Gareth Bale’s pending departure has left more than a few Spurs fans
down in the dumps and whilst they despair, Arsenal and Liverpool sniff
blood in the water at White Hart Lane.
Although the loss of a
world-class talent may be felt at first, Spurs fans should have no
fears. Gareth Bale’s form was fantastic last season but with Emmanuel
Adebayor and Jermain Defoe underperforming, it was not particularly
difficult to shine in a team without the attacking guile of Rafael Van
Der Vaart and Luka Modric.
If the figures being touted are correct
(£80-£105m), it is the sale of the century. Consider that hard-nosed
Daniel Levy could put his foot down and demand Bale stays—it would be
detrimental to all parties. The Welshman would not replicate last
season’s heights and Spurs would be left with a half-price asset next
summer (two years of his contract remaining).
Despite, yet again, missing out on Champions League football, the Lillywhites have made progress. They ended the 2012/13 campaign with a record points haul of 72.
Furthermore Spurs have already added Brazilian central midfielder
Paulinho for £17 million, Belgian winger Nacer Chadli and Spaniard
Roberto Soldado for a club-record £26m (subject to a medical). These
three signings join an already impressive international roster of
Frenchman Hugo Lloris, Belgians Jan Vertonghen and Moussa Dembele plus
German Lewis Holtby. Add the return of long-term absentees Sandro and
Younes Kaboul and Spurs’ squad will be the envy of many.
If the
Bale transfer does, as expected, go through. Spurs stand to make an
absolute windfall, plus they could take the latest Spanish starlet,
Álvaro Morata, who top-scored during Spain’s recently successful
European Under-21 Championships, in addition to the £80m transfer fee.
The
North Londoners would then be in a strong bargaining position to add
two or three additional high calibre reinforcements, addressing weak
areas within the squad. Since ENIC’s acquisition of Spurs in 2001,
the Lillywhites have gradually improved from being mid-table perennial
under-achievers to gate-crashing the Premier League’s Champions League
party.
This has not been a journey without set-backs. For every
two steps forward, what tends to follow is one step back. Reluctant
sales of Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric threatened to
spoil the hard-earned progress witnessed at White Hart Lane, but to the
club's credit the present-day Spurs are a massive improvement to George
Graham’s turn-of-the-century Tottenham.
In the past eight
seasons, the North Londoners have consolidated their position as a
top-five English club, finishing fifth or higher six times and twice
finishing fourth.
Importantly, the club has enjoyed coaching
stability in a summer that has witnessed high managerial turnover within
the top four (both Manchester clubs and at Chelsea). Spurs are taking a
gamble by selling Gareth Bale but as per the club’s crest Audere est
Facere (To Dare Is To Do) they need to focus on life post-Gareth Bale in
order to give themselves a significant chance of rubbing shoulders with
the big boys from London and Manchester.
Let us hear your comments below
Home
»
»Unlabelled
» Why Gareth Bale's likely transfer to Real Madrid is not the end of the world for Spurs
Friday, 2 August 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment