Spurs’ reasons to be cheerful

Wednesday, 01/02/2012

by James Willis, Shoot's Tottenham blogger

Most Tottenham fans came out of Transfer Deadline day moaning and grumbling at the club's less-than-stellar signings – but including the win over Wigan Athletic, the evening was actually a rather more successful one for Spurs.

The general reception when the deadline day deals for Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen started filtering through was on of shock and despair from many Spurs fans, myself included. However, in the grand scheme of things, the work done on January 31 is not as bad as first thought.

Saha was the first player to be confirmed on an 18 month contract, undoubtedly as back up for both Defoe and Adebayor. Although some may argue that Pavlyuchenko is better than Saha and should have been retained instead, the cost difference between the outgoing Russian and incoming Saha adds more funds to Tottenham's summer piggy bank.

Giovani Dos Santos has also proved that he is more than capable of stepping in if need be, perhaps not always as a lone forward, but on his day he can beat anyone.

Ryan Nelsen was the other incoming transfer in a deal which, although yet to be confirmed, was also free. Blackburn cancelled Nelsen's contract at the end of the window making him a free agent for Tottenham to pick up without having to pay a fee. Nelsen's free agent status also meant that Spurs could complete the deal outside of the transfer window.

The defender may not be seen as much of an upgrade from Bassong, who was loaned out to Wolves, but his performances at the World Cup in 2010 and his experience in the position make him a more than capable back up for Kaboul, King and Dawson.

Nelsen is expected to be signing on a six-month deal until the summer with an option for a further year. By which time youngster Steven Caulker will have returned to Spurs and most likely be preparing to push his way into the first team squad.

So, all in all, Spurs removed some of the deadweight from the squad, be it on loan or permanent, and brought in a few needed reinforcements to solidify the squad once again, whilst making money out of the whole thing.

Spurs fans should find it hard to question that sort of business following the largely similar response that Brad Friedel's initial signing had – before he went on to establish himself as a fan favourite so early on.

For the eternally pessimistic Spurs fan though, there was another high point in the night which couldn't be argued with.

The club hosted Wigan at White Hart Lane and a strong performance from Gareth Bale in particular saw a solid 3-1 win for the high-flying Lilywhites.

The result also largely made up for the recent Premier League defeat to Manchester City, following their northern rivals 1-0 loss to Everton, also on deadline day.

Bale scored two of the goals, with Modric hitting a sublime finish as well. The wonderful display of attacking football will have given the club confidence that they can "re-enter" the title race having been written off again after the loss to City.

All in all though, it would be hard to bemoan what was a solid evening for the club, especially given the recent boost that the local council provided to Tottenham's bid for a new stadium.

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