What ruins people at Hotspur Way?

[Aussie Ardiles]

A lot has been made about our failings. Seems to be on a fortnightly basis that I am pulling my hair out about what a rabble we have become. And it brings me to this question, why do players get ruined when they join us?

Those in bold below are the ones I think are under performing:
Lloris, Walker, Rose, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Lennon, Paulinho, Soldado, Adebayor, Lamela, Vorm, Dier, Naughton, Townsend, Kane, Dembele, Fazio, Chadli, Eriksen, Friedel, Stambouli, Capoue, Davies, Mason, Bentaleb

Exactly 1/2 of the 26 under performing. You'll notice perenial whipping boys Rose, Lennon & Naughton aren't considered under performing but that's due to the low expectations I have for them. Lennon is now 27 and lost a yard of pace and is no longer a starter. The other 2 never had high expectations and are also decent squad players to have.

What has happened to them?
Kaboul: injuries. All he had going for him in his prime was his pace and that has left him he is now an averaged pace, weak, dumb defender
Chiriches: joined us with about 20 national caps to his name and was also captain of his country. Linked to AC and Chelsea when we signed him but looks more likely to end up at Foggia or Fulham! MOTM performance in our win at Old Trafford on New Years day but injured to close out the season and now looks a shell of that guy.
Paulinho: 30 caps for Brazil. Confeds cup star. Were we ripped off by the fact that he was one of the stars of the worst Brazil side in a very long time? Is he too mentally and physically fatigued after back-to-back seasons and international tournaments. The next Frank Lampard is looking more like the next Jermaine Jenas.
Soldado: 20 goal a season striker in Spain 4 years running. Only behind Messi & Ronaldo in that time. No supply early days from the likes of Townsend and co who had a shoot on sight policy and became devoid of confidence. Looking more like a Chelsea Torres than the fox in the box from Valencia.
Adebayor: one of lifes great mysteries is why he is so hot & cold.
Lamela: 22 year old with his first proper season in England. Give him time. Has 1 thing a lot of our players don't have, an imagination to create something.
Townsend: if he wasn't English he'd cop even more flak. Glaring that his only league goal for us was a mishit cross. Dumbest footballer I've seen at Spurs. But still only 23, next 18 months massive for him to turn it around.
Dembele: was massive in AVB's first season playing in that midfield need Sandro. Still as tough to get off the ball but no longer has someone of Bale's quality he could give the easy pass to. Seems to play a too defensive role for his ability.
Fazio: Europa League winner and Sevilla captain. Not a complete write off yet but faces an uphill battle to make it in England. Looks as slow as Gallas did in his final season at Perth Glory in Australia let alone with us!
Eriksen: second season blues for our shining light from 2013/14. His lack of fight or willingness to take a tackle becoming more apparent and frustrating for fans and Poch alike.
Stambouli: probably the most unlucky to be on this list. Can't establish himself in a side that is 13th and crying out for a tough in your face midfielder.
Capoue: started the season on fire and looked like the player who deserved 7 international caps for France. Now looks like a slow Tom Huddlestone without the passing ability.
Davies: £10m on a backup LB who can't get in front of one that is no more than average. Still early days for the 21 year old but he looks like he has gone backwards from his Swansea days.

All 13 at one point or another have looked good but seem like they are cooked right now. Are all 13 bad footballers? Not at all. But something at Hotspur Way is making footballers regress. Case in point Gylfi Siggurddson. No doubt would have made a list like this if still with us, goes somewhere else and is scoring and assisting for fun! It's been happening for years. Huddlestone, Dos Santos, Livermore & Price-Boateng all look a lot better once they get out of the lilywhite shirt.

 

[ChuckleShuffle]

Those in bold below are the ones I think are under performing: Lloris, Walker, Rose, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Lennon, Paulinho, Soldado, Adebayor, Lamela, Vorm, Dier, Naughton, Townsend, Kane, Dembele, Fazio, Chadli, Eriksen, Friedel, Stambouli, Capoue, Davies, Mason, Bentaleb

I think you may be being a bit too critical in some cases (Only my opinion.)
Davies and Stambouli really haven't been given enough time.
Erisken is hasn't been really bad, he has done a lot more than a lot of people think and is being wrongly scapegoated. Also he has to have willing strikers in front of him to supply.
Townsend hasn't been given enough game time this year and has returned from injury.
Capoue has been good but he has had 1/2 mediocre games and now is becoming a hate figure.

I will though agree that Kaboul, Chiriches, Paulinho, Soldado, Ade, Dembele and Fazio have to improve and have been lackluster

 

[Aussie Ardiles]

I think you may be being a bit too critical in some cases (Only my opinion.)
Davies and Stambouli really haven't been given enough time.
Erisken is hasn't been really bad, he has done a lot more than a lot of people think and is being wrongly scapegoated. Also he has to have willing strikers in front of him to supply.
Townsend hasn't been given enough game time this year and has returned from injury.
Capoue has been good but he has had 1/2 mediocre games and now is becoming a hate figure.

I will though agree that Kaboul, Chiriches, Paulinho, Soldado, Ade, Dembele and Fazio have to improve and have been lackluster

Eriksen, Davies & Townsend are still young enough to become great footballers. But the precedent is there at our club that they will go backwards like so many others. Stambouli looks like a strange buy, 24 and no more than a backup at this stage. Capoue has been below average since the Woolwich game IMO. When we signed him he was meant to be an all action DM but he is anything but that. You've just got to look at some of his Toulouse highlights to know that we have not seen anything close to his best, even when on form in the early parts of this season.

 

[mouse]

DISCLAIMER: This is simply a list of possibilities as to why our players are underperforming. I lay no blame and there is no agenda being fuelled here.

• Players consistently shoehorned into the wrong positions.
• No stability In training methods / personnel / management
• No stability in formation or line-up
• Complete absence of any confidence means a reluctance to play with any skill or flair.
• Might have been a bit shit in the first place.

 

[Aussie Ardiles]

DISCLAIMER: This is simply a list of possibilities as to why our players are underperforming. I lay no blame and there is no agenda being fuelled here.

• Players consistently shoehorned into the wrong positions.
• No stability In training methods / personnel / management
• No stability in formation or line-up
• Complete absence of any confidence means a reluctance to play with any skill or flair.
• Might have been a bit shit in the first place.

3 in bold are facts. I'd say AVB conisistently played 4-2-3-1 and I dont think Poch has tried anything other than that this seaon (even when Soldado started with Ade he looked like playing as an AM). Stambouli and Fazio aside I think every time we've made a signing he has been linked with so and so or have stood out for club or country before joining, surely they aren't complete shit that we sign just become shitter once signing

 

[Juicy Sushi]

You need to look at when they arrived and why. There are fingerprints of 5 different managers, 2 DoFs, Tim Sherwood and Daniel Levy on this squad.

The players weren't bought with a unified vision of roles and requirements. And when a different vision arrives, they don't fit and we see the results. Some were mistakes, some victims of circumstance, much like the club as a whole.

 

[Tomo]

All good point and all the more reason to have a long term manager and have the transfers driven by the manager not comrade Levy. If Dembele and Capoue are not capable of playing a pressing game it makes no difference what other qualities they have, half the player look ill suited to Poch's game style IMO hence why Mason is in the line up ahead of Paulinho and the like.

Only way forward is to say to Poch we have a big sqaud and you now have the power to sell to raise funds to buy the players you needs. Otherwise he is doing a job with someone else's tools, tools that may not work with his methods.

It is insane to think about how much guys like Lamela, Capoue, Soldado were ripping it up in other leagues then are dogshit with us.

 

[1882]

one, no two words;
COMPLACENCY and EXPECTATION

One is the fault of the players, the other, the fault of the fans.

The two are like oil and water, they really don't mix well!

 

[Greaves357_bestever]

Fair points AA, but I can't agree about Stambouli, until he's given a proper chance I don't know whether he is an under or over performer.

With the foreign imports there is always a good chance they won't do so well in the Prem, which is why getting in 7 in one window was ridiculous.

We had two home grown spaces in our squad this summer, the likes of Long, Lescott and Welbeck were available. All proven Prem players, none of them were signed by us.

 

[Dan D]

Tottenham a good team In making results in away matches,despite our playing don’t shine , scary freaking defeats home even against weak teams…Stoke? Come on…when i expect a defeat,Spurs win the match ,when i expect a victory ,they lose.

Tottenham looking now like that box of chocolates , when Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) said that:
"Life (Spurs) is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

 

[DeviousBBear]

Sigurdsson left and became immediately better than the whole time he's been here and also better than most of our squad in 11 games. Pathetic really. There's something rotting in our club.

The constant change, zero tactics, non-backing of manager, no style of play causes upheaval because we keep getting players that are not scouted for their ability to fit into a style of play or current squad but whoever is cheap and could potentially make money. Daniel Levy is the common denominator. He should get the fuck out.

 

[Lewy1978]

Some good points from OP. I wonder if players get in a Spurs shirt and start to feel that they're a bit special now, playing for a glamorous club with attractive flashy football, the players think they're better than what they are and their attitudes become distorted. When they're sold because they're shite (again) they end up at a less glamorous club (eg Hull City, Swansea) and their egos are bought back down to Earth and they start playing football again because those clubs are always scrapping and having to work hard for their wins. Maybe Spurs need this 'crisis' to bring the players back down to earth and get them fighting for their wins....?

 

[JDK]

Lack of depth amongst the tea ladies, commitment of the foreign imports in the kitchen is questionable, janitor is a mercenary, grounds crew are championship level, parking lot lacks end product and lasagna.

 

[Jayc1]

Think there's lots of issues, many of which people have touched on.

1. No one has any idea what our tactics are - Adebayor interview,"We just have to find a way so that we can try to understand what he wants to tell us and how he wants us to play". This says it all and is worrying. He's had 5 months and they still have no idea what he wants. (Down to manager and players)

2. No formation - This isn't only an issue on the pitch but also in transfers. We bought Gylfi, an AM, and then realised there wasn't space for him so shoved him out wide. We have so many AM it's ridiculous. Pick a formation, stick to it and get players in who suit it. (Down to manager and DoF)

3. Always buying alternatives - Every time our first target is slightly pricey Levy gets cold feet and decides to buy a cheaper bloke who is no where near as good. You simply cannot run a football club like this. The best clubs in the world pick a player and bring them in. We pick a player, have 3 months of negotiations, their head gets turned (Willian) or Levy decides it's too much money. (Down to Levy and DoF)

4. Stature of the club - The prospect of Tottenham is nice for many players. Get a big wage, live in London and not have the huge pressure of a top club on you. It's almost like a holiday. Not small enough to be unfashionable but big enough to pay them a nice wage. This just attracts players with no ambition. These people don't put the work in and don't want to improve. (Down to layers, manager, Levy)

5. Not easy to settle - I think many players join the club and don't settle in quickly. The players, coaches, managers, tactics are all changing every few months/weeks. There isn't anyone to put their arm around a player and welcome them (Like Sandro, Holtby, Daws). Many of them STILL don't speak English and don't communicate with each other (Headphone squad). Would you feel comfortable in that dressing room? (Players, manager, general structure of the club)

6. Clash of personalities and mentality - This is closely linked to the two above. Kane is thinking he wants to become a legend, Adebayor is thinking he wants a new beanie, Capoue is day dreaming and Jan is fapping over Barca. There is no unifying goal or objective. Just doesn't seem like there is a "team" spirit. Once the going gets tough they just give up and don't play for each other. Look at how many red cards/pens we have; the players don't even trust each other.

7. No leaders - Doesn't really need explaining. Kaboul is a shit player who couldn't motive his own pecker, never mind 25 other players. Mason (a kid) and Stambouli (barely any games) are the most vocal. Take our C (Kaboul) and VC (Lloris and Adebayor). None of them scare the shit out of you. Lloris is too quietly spoken and polite to give someone a bollocking. Hearing "Don't fuck up, please" in a French accent isn't going to have any impact.

Every aspect of our club is fucked, but can be solved relatively quickly. Changing a manager won't improve many of these issues either, but he is responsible and needs to start solving them quickly. He needs to stop obsessing over double training sessions and allow the players to bond and put some of them in their place.

 

[VirginiaSpur]

Those in bold below are the ones I think are under performing:
Lloris, Walker, Rose, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Lennon, Paulinho, Soldado, Adebayor, Lamela, Vorm, Dier, Naughton, Townsend, Kane, Dembele, Fazio, Chadli, Eriksen, Friedel, Stambouli, Capoue, Davies, Mason, Bentaleb

I also think that Vertonghen is underperforming.

Clearly there was a quality footballer there for us, but I think he's now completely fucked in the head, and the funny thing is that unlike everyone else, I don't blame him that much.

 

[Aussie Ardiles]

I also think that Vertonghen is underperforming.

Clearly there was a quality footballer there for us, but I think he's now completely fucked in the head, and the funny thing is that unlike everyone else, I don't blame him that much.

Vertonghen is no more world-class than Hugo who has gone up a level since our 5th placed finish when he joined despite the rabble that has been around him. He hasn't come across that well in the past 18 months which is a shame because he is a talent he just looks disinterested

 

[Yorkshire_Spurs]

The players pretty shit really.

 

[Juicy Sushi]

Fair points AA, but I can't agree about Stambouli, until he's given a proper chance I don't know whether he is an under or over performer.

With the foreign imports there is always a good chance they won't do so well in the Prem, which is why getting in 7 in one window was ridiculous.

We had two home grown spaces in our squad this summer, the likes of Long, Lescott and Welbeck were available. All proven Prem players, none of them were signed by us.

There may have been the reason they weren't felt to be very good...

Not saying all HG players are, but the three you mention all had baggage. Better to ttust in the Academy.

 

[Eskimo]

Eriksen has been shite all season bar the odd moment, he was a lot more effective out on the left at the end of last season when people we protesting he shouldnt play there.

 

[Juicy Sushi]

Sigurdsson left and became immediately better than the whole time he's been here and also better than most of our squad in 11 games. Pathetic really. There's something rotting in our club.

The constant change, zero tactics, non-backing of manager, no style of play causes upheaval because we keep getting players that are not scouted for their ability to fit into a style of play or current squad but whoever is cheap and could potentially make money. Daniel Levy is the common denominator. He should get the fuck out.

Thank you for using every unsubstantiated, no-quotes story in the English press as your evidence, then coming to the least realistic solution possible. He's the part-owner, not an employee.

Listen to what the players and Pochettino say and do, not the pundits.