18th July 2015

25-man squad update – July 2015

Prior to the past few seasons I have written about how our 25-man squad is shaping up in line with the ‘home grown’ rule. I have been asked to do the same again this year.

To summarise the rule again, we are able to name a 25-man squad if eight of the players are ‘home grown’. We could name fewer than eight home grown players, but would need to also name fewer than 25 players in our squad – for example, if we only have seven home grown players, we can name a 24-man squad, 6/23, 5/22, etc. A home grown player is defined as follows:

… one who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Welsh Football Association for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).

We do not need to name players who are under 21 on our squad list; for the 2015/16 campaign, players considered ‘under 21’ will have been born on or after 1st January 1994.

Since the beginning of last season we have lost one ‘home grown’ player (Kyle Naughton) from our squad list, and can expect to lose at least one more (Aaron Lennon). We have added Kieran Trippier, who is home grown, but also two non-home grown players in Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer. Dele Alli falls into the under-21 category.

Also, since last season, Harry Kane has passed the age threshold and will need to be named in the squad, whereas last year he was simply included in our list of under-21 players.

As it stands, our ‘named’ 25-man squad would probably consist of the following (* = home grown player):

Hugo Lloris
Michel Vorm

Kyle Walker*
Danny Rose*
Kieran Trippier*
Ben Davies*
DeAndre Yedlin

Jan Vertonghen
Toby Alderweireld
Kevin Wimmer
Federico Fazio
Vlad Chiriches

Ryan Mason*
Mousa Dembélé
Benjamin Stambouli
Tom Carroll*

Christian Eriksen
Nacer Chadli
Erik Lamela
Andros Townsend*
Alex Pritchard *
Aaron Lennon*

Harry Kane*
Emmanuel Adebayor
Roberto Soldado

That would mean that the following would miss out:

Grant Hall*
Ryan Fredericks*

We are then able to select any players who were born after January 1994 without needing to register them. This means that any of the following (plus the other first and second year academy scholars) would be available for selection. NB: I have presented them in age order.

Eric Dier
Shaq Coulthirst
Kenny McEvoy
Nabil Bentaleb
Grant Ward (on loan at Rotherham)
Dominic Ball
Luke McGee
Milos Veljkovic
Harry Winks
Connor Ogilvie
Nathan Oduwa
Emmanuel Sonupe
Dele Alli
William Miller
Joe Pritchard
Harry Voss
Anton Walkes
Luke Amos
Anthony Georgiou
Cy Goddard
Kyle Walker-Peters
Joshua Onomah
Shayon Harrison
Cameron Carter-Vickers
Ismail Azzaoui

Essentially what this means is that if we want to add another player born after January 1994 to the squad, we have to remove another to make space. This should be no problem, as I would expect Soldado, Adebayor, Lennon, Stambouli, Chiriches, and possibly Dembélé/Fazio (depending on offers) to move on, opening up at least five spaces for new signings should we wish to make them.

Our ‘home grown’ quota is looking very healthy, with ten in the 25-man squad as it stands.

With so much young talent coming through, we look pretty comfortable in terms of home grown numbers for the coming years, although it’s worth noting that Eric Dier will not be able to be named as a home grown player when he passes the age threshold next season, as he does not meet the criteria due to his football upbringing in Portugal. I am fairly certain, though, that Nabil Bentaleb *will* be counted as home grown (depending on when he was formally registered).

18th July 2015
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tony18th July 2015 at 11:03
love the research! am very worried that with only 21 days to go we have not improved the squad in either midfield or up front- lots for daniel to do but sadly we usually end up disappointed and when you see what united have added the chances of making up headway become remoter
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1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 09:46
  Thanks Tony! Always the way - it's so hard to act early unless you're willing to pay a slightly inflated price and accept that you might end up with players left out of your 25-man squad, which we clearly can't afford to do with a stadium to pay for. United have had an extraordinary summer!
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NS18th July 2015 at 11:18
Great stuff Windy. Based on rumour and last season, as you say, you have to assume the following will depart at least: Lennon, Stambouli, Chriches, Adebayor And as you say Fredericks and Hall aren't first team quality but over age so will go too. Then assuming Poch wants a 23-25 man "first team" that will include Dier, Bentaleb and Alli in it, any in comings will still have to made space for by moving on someone else. That's despite the fire sale so far.
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1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 09:54
  Interesting that Fredericks hasn't been seen in pre-season - I wonder if he's injured or training elsewhere?
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Asif18th July 2015 at 11:28
Absolutely superb analysis. Very good research, well written (not an easy topic to lay out) and gives a very good insight into what may be going through Daniel Levy's mind during the transfer window. Whilst there is still a lot to do, we've done well to sell Kaboul, Holtby, Capour, Pualinho and nearly Stambouli on good deals so far. Also good to get Trippier in. Shaping up nicely for Levy time.
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1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 09:54
  Thanks Asif, very kind of you.
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Bazza18th July 2015 at 11:33
I think Spurs have proven in recent years that spending big money on star players just isn't the way forward, maybe 1 or 2 in the squad but any more and Spurs seem to be forever defending tHem from leaving etc, a squad full of stars that aren't playing for each other is not the way. In moving out Paulinho, capoe, kaboul we have removed the biggest problem we had last season, inconsistent defending, IMO that cost us at least 11 points last season, the amount of times kaboul just passed to the opposition was unbelievable. I'd say the squad as it is is much better than last season because we have removed the doubt. I'm just hoping we are telling adebeyor he won't be in the 25 no matter what as I don't think he's a team player by any stretch of the imagination. If we get in a striker or two Spurs will be a much stronger force than last season if we add to that a midfield playmaker and a strong defensive midfielder we will be very strong in the league. The way it's shaping up teams will have a lot of trouble keeping up with Spurs pace next season, we just need to work on the teamwork/confidence side of the game.
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1. ozspur18th July 2015 at 12:28
  A team of 'champions' isnt necessarily a champion team. True. We need to get a good mix of youth and experience and keep the team together for a good couple of seasons to gel and bond and play as a team.
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  1. SpurredoninDublin19th July 2015 at 12:00
    @anonymous I am not going to argue with you, but I do expect to see an improvement in the team next year, especially as it is such a young side. My doubts are over MoPo. I have yet to see anything from him that makes me thing he will ever win anything. As always, when I am critical, I hope to be proved wrong.
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2. Joe18th July 2015 at 17:25
  Shaqiri the Playmaker One of the Bender brothers as the DM And a Striker like Austin Berahino or Remy etc If we get all 3 I see no reason why we can't finish in the top 4
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  1. 19th July 2015 at 11:48
    We have as much chance of top4 as I have of banging a supermodel. Maybe less
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3. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 09:58
  As you say, there's a fair amount of work left to do - not least in getting players out the door. Two strikers would be nice - one is essential.
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Andy K18th July 2015 at 11:45
As we currently stand, there is far too much reliance on Kane repeating his heroics of last season, which I really hope he does, but I fear he won't and we currently have no other effective striking options.
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1. SpurredoninDublin18th July 2015 at 19:50
  The striker problem? Put Soldado out on loan at Celtic to get his confidence back. Bring him back in the new year, and then make a decision. Regarding Ade, it looks like Benteke is Pool bound. Let Villa take him on loan as long as they pay the wage bill. I think this is his last year with us. Let him con Villa into giving him a new contract, and throw a party for having got rid of the worst ever wage thief to play for Spurs. I think Harry Kane will have an even better season this year. He is not another Andy Carroll. He is a very well rounded technically gifted intelligent player with plenty in his tool box. Of course, this is all subject to injuries. Good post btw Windy. I think that when it comes to knowledge about the younger players, you are in a league of your own.
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  1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:25
    I don't think he'd go to Celtic, somehow! He wants to go back to Spain, it seems logical that he'll join Sevilla if they can afford him... Adebayor to Villa seems nailed on - he worked well with Sherwood and will be a starter for them. I suspect he'll do well. I truly hope you're right about Kane. Lots of people think that 'defenders have sussed him out' and that he'll struggle this season. I can see him scoring 20 goals again. Thanks for the kind comments, really nice of you.
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  2. SpurredoninDublin19th July 2015 at 11:02
    I mentioned Celtic, because I think he is desperately in need of a confidence boost. If we can sell him, all to the good, but I can see him bashing in 20 goals by Xmas in the SPL, which would enhance his value in any case. As far as Kane is concerned, I noticed towards the end of last season, the more senior players he was up again, felt the best way to deal with him, was a spot of all in-wrestling at corner kicks. I hope the refs pick up on this, but I think when you get senior internationals resorting to this tactic, it tells you that they know how good he really is. As for my kind words, they are more than due. Nobody on the blogosphere gives the same coverage to the "kids" that you do.
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2. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:13
  He certainly needs some form of back-up/support.
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Sam Z18th July 2015 at 11:45
Great work Chris. Thanks for writing on this tricky subject. Can you deconstruct Fincial Fairnplay and the recent changes for your next piece?
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1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:26
  Cheers Sam! Not a terrible idea but it's not an area I know much about. I'd have to spend a lot of time research and time is not something I'm blessed with at the moment. I'll keep it in mind though!
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Mike18th July 2015 at 11:49
Good work Windy. No argument now that they wasted the Gareth bale money. Hopefully having blown £75 Mill+ now Daniel Levy won't be so penny pinching over decent players. I'd like to see them promote from within as that's the only success they've had and what a great success that was. With hindsight it would seem that Tim Sherwood knew what he was doing. Should have kept him aswell and saved even more £££Millions.
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1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:27
  Cheers Mike. I totally agree with promoting from within where possible. Not so sure on Sherwood... if only he could learn to keep his mouth shut.
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  1. 19th July 2015 at 10:58
    Sherwood's PR technique needed polishing......or rather demolishing and rebuilding.....but that wouldn't have been too difficult. He got Adebayor playing, he promoted Bentaleb and Kane. His win ratio was good. He would have done better with time and money. He was cheap and knew the club well. "They" didn't like his persona, same with Rednapp.
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2. SpurredoninDublin19th July 2015 at 11:28
  @ anonymous I have mixed feelings about Sherwood. I think the evidence is quite clear that Ade did not want to play for AVB and resented being disciplined by him. Spurs clearly improved because ADE was willing to play for TS. But I don't think that Tim can really claim the credit. It was just the wage thief getting his own way with the sacking of AVB. However, when you look at the wealth of riches that is now coming through like a non-stop conveyor belt, then you have to give Sherwood almost legendary status. As for picking Kane and Bentaleb, that really was magical. I don't see TS as a tactical genius, but I think had he stayed, Kane and Unable would have been the most prolific strike force in the PL. But the fact that they are not, is solely because of the wage thief's attitude. I have never booed a Spurs player in over 50 years, but I would make an exception for Ade. If you don't like the manager, be a man and put in for a transfer, instead of destroying the hopes and dreams of those who pay your wages.
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Judas Iscariot18th July 2015 at 12:04
I would sell Soldado and hang onto Adebayor, people forget Adebayor tends to be a *very* good player in the final year of his contract, no attitude problems, trains well scores goals etc. So keep him for the final year of his contract, take the pressure of Harry and take our time looking for a new up and comming striker that suits our game, haven't seen any candiates in the U21/U18 so far:-( But we have got exciting prospects in most other positions. :-)
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1. SpurredoninDublin18th July 2015 at 19:55
  Problem about ADE is that he has so badly burned his bridges with the supporters, that we are more likely to applaud Charlie Adam playing for Arsenal. I never want to see him in a Spurs shirt again, and I think many feel the same way. Get rid of the wage thief.
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2. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:27
  Adebayor seems Villa-bound now. I think at least one striker is essential.
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Cojack18th July 2015 at 12:20
We might as well persist with Bobby, but Ade and Vlad as the the squad listings show are a complete waste of VALUABLE space. Thank you Windy
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1. Simo18th July 2015 at 13:46
  I really don't think we should persist with Bobby. We've already done that over the last 2 seasons, the guy can't score and that's his job. He is taking up a place in the team.
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  1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:28
    Agreed.
    Reply
2. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:28
  Pleasure!
  Reply
J18th July 2015 at 12:51
I'm hoping we give Shaq Coulthisle a chance to stake his claim this season, allevating the strain of so many games for Kane. If Coulthisle does get his break then we could be seeing the likes of Pritchard and Coulthisle come through to join our home prodigies; kane, bentaleb and mason
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1. Erik19th July 2015 at 00:59
  There is nobody at Spurs called "Coulthisle".
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2. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:28
  Coulthirst is a League Two player currently - he might grow beyond that, but we aren't able to rely on him.
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longtimespur18th July 2015 at 13:37
Thanks Windy comprehensive article. With Lennon seemingly out of favour and Stambouli likely off to PSG it opens up room for 2 more incomings. We do need a DCM WF and striker. With Ade apparently out in the cold we have room for the 3 necessary to balance our squad.
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1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:29
  Pleasure! Sounds good to me.
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Sean19th July 2015 at 04:25
Isn't it generally easier to explain the homegrown rule by simply saying you're limited to 17 non-homegrown players? Then you can choose to go above that with homegrown players to a limit of 25 players total (so 8 if you use alll the available space). I find people easily get confused by this rule (probably because of Football Manager) and no team is under obligation to have these homegrown players, except if you want any squad depth at all you'd better have them.
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1. WindyCOYS19th July 2015 at 10:29
  Yeah, that's essentially what I said isn't it? 'We could name fewer than eight home grown players, but would need to also name fewer than 25 players in our squad'.
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WindyCOYS | 25-man Squad Update – August 201515th August 2015 at 10:14
[…] about how our 25-man squad is shaping up in line with the ‘home grown’ rule. I wrote an update in July, and am regularly asked to update further, so here’s how our squad is […]
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25-man squad update – July 2015

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