By Sunshine
January 6 2004

Say your objective was to tell the time, would you prefer an exquisite, expensive watch with a couple of malfunctioning components which render it unreliable at best or a cheaper, less glamorous model which works perfectly?
True, the expensive watch costs more, is probably prettier to look at and panders to the ego, but it doesn’t do the job. In a world where timing is everything, not knowing the right time could cost you your job, you might miss a flight or perhaps the romantic appointment of your life.

Apply this logic to a football team and a major flaw or two could result in prolonged mediocrity or, in a competitive league such as the Premiership, relegation and a painful, possibly permanent, fall from grace.

This is the scenario which is staring Tottenham Hotspur straight in the face.

Strange, since the club has a lot going for it: large fan base, year in/year out one of the biggest spenders on players over the last decade, a reputation for playing attractive football, located in one of the most appealing cities in the old continent and a groovy, highly marketable brand name.

So the problem must be that building a competitive squad, one which could consistently finish in a League position which would guarantee European football on a regular basis and win the odd piece of silverware, is as complicated as rocket science?

Is it heck. With all due respect, the people involved in managing successful clubs don’t exactly come across as members of Mensa and that is because they aren’t. They have simply understood the fundamental requirements and had the resources to satisfy them. Guile can reduce the amount of resource required and luck, though not in the long-term, also plays a part.

What are these “fundamentals”, then?

Well, there are some general ones and there are ones specific to each area of the pitch.

In general: Defensive players need to be experienced, whilst this is less important for attacking players. A team needs to be built around a core of players and whilst injuries can always occur, it is pure folly to actively recruit key players with a history of injuries (Redknapp, Richards, Ziege). Signing players at the end of their careers is a risky policy and should only be done over the very short term (handing an economically robust, three year contract to Poyet is a mistake which is still there for all to see. In Sheringham’s case, after an encouraging initial six months, the performances became a millstone around the neck of the team). Successful teams need a leader in every section of the pitch, people willing to take responsibility and who also have the ability to perform at the highest level every week (again, Poyet has character and charisma, but he just can’t cut it physically anymore in the Premiership).

Defenders need to know how to head the ball and their concentration must be constant over the ninety minutes. At least two of the four (none of this 5-3-2 formation rubbish) midfielders need to be strong in the tackle and the unit as a whole needs to be dynamic and hard working. Up front, one of the forwards need to be a prolific goalscorer, if nothing else, whilst the other needs to complement this main striker, creating opportunities for him, yet still himself know where the goal is.

Goalkeeper: Being a good shot stopper isn’t enough. It is exciting to watch, but the less obvious sides to the job are what makes a decent keeper a very good one. There are very few excellent goalies about, yet it is a position which can account for a significant number of points being won, or lost, during the course of a season. Keepers need to be commanding, confident, good communicators and good organisers of the defence in front of them. Ray Clemence is a good example of a quality player in this position. Keller is not. Keller’s only saving (pardon the pun) grace is his shot stopping ability….and that, unfortunately, is not good enough. Robinson appears to be available at a reasonable price and though not my ideal choice, would get the nod before our American keeper.

Full Backs: Primarily, full backs need to know how to defend. Being able to head the ball is an advantage which would benefit the entire team and take some of the pressure off the central defenders. Players in this position must also be very tactically aware, since throwing caution to the wind and foraging forward can leave the rest of the defence vulnerable to swift counter-attacks by the opposition. Preferably speedy creatures, being able to lash in a powerful cross constitutes a very sought after characteristic. Also, knowing when not to cross (from two-thirds of the way up the pitch, for example) is vital. Andy Brehme, the German player of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s springs to mind. Carr can’t head, he’s often found out of position and he has the annoying habit of passing the ball to the opposition’s keeper (he calls it, quaintly, ‘crossing the ball’). Taricco is a better defender than Carr, but sadly he is forced to play out of position on the left. Mills is out of favour at Leeds and is on loan, so a move for him should be feasible. Over on the left, I’d have liked (and still would like) to see Konchesky given a chance in his favoured role.

Centre Backs: The key aspect here is concentration. Central defenders must never lose it, since more likely than not against class strikers, it results in a goal against. Ideally, centre backs are excellent in the air, strong in the tackle, have superb timing, composure, good distribution and are quick. The alternative to being quick is to have an unmatched sense of position (if a player has all of the characteristics mentioned above, he shouldn’t be far off being world class). Richard Gough in his one season with us was as good a central defender as I’ve seen in a Spurs shirt. Gardner is composed to the point of being asleep on occasion, his concentration wavers perilously, he loses a surprising amount of headers for such a strapping lad (6ft 5) and his distribution…well, let’s just say that they don’t call him the prince of the hospital ball for nothing. Of course, Spurs have Richards, but it appears that his need for surgery to correct his Achilles tendon problem is somewhat hampering his performance. Were it not for the tournament in Africa, I would say that the time was right to play Mabizela. Though not the biggest defender around, he has most of the qualities that a very good centre back needs to possess and his progression into the starting XI can surely only be a matter of time. He is also a leader, used to captaining his country at an early age. All he needs is a bit of confidence (that he can indeed perform in the Premiership).

Centre Midfielders: These guys run the show so….they need to know how to run and how to do so quickly. Both need to be winners, leaders. One needs to be very dynamic and hard in the tackle, whilst the other should have an impressive range of passing in his armoury and also have the ability to make telling tackles. Both need to have excellent positional sense and at least one of them needs to be good in the air. These are the players around which the team is built, so neither should be injury prone. A great example of a hard, fast, dynamic midfielder would be a young Gary Mabbutt (before his injuries and before he moved into the heart of the defence). King could just develop into the sort of player that we are looking for, but his lack of natural aggression, and thus the impetus needed to dominate the centre of the park, weighs heavily against him against gritty opposition. Alternatively, Spurs could do a lot worse than begging AC Milan to part with Massimo Ambrosini, who is being kept out of the side by Gennaro ‘Rino’ Gattuso. Whenever I have to think of an example of a playmaker who can tackle, the mind fondly wanders back to the Gascoigne era, but I’ll resist the temptation and plump for Lothar Matthaus, before he got into his thirties and became a sweeper. Jamie Redknapp would, were he to shake off his injury jinx, represent the type of player we are after, but that is like waiting for a leopard to change its spots: it’ll never happen. Darren Anderton simply doesn’t fit the bill, since his passing ability is completely overshadowed by his chronic inability to tackle and the massive question marks over his medium/long-term fitness. Also, though he does appear to try, Anderton is no leader. Van Bommel appeals, since he perfectly fits the bill, but if funds are tight, then Spurs could do a lot worse than take the moody Pizarro off Udinese’s hands. As far as Brown is concerned, we will have to wait and see where, if and with whom, the Manager plays him and whether he successfully makes the step up from the Nationwide to the Premiership.

Flank Midfielders: The two attributes that they really need to possess are skill and being difficult to knock off the ball. If the men on the wing also have speed, then that is a welcome bonus. Being merely quick is pointless (Etherington being a good example). Wingers torment their opposition either through skill or pace, but their final ball needs to be up to scratch, so skill carries the day. Chris Waddle, need I say more? Oh, OK then, how about David Ginola? Ricketts could become a decent winger, but he needs to build his physique up a bit and learn to impose himself on games. Davies isn’t really a winger, but it appears that this is where he will be used once he returns to match fitness. I do hope that the Davies who shows up is the mark 1 version and not the player who dragged his feet through 90% of the last season. Stephane Dalmat can be awesome when he’s on song, but he can also be infuriatingly lazy, plus he’s only on loan and should he wish to sign permanently, would probably be priced out of the reach of the club. Reid, of Notts Forest, looks an intriguing prospect for the left wing, but by all accounts silly money is being asked for him.

Forwards: As previously mentioned, both need to know where the net is, though one really must be a prolific scorer of goals, whilst the other can use his skill and flair to link the play with the midfielders and provide the ‘number 9’ with the ammunition he needs. Without going too far back in time, I’d cite Gary Lineker as a prime example of a deadly marksman. With Lineker in the team, the slightest mistake by the opposition’s defence was always liable to turn into a goal. Kanouté is a totally different type of player, but he has shown that he can be in the right place at the right time (which isn’t in Africa during February) and all but guarantees a healthy number of goals per season.
One of the best ‘foils’ for a striker must be Peter Beardsley: his intelligent play created a hatful of chances for anyone who played with him, much like the diminutive Gianfranco Zola or the sublime Roberto Baggio (4 goals away from scoring 200 in Serie A, despite some horrific injuries over the years and having to learn to play with what he describes as “one and a half legs” since he seriously damaged his knee whilst playing for Fiorentina as a lad). Spurs’ ‘magician’ up front is Robbie Keane and whilst his performances have often been the only thing keeping the team’s head above water over the last twelve months, he does sometimes tend to exaggerate. He needs to focus more on the objective of playing football and that is to get the ball into the back of the opposition’s net. He also needs to understand that simple goals are worth just as much as some of the more stunning efforts which he has managed since joining the club. I’ve never seen Gerd Muller or Paolo Rossi turn their noses up at route 1 goals or 3 yard tap-ins. Overall, though, the forwards at the club seem well on their way to establishing themselves as an effective force in the Premiership and Keane is certainly not one to shirk responsibility. You can tell he wants to succeed from a mile off. Should Helder Postiga and Bobby Zamora start to fulfil their undoubted potential (for this to happen, the midfield needs to be sorted out), then the future would begin to look rosy indeed.

What emerges from the above considerations is that we are not that far from having a competitive squad: we are missing three or four key players, the catalysts which would transform Spurs’ fortunes. Now is the time to get the players we need. Now is the time for the men in suits at the club to do their job.