The Mourinho Rebuild
Make no bones, Joe Hart has been brought in as a number 2, a quality number two when he rediscovers himself and a number two who could then put real pressure on Hugo Lloris to keep on top of his game.
Our lack of leaders is being addressed,problem areas are being addressed, our lack of positivity, which we did have but lost, is being addressed.
We are signing players with drive in them which Mourinho will be expecting to rub off onto some of the others player who are drifting along at the moment like Dele Alli.
To maintain and improve skill takes hard work, discipline, dedication, repetition and mental strength.
These are building blocks to success and they aren't going to happen without that inner drive, that inner desire or confidence.
Our fanbase is still having a go at Daniel Levy but he is in tune with his manager and is working hard to bring in the people José wants with a very restricted budget thanks to Covid-19.
That involves him doing tough deals, like bringing Southampton down from £35m to £15m and offloading a full-back who rarely plays for us for £12m (+£2m add-ons).
£35m
€38.80mAUS$63.99m
US$46.28m
£15m
€16.23mAUS$27.42m
US$19.83m
£12m
€13.31mAUS$21.94m
US$15.87m
£2m
€2.22mAUS$3.66m
US$2.65m
Take the purchase of Tanguy Ndombélé.
Our press report it as £54m plus add-ons but if you look in the Lyon accounts they publish it as £42m.
If that is the case then there are more add-ons than we first thought and these, if he were sold, would not be payable, thus he could potentially be sold for less, with us adding in plenty of add-ons.
If he were a success then we could profit to the tune of £15 - 20m just from the add-ons in time.
That deal now looks to be a far better deal than we believe
Joe Hart, strange to say, but with potential at 33!
If I may liken him to a racehorse, some trainers excel at taking a horse that isn't fulfilling it's potential or has had injury or training problems and reigniting the ability they once had or potential they once had.
A change of trainer, a change of training, a change of scenery, something clicks and the horse returns to pick up decent prizes.
Joe Hart can be just that racehorse.
The big big takeaway from his opening interview for us was the phrase;
"I know what it takes to win titles, I know what it takes to change the team dynamic for the better."
Doesn't that reinforce the message we must change mentally and that Mourinho is pushing us to do that.
I remember writing when Poch arrived that we had to learn how to have a winning mentality, we had to learn to expect trophies, not just hope for trophies and that culture had to be instilled in the club.
Also that the supporters would have to grow and develop to have the right environment around the club, the right vibe when the Spurs name is mentioned.
That hasn't happened inside or outside the club.
The supporters haven't grown, they are still supporters without the positivity that required.
The players still have a barrier, they are still hopeful of success, rather than confidently facing and expecting success.
To achieve success you have to mentally have no doubts,we have doubts,our supporters don't actually believe we can win anything.
That is a shocking way to support a club, it does nothing to help at all, quite the opposite in fact.
Spurs will be hoping to reignite the ability within Joe Hart, he has the desire to do it and if we can, well what a signing he will then prove to be.
Make no mistake this is a big big opportunity for him, one he'll be absolutely determined to take.
I'm excited by what he could achieve.
He talked about European matches and that he is looking forward to them, is that an indication he is our new number 2, I'm absolutely certain he has been brought in for that.
Is it an indication he will be playing in the early rounds of the competition, that he'll be playing League Cup and FA Cup games?
Dele Alli commented before the England Croatia World Cup semi-final, Gareth Southgate speaks a lot about;
“Writing their own stories… to believe what is possible and not be hindered by history or expectations.”
Our supporters are hindered by history, they cling onto it for dear life to drag the club down in the present, plain nuts but that just shows they have no idea how success is achieved.
Any failure is partly their fault.
They have this narrative in their head and they live it.
They seek angles that will feed it, even if they are irrational or fail to take into account circumstances and what they club are trying to achieve in their way as opposed to having to be done their way because they supposedly know better with less information.
Why cling to and feed that?
How does that help to achieve achieve success.
It's far better to change it to a positive narrative and increase the chances of success.
Fear is simply failure rehearsal.
They need to let go of the past and look to the future.
I firmly believe we can win a trophy next season, formly believe we can win the EUropa League, firmly believe we can finish in the top 4.
That's how every supporter should be thinking.
It's how Mourinho will be thinking, it's how the squad ill be thinking,so why can't you?
History has no bearing on the present and the future, it can't write it.
Confidence, brought about by positive thinking, will produce better results every time.
If you don't believe, you won't achieve.
There are negatives in football, of course thee are, but the whole point is you process them and move on.
We have some supporters who can't process then, they can't understand the whole picture so cling to them.
People who watch Harry Kane say he is different from any England player they have seen take a penalty.
revious players,if interrupted would simply carry on from where they left off after the interruption, they were keen to get the experience over.
That's negative.
Harry Kane has a routine.
If his routine is interrupted, he simply starts it again. He picks the ball up, replaces it, the whole shebang.
It keeps him focussed and in the right frame of mind.
It's a mental thing.
With Daniel Levy leaving no stone unturned and fighting hard in negotiations, Mourinho will have no hiding place next season.
(Below you'll be able to put yourself in his shoes).
He won't need one though, he isn't going to shirk a challenge.
This window was a challenge.
Mourinho accepted the financial situation and has been pragmatic.
Further deals we want are in the pipeline, they are being worked on, there are many irons in the fire,
The players know we want them and that we are a good opportunity for them, particularly with Mourinho in the hot seat.
As I have explained, we have a list of candidates for each position and we talk to agents to ascertain what sort of transfer fee would be involved, what sort of wage the player would want and how interested they are in joining Tottenham.
I do not believe we will be signing Callum Wilson, I'm still hanging my coat on the Habib Diallo peg.
I still think Tanguy Ndombélé will leave and that Timothy Castagne will be our new right-back.
I do not think we will sign Celik or Aarons.
I do not think we will get Marcel Sabitzer, but I think Ibrahim Sangaré is a real option, allowing Winks to concentrate on playing with more attacking intent perhaps.
Afie Devine, the 16-year-old brought in from Wigan is training with the first team for pre-season which will be great for his confidence and development.
Serge Aurier will be sold for £18m.
£18m
€20m
AUS$32.94m
US$23.87m
Once fans return to the stadium and our income returns then we are a club with potential again to push forward and return to being Champions League regulars which will help push our rivals further away.
Looking forward, perhaps this is what our squad might look like after the transfer window has closed.
Spurs Squad
- Hugo Lloris
- Joe Hart
- Alfie Whiteman or Brandon Austin
- Timothy Castagne
- Japhet Tanganga
- Toby Alderweireld
- Eric Dier
- Davinson Sanchez
- Milan Skriniar
- Ben Davies
- Left Back (Jamal Lewis (Norwich) homegrown if Lamela stays)
- Moussa Sissoko
- Harry Winks
- Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
- Ibrahim Sangaré
- Gedson Fernandes
- Giovani Lo Celso
- Erik Lamela ? (If Skriniar arrives Lamela leaves, if homegrown CB then stay)
- Lucas Moura
- Steven Bergwijn
- Dele Alli
- Son Heung-min
- Harry Kane
- Habib Diallo
Out
Danny Rose
Juan Foyth - loan
Ryan Sessegnon - loan
Jack Clarke - loan
Paulo Gazzaniga
Serge Aurier
Tanguy Ndombélé
Kyle Walker-Peters - transferred to Southampton for £12m + £2m add-ons
Jan Vertonghen - end of contract (joined Benfica)
Michel Vorm - end of contract
In
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg - £15m + £3m add-onsI'd estimate those sales to give us around £80m (excluding KWP)
So if we are to bring in Castagne, Skriniar, a LB, Ibrahim Sangaré and a striker (Habib Diallo), how do you spread round the cash?
Castagne £10m
Skriniar £40m
Left-Back £10m
Sangaré £12m
Diallo £12m
TOTAL £84
The budget is tight, Levy will have to negotiate fees and get as much of it as add-ons as he can, they, if payable, will then be payable in future seasons when crowds are back in the stadium and it is generating money.
When you look at it like that then you can see that Sabitzer and Skriniar at £40m each isn't realistic.
Moussa Sissoko looks the only other option to sell if we can't sell Lamela.
Mourinho would be happy to keep Lamela but the non-homegrown quota is tight and to improve in other areas, a player may have to be sacrificed, Lamela and Sissoko seems to be the two sacrificial lambs but it depends what offers come in for other non-homegrown players.
Selling Winks makes no sense, he is underrated.
Winks moved the ball more yards than any other Spurs player last season.
Juggling the homegrown and non-homegrown means it depends upon who departs to make way for incomings thus there are permutations and contingency plans that make it so difficult to call.
If Skriniar comes in, will Japhet Tanganga be the back-up right-back as well as covering centre-back?
That would require the purchase of only one right-back leaving Aarons in the cold and are we going to sign a new left-back?
That is a distinct possibility but will that need to be homegrown or can it be non-homegrown.
To help that, for me, Gazzaniga simply has to go.
We need his non-homegrown place as I've said all along.
The squad has got to be managed in the right way.
Squad places for players who never play, like Vorm, who incidentally ws earning more than Hart will earn, must be homegrown.
You shouldn't be wasting a precious non-homegrown place as you are just tying your hands when you want an outfield non-homegrown player.
You can see Mourinho is staring to address that by bringing in Hart as our new No2.
If a player can have duel nationality, then why can't he have duel homegrown and non-homegrown status?
I'm talking Eric Dier here, an England captain but a non-homegrown player.
That's nuts,he should be able to qualify for both.
I don't think the powers that be thought that one through very well.
COYS
Post a Comment