English Football 13/14

What's Spuds goal though? Do they want to always come 5th or want to challenge seriously? A squad with depth like their's is going to get them a Europa league spot consistently, but you need game breakers to compete for the title.

 

Yeah, I didn't think Negredo would do much, but his off-ball movement is actually really, really good. Opens up so much space for guys like Nasri, Navas and Aguero to work underneath him.

 

If your definition of better off is to be the kings of Europa league and consistent 5th-6th place finishes then yeah, they will be, but if you want to be making Champions League and competing for titles, they aren't.

I don't think Spurs are really at fault here because they had no choice, Bale had his mind set on Madrid, but they aren't going to be better off from it.

Arsenal with Oezil is a perfect example of a great move. There wasn't a dire need for an attacking midfielder, especially considering Cazorla was coming off a very good season. But the opportunity presented itself and when you can pick up someone like Oezil who's a world class player and one of the best in the world, you take it. Even if you don't need him at that specific position, class wins championships, not being solid.

Spurs did the opposite. While it's important to have depth when you're playing a season of 50+ games to ensure that you can take the field with a fresh lineup every match, you don't just pour money into a position where you aren't improving it but rather just bolstering it. Lamela, Holtby, Lennon, Townsend, Chadli, Eriksen and Sigurdsson who can all fill in as attacking mids in the 4-2-3-1 Villas-Boas plays. Yes I understand they each have different roles, with Holtby and Eriksen the primarily central players, but it's also a pretty fluid setup so there is the degree of interchangeability. But my point is, especially with Soldado being a mug up front who isn't built to be a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1, you have a lot of silver but no gold. Time will tell if Lamela can live up to his billing, but looking at that you've got a group that no matter what the game, you're putting out a strong 3, but that's kind of where it stops. No better no worse.

 

Not really sure what you're saying :| it's not as though Tottenham were some mid table side devoid of any quality outside of Bale and only ever won a game because of him (or were they :ninja. They have some decent players in a number of positions.

Anyway, having a good team and game breaking players isn't exclusive though. Class players however not only give your team that spark that can turn a game and take the team to the next level, but it lifts the play of others around them. Bale put defenses into a spin, he'd draw in more than one defender and even if he didn't, he left defensive support with unclear assignments. His presence alone opens up opportunities for the others around him.

Champions league is always one or two seasons off for Spuds. Might as well make that the team motto and in two years you'll probably be saying the same thing.
Also saying you'd rather be in champions league on a team effort over an individual effort is pretty ludicrous. The theory is that a team is more consistent than an individual, but if you make champions league either way, the problem you speak of is actually irrelevant given that it was overcome in the first place to qualify. In fact, it's probably better to make it on the back of an individual because you've got the star and have to fill out weak positions meaning there's a higher ceiling than having a solid squad but not having anything to really fix nor having anything to improve it with.