The realism of a full rebuild

[spursfan77]

I think it comes down to correct scouting than anything.

Even with CL football we can easily lose out on a player to a bigger team.

It’s easy to put up wish lists but targeting obtainable players is the key.

Maybe in the pre new stadium days when we wouldn’t pay the wages, but not now. Our income just means we can now. Although I guess we might lose out to the super clubs, they can’t buy every good player.

Actually, we do already have the highest wages growth over the last 5 years of all top 6 clubs and that’s without a full year of stadium income.

 

[dontcallme]

Maybe in the pre new stadium days when we wouldn’t pay the wages, but not now. Our income just means we can now.

Actually, we do already have the highest wages growth over the last 5 years of all top 6 clubs and that’s without a full year of stadium income.

The salaries we can pay now certainly helps us get certain targets. But we still miss out on top players to the eite.

So far our increased wage bill has helped us buy Ndombele and make Kane one of the highest paid players in the league.

Regular CL and competing for trophies is what we need to attract the best. For now we need to scout intelligently and buy quality our competitors might not want to take a risk on or be unable to guarantee first team football.

 

[funkycoldmedina]

Great post, Trix. I have been getting fed up of coming in here and constantly seeing people react with such a defeatist/whingy attitude when we lose or a player has a bad performance. It's strange when these same people often state the likes of Winks, Hojbjerg, Sanchez and co are not good enough, when it's clear we will be upgrading these positions and we have only had one small difficult window under Conte.

I think a fair few people could help calm themselves down by analysing the early stages of Klopp and Guardiola's reigns in the PL.

Guardiola struggled a lot in his first season, but he was able to fix that with a huge spend. So that's probably not the best example to use in our case.

But if you look at Klopp, then I think it becomes clear what work we have ahead of us. Klopp joined mid season and had a poor squad so I feel like this is a perfect comparison.

Klopp arrived at Anfield in October 2015. And this was his record for the rest of that season.
W - 13
D - 9
L - 8

Here are some of the defeats - 1-2 Palace (H), 0-2 Newcastle (A), 0-3 Watford (A), 0-2 West Ham (A), 0-1 Man Utd (H), 0-2 Leicester (A), 2-3 Southampton (A), 1-3 Swansea (A)

Some absolute shockers there. On the flip side they had some solid wins - Chelsea (3-1), City (4-1, 3-0) and Everton (4-0). I believe that is because Klopp could galvanise his players for the big games and the strategy worked but in those losses too many players showed their lack of consistency and ability to perform at a high level.

This was Liverpool's team when they played and lost 3-2 to Southampton
View attachment 105513

That team was error-prone (Lovren, Mignolet), had players who had seen better days (Sturridge) and players who had failed to live up to expectation (Lallana, Allen, Origi).

I think you could easily say that about our squad. Error-prone (Sanchez, Hojbjerg), seen better days (Dele, Winks), failed to live up to expectation (Winks again, Ndombele, Lo Celso)

The point is people have to remember WHERE WE ARE COMING FROM. We haven't been 1 or 2 quality additions short, we need widespread changes like Klopp needed. And it took more than one season/transfer window.

So what did Klopp do?

First he had to rid the squad of players who were not up to standard/surplus to requirements. He actually got rid of loads of players
View attachment 105515
At least 8 players who were first teasers/expensive signings.

He didn't make many signings though, but 3 very important ones (Matip, Wijnaldum & Mane)
View attachment 105516

Basically, he was streamlining his squad so that he could have a small stable, settled squad to work with and build from there.

That's exactly what I think Conte and FP are doing, clearing the decks so they can see clearly.

That season Liverpool were much better but still not consistent enough to prevent poor losses - 0-2 Burnley (A), Bournemouth 3-4 (A), 2-3 Swansea (H), 0-2 Hull (A), 1-3 Leicester (A), 1-2 Palace (H).

They also drew 10 games as they struggled to maintain energy levels with games quick and fast - that is because their team didn't have the depth.

This is the team that lost to Bournemouth.
View attachment 105518
You can see that Liverpool still had frailties in the first 11 and players who were simply not good enough, mostly in defence.

Over the following few windows, Liverpool added Salah, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Van Dijk, Alison and Keita to rally improve all of these areas with Can, Lovren, Clyne, Leiva and a few others departing.

I think we are currently at this stage. We have some players that you can trust but we need a couple of windows similar to Liverpool's here.

It's a long process, probably longer than some anticipated and that's probably why some are getting irritated.

However, if you can bare in mind Liverpool's transformation under Klopp, and that it took time and was bumpy then it will make you feel a bit better.

What an absolutely brilliant post. I wanted to informative, winner and like it. It really puts things into perspective.

 

[Barrd10]

Name me a single successful club that hasn't made a whole load of duff signings. We're no different but many seem to expect us to hit the bullseye every time. It doesn't work like that I'm afraid.

Fatigue? Not sure about that it was the same positions making the same errors we've seen time and again under numerous managers. There is a real lack of quality at RWB, and CM and the drop off between Dier and Sanchez is substantial with what they are currently being asked to do imo. Davies had an off night but to be fair that's been a rarity since Conte came in. PEH just ran all over the place and I feel it's always the same in a two man midfield when Winks is in there. Winks was back to type last night for me. He just occupies positions, doesn't press and doesn't pick up runners. He's always in space even when we are out of possession, and to compensate(which he shouldn't) PEH just goes all headless chicken trying to cover too much ground.

I was amazed how Winks never managed to get within 5 yards of any of their players for the whole game. Playing in central midfield that takes some doing as it’s almost impossible to do. The way he managed to find space when we didn’t have the ball so as to not put any pressure on them was breathtaking.

 

[Chimbo!]

As bad as the Southampton game was, we did see signs of improvement with the addition of Bentancur. In the little we’ve seen of him, he seems far better on the ball while under pressure and appears “press resistant” as the football hipsters like to say. I also like how patient Kulusevski is on the ball, he waits for the right pass. So it does seem like we’re going in the right direction.

 

[ajspurs]

The only thing I'd say is that a top 4 finish would surely make our Summer dealings a lot easier. Hopefully we'll be better set for that with Skipp and Dier back.

I've seen this a lot recently, but for me the most important thing we can do with regards to our planning for the summer, is to have adequate targets that we don't think will be dependant on CL qualification. Players like Bissouma for instance, would improve our midfield massively and you wouldn't think we'd need to be in the CL to have a fair chance of signing him.

There are certainly players that won't be demanding a CL team out there who could help us reach new heights. Like @rossdapep pointed out in his post about Liverpool and their transformation, their signings with the biggest impact were bought from Southampton (Mane, Van Dijk), Sunderland (Henderson), Hoffenheim (Firmino) and Roma (Salah). Even more recently from Wolves (Jota) and Porto (Diaz) who we were inches away from signing without CL. These aren't massive clubs that they've come from.

I fully get it would make things easier, I just don't want us to get caught up in the idea that we need CL to drastically improve the team.

 

[dontcallme]

I've seen this a lot recently, but for me the most important thing we can do with regards to our planning for the summer, is to have adequate targets that we don't think will be dependant on CL qualification. Players like Bissouma for instance, would improve our midfield massively and you wouldn't think we'd need to be in the CL to have a fair chance of signing him.

There are certainly players that won't be demanding a CL team out there who could help us reach new heights. Like @rossdapep pointed out in his post about Liverpool and their transformation, their signings with the biggest impact were bought from Southampton (Mane, Van Dijk), Sunderland (Henderson), Hoffenheim (Firmino) and Roma (Salah). Even more recently from Wolves (Jota) and Porto (Diaz) who we were inches away from signing without CL. These aren't massive clubs that they've come from.

I fully get it would make things easier, I just don't want us to get caught up in the idea that we need CL to drastically improve the team.

Good post. It's like I say, targeting obtainable players is the real key. Liverpool couldn't attract the clearly top players but got players like Suarez from weaker leagues and players from the likes of Southampton.

Traore would likely have been a good signing but who saw Barca coming in for him? Players like that are where we are right now. Bissouma and Lamptey from Brighton are 2 possibilities to look at.

 

[Japhet]

I've seen this a lot recently, but for me the most important thing we can do with regards to our planning for the summer, is to have adequate targets that we don't think will be dependant on CL qualification. Players like Bissouma for instance, would improve our midfield massively and you wouldn't think we'd need to be in the CL to have a fair chance of signing him.

There are certainly players that won't be demanding a CL team out there who could help us reach new heights. Like @rossdapep pointed out in his post about Liverpool and their transformation, their signings with the biggest impact were bought from Southampton (Mane, Van Dijk), Sunderland (Henderson), Hoffenheim (Firmino) and Roma (Salah). Even more recently from Wolves (Jota) and Porto (Diaz) who we were inches away from signing without CL. These aren't massive clubs that they've come from.

I fully get it would make things easier, I just don't want us to get caught up in the idea that we need CL to drastically improve the team.

I think it's possible, but the best players tend to hang around waiting for a CL team to come in for them. I would expect Bissouma to do precisely that. CL qualification would make things so much easier and we might even get some signings done who would get pre season too.

 

[shelflife_73]

Last night's performance, let alone the result, was really painful but reading Trix's initial post in this thread has raised my spirits immensely. ?

 

[ajspurs]

Good post. It's like I say, targeting obtainable players is the real key. Liverpool couldn't attract the clearly top players but got players like Suarez from weaker leagues and players from the likes of Southampton.

Traore would likely have been a good signing but who saw Barca coming in for him? Players like that are where we are right now. Bissouma and Lamptey from Brighton are 2 possibilities to look at.

Yeah absolutely. Whether they are the most ideal or not to me personally isn't the point right now, but they are still 3 players who could quite easily improve our starting 11, coming from Wolves and Brighton. Of course like you say Barca snapped up Traore in the end but I personally don't think Traore would have been close to being on their radar if they weren't in the rebuild position they're in now.

I think it's possible, but the best players tend to hang around waiting for a CL team to come in for them. I would expect Bissouma to do precisely that. CL qualification would make things so much easier and we might even get some signings done who would get pre season too.

Possibly, I mean it's impossible to know what someone like Bissouma may be thinking, the idea of working under Conte, living in London, training at our complex every day and playing at our ground may be super appealing to him still, even without CL, especially coming from Brighton, in all respect. We can't forget that like mentioned, we'd pretty much agreed everything with one of the best attacking talents and prospects in Europe right now in Diaz, without CL. Yes we were done in by the Liverpool factor, but if reports are to be believed, he'd still agreed to come to us too.

I just refuse to believe we need CL to drastically improve what we already have. At least at this stage, with the level of players we have in certain areas, we don't necessarily need the very best players to make vast improvements. I do agree with what you're saying, I just also don't think it's an excuse to not make considerable improvements to the side still as well.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

I honestly didn't realise there were so many on here that just don't actually understand the game, and the reality of how things really work in team sports. It's actually quite alarming that some posters can spend hours every day talking about all things football on here, and yet just expect things to happen like they do on Fifa or football manager. I'm not talking about genuine criticism that is valid, I'm talking about writing a young kid off after 30 minutes of football in a new country, and not understanding how an entire rebuild isn't going to happen over night.

At the very start of the transfer window I made a detailed post regarding how the club was moving forward, how there were plans in place that the manager, DOF and chairman were firmly behind. It was about being patient because the club had a two window strategy in order to be ready to compete properly next season. January was about getting all our ducks in a row so that come the Summer things could progress to where we have needed them to be for years. Deadwood players off the wage bill and in the shop window elsewhere. Come the Summer it won't be about having to move players out first, or freeing up wages and we can just get on with preparing for the coming season.

Those of you that keep shouting about top 4, and missed opportunities really need to understand that was never the main aim. Of course we'd like it, and will be doing all we can to get there this season, but not at the expense of being optimum for 22-23. "Why didn't we get a RWB in January" well because the one we really want isn't available until the Summer. Traore was seen as a possibility, but only at the price we were willing to go to, and the fact he could cover other roles as well. We could have bought another RWB to get by, but we'd rather the one we really want, rather than a makeshift purchase that affects long term progression. This is the same for other positions and why those we brought in were done as they were. Bentacur was the only full purchase this window as we were sure of what we were getting. Kulusevki is only a loan and only becomes permanent if he does well(this needs to be remembered).

Criticism at times is valid for sure and last night for instance I can completely understand why there was a fair amount. It's worth pointing out though that the players that really struggled last night(and boy were they poor) are the positions we are actively looking to upgrade in the Summer and have been planning to from the off. RWB, CB and CM were awful last night and this along with another FORWARD are the positions that were identified as where we really need to upgrade.

Now I know it's probably unrealistic to believe people on here will be able to but we really need to understand this is the beginning of the process and we need to temper expectations and let Conte get us to where we all want to be. I know some of you don't buy into ITK and think it's largely spin from the club, well I'd urge you not to take my word for it, and actually listen to what Conte is and has been saying for weeks........

"We are some way behind the best teams in this league, and it will take a lot of work to get us to that level". "THIS CAN NOT HAPPEN IN ONE TRANSFER WINDOW AND ESPECIALLY IN JANUARY WHERE THINGS ARE FAR MORE DIFFICULT".


I know some of you will be saying(and rightfully so) heard this all before, and you are right you have. This is different though for so many reasons. We now have a top level coach who the club are backing, we really need to get behind it and at least give it the Summer window he's said from the start he needs. We will have up's and downs on the way, but we are on track for where Conte expects us to be come next August.

Oh Trix, bless you.

Asking certain sections of SC for patience? May as well ask Harold Shipman for a flu jab.

 

[chinaman]

That's true.

But I do think Klopp's strategy is easier to follow. The reason is it is all about high-energy pressing and attack-minded. Because of that Liverpool were able to look sublime going forward but completely collapsed at the back.

Conte is much more balanced and it isn't about going full-tilt. The problem we have is that it relies on intelligent, technical players who can read the game and situations around them.

Secondly, we really lack physicality and athleticism. Southampton bullied our midfield last night, to combat that you need players who can push back.

Neither Winks or Hojbjerg have that in them to 'scare' the opposition. You need to be able to make the opposition feel your physicality and Southampton's players would have been buoyed by the fact that neither of them are strong enough.

The second thing is, neither are comfortable under pressure with the ball technically. So the opposition know that by pushing them back, they are unable to beat them with the ball by skill, physicality or intelligence. That allows them to play how they want and have the confidence knowing they won't get hurt.

We really need Skipp and Bentancur in there together because, whilst they are not physically the strongest, they are both intelligent and can play there way out of the press.

But we absolutely need a physically imposing athletic player who can give it back.

And he has a much stronger bench. When his starters start to wane physically, he can substitute without losing much quality, while we have to run our starters ragged.

 

[Pebble Dash]

Fingers crossed our summer plans work out and we’re in a much stronger position heading into next season.

Hopefully when Bentancur becomes a bit more settled we’ll see him and may be Kulusevski starting games. Add in a fit Dier and Skipp and all of a sudden the only glaring issue in the current starting line up is RWB.

I will however be very annoyed if Conte continues to play Winks and Hojbjerg instead of Bentancur and Skipp, both of whom are much better players.

We also need to stop with the 343 formation as we have zero control in midfield and spend all game chasing shadows. The formation may work next season when our squad has been overhauled but for now it’s not working. Even with our ‘square pegs in round holes’ we’ve got sufficient players to play a 3412 or 352… formations that have produced some of our best performances this season.

 

[Spurs 1961]

Trix and many don’t like this but my gripe is about what we are rebuilding. Conte has not shown any intent to play progressive football. His manner is so negative, like the football he has the team playing. If we were losing trying to impose ourselves on other teams I would have no problem with a rebuild phase for a couple of years as we have a lot of young players. But if we are building a side to sit back with 7-8 defenders and hope to win games with half a dozen shots a match then it’s not a future I like.
I may be a lifetime supporter who has no option but continue supporting the team that I have for 60 yrs but I don’t have to pretend I like how we are playing. Only against Liverpool and Leicester did I see a team trying to win a game. Enjoyable games whatever the results. But those were anomalies no doubt for Conte. Giving up possession; letting teams attack you as much as they like and hoping to sneak a counter attack goal or two is not what I want to see.
So despite the spin and my failure to understand the deeply laid grand plans what I see is no progress so far. When teams like Southampton, Brighton, Wolves, Palace, etc., etc., play progressive football I see no reason for us to play such rubbish.

 

[King of the Lane]

I agree with 99% of what you've said @Trix - we definitely need to have patience and this wont all happen overnight. There is one thing though that still makes me a bit twitchy for the Summer. Everyone keeps praising FP for our outs last month but Ndombele and Lo Celso are only loans. If it doesnt work out then they are right back here in the Summer and I'm sure we will be told that we have to shift them first. So although the foundations have been laid for the Summer etc I'm still feeling a bit cautious as to our plans and not completely confident that we are in a position that we need to be. Fingers crossed both perform and piss off though!

 

[wadewill]

Great post, Trix. I have been getting fed up of coming in here and constantly seeing people react with such a defeatist/whingy attitude when we lose or a player has a bad performance. It's strange when these same people often state the likes of Winks, Hojbjerg, Sanchez and co are not good enough, when it's clear we will be upgrading these positions and we have only had one small difficult window under Conte.

I think a fair few people could help calm themselves down by analysing the early stages of Klopp and Guardiola's reigns in the PL.

Guardiola struggled a lot in his first season, but he was able to fix that with a huge spend. So that's probably not the best example to use in our case.

But if you look at Klopp, then I think it becomes clear what work we have ahead of us. Klopp joined mid season and had a poor squad so I feel like this is a perfect comparison.

Klopp arrived at Anfield in October 2015. And this was his record for the rest of that season.
W - 13
D - 9
L - 8

Here are some of the defeats - 1-2 Palace (H), 0-2 Newcastle (A), 0-3 Watford (A), 0-2 West Ham (A), 0-1 Man Utd (H), 0-2 Leicester (A), 2-3 Southampton (A), 1-3 Swansea (A)

Some absolute shockers there. On the flip side they had some solid wins - Chelsea (3-1), City (4-1, 3-0) and Everton (4-0). I believe that is because Klopp could galvanise his players for the big games and the strategy worked but in those losses too many players showed their lack of consistency and ability to perform at a high level.

This was Liverpool's team when they played and lost 3-2 to Southampton
View attachment 105513

That team was error-prone (Lovren, Mignolet), had players who had seen better days (Sturridge) and players who had failed to live up to expectation (Lallana, Allen, Origi).

I think you could easily say that about our squad. Error-prone (Sanchez, Hojbjerg), seen better days (Dele, Winks), failed to live up to expectation (Winks again, Ndombele, Lo Celso)

The point is people have to remember WHERE WE ARE COMING FROM. We haven't been 1 or 2 quality additions short, we need widespread changes like Klopp needed. And it took more than one season/transfer window.

So what did Klopp do?

First he had to rid the squad of players who were not up to standard/surplus to requirements. He actually got rid of loads of players
View attachment 105515
At least 8 players who were first teasers/expensive signings.

He didn't make many signings though, but 3 very important ones (Matip, Wijnaldum & Mane)
View attachment 105516

Basically, he was streamlining his squad so that he could have a small stable, settled squad to work with and build from there.

That's exactly what I think Conte and FP are doing, clearing the decks so they can see clearly.

That season Liverpool were much better but still not consistent enough to prevent poor losses - 0-2 Burnley (A), Bournemouth 3-4 (A), 2-3 Swansea (H), 0-2 Hull (A), 1-3 Leicester (A), 1-2 Palace (H).

They also drew 10 games as they struggled to maintain energy levels with games quick and fast - that is because their team didn't have the depth.

This is the team that lost to Bournemouth.
View attachment 105518
You can see that Liverpool still had frailties in the first 11 and players who were simply not good enough, mostly in defence.

Over the following few windows, Liverpool added Salah, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Van Dijk, Alison and Keita to rally improve all of these areas with Can, Lovren, Clyne, Leiva and a few others departing.

I think we are currently at this stage. We have some players that you can trust but we need a couple of windows similar to Liverpool's here.

It's a long process, probably longer than some anticipated and that's probably why some are getting irritated.

However, if you can bare in mind Liverpool's transformation under Klopp, and that it took time and was bumpy then it will make you feel a bit better.

Thats a wonderful post bud

 

[alexis]

Whether you buy into ITK or not, you have to buy into reason and sensible analysis. And this is thoroughly reasonable. There's nothing to disagree with here.

Quit the impatience. We are in this for the long term.

50 years a yid I know long term

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Great post, Trix. I have been getting fed up of coming in here and constantly seeing people react with such a defeatist/whingy attitude when we lose or a player has a bad performance. It's strange when these same people often state the likes of Winks, Hojbjerg, Sanchez and co are not good enough, when it's clear we will be upgrading these positions and we have only had one small difficult window under Conte.

I think a fair few people could help calm themselves down by analysing the early stages of Klopp and Guardiola's reigns in the PL.

Guardiola struggled a lot in his first season, but he was able to fix that with a huge spend. So that's probably not the best example to use in our case.

But if you look at Klopp, then I think it becomes clear what work we have ahead of us. Klopp joined mid season and had a poor squad so I feel like this is a perfect comparison.

Klopp arrived at Anfield in October 2015. And this was his record for the rest of that season.
W - 13
D - 9
L - 8

Here are some of the defeats - 1-2 Palace (H), 0-2 Newcastle (A), 0-3 Watford (A), 0-2 West Ham (A), 0-1 Man Utd (H), 0-2 Leicester (A), 2-3 Southampton (A), 1-3 Swansea (A)

Some absolute shockers there. On the flip side they had some solid wins - Chelsea (3-1), City (4-1, 3-0) and Everton (4-0). I believe that is because Klopp could galvanise his players for the big games and the strategy worked but in those losses too many players showed their lack of consistency and ability to perform at a high level.

This was Liverpool's team when they played and lost 3-2 to Southampton
View attachment 105513

That team was error-prone (Lovren, Mignolet), had players who had seen better days (Sturridge) and players who had failed to live up to expectation (Lallana, Allen, Origi).

I think you could easily say that about our squad. Error-prone (Sanchez, Hojbjerg), seen better days (Dele, Winks), failed to live up to expectation (Winks again, Ndombele, Lo Celso)

The point is people have to remember WHERE WE ARE COMING FROM. We haven't been 1 or 2 quality additions short, we need widespread changes like Klopp needed. And it took more than one season/transfer window.

So what did Klopp do?

First he had to rid the squad of players who were not up to standard/surplus to requirements. He actually got rid of loads of players
View attachment 105515
At least 8 players who were first teasers/expensive signings.

He didn't make many signings though, but 3 very important ones (Matip, Wijnaldum & Mane)
View attachment 105516

Basically, he was streamlining his squad so that he could have a small stable, settled squad to work with and build from there.

That's exactly what I think Conte and FP are doing, clearing the decks so they can see clearly.

That season Liverpool were much better but still not consistent enough to prevent poor losses - 0-2 Burnley (A), Bournemouth 3-4 (A), 2-3 Swansea (H), 0-2 Hull (A), 1-3 Leicester (A), 1-2 Palace (H).

They also drew 10 games as they struggled to maintain energy levels with games quick and fast - that is because their team didn't have the depth.

This is the team that lost to Bournemouth.
View attachment 105518
You can see that Liverpool still had frailties in the first 11 and players who were simply not good enough, mostly in defence.

Over the following few windows, Liverpool added Salah, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Van Dijk, Alison and Keita to rally improve all of these areas with Can, Lovren, Clyne, Leiva and a few others departing.

I think we are currently at this stage. We have some players that you can trust but we need a couple of windows similar to Liverpool's here.

It's a long process, probably longer than some anticipated and that's probably why some are getting irritated.

However, if you can bare in mind Liverpool's transformation under Klopp, and that it took time and was bumpy then it will make you feel a bit better.

Brilliant brilliant post ?

 

[stormfly]

I feel it’s slightly patronising saying that people don’t understand the game etc. We couldn’t beat Southampton at home so can understand people’s anger. We also should never have been in a position to need a complete rebuild. We reached the CL final, we had our new stadium, we had our state of the art training facility that should attract the best youth players from all over the world. We had the world at our feet and we completely fell off a cliff. Mainly from buying no one for 3 windows.

Asking for patience and putting our faith in to the next window, starts wearing a bit thin when you keep hearing it every season. There needs to be an almighty shift in the way we run for us to start competing again. I’m starting to think it’s never going to happen. If we miss out on the top 4 I wouldn’t be that surprised but I would rather it happen because 4 teams are much better than us and not because we can’t win a game in hand at home against bloody Southampton! Rant over.

 

[Hotspur88]

Fantastic OP!

It amazes me that even when a top ITK explains the plan which has been consistent from the start of the Jan window, people still doubt it.

I slightly understand the pessimism due to previous windows, but please listen to the key points regarding incomings and how it will be done moving forward. We have one of the best managers in the world. He certainly has an eye for a player and knows exactly what you need to play in the PL.

There are some out of contract/players with several months left as of the summer who we are activity interested in. All of these players would significantly improve us.

Even though CL is a huge bonus in attracting certain players, these incomings would be well aware that we were building over the summer to mount a challenge next season. If I was a player and I knew Spurs wanted me, with Conte as manager, world class facilities and I saw how the team was coming together, I wouldn't hesitate in sacrificing one season of CL football.

Just wait and see until after the summer window. I'm sick of saying it and I'm sure the others are also. This summer will be different! Have a little faith ?.