Round Pegs in Square Holes....?

[1990Hotspur]

I've been a member of this forum for about two months now and would just like to say what a pleasure it is to hear all the different views and opinions of all you fans. very refreshing.

I am a huge Spurs fan.... in the blood and for my 18 years on this earth football and spurs are my passion. i also come from a family of Spurs fans, Unfortunately i don't get to come to many games at all.... infact my first and only live game was the 0-0 home draw to blackburn in 2005....(very exciting game )

SO.... i know im not going to be in the best position to start this thread, but i was very intreged with the possible transfer thread. from what i gather, the fans are calling for a LM, a LB and CF. i think


so.....getting to my point. i know everyone has their own opinions on who the new signings should be, but with the squad we have, are we not buying individuals rather than for the team. i understand we do need to get better players to improve, but are we buying them for their names or how good they will be for the team.

some examples:
nobody knew of pav before the euros!!

also would these names affect the way the squad plays. for example:
if we are to believe the names we're linked with ie. downing and A Young. would that push modric out the team, or sacrifice either one of our more defensive type midfeilders (palacios, jenas etc) to put him in the centre and disrupt that protective screen.

sorry for the long winded question. would love to hear your opinions!!

[ditch and burn]

Good post and I do agree that we do need to focus upon tayloring any future signings to suit our current line-up. All I would say is that it is possible to classify Modric as a 'name player' signing, so in someways our team is shaped by this type of transfer policy.

I'm starting to think that Downing would be a good acquisition as he is both naturally left sided and an excellent crosser of the ball. As you say, the problem is how to accomodate Modric in the middle and whether this would affect our defensive abilities.

[CmonyouSpurs]

Considering JJ is inconsistent and at times quite simply frustrating, if we got a natural LW, we could move Modric to the centre instead of JJ, to play with this kinda formation:

----------Palacios----------
Lennon-------------New LW
-----------Modric-----------

[basskadet]

I think what you say is very true altho picking out Pav is a little harsh as we did actually desperately need a striker & Pav on his day is quite similar to Berbatov (who he was bought to replace) in many ways, perhaps not quite as skillful but not quite as lazy either. However the fact that he is also very similar to Bent is a little bit strange. I think we got caught up in the concern over replacing Berbatov when the real one we needed to replace was Keano.

Bentley was another good example, bought on merit rather than fulfilling a purpose for the team. I actually always liked Bentley. i feel he's given an unnecessarily hard time by a lot of folks (not particularly round these parts but in general) & I always thought he'd be a great player & I always wanted him at Spurs, whether Lennon was here or not. The problem however was he did not solve the actual issues that needed addressing.

You have to get your team sorted 1st & foremost. Once you've got a balanced team that understand & play well together, then & only then should you think about bringing in the extra players who then might improve you further.

Harry knows this. He came in & identified the 1 thing we had all known for years, we needed a DM, a fighter. One of the 1st things he then did was bring in Palacios. The last regime did not understand that. All Ramos wanted was flair players & did not pay enough attention to the team. I know he brought in Woodgate & Hutton when we needed defenders but I'm not so sure they were his deals, more Jol's. We had been strongly linked with both while MJ was still with us & the wheels had been put into motion. Ramos obviously agreed with them & completed thetransfers but I'm not sure they were his ideas.

[Lic01]

I agree with basskadet. Harry knows what he's doing.

He is gonna buy in people for positions instead of namesake and hype. Comolli was treating spurs like a game of trump cards for way too long. Sometimes its not about having the biggest players with the biggest names. Its about player who fit it and do their job correctly to the highest standard.

Palacios Defoe, Keane & Corluka are proof of this.

With a bit of luck we might even grab a uefa spot this year and Harry can bring in the players he needs to bulk up the squad. Exciting times once again at the spurs I'm sure.

[1990Hotspur]

Considering JJ is inconsistent and at times quite simply frustrating, if we got a natural LW, we could move Modric to the centre instead of JJ, to play with this kinda formation:

----------Palacios----------
Lennon-------------New LW
-----------Modric-----------

Personally i dont think this works.

Because the the way i see modric playing in the middle would be a very attacking player want to go forward, and isn't the best at defending.

if you look at the top teams in the league, lets say the top five: (this is only my opinion so if it is obviously wrong im sorry)

Man utd: Centre midfield= Carrick and Anderson/Scholes- i wouldn't say they were extremely attacking.

Liverpool: Centre midfeild= Macherano and Alonso. very defensive. (you could argue gerrard, but he plays more as the secondary striker, plus he can tackle)

Chelsea: Centre midfeild= Mikel/essien and ballack. same as liverpool in regards to set up with lampard.

Arsenal: Team changes so much wouldn't know who their best players in that position are.

Villa: centre mid= Barry and petrov. again more defensive minded than attacking.

as you can see. the top teams have a base in the centre of midfeild (argueably the one most important parts of a football pitch to dominate) which are defensive to gain possesion and what not. the theme seems to be to have a ball winner/ hard tackler (macherano, anderson, essien, barry and for us palacios) coupled with say also a defensive minded ball winner (probably not their strongest points) with great passing abilities (carrick, alonso, fabregas, ballck?, petrov? and for us jenas?)

anyway that seems to be the theme, but if we go for a left winger.... who would be presumed to be a garenteed starter, push modric inside and break up that screening couple and place much much more responsibility on the shoulders of say ....palacios.

we have the answer to our left side problem in modric i think. (and if not then bale..... who is better than downing.....but thats not the point.) and is our team seriously set up for players who whip brilliant balls into the box (bentley, downing etc) or players with quick interplay with each other (modric, lennon, keane etc.)

sorry if that was a bit long and confusing, i just see all the players that we're linked with and i get so confused on what the team is trying to become.

[CmonyouSpurs]

Personally i dont think this works.

Because the the way i see modric playing in the middle would be a very attacking player want to go forward, and isn't the best at defending.

if you look at the top teams in the league, lets say the top five: (this is only my opinion so if it is obviously wrong im sorry)

Man utd: Centre midfield= Carrick and Anderson/Scholes- i wouldn't say they were extremely attacking.

Liverpool: Centre midfeild= Macherano and Alonso. very defensive. (you could argue gerrard, but he plays more as the secondary striker, plus he can tackle)

Chelsea: Centre midfeild= Mikel/essien and ballack. same as liverpool in regards to set up with lampard.

Arsenal: Team changes so much wouldn't know who their best players in that position are.

Villa: centre mid= Barry and petrov. again more defensive minded than attacking.

as you can see. the top teams have a base in the centre of midfeild (argueably the one most important parts of a football pitch to dominate) which are defensive to gain possesion and what not. the theme seems to be to have a ball winner/ hard tackler (macherano, anderson, essien, barry and for us palacios) coupled with say also a defensive minded ball winner (probably not their strongest points) with great passing abilities (carrick, alonso, fabregas, ballck?, petrov? and for us jenas?)

anyway that seems to be the theme, but if we go for a left winger.... who would be presumed to be a garenteed starter, push modric inside and break up that screening couple and place much much more responsibility on the shoulders of say ....palacios.

we have the answer to our left side problem in modric i think. (and if not then bale..... who is better than downing.....but thats not the point.) and is our team seriously set up for players who whip brilliant balls into the box (bentley, downing etc) or players with quick interplay with each other (modric, lennon, keane etc.)

sorry if that was a bit long and confusing, i just see all the players that we're linked with and i get so confused on what the team is trying to become.

Modric has done a fair amount of tracking back when he played at LW, so I think he could help out Palacios. Besides, since Modric is known to be a top quality playmaker, I believe that we should play him where we can get the best out of him, and that would be behind the striker.

[1990Hotspur]

Modric has done a fair amount of tracking back when he played at LW, so I think he could help out Palacios. Besides, since Modric is known to be a top quality playmaker, I believe that we should play him where we can get the best out of him, and that would be behind the striker.

and i agree that his best position is to play him in an advanced role. but do you then sacrifice keane. or say pav and play two small players up front. confusing and frustrating.

i have no doubt that harry will find a brilliant balance to the team, i personally would like him to try and work with what we've got rather than go and splash a lot of cash.

[CmonyouSpurs]

and i agree that his best position is to play him in an advanced role. but do you then sacrifice keane. or say pav and play two small players up front. confusing and frustrating.

i have no doubt that harry will find a brilliant balance to the team, i personally would like him to try and work with what we've got rather than go and splash a lot of cash.

Yeah it does cause confusion, but if 'Arry solves this confusion then I feel it would lead to some awesome attacking play from us. We don't exactly have to sacrifice Keane anyway. His tracking back and work rate is always great to have. We could play Keane up top with someone else, say Defoe, and Defoe would be our main forward with Keane and Modric creating chances behind him or something like that.

[basskadet]

Palacios Defoe, Keane & Corluka are proof of this.

Except Charlie was Ramos's purchase, not Harry's! anyway, I agree with the point you were making. Charlie was about Ramos's only purchase that was 'sensible'.

I also don't think too much blame for this seasons poor transfers can go on Comolli. I believe Ramos identified who he wanted for the 1st XI & Comolli tried to get them. Comolli's own additions were more development type players. Levy basically said outright that this was how it worked.

I don't buy into this whole everything was down to comolli. There's no doubt he was a cancer in our club but as far as actually getting players in, I am convinced every player that came to the club had been identified & approved by the management at the time. Martin Jol was definitely partly responsible for the likes of Kaboul & Boateng, he talked enough about them both before they signed for us & he met personally with them both but when he left Spurs, suddenly they were all Comolli's fault! I'm not saying that was Martin's doing, it was the press, they did the same with Ramos. Juande flew out to russia to personally meet Pavlyuchenko yet after he got the sac the media tried to imply Pav was Comolli's 'panic buy'. I don't believe them. Ramos had been after Pav ALL SUMMER!

Man utd: Centre midfield= Carrick and Anderson/Scholes- i wouldn't say they were extremely attacking.

Liverpool: Centre midfeild= Macherano and Alonso. very defensive. (you could argue gerrard, but he plays more as the secondary striker, plus he can tackle)

Chelsea: Centre midfeild= Mikel/essien and ballack. same as liverpool in regards to set up with lampard.

Arsenal: Team changes so much wouldn't know who their best players in that position are.

Villa: centre mid= Barry and petrov. again more defensive minded than attacking.
.

I disagree with you here. Scholes is a very attacking player. Liverpool tend to play Mascherano or alonso, but when they play them both its in a 5 man midfield its with the emphasis on Gerrard to get forward. Chelsea use Ballack and/or Lampard who are both extremely attack minded. Villa I agree with you there, Petrov & Barry are quite defensive but that's because their wingers push so far up. They almost play a 424.

The possible Spurs formation mentioned earlier could work if Palacios was prepared to hold deep. You're right Modric would stay forward but that would be no different to Gerrard at Liverpoo, or Bllack/Lampard at Chelsea

[thfcshady27]

IMO modric is every bit as willing to get stuck in as jenas is....jenas will get stuck in wen hes in the mood...modric just has a point to prove that he isnt too small for our league and that is a point is proving very well!