Harry looking for 4

[basskadet]

Harry has hinted at his transfer plans to the press saying he is targeting up to 4 players/positions. At a guess that would be a striker, a left winger and a centre back. However, I still think we need a reliable LB but he might be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone of he aims for the right sort of defender.

We know that Downing is his first choice LW and that Bellamy/Defoe are the strikers he wants. Perhaps Appiah is the DM he is eyeing & I'm not sure about the defender, perhaps Mark Beevers who we were linked with & would be a typical Redknapp signing. Beevers would certainly be able to fill in as CB & might do a devent job in LB too.

Sky Sports | Football News | Premier League | Tottenham Hotspur | Harry looking to add depth

[Hamenaglar]

Guys, forget about appiah, he's a free agent and didn't have a proper game or training session for quite some time. He can't improve this squad, at least not immediately.

[basskadet]

True, Ham, I'm not 100% sold on Appiah. He is a good player but is way off fitness for Prem standards. However, I'm fairly sure we're in for him tho regardless & haven't heard any other DM's mentioned. Someone hinted at Alonso but I really can't see Liverpool letting him go now, they're pushing for the title & he's been one of their best players, would he even want to leave now with the prospect of a Premiership medal on the horizon? Anyway Xabi got injured against Preston last night & had his leg in a plaster/support.

[luminoir]

Mark Van Bommel is unsettled at Bayern.

Most of our captain's are in defense, like Woodgate/King.
It'll help our midfield, arguably, one of our biggest liabilities, by having an experienced leader in the middle of the park.

The reason Van Bommel can be a great acquisition is that he can be a good teacher to whoever's deputizing under him. He's a very intelligent player and if he can teach his knowledge to the other DMs under him, it'll be money well spent.

Here are some excerpts from an interview with him that illustrate this point.
---
I asked Ribery many times how he wants the ball in certain situations. We talk about that for hours sometimes. He likes the ball played fast into his feet. So, he can then make one swift move with his foot and pass his opponent. I know to play the ball hard on his left foot. Those things can be decisive. And I need to do that under pressure in split seconds.If that pass on Ribery is on the right foot, he’ll need more time and the opponent can regroup. So, I can pass a great ball on his right and slow ourselves down. Fans will say: great pass by Van Bommel, but lousy touch by Ribery. While in fact, the pass wasn’t right at all. Same with a deep pass. The trick is to place the ball right in the running line of the striker. He shouldn’t have to slow down for it. Those type of balls, you need to caress more than anything else. And the moment you touch the ball, you know whether it’s a good one. My skills allow me to hit the ball hard with a slice effect, so the ball sails over defense but sort of breaks when it hits the grass. It’s like a backspin or a draw ball with billiards......

Both Ribery and Ronaldinho play on the left. So, we always left their left back free in building up. So we tempted the opponent to build up over the right flank. Ribery and Ronaldinho - in these cases - than don’t have to defend too much. And once we took possession, we could cross pass to the left.
......
You always here commentators say that the losers didn’t work hard enough or weren’t sharp enough or something like that. Bull****. It’s about being in time or coming in to late. Has nothing to do with working hard. If you don’t play well, you’re forced to work harder. But working hard is never the answer. It’s working smart. Like Johan Cruyff, when Barcelona couldn’t dominate, he’d take out a striker and added a midfielder. Why? Because he needed ball possession to dominate, so he added a midfielder to create more control. And this sounds counter-logical, but by sacrificing a striker, sometimes you can attack better.

[Gareth]

Please God no Harry, don't bring Defoe in or Bellamy. The players Harry could bring in it'd be insanely stupid to bring in dirt like Bellamy. Defoe I don't want to come back because we might as well just go back and buy the rest of our old team. We must now starting building Harry's team, but if he wants Defoe I won't argue but we might be going back a few steps.

If the striker could be Podolski and Cavenaghi, I reckon Harry could sign these two and would be affective up front. Unfortunately but I think Bent has to be shown the door, but not at this moment and time because of the amount of cups we are in.

[kevfball63]

MARK VAN BOMMEL .... I read the whole monologue , but if he doesn't like the way we play is he going to feel the same here . He says that it pains him to not play but does not fit into the picture there . But the " if you dont play well , you have to work harder " part makes a lot of sense . Also the fact that he says you can teach the tactics he outlines here , sounds like all the team have to do is talk to each other to achieve the same aim . Mixed feelings here but ive thanked you for the post as its very informative .

[Hamenaglar]

......
You always here commentators say that the losers didn’t work hard enough or weren’t sharp enough or something like that. Bull****. It’s about being in time or coming in to late. Has nothing to do with working hard. If you don’t play well, you’re forced to work harder. But working hard is never the answer. It’s working smart. Like Johan Cruyff, when Barcelona couldn’t dominate, he’d take out a striker and added a midfielder. Why? Because he needed ball possession to dominate, so he added a midfielder to create more control. And this sounds counter-logical, but by sacrificing a striker, sometimes you can attack better.

Now that's something smart (doesn't always apply, but often does)

[luminoir]

sounds like all the team have to do is talk to each other to achieve the same aim

True, but from some of the recent displays with our strikers making runs one way and the passes heading another, that those conversations might not be happening.

For me, I'm impressed that as a player, Van Bommel's making the effort to ask his team mates how they like to receive the ball. That might sound simple but do our midfielders know how the strikers like to receive their passes?

Darren Bent's a terrible holdup player, but I see receiving a lot of passes to his feet. He should be communicating to the midfielders about where he makes his runs to and how he like to receive them. He has pace but a mediocre first touch, so he should never be put in a situation of having to take more than 2 touches before shooting.

Pav's a better holdup player but not as strong in the air. He should receive more passes to his feet with his strike partner to his side, as he's demonstrated with his flicks and one touch passes that he is very aware of where other players are whenever he receives a pass. It normally fails when they run the wrong direction, so he should find a way to communicate non verbally where they should run when he's receiving.

These are just a couple of examples of how a player like Van Bommel, who takes note of such fine details, can be a positive influence by pointing out ways the individual players in the team can improve by communicating with each other, rather than leaving it all up to the coach.

Most Dutch players are like that, which is why a lot of them end up as managers. And why their teams are famous for in-fighting. Can you imagine 25 coaches in a dressing room arguing tactics?

Too many Dutch players can cause that problem but one good one will be as good as an assistant coach on the field.

[Arthur Atkinson]

Oliver Dacourt is available on a free.

[Gareth]

Why talk about players we aren't even linked with? We might as well stir up some sh1t about Ronaldinho coming to White Hart Lane.

[Arthur Atkinson]

Why talk about players we aren't even linked with? We might as well stir up some sh1t about Ronaldinho coming to White Hart Lane.

we have been linked with daourt.

[luminoir]

Because on the off chance that someone in the hierarchy reads this forum, it's worth pointing out players that are available and would suit us.

[Gareth]

I think the professional scouts are just about 900 steps in front of us. I think the only staff of Tottenham would view the forum to see what the fans think upon certain things.

[basskadet]

Apparently we have expressed an interest in Dacourt.

Window watch: Olivier Dacourt, Tottenham, Stephen Hunt, Wigan | Premier League - Times Online

Could be interesting, he's a little bit old tho

I think the professional scouts are just about 900 steps in front of us.

They weren't with Cavenaghi! 'Only OK' indeed! We talked about him on here several months before we eventually got linked with him!

[luminoir]

I think the professional scouts are just about 900 steps in front of us.

I'm sure they are. But I'm also sure a big part of the appeal of the forum, as well as the polls and discussions we participate in, stem from the misguided belief that we as fans exercise some sort of control over the club we love, as well as to legitimize our own opinions on how we feel about things.

So unlikely as that prospect is, it's what keeps the discussions here going. Why douse that spark with reality?