da pixbet： With all the transfer politicking and fervent media speculation circling Tottenham Hotspur recently, it’s easy to lose focus upon what matters most. Naturally during these times of change, especially considering the furor that’s surrounding the club in the final week of the transfer window, all focus is on what is currently coming in – not what’s going out.
da dobrowin： Talk of the town at White Hart Lane was the club’s desperate need for a striker, before Adebayor seemingly solved the conundrum. The flavour of the month, or week, at the moment, now seems to be the club’s need for a new man between the sticks as Lyon’s Hugo Lloris is pursued. But the truth is that the club’s most influential player was a diminutive Croatian man who played in midfield – and to some extent, he’s yet to wholly be replaced.
The issue of bringing in a striker to N17 reached almost hysterical levels at the start of the month, as Andre Villas-Boas sought to begin the season with only one recognized striker in Jermain Defoe. The doom-mongers predicted a hideously toothless opening. So what happened? Defoe predictably scored against Newcastle and while he hardly put in a man of the match performance against West Brom, Tottenham didn’t look quite as wholly impotent as many first thought.
This isn’t to say that the issue of a striker wasn’t of paramount urgency and that Spurs haven’t been in need of a frontman more adept to AVB’s 4-2-3-1 system. Defoe’s goal only papered over the cracks, to some extent. Emmanuel Adebayor’s signing was an urgent one and the club could probably still do with one more up top. Tottenham have looked in need of a new striker, but although the problem may appear more subtle, they’ve perhaps been just as needing of a new central midfielder.
Because when you dissect the first 180 minutes of football that Tottenham have played so far this season, it produces some difficult conclusions. The new manager is implementing a new system and until the team is fully moulded by the end of the transfer window, it’s hard to make too many sweeping conclusions.
The side have looked relatively adept in possession in both games. The movement has felt sharp and the passing has looked crisp; in the first 45 minutes of both the Newcastle and the West Bromwich Albion games, there was room for real encouragement for supporters. Indeed, hitting the bar and post only to lose to Hatem Ben Arfa’s penalty at St. James’ Park was a real sickener for the travelling support and although West Brom were good value for their point, Spurs were one decent clearance away from taking three points. It’s not quite the disaster some are making out.
But even after two games, it feels as if there is a little something missing. Depending on how many comings and goings happen between now and the end of the window, it could transpire that Villas-Boas thought a hell of a lot was missing. The starting XI could be set to go through wholesale changes, but whatever happens between now and September 1, the club need to regain the spark of creativity they seem to have lost in the engine room.
Jake Livemore and Sandro don’t particularly scream je ne sais quoi to anyone, but they serve their own purpose. Sandro is the better footballer of the two, but their craft is more industry, than creativity. And Villas-Boas’ side needs that as much as they need a player of guile. But that’s currently what’s missing at White Hart Lane.
Luka Modric’s departure to Real Madrid has evoked a contrasting spectrum of emotions from Spurs’ supporters but however you may feel about Modric the person, you cannot let it cloud your view of Modric the footballer. He was the cornerstone of what Spurs’ foundations of recent success were built upon. The metronome, the glue that stuck; call him what you want, but he was the pivotal player in Harry Redknapp’s team. Rafael van der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon got the assists – Modric didn’t have to, as he was the one pulling the strings for them.
People will point to his poor goal scoring statistics but to try and quantify his influence upon Tottenham is missing the point. It doesn’t matter what system you play, a player with the talents and skillset of Modric will always be missed and Villas-Boas’ new set-up is no different. Spurs have felt like they’ve lacked a little craft and guile. A puppeteer of sorts, in the shape of Modric; someone to continuously keep the side ticking over.
We will never know quite how effective Modric would have been in the sitting two in front of the back four in Villas-Boas’ new set-up, but what is interesting is how the future now shapes up. Now Modric has gone, the revolution at Spurs can seemingly take off. Or Villas-Boas can get in his own players, at least.
The £15million arrival of Moussa Dembele from Fulham represents a superbly exciting, yet interesting acquisition for Tottenham. Originally a striker, Dembele has shot to prominence as he’s worked his way further away from goal, first at AZ Alkmaar and then later at Fulham. The Belgian combines technical excellence with pace, strength and mobility and is an undeniably class act in midfield. Those who were at White Hart Lane for the final game of last season will testify to his abilities as he ran riot for Martin Jol’s side. His performance against Manchester United last Saturday was also a tantalizing advert for Spurs fans.
Although you can’t help but get the feeling that Dembele could cause even more carnage for Tottenham a little bit higher up the pitch, be under no illusions, the 25-year-old could do a great job playing as one half of Villas-Boas’ holding pair. But such is his ability, he could be even more effective playing closer to goal in the three behind a striker. Villas-Boas will know exactly what he wants to do with him, because there is one man that couldn’t be a better fit for the role in question if he was born to do it.
When you talk of managers bringing in their own players, there is perhaps no better fit for Villas-Boas than his midfield countryman, Joao Moutinho. He was AVB’s Modric-like figure, albeit in a more refined role, in his superbly successful Porto side. He is the sort of cultured, dictator of tempo that is the perfect fit for the modern day holding fan. He has the skill to create aswell as the tenacious ability to negate. There is a feeling that this is the deal Villas-Boas wants more than any.
Whether Spurs can acquire the exquisitely talented Portuguese player is another story. Porto have proved with Hulk they aren’t bullied around by foreign clubs and Daniel Levy could have a real job in knocking down the valuation price to something more affordable. Although he can be the jewel in the crown of this new-look Tottenham team.
Dembele’s arrival has the potential to be the coup of the summer for Villas-Boas’ team. But although he has the capacity to be an unrivalled success in whichever position he is deployed, the notion of him and Moutinho in the same side is mouth-watering. Spurs fans were ridiculed by some for daring to dream a few weeks ago. If the jigsaw keeps piecing itself together like this though, it could be the Lilywhite’s who have the last laugh.
Where do you see Moussa Dembele playing for Tottenham? Would you play him in the holding pair? Or is that tailor made for one Joao Moutinho? Let me know what you’d do on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus
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