Spurs are planning a £450 million redevelopment of White Hart Lane, an excess of over £50 million more than expected. This is coming on the back of a net loss of £6.6 million for the financial year 2009-2010. With the alternative option to a new stadium for Spurs, the Olympic stadium in Stratford, being the highly unpopular and perceived as merely a back up to their plans to stay in North London, it would seem finances could be stretched tot the limit for the next few years at Tottenham. Therefore the club, which is normally able to be so active in the transfer market, may well be forced to scale back its activity there.
They would not be alone in having to curtail their interest in the transfer market after such a vast expenditure. Neighbours Arsenal spent £390 million to move into their state of the art Emirates stadium. And have been far more restrained in the transfer market recently. Arsene Wenger argues he does not wish to spend big money recruiting talent and has faith in his developing young gunners. But questions remain over how much there is to spend after having to pay off the cost of the stadium. But even a new stadium in not the sole reason for scaling back on transfer expenditure Liverpool, Manchester United and even Chelsea have all seen their wings clipped in terms of financial clout in the transfer market. The mega rich owners at these clubs have started to feel the financial squeeze. And Tottenham must surely be no exception. After being outspent only by Manchester City, a club they can clearly not compete with financially, in England since the arrival of Harry Redknapp.
Emphasis could therefore on youth development, an area that has been severely lacking at the club for a good few years. When you look down the current first team, Ledley King is the only name that stands out from having come through the youth ranks at Tottenham. If the financial clout to bring in talent is taken away by the stadium development than this is an issue that needs addressing pretty urgently. Of course young players bought in for not huge financial cost do form a major part of the team. But this policy advocated and pursued so strongly throughout the Jol years has seemed to dry up in the pursuit of more immediate goals. A transfer policy akin to this one coupled with greater emphasis on the development of players at the club could well be the best solution to offset the potential damage of a much financially reduced role in the transfer market.
The emergence of Manchester City as such big spenders and now rivals with Spurs could also be detrimental to the clubs hopes in the transfer market. We saw with the Bellamy saga how Manchester City perceive Tottenham as a challenge and were therefore not willing to do business with them. I would not put it beyond the realms of possibility that this could extend to them feigning interest in a Spurs target to exaggerate their valuation beyond the reach of Tottenham’s financial grasp.
Furthermore it distinctly irks many Tottenham fans that there are no players at the club who are Tottenham through and through. As mentioned King is probably the exception, but compared to other clubs at the top who have developed players who have gone on to embody the club and become modern day legends, there is something missing here at Tottenham. And although no guaranteed loyalty comes from a player who comes through the youth ranks. Fans would certainly fell more at ease that players bought through the club who live and breathe Tottenham would be less susceptible to a move to greener pastures, when compared to the current crop of imports whose heads could in all probability be more easily turned.
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