On 1 September 2013, Spanish side Real Madrid announced that they had reached an agreement with Tottenham for the transfer of Bale signing a six-year deal for a reported fee £85.3 million.
On 1 September 2013, Spanish side Real Madrid announced that they had reached an agreement with Tottenham for the transfer of Bale signing a six-year deal for a reported fee £85.3 million.
But never mind that….
The Andre Villas-Boas led Tottenham invested £108m in new players before the Bale deal was complete. The London based club was looking to avoid the deadline day disappointments of last season and brought in Christian Eriksen, Paulinho, Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela, Etienne Capoue Nacer Chadli and Vlad Chiriches.
Tottenham were left stunned when the Brazilian Willian, after completing a medical with the club, decided to join Chelsea, but could feel satisfied that they have sign Danish wonderkid Eriksen instead.
AVB for the first time in his short coaching career is spending a second season at a club and with the Spurs fans very demanding he has set his target of finishing in the top four.
Many will argue that Spurs has a squad capable of challenging for the title after the addition of 7 new players. With managerial changes at Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City; Spurs will feel confident that they can be a real force this season.
At Chelsea, Jose Mourinho is still trying to settle on his starting 11 and with the Blues still lacking a striker to score the goals it could be a tough season for the “Happy One” and his troops. The blue side of Manchester has a man in charge who has never won any major silverware and he is still trying to find his feet in the English Premier League.
Meanwhile at Manchester United, Moyes is the man at the helm and with Marouane Fellaini their only major signing, this average looking side could struggle.
But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has backed AVB in the transfer window and together they have put together a better squad than last season with strength and depth. I believe they are a better team without Gareth Bale who signed for Madrid. Make no mistake, Bale was of course Tottenham’s best player; a world class talent who won Spurs so many games last season and was scoring goals just for fun.
The squad is, as Mourinho says, fantastic. The question is will they claim the crown this season?
Truth is though, the board, the coach, the fans, the players really don’t know how this massive investment will work out at White Hart Lane. One thing for certain though is that they have a manager and a team hungry for success.
Writer – Stephen Stanberry
Photo: Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas (AP)
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