Spurs - bridging the gap

The downfall of Spurs over the past few years has been sad to see, but largely preventable. In this piece I will highlight the decisions that led to the current situation, as well as some moves that could help jumpstart the return to a team that consistently played Champions League football.

I would argue that starting with the 2016/17 season, Spurs have not made more than one good signing per season, if that. In football, the first team results are often determined by the state of the squad. The season I mention was the best league campaign the club has had in ages, and that era of Spurs culminated in the 2019 run to Madrid in which they lost the Champions League final to Liverpool. In reality, there were ZERO first team signings in the 2018/19 season. It's a miracle that they even made the run they did, and I'm not just saying that because of the various examples of luck (City and Ajax come to mind). Now I'll go over each season briefly, highlighting the players who gradually left and the poor signings.

I've already mentioned 2016/17 a couple times, but like I said, this is when it started. Nobody of note left the club, but they wasted a good amount of money on average at best players. The best and most expensive was Moussa Sissoko, but he was mostly bad during his stay at Spurs. Now a player like that might be worth 31m pounds, but not then, at least in my opinion. Wanyama was relatively cheap at 12m but he was injured way too often. Jansson was terrible, as was N'Koudou.

The problem with 2017/18 is that Kyle Walker left and you could argue he hasn't been properly replaced to this day. Trippier did well, this is true, but Walker has always been better. Davinson Sanchez has been a failure, all told. Nearly 40m for a guy who isn't particularly good at anything, other than maybe physicality. Lucas has been a success. Aurier was not, and he's not longer there. Llorente was a decent backup to Kane, which is a tough role. Foyth is one I think Spurs handled carelessly. To have Davinson and Tanganga at the club getting minutes when Foyth is a more competent footballer is poor management.

Not much else to say about 2018/19, as they literally brought nobody in. Like various others, Dembele was injury prone, but he's never been adequately replaced. That squad actually finished 4th, a point ahead of Arsenal, but it's been downhill from there.

2019/20 was abysmal. Eriksen and Trippier left; neither was replaced. Bergwijn, Ndombele, Lo Celso and Sessegnon have all been mediocre at best. Not to mention Jack Clarke and the Gedson loan, both complete failures. Lo Celso was on loan then, apparently for nearly 15m, and then he was another 28m to purchase. Betis rinsed Spurs so badly there. I actually can't decide how to order these transfers in terms of worst to least bad. Bergwijn is one of those guys who's not been properly utilized, and if you combine that with him coming from the Dutch league, it's bound to be a disappointment. Ndombele is the worst, I've decided. Sessegnon was simply overhyped for being English and looking half decent for a few games in a horrible Fulham side. Lo Celso has had injuries and isn't that technical on the best of days. The Frenchman, however, there's no excuse. He doesn't act professional. All the talent, none of the work ethic, at least that's the narrative.

For 2020/21 and this season, it's a bit early to definitively say whether these signings have worked out or not. However, I'll still give my thoughts on them. I already discussed Lo Celso above. Walker-Peters going to Saints, pretty much in exchange for Hojbjerg, somewhat benefitted both clubs. Certainly not a win for Spurs though as the RB/RWB position is shambolic. What makes it such is Doherty was brought in from Wolves for 15m, when in reality KWP is younger and already a better player. Reguilon has been fine I guess on the left flank, but the problem there is if he reaches anywhere near his potential he'll likely go back to Madrid. Rodon is a player I like, but for whatever reason hasn't played much. So overall, they spent just under 100m pounds, received a measly 11, and didn't improve the team much, if at all.

As mentioned above, I'm not judging conclusively the 2021/22 signings. However, the Gil for Lamela deal was questionable when it happened and even more now. I have no idea where the people making such decisions thought he'd play. It's like Sessegnon but worse because both coaches this season favored a back three, and neither was going to displace Son on the left or as a striker, nor would they be good enough at this point to play LWB. Not that Lamela was great or anything; it's good to get his wages off the books. Even worse is the Emerson deal. Anyone who watched him at Betis knew he was solid defensively but not going forward. To think he'd be a capable RWB is frankly delusional. Doherty for me is still the better option, despite him being slightly above average at best. Pape Sarr went back on loan, but he looks promising. As does Romero, who's on loan with option/obligation to buy. Gollini is meh, but decent I guess for a backup. Regarding outgoings, Foyth (only just 24) went for slightly more than 34 y/o Alderweireld, so I'll say that was a piss poor piece of business.

With that out of the way, I want to give my thoughts on Paratici. Well, they're not great. I think he's been hyped up for not completely destroying the foundations Marotta laid, and even then he brought in Cristiano Ronaldo which partially caused the mess of a situation the club's currently in. I'll quickly compare it to Arsenal, since 3 of the other "big clubs" are cemented in the top four at the moment and Man Utd are still a mess. Arsenal have hired a novice manager, which is fine, but they're trusting him to lead them back to respectability. They've still made some poor decisions, but it's clear they back Arteta and his vision. I'm not sure the same can be said about Conte. We all know what Levy is about, and Paratici has not shown himself to be a trustworthy sporting director for a club like this. It's one thing at Juve with the financial dominance they have over most of the league, but Spurs are maybe 6th in terms of wealth and financial power. I just question what the club's doing. The manager search last summer was horrific, and to appoint Nuno with the desire to play good football is again delusional. Especially after dealing with Mourinho, who's Nuno but older and with actual trophies.

Here are some players I'd bring in to improve the team with reasons behind each.

Dejan Kulusevski (RW/AM), age 22, Juventus:

With the current wing back options, there's an obvious lack of a natural left footed player who can play on the right. Doherty/Emerson holds the width in a slightly withdrawn role, given you're playing with three forwards instead of three CM's, while Kulusevski cuts in on his favored left foot. I think that could be amazing. Son-Kane-Kulusevski front line. Both Son and Kulusevski would be looking to cut in to shoot, while Kane would drop in to link with the CM's. The young Swede is also available for loan, as his move to Turin hasn't worked out. The main issue is his strengths aren't played to at Juve. By that I mean he's fast but not super quick, has issues at times technically, and Juve play a pragmatic style that limits how quickly he's able to do things with the ball. Also, teams often defend deep, and he's not suited to that.

LCB:

Instead of just one player, I have a few for this role, as I view it as crucial to the Conte system. There are plenty of right-footed guys capable of playing CB: Dier, Rodon, Romero, Sanchez, Tanganga. One of those for sure could go, maybe two (Tanganga loan?). However, the only one for the left side currently is Ben Davies. Going from shortest to longest contract, here are the choices. In fact, there are 9 players, with 3 for each year. Top picks are in bold.

Moussa Niakhate (Mainz, 25, 2023)

Evan N'Dicka (Frankfurt, 22, 2023)

Nico Schlotterbeck (Freiburg, 22, 2023)

Benoit Badiashile (Monaco, 20, 2024

Felix Uduokhai (Augsburg, 24, 2024)

Mario Hermoso (Atleti, 26, 2024)

Sven Botman (Lille, 22, 2025)

Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Clube, 20, 2025)

Lisandro Martinez (Ajax, 24, 2025)

Here's what my take on this position is. You have Dier, a ball player, to take up the middle of the three. You then have Romero (or Sanchez) to play on the right as an aggressive physical presence. On the left then you want someone athletic but also good on the ball. Bastoni was perfect for Conte at Inter, so I'm taking into account his strengths when discussing the players I've listed.

I have not seen much of Inacio, I will come out and say that. He's obviously young, joint youngest on this list, and he has a starting spot at a big club in his home country.

Martinez is similar to Davies actually. He's small at 5'10" and somewhat questionable physically at the highest level, but he's proficient on the ball. Played DM at one point.

Botman, lastly, is strongly linked to Milan. Haven't heard anything about him to Spurs. He was actually at Ajax with Martinez for a bit, but didn't play much. He's bigger and slower, still good on the ball. More of a passive defender.

Hermoso is not super realistic, but I think he'd fit well at Spurs. His strengths are that he's athletic but also good on the ball. Again, similar to Davies in that he's not huge and used to play LB. A big weakness of his is his occasional defensive lapses, and at his age it's questionable if he'll grow out of that.

Uduokhai is an athlete. He's at a good age, plays in a fast paced league, and has all the physical traits to be good in England. However, he plays in a relatively defensive team and isn't great on the ball. I could see him at Newcastle, actually, as opposed to Spurs.

Badiashile is nearly perfect. Young at 20, yes, but physically and technically he has it all. Conte would be able to work out whatever kinks there are in his game and help with his development into a world class player.

A hot commodity with his team's current success is Schlotterbeck. One year left on his contract after this season makes him even more lucrative as a prospect. He'd be my number one target. Just watch him play.

N'Dicka and Niakhate round out the list, both one year left on their deals as well. Both are French, physically capable of playing in England, and play in a back three in their respective German teams. I'd say N'Dicka is the better fit for Spurs of the two, just from what I've seen, though Niakhate would work there as well.

Finally, we come to central midfield. I don't think the club will do anything here, right now at least, but it needs to be addressed. I personally dislike how similar Hojbjerg and Skipp are, and I don't rate Winks whatsoever. All he can do is pass, and even then it's usually short passes. Like a much worse Jorginho. I think if you're going to run with two CM's, you have one who's able to pass and control the game while the other breaks up play. Both of the guys I mentioned earlier are the latter, so they need a controller. Lo Celso isn't really that, and Ndombele hasn't worked out. Long story short, like I alluded to at the beginning, they let go of Dembele (and Modric WAY earlier) and never replaced his attributes.

Simply put, I would buy Renato Sanches. He's proven himself in France and to an extent in the Champions League, and he's one of the only players out there who glides on the ball. It would also give you the option to play with three at CM at times, whether that's an extra worker with ability going forward in GLC, both Hojbjerg AND Skipp, or Winks to add some control a bit deeper.

One last play to mention is Luis Alberto. Sarri seems to not like him at Lazio and he'd be a more efficient attacker than Sanches. He's older, but his end product is off the charts. He and SMS have carried Lazio for years, making Immobile look borderline world class at times. He'd have to play in a 3 though, and is 5 years older than Sanches.

Here are a couple versions of how this could look.

A:

Lloris

Romero Dier Schlotterbeck

Emerson Sanches Hojbjerg Reguilon

Kulusevski Kane Son

B:

Lloris

Romero Dier N'Dicka

Doherty Hojbjerg Skipp Alberto Reguilon

Kane Son