Spurs Long Term Strategy?

There are a few problems with this:

Players like Bale, Huddlestone et al should get better and better, and the chances are another club will come in for them.

Spurs sometimes give very little time for players, and some of these will likely to be sold at some point.

Hudlestone can play the holding role and is looking better this season and he will improve as the season goes on - especially if he continually gets the nod above Zokora.

It looks like Defoe will be sold before the season is out, perhaps even before the transfer window closes as we as risking losing him for nothing - but then maybe Spurs will see fit to promote Barnard who has been amazing in Spurs reserves and deserves a chance.

The problem with Spurs, and the majority of fans is that they have no sense of long term - they want everything now! In a way I don't blame them because all we have heard for years is "we have a 3 / 5 / 10 year plan.

 

Spurs long-term strategy is to actually start winning things.

But what do I care? I support ManU now! They're ace! The tops!

 

The only thing I am worried about with Fulham is Kasey Keller. He was shit with us which means he will play anything but on Sat.

 

I really question whether the idea of teams staying together long-term and developing in the way you suggest will ever really happen again. The pressure to succeed, now, is too intense for clubs to wait. (Heck, for some executives, 2 games is too long ) Maybe the ManU late 90's generation of players is the last example of the core of a team coming through and staying together.

But if it were to happen, you'd say Huddlestone is the holding mid. Potentially Taarabt could be left-sided with Bale behind him. I haven't seen Boateng play but don't forget Jenas isn't exactly drawing his pension either.

 

Spurs are committed to buying and developing top youth players. Arsenal did a great job of buying budding stars just before they burst onto the international scene, but now most of the markets have gotten wise to that. So, Spurs are getting them younger for better prices (usually) and hoping some of them develop.

In addition to Lennon, Bale, Taarabt and Boateng--the midfielders you highlighted--Spurs also have highly rated center back Kaboul and are interested in adding Curtis Davies. They have Leigh Mills at the club but he doesn't seem to be panning out quite as well. We bought Dawson and he blossomed. We bought Calum Davenport and he's had trouble making the transition to the top level (so we sold him to West Ham), because like Huddlestone, he's just too lacking in the lateral quickness and absolutely requires being paired with a fast and quick partner in the middle. We also have Tom Huddlestone and Wayne Routledge, two more excellent players for their age group.

We have the Irish phenom Terry Dixon whom every seems to think is tremendous, but almost none of us have seen him play. We have Tomasz Pekhart who is a top target forward for his age group. We've really got a lot of nice prospects. You're only hearing about the ones that have made the breakthrough, but they don't all make it.

As for the guys you mentioned, I'd say Lennon is developing nicely and definitely going to become an England automatic selection. Bale is also good enough, and definitely going to make it to that top level, but he's maybe got a bit more of an adjustment still despite his mature physique. I can't really say too much about Boateng. But Taarabt has probably got as much or more skill than any of them, but he's also probably the least ready and the biggest "if" about whether he'll make it at all.

His dribbling is absolutely phenomenal--that part of his game is already in the top 1% of the Premiership. But, his reading of the game and passing are more in line with his age and still need significant development. He's a willing ball-winner and defender, but his skills are still raw and need refining. He's got the farthest to go in terms of becoming a top player, but he's probably the only one that's got the type of potential to become an iconic player like Giggs, Henry, Gerrard, etc. He's the only player we have that could absolutely dominate a game from start to finish ... IF he fulfills his potential. But, that's a big 'if.'

-Digital

 

To answer the OP's questions:

1) Uncertain whether Spurs can hold onto those starlets. If they truly blossom they'll command interest from top Champions League sides, and if Spurs cannot get CL games, they'll leave.

2) I hope and think that Jol will be around a bit longer, but that is very open to debate. By the time these guys blossom into a fantastic midfield, no clue who will be the coach ... or owners.

3) Taarabt does play defense, and I think he'll probably improve at it as he plays more Prem games. He's a willing defender and a pretty decent ball-winner. All he needs to improve is his man defending and positional defending. Boateng is a combo midfielder as I understand it, so he'd be more of a D-minded central midfielder while Taarabt would definitely be the primary attacker of the pair. Gerrard and Alonso sort of work this way. They're both combo players with Gerrard taking the attacking role and Alonso playing the holding/Dmid role most of the time, but Gerrard is a very capable defender and ball-winner. I doubt Taarabt ever reaches Gerrards defensive levels, but it might be similar to that dynamic. So yeah, it might work, but it's a projection as they grow and develop.

4) I don't know who should play the holding role, I'm kind of dissatisfied with all of the candidates at the moment. Zokora is obviously the best of the bunch, but he's still inconsistent. Jenas is a combo midfielder, but he'd have to retool his game to really become a Dmid. He's not a good enough holder/passer of the ball to make a great holding midfielder IMHO. He's at his best when he's allowed to use his speed and willingness to get stuck in as an enforcer and ball-winner and get on the end of passes and score.

Huddlestone is NOT a Dmid. It's taken me a while to come to this conclusion, but IMHO, his horrible lateral immobility prevents him from ever being a Dmid. He holds the ball fantastically, he's a tremendous passer--the best we have--and he's got a nice shot on him too, but he's an offense-only player unfortunately, and it seems he's just too limited physically by lack of any lateral quickness whatsoever. Huddlestone needs to be paired ideally with an Edgar Davids type player who can and will take the Dmid duties and surge forward in attack, plus enforce and win balls in the tackle. Jenas and possibly Boateng could pair well with him too, but Huddlestone is a deep lying playmaker, not a Dmid at all unfortunately.

Personally, I think we're still looking for a Dmid, as our roster hasn't really had a good one since Davids left.

-Digital