Tottenham have been criticised this season for what many say was a fairly mediocre summer transfer window, especially compared to the massive spending done by clubs around them. Typically, Chelsea and Manchester City spent fairly big however it was the massive business done by clubs Liverpool and Manchester United that made Tottenham look slightly inferior this summer. Even Everton splashed the cash on Romelu Lukaku, smashing their previous transfer record. Yet, is this a step in the right direction for Tottenham and also Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino?
The Ins and Outs of the Tottenham Transfer Policy
It is no secret that many have mocked Tottenham for the performances of their seven ‘super’ signings in the summer of 2013, with only Christian Eriksen really setting the stage alight. Roberto Soldado showed signs of his former self at times, namely with his only Spurs hat-trick against Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League, however ultimately he had what many consider to be his worst season in top flight football, thus becoming the centre of many horrific memes. Paulinho and Nacer Chadli who also both looked very good on paper, both starters for top nations in their runs up to the World Cup in Brazil, with very high reputations also failed to hit the ground running, at least not at the pace many Spurs fans were excited about. All in all, a lot more was expected from Tottenham’s summer signings with very little value repaid at the end of the season. Combined with injuries to key players, a lack of flexibility within the squad and, quite frankly, poor defending and attitudes led to a pretty painful season for everyone involved. After reviewing this season of turmoil, many feel that the Gareth Bale money could have been spent a lot more wisely, where I feel compelled to add that hindsight really is a beautiful thing.
However, this is not the first time a potentially huge transfer window for Tottenham has been arguably misguided. Spurs are no strangers to massive departures from the club. Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick (even Robbie Keane to Liverpool to an extent) are great examples of when Spurs lost their best players in the past. Specifically, the summer of 2012, just one year previously, followed a similar route. Tottenham confirmed the sale of Luka Modric to Real Madrid and Levy proceeded to, again, spend this money on improving the squad. To which you may say, surely that’s a good sign? Yes, it would be, if the club had sensibly replaced the player who had just left. Modric was possibly Tottenham’s most important player in terms of holding possession and running the midfield, highlighted by Madridistas’ new found love for him. With the transfer deadline rapidly approaching, it seemed as though a deal to bring Joao Moutinho to White Hart Lane was pretty much completed. An ideal option to fill the hole left by Modric. A like-for-like player if ever there was one. As time ticked past the deadline, it was revealed that the deal never went through. This was gutting for everyone who follows Spurs.
That is not to say that Tottenham never strengthened well in midfield, with the signings of Gylfi Sigurðsson, Moussa Dembele, Clint Dempsey and eventually Lewis Holtby in January, Spurs were almost overwhelmed with options for the centre of the park, however none ever really seemed to offer the same dynamics of the recently departed Croatian. Although Tottenham went on to have a solid season, finishing in 5th place, it was often mentioned that they missed the deep creativity Modric offered, even suggesting Spurs were a one man team often saved by Bale’s astonishing performances and game winning strikes.
However this year was different. The biggest transfer out of Spurs was either Brazilian holding midfielder Sandro’s move to QPR or captain Michael Dawson’s exit to Hull City after nine and a half years at the North London club. Tottenham , although signing six players this summer, only spent slightly above £20m. More importantly, however, they strengthened in positions that were dying to be improved. With Danny Rose being the only left back, bringing in Ben Davies provided another young, quality left back to challenge his position. This has led to a string of good performances from Rose, after a fairly dismal season for him last year. Michael Dawson left, in comes Fazio. Sandro departed, replaced by Stambouli to provide competition to Capoue. Combined with the astute business of young Eric Dier who has become a revelation after his winner against West Ham and also DeAndre Yedlin (loaned immediately back to Seattle Sounders) who was very impressive at the World Cup for the USMNT, Pochettino, Franco Baldini and Levy seem to have gone about their business very wisely indeed. Sure, there were no massive signings like Angel Di Maria to Manchester United and Mario Balotelli to Liverpool but it could be argued that Tottenham didn’t need to make a marquee signing, especially after the summer of Bale’s departure.
With many people criticising Levy’s business-like approach in recent seasons, maybe it is important to avoid jumping to conclusions and just occasionally praise the chairman for some of the decisions he makes, especially if he means to continue the way he has started this season.
