Long Form: Assessing Tottenham’s Deadline Failures
By Ryan Wrenn
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What Can Tottenham Do Moving Forward?
When Tottenham has faltered so far this season, it’s never been in any way that a player like Berahino could have directly affected. Berahino couldn’t have prevented Kyle Walker scoring an own goal against United or Alderweireld from giving up a penalty kick against Stoke. Those are problems which money cannot easily fix.
All of which is to ask: why would the club be all that concerned about acquiring Berahino or Wanyama if they justifiably believe that Tottenham’s performances can and will improve regardless of any investment, why would they go out and break the bank?
These rhetorical questions only serve as a guess, of course, and cannot be said to have been how the club has always worked. Clearly Gareth Bale’s departure in 2013 preceded a series of ill-advised panic buys that ultimately hurt the club more than they helped. There are signs, though, that the club has wised up since then. Mitchell’s appointment as head of recruitment is the symbol of that evolution.
If Levy and company still feel compelled to service the Tottenham fanbase and more direct investors by appearing to make moves for such and such handful of players, so be it. In their eyes it could be that even failure is better than the perception of inactivity, especially for a generation of fans and business partners that rely on the illusion of constant movement. As the game becomes more business than culture, the intricacies and processes within the club necessarily become too murky for your average fan to comprehend, much less dictate.