Tottenham cannot keep relying on Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart to score goals. Can Harry work some January magic?

Rafael van der Vaart’s arrival at White Hart Lane was not without it’s problems, with the club receiving what the Premier League termed as ‘special dispensation’ in order to complete Dutchman’s signing for he incredible fee of £8m. Whilst that is understandably old news, it is fitting to note the price tag, which in my opinion was the best piece of business done in last summers transfer market. VDV has been enjoying a ‘purple patch’ since day one at Spurs. Working alongside the impressive Gareth Bale has meant Spurs have been reaping the rewards in terms of goals scored.

VDV and Bale have already notched up 22 goals between them since the start of the season; 16 of which have come in the Premier League. When you consider the fact that the remainder of the Spurs squad have managed 14 Premier League goals between them, you begin to see why VDV and Bale’s presence is so important to Spurs. The likes of Pavlyuchenko, Crouch, Defoe, Modric, Huddlestone and Lennon have not been ‘firing on all cylinders’ shall we say. Granted, the likes of Defoe and Huddlestone have suffered injuries. Despite missing over half of Tottenham’s season, Roman Pavlyuchenko has bagged on five occasions this season also.

I have at times been mesmerised by some of the football Spurs have been playing. Their strength in wider areas of the field has given most of the Premier League’s full-backs a very rough ride. VDV is a very talented player, whose time at Real Madrid in particular seems to have only helped him as a player. He looks exquisite with the ball at his feet; and undoubtedly possesses the kind of footballing brain that is needed to succeed at the absolute highest level. Simiarly,  Bale has shown that a combination of dribbling at pace, quality deliveries and finishing of the highest level makes him one of the Premier League’s most sought-sought after assets.

What worries me about Tottenham is what may happen if they were to lose Bale and VDV for any significant length of time. I am not saying that the pair have carried Tottenham this season, because the performances of Harry Redknapp’s men has been generally very good al round. I jut feel that with Crouch and Defoe not firing, as well as Robbie Keane making clear he wants out; do Spurs need to sign a Striker in January to keep up the pace towards the top of the table? If anyone can pull a late deal of real quality out of the hat it is Harry Redknapp; but the transfer window so far for Spurs has not produced a quality Striker, rather another skillful Midfielder to add to Spurs growing collection.

Redknapp quickly assessed Spurs’ chances of winning this season’s league title by ranking them as “outsiders”; which in my opinion is a fair assessment. The 0-0 draw with Man Utd at the weekend did not tell the whole story. Spurs accumulated 16 attempts on goal, as well as 8 corners and 59% of possession. To not take three points with statistics like that was very disappointing for Redknapp. What I felt however was that Spurs were lacking somebody up front to finish off the chances being created. Let’s face it, if VDV and Bale are not scoring goals, somebody must step up for Spurs and do the job.

Just under 12 days remain in this season’s January Transfer Window. What I would really like to see is Spurs signing a Striker of decent calibre who can start to put the ball in the back of the net. It has been a pleasure to watch Spurs play some beautiful football this season; and coming from a Villa fan it is the only beautiful football I have seen! If Spurs are not successful in the purchase of a Striker you would have to hope that Crouch and Defoe pull their socks up during what is going to be a very tough second half of the season. The Premier League is becoming very competitive; during which time the likes of Berbatov, Tevez, Drogba, Bent and Carroll are maintaining their sharp eye for goal. Who will Harry buy? Who knows? The introduction of the ‘elusive’ 20-goal a season Striker could be exactly what Spurs need to move to the next level…an assault of the Premier League title.

DH