team in recent years which needs to be resolved. Kane has left, Winks and Skipp sold.
 
I hope you are right and as many as possible make a good career in the PL including in our first team. However there will also be much pressure to buy expensive players for the first team and if the club does not spend but relies on home grown then the anti ENIC/levy lobby will Be unhappy. There clearly has been a lack of home grown players making the first team in recent years which needs to be resolved. Kane has left, Winks and Skipp sold.

I would never suggest its either youngsters OR expensive buys.

There is room for both - and indeed a good squad has both.

But one current issue is due, mainly to Conte and Poch failure to develop youngsters, we have a lack of suitable Club Trained footballers which currently restricts us to 21 'overseas trained and HG' players in a UEFA squad (plus the one Club Trained GK and any List B u21 players we have), so ignoring development of young players into Club Trained players is clearly nuts, and needs reversing to give ourselves a larger squad to better compete with other clubs who have a 25 man squad.

Chelsea has turned their academy into a huge profit centre, selling off youngsters so as to buy VERY expensive (most would suggest their purchases are over priced) players from outside the club - its not a sustainable strategy by itself but selling off some academy players who are surplus does generate funds to buy other players - so there is a balance to be had. And given a uefa squad has a requirement for a minimum 8 ;locally trained players' any very good Club Trained players can be retained so as to avoid the need to buy some players trained by other clubs affiliated to The FA (currently Spurs players in that category include Forster, Davies, Spence, Gray, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke) or to put it anther way after getting the minimum 4 Club Trained players, if we have other good quality Club Trained Players we can use those to fill a few 'Association Trained' players rather than buying them.
 
I would never suggest its either youngsters OR expensive buys.

There is room for both - and indeed a good squad has both.

But one current issue is due, mainly to Conte and Poch failure to develop youngsters, we have a lack of suitable Club Trained footballers which currently restricts us to 21 'overseas trained and HG' players in a UEFA squad (plus the one Club Trained GK and any List B u21 players we have), so ignoring development of young players into Club Trained players is clearly nuts, and needs reversing to give ourselves a larger squad to better compete with other clubs who have a 25 man squad.

Chelsea has turned their academy into a huge profit centre, selling off youngsters so as to buy VERY expensive (most would suggest their purchases are over priced) players from outside the club - its not a sustainable strategy by itself but selling off some academy players who are surplus does generate funds to buy other players - so there is a balance to be had. And given a uefa squad has a requirement for a minimum 8 ;locally trained players' any very good Club Trained players can be retained so as to avoid the need to buy some players trained by other clubs affiliated to The FA (currently Spurs players in that category include Forster, Davies, Spence, Gray, Maddison, Johnson, Solanke) or to put it anther way after getting the minimum 4 Club Trained players, if we have other good quality Club Trained Players we can use those to fill a few 'Association Trained' players rather than buying them.
Who are these other clubs in England with 4 over 21 club trained players. I think you’ll find they have no more than 2. Only difference to us is that other team have a club trained player who has a good chance of playing, whereas our two have virtually no chance.
Or do you think we should have ignored the 20m on offer for Skipp so he could sit on our bench as a club trained player.
 
25 PL Squad players (*Home grown)
1 Austin, Brandon Anthony*
2 Bentancur, Rodrigo
3 Bissouma, Yves
4 Davies, Benjamin Thomas*
5 De Andrade, Richarlison
6 Dragusin, Radu-Matei
7 Forster, Fraser Gerard*
8 Heung-Min, Son
9 Johnson, Brennan Price*
10 Kulusevski, Dejan
11 Maddison, James*
12 Porro Sauceda, Pedro Antonio
13 Reguilon Rodriguez, Sergio
14 Robson, Max*

15 Romero, Cristian Gabriel
16 Sarr, Pape Matar
17 Solanke-Mitchell, Dominic Ayodele*
18 Spence, Diop Djed*
19 Udogie, Iyenoma Destiny
20 Van De Ven, Micky
21 Vicario, Guglielmo
22 Werner, Timo
23 Whiteman, Alfie Malik*

The Surprises - Reguilon and Robson
(note several (Gray, Bergvall and Odobert) of the PL squad can be treated as u21 players and additional players to the '25 man squad', which is why there are spare spaces available allowing the inclusion of Reguilon and Robson)

U21 players (Contract and Scholars)
1 Abbott, George Benedict (loaned out)
2 Adekunle, Timileyin Adegboyega
3 Adewole, Miracle Adetonmiwa Jimoh Elijah
4 Ajayi, Oyindamola Oluwatobi Peter
5 Akhamrich, Yusuf
6 Andiyapan, William
7 Archer, Samual Cyril
8 Arganese-McDermott, Pele
9 Ashcroft, Tyrell
10 Bangura, Samal Junior
11 Baptiste, Archie
12 Beggs, Jamel Jordan Fred
13 Bergvall, Lucas Erik Holger (First team squad)
14 Black, Leo Amarri John-Baptiste
15 Bloedorn, Carey Brian
16 Byrne, Harry Luke
17 Cassanova, Dante Jamel
18 Craig, Matthew George (loaned out)
19 Devine, Alfie Sean (loaned out)
20 Donley, Jamie Paul (loaned out)
21 Dorrington, Alfie Terry Charlie
22 Egan-Riley, Roman Jay
23 Elliott-Parris, Reiss Dennis
24 Feeney, George James
25 Gray, Archie James Frances (First team squad)
26 Gunter, Luca Jackson
27 Hall, Tye Fitz
28 Hall, Tyrese Shaun
29 Hardy, Malachi John
30 Irow, Oliver
31 James, Herbie George
32 Keeley, Josh (loaned out)
33 King, Maeson Bradley
34 Krasniqi, Elliot
35 Kyerematen, Rio
36 Lankshear, William Terence
37 Lehane, Ellis Anthony Mark
38 Linton, Jahziah
39 Logan, Calum Reece
40 Maguire, Aaron Joseph
41 McKnight, Maxwell
42 Moncur, Ronny Alan
43 Moore, Mikey Steven Danny
44 Myrtaj, Leon
45 Odobert, Wilson Serge Eric (First Team Squad)
46 Olusesi, Callum
47 Orr, Dante D'Angelo
48 Phillips, Ashley (loaned out)
49 Rowswell, James Patrick Lynch
50 Scarlett, Dane Pharrell (loaned out)
51 Thompson, Dylan Warren Edward
52 Thompson, Tynan Torres
53 Upson, Elijah Richard
54 Veliz, Alejo (loaned out )
55 Warren, Charlie Fredrick
56 Williams, Jaden Pharell Earl
 
So Robson in the EPL squad but not in the EL squad?
Where is the logic in that?

I can only assume that at the start of the month it was assumed Robson was leaving so no point in including him in EL squad, roll forward to today and he's not left, so every reason to include him in PL squad and no reason not to do so.

Hindsight is that Spurs should have taken the same view of Robson, a Club Trained trained player could have been added to EL.

And maybe the prospect of Bentancur having a ban for a number of matches led to a better focus on the number of midfield players we needed as back up to potentially replace him, especially after the late loan out of Devine who would have been a better back up for Bentancur if he had stayed at Spurs.
 
PL Registered Squad by Position

GK -Vicario/Forster/Austin/Whiteman or Gunter
RB - Porro, Spence (also LB)
CB - Romero/Van De Venn/ Dragusin/Gray (also DM & RB)
LB - Udogie/Davies (also LCB), Reguilon
CM1 - Bissouma/ Robson
CM2 - Bentancur/Sarr
CM3 - Maddison/Bergvall
RW - Kulusevski/Johnson/ Moore
LW - Son/Werner(loan), Odobert
CF – Solanke/Richarlison/ Lankshear

U21 players (Gray, Bergvall, Odobert)
Additional U21 players who Ange may choose to include in squads.
 
PL Registered Squad by Position

GK -Vicario/Forster/Austin/Whiteman or Gunter
RB - Porro, Spence (also LB)
CB - Romero/Van De Venn/ Dragusin/Gray (also DM & RB)
LB - Udogie/Davies (also LCB), Reguilon
CM1 - Bissouma/ Robson
CM2 - Bentancur/Sarr
CM3 - Maddison/Bergvall
RW - Kulusevski/Johnson/ Moore
LW - Son/Werner(loan), Odobert
CF – Solanke/Richarlison/ Lankshear

U21 players (Gray, Bergvall, Odobert)
Additional U21 players who Ange may choose to include in squads.
If we're talking natural positions then Gray in midfield, Moore at LW. Will not accept Gray's position as CB regardless of where he filled in at in preseason 😂
 
If we're talking natural positions then Gray in midfield, Moore at LW. Will not accept Gray's position as CB regardless of where he filled in at in preseason 😂

Gray is a slight oddball
The vast majority of his appearances for Leeds first team were as a RB, very few as CM/DM
Most of his pre-season appearances for Spurs were as CB

ATM, Spurs may use Gray as a CB, at least for part of this season, simply because we have 3 top CB's in Romero, Van de Venn and Dragusin, and if 2 of them are unavailable due to injury, need to rotate etc its going to be a toss up between Gray and Davies as to who would be the 4th CB.

In EL, if Porro doesn't play for any reason, Gray looks to be the most likely asked to play RB

So in 2024/25 season it wouldn't surprise me at all if Gray is seen in all of CB. CM and RB - its often the lot of young players to 'fill in' where the manager finds he is short of a player in a position.

Mikey Moore seems very comfortable playing RW and LW, and again it depends on other players as to where Moore will play this season - provided that Solanke and Richarlison remain fit enough to cover the centre forward position (and after 3 matches its not a given, but if Lankshear proves himself, it might be a safer assumption the 3 of them cover that position), then with Son and Werner covering LW and Odobert seemingly be happiest as LW but also playing RW, there may not be too many minutes available at LW, whereas at RW, Moore may be luckier with minutes when Johnson isn't playing.

This season is all about both youngsters getting minutes wherever they can - and I'm sure Ange will use Gray as a DM as that's what Spurs thought they were buying.

But plenty of examples of players changing position when relatively young - Vertonghen mainly played as a DM at Ajax until Jol (then manager at Ajax) converted him to being a CB, Dembele was a low scoring striker until Jol (then manager at Fulham) started him further back to convert him to being a CM ...... Jol played him as a RM in his first season at Spurs and only returned him to CM in his second season ....... so lets see how Gray develops as a player : he may become another Vertonghen or he may continue to look better as a DM/CM.
 
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