Former Tottenham Hotspur full-back Pascal Chimbonda has been discussing his old team’s progression this season and what needs to happen to realise Postecoglou’s lofty aims
Pascal Chimbonda believes that after a successful first season at Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou can realise his Premier League title challenge aims by bringing in a new Claude Makelele-type and a 25 goal-a-season striker.
Spurs welcome title-chasing Arsenal in Sunday’s north London derby with Postecoglou having made it clear in recent weeks that he expects his club to be challenging at the top of the Premier League table this time next year. Tottenham are currently fifth in the table, six points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with two games in hand.
“I think if I was to sum up Tottenham’s season so far in one word, I’d have to say ‘inconsistent’. We started really bright, you know, and have played some really nice football, but our squad isn’t as big as Man City’s, or Arsenal’s, or Liverpool’s, and that’s why I think we ran out of gas in the middle of the season. I know we score a lot, but we concede too many goals, and that’s ultimately what’s cost us at times. We need to find some consistency moving forward,” Chimbonda said at Ladbrokes Fanzone’s North London Derby mural.
On the new manager, he added: “You can’t really ask for much more from Ange Postecoglou, considering it’s his first season in charge. He came to the club and brought a new ID with him, which people have enjoyed. We’re challenging for fourth place in the table and you’d have to say that would be considered a successful first season in charge.
“I love his honesty. I love that he speaks the truth. When he has to say something, he says it. He’s a calm guy and I think the most important thing is that the players like him and believe in his ID. You can see they want to win for him, and that’s a special position to be in.”
Chimbonda agrees with Postecoglou that Tottenham need to be challenging for something next season and the 45-year-old believes that a couple of big additions in key areas will make all the difference in realising the Australian’s ambitions.
“I think Tottenham have got to win a trophy next season, that’s how you start to build something special. You know, whether it’s an FA Cup or the Carabao Cup, even challenging for the title, actually. The gap between us and the top three really isn’t that big, I don’t think,” said the former right-back.
“The next few weeks are really important because there are some big games coming up against that top three, and it’s an opportunity for Spurs to test themselves ahead of a bigger push next year.
“Strengthening the team this summer is so important; we need to add depth. First of all, I think we need to add some more quality at the back, maybe one or two new centre-backs. I’d also like to see us add a midfielder when the transfer window opens. Someone like a Claude Makelele who doesn’t even think about attacking; all he thinks about is protecting the back four.
“Then, the obvious area for me would be up-front; we need to bring someone in who is capable of scoring 20-25 goals a season because we lost that when Harry Kane left last summer. Ollie Watkins is very good. He’s strong, he’s powerful and he knows where the goal is.
“Dominic Solanke is the same; he’s a big guy who has shown he’s capable of scoring goals. Both have Premier League experience and, for someone like Solanke who plays for Bournemouth… while I don’t want to say they’re a small club, you’d expect that if Solanke was to sign for a bigger team in the league, he’d probably find himself scoring even more goals.”
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