Tottenham Hotspur:- That was the window that was

By Dave P
September 1 2005

So thats it until January then - no more speculation about who will join The Mighty Spurs and who will be nudged towards the door. The media frenzy is over and the squads are now fixed until band aids need to be applied to prop up ailing sides and Tweaks are needed to push on.

Was this the close season/transfer window we all wanted or expected and have we now addressed all of our needs for the season ahead? Are we now in the position to challenge for greater honours or have we taken a massive step back towards mediocrity?

Reading all the message boards today and suffering from ITK This and That (plus taking and making one or two calls myself) and piecing it all together gives a rather mixed impression of the days events. Some like it and some are furious that we have not acheived what we should have. I have even been texted by fans with concerns that we 'will be in trouble'. Is it that bad or has this been a good transfer window for us? Lets have a look.

First of all during the summer we welcomed into the fols a promising youngster in Tom Huddlestone. An England youngster who should develop into a very useful Defensive Midfielder. We also welcomed in players with Champions League experience in the form of Paul Stalteri and Teemu Tainio. We addressed concernes about our wide players with the addition of Wayne Routledge and the very promising Aaron Lennon. To this youthful setup we surprised a lot of watchers of the beautiful game when we added the experienced Edgar Davids. No-one can really argus against any of that lot especially when they joined a squad already brimming with youthful and International Talent such as Michael Carrick, Jermaine Defoe, Paul Robinson, Ledley King, Andy Reid and Michael Dawson. So no-one could argue that we were not alraedy improving on what we had here. So what did we need to turn this into a team that could really challenge for Europe on a regular basis. Fisrt of all we had to get rid of any that were not happy or up to scratch and so Atouba made his way to Hamburg and some of us would maybe have preferred he stayed but the decision was probably made by the player anyway so off he went.

The season started and discussions ensued amongst the supporters about who we should buy and who was best for each position (and some even reckon they know better that our head coach when it comes to tactics) and targets were looked at and identified. And it all came down in the end to todays dealings. Having Sold on Fredi Kanoute, Aplayer who divided opinion like no other I have seen at the Lane in recent seasons it was obvious to all that with Mido suspended we would need a striker and one who could score goals and the main target was of course Dirk Kuyt. However there was a problem, Feyenoord didn't want to release him (fo small money) and he didn't want to slap in a transfer request and upset them so it became ( or at least seemed to become) a battle of wills as to who would hold out. Would we pay their asking price, or would that price drop, or could we find someone else who would do the job. IN the meantime Robbie keane was attracting attention and we could not let him go without someone coming in so up went his price to a level that would hopefully put off Everton. Meanwhile we had signed, as expected, Pyo-Young-Lee - Widely regarded as the best left back in Holland and one who willnow come staright into the first team here at Spurs. Meanwhile Edman has been allowed to leave. Perhaps he has been judged to not be of the required standard, and I have to say that on his last few appearances I was starting to wonder if he would ever reagain his pre concussion form. Perhaps surprisingly, we have also let another Leftie go, but at least only on loan to Hamburg and that is Ziegler. Personally, although it does leave us a bit short on the left I think he will benefit from this loan and return to us in the new year better equipped to face the Premier League and our needs toward the end of the season when tiredness and Injuries start to bite.

There was also of of course our totally unexpected signing (he says with rolling eyes) of England International midfielder Jermaine Jenas. Thats right, ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL midfielder jermaine Jenas. You'd think we had gone crazy the way way some were saying "Why another midfielder". Now Jol was known to be concerned about the lack of goals that came from midfield last season and so he should have been there only being six. That figure should at least double now and Jol must have said something to the rest of the midfield as well because even Carrick has started shooting. Jenas is also markedly better than some of our other midfielders so any improvement in what we had must be welcomed. I also suspect that the fact that he is an attacking type of midfielder will also help us as how often have our forward had to come looking for the ball when we want thenm in and around the box. Jenas will provide (I believe) a link to the front players, whether that be one or two of them, and hopefully a better level of service as well. ie balls on the ground in the Spurs tradition.

And so to the striker we all craved and longed for. I have seen this evening on some boards almost vitriolic attcks on Levy for selling kanoute before a replacement was found, Not sorting out a quality player even though he had months and all sorts. Lets just think a bit here please. We were known to want a player whose club decides was worth a vast amount of money to them. We tried the waiting game but that didn't work. We asked them to name their price and that didn't work. We tried looking elsewhere but other clubs raised their prices because they assumed we were desperate for a striker. We refused to be held to ransome. And that is right because we can always go back in January with a lower offer when they are more desperate to sell to rais emoney themselves. The summer is alays a sellers market whereas winter tends to be a buyers market with all kinds of bargains available. However, we did need cover for our existing strike force so we went down a division and are taking a chance on a relatively unknown Polish International. Thats right, Polish International who scores goals for a country who are currently sitting above England in a World Cup qualifying competion and may even qualify ahead of England given Sven Gorans Ericsons somewhat bizzarre behaviour when it comes to team tactics recently. A player who has a strike rate of a goal every other game so who knows where the goal is. And some of the biggest complaints about this signing have come from those who were not impressed with Kanoutes ability to score goals. Lets give this guy a chance shall we. A lot of Derby fans seemed to rate him, Hoddle wanted him (Not that that's much of a recommendation, granted) so he must have some degree of talent to have even been spotted by us.(I wonder how many Spurs fans in years gone by said similar things about the Likes of Tony Galvin - Goole Town, Cyril Knowles - Middlesbrough or even Martin Chivers - Southampton when they joined the club.)

We have built a very promising young squad with experience for very little money and have plenty to spare in the kitty should it be required in the January
sales and At the end of the day just remember the Side we were watching two years ago and what our expectations were then. Lets get behind whatever side Martin Jol picks and the Tactics he chooses to employ and enjoy the roller coaster ride that is being a Spurs fan and cheer them on to greater things.

Cue chorus of Glory Glory - Hallelujah

Come on you Lilywhites.