On Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur have had a very good two weeks indeed. They have won twice in the Premier League with their main rivals for the top four (that is Arsenal and Man U) both dropping points. They've also got through to the semi finals of the League Cup with a very winnable tie against Sheffield United and a good chance of winning a rare trophy.

It's not a big secret that manager Mauricio Pochettino isn't very happy with his squad. But he has got the team well organized and is making the best of a difficult situation. Most of the players Baldini and Levy sign are completely useless. So it's no surprise to see a youth team player, Harry Kane, doing so well. Kane has been a revelation scoring 14 goals already this season and will surely be called up for England in the Spring. Pochettino is clearly good at bringing the best out of young players (e.g. Lallana, Shaw and Chambers at Southampton) and deserves a lot of credit for Kane's success.

Spurs could do with a couple of new quality players but they also need to get rid of a lot of dead wood (they have 33 first team players). A few players (such a Andros Townsend) need to go out on loan in order to play regularly and get their confidence back. However, with Levy, Baldini and now new Director of Player Development Paul Mitchell all involved in transfer decisions I suspect Pochettino will find it difficult to get what he wants (I hope I'm wrong, for his sake). Ultimately, it seems that Spurs' transfer strategy is confused. Is it important for them to recoup investments when possible (I understand this is important for Levy)? In that case, why have such a big squad of players, many of whom are wasting their time and losing value in the reserves. Are they trying to buy established talent (as the signings of Soldado and Erikson suggest) or are they trying to invest more in young players with potential (as they did with Lamela)?

Spurs have a fantastic young manager who I think will go on to great things. But they have to be realistic too. They are only 5th in the league on money spent since 2003 and only 6th in terms of net spend. If they want to be in the top four regularly they are going to have to spend like a top four team. But they are also going to have to treat Pochettino a lot better than they've treated previous managers by giving him support, time and a greater say over transfers.

Happy Christmas to my Christian readers. This blog will continue on New Year's Day with (hopefully) a new and innovative format :)