English Spurs amid a sea of foreign teams

At Southampton Mauricio Pochettino improved the English players from ordinary into England stars and Tottenham are hoping he can replicate that success at Spurs with our young English and talent.

English Spurs amid a sea of foreign teams


Danny Rose and Harry Kane have signed new 5-year contracts, Ryan Mason took his chance on the pre-season North American tour, Kyle Walker has a contract until 2019, Eric Dier has just been transferred to us and has a 5-year deal, then there is Kyle Naughton, Andros Townsend, Tom Carroll and Zeki Fryers.

Nine young English players all hoping he can improve them in the way he improved, not just Rodriguez, Lallana and Lambert but the other English players as well.

Tottenham had a policy of buying young English talent, then abandoned that policy and sought the overseas finished article and now seeing that fail have returned to a general buying policy suggested by Tim Sherwood that the club focuses on talent that has Premier League experience.

Tottenham legend Ledley King, probably the best centre-back of his generation, is excited for the future of the young English talent at the club, hoping Pochettino can do it again.

"What impressed me was he had faith in the young players at Southampton. All the English players thrived under him. 
"Players like Lallana and Shaw played the best football of their careers under him. From Tottenham's point of view it's great to have a manager who believes in young players. 
"If they're good enough then they're old enough. There are young players at Spurs who have a real opportunity to make the first team in the future now. 
"We have players here like Harry Kane who has come through. It looks like the manager has faith in him. 
"There are younger players coming through as well. It's important for them to see that they can have success like that one day. 
"If these kids keep doing the right things then hopefully they will have a big future at the club. That can only be good for the England team too."

The club is struggling for an identity with the first team loaded with temporary money mercenaries stopping off for a couple of years before seeking more elsewhere. The last two regular Spurs first team players with any length of service are club captain Michael Dawson and vice-captain Aaron Lennon, both of which many fans would happily see sold.

What is left is a bunch of players, the vast majority of whom have no feeling for the club and are not Tottenham men. The club can't simply become a name or it doesn't matter where we play then, it has to have ties to and roots in the community and the country.

The improvement of Harry Kane and his success at the end of last season gives the club a chance to grab some local identity back. He was born in the area and has been at the club 10 years, to him playing for Spurs is an honour, not a job.

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Spurs need those players coming through now to provide an identity, provide some stability and show you can succeed with young English talent. The Premier League needs more English players playing and beyond that British players, 68% oversees is far too high a figure.

We have seen in this transfer window clubs desperately spending money like water, both Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have all overspent on players paying more, and in some cases far more, than they are worth.

That is not a policy Tottenham can follow, our income is £100 million, £200 million below theirs. We have to not only cut our cloth but do so in a manner that says this is Tottenham, this is what we stand for. Without an identity sponsors have nothing to associate with so for the club there has to be an overall strategy we work within and transfer policy is a part of, but not dictated, by that.

A successful and financially solvent English club is a club that stands out among the foreign money and foreign players. If Mauricio Pochettino can work his magic on the youth then Tottenham will have found the right man for the long haul, the man Daniel Levy has been searching for. Success won't be easy as King points out.

"To have a team that went from champions to finishing seventh shows the strength of the league. 
"There are seven teams who can finish in the top four. There are two or three, maybe four, who believe they can win the league. We are not one of them at the moment. 
"We need a bit of time. We have a new manager and a new style of play. It's going to be tough to break into the top four but if we have a good season we are capable of doing that."

After 2 years of decline where we had Bale propping us up for a spell Tottenham need to consolidate and return to 5th, while aiming for the Champions League slots. To aim any lower risks failure and I don't think failure is a word that figures too highly in Pochettino's mind.

Spurs will always use imported players but having a home grown, an English, a British identity, will now only come about by developing youth, his record suggests we have the right man to do just that.