An analysis of what is going on at Spurs right now

We all know that Spurs have been going through a rough patch, ever since February, with out of character inconsistent results and a terrible away form in the league, the stat of which is too draw droppingly embarrassing to even mention. It feels like a punter is taking a gamble on some bookies to see how bad Spurs can keep performing away from home in the league. Something just doesn’t feel right about the application of the players on the pitch, it could be down to many reasons of which we will explore a few below.

Money

When a football player is already earning around £75K a week but sees some of his national-side teammates earning double and in some cases triple that amount, they can’t help but feel envious. They are human and ambitious after all which makes it harder for them to detach themselves from their ego. Club chairman, Daniel Levy, and the board refuse to pay excessive salaries to players as a point of policy, those of which some of the other Top 6 Premier League teams seem to pay without even the slightest of winces, it seems that this is the main clashing point. With the three former Ajax players in Eriksen, Alderweireld and Vertonghen choosing to run down their contracts by stagnating over the extension of their careers at Spurs we see a pattern of players that want to earn more money while they can and perhaps also look for ‘new challenges’ as Eriksen put it when speaking to a Danish newspaper over the Summer. One can’t help but go back to the fact that for those ambitious players an average salary of £75K or even £100K a week (!) is not enough, that is a sad reflection of the world we live in today and makes one question the beauty of the game we all choose to love so much.

Age

In recent games it was reported that the average age of the Spurs line-up is 27, this as we know was not the case 5 years ago when Poch took over at Spurs. He was famous for nurturing the youth players and giving opportunities to Dele, Winks, and more recently Foyth. His philosophy of pressing opposing teams higher up the pitch hasn’t changed, but the application of the players who are beginning to age a bit is evident for all of us to see. The easy goals that goalkeeper Lloris is letting in on a regular basis are shocking and the back line is struggling to keep up with the pace of the players they face every week and as we saw against Bayern and Brighton, conceding 10 goals in 2 games is just not good enough. Therefore, come the January transfer window, one would assume that this area is going to be the one important area Poch will want to fix. Especially, when taking into consideration the very likely scenario that both Toby and Jan might be sold so we can cash in on them before they say vaarwel. 

Players that can make a difference

All of this leads us to ponder just who can help Spurs save their season, by at least continuing to qualify to the UEFA Champions League and perhaps aim to finish in the Top 3 come the end of the season. If we could go for one player that isn’t being linked with Spurs as much as he should be, it would be Israeli international striker, Eran Zehavi, who plays for Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F where he is the league’s current top scorer with 26 league goals as well as also being the top scorer at the UEFA European Qualifiers with 9 goals to his name. Judging by his pace and accuracy, he will complement Harry Kane immensely and give Spurs another dimension when it comes to a proven goal scorer.

Let’s not forget that the two players that are already at Spurs and are yet to show their qualities due to ongoing injury setbacks, are creative midfielder and season-long loanee signing, Giovani Lo Celso, and left-back, Ryan Sessegnon, who was signed from Fulham this Summer. Having a fully fit squad will help Poch solve some of the team’s recurring problems, but pivotally, having a fully committed squad will help to transform the atmosphere of the team which will no doubt lead us back on track to winning ways.