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Grading Tottenham’s Deadline Day Dealings

4 min read
by The Fighting Cock
Young-Pyo Lee, Vedran Corluka, Kevin Prince Boateng, Niko Kranjcar, and Rafael van der Vaart are examples of big name signings on transfer deadline day for Spurs in recent years. While on the other hand, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Jermaine Defoe, and most notably Dimitar Berbatov have all left with only hours to go in the window, and […]

Young-Pyo Lee, Vedran Corluka, Kevin Prince Boateng, Niko Kranjcar, and Rafael van der Vaart are examples of big name signings on transfer deadline day for Spurs in recent years. While on the other hand, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Jermaine Defoe, and most notably Dimitar Berbatov have all left with only hours to go in the window, and in the latter case, about two hours after it ‘slammed shut’.

Of course this has it’s pros and cons, and with the Berbatov deal, not only did Spurs received a hefty £30.75m, they were also loaned the utterly useless Frazier Campbell, but just how good were the deadline deals?

Rafael van der Vaart

My mother always told me to start with as you mean to go, and my oh my, this was some piece of business. For a few seasons, Rafa was considered a star that never quite rose to the potential heights he was once predicted to. However still considered one of the more talented players in Europe, we paid a surprising small amount of £8m for him on the final day of the 2012 summer transfer window.

Since his arrival at the Lane, Rafa has had some moments of genius in a solid two season spell. Instrumental throughout our sole Champions League run, van der Vaart loves scoring, especially against that lot from Woolwich.

Rafa Van der Vaart

Since the Dutchman has had niggling injury issues since joining us, it is difficult to grade this A, but he really adds a different dimension to the Spurs team when on the pitch, and is undroppable when fit.

Grade: B+

Scott Parker

This deal was expected to go through earlier in the 2011 summer transfer window, but was finally sealed on Sky Sports News Day. Parker was arguably our best player last season, and despite having played for two of our rivals and an initial doubt over his loyalty, he quickly turned the fan base around and proved why his acquisition was so astute. He added a great security in front of our fragile back line, and brought a much needed tenacity to the side that was lacking a bit of bite.

Last season’s 4th place finish will often be looked upon as a disappointment (unbelievable really!), but would have been likely unattainable if Parker wasn’t in the team. Despite his consistent yellow cards, Scott Parker is cracking defensive midfielder, and symptomatic of when Daniel Levy gets it right on the TDD.

Grade: A

Vedran Corluka

Like I say, from the sublime, to the ridiculous. Vedran Croluka was not a good player at Spurs. He added depth, but sadly a physical mass of human makes not a football player, and his lack of pace and verifiable technique never really aligned with the rest of the team, nor the desired footballing style of the fans. Of course, like every player, he had his supporters, and whilst I don’t understand those who backed him, I can appreciate their position being the type who still backs dos Santos to the hilt.

Vedran Corluka

[linequote]He added depth, but sadly a physical mass of human makes not a football player[/linequote]

The mercurial Croatian defender will not be missed in the team, and never really looked like a solid enough player to start week in week out at Spurs, even when he started week in, week out at Spurs.

Grade: D-

Dimitar Berbatov

When Berba left Spurs in the summer of 2008, it wasn’t exactly an unforeseen disaster. The Bulgarian had plainly stated his desire to leave the club, and when the deal was confirmed, it was not a surprise. Sadly, the timing of the confirmation was, it being at around 01:00 on the 2nd September, roughly an hour after the window closed. Getting a record fee of £30.75m sweetened the deal, however the apparent sympathy loan of injury-prone striker Frazier Campbell.

Campbell appeared a stunning 10 times in his yearlong loan at Spurs, and that ‘vital’ goal he scored against Fulham in a 2-1 Premier League loss was his sole effort for us apart from a couple in the same Carling cup run that saw us lose to Manchester United in the final.

Grade: C-

This is not every deadline day deal in our history, but merely a chronicle of some of the biggest. As you can see, it is a mixed bag, and with the prospect of Michael Dawson leaving the Lane tomorrow (despite Younes Kaboul’s injury which sidelines him for four months), we could be in for another topsy-turvy day.

Be sure to catch Jim White spaff everywhere as SSN film him leaving his house, in the car to work, entering the studio, and then live on camera as he announces a stream a League 2 dealings. Of course, if you decide that your marriage/relationship/mere existence has any value, you may avoid it all.

[author name=”RChurchill26″ avatar=”http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1677894076/WP_000052.jpg” twitter=”RChurchill26″ website=”1amsports.com” tag=”rchurchill26[/linequote]

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

2 Comments

  1. Nevill_H
    30/08/2012 @ 9:20 pm

    Nice, alternative, piece mate. Although I think Rafa and Berba have been harshly marked;)
    I hope for more of the same tomorrow, *cough* Moutinho *cough*.

  2. stupot
    30/08/2012 @ 10:46 pm

    Heard rumours about D. Levy using David Bentley as a bait for a shark fishing expedition. Would a Shark eat a gobby Hertfordshire spiv…There’s only one way to find out.

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