Just how far behind the top four are we?

[Lanolin]

cant really follow the spurs model, they just happened to have a world class striker in Kane come through the system, if they never had Kane they wouldn't be top 4, probably have lost eriksen and alli by now

That's a little simplistic though. There's nothing to say they couldn't have signed another very good striker if they didn't have Kane. Their signings in other positions have shown that they're good at finding top quality players without spending huge amounts, so it's perfectly feasible they'd be in a similar position with somebody else up front. They're far from a one man team.

 

[evertonarntwe]

That's a little simplistic though. There's nothing to say they couldn't have signed another very good striker if they didn't have Kane. Their signings in other positions have shown that they're good at finding top quality players without massive spending huge amounts, so it's perfectly feasible they'd be in a similar position with somebody else up front. They're far from a one man team.

whilst I agree they do have a good model and find good talent, there are only a handful of strikers in world football @ Kanes level, were talking the suarez/lewandowski level which spurs wouldn't be able to attract anyway so they have been very lucky he just appeared from nowhere ( wasn't even highly rated from what I remember just came out of nowhere and scored every week )

 

[havrey0123]

Martinez went to Inter.
Volland isn’t that young.
Batshuayi cant do it in the premier league.

The chance wasn’t there though was it, we needed to fix the absolute mess we got ourselves into last season. That’s going to take longer than this season too.

batsuyai was never given a chance in the premier league, he came off the bench most of the time

Tosun was crucial for us v Wolves and v S'ton. His running gave the three behind space to work. Batshuayi wouldn't give you that. He's a smart price Lukaku.

Chelsea don't rate him because he's not that good.

he does run though and tracks back, i dont think you have seen him play.
This is him last season on loan at dortmund for 7 goals in 10 games



0.47-0.57 and 1.42 - 1.49 is what he brings off the ball
are you seriously going to sit there and say he wouldnt be a massive upgrade on what we have

 

[BlueToff]

batsuyai was never given a chance in the premier league, he came off the bench most of the time

he does run though and tracks back, i dont think you have seen him play.
This is him last season on loan at dortmund for 7 goals in 10 games



0.47-0.57 and 1.42 - 1.49 is what he brings off the ball

I have seen him play plenty.

I didn't say he wouldn't track back. Tosun's strength the other day wasn't tracking back. It was his movement.

Batshuayi is a poacher. Ultimately you need more than that in the Premier League in a team like ours (or any team, for that matter).

The defending in the Bundesliga is atrocious as well. And all of those goals are poachers goals. Yes, when he's on form he can bring stuff off the ball, but he isn't this massive talent people make him out to be. A poor man's Rom.

If we did sign him, I'd be happy with him as an option over Niasse/DCL, obviously, but I don't get the hype.

 

[havrey0123]

I have seen him play plenty.

I didn't say he wouldn't track back. Tosun's strength the other day wasn't tracking back. It was his movement.

Batshuayi is a poacher. Ultimately you need more than that in the Premier League in a team like ours (or any team, for that matter).

watch the video mate, he is far more then a poacher playing off the last man

 

[BlueToff]

watch the video mate, he is far more then a poacher playing off the last man

I've watched it.

He's never done that in the Prem. Not one bit.

Just think he's massively overrated. Needs five chances to score one. Disappears in games.

He did well at Dortmund, yet they didn't even try to take up the option to buy him/loan him again... Weird?

 

[toffeejack]

During preseason we were apparently getting relegated. Now that we have drawn a promoted team and beat a team many are tipping to go down, we start threads like this.

What is wrong with this fan base?

it's a reasonable thread imo. It's not based on what the first two game shave yielded, it's a thread about ambition which has been discussed by our new chief exec, the OP isn't saying we're on for a top 4 finish, merely asking the question.

 

[toffeejack]

I have seen him play plenty.

I didn't say he wouldn't track back. Tosun's strength the other day wasn't tracking back. It was his movement.

Batshuayi is a poacher. Ultimately you need more than that in the Premier League in a team like ours (or any team, for that matter).

The defending in the Bundesliga is atrocious as well. And all of those goals are poachers goals. Yes, when he's on form he can bring stuff off the ball, but he isn't this massive talent people make him out to be. A poor man's Rom.

If we did sign him, I'd be happy with him as an option over Niasse/DCL, obviously, but I don't get the hype.

this is how i've always felt about him too. Iheanacho had a great strike rate at city, but i always questioned whether that was because of who was supplying him. He's gone to leicester and shown that there if people aren't providing for him, what does he offer? Similar to the criticisms of lukaku, but of course lukaku does have the ability to create goals for himself too.

But batshuayi is probably a bit similar to iheanacho in that if he went to a team like leicester, he would struggle to score as well.

Personally i think we need a really pacey striker if we'r going to look at one, someone who can interchange with the two wingers who can both play up front imo, it just shouldn't be their number one position.

 

[f.t.r.s]

Currently we are a fair bit off the top four sides in the league.
We're more than capable of cementing a place in the top six, providing we continue to address the weaker areas of the squad in the manner we have tried to so far.
While we do seemingly have money, in order to compete in the cl without falling foul of ffp we need to massively improve the marketing and revenue side of the club (unless we can circumnavigate this with some clever accounting, sponsorship etc with mosh and usmanovs investment)
The cumulative spending ability on transfer fees and wages is an area that will take time for us to catch up on.
If brands is successful in his role we should see the on field performance improve as the quality of playing staff at all levels will improve.

As in most cases it's about timing and luck, we need to take advantage of slip ups from those above us and then speculate to accumulate in order to cement our place in the top four, which is something leicester failed to do

 

[Lanolin]

whilst I agree they do have a good model and find good talent, there are only a handful of strikers in world football @ Kanes level, were talking the suarez/lewandowski level which spurs wouldn't be able to attract anyway so they have been very lucky he just appeared from nowhere ( wasn't even highly rated from what I remember just came out of nowhere and scored every week )

Yeah I agree with that but these players all have to start somewhere, and Spurs have been adept at picking up that type of player before they hit the big time for some time now (Bale, Alli, Eriksen, Son, Vertonghen etc). Clearly we'll never know, but I wouldn't put it past them to have unearthed someone who was good enough to keep them in the sort of position they are. I concede, obviously, that a real talent coming through the ranks makes it much easier, but it should also be noted that it isn't necessarily 'luck' when that happens. Academy graduates going on to be genuinely top class is something else which we'll have to work on in order to become a real top side.

 

[Thomasc]

Depends how Arsenal perform as they look a bit flakey still IMO.

There can be little argument that City are a class apart. Spurs and United didn’t really strengthen in the window so could be interesting what happens there. Liverpool seem to be going from strength to strength sadly so you would expect an improvement from them on last season.

Chelsea will be decent under new management but the jury is out for now.

With us it totally depends how our new players bed in, but there is a clear improvement in the style of play, so if they can slot in effectively then who knows?

 

[Barnfred 55]

I think we'll have a better idea of where we are in 3/4 months time once the effect of silva's coaching really kicks in.. We don't know how the new players are going to settle, or how effective Siggy is going to be in the playmaker role, or whether Gomes is that missing ingredient in midfield. Assuming all goes to plan, then I think we'll have a nucleus squad of 13/14 who are of the right quality. Then it depends on how our group of younger players develop.

 

[jaybx1878]

The playing field will be leveled considerably when VAR comes in.

 

[havrey0123]

I've watched it.

He's never done that in the Prem. Not one bit.

Just think he's massively overrated. Needs five chances to score one. Disappears in games.

He did well at Dortmund, yet they didn't even try to take up the option to buy him/loan him again... Weird?

they would of signed him but chelsea wanted a buy back clause for around the same price they would of sold him, which scuppereed any future deals from taking place.
Dortmund are now considering to replace him with origi for 20m, big difference

 

[havrey0123]

The playing field will be leveled considerably when VAR comes in.

not it wont.
The big 6 will get even more decisions.
on set pieces and when they counter attack, opposition teams usuallly shoulder barge/push/pull their shirts etc to prevent them from attacking, these go largley unnoticed unless they are done blatatently. If these decisions are sent to VAR, they will get more in their favour.