Thursday's Spurs Chat and Tottenham Transfer Talk
Thursday's Spurs Chat and Tottenham Transfer Talk
Hello folks, Christmas is getting near, a time to be happy and rejoice that you are a Spurs fan at a time when we have Daniel Levy building the club financially to compete for trophies in the manner in which UEFA require.
I don't need to tell you we have had Covid problems, for which UEFA have punished us, very unfairly as Antonio Conte said in his per-West Ham press conference.
There are good and bad sides to both the Covid outbreak and being thrown out of Europe, if that is what eventually happens.
Despite the first team training ground being closed by the Premier League for three days, Conte has had extra time to work with his squad.
Yes there has been isolation, but he has been able to work on his system with the players without having to worry about preparing for games.
You could argue it has been like a mini pre-season and the benefits of that showed against Liverpool I think.
Several players who have looked off the mark before, although Winks in particular did show signs in his last game, produced performances far in advance of what they had produced before, Sessegnon, Dele, Winks.
Conte, unlike other managers, seems to have defined Dele's role to him and isn't going to move him around positions.
It seemed there was still the confidence there in front of goal but things didn't go his way, however his defending inside our box needs to sharpen up, that is still a bit lazy.
The delay of fixtures has meant we could get players back fit, Reguilon, although Sessegnon has injured a muscle yet again and is out for a couple of weeks.
Romero will have missed fewer games but more importantly, negatively the squad have a fixture pile up yes, but when we play these games, and most are away, we will be better versed in the system and a better side.
With the introduction of Ndombele, Sessegnon, Winks and Dele, we now have more of a squad who can play instead of a first XI so there is a big plus side to this.
It could play into our hands and make getting that fourth spot a bit easier.
Being thrown out of the UEFA Conference league because of a Covid outbreak and the closing of our first team training area is disappointing, as that was the easiest trophy to win this season and we need to win the first to grasp the mentality needed to win more, but it does alleviate fixture congestion too.
You can take a positive from both situations.
Will it help us qualify for the UEFA Champions League or are we being deprived of a trophy?
All those demanding we forget long-term planning and skew finances for an immediate trophy must be in favour of us staying in the competition, but no, these are the people who want us out of the competition!
Rather contradictory thinking and a complete lack of understanding of the mental side of the game.
Tottenham have to win a trophy to get the experience, the emotions, the feeling of winning a trophy so they can replicate the mentality when faced with another chance.
At the moment we know how to lose finals, you take that mentality, those doubts into the next one, anxiety rears it's ugly head, a mistake and we lose again, as per the last final against Man City when a lapse 7 minutes from time handed us another defeat.
A Conference League win would have helped us but we now have to look at it as less fixtures in an already crowded schedule.
Antonio Conte told the gathered press in the pre-West Ham game press conference that building a squad to compete to win trophies was more important than winning a trophy now.
The foundations have to be laid first.
This tells every fan, even the unbelievers, that you grow a club to bring in more money, then grow the quality of the squad to compete and win.
That can only be done if the club is generating enough 'guaranteed' income each season, you can't buy and pay wages on the hope of an income, that's a disaster waiting to happen.
Tottenham Transfer Talk
Brennan Johnson
The club will continue to look at first team ready players and youthful players who can develop.
We have a few but another is Brennan Johnson at Nottingham Forest.
The former European Champions have developed a young talent interesting many a Premier League club, indeed Everton are said to have made an offer for him.
The 20-year-old (21 next May) Welsh international (7 caps) attacking midfielder is being followed by Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, West Ham United, Brentford, Everton and has been involved in 28% of Nottingham Forest goals.
This season, in the Championship, he has played 7 games as a right winger, 6 games as a left winger, 4 games as an attacking midfielder, 3 games as a second striker, 2 games as a left-sided midfielder and 1 game as a right-sided midfielder.
That gives him experience and knowledge of various positions on the field and their individual requirements, always helpful to know the problems your teammates face in different positions.
I came across an interesting graphic, a comparison with James Maddison who has been such a hit for Leicester City.
I can't see him slotting straight into our first team and haven't done enough study on him to know if he would fit our style under Conte, but his age would allow a purchase and then loan to continue his development and gain regular first team experience.
These stats come from Comparisonator, a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters.
I believe Brentford made an offer last summer which was around £3m and flatly rejected and have now made a £10m offer.
Forest value him at double that and say he is not for sale in January.
It would be pointless them selling an asset in January unless they secured a loan-back deal for the remainder of the season.
Keane Lewis-Potter
Another Championship youngster Spurs are keeping an eye on is 20-year-old (21 next February) Keane Lewis-Potter at Hull City.
OK, so the lead picture is of him at a slightly younger age than 20!
He is a left-winger who has featured in an amazing 45% of Hull's goals this season with 5 goals and 4 assists.
Leicester City are also watching the Hull-born Englishman.
Brentford bid £8m for him last summer and in addition to Tottenham and Leicester City, West Ham United and Southampton are following him too.
Well I'll keep it brief once again today, coz it tis still the season to be jolly, have a happy festive Christmas folks, especially with the marked improvement in performances in the last two games.
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COYS
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