The party's about over at White Hart Lane
On an evening that saw £130 million change hands in the space of four hours, Harry Redknapp did not spent a dime of his employers’ money. His team exposed the day before—”running on empty” according to the gaffer—the Spurs manager marked the last day of the most expensive January transfer window ever by doing… nothing.
Not even Charlie Adam is coming through that door, and whatever you think about Spurs buying yet another midfield player, the Tangerine talisman would have been a nice addition. But Daniel Levy and Redknapp left it too damn late. When you’re depending on a few innkeepers to validate your transfer strategy, you’ve already lost the day.
Rafa van der Vaart was a stroke of luck, not genius, and if nothing else, we can assume that’s now crystal clear to everyone in the Lilywhite half of North London.
But the real frustration for the Spurs fan today lies not in Monday’s eleventh hour bungling. No, it runs much deeper. It goes to what this past month’s inaction says about a football club and where its leaders aspire to take it.
It’s about ambition and control and the uneasy balance between the two.
From the moment Bale and the boys blasted themselves into the Champions League knockout round—and with their current place just off the pace in league play—it was clear the squad needed one thing. One player to, by his singular presence, fill out the tip of the spear in an already potent attack and signal to the rest of the league that Spurs were not willing to settle for less than annual visits to Milan or Madrid.
It could have been Hulk. Or Aguero. Luis Suarez was a cheaper option. Fabiano? He’s always for sale. The thought of Andy Carroll on the receiving end of those Bale crosses makes me sweat (but so does that price tag). It could have been Remy or someone I’ve never heard of, but it had to be someone.
In the end, it was no one. There was no deal. Tottenham will have to make do with its very good team.
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No sane fan has ever doubted that ol’ Arry will leave the Lane in unflattering circumstances. It’s just been a matter of when and why. On Monday, we saw the first crack. When a club so clearly in need of reinforcements stands pat, something is amiss. For it to be Redknapp’s club, well, it means something is very much wrong.
Whatever the details, the bottom line has to be this: When Redknapp wanted a player, Levy said “no deal.” When Levy had a deal, Redknapp didn’t want the player. It probably went on like that, back and forth, all month until there they were, sitting in the lodge, dribbling over their laptops and the company phone, awaiting a telegram from Blackpool.
The dog days are… probably coming back
Soon it will be Spring, then Summer and then the next window. It will be open season on Spurs’ talented core. Will Bale and van der Vaart and Modric want to stick around for another run at Europe?
At the very best, two of those names remain. If they’d gone for it this year and just missed out on fourth, you could have probably kept the band together for one more run. But given how this past month unfolded, that’s clearly not the plan. Perhaps Levy will sell one and use that money for a striker. It will be too little, too late.
Am I being overly dramatic? This is not meant as a call to arms. No one (I know or anyone with any sense) wants Levy or Redknapp out. Whatever the more heavy-handed critics say, the two of them have been an historically good match for Tottenham. I think of them as a bit of an Odd Couple. Redknapp can coax the bucks out of Levy, but Levy has the stones to tell ‘Arry when he’s out of his depth, or mind.
But there’s comes a time in sports when an organization has to “go for it.” You gamble. You mortgage a bit of the future for a chance at doing something special today. Spurs have never, in my life, been more ready to take that shot at real glory. They were—they are—one or two pieces short of being legitimate Champions League and Premier League title contenders.
Ambitious, sure. But if not that, then what?
I hear Darren Bent was available.
That’s well said, TLL. I’ve decided to try and focus on what’s ahead, but it’s impossible for me to consider this window and not feel like we’ve missed a huge opportunity.
Can’t agree more. We’re headed for Europa League this year, and that means energy-draining Thursday nighters. King’s done, Woody will be done, BAE will probably retire because he doesn’t care, Defoe will lose 2 more steps.
We’ll need to buy early in the summer window to capture the imaginations of guys like Bale, Modric, and Rafa. Hell, the way Rafa gesticulates at Pavs on the field, maybe just selling that human dribbling cone would do it.
I don’t normally go in for teammates showing each other up on the pitch, but I have to admit that I laugh out loud when Rafa yells at Pavs.
You bid £35M for Rossi. How is that not ‘going for it’?
Your club is not global in the way that United and Barca are and your stadium is half the size of Trafford or the Emirates. So your ability to consistently generate revenue with the other top clubs (Spartak and $iteh have benefactors) is severely limited. That’s the reality. If Levy/Harry make a huge move and it goes bust, it could be a significant hindrance going forward. Unless you sell Bale, you’re going to have problems financing 3-4 club-redefining moves.
Possible dismantling of our rivals within a year or two of them becoming relevant??? HOORAY!
Beat me to it, Jacob.
Also: Darren Bent is no good. He scores too much for a striker.
PR: I had someone arguing with me that Andy Carroll and PCBDH were better strikers than Bent because Bent was shit in a meaningless friendly in November.
‘Arry for England
Oh, I can not wait for Keith to turn on Bent.
@Ryan: If you’ll notice, I haven’t turned on Milner; I didn’t even turn on Carew though many other Villa fans did just before he left.
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Barry, on the other hand. . . fuck that guy.
At least this inactivity should put to bed all the obnoxious comments about how Harry will certainly leave our club bankrupt.
@Ryan: to put it another way, this January reminds me a lot of January 2005 for my other star-crossed team, the Mets. Bent is Pedro- the guy that is known for being a loose cannon, but whose signing signified something different was happening. Makoun is Beltran- the quiet guy that goes about his business without much flash (Makoun’s argyle sweater not withstanding) but will arguably end up more valuable to the team. And I still love me some Pedro, even if he did end up pitching for the fucking Phillies.
@LE: ‘Arry tried his damndest didn’t he though? Like PR said, I don’t think the problem is that he failed to go for it. He bid for at least 4 different strikers.
Europa League is acceptable–dog days are 2 points from 8 games. Even without a striker upgrade in this transfer window, it doesn’t look like Spurs dip that far. I love the Welsh God, but if Levy could have gotten ridiculous offers for him to leave this January, I would have understood selling him on. I’m just wondering how fast Khamalo could start b/c the back line is woefully thin and Spurs might need to concern themselves with signing a quality CB to partner Dawson before signing a new forward.
@Keith – please stop. I still have PTSD from 3 epic collapses in a row
Can we just say no to the Europa league? Like if we qualify just go “ehh no thanks”. I really don’t want to have to play some Romanian team on a thurday night.
@NYK
It makes me happy to know that you are a Mets fan. So at least i know you are at least suffering a bit. (Heath Bell says to suck it)
@Kid: Yeah, me too. But, hey, even in our good years, the Wilpons were investing deferred player salaries and annuities with Madoff!
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/No, seriously, this year will be good. For reals.
@ TNO: Well, Spurs could fail the Fair Play rules and not qualify. Or, they could not submit the necessary info to obtain a UEFA license to compete in Europa League. I don’t like those either–would rather see Spurs winning FA Cups for some odd reason.
Tno: Clearly you’ve never had a Romanian hooker.
Tno: Wait- You’re acting superior as a PADRES fan? The team that wasted the talents of Tony Gwynn AND Adrian Gonzalez?? Seriously, you guys are the Southampton of MLB! Nice vacation destination, one or two sublime talents played there once, and absolutely FUCK-ALL to show for it.
@ Keith: They did have those nifty brown/yellow get ups back in the day.
Whoa, Gary Neville just retired effective immediately. Maybe he just really wants to practice at Spurs with Becks.
@Keith: Were you named after Keith Hernandez?
@Keith: Are you Keith Hernandez?
@LE: I don’t think so; I was born the year before he was traded to the Mets.
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And so, no, Goat.
Spurs LineUP: Gomes; Corluka, Bassong, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto; Van der Vaart, Jenas, Palacios, Lennon; Crouch, Defoe.
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Corluka gets to play! No Fuckpants Hutton! Thank god!
@LE: Hopefully Charlie impresses so we can buy Walker permanently on the cheap =)
Over/under for Crouch’s missing sitters in the first half? I’d say 3.
@Keith: I just clicked on your link–you’re a dead-ringer except for the lack of a mustache/mullet combo.
@Keith: Not on your fucking life. But that reminds me. You guys brought a lot of racial diversity to the club this month. I admire the steps you’re taking to try not to be the most racist team in the EPL anymore.
@LE: You’re so magnanimous. Now prep for the match by watching this.
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Goat, that link’s for you, too.
also, LE: Birmingham City are MUCH more racist than Villa, even before we added Makoun, Bent and Walker.
No. I am a Yankees fan. I shall not be watching anything to glorify the Mets.
@LE: But Donny Baseball makes a cameo! And they talk about how cocaine powered the 82 Cardinals championship!
CROUCH HEADS THE BALL IN!!!!!
HAVE SOME FUCKIN NACHOS BOY!
did that just happen?
@Keith: That film would be perfect for the Intro to Gender Studies class my wife is teaching this semester.
Goat: Make it happen. The youth of America NEED that film.
Also, Goat: appreciate the pageviews. Any thoughts/commentary on the photography?