Player watch: Toby Alderweireld

[Shadydan]

But didn't the rumours say Poch wanted Toby out a long time ago? Stretching all the way back to the contract offer agreed and then reneged by Toby's representatives?

I want Toby to stay and think he will be great under Mourinho. But I don't really get the fuzz about this. If there was a some kind of breakdown between Toby and Poch, which is the impression most of us have I guess (?), then a new manager coming in, who clearly rates Toby, inevitably changes the contract situation. That's just football, no?

Didn't ITK say that Poch will leave of Toby signs a new deal? There was obviously a rift between the two.

 

[dudu]

Once Mourinho gets his message and details across, you will see a massive difference. Each player has their own unique responsibilities, with a shadow player covering two-three situations. Toby stuck to his task. But the whole unit needs to gel in those situations. And I am very sure they will.

That's good to hear really appreciate the info sharing mate.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

I do agree Foyth is an uncertainty and that's why I'd like to bring in a more dominant CB and have the option of them, Sanchez and 1 of the belgians whilst continuing to develop Foyth who would likely be the 4th choice for the time being. We also have Tanganga as @BringBack_leGin just mentioned. I'm concerned in the CB department we have let the young players we have brought in development slide and it's only now for example that Sanchez has had a consistent run since his 1st season. I think signing up two players who are entering their 30's and are already looking like they're on the decline isn't the best decision for our long term future.

Uncertainty I think captures the situation entirely, not only for one player, and I already pointed to it this last spring as a reason for needing new CBs (not without some ridicule at the time). Of course now it might be a good thing that we didn't sign a CB during the summer TW, because Pochettino and Mourinho might want different types.

But for me, due to uncertainty, it's evident that we should extend both Belgians. Foyth may or may not become good enough. Tanganga may or may not become good enough. I think statistically it is very unlikely that two youngsters both will become first choice players. Vertonghen & Alderweireld may or may not be/soon become on the decline (very much doubt they are at this point). We may or may not be successful in the transfer market. To me that is way too many if's.

What is a certainty, is that Alderweireld and Vertonghen are very experienced, very seasoned, which often is a good trait for CBs, and many CBs often do work very well into their mid thirties. Yes, keeping two older players is a hindrance to two younger players. That's how football is, players always are in each other way for various reasons. It's part of the trade, and the players too must fight their way to the top if they want to. It's not the club's responsibility to abandon what might be the best for the club now, because maybe a guy might become good in the future. And the fact that it took Sanchez this long may be because that was necessary regardless, not because he was hindered. In which case that is another argument for keeping the most experienced CBs.

 

[Gb160]

Everything about Spurs is bizarre at the moment, on the face of it keeping the players is a good thing but equally if we miss out on bringing through Foyth and Tanganga it might not look so wise in 3 years.

You don't bring in Jose to push through the youth, you bring him in to win stuff as its very likely he won't be here in 3 years time.
The fans cant have it both ways, and Jose isn't a long term appointment...I think hiring him is effectively putting the 'project' on pause for his tenure, winning trophies while we still have the likes of Kane now at his peak is the priority now.

 

[talkshowhost86]

He needs to earn his new contract IMO rather than assuming he'll get one.

Hasn't been very good for us in our recent decline, and whilst it's not all his fault (our midfield defensively is absolutely pony at the moment) he still hasn't been playing well and needs to prove that he still can under a new manager. If he steps up between now and Xmas then fine. But don't think he deserves it on merit at the moment, and certainly doesn't deserve it in terms of his apparent approach behind the scenes.

Same with Eriksen.

Same with Rose.

And based on all of their performances last night, I'd say they all have a lot of work to do to convince me we couldn't go and find better replacements.

Obviously there's a financial impact of that sort of approach, and I don't think for a second we'll go down that route, but in terms of pure playing impact I'd say they've all got work to do.

 

[spursfan77]

Because they are both ageing and they have looked as good playing together as they used to. I would like to rebuild the defense and they are part of that.

But they used to have a defensive shield in front of them. For the last year they haven’t. If we buy a defensive midfielder then it might help them get back to their best.

 

[Japhet]

I don't think he deserves a payrise at this point.

Not that I put any value in what AG says.

Time will tell. We can only trust Jose and Levy.

Any pay rise should be reflected in the length of contract on offer and the fact that he's virtually a free agent. Shorter contract/higher wages. Any pay rise should also be viewed like the kind of signing on bonuses players pick up on Bosman deals. If we don't offer him something tasty I wouldn't blame him for going somewhere that does - it's the way it works now. I'd personally like Toby to be offered a 3 year deal so that after 2 years we might still have a bit of sell on value.

 

[double0]

Living off past glory.

Along with Vertonghen and Rose, their very poor defensively it's pretty shocking seeing them perform badly so often. They're suppose to be defenders first and foremost but I never see them defend. Toby's legs have gone, he doesn't move them quick enough rarely commits to tackling. We need upgrades, I've been saying this for ages , Levy still needs to get the cheque book out fast. (Eriksen to one side)

 

[Tottenhamboy85]

Regardless of any problems you might have with it if there’s a chance you do it.

Retain a bit of value in him and helps ease the burden going in to next season without our two senior CBs

 

[pffft]

You don't bring in Jose to push through the youth, you bring him in to win stuff as its very likely he won't be here in 3 years time.
The fans cant have it both ways, and Jose isn't a long term appointment...I think hiring him is effectively putting the 'project' on pause for his tenure, winning trophies while we still have the likes of Kane now at his peak is the priority now.

I think most of the project is finished, and now it's all about trying to win trophies. Levy has said all along that he wants Spurs to be one of the biggest clubs in the world, but to get there we needed to sort the infrastructure out first. Training ground, academy, stadium, other revenue streams- all sorted now, with the obvious exception of the stadium sponsor. I'm struggling to see what else we need a "project" for, surely everything is now about setting the first team up to win things?

I understand Levy's reputation for not spending on the team but I also understand the reasons behind it: we obviously couldn't spend too much while we were building the training ground and stadium, but now we have a higher income and nothing that needs extensive financing, so I fully expect to see the income reinvested in a different way-namely being made available for transfers/wages, which I think we've already seen the start of with this summer's signings and now bringing in Mourinho. ENIC have always reinvested the income back into the club, and I don't see why that should change now.

However it turns out, I completely agree that there is no reason to bring Mourinho in unless we're trying to win trophies now.

 

[yankspurs]

I think most of the project is finished, and now it's all about trying to win trophies. Levy has said all along that he wants Spurs to be one of the biggest clubs in the world, but to get there we needed to sort the infrastructure out first. Training ground, academy, stadium, other revenue streams- all sorted now, with the obvious exception of the stadium sponsor. I'm struggling to see what else we need a "project" for, surely everything is now about setting the first team up to win things?

I understand Levy's reputation for not spending on the team but I also understand the reasons behind it: we obviously couldn't spend too much while we were building the training ground and stadium, but now we have a higher income and nothing that needs extensive financing, so I fully expect to see the income reinvested in a different way-namely being made available for transfers/wages, which I think we've already seen the start of with this summer's signings and now bringing in Mourinho. ENIC have always reinvested the income back into the club, and I don't see why that should change now.

However it turns out, I completely agree that there is no reason to bring Mourinho in unless we're trying to win trophies now.

Nothing that needs extensive financing? I assume you mean besides the 30 yr refinancing of the stadium we just did?

 

[pffft]

Nothing that needs extensive financing? I assume you mean besides the 30 yr refinancing of the stadium we just did?

No I included that, which is why I used the words that I did, even actually mentioning the stadium. That financing has been sorted and the repayments budgeted for, therefore it is not an additional area that needs extensive financing. Try and think like an accountant instead of someone who actually understands how maths work and you'll get it. Maybe. Accountants are weird.

There was a very good reason why the debt was refinanced in the way that it was. Actual words from the club (link to full piece is below):

"The refinancing has successfully repositioned the Club's balance sheet by extending the debt maturities with the longest maturities out to 30 years, lowering and fixing financing costs, positively impacting annual cash flow and adding financial flexibility for years to come. The average maturity of the total debt package of £637m is 23 years and the weighted average coupon, including the bank facilities is 2.66%. "

Club Refinances Construction Debt | Tottenham Hotspur

The Club today (Friday 20 September) closed its refinancing of the loans put in place to support the construction of our new stadium.

www.tottenhamhotspur.com

Basically, the refinancing was done to free up funds for other areas... and there aren't any other areas that need extensive financing...but I think this is where we came in.

 

[ardiles]

Both Belgians have been playing below their normal standards in the last few months but I think Jose will raise their play back up again.

I’m hoping that both sign new contracts with us. With Davies possibly out for a spell, Verts (when not used at CB) could rotate with Rose at LB.
Foyth could get game time, rotating at RB with Aurier. KWP should go out on loan .

We could then use the limited transfer funds in Jan to try and get a DM. Alternatively, we could go out and get a quality RB (Atal ?) and use Foyth as a temp DM, to, at least give him some game time.

Our younger CBs (Sanchez , Foyth & Tanganga) would get more valuable lessons from having extended training sessions with the two experienced Belgians.

 

[nailsy]

Absolutely, I don't want to get all caught up in the past 18 months and the politics that is pure conjecture from us as fans, what I care about is in the medium to long term what is the best decision. If I was Jose I wouldn't rush to get them signed onto new deals I'd take a sample of games and see if I think they're on the decline and also whether Foyth/Tanganga are showing signs of stepping up.

I'm not sure there's time for that. He can sign a contract with another team in just over a month.

 

[wrd]

I'm not sure there's time for that. He can sign a contract with another team in just over a month.

Fair point but I get feeling Alderweireld wants to settle down because he's expecting 2nd kid

 

[nailsy]

Fair point but I get feeling Alderweireld wants to settle down because he's expecting 2nd kid

Really? No wonder his forms dipped a bit if he's pregnant

 

[dontcallme]

I'm not sure there's time for that. He can sign a contract with another team in just over a month.

It's a difficult one. He had a £25m buyout clause but no one showed any real interest. Roma seemed the most interested but they aren't really a step up from us.

At the moment we have to hope TA gets back up to level and it seems he is pretty much already there. Now Jose is here and he has a fresh start he might see us as his best option.

Interested to see which clubs are interested in signing him.

 

[spursfan77]

Hopefully he’ll stay but I’m not entirely convinced. He says he’s happy Mourinho is here but nothing about actually staying when he easily could do. I guess he probably doesn’t want to weaken his bargaining position. We might not even be considering it yet.

Spurs star says he ‘feels lucky’ to work with Mourinho amid new contract claims

Tottenham centre-back Toby Alderweireld has told talkSPORT he ‘feels lucky’ to finally work with Jose Mourinho, amid claims he could sign a new contract with the club. The Belgian defender has wide…

talksport.com

 

[DannyNZ]

It’s not that long ago Toby and Vert were a formidable CB and our defence was solid. While both have ticked over the 30 mark I think the answer to why we no longer look solid defensively has much more to do with having a midfield that frankly has not been good enough for whatever reason. I’d like to see both stay and I’m pretty confident Jose will get the midfield sorted and dare I mention it our FBs who at times have been liabilities.

 

[cider spurs]

Hoping to see Verts and Alderweireld back to their imperious best under Mourinho's guidance.