Prior to Danny Rose the Ben Davies combo, the left back situation at Tottenham was a bit of a mess and always chopping and changing.
Kyle Naughton (RB) and Vertonghen (CB) covered the LB position a total of 31 and 26 times respectively from joining up until 14/15. Jan then went on to cover this a few times in recent seasons too.
Since 2000, numerous players have been brought in to play in the position. Some didn’t work out, and others were left to age on the sideline.
- Ben Thatcher – bought £6.7m (2000), out £0.45 (‘03).
- Christian Ziege – bought £5.85 (‘01), free out (‘04).
- Erik Edman – bought £1.8m (‘04), out £2.7m (‘05).
- Timothee Atouba – bought £4m (‘04), out £2.25 (‘05).
- Lee Young-Pyo – bought £1.8m (‘05), out £0.45m (‘08).
- Benoit Assou-Ekotto – bought £4.5m (‘06), free out (‘15)
- Zeki Fryers – in £3.15m (‘13), out £3.42m (‘14)
- Gilberto* – bought £2.5m (‘08), free out (‘09)
This amounts to £21m loss on all the above players from the LB position. Terrible business and crap recruitment.
Ben Davies arrived in July 2014 for a fee of £11m. For most of his Spurs career, he’s been in direct competition with Danny Rose. 14/15 and 15/16 saw Rose make more appearances, however Davies made more appearances than Rose in each of the last three full seasons.
Davies arrival led to a solid 1st and backup pairing, much like the other side of the pitch. After finally having established stability for the LB position, surely you’d want to keep it that way? With Rose’s decline, we have been left with essentially one LB.
ROSE IS A NO-GO
Whatever your opinion of Rose, the facts are: he is now 30, he is consistently injured (384 days injury absence since 14/15), and his performances have noticeably dropped. Rose and the club also do not appear to have a great relationship.
If Davies gets a significant injury, Spurs are going to struggle for options to cover. Do not tell me Ryan Sessegnon is a LB. He is not and placing him there will not be great for his confidence.
TANGANGA IS THE ANSWER TO A DIFFERENT QUESTION
I also have reservations about Japhet’s ability to cover here too, he was better on the right side and is naturally best as a CB. We also have the option of Dennis Cirkin, but again I don’t know how well an 18-year-old would cope.
The point is we shouldn’t have to find out, but with Mourinho dropping both Cirkin’s and Harvey White’s names into first team discussions, it seems that once again the LB will get overlooked. It’s been 6 years since Davies arrived, what’s another six?
*Client Reference Number Warning if you say Gilberto’s name 3 times, he shows up at your house the following weekend. Or at someone else’s house, randomly. Terms and conditions do not apply.
Levys vision was to have a good academy and promote youth and go for young future english lads.. He raided relegation clubs and lesser clubs and brought in young english hoping to replicate manures class of 92…. But he went and bought englands future B and C team really with the likes of defoe, rose, dawson, huddlestone, paul robinson etc… I had hope because sir alex first priority at manure was the youth and acadamy….. But Levy has never sorted a great acadamy.. Apart from Kane coming through the next best are the likes of winks, mason, carroll, kwp.. Nice facilities, but clearly can’t get the staff.
Get pass it will you. How the hell do you ever enjoy a football game, just constantly bitching and griping on ever story. Your act is tired. Believe me I read just about every thing you posted in the past year or more. Gosh you don’t stop.
lol … well I did say “looking even marginally of top four quality!” . so it was not a ringing endorsement!
lol … well I did say “looking even marginally of top four quality!” . so it was not a ringing endorsement!
We all have players we like and don’t like, however, …. he’s not the best , but total professional, 100 per cent commitment to his club, as decent a man as you could find, what is there not to like about Ben Davies ……when you consider others .
I think you talk a load a rubbish too by the way.
Ben thatcher. I forgot about him.(rubbish) Raincoat man signing I think.
Its the back lights🌚 mk1. My mk2 narf made my arms big (1600E
Apart from liking Ford Cortina’s, thats the 2nd most sensible thing you’ve said..
We have to get a rb and a striker, we just have to…………Kane & Son will need resting and that’s pretty much all our goals….I would say a cb as well but that could at least wait for the next window in my opinion…lb will most likely be next season
This should be a long running thread. Look at all positions since ENIC took over and see what we have had to put up with. We have had some fine footballers at our club, along with some absolute lemons. A club is defined by its lemons, we’ve had enough of these to sell it as our favoured drink in a champagne stadium though. The fewer you have at any given time, the increased likelihood of success. In today’s money £6m for Ben Thatcher is not a lot, but back then it was decent money for not such a great footballer. Who sanctioned that, along with Atouba, Pro, Fryers and Gilberto? Madness. A £21m loss, considering we ran down the contracts of many isn’t too bad over a 20 year period though, especially as we are not including Bale? He came as a left back after all. What happened to him?
What a waste🌚
Christian Ziege is head coach of an Austrian side.
When they first came (ENIC/levy) it started off all so beautifully. Sugar gone. Raincoat man sacked, hoddle appointed🌚. Did they make promises to us when they first came? as in money to buy players? I can’t even remember, I was just excited/happy them two had gone.
What is there to mention about ENIC? they are our owners. They give us ZERO financial help. The end.
If only the left back
situation was the only mess. There are other areas of recruitment which have
not been addressed quickly and decisively, notably the RB and back up striker.
I find it amazing when you read a blog like this which is indubitably accurate
that there are any Spurs fans left in this world who actually believe that Levy
is doing a good job for the club. Let’s get real, Levy has done a good job for
himself and Lewis by enriching themselves at the expense of the football club.
When will people realise that Levy is an over promoted bean counter whose
knowledge of football can be written on the back of a fag packet. His failed
transfers are a matter of record as are his botched managerial signings,
Santini and Gross, I ask you. Get thee hence Levy. You are a malign influence
on a great club.
Why ain’t man like Christian z working at Tottenham? VDV 100% should be. Bye Wayne Burnett.
Was just a job to him man. I met him several times back in the day. Confident guy. Good table tennis player. I liked him.
He didn’t love football by his own admission,he only played for the money.A lone voice of honesty in this sport spoiled by too much money.
I don’t think the majority of players give a fkuc about the club they play for when you aee them kissing the badge.
Sadly agree with you on all aspects. Levy reached the limit of his abilities some years back. He has picked some excellent managers but failed to back them up adequately. His delays in resolving recruitment issues swiftly is sometimes presented as being canny. To me, it more closely resembles a small boy in a sweet shop who can’t decide what to spend his few pennies on, End result is continuous delay which then evolves to stagnation and we all know where that gets us in the intensely competitive world of the EPL.
There are some Spurs sites where you will be abused if you dare criticise ENIC or even play devils advocate. But its always hesitation at best or no action at all re new players , or watch others snap them up.
I like the look of the Real Madrid player who won the Europa league on loan with Seville ,Reguilian
“Davies top four quality? In the championship maybe
Those two are freaks of nature
Benny the baller. Loved him
Davies, never really lets us down competent but nothing more. In the age of the super powered fullback, of Alphonso Davies, Alexander – Arnold we’re years behind.
Benny 9 years service cost £3.5m ,Rose 13 years service cost £1m ,Davies 6 years service came in a (swap for Gylfi who cost £8m ) not £11m as suggested, total £12.5m for 28 years combined service for three players is good business. Ziege 3 years £4m,Thatcher 3 years £5m.
If only the left back situation was the only mess. There are other areas of recruitment which have not been addressed quickly and decisively, notably the RB and back up striker. I find it amazing when you read a blog like this which is indubitably accurate that there are any Spurs fans left in this world who actually believe that Levy is doing a good job for the club. Let’s get real, Levy has done a good job for himself and Lewis by enriching themselves at the expense of the football club. When will people realise that Levy is an over promoted bean counter whose knowledge of football can be written on the back of a fag packet. His failed transfers are a matter of record as are his botched managerial signings, Santini and Gross, I ask you. Get thee hence Levy. You are a malign influence on a great club.
It is highly regrettable that just 3 years ago we had the best full back pairings, as well as the best defence, in the EPL. As ever, a chronic unwillingness to invest in the team on the part of ENIC, coupled with the sale of Walker, the injury to Danny Rose and the loss of form by Trippier after the World Cup, left us with a mere shell of the dynamic full back play, which we had enjoyed on both flanks, at the height of the Poch regime.
They say hindsight is 20/20, but in this case, if we fast forward to the present, 2020 would be rather more appropriate! Our fullback situation is now clearly the weak link of the whole team. Neither flank is adequately covered, with only Davies looking even marginally of top four quality. Sessegnon hasn’t remotely looked like a Premier League quality FB, Aurier is too inconsistent and error prone and ditto Foyth. Tanganga has real promise as a RB, but CB is his more natural position
The upshot is that at least one new FB is needed by a team whose billionaire ownership tandem pleads poverty and won’t spent any money. That’s the problem in a nutshell. So far the Hojbjerg and Hart signings, on a shoe string budget, have been smartly executed, but let’s be under no illusion, unless we obtain a quality RB and a CB (who can also provide LB cover) in this transfer window we are going to struggle again defensively next season.
It would be terrifying if it wasn’t so funny (or the other way around). Everything here is true but in terms of priority, having one LB is infinitely better than having no RBs (not to mention the money wasted and time since we had a decent second striker). Sadly, a lower priority in a summer full of priorities.