Ranking Tottenham 2014 Transfer Window Signings on Last Season's Efforts
Tottenham Hotspur's newly appointed head coach Mauricio Pochettino was, publicly at least, content with his club's 2014 transfer window business.
"I have always felt from the beginning that we did not need to make big changes to this squad," he told Tottenham's official website. "We were always certain that we would only make changes if we believed they would benefit us in the long term."
Of these changes, eight players with some first-team experience left. The following article looks back and ranks the first season efforts of the five signings who joined those who were kept on.
They are defenders Ben Davies, Eric Dier and Federico Fazio, midfielder Benjamin Stambouli and goalkeeper Michel Vorm.
American full-back DeAndre Yedlin was also recruited ahead of what turned out to be a January arrival. Given he made just one substitute appearance as part of a gradual easing-in process, he is not included in the rankings.
The placement criteria puts an emphasis on the quality of the players' respective contributions—both individually and as part of each player's position unit—with level of involvement the deciding factor. Ultimately, though, each player's ranking is subjective.
At number five, the first of two arrivals from Swansea City.
5. Michel Vorm
1 of 5
Appearances (goals)
Premier League: 4
FA Cup: 3
Capital One Cup: 5
Europa League: 2
Michel Vorm knew what would be awaiting him when he left south Wales for north London. Hugo Lloris was already in place as first-choice goalkeeper, so Vorm's first-team opportunities would be limited as long as the Frenchman was fit.
Even so, missing out on a Capital One Cup final place after starting in every preceding round will have stung. Pulling back-up duty to allow Lloris periodic rest, the Dutchman had done solid work helping Spurs to Wembley. On the day, though, squad seniority trumped sentiment and any sense of in-competition, performance-based loyalty.
Vorm's lowly place on these rankings is as much to do with us not finding out anything we did not know from his time at Swansea.
He covered adequately for Lloris when needed. In addition to the aforementioned cup run he notably filled in for four Premier League games when the skipper suffered an injury early on against Leicester City in April. Bar getting caught out for Jeffrey Schlupp's winner in the FA Cup fourth-round defeat to the Foxes, Vorm did little wrong when he got the call.
A sound signing for sure, but one whose true value may not be properly realised while Lloris is still ahead of him in the pecking order.
4. Benjamin Stambouli
2 of 5
Premier League: 12
FA Cup: 2
Capital One Cup: 5
Europa League: 6 (1)
"Benji Stambouli offers us versatility as well as quality," Pochettino noted in his aforementioned analysis of Tottenham's transfer business with the club's website. "He knows what it takes to win and will prove a tremendous addition in both defensive midfield and also in defence if needed."
Stambouli the defender was not actually seen until Spurs' post-season tour of Malaysia and Australia. The competition was not fierce by any means, but his diligent work at centre-back may have reminded his coach of his potential usefulness there.
Stambouli the midfielder provided a steady option for Pochettino to rotate into the team in the season's opening months, primarily for cup games up until Christmas. At that point, the 24-year-old finally got a more opportunities in the Premier League.
Impressive helping Spurs to an away win at Swansea City, he played his part in successfully stifling Manchester United's expensive, starry attack a few weeks later. Conceding a penalty in the defeat at Crystal Palace showed Stambouli's fondness for a tackle could be used against him by the division's loathsome theatrically inclined players. But altogether, the bite he provided in midfield chimed with Pochettino's description of him as someone who "knows what it takes to win."
Yet Stambouli appeared just three times after February. Despite the obvious strategical value the Frenchman offered protecting his defence, the young midfield partnership of Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason was continuously preferred.
Even accounting for their retention of their place through leaner periods perhaps being as much about furthering their development as a slight on him, it was a frustrating way for Stambouli to end his first campaign with Spurs. Similar to Vorm, the lack of a real run in the team made it difficult to see just how capable he was.
3. Ben Davies
3 of 5
Premier League: 14
FA Cup: 2
Capital One Cup: 4
Europa League: 8
"Ben Davies arrives as a young player with a wealth of experience already in the Premier League and we now have two outstanding, internationals vying for the left-back position," Pochettino said of the Welshman joining Danny Rose in the battle to patrol Tottenham's left flank.
His suggestion "they will be motivated to improve each other" certainly proved to be accurate.
Like the two entries already in these rankings, Davies had to primarily make do with cup duty to begin with. The decent, intermittently testing opposition Spurs faced early on in the Capital One Cup and Europa League—Besiktas being the toughest—gave the then-21-year-old sufficient playing time to settle at his new club without the burden of expectation that would have come with an automatic starting spot.
An injury to Rose in mid-November, coupled with the Englishman's stuttering form, presented Davies his opportunity to replicate the top-flight performances that convinced Spurs to buy him. A few iffy moments aside, he did just that heading into the New Year.
It would be small consolation to Davies that what proved partly to be a ploy from Pochettino to get more out of Rose successfully paid off. The Wales defender went back to a bit-part role, and while mostly dependable when called upon, the general inaction was not always helpful to his slotting back in.
That was evident in a nervy display away at Southampton in April. The match would unfortunately be the last of his season, as he suffered a dislocated shoulder late in the game.
Davies' 2014-15 may not have been thoroughly satisfying individually. But in providing competition-enhancing depth at left-back, the transfer definitely paid off.
2. Eric Dier
4 of 5
Premier League: 28 (2)
FA Cup: 1
Capital One Cup: 3
Europa League: 3
An Englishman getting his first real taste of English football, Eric Dier arrived from Sporting Lisbon already highly regarded from ongoing experiences representing his country at youth level. The season that followed demonstrated the attributes that have led to such high hopes for the defender.
Strong, forceful and with a surprisingly decent turn of pace, Dier showed himself to be comfortable mixing with the range of styles found in the Premier League.
Switched to right-back after starting centrally on the opening day of the season, his attacking instincts quickly came to the fore when he scored a terrific stoppage-time winner against West Ham United. By the season's end, he was also showing a good eye for a pass, notably setting up both of Spurs' goals in the 2-2 draw with Southampton.
Pochettino made good use of Dier's versatility. In between deploying him at right-back during Kyle Walker's spells out with injury, the head coach also handed him the chance to impress at centre-back in some big games.
He played well in the win over Arsenal and showed commendable sturdiness battling with Chelsea's physical front man Diego Costa in the Capital One Cup final. But there were also lapses in concentration and slow reactions in losses at Liverpool and Manchester United, which highlighted Dier still has much to learn.
The 21-year-old was not alone in this regard. But if he is to cement himself as a regular starter in either position, Dier will need to prove he can be relied upon on a consistent basis.
1. Federico Fazio
5 of 5
Premier League: 20
FA Cup: 2
Capital One Cup: 3
Europa League: 6
Federico Fazio will be grateful first impressions are not everything in football. At least so far as the Premier League is concerned—he appeared in three cup games prior. His first outing in English football's top-flight was not a happy one, culminating as it did in his dismissal.
Away at Manchester City the Argentinian actually defended decently in an otherwise bumbling rearguard effort from Tottenham. Yet one costly moment that saw compatriot Sergio Aguero outfox him resulted in Fazio receiving his marching orders.
Once Pochettino settled on Fazio and Jan Vertonghen as his preferred centre-back pairing, the former Sevilla man swiftly went about proving his substantial Liga and Europa League credentials could translate to a new country.
The stable defence finally helped Spurs to settle down after the frenetic start to the campaign partly induced by Pochettino's attempts to figure out his best team. Fazio more than held his own against some of the Premier League's best attackers, his rugged style working well alongside the more anticipatory Vertonghen. They were not impenetrable, but they provided enough resistance to ensure the efforts of the team's flourishing attack were not too frequently undermined.
Injured in January, Fazio's next few appearances were not so strong. Games such as Fiorentina away and Aston Villa at home saw him at his most cumbersome, reaffirming the idea hinted at earlier in the season that he was very much a player for whom consistent football helped smooth out his rougher edges.
That was apparent as he again found his feet, starting regularly toward the campaign's climax. Fazio's first season at Spurs was a good one overall, but there is undoubtedly room for improvement if he wants to start more regularly next time around.
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