Levy and the waiting game

We are now at the end of July and it is exactly 31 days until the end of the transfer window. Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and even Arsenal have strengthened their squads in key positions.


United have bought a winger, a centre half and a goalkeeper. Liverpool have bought a winger and a central midfielder. Manchester City have bought one of the worlds best players (again) and will probably buy another entire squad before the window closes just for the craic. Even notorious non-spenders Arsenal have bought a striker. 


In the midst of all this Tottenham have signed a teenage striker (albeit a highly rated one) when it is clear that our squad needs more extensive strengthening and bloodletting. 


For a start there is a considerable amount of deadwood that needs to be either cleared from the ranks or turned around. This group consists of David Bentley, Giovani Dos Santos, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas, Ben Alnwick and Bongani Khumalo. In my less-than-humble opinion I would sell them all except Dos Santos who I believe still has something to offer, he's young, quick and has bags of technique. He just needs to get more first team opportunities.


Then there is the necessary strengthening. We need another centre half. Ledley King and William Gallas cannot be relied upon for an entire season meaning we essentially have two centre halves (Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong) and two half-centre halves. We also need a striker. We have three strikers in our first team squad but not one of them is a stand-out 20-25 goal a season striker. I think we should allow Roman Pavlyuchenko or Peter Crouch to move on and use the money to put towards a world class replacement. 


I'm guessing here but I figure most Spurs fans would agree with the changes I've outlined above and must therefore conclude that Daniel Levy recognises the necessary changes. So why in the name of Great Oden's Raven has he not done anything about it!? 


I can only assume it's because he's doing what he always does. Playing the waiting game, looking for that last minute deal to get the best value player or get the best price for a squad member. It's a tactic that has it's advantages and Levy is very good at it. However it's a risky business and I can't escape the feeling that come midnight on August 31st we are going to have the same squad we do now (minus Luka Modric) and be a long way behind our competitors.