May
31
2007
How can Tottenham improve this summer?
As part of our 2006/2007 Premiership season-end review, here’s a look at how Tottenham’s season went. Read up, then offer your own advice on how Tottenham can improve this summer.
- Pre-season expectations: Tottenham were hyped up as the Premiership’s best chance of breaking the top-four’s monoply, but realistically speaking Tottenham were looking at repeating their last season’s performance and getting another top-6 finish.
- Season evaluation: Tottenham had a very successful season - and from a neutral’s perspective, Tottenham now have the players and the results to make 5th spot their own and do better in Europe.
- The Big Negative: Lacked defensive solidity at times, and while some of it can be attributed to injuries Tottenham must have defensive cover to prevent it from happening again.
- The Big Positive: A strong core of young quality players plus goal-scoring consistency.
- Summer Priority: Consolidate, keep the star players and bring in an experienced central midfielder and a left winger.
Tottenham have already started their summer transfer business by bringing in Bale - they missed out on Nani but if they can get two more players (left and center mid) plus a tall striker, they will be favourites for that 5th spot and if one of the top four slip up…
Now it’s your turn: How do you think Tottenham can improve this summer?
Also see:
- The complete list for the Premiership 2006/2007 season reviews.
- Do you have what it takes to be a football manager?
- Soccerlens Premiership 2006/2007 Review
- How can Everton improve this summer?
- How can Watford improve this summer?
- How can Reading improve this summer?
- How can Sheffield United improve this summer?
Discussion - 27 Responses
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the way that spurs can improve this season coming will be by keeping the likes of dimitar berbatov and bringing in the likes of pedersen from blackburn or middlesborough’s stewart downing. This is because spurs only lack down the left side and we now have bale as left back who can only get better but we need to buy somebody who can play with him for anychance of breaking into the top four
think we need to part company with mr hughton to be honest, good player poor coach, with so many top class defenders we leak an awful amount of stupid goals, forget injuries and such, even with a full back foyr we sruggle
I think the most important thing we can bring in this summer is quality! Having seen Bale play for Wales I think with him and Chimbonda bombing down the flanks we will have allot more fluidity in attack. My only worry over Bale is his defending against world class wingers but that remains to be seen so fingers crossed. The good thing is that he can deliver a decent set peace so already an improvement on last year!
The left of our midfield (obviously I know) is our main concern. A lefty that can deliver a cross would be welcome but Quality is needed if we are to improve on this term. I’m not convinced as many are on Pederson as speaking to Blackburn fans they say he drifts out of games to often although his class is there to be seen on the prem weekend highlights most weeks. I have heard rumblings about Kewell and I believe this would be good as backup to a left winger or attacking midfielder but only as backup as I’m not convinced over his ability to play week in week out. Petrov would be a good buy as I have heard he’s mates with Berbatov and they link up well in internationals. I don’t mind particularly who we get as long as he’s quality.
I think a central midfielder would be a bonus but I’m expecting Jenas to improve next season and push his way into the international reckoning more as long as he can be more consistent. Zokora settled well after a slow start and I think with the first season under his belt we will see improvement again. Tom Huddleston’s class is there for all to see and if he can become more assertive and work on his fitness will push the others all the way and with Steed able to play across midfield we have quality back up with Tainio work ethic a capable central midfield.
As back up for Berba I would like to see Bent come in although we have young Barnard waiting in the wings who I would like to see given a chance although I here he will go out on loan. I think we should keep Routledge as Lennon backup as when he played he looked good at the start of last season.
A final addition which I would welcome would be a good defensive coach to shore up our leaking defence. Anything on top of the above would be a massive bonus and I think we should be capable of pushing the top four all the way if not actually breaking into it.
There is my optimistic opinion!
We need cover for King and Dawson. Dawson can’t be expected to play that many games again without a rest and if one of them get injured we need someone who can step in. Rocha did a job when he got used to the Premier League but our inability to defend crosses, corners and free kicks was all to plain to see.
Other than that we look solid, Left midfield is always an issue, i’d love to see Pederson come in we can’t keep playing Lennon and Malbranque out of position..
Finally get rid of Mido and Ghaly before thier negativity spreads. If Defoe can handle it grow up! he deserves it more than you two!
For me I think we are heading in the right direction but are just lacking that extra bit of quality in key areas. LB and CB positions have been a problem this season, I know our CB problems were down to King being out for the majority, but our back-ups just didn’t cut it for me. Credit where credits do tho Daws has been awesome this season playing pretty much every game and doing so at a consistently high level. With king back and bale at LB hopefully this will be solved next season.
Our other weakness has been LM. Who ever we have played there this season has drifted into the middle exposing even further our weak LB. To combat this we needed someone like Nani to push the opposition LB back and take the pressure off our LB. As bale is quite young I would like to see someone in the LM possition that could track back and help out but also be a threat in attack. Ideally for me I would love to see gareth barry, I think he is one of the most under rated players in the division. But I doubt he will leave. So the next option is get another lennon type that will stretch the opposition and cause havok. For this I have two options I would like to see come to the club, 1st choice would be Quaresma from Porto, the guy is amazing his skill is immense and over the last season he has learnt to track back too. My second choice would be Luka Modric from Prague, this kid is awesome too, I watched him run rings around the gooners in Champs League quallifiers much to my delight.
Our final area of weakness has to be our CM positions, dont get me wrong I actually think Jenas has had a pretty good season, but thats all it ever seems to be with him, he never seems to live up to his potential. Zok has been improving all season but he still looks really confused as regards his role in the team, when he goes on those runs nobody gets near him and he looks class, but he dosent seem to know when he has license to go and when he sits in and trys to dictate the passing like Carrick used to do he gives the ball up and puts us under pressure. I really like big tom huddlestone, his passing a technique is excellent and not 2 many players can knock him off the ball so I would love to see him given a chance to shine next year, but the accusition of a class CM is desireable. As regards who I have no idea, Id love us to resign carrick but that will never happen and I would have said Reo-Cocker untill he said he wanted to go to the gooners so I don’t know now!! Who do you guys reckon??
I would have to say spot on Ahmed. I do also think we need another left back as Assou Ekotto and Lee are not up to it in my opinion.
I dont believe CM is a problem. As welsh spur said we have Jenas who improved a lot (still needs to improve further to make a believer out of me mind) Zokora is looking like the player we hoped he would be, Tainio, Huddlestone, Malbranque and that young lad Adel Taarabt who came on a few times toward the end of last season looks a class act. dont forget we still have Murphy.
As far as a forward goes i dont think Bent will come in and play 2nd fiddle to Berbs and be happy about it. we need someone who will know his role and not necessary be happy about it but willing to be a team player.
I also want to see a bit of Dorian Dervite this coming season, he looks a class act also
Well, well, well. Good old Spurs eh? How can you improve? By giving up and admitting you are crap. It is becoming more and more apparent that Bale signed for you as there were no other bids on the table - lot of interest, but no bids. Even Scott Parker would rather sign for West Ham than you muppets, so I would hope that this puts you in your place for where you stand…you’re s**t and you know you are…
I’ve worked with Spurs supporters before and you are a very, very deluded bunch. You never win anything, and your two biggest fixtures are Arsenal and United…pathetic.
Break into the top four? I fear not… be honest and realistic…YOU ARE NOT A BIG CLUB…YOU ARE A STEPPING STONE CLUB IN MID-TO HIGH MID TABLE…
Look at Spurs (At home) against Man Utd. What was the final score? We could have had ten you against you…
Lee - it seems that you are deluded. Where shall we start:
“Your two biggest fixtures are Arsenal and United”. Considering these two teams have been in the top four for something like the last 8 seasons running (perhaps more, I’m not in the mood to look for the precise figure), playing against them is one of the biggest, most challenging matches for most premiership teams. Add to that the fact that Arsenal are geographically the nearest team to Spurs in the Premiership, as well as the old rivalry, and it’s somewhat to be expected for this to be a big game. Your matches against Arsenal a couple of years ago were amongst your biggest - and no, not because of historic rivalry, nor even because of the jostling for the premiership title - no, because the two sets of players, including Fabregas, Van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo, and the oh-so-mature Roy Keane (before management) and Patrick Vieira decided to lose all sense of professionalism.
“YOU ARE NOT A BIG CLUB… YOU ARE A STEPPING STONE CLUB IN MID-TO HIGH MID TABLE”. Define “Big Club”. Spurs may not have the financial backing of United, or even the international fan base, but they do have a reasonably reliable fan base, are in the top 15 clubs in the world in terms of revenue, and have some sense of footballing history (several FA cups, crushing victory against Atletico Madrid in European final, etc.). Also - since when was 5th place the eagerly wailed MID TABLE? The logistics of your calculation are completely lost on me, I must admit - in a league of 20, mid table must stand at something like 8th to 12th, where as Spurs are in the top quartile.
Last season, United were lucky to come away with any points in their two fixtures against Spurs. And let’s not even bother with the Mendes non-goal.
P.S. I am actually not un-fond of United (my best mate being a Man Utd fan), but such balderdash as lee’s post should not be tolerated.
Ha ha I bet Lee is a United fan who’s a Londoner! typical…
no doubt a glory hunting fan who starting supporting united in the 99/00 season..
spurs are improving there squad is looking better and getting more depth. but fifht is unrealistic man u,chelsa,liverpool, arsenal and newcastle are all better teams and will finish above them next season. The question must be asked why scott parker would sign for west ham, one of the worst teams in the league, he obiviously dosent agree that success is close…given a nother good season next yesr and more european football spurs will attract more players i beleive they have lifted themselves above the pile of mid table teams and within a few years will be pushing for more honors
Yes…Newcastle are obviously a much better team. Am I missing something?
Newcastle??? are you joking where did they finish again??? 5th to years running and improving squad but yes Newcastle are better and people say us spurs fans are deluded hmmmm we get a decent left midfield and well be laughing all the way to 4th place
come on you spurs yid army
Corey!!! what a fool. fifth unrealistic??? how can that be when we have finished there in 2 consecutive seasons!!!
And lets move on to the United supporter who has nothing better to do than post on other team subject forums, get a life and support your own team rather than posting nonsense on others
spurs have hit their limit they will never break the top 4, as they will never be able to attract the players they need to do it, and berbatov will realise this after next season and leave. HA spurs improving the only direction spurs is going is down.
Ok you im not a real tottenham supporter but i like your team so ill give you my opinion.
at LB lee hasnt been his old self and assou kouto isnt what we expected and now with the youngster in bale we all might think we have a good LB But how many kids eg.walcott, ronaldo(when he was younger), Rooney(when he was was an unknown at everton) do you see come in to a starting 11 not many im not saying his not quality but i just dont think he could be up for the week-in and week-out if premiership football….
Also i was reading a post of how you guys needed a LM that will track back and defend to help Bale out(if Bale is first choice LB) how about Lee he does it for his country. i think South Korea used the 3-4-2 or 3-5-2 in both 2002 and 2006 campaigns and Lee was used as a LM to track back and help the back 3 on the left…..
JUST FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Out with Houghton. All we need now, is a left wing. Thats it.
Left mid, cover defensively, Huddlestone to step up and a team belief is all that is required now. I think it’s universally acknowledged by all football punditry now that Spurs have indeed lifted themselves above the pile of mid table teams (of which Newcastle are very much a part of I’m afraid) and 2 seasons worth of consistent 5th is proof enough of that. Time for the next push to 4th. Watch out Arsenal and Liverpool because Spurs really are in the making now. With 6 England stars, an academy full of young talent and enough money to relieve the debt of a small 3rd world nation, you would be silly to bet against Spurs seeing though and start winning honours next season.
We need our Central midfielders to be more defined in their roles. Who is defensive, who is attacking out of our current two players. For me they are both good players, but they are not really good, and we need really good if we want to break into the top four. Look at the CM positions of the four clubs above us, Hargreaves/scholes, Lampard/Ballack, Gerrard/Alonso, Gilberto/Fabregas. It is no wonder we fail so much in defeating these teams, as games are, at the highest level, won and lost in the centre of the park. I would rather have our striking options than any other team in the land, and defence is now looking pretty good as well. Its just the middle of the park.
Having signed Bale and assuming Kaboul signs, I think that’ll be it for the defence. Possibly 1 or 2 out from there though (Gardner for a start).
Obviously, this assumes Bale will start LB and not LM (a lot of people regard him as Giggs’ long-term successor for Wales [and Utd for a few]). If he is as a LB, then obviously we’ll be looking for a left-mid. I feel that an experienced centre mid might come in handy, but only if they’re proper world class like Davids was for that one season. Otherwise, there’s no point as it’ll slow down the development of the likes of the Hudd. Only need one LM as we have others who can play there if they need to and Taarabt presumably. Also, as mentioned, Bale could be played there. Obviously Murphy out, maybe Ghaly and Routledge too.
Up front, Mido must be going, so just in need of a 4th choice if Defoe stays. I’m not sure if I would rather have a bigger 3rd choice striker, who can play with Keane or Berbs, but its hard to see Defoe leaving to be honest.
That’s all that is required. Its quite simple when you look at it properly.
Its simple for me: We need to stop chucking the ‘easy’ games away. We lost at home to Everton and Newcastle, Away at Sheffield and Drew Home to Fulham and away to Watford. All of these were missed opportunities to get points.
I’m not saying we should win every game 5-0 or anything but the best sides win at home and get at least a draw away the majority of the time. To join them Spurs must do the same.
Goals clearly aren’t the problem so we need to improve the midfield and ensure we have ample defensive cover. Buying players is only part of the answer - making the ones we’ve got into an even better side this term is by far the more important task facing MJ and CH.
Toby, you’re absolutely right. We only finished 8 points out of CL. If we beat Fulham and Watford (meaning we score two more goals) and play better defense against Newcastle at home, and we’re in third place. We’re very very close. That Watford match was awful. I knew it was going to come back to haunt us.
So I think what everyone else is saying is basically correct. On offense, we need better quality runs and crosses from the left. On the right, Lennon has to improve both his crosses and his running style (I think he’s disposessed way too often). On defense, a full season with King in the Center will be a big help. But Lee is not the answer on the left. He’s too small for the EPL. Bennie is still an open question on the Left. So we need a quality Defender on the left, and better cover for King and Dawson. We need Chimbonda’s twin on the Left!
Lastly, Mido has to go and be replaced with a solid striker who can relieve Berbatov on occasion and who can partner well with Defoe.
i think spurs hv problem at tatical….sometime the subsitution and the line-up is quite questionable….teemu tiano and ghaly no good enough for spurs and spurs can sell them include mido,murphy and assou koutoto get more cash….spurs nid a experience CM and LM,jenas is good bt he cant hold the ball and passing well when opponent is pressing,tis all can show when spurs meet top 4 and some teams…spurs can replace mido wit owen or other striker bt no bent!!cisse form liverpool is another good option,cisse sure no in liverpool plan next year,maybe spurs can try to get himin squard ….i think cisse is suitable for tottenham plying style wit his speed and counter attk…..for cm,spurs can try to get wesley sneijder while LM martin petrov seem is a good option!!!however…if spurs can get dyer then more joyful…let malbanque often in starting line up to control the ball possesion….=.=”sign kaboul also to boost defence….
MADNESS!!! Darren bent is never worth 16.5m…and i suppose that signals the end for Defoe’s Tottenham Career…Defoe is definitely better than Bent..juz unlucky sometimes…
I agree that A new LM is needed…perhaps Gareth Bale can fill in the place and get Leighton Baines in as LB? Matthew Taylor of Portsmouth is also quite good…Kieran Richardson might be able to excel in Tottenham…
Another defender cover for King and Dawson? Gardner is too unlucky(haha)…kaboul might just be ideal..but should not buy Curtis Davies…he’s too expensive at 10M!!! 6M at most..
Hey is how it is going down. Have we Improved, Yes. Should we have improved further, yes. Tottenham on last season should be in this years champions league. We had the players to do it, the main reason i think was the belief of the team, to really achieve this. On numerous occassions beba screaming to the players to push up, and stop playing so deep as we invite pressure, howvever we continued to do this till we conCede or get beat. Players fault? yes to an extent, but the man who sends out the instructions is the one to blame.
I dont think jol has enough belief in his players or enough confidence in the team, to let them go out and play, when we were allowed to play, we were wonderful to watch, lovely flowing moves (until jenas steps in, but thats another story), yet as soon as we score, we have a tendency to rest on our laurels, instead for continuing to play the way that earned the goal, we go all defensive and i dont understand why? has to be the opinion the manager sends out. Him and Hughton both former defensive players, shows in the way we approach games i think.
Hughton, not sure about him, he seems to agree to whatever the coach (seven has it been) says therefore keeping his job. not good enough.
On a brighter note, and yes there is one lol, young abel taraabt, very excited about this young lad after seeing his two cameo against chelsea and west ham respectively (yeah right). This boy had got the goods, im a very good judge of talent and was eager from him to play more, especially as the league drew nearer to the end.
He will give us something we have not have in midfield for a long time, someone with natural, raw tecnique. Someone who will run at defenders 4,5 whatever and beat them, and more importantly provide real ammunition to our boys up front. Jenas was suppose to do that, but lets not even go there. Problem is he is so young, how prominently will he feature. He is young, can hold his own and just wants to play football, let him play jol. I really believe he could provide the spark we need in order to get the supply to our boys up front. provided we can keep a steady ship at the back, we have a good chance of genuinely challenging the big boys. P.S. would love to see 1 big name class act with a bit of experience but hey, just happy we are moving in the right direction finally.