Our old friends over at the Daily Mail lead with a story today stating that Tim Sherwood will build his new Tottenham around a core of British talent. Former incumbent Andre Villas-Boas received plenty of criticism in the summer as Steven Caulker, Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker left the club while seven overseas replacements came in but the paper expects the new boss to reverse that trend.
The story claims that,
‘Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood has told sporting director Franco Baldini he wants a British core to his squad.
The Spurs boss wants to put his stamp on the squad by introducing more homegrown talent to his ranks.’
But who exactly do the Mail think will cross over and form the Nucleus of Tim’s new Tottenham?
Luke Shaw is the first name to spring to mind and it’s an obvious link: Spurs have had issues at left back for the second campaign in a row and Shaw is the best young left sided defender in the country.
Other suggestions are a little more left field: Aaron Creswell is another left back who has impressed for Ipswich this season while Burnley striker Danny Ings is driving his side’s promotion challenge.
Ings is an interesting shout – at 21 he has 22 goals in 71 games for Burnley and while that shows promise, compare the record with Blackburn’s Scottish international Jordan Rhodes (pictured) who averages considerably more than a goal every other game throughout his career.
If no Premiership club was willing to take a chance on Rhodes when he left Huddersfield in 2012, would anyone really risk a punt on Danny Ings?
It’s an interesting and worthy suggestion from the Mail but does Britain have talent enough to back it up?
We happily see luke shaw in squad but not danny ings
Tom Carroll, Ryan Fredericks, Adam Smith, Ryan Mason to add to Walker, Naughton, Daws, Fryers, Lennon, Townsend, Kane (Livermore??)…that’s a whole team right there
Pikey, who would play in goal? All of these players are outfield players.
If Sherwood was foolish enough to field most of these players together in the first team, we would be relegated.
TS said he wants an english core, i’m just pointing out that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gonna spunk £30m on Luke Shaw. He’s already shown he’s happy to pluck players from the development squad to fill holes in the first team. Levy’s got to be happy with that after the Arry and AVB spending sprees.
Honestly, it’s so depressing not having any players come through the ranks apart from King and Townsend. Plenty others would have made it if given the chance. TS is the best man to structure the club properly because he knows and trusts the youngsters
We should go back to the days when we had to field eight English / British players. After all it is an English game in an English league, send the rest packing.
I think you would have to take that one up with the EU.
COYS
I honestly don’t think that there is good enough English talent coming through or being allowed to come through at the moment and the few who are worthy, cost twice as much as a foreign player of equal ability who are of similar age if you express an interest in buying them. That’s the dilemma top flight clubs face. The Daily Mail so called newspaper is trying to stir up a racial motive here with their article. Lets not forget that fairly recently, Tim Sherwood was in charge of youth development at Spurs so he had first-hand knowledge of all the kids coming through at the club. If he was so concerned with the lack of English talent, why are there so many foreign youngsters on Spurs books instead of Englishmen? Why is Bentaleb playing regularly in the first team (very well I may add) and Tom Carroll loaned out to QPR? They both play more or less in the same position.
I disagree Ray, there is plenty of talent coming through, it just never gets blooded because managers fear the sack and would prefer to spend say £50m on some seasoned internationals than trust the kids.
Bentaleb is in the team because TS gave him a chance and he took it. Carroll was loaned out by AVB because he was scared of getting sacked if he played him. The irony
If Kenny D is TS mentor. Think again. Andy Carroll etc at LFC. More quality overseas for the Money