As the transfer window slam shut last night, Tottenham Hotspur fans were reflecting on what could have been after missing on Bolton and England defender Gary Cahill. The White Hart Lane club added Adebayor, Parker and Friedel to their squad during the window while letting Crouch, Hutton, Jenas, Palacios, Keane, Bentley and Woodgate leave, but is it enough for them to challenge for a Champions League spot?
One of the aims for the window was to shift most of the deadwood on and Levy has been successful as seven players departed the Lane. I think this has to be a positive as these players are off the wage bill and it means that a strong 25-man squad remains, but there is also a risk involved if Spurs were to encounter an injury crisis they would be left with just young inexperienced players covering.
After hanging onto Modric despite a late £40m offer from Chelsea, Spurs look to have had a very decent transfer window but I think it was actually a chance missed. Just think of the sorts of players Tottenham could have purchased if the Modric money would have been made available, Cahill would have been a certainty. I can understand why supporters were happy to see Levy stance on Modric but was it actually the wrong one to take at this time?
With the club having to put up with the Europa League for the new season the calibre of transfer targets was always going to fall, there was unlikely to be a Van der Vaart this year, although I think Adebayor is an astute signing who will add to the side and last years’ Writers Player of the Year, Parker, will give the side more bite in midfield.
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However, the one thing that have puzzled me is that if they got a reported £10m for Peter Crouch and £8m for Palacios and plus the all other money brought in and wages freed up there was obviously money available but in the end only £5m was spent on a 30-year-old. It was a crucial window for Tottenham if they wanted to keep pace with Liverpool and Manchester City and as a result I think the board have failed Harry as they had the funds to get Cahill and the like, even if they thought they were paying over the odds.
However, I think there is an ulterior motive over the lack of movement into White Hart Lane as it has been long been rumoured that Daniel Levy and Redknapp’s relationship is at breaking point and that as such Harry is in his last season with the club. He also has an impending court case in October which could affect his role as manager and so Levy may not have been willing to release any funds to a manager he does not trust or believe will be in the job for the long term. Instead they are saving the money for a new manager to spend in January.
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Another reason for the lack of support for Redknapp is that he favours buying older players who have a lower sell on value like Scott Parker and most of the targets he missed out were also older and more expensive players, which could explain Levy’s reluctance to give the fees to Harry for them and they could be keeping the powder dry for the new manager to bring in younger players.
I think Spurs still have a strong squad and an impressive first team to pick but it may be a case of what might have been in this window. With their rivals bringing quality into their team, it will be hard for the side to keep up especially if they experience injuries and I can see them failing just short of gaining a top four place, but maybe with a bit more investment it could have been possible.
Let me know your thoughts and follow me on twitter @aidanmccartney for even more football discussion and debate!