A new season for Tottenham, and the key to it and indeed Ange Postecoglou’s possible success at the club lies with the squad he was able to assemble and ultimately the quality of the players he was bringing in in order to churn, enliven, and improve the team at Hotspur Way.
Far too many coaches had been presented with the same players and asked to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. In fact, it may have been a blessing that Harry Kane was moved on, because despite being a sensational footballer, this is a completely new system, and the England captain’s departure truly signaled the end of an era, for better or for worse.
Fans looking to back Tottenham, and you can read more here, with more certainty this season must have breathed a sigh of relief as there was finally a greater stability being brought to the team as opposed to being reliant upon just one or two players to get us out of trouble.
The full new squad has been announced, and it contains one curious addition, that of Hugo Lloris, who was last seen storming off the pitch at half-time last season against Newscastle at St James’ Park as Spurs were midway through getting thrashed.
One or two rumours appeared in the summer about a possible departure of our World Cup winning captain, but nothing of overwhelming substance. So now it looks as if Postecoglou will have a girth of goalkeepers to choose from, although it remains to be seen if Hugo ever plays another game for Spurs again.
Joining Lloris in the mystery item file is Eric Dier whose departure this summer was somewhat quashed by his bullish and perhaps optimistic announcement that he felt his best years as a player were still ahead of him. This is another player who has been given a squad number, but has yet to kick a ball under Postecoglou since his arrival from Celtic.
What’s pleasing to see in the new list is the abundance of youth, and in particular, new arrivals, Pape Mata Sarr and Destiny Udogie from the under 21s are in the first team, which has cumulatively lowered its collective age.
The great thing about Ange is that he is looking for utilitarian players who are able to get to grips with his system and play his fast paced, on-the-front foot, short passing game effectively. Results so far have been generally positive, and his forward-thinking methods have been adopted by most under his charge.
