Early movers?

We all wondered whether Spurs had learnt their lessons and would get their transfer dealings done early this summer.  This morning we became the 19th Premier League club to have announced at least one signing so far (Swansea have signed eight players!).

The Paulinho deal has finally been confirmed – the box-to-box Brazilian presents a real coup for Spurs,  especially after his strong performances in the Club World Cup and Confederations Cup.

Does this represent us getting our business done early? Possibly not, but at least we’ve completed some business before the players return for pre-season training.

AVB/Baldini vs Redknapp

Potentially the crucial difference this time round is that Andre Villas-Boas has Franco Baldini in place as Technical Director. With his a reputation for being both a likeable character and strong negotiator, it should bode well.

Whilst former manager, Harry Redknapp, tended to go for ‘tried and tested’ players, often older than Chairman Daniel Levy will have been comfortable with, Spurs’ new transfer committee – which seems to consist of  Levy himself, Franco Baldini (Technical Director), Andre Villas-Boas (Head Coach), and Tim Sherwood (Technical Co-ordinator) amongst others – will seemingly look further afield in order to improve the squad.

For example, if rumours are to be believed, a big-money deal is close for two 17-year old Croatians from Dinamo Zagreb – Tin Jedvaj (defender) and  Alen Halilović (attacking midfielder). Whilst Halilović has been capped by Croatia (and is the national team’s youngest ever debutant), Jedvaj is not so well-known, and would represent what many Spurs fans might raise an eyebrow at – use of a scouting network.

In fairness to our former manager, there were more left-field signings  – Sandro, for example. These were said to be arranged by his Chief Scout, Ian Broomfield, who he put a lot of trust in.

Baldini has a reputation as someone who will unearth young talent, but who will blend that with experienced signings for the here and now. For example, he took Gonzalo Higuain and Marcelo to Real Madrid as 18-year olds, but also signed experienced players with winning mentalities – the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy (30) and Fabio Cannavaro (32). The David Villa story, then, might not be total fantasy.

Positions to strengthen 

Most Spurs fans will have an opinion on which positions need strengthening, but there is a concensus, no doubt, that we need to bolster our front line. Emmanuel Adebayor – brilliant two seasons ago – was totally unreliable during last season’s campaign, whilst Jermain Defoe is also below the required level if we want to improve; he has only once managed more than 13 goals in a Premier League season (in nine attempts). Roberto Soldado and Leandro Damiao (again) have been mooted, and either would likely represent an upgrade if they could settle quickly (which is always the danger of change).

If AVB wants to move to his favoured 4-3-3 formation, we will also quire another wing-forward to complement Gareth Bale. In my opinion, Aaron Lennon’s output is not prolific or consistent enough to justify a starting berth if we want to push on. His work-rate and attitude are second to few in our squad but, if we look at the player he is rather than the player we want him to be, he’s not quite there (although will be a fantastic rotation option). Whilst David Villa is not the player he once was, his signing would be a true statement of intent – his profile alone would turn heads, but he also has the winning mentality and know-how that our squad lacks, as well as being able to cover anywhere across the front three positions

Full-back cover is another area that needs to be looked at; Danny Rose is seemingly unhappy with the prospect of being cover (who knows, maybe he’ll start), and on the other flank, we certainly need to upgrade on Kyle Naughton. Could this be the season that attack-minded England U21 international, Adam Smith, steps up and grabs the opportunity to be Kyle Walker’s deputy? For me, we could probably carry one inexperienced full-back so long as we had solid back-ups in all other areas of the defence.

I still think we lack someone in midfield who can pick a pass – especially with Huddlestone seemingly on the way out. It might be that AVB is planning to rely on Dembele/Holtby/Sigurdsson/Carroll as the creative element of his midfield but, for me, Keisuke Honda – out of contract at the end of 2013 with CSKA Moscow – would represent good value at a knock-down fee.

On the way out 

Willaim Gallas, David Bentley, plus a few of the younger professionals who hadn’t broken through (Barthram, Bostock, Nicholson, Munns) were released at the completion of their contracts, but we’ve got a bit of deadwood still to shift.

I would expect the likes of Naughton (24), Livermore (23), Khumalo (26), Obika (23), and Dawkins (25) to leave permanently, but there are others at risk too, depending on who comes in.

Harry Redknapp’s QPR are chasing Scott Parker, and one last “big” move might appeal to Parker, who is 33 in October. Tom Huddlestone has suitors in Fulham and Sunderland, although I think it’ll take more than the £5m mentioned to twist Levy’s arm. We’d surely listen to respectable offers for both Adebayor (29) and Defoe (31 this year), who both disappointed last season and, if a bid were to come in for Dempsey, AVB might be tempted to sell.

Transition

We have a real opportunity to progress, especially looking at the managerial changes at Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City, and with Liverpool seemingly losing their prized asset, Luis Suarez. Arsenal are clearly not the side they once were, although are still dangerous, particularly if Higuain does sign.

My gut instinct says that Chelsea will be a very strong side next year – the impressive Hazard and Oscar now have full Premier League seasons under their belt and will no doubt be even stronger this year. They still have centre back troubles, though, and Mourinho will need to focus on their defence if he is to win the league.

After that, second is up for grabs – City are a brilliant side on paper, but have a squad littered with “characters” and egos. United under Moyes will be fascinating – their central midfield still looks weak to me, and I wonder whether they can rely on van Persie to drag them over the line for a second year running. Arsenal are the most stable team, but lack a goalscorer and much will depend on whether they can snag Higuain.

Spurs are well-placed to push on and finish in the top four – especially if, as expected – Bale stays at the club for another year. Paulinho plus a top-class forward would, in my opinion, push us to the next level, and it’ll be down to AVB’s coaching ability (we must improve at defending set pieces, for example) and the squad’s mental strength as to whether we can progress.

COYS

Loan news

Earlier this week Spurs announced that Massimo Luongo and Grant Hall were to join League One side Swindon Town on loan for the season.

Rumours suggest that they may shortly be joined by both Alex Pritchard and Nathan Byrne. Byrne had been announced as a permanent signing by Swindon Town’s chairman, Jed McCrory, at a supporters group meeting back in April – apparently prematurely as, by all accounts, Byrne remains contracted to Spurs for the time being.

Young full-back Jack Barthram, released by Spurs after his contract expired, has joined Swindon permanently as the links between the two clubs grow.

Unofficial link

After Dean Parrett, Nathan Byrne and Massimo Luongo spent time on loan at the County Ground last season, there has been growing speculation of an unofficial partnership being formed.

There are clearly links there, and indeed there were rumours that the Swindon manager, Kevin Macdonald, would join Spurs’ Academy set-up after he had left Aston Villa. The move never materialised though, and he joined Swindon, but there remains an apparent respect for the work he is doing in nurturing young talent.

Spurs have previously sent multiple players to one club – Yeovil, for example, where we sent Townsend and Obika, and later Mason and Caulker. This is, it appears, a deliberate ploy; it could be to help the young players settle more quickly, to make monitoring progress more easy, because there are few coaching set-ups that we trust, or a combination of the three.

Recall clauses

Luongo and Pritchard both played Championship football last season and I would imagine that both are capable of doing so again. In theory, though, Luongo being tied down to a season-long loan means that he can’t be recalled and sent to a Championship club in January should he naturally progress, due to FA rules.

This has lead to talk of a sneaky work-around. Could Spurs have actually sold the players – i.e. transferred their registration – with a buy-back clause of £1? I guess we will find out in January.

I looked around me and saw elderly gentlemen and school children alike taking their shoes off and waving them in the air whilst singing “shoes off if you love Tottenham”.

This was the first experience of an away match for some. No doubt it was the first experience of a football match full stop for some of the children present – and what a memorable experience it was.

On April 22nd 2013, Tottenham Hotspur’s under-21 team played North London neighbours, Arsenal, at their home ground of Underhill. Whilst the Barclays U21 Premier League has attracted a fair amount of attention throughout the season, crowds for these type of “reserve” matches – even when local rivals meet – have historically been notoriously small. However, the 1882 movement ensured that this was not the case, and the majority of the 2,394 supporters were in the away end.

The Fighting Cock podcast started the 1882 movement with a flash-mob style event on 16 February 2012 as Tottenham’s youth side took on Charlton at the Valley in the 5th round of the FA Youth Cup. The aim? Unconditional support: to collectively sing for the entire game, harking back to days before the Premier League “when how loud you sang and how passionate you became wasn’t dependent on how well Tottenham were playing” (words from The Fighting Cock website).

The Charlton event was a roaring success, as a 200-strong group of fans sang loudly and proudly throughout and, whilst the team did not win, the young players appreciated the efforts and came over to applaud the group after the game.

Since then, 1882 has been present at the home games against Maribor and Panathanaikos in the Europa League, Coventry in the FA Cup, and Barcelona in the NextGen Series.

Underhill was something special, though, and proved that the movement can be effective with greater numbers; 1500+ Spurs fans singing, bantering, and hopping their way through the 90 minutes.

Such were the high jinx, that many were filming, and taking photos – some of which were used in the press the following day. I took the above photo on my iPhone, and I think it captures the atmosphere brilliantly.

The joy of being part of a large group of Tottenham Hotspur fans pulling in the same direction, all wanting the same thing is, in many ways, an antidote to the sense of entitlement felt at White Hart Lane across the past few seasons. 1882 allows you to forget the stresses and strains of daily life for 90 minutes, and enjoy being a football supporter for what it is – a tribal experience of togetherness and, most importantly, fun.

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This article was part-inspired by the blind marathon runner, Simon Wheatcroft who – remarkably – uses his smart phone to help him run. The video below is most certainly worth a few moments of your time.

Carphone Warehouse, who commissioned this article, are offering some great prizes for people willing to submit a photo or video of an amazing personal achievement. This could be anything from overcoming a fear, a sporting achievement, something musical, or something totally different. So long as it’s your achievement, they want to hear about it: http://bit.ly/11iDTTx.

Look out for a give-away on my Twitter timeline later on.

Ryan Mason caught the eye of many a watcher as an apprentice – prolific as he was in an impressive youth career. Playing mostly as a number 10 (second striker), he formed a lethal partnership with Jon Obika at U18 level for Spurs, and scored 29 goals in 31 appearances in the 2008/9 season. This led to him signing a pro cotract in June 2008.

The hype was there: Darren Bent was asked in a mainstream press interview who the best prospect he’d seen at Spurs was – he answered ‘Mason’. Sally Williams, a Telegraph journalist, wrote in her 2009 article that Spurs were keen for her to meet Mason, with John McDermott speaking highly about his ‘mono vision’, and saying ‘He’s incredibly dedicated, verging on obsessed.’ And, of course, he made his professional debut as an 18 year old in the UEFA Cup – coming off the bench against NEC Nijmegen. Involvement in the England U19 and U20 set-ups showed that he wasn’t just rated within the club.

A move to League One Yeovil seemed the ideal way to toughen him up, and it was interesting that he often played in the central midfield battleground. His impressive first season on loan led to involvement in Spurs’ pre-season the following summer, and I for one was hopeful of him being around the first team squad. Instead, he was sent back out on loan. His progression continued, however, as he moved to Championship club Doncaster Rovers, where he made five starts and ten substitute appearances in an injury-hit spell. Doncaster took him back for the following season, but injury struck again and restricted him to just five appearances. He regained fitness and joined Millwall for the end of the season, making four starts and two substitute appearances.

When André Villas-Boas took over at Spurs, much was made on a new focus on youth; I felt hopeful that Mason would be one of those close to the squad. I thought I had my wish in September, when Mason first came off the bench against Lazio in the Europa League, and then played nearly 70 minutes against Carlisle in the League Cup. Thereafter, however, we only saw glimpses – an unused sub in one game, and an 85th minute cameo against NK Maribor.

However, slightly under the radar, Ryan had established himself as one of the integral players for Spurs’ Under-21s, playing consistently well in a central midfield berth in the Under-21 Premier League.Then came the transfer window. Lorient. Ligue Une. Well-connected journalists emphasised that the club wanted Mason to go to a “technical” league (rather than, say, the Championship) which should have, in theory, suited his style perfectly.

Mason essentially confirmed as much, giving some insight into the move in an interview with the Standard’s Tom Collomosse in February: “Ligue 1 seems similar to the Premier League in its pace and physical style, and you have a whole week to prepare for games. I doubt I’ll be able to go home before the end of the season so I’m out of my comfort zone but, hopefully, I will be able to progress.”

He went on, “I don’t think I’ve made as many appearances for Spurs as I should, or maybe I’ve deserved,” he admitted. “By the age of 21, I definitely expected to have made more than four. The club thought it would be more beneficial for me to move abroad because we thought it might suit my style of play better. When the offer from Lorient came in, I said I wanted the move to happen. Within an hour of landing, I was training.”

He finally went on to say, “Andre Villas-Boas wished me luck and told me to get good experience. It’s hard to break into the Spurs team because there are so many talented young players around. But next year is the year I want to break through.”

Months later, and after being named on the bench just once and playing four minutes for Lorient II, Mason’s frustration were clear from his Twitter timeline alone. A rumour did the rounds that it was in fact Lorient’s chairman that had arranged the transfer – potentially without the manager’s agreement. The use (or lack of use) of Ryan implied that the rumour may have had some substance to it. In April, he returned to White Hart Lane.

A talented and committed player with excellent technical attributes, Ryan is someone who should have seen a lot more playing time than he has at the ripe old age of 22. I look at someone like James McCarthy at Wigan and wonder whether Ryan would be playing at a similar level had he had the same opportunities.

Sometimes just being in the right place at the right time is crucial; perhaps next year will be the year that Ryan Mason finally makes the breakthrough, be it for Spurs or otherwise.