OTF

Ultimately Krul and Forster should play it out for the number one spot next season. Forster gets glowing reports wherever he plays and has been playing consistently. Krul has his strengths and weaknesses, as would Forster, but they're both so young and have plenty of time to iron out the kinks, many of which should happen with maturity and experience.

It's all good, Xisco is on the bench..

In the middle we have Tiote, Nolan, it's Barton's natural position, Ben Arfa can play there plus we have Guthrie and Gosling as options. Smith is thankfully out of he picture. Wouldn't mind Vuckic getting some time on the pitch as well. In wide positions we have Jonas, Barton and Ben Arfa as options. Mix in Ryan Taylor if you're feeling optimistic. After that it's Guthrie and Gosling being played out of position there, or the likes of Ferguson. In fullback positions we have Enrique and Simpson then it's Perch and Ryan Taylor as cover. I wouldn't mind the interest in Ireland if I knew it wasn't at the cost of other positions not being strengthened.

Don't want. It would be just like Ashley to buy players in positions where we don't need to strengthen at the expense of others where we do. A loan deal would be slightly more bearable.

Whoops... Tis what I get for half reading threads on my phone and replying whilst talking to people. Anyway...

Not worth paying 12m for a player who dribbles with his head down. Will go on mazy runs and will score the odd speculators but ultimately is inconsistent and makes poor decisions and passes on account of his limited vision. Just my opinion. Worth around 5-6m I'd say, but then you have to deal with his attitude. He's not good enough for a champions league side, but thinks he is.

Massively Overated/Overpriced, would shock me if Wenger paid more than 10m for him so I can't see it happening. Considering Vermaelen was 10m and Koscielny 6m, anything above that wouldn't represent value for money imo Cahill's not overrated. He's Kevin Nolan in his best goal scoring form at all times, plus has decent moving and passing and values possession. His timing and positioning in the box is great. Can't argue with his record.... And I don't even like the guy.

Or some combination of both.

More like: Pardew: "Hello Sandra, this is Alan Pardew, can I book an urgent meeting with Mike to talk about the January transfer budget?" Secretary: "Hang on, I'll check his diary" * Sound of muffled conversation * Secretary: "I can't fit you in till February I'm afraid" Pardew: *sniggers* "No harm in trying, I'll meet you out the back in 15" FYP

Injured: Carroll Smith R. Taylor S. Taylor H. Ben Arfa Gosling Campbell has just returned from injury and Tiote is suspended. Kadar is injured, though he would have been out on loan if he wasn't. Routledge is halfway out the door on loan. Shola is injured every other game. With the small squad we have we're pretty paper thin at the minute, any further injuries or suspensions and we'd not be competitive.

I'd say it's never good to see anyone pickup an injury, but then I'd be lying wouldn't I. In all seriousness get well soon Alan.

Pardew: Mike and Derek, when you said there was money available in January you were joking weren't you? FMA & Llambias: [giggle] ....... I still reckon we'll bring someone in.

Colo at the back for mine, A defender with some skill on the ball and a better passing range. Or else Enrique.

Did i say we had to spend 12m on him?. He'd walk into just about any top team in the PL, regardless of what his goal scoring record has been. If Zenit have bought him for 12m how exactly were we, or anyone else going to buy him for less?

From the man who rarely posts outside of general for fear of showing himself up? Fish, I bow to your knowledge of the game. Why bother posting when most of what I have to say has already been said? Seems a little tedious to write "I agree" all the time. I suppose you're immune to tedium, given your repetitive "banter" isn't it about time you edited a Wiki page? That refers to a team you're not obsessed with. Honest. Beeeee Lahky! Doresn't take much to make the fish bite these days. Oh oh, he's resorted to claiming he's on the wind up already. That didn't take long.

Just quoting the numbers makes the case. The players I ommitted I expressely mentioned before that as being players that I believe have risen or at least held value. Kidding if you think Dawon is worth 12m, though you're right, I didn't realise he came as a two for one with Reid. Probably slipped in in Reid's shadow with noone noticing. Taking a gamble on making the Champions League this season, not sure who'se going to drop out of that top 4 to make way for you. I'll admit that the Tottenham candle is burning brightly at the moment...... you can finish the rest of that analogy being the smart lad that you are.

Can't live off the Berbasulk and Carrick spoils forever. Name the players in your side now that you think you could sell for a profit? Van Der Vaart might be one though he'd have a limited set of clubs he could go to, then there's Lennon. Bale's value will have gone up from the 10m you paid. Modric's value will have held. Huddlestone's will have risen. The rest will have dropped off. Gomez 8m Hutton 9m Kaboul 9.5m (you've already lost 5.5m on him) Jenas 7m+ Pavlyuchenko 14m Keane 12m+ Palacios 12m Crouch 10m dos Santos 5m+ Defoe 16m Bentley 15m+ Bassong 8m Dawson 8m Corluka 8.5m

Can't argue with the numbers. If they're operating at a profit now just think how well they could be doing if they hadn't fucked up on numerous purchases. You're far from guaranteed Champions League football next season, and that's even with Liverpool's continuing spectacular fall from grace. The financial sting from that will hurt.

Of course Seems to be a solid history of Tottenham stuff-ups on the player market.

Put it this way. You were well ahead on Robbie Keane, got his best years out of him and sold him for a healthy profit. Then you fucked up monumentally by buying him back when he was clearly a spent force. How ever you want to look at it you had money in the bank from him then wasted it on buying him and paying his hefty wages. If you want to glorify that fuck up by saying you broke even on him, then go for it. Still paying his wages now whilst he does sweet nothing for you means that every moment he's there he takes your figures on him into the red. Plus the double shot on it all is that every moment he sits there doing nought the fans must grow more and more resentful, slowly eeking away at the good things he has done at the club before.

Another of the bench brigade at Tottenham; sparsely used collecting their big wages to sit on the bench whilst their market value deterioriates. See Keane. See Bentley. See Jenas. See Wioodgate. See King. See dos Santos. See Kranjcar. See Sando. See Corluka.

Assuming you paid no additional amount on top of the 12m for Keane from Liverpool (not including the wages you've wasted on him, which would be in the millions) plus the 14m you paid for Pavlyuchenko if you sold them to Sunderland you'd be losing a tidy 10m. Bentley's only on loan and you won't get anywhere near the 15m you paid for him before any add ons. You probably have the highest paid bench in the league excluding Manchester City who are well and truly in their own financial bracket. I don't see how you could net 4m from the signing of Bent considering you sold him for less than you bought him for. Maths not your strong point fella? Keane = 8 - 20 + 12 = 0 So a 4 mil loss on Pav. We can eat that up neh bother. Logic not your strong point? Point A. Tottenham do not have Robbie Keane Point B. Tottenham buy Robbie Keane for 12m (plus bonuses) from Liverpool Point C. Tottenham pay Robbie Keane to play in spits and spats and sit on the bench collecting money in the meantime The fact that you had had Robbie Keane at your club earlier counts for diddly as it was a completely separate set of transactions.

Assuming you paid no additional amount on top of the 12m for Keane from Liverpool (not including the wages you've wasted on him, which would be in the millions) plus the 14m you paid for Pavlyuchenko if you sold them to Sunderland you'd be losing a tidy 10m. Bentley's only on loan and you won't get anywhere near the 15m you paid for him before any add ons. You probably have the highest paid bench in the league excluding Manchester City who are well and truly in their own financial bracket. I don't see how you could net 4m from the signing of Bent considering you sold him for less than you bought him for.

Who's paying 16m for Bentley and Keane? Even if they do that's a loss as you paid up to 17m for Bentley, not to mention the massive wage he collected for sitting on your bench. Even though you made 7m approx from selling and re-buying Keane from Liverpool you still paid up to 16m for him and have consequently worn the brunt of his depreciation. He's not worth much now and noone is interested because of his age and massive wage. Definite loss there, shouldn't have bought him back from Liverpool. Plus you lost money on Bent, with Sunderland making you look like suckers with what they garnered from Aston Villa for him.

With more than 60% of the season gone I thought it would be fitting to check in on the comparison made prior to the season beginning. Updates noted. Goal Keepers Then: Shay Given (until January), Steve Harper, Tim Krul, Fraser Forster Now: Steve Harper, Tim Krul, Fraser Forster Winner: Then (with Shay), even without. Update: Shay Given is better than Krul and Harper, though both Newcastle keepers have had their highlights this season. Unfortunately they've been littered with the odd lowlight which means that neither has really stood out as out first choice keeper. Shay is still the winner, despite him seldom playing himself. Defenders Then: Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Sebastian Bassong, Claudio Cacapa, Habib Beye, Jose Enrique, Ryan Taylor (after Jan), David Edgar, Tamas Kadar Now: Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Sol Campbell, Mike Williamson, Jose Enrique, James Perch, Danny Simpson, Ryan Taylor, Tamas Kadar Update: Our defense has looked quite strong on most occasions this season. Mike Williamson, although not perfect, has proved that he is able to compete at this level, and Coloccini is playing with confidence (excluding a horror performance against Bolton). Now is still the winner, with Enrique a more complete player than he was in 08/09 and Simpson doing a susprisingly good job at right back. Our depth in central defense has allowed us to cope well with injuries and suspensions. Winner: Now (largely due to depth). Midfielders Then: Nicky Butt, Danny Guthrie, Damien Duff, Kevin Nolan (after Jan), Joey Barton, Charles N'Zogbia, Jonas Gutierrez, Geremi, Alan Smith Now: Danny Guthrie, Kevin Nolan, Cheick Tiote, Jonas Gutierrez, Joey Barton, Wayne Routledge, Hatem Ben Arfa, Dan Gosling, Haris Vuckic, Alan Smith Winner: Now Update: Kevin Nolan has been scoring plenty of goals, and his leadership skills have developed immensely. Joey Barton has been a revelation playing in a hybrid right-mid position. We haven't had much of a look at Ben Arfa, but from what we've seen he looks great. Cheick Tiote has been a fantastic signing who really has filled a hole in the side. His sometimes reckless enthusiasm means that he'll miss plenty of games this season through suspension unfortunately. Dan Gosling is finally available for selection so it will be interesting to see how he fits into the overall picture. The winner is still very clearly now. Forwards Then: Obafemi Martins, Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, Shola Ameobi, Andy Carroll, Xisco, Peter Lovenkrands (after Jan), Now: Andy Carroll, Peter Lovenkrands, Shola Ameobi, Leon Best, Xisco, Nile Ranger Winner: Then (if Carroll stays fit/available it would be close). Update: Carroll has lived up to his promise and then some, except he already has missed quite a few games through injuries. He's certainly our stand out forward with our options after him falling away badly. Ameobi was fourth choice in 08/09 and is second choice now, which is a little worrying, but the injuries and inconsistencies of the three that were ahead of him in 08/09 means that it's still a tough choice to decide. On the strength of Carroll alone I'd give it to now, as the 08/09 crew were as inconsisten and unreliable as they come.