I’ve written quite a bit over the past few months about our squad building: Summer 2024 Squad Planning – Update (July 2024) and More Needed (August 2024). I think we need to update this now that we’ve seen how the squad is shaping up so far this season.
I had already mentioned in both of those pieces the transition of Dejan Kulusevski to a central player. That transition is complete, and he has barely played wide at all. In addition, he has played *with* James Maddison, not as a rotation. And I think that combination is what has led to our attacking output taking a leap. I think that changes our needs fairly significantly.
I talked in the summer piece about the midfield links (Conor Gallagher, Jacob Ramsey, João Gomes). I don’t know whether Kulusevski’s total transition came as a result of having failed to land any of these targets, or whether they were always meant to add depth to the dual eights of Maddison and Kulusevski. I would include Eberechi Eze in this cluster of links and would not be surprised if Spurs were to go back in for him. However, my instinct is for us to sign another right sided player who can also play in-field, like Kulusevski, as opposed to a left-sided player who can also play in-field like Eze. That is because our right-wing cover is Brennan Johnson and no-one if Kulusevski is playing inside. It has been clear so far that Wilson Odobert looks more comfortable on the left, and the same is certainly the case for Mikey Moore — the angles suit him far better — and Werner has really struggled when played out on the right, as was the case for Son Heung-min and Richarlison before.
The other option is to roll with the midfield options – assume that Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray can cover those roles between them (and pray Maddison and Kulusevski stay fit) and sign a right-winger. There are good options out there — my favourite is Brian Mbeumo (who can also play up-front), my second favourite is Antoine Semenyo (who can also play on the left). There are strong arguments for and against each of these options, and really it comes down to who Ange trusts and how much business we are willing to do. Think about how we would cope without Maddison or Kulusevski, and think about how we would cope without Johnson — which feels the easiest to power through? I think we need some cover for Maddison’s vision and passing ability whichever way we decide to go.
I think we also need to prioritise a left-sided centre-back, but whereas before I ideally wanted us to target one who can also play some left-back, I actually feel really quite happy with the options of Djed Spence and Archie Gray for full-back cover on both sides. I still think someone like Rayan Aït-Nouri would elevate us, but I think we can cope with what we have at full-back, at least for this season. But were we to lose Micky van de Ven for any length of time I would be hugely concerned. I have been quite up-front that I don’t think Radu Drăgușin is there with his in-possession game, albeit he’s a really strong box defender. But that weakness is exacerbated when he’s on the left.
Our build-up game is the best in the league and arguably the main reason why we function. Much is made of centre-backs being able to play a bit of football these days. In Ange-ball it goes beyond that — it’s a fundamental part of the role. Just as being able to mark, knowing when to challenge and when to drop-off, holding an off-side line, etc, are key facets of being a centre-back, in our system so is being comfortable receiving the ball and having the technical quality and problem-solving ability to play out when pressed. We don’t need another Cristian Romero level creative passer — if that player even exists — but we need someone with high levels of composure and comfort with the ball at their feet.
The other positions of need over the next two windows are: goalkeeper and number six. Both may have to wait until an obvious candidate becomes available.
Managing squads is hard, folks! Fortunately, our Academy might have some additional solutions for us over the next couple of years.
The window has been okay but I think we need more before it closes in order to challenge for trophies.
Broadly I am happy with our recruitment and I like the players that have come in. It was always going to be challenging to sell as many players as we needed to *and* fill the squad holes which have been dogging us since Ange Postecoglou’s arrival. The errors of previous windows have taken some serious work to undo. It’s been a valiant attempt, but to my mind four significant holes still exist: back-up goalkeeper, left centre-back, left back and number six. I also think our wide options could have been enhanced differently.
I think Wilson Odobert is a really promising player. My reading of the situation is that we tried to sign some more ‘first team ready’ wingers (including Pedro Neto) before moving down the list and landing on him. I really, really like him as a player and think between him and Mikey Moore, we’re pretty well future-proofed. But I do think his signing makes the early loan of Timo Werner questionable. What we really need in the squad is players that specialise in one-vs-ones in wide areas. Werner is arguably closer in profile to Brennan Johnson and Son Heung-min. Replace Werner with, say, Brajan Gruda (who Brighton signed for £25m) and suddenly the squad seems more well-rounded in its skillset.
I like Werner, but I think we rushed into that one and it is probably not the best use of a squad space.
What if we sign more?
As it stands, we’re probably not naming Fraser Forster in our Europa League squad. Any more signings and we need to pick another player to miss out. I think that could be Ben Davies.
Gray’s flexibility
People like to throw around the idea of Archie Gray playing as a number six to solve that particular problem and I think that’s pretty reasonable since that was a position he was used in in pre-season, and he did play a handful of matches at six for Leeds last season (albeit in a double pivot, not a single pivot). But I think (currently at least), it’s a poor profile fit for him. And I’d also like to point out that it is largely a position that is new to him.
Perhaps the club see him as a six in the long-term, but I think if they do it’s either hopium — because the six market is bad — or just banking on his versatility. Which, you know, he’s hella versatile so may not be the worst thing.
I think Gray is an exceptional young player and will do a good job there if asked. Against teams we’ve got camped he’ll be absolutely fine. For example, had he played against Leicester, I’ve no doubt that his passing would have been more crisp and ambitious that Rodrigo Bentancur’s; he’s naturally more keen to play forward and to slide the ball through gaps to more advanced teammates.
Some background to his youth career. In the PL2, Gray was playing as a central midfielder or attacking midfielder, even occasionally as a winger. At central midfield in the pivot he was alongside Darko Gyabi who you might know from partnering Alfie Devine sometimes at Plymouth Argyle – Gyabi was the six with Archie box-to-box, using his engine and athleticism. At the Under-17 Euros for England he played on the right of a midfield four or as the box-to-box midfielder alongside Manchester City’s Isaiah Dada-Mascoll who is a centre-back cum defensive midfielder. Gray has been mostly unfamiliar with playing in defensive midfield.
To me Gray at this stage of his development is a bit like Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (and Declan Rice as I’ve said previously) in that he’s very good when facing play and not so good at turning with the ball when he’s not facing play. I think that was illustrated really clearly in pre-season against Bayern Munich — Bissouma coming on totally transformed our build-up play. I also think that that is the top most important quality in our six. I’m very open to reviewing this and changing my mind as he develops more in this role, and I think it would be amazing for the club if he could develop into the role, because it’s a rough market.
I do think Gray could add useful depth at both left centre-back (given exceptional pre-season performances there) and even left-back. And, obviously, he’s extremely competent at right-back. From these positions he can see more of the pitch ahead of him and it allows him to use his obvious strengths.
So which positions?
I think, given the lack of quality available in the six market, we have to focus on left-back and left centre-back in the remaining week. There were some suggestions that we might try to cover off both positions through one signing, but as options dwindle that becomes more challenging. So we probably need to pick one. Pick the one that you think Ben Davies does the least effectively, Ange. I really, really like the idea of signing Rayan Aït-Nouri. I think he’s on a level with Destiny Udogie quality-wise, and he also gives us the option of using him as a winger.
And then goalkeeper — I mean, if Guglielmo Vicario gets injured for any length of time I will be extremely concerned.
We keep being linked with players that you’d say would most likely slot into the number eight role in Ange’s midfield – Conor Gallagher, Jacob Ramsey, João Gomes. I think after watching the Leicester City game this made more sense. Upgrading the technical quality in that area of the pitch would allow us to play faster both in terms of seeing the pass and executing it. And I think these players all get about the pitch reasonably well, so there’s clearly a signal that we don’t want to lose that ability in the front-foot press and in defensive transition.
Without additional enforcements now, I think we will lack the depth to challenge on multiple fronts. Of course, we have the January window. But by then we might have fallen too far behind in the league.
And, as a little bonus segment…
Analysis of the goal conceded vs Leicester
Bit of a throw-back, huh? I’ve seen a lot of fingers pointed at Cristian Romero. In this secnario, Romero is being Romero, and I think you just have to take the bad with the good. The context of the game at the point of conceding the goal is that we’re coming under severe pressure, the crowd are up and we’re struggling to ‘cope’ with that. Players are looking shattered all around him – Brennan Johnson makes a tired clearance, and then looks knackered when losing a duel when trying to win it back from said clearance. Romero has seen this and also Udogie lose a couple duels in the moments before and (rightly or wrongly) has taken it as his responsibility as a leader to take control of the situation. So he absolutely sprints out to join Pedro Porro wide to try to stop the ball coming at source. Incidentally, notice (clip here) that Pape Matar Sarr sees the danger but doesn’t go back with Bobby De Cordova-Reid, so if the ball comes in accurately he has a tap-in. When the ball does come in, Romero absolutely races back to regroup and he takes his positional cue from Micky van de Ven’s position (again, rightly or wrongly). In my view he probably over-compensates.
Sarr — who had correctly previously dropped in to cover Romero albeit too late — sees Romero coming back and takes that as his cue to move up a line. It’s all zonal play, players taking positional cues from one another. Personally, I think Sarr should stay where he is, goal-side of De Cordova-Reid. I think Romero should stay goal-side of Vardy. I also think Van de Ven is slow move towards Facundo Buonanotte when Udogie goes out to Abdul Fatawu and if the ball was played into Buonanotte and he got a shot away we’d be criticising Van de Ven. If the ball is played into De Cordova-Reid initially and he scores we’d be looking at Sarr. If the ball comes into De Cordova-Reid from the second cross and he scores that, we’re all looking at Sarr again.
That’s not to say Romero’s defending is good, it’s more to say that collectively this is a defensive failure and when you only analyse goals rather than everything you can create disproportionality. In this instance, everyone is furious with Romero – another day his front post movement means he blocks the cross at source and we are praising him (or, frankly, taking the action for granted because it’s what we’ve come to expect).
This is essentially a second draft of my Summer 2024 Squad Planning blog, with information from pre-season as well as some deeper reflections on last season factored in.
It goes back to my assessment in November 2023 of the players we needed to add to the squad in order to compete on two fronts.
I think Spurs are eight depth players (nine if PEH leaves) away from competing for the PL (and in Europe).
GK RB LB RCB LCB (DM) AM LW FW
Caveat: some of these might emerge from the squad/academy because we have an elite coach.
My tweet (@WindyCOYS) about our squad building in November 2023.
Since then we’ve ticked off the right centre-back (Radu Drăgușin) and we have also added Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray to the squad. Here’s where I think we are on the remaining places.
Goalkeeper
It appears to me that Brandon Austin is now our second choice goalkeeper. He signed a new contract, and has had solid involved in pre-season in Fraser Forster’s absence. He is a much better team style fit than Forster, albeit he is almost completely untested in men’s football, aside from a couple of short loans several years ago.
My view is that Josh Keeley and Luca Gunter are the serious goalkeeping talents at the club, but with Keeley not being ‘Home Grown’ qualified (since he turned 21 at the end of last season, only his second at the club), I wonder whether that might work against him. He will presumably get another loan this season anyway.
Goalkeeper does concern me. If Vicario were to get injured, I think we’d have a pretty significant problem. How can you rely on Austin when (and this is not his fault) he is totally untested? Forster is a poor squad fit, not strong with his feet and not good at sweeping. Ideally I think we should be looking to sign a short-term, profile fit goalkeeper who can rotate in Europa League matches if required. But maybe we just don’t know how good Austin is, because how could we know?
Right back
With the re-emergence of Djed Spence, and the signing of Archie Gray, I feel satisfied that we’ve now got suitable right-back rotation. Spence’s renaissance is such a good news story. He is a huge talent, and is coming back from Genoa with renewed focus and a fresh perspective is just fantastic news for him, for Ange and for the club. His dynamic, front-footed ball carrying is a nightmare for defenders – he commits them early and often beats them with his purposeful stride length and excellent acceleration. He also dribbles inside really effectively, with good close control and spatial awareness.
Gray played a lot of right-back for Leeds last season, though it’s worth noting that the expectations of the inverted role at Spurs are significantly different. I think Gray is a phenomenal talent but my main question mark over him at the moment is his ability to consistently receive the ball with his back to play. I think this is what makes him less of an Ange six and more of a Ange eight, and obviously with the full-backs drifting in-field to become the ‘3’ ahead of the ‘2’ in build-up, it is a requirement of the role to receive back to play. So it’s worth keeping an eye on his development in this area. His ability when facing play is seriously impressive.
Left back
Last time I wrote I included this:
Ben Davies is not an ideal fit for the inverted full-back role and, in my view, should only be considered for the left centre-back role going into next season. However, given that Radu Drăgușin has played in that role with Micky van de Ven out injured, it implies to me that Davies is now down the pecking order. He has just gained coaching qualifications, and I’m sure Spurs would welcome him as a coach with open arms. However, he still has plenty of football left in him at a decent level, so he has a decision to make. Assuming Swansea City stay up, perhaps he does a couple of years there before coming back to us in a coaching capacity.
I think this still rings true, but given there’s been little to no speculation about Davies leaving, I think we can probably assume he’s with us until January at least. I do think there will be very few matches there for him, though, and personally I’d prefer to see Spence or Gray used at left-back as rotation for Destiny Udogie.
For me, finding a specialist left-back rotation is still quite important. I’m a huge fan of Rayan Aït-Nouri and I like the way he carries and comes in-field. But with Spence profiling closer to Udogie than Porro, perhaps we need to find a creative passer as our rotation left-back to help in build-up. On a totally unrelated note, creative passer Jamie Donley had an outstanding performance there against Vissel Kobe.
Left centre-back
Left-sided centre-back was a really high priority for me, but I must admit that Archie Gray’s performances and profile do have me a fair bit less concerned. If the right player is available, I still think it would be a smart piece of squad-building, but given Gray’s impressive vision, execution of pass, and reading of the game, I think we could manage until January and then re-assess.
Long-term I really like Alfie Dorrington as a centre-back option for us, but he has played a lot more on the right, and probably needs a loan (or perhaps two) before he can be considered. Unfortunately he has missed pre-season due to injury, else he might have had some first team exposure, with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Radu Drăgușin all returning late after the summer tournaments.
Of course, if we are serious about competing for the league, it would make sense to invest in a top quality, ball-playing, left-sided (or versatile enough to play left-sided) centre-back.
Defensive midfielder
I think it’s become extremely well known that the market for number sixes is difficult right now to say the least. What Angeball requires of its six makes the role extremely pivotal and also limits the number of players that could tick all boxes. If you’re elite at defensive screening, anticipating, backing up the press, being press resistant and progressing the ball through passes and carries, you’re… well, you’re Rodri. So it comes down to compromise.
A lot of Spurs fans wanted us to sign Amadou Onana, but for me the drop-off in dexterity and press resistance between Yves Bissouma and Onana would have been significant so at that price point we were right to pass. All being well, 2025/26 will be Tyrese Hall szn, but what do we do in the meantime? Well, we have Rodrigo Bentancur and Archie Gray to rotate with Bissouma – neither option is ideal in my opinion. Alfie Devine looked really good at the base of midfield vs QPR but it would be a big ask for him to immediately step up in a largely unfamiliar position. Do we have enough to muddle through? Maybe. Are there any other options on the market that would improve our depth? Ehhhhhhhh. It’s a tough one.
Attacking midfielder
In my previous draft I noted:
As the season has progressed and Dejan Kulusevski has played more as a central player, I think we’ve created a genuine option for ourselves. Between James Maddison, Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall, and whichever of Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley stays at the club next season, we might just have enough attacking midfield coverage for two competitions. However, I would be in favour of signing a dribbly winger who can also play centrally…
I stand by it. And I’d say Kulusevski has cemented himself as an option. But, as above, if we really mean business then someone immediately close to Maddison’s level of creative passing would elevate us in the here and now. I do think there’s an argument that this could be a positionally flexible player who could also cover the wing slot.
Winger
I’d originally had this role pegged down as left winger, but I am no longer certain that that’s the right choice and, besides, I think the squad building leads towards us wanting someone for the right.
My view after watching Son Heung-min play both wide on the left and through the middle in Angeball is that he is significantly better on the left and that I would rather not see him play up front much at all. Watching Kulusevski play through the middle against Vissel Kobe, despite Son being on the pitch, was encouraging to me — perhaps Ange agrees. So with Son on the left, and Timo Werner’s loan renewed for a further season, we seem fairly well set for that side. On the right, we have Brennan Johnson and Kulusevski, but with Kulusevski playing centrally a lot more it certainly leaves the door open for the dribbly boi signing to be a right-sided player. Mikey Moore gives us a dribbly option, and can certainly expect a good number of minutes in the coming season, but it would be unfair and irresponsible to expect him to deliver regularly at just 16.
I think the signing of Werner can only really be assessed at the end of the window.
I like Werner a tonne but I worry that we’re going to ‘do a Solomon’ again & end up with too many non-home grown players that aren’t priorities. Absolutely fine if we completely nail the rest of the window & sell everyone we need to sell, but I fear we could end up regretting it.
We have today announced the signing of 18-year old South Korean dribbly winger Yang Min-hyeok. I don’t think this changes anything about our winger search.
Forward
I had previously considered the forward role ‘dealt with’, with Son and Richarlison as striker options. But, despite Son’s incredible finishing, I am convinced after last season that he is not a great fit for the central role and I also think him being there somewhat negates his greatest strength: the cut in and shoot. Given Richarlison’s dreadful problems with injury last season, I do think a new forward is now imperative.
Kulusevski has shown that he can play through the middle at a push, and Pape Matar Sarr also did a great job there against Manchester City at the end of last season. But some guaranteed goals would really help ease the burden on others. In Will Lankshear, Alejo Véliz and Dane Scarlett, there is some promise for the future, but none are ready to contribute immediately and there is no need to change their development plans unnecessarily.
There are a fairly limited number of options on the market; if you’re interested in who Nathan likes (or on our squad building issues with regards to Premier League and UEFA regulations), you might want to watch this video.
Since then we’ve ticked off the right centre-back (Radu Drăgușin). I think you could argue that with Son Heung-min/Richarlison/Alejo Véliz (and Troy Parrott/Dane Scarlett/Will Lankshear) we have enough quality and depth amongst our out-and-out strikers. But I think the other roles remain requirements to compete on two fronts. Here’s where I am on those.
Goalkeeper
I like Fraser Forster a lot as a person and I only hear good things about his influence on the squad, but I would be terrified if Guglielmo Vicario were to get injured. It’s essential that our back-up is more similar to Vicario in profile: confident with the ball at his feet, with the ability to take the ball under pressure and make precise, risky passes look easy. As well as being pro-active with sweeping and a good shot stopper.
Surely this will be the summer in which either Alfie Whiteman and/or Brandon Austin (now both 25) will leave in search of some actual football. I’ve found their decision to knock about for so long quite surprising. Meanwhile, Josh Keeley develops nicely at Barnet, and should get another loan next season.
Right back
Emerson Royal is a perfectly competent ‘traditional’ full-back, who I think would look pretty good in a team that plays an aggressive mid-block. He’d be a fantastic signing for Everton, for example. However, inverted full-back he is not. He lacks the on-ball subtlety and creative passing to come anywhere close to mirroring Pedro Porro, and doesn’t have the carrying or thrust of Destiny Udogie. Lovely guy, bad fit — but the good news is that we should get a decent fee for him and there are several good options on the market. If we’re looking for homegrown players, then either Kyle Walker-Peters (also qualifies as club-trained in UEFA competitions) or Alfie Doughty are good technical options who can play both sides.
Left back
We’ve not even seen whether Ryan Sessegnon looks at home as an inverted left-back, and that’s exactly the problem. As much as I’ve rooted for Sessegnon to make it at Spurs, having looked so good for Fulham, and the various England youth age groups, his unavailability has essentially hampered his entire career and sadly I think leaves us with no option but to move on from him.
Ben Davies is not an ideal fit for the inverted full-back role and, in my view, should only be considered for the left centre-back role going into next season. However, given that Drăgușin has played in that role with Micky van de Ven out injured, it implies to me that Davies is now down the pecking order. He has just gained coaching qualifications, and I’m sure Spurs would welcome him as a coach with open arms. However, he still has plenty of football left in him at a decent level, so he has a decision to make. Assuming Swansea City stay up, perhaps he does a couple of years there before coming back to us in a coaching capacity.
Left centre-back
And given that Davies has not had the nod, I think it’s fair to say we will be signing a left-sided player. I also think the signing of Drăgușin has made signing an exceptional ball-player for the left even more important. In Cristian Romero we have one of the best ball-playing centre-backs around, in terms of his composure in possession, his carrying, and his ambitious, creative passing. He is a special, special player. Whilst Van de Ven cannot match him for creativity, he has a ‘secureness’ in possession and ability to carry which make him a dream fit for Angeball when combined with his freakish recovery pace. Drăgușin on the other hand seems to have the carrying ability, as he show-cased nicely against Luton Town, but doesn’t (yet) have the same level of composure or passing. For more on this, I’d recommend checking out Nathan’s video, which is Worth The Entry Fee Alone. To quote Nathan in the video, ‘he plays the passive role in an aesthetically aggressive way’ — he is somewhat between Romero and Van de Ven in defensive style. But in his on-ball ability, he’s more Van de Ven. What this means, I think, is that we need to prioritise a left-sided centre-back who is more Romero. Who has the calm, composed style but also has the creative passing. And I’m surprised that we’ve backed ourselves into that particular corner because that’s potentially going to be a tricky player to identify and sign.
Defensive midfielder
We’ve heard a lot from Pierre-Emile Højbjerg over the international break and, although he has been incredibly respectful, it’s clear that he’s not thrilled about his game time. Whilst he has been a really valuable asset coming off the bench and helping to lock things down, he is a player that should really go and be a starter elsewhere (again, there’s a good fee to be had). Even with the additional games that being in Europe will bring, it’s quite difficult to see Ange trusting him in the same way he trusts Yves Bissouma. And so I do think he will leave, and I think he will need replacing. Some fans seem convinced that Rodrigo Bentancur can now be considered as cover for both the 6 and 8 (sorry Ange) but, for me, he is not press resistant enough or defensively aware enough to start at 6 — though I do think it’s a role he can come on and play in matches where we’re searching for a breakthrough against a set defence, or in games against significantly inferior opposition. I much prefer him in the 8 role — pre-injury I’d have argued that he was the best presser in the squad, and last season he showed a tendency to arrive in the box. I hope he gets back to those levels.
Attacking midfielder
As the season has progressed and Dejan Kulusevski has played more as a central player, I think we’ve created a genuine option for ourselves. Between James Maddison, Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall, and whichever of Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley stays at the club next season, we might just have enough attacking midfield coverage for two competitions. However, I would be in favour of signing a dribbly winger who can also play centrally…
Left winger
Which takes us to left winger. And I’m starting to feel less certain that it should be a ‘left’ winger, having been adamant at the start of the season.
Firstly, I am absolutely certain that we should take up the option to sign Timo Werner for around £15m, a ludicrously good price for a player who brings a wealth of experience and is producing good numbers and carrying a real threat. But that would mean that we have Werner, Johnson, Son and Richarlison who can all play from the left, but only really Kulusevski and Johnson who can play from the right. I should add that I am assuming that both Bryan Gil and Manor Solomon will leave in the summer, either permanently or on loan.
Realistically I foresee Johnson playing more right-side minutes and Kulusevski sharing his minutes between the right and the middle, so I am still leaning towards a left-sided player, just. But if we could sign a player who, like Kulusevski, can share some of those minutes with a more central role, it would give us better flexibility. Eberechi Eze is a really obvious candidate.
If we’re looking at dribbly players for the right, we might want to bear in mind just how beneficial for UEFA competitions having a club-trained player would be…
Another way to visualise how beneficial it would be to sign a club-trained player is to look at a projected UEFA squad for next season. You’ll see I’ve listed six players to sign and 16 players as to be sold. Clearly that would be asking a lot for one window, and I think unrealistic. But these are the six positions that I think we need to focus on and the 16 players that I think we should be open to selling.
Edit 12 April 2024: Now that we know that Pape Matar Sarr will not be considered a Home Grown Player or club-trained player, it does make it increasingly unlikely that we will fill our UEFA competition squad and/or that we will sell players who might have a use as a club-trained option (such as Austin, Whiteman, Skipp).
As an aside, please leave a comment if you spot any errors in the below — completed in a bit of a hurry!
I have also included a projected Premier League squad list below.
Ange says there’s no magic door for young players. I think there should be.
When asked ‘Does the Richarlison injury open the door for Dane Scarlett to get an opportunity?’ this is how Ange responded. And, in light of my previous blog, Ange – Small C Conservative?, it made my spidey senses tingle.
‘Yeah but the door is never closed. He trains with us every day and all the players are in the same boat. That door is always open. If you’re waiting for some secret, magic door to open, it doesn’t exist. The door is always open and they have an opportunity every day to put themselves in front of me and the coaches to make an impact and wait for their opportunity.’
I am, obviously, sensitive about this because: 1. I am an advocate for our Academy as a talent pool and a revenue stream and 2. Ange has quite a poor record when it comes to bringing through young players.
What Ange is saying here is what 95% of football coaches in the league system would say. It’s seen as common sense. It is the conventional wisdom. It’s also — I believe — wrong. And it’s what the best modern coaches are starting to reject. Here’s why I believe that. And, caveat, I’m not suggesting for a second that Dane Scarlett should get an extended run in the first team at the moment. Whisper it, but I’m not even 100% sold on Scarlett as a future Spurs player. This isn’t about Scarlett. But it is about the magic door.
Let’s think about the typical journey of a young player. They start playing from an extremely young age and, by 8 or 9, they get picked up by a team — a good local team in their town, a county team, or maybe even a professional or semi-professional club. And the seriousness of their hobby starts to take hold, training a couple of times a week, playing a match every weekend. County trials, Academy trials. And then at 12 or 13 they join an academy programme and it ramps up again, parent or parents shuttling them around to training and matches constantly. Kicking a ball around in the garden every night after school. They give up their social lives and weekends and they become somewhat obsessed with football, eventually moving up the age groups until, at 15, they find out whether they are to be offered a scholarship. They get the nod and they move into digs, attending training daily but also being given a college education and taking exams, all the while still focussed and hungry, possibly having some one-to-one technical coaching on top of their regular routine. All whilst dealing with the challenges of being a teenager. It’s a lot. And then, at 17, they find out if they are to be given a professional contract.
Of course, the work isn’t over then. In fact, it’s likely just beginning. If you’re really good you’re moved up to the Development Squad — now playing against boys and men who are physically more advanced, tactically perhaps two or three years ahead of you in their learning, some of whom will have league experience and the know-how that playing against wily, old pros affords you. Perhaps, if you’re really lucky, you get to join in first team training every now and again and the standard blows your mind. It’s so fast and frenetic and everyone is in peak condition. You’re at Tottenham so you’re training with players who are mostly full internationals, they’re likely in the top 1% of players in the world in their position. You hold your own, you’re still showing your potential, you’re seen as a future star. But in order to get a chance in your position — let’s say forward — you are told that there’s no magic door and instead you have to essentially be as good in training than literal-best-finisher-in-the-world Son Heung-min and Brazilian international Richarlison to get some form of opportunity.
Obviously, obviously that’s not going to happen. And I’ve dragged this out and I’ve made a lot of assumptions about Ange’s quote to lay it on really thick. But this argument taken to its extreme is why I believe there has to be a magic door for young players. Of course all the players are not ‘in the same boat’, as Ange put it. Some have thousands of minutes of experience to show you that they can be ‘trusted’ and others do not.
Without a magic door, young players either have to be outperforming their rivals — likely impossible — or they have to wait for an injury crisis so crippling that all of their competition, as well as all existing first team players that could feasibly play their position (I refer you again to Ange – Small C Conservative?) to be injured or unavailable. This is yesterday’s logic. It is an approach which will hinder young players, not be illustrative of a genuine pathway, and will lead to the decline, over time, of our Academy, as the best talent will see that there is little chance of them making it at Spurs. We’ve just been through one of those periods before Fabio Paratici (rightly) threw money at the situation to resolve it, raising the wages we offer for players’ first professional contracts to make us more competitive and more of a tempting proposal.
My view is that the best young players from our Academy — provided they show the requisite technical ability, mental and physical resilience, and work ethic — need to be given opportunities regardless of injury, regardless of whether they are better than the next best alternative. When we look at the outstanding young players we have signed — the likes of Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Pape Matar Sarr and now Lucas Bergvall — we see players who obviously had talent, but most importantly had opportunity. Destiny Udogie did not just plop out of the Udinese academy fully-formed. Had he been at Spurs, I’d guess that Udogie would have been in the Under-21s by 17, probably would have stayed there for 18-months to two years before being loaned to Doncaster Rovers at 19, then Bristol City at 20 and then maybe he’d be getting his first start the following season. Instead, he joined us, aged 20, with around five and a half thousand Serie A minutes under his belt.
The argument will go that the stakes are lower at Udinese. The budget is lower too. So there’s less competition, and more space for Academy players. Or maybe it’s that our young players are just not as good as those at other clubs.
Let’s look at Liverpool this week. The front six who played in their Under-21 match against Stoke City on 11 February all played for the Liverpool first team this week. That Under-21 side is 8 points behind us in the PL2. Bobby Clark has been playing some England U19 football with Jamie Donley, Alfie Dorrington, Ashley Phillips, Will Lankshear and Luca Gunter. Clark didn’t get into last two England U19 squads, Donley started both matches. Louie Koumas only got his first Wales call-up at Under-19 level. Jayden Danns has been in and out for England – never called up to Under-17s. Same for Kaide Gordon. James McConnell has never played for England at any level. Nyoni is the exception — he’s a gem and has played a lot for England Under-16s. All of this is to say that Liverpool’s youth players are objectively not better than ours. The only difference is opportunity.
What Liverpool seem to be good at is giving young players opportunity, regardless of whether they see them as long-term prospects. Of these six players, only one or two will become long-term Liverpool squad members at a guess. But there are many reasons why it’s beneficial to use Academy players (as I discussed here and here).
Daniel Levy has made it clear that Ange saw the importance of the Academy (sources: Daily Mirror, Evening Standard). He has made it clear that it is an important piece of the club strategy. I think it’s important to be clear about what this might mean: 1. it’s important that we have a coach that integrates Academy players because we are producing top-level players who can improve our playing squad and/or 2. it’s important that we have a coach that integrates Academy players because we are producing future football league players who can become an incredibly useful revenue stream. I choose to believe both of these statements but, even if you only believe in the second, it’s undeniable that exposure to men’s football increases the value of academy players ahead of onward sales.
Anyway, I’ve extrapolated an awful lot from a throw-away comment in a press conference, and I almost feel guilty about it because I love Ange so much. I wish he had said ‘All I can ask of our talented young players is that they keep working hard to improve and understand our system and, when the right time comes, I will give them opportunities to show what they can do on the pitch.’ I hope Simon Davies can work some magic on Ange over the next 12 to 18 months.
