Harry is recognised by most supporters as the complete footballer. I don’t think anyone can logically dispute this. He is in the Tottenham Hotspur team to score goals and he has proved capable of scoring with his left foot, right foot, and his head, on a remarkably consistent basis. That is indisputable, too.
But part of being a ‘complete footballer’ means he has many other attributes, too. He can defend, he can spot key passes, he can hold up the ball, he remains cool in possession, rarely panics, and he can read the game extremely well. Like all top players, he has a football brain and his thinking is often ahead of his colleagues. He has the ability to know what is happening around him before he gets the ball, much like Modric had (I’m not comparing them beyond this).
Playing a more defensive style of football, as we currently are, means that Harry is often isolated in a forward position and sometimes far less involved in the match. This often sees him dropping back to find the ball and get more involved. By dropping back he takes up the space that midfielders use and leaves a gap going forward when Spurs make a break. Not always, but it happens.
There is continual discussion among Spurs supporters about the need for a back-up striker, mainly in the event that Harry gets injured. But what would happen if Spurs did not opt for a back-up, bench warming striker, but went for a recognised target striker instead (for a name we would need to refer to Jod).
What would the team look like with a new number nine, and Harry playing as a number ten. In other words (to clarify for older supporters) a new centre forward and Harry in an inside forward position. We already have a nice choice of fast, tricky players, to occupy other attacking positions.
Personally, I doubt that such a shift in position would affect Harry’s goal scoring feats as he would continue to find himself with goals scoring opportunities. And, with more freedom to roam, I would imagine that his reading of the game and passing ability would lead to many more goals from the assists he could make.
Harry is certainly not old, but he is getting older and it could well be that he will need to drop back in two or three years as part of the natural order of things. Maybe it would be beneficial to both the team, and him, if this happens sooner rather than later. And it would allow his all-round attributes to come into play.
Once again, I am not advocating this, just throwing it out for general discussion. Gotta love football!
when modric signed for RM he was voted the worst signing.
123 …. And I couldn’t believe he wanted to go to such a crap club. lol
Talking of ‘rule changes’ …. okay, so that was on the last thread, lol. But I just had a very radical thought that, I believe, has never been considered. Back in my schooldays we would spend every playtime break playing football in the playground often using a tennis ball. I guess we all did that, right? I attribute those times to the ball control I developed in later years. Playing with a regular ball is far easier when you’ve played a lot with a tennis ball.
These days I often kick my grandkids’ balls around in the garden (don’t even mention child abuse!). One of these balls is a junior basketball and it became apparent how easy it is to keep the ball close to your feet and under control. That’s when my mind wandered …. a tennis ball is way too small but is a football too big? What difference would it make to play with a football that is 4-5 cms smaller in diameter than the regulation size? Making the ball slightly smaller makes the goal slightly bigger. Yes? The more I’ve thought about this and kicked the ball around over the last couple of weeks, the more I’ve thought it would have been easier to play with it back in the day. Okay, I said it was radical, and it will never happen, but think about it. Even better, try it yourselves with a slightly smaller ball.
Sorry lads, I did say my mind wandered, but I had to run this past you!
TQ2Spurs – So to recap, you really do understand the foreign player rule, its just that you are happy to start the season (which will be a killer in terms of the number of games) two players short and you also think we can buy two quality English qualified players for what we get for Winks ? I suspect you also struggle with finance.
You can’t help yourself can you jod, you can’t even portray what I said accurately. You don’t know me or my background in terms of education and business achievements which makes your comment regarding my grasp of finances just a very cheap jibe.
jod – “Actually at the moment even after adding Hart we are three English qualified players light, so your numbers don’t add up”
In order to satisfy HG requirements, the premier league states that in order to carry a full squad of 25 players, at least 8 must be homegrown.
Currently there are 26 players listed on the Spurs website as senior team players, 10 of which qualify as homegrown.
Whose numbers don’t add up?
Sometimes, reading your posts is like watching an 8 year old clutch at straws.
Even if you argue that some HG players such as Rose, CCV or Clarke may yet leave the club, they currently haven’t. Until they do, you are anticipating a problem which doesn’t exist.
When you factor in Hart arriving, and academy players like Cerkin who will be promoted and would classify as HG in the future, we’re not nearly as reliant on Winks as you seem to think.
And if all we’re looking to do is make sure that we have cover for Hojbjerg (which is realistically what Winks will serve as in our squad), that player may already be at the club – in Gedson Fernandes. So your hypothesis that we have to buy and sell players at the same time, in the same market, is flawed from the get go.
Young players develop, get better over time, and eventually offer solutions which they didn’t the year before. You’re again sorely mistaken if you consider a player’s ability to be static.
If the purpose is to name realistic midfield targets as you suggested, I could name plenty, but that’s besides the point. It fails to grasp the bigger logic of squad construction and player evolution.
AS TQ2Spurs has pointed out, it’s all about balancing the squad, selling from areas of surplus (and a strong case can certainly be made that we currently have too many midfielders at the club), and using any funds generated from the sale of Winks to address other areas in need of reinforcement. Hence my example with Max Aarons.
If the homegrown rule states that having 8 HG players allows you to carry 17 non HG players, there is a general rule of thumb that 1 HG player allows you to carry 2 foreign players. In other words, 32% of the squad has to be homegrown. Currently, 38,4 % of squad is.
So in my example, if we sold Winks, and with the funds generated, we reinvested in Aarons and still had money left over for other deals, we would have all of the freedom in the world to use those funds as we saw fit, regardless of nationality. It’s simple maths. Surely you can grasp that?
Keep taking the tablets Geof! lol
TQ …. Pretty much what I expected. lol But if you try dribbling with a slightly smaller ball you’ll see what I mean. The problem with living in the future is that you are always ahead of your time. : – )
BS 100%.
It would open up funds to buy the likes of Aaron’s and possibly Wilson both HG players.
An argument/debate is on! jod v the rest, lol! now I am not pro-jod or ant-jod, but could it be he/she, pc here, is
a plant by writers to get this sort of thing to happen, that is quality debating, thus keeping VS the best, or am I just being a conspiracy theorist lol! I love all the reply/answer shenanigans that entails. COYS
BS, it’s unfair to suggest that jod is “anticipating a problem that doesn’t exist”, whilst you are making all kinds of assumptions about the squad yourself, that none of us know about yet. Such as if we kept Rose, CCV and Clarke. Also if you counted Davies in your homegrown “10”, well he doesn’t count in the rules for a EL squad. You also make the assumption that Cerkin will be promoted into the squad. You don’t know that. Also Fernandes is still just on loan and may not be wanted at the end of the loan. He isn’t a holding DM player anyway… And so not really cover for PEH. And, what if Jose doesn’t even want the likes of Aarons or others that fit the homegrown tag?
The homegrown situation at Spurs does need close attention when looking at this next season. Because it could quite easily dictate who we can or cannot buy and sell. And do we really want players in the squads for PL and EL that are there just because they are homegrown? Preferably, no!
And by the way, if we are keeping Gazza, then Hart just replaces Whiteman as a homegrown choice. (As an aside, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Hart is our 3rd choice, not 2nd.) …
The bottom line is, that we could still easily find ourselves short in the homegrown stakes. As we have to also presume that any new homegrown player could well be taking the place of another and not simply replacing one that is not…. Jose and the club do have to find a balance but it is not as straightforward as you make it. Not at all… Not if we want a full EL squad that doesn’t omit a player or two, three or four, that we would prefer to be in there…
You’re right HT, it’s not straightforward and that’s what some of us are trying to explain. The debate started when we were specifically discussing the rumour of City being interested in Winks, I suggested that if he were sold it would be ‘preferable’ to replace him with homegrown. Jod took exception to me using this term asserting that if he were sold we would have to replace like for like (i.e. a homegrown player) because of the current situation in this regard within the first team squad. I and others have tried to say that this is not necessarily so as it depends on other changes in the squad during this window.
We have already replaced Vorm with Hart and Vertonghen has left so that’s 2 foreign gone and 1 homegrown in already, other potential changes that swing the balance more toward homegrown would allow us to replace Winks (should he leave and if deemed necessary) with a player of our choice regardless of nationality. They wouldn’t ‘have to be homegrown’ as Jod asserts.
I did get all of that TQ… I was just stating to BS that he is making assumptions about stuff that we don’t know about yet. And that the club does have to keep an eye on our homegrown quota… Which it does. The specifics of it all are just based on assumptions from all of us. But if the club is after only foreign players as preferences for instance, then we do have to be concerned then, about who we loan out or sell… And, we really shouldn’t be looking at homegrown for homegrown sake.
So, if Rose does leave. If CCV and Clarke are loaned out. And what if Jose would prefer Sess to find a loan but has to keep him because of being homegrown. What if Jose wants a foreign RB and not Aarons? If Aarons doesn’t even wants to come if we do want him? What if? What if the only players we really want in are not homegrown but a couple we want out are? What if 1 or 2 HG’s get injured long term? What if’s in this case are important and have to be considered. And they are not just pointless question marks. It potentially means a lot of compromises to the squad that surely we wouldn’t ideally want. And so it is quite a crucial factor for the next season and the following ones too… The club cannot ignore this because it’s a close call as it now stands.
I think jod is much closer to the reality of it all than anyone else is here.
HT….it’s clear that we are going to need a full squad of available players this season more than any other, I’m sure the club realise this and any transfer business will work towards this requirement.
You’re right there, TQ.
Our season starts with us straight into 3 competitions. And if we win our opening two cup games, the next two follow. just a week later. September could be rammed with matches, with barely a rest in between…
But, this is surely what it’s all about… Playing lots of football and winning as many matches as we can, whatever the comp.
Not sure if this helps the debate but, every player on the planet grows up at home. OK, TQ, time for another tablet.
There’s little doubt that we will need as full and strong a squad as possible with the amount of games to come. We will probably have the most games in a compacted season than ever before. I guess this applies to our main rivals and so it’s likely that injuries will also have a greater influence in all competitions than ever before. That is the major unknown variable that nobody can predict or legislate for. It might all come down to pure luck.
If anyone is missing some action the U23’s play Leyton Orient in a Justin Edinburgh charity tournament tonight – kick of 7pm. It will be streamed live on the O’s Facebook page.
Thanks for that post HT, so what your basically saying is “What if!” lol! am with you there, it is just two words with massive implications. COYS
What if I say I don’t really care?!
As TQ said the club will just have to do what they have to do when they consider all of the “what if’s”…
I say, what if Spurs get knocked out early in the Carabao cup and EL, forget the FA cup when it comes along and go all out for the PL title. And then win it comfortably with 38 1-0’s on the trot?
And, with only 3 or 4 “top 4” players in the entire squad! Bring it on….
Fantasy football rules ok!
Up, up (home) and away you SPUUURS!
Stop teasing us with all this talk of PL titles HT! lol
HT….don’t forget we get a bye in the early round(s) of the Carabao cup because we are in the european competition.