Time for change

A new season and a new manager, but the same old story where Tottenham is concerned. It’s now surely time to have a wholesale change at the Lane.

It wouldn’t matter if it was Pep Guardiola or Sir Alex Ferguson in charge of us, we need to change the shape of the team and today’s display shows it is time to do away with the out-and-out wingers and go with two up front.

Emanuel Adebayor was closed down too easily and I’ve long been a critic of the one up front system. Among his other failings, isn’t that one of the reasons AVB got the boot because the powers that be wanted two in attack?

My suggestion is we go along the same lines as Liverpool and play a 4-3-1-2.

Younes Kaboul again looked a welter of indecision and I’m hoping that new signing Federico Fazio will instead partner Jan Vertonghen with Kyle Walker/Eric Dier at right back and Ben Davies on the left. Can anybody tell me why, oh why is Danny Rose still playing for us? I thought it was April Fools Day when the news broke of him signing a new contract. Off with Kaboul, I say and give Vlad Chririches his chance as the main back-up.

Has Davies upset someone? Surely he has to be first choice on the left. If Spurs go with my suggested system, it means we need to bulk up in midfield as Nabil Bentaleb isn’t up to the standard we are supposedly trying to achieve (consistent top four finish, though I would settle just for consistency!)

It appears the Beast is on his way, and Etienne Capoue is surely bench material at best. Lewis Holtby is also average at best, so bye bye. That leaves playing Mousa Dembele, Paulinho and after watching Southampton’s win, albeit against WBA, I’m hoping we splash the cash on Morgan Schneiderlin. If it means chucking in Andros Townsend to secure him, then so be it. We need a terrier.

By doing away with the wingers, Townsend and the disappointing Nacer Chadli (yes, he beat up Newcastle last year and QPR last week, big deal), we would free up some cash to buy the likes of Schneiderlin.

In my proposed system, it could also see benching Dembele and playing Christian Eriksen in midfield, with Erik Lamela just in behind our two strikers. I’m still not sure whether the Argentinian is suited by the Premier League, but the glimpses of class he has shown suggests that this season he needs to play plenty and be given the chance to prove his worth to the squad.

That leaves the conundrum of who to play up front. Emmanuel Adebayor showed plenty of energy, but every time he got a sniff of the ball he was closed down quickly by an efficient Liverpool defence. Sadly that will always be the case against the big boys in the Premier League, and until we go with two up front, a sole striker will struggle to get the space needed to improve our dismal goal difference of last year.

With Adebayor and Roberto Soldado up front, and Harry Kane also given opportunities, under the new system we can improve our shocking record in front of goal. Though like Lamela, I’m even more concerned with Soldado. At times the guy looks petrified, and has the air of someone that has lost his confidence, a la Fernando Torres. If that is the case, and let’s face it surely the coaches at the club must know if this is the case, then ta, ta and go all out to land a 20 goal-a-season striker like Wilfred Bony or possibly Christian Benteke. I’m not sure Danny Welbeck is that man.

Where do we get the money to achieve all this, I hear you cry? Well, if Matt Law at the Daily Telegraph can be believed, Mauricio Pochettino still has £18m at his disposal.  That amount can be bolstered with £12m for Andros Townsend, £10m for Sandro, £5m for Kaboul, £6m for Lewis Holtby, £4m for Kyle Naughton and I’d also try to offload Aaron Lennon (£10m according to transfermarkt.com).

That would give Pochettino a war chest to the tune of £65m, and that is without adding another £15m for Soldado.

With potential spending power to the tune of £80m, who would you buy? Not all necessarily by this transfer window, as that seems a stretch now that Mr Levy has done his usual of leaving it until the last minute then expecting a new player/s to gel once the season is underway, but who could we add now and/or possibly in the January window?