Hey Big Spenders

With summer spending topping the £30 million mark and a host of new arrivals, Spurs now have one of the biggest squads in the Premiership, but it remains to be seen whether they can fulfil their ambitions to qualify for the Champions League and, in the shorter term, make an impact in the UEFA Cup. So far, with two defeats and a solitary win from their first three games in the Premier League, it has to be conceded that they haven’t made much of an entrance.

As for the signings, there’s little doubt that strikers Dmitar Berbatov and Mido and midfielders Didier Zokora and Steed Malbranque (when he is fit) will enhance the squad, and Pascal Chimbonda may prove a valuable acquisition (he certainly needs to – they’ve been after him for almost as long as Chelsea have been chasing Ashley Cole). After that there are the ‘unknown quantities’ (at least as far as Spurs fans are concerned) – Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Dorian Dervite and Tomas Pekhart. But in the final analysis it may be the players that Martin Jol missed out on that really decide Spurs’ fate – and amongst that group Damien Duff (late of Chelsea) and Stewart Downing (still at Middlesbrough) come tantalisingly to mind.