Tottenham's Future: In Safe Hands??

Stop press, hold the phone, the delightful carousel that is Tottenham's transfer policy has spun back into action. There we all were, plodding on with our daily lives as expressionless as Phil Brown after his latest Botox injection and then 'Arry stings us with a blinder of a transfer. Tottenham are apparently 'delighted to announce' the signing of some lad called Walker. No, not our shaven headed defensive prodigy but a man old enough to be his father who looks like he woke up on a park bench . I introduce you to Jimmy Walker, the newest addition to Tottenham's young ambitious title challenging squad...(pause for rapturous applause)...erm yeah I thought as much.

Well lets look at his career credentials. 9 years at Walsall and 5 years at the Spammers (with 13 only appearances). Hardly the kind of stuff that makes the earth move. Oh wait I'm forgetting he did have recent first team experience...with Colchester on loan. 'Arry have you been taking your pills properly?

Perhaps in light of Gomes's injury this was just the managerial equivalent of 'double bagging' but this transfer worries me. It seems strange to me that under the financial stewardship of Levy, a man so notoriously tight he makes Alan Sugar look like Father Christmas, we would want to expand our strict wage bill with more goalkeeping cover. No doubt Walker is on a relative pittance of a wage, bumbling along on four figures a week, poor old chap, but his signing serves to highlight a far deeper problem.

Two or three years ago Ben Alnwick was an exciting prospect. Not the type that had Lineker and Hanson bouncing up and down like Zokora on speed, but the type of player who looked talented, solid and with the character to succeed. His form during his Sunderland days was impressive and he even saved a Robbie Keane penalty. One should note this was back in the days before Keane went to play for his boyhood club Celtic...oh sorry I mean Liverpool. Alnwick played well in a poor Sunderland team and was only kept from a consistent place by the rising star of Joe Hart. At the beginning of this season I was not surprised that he was loaned out to Norwich, after all he could not expect much football behind Gomes and Cudicini, and, after all, loans are an important part of any young players development. It has always seemed to me that Alnwick was the obvious replacement to Cudicini when the time came for him to move to a plush retirement pad in Naples. When Gomes was injured, that comfy looking empty seat at the Lane with “Goalkeeping sub” written on it seemed to have a natural successor. Cudicini was (and is) a more than capable deputy for Gomes and the injury was only predicted to be a month long affair. So why wasn't Alnwick recalled?

The simple answer is that neither Alnwick or Button (who has represented England at U-19 and U-20 level) were considered good enough to warm the bench. The panic measure of bringing in cover may have been justified if Gomes's injury had ruled him out for the season but there he was in the dugout, kitted up, for the United game. Alnwick and Button may not set the world alight but if the Academy are not capable of producing players worthy of providing two games worth of cover then I despair. Either that or Cudicini will be on his way in January...

In 'Arry We Trust