Spurs spending spree - We should be so lucky

I recall the summers of 1988 and 2004 as a Spurs fan, because they were notable for being those with major spending sprees.

In 1988 I was only a year into supporting Spurs and while we had waved goodbye to Waddle, Hoddle and Gough, we welcomed Paul Stewart and most notably Paul Gascoigne into the team.

In 2004, in a team led by new manager Jacques Santini, assistant Martin Jol and sporting director Frank Arnesen, we made a huge number of signings including left back Erik Edman, left winger Reto Ziegler, central midfielder Timothee Atouba and centre back Nourridene Naybet. The latter was the most notable as he filled the position in the centre and taught Ledley King all he knew (his words).

Now we can mark summer 2013 into that list too, with seven new names in the squad. Not major world stars (yet) admittedly, but the price tags of Soldado, Paulinho, Lambela, Erikson, Chadli, Caboue and Chiriches (thanks for nicking my original headline Spurs Show btw) show that the management mean business.

Yes we have had to say goodbye to a world class player and some other loyal players to afford them, and analysis has showed that despite being the Premier League's top spenders this summer, we have actually ended up in credit by around £2 million.

As they arrived it was rather unbelievable to see the transfer record broken three times, especially on Friday August 31st when three players all signed on the same day.

How these new players fit together with the existing team is a bit of a mystery not only to us fans, but also to the players themselves I expect. I write this 48 hours after Spurs lost the north London derby 1-0 and at times, looked like strangers.

With no opportunity for a pre-season together, this may take time to figure out and it is a harsh comment, but 24 hours after we saw last season's first choice left back and our most promising youth player loaned to QPR, this team may look a lot different come the end of the season as formations and combinations are sorted out.

However there is no doom and gloom, as this is exactly what we have been calling for as we have a new striker, midfielders who can score and a viable central midfield. With an international break now upon us the team has opportunity to train together ahead of a busy schedule on late September, but I have faith in AVB and Levy, and I'm never gonna give that up.

Bye Bye Bale

Sunday the 1st September brought to an end one saga which has dominated the summer's sporting headlines - Gareth Bale's transfer to Real Madrid.

Six years after the Welsh wizard moved to N17 from Southampton, where his talent as a left back was being noted as the reason for a £10 million transfer, he leaves White Hart Lane for more than eight times that amount. Obviously I am disappointed to see him leave; his form over the last two seasons has been incredible and his heroics in the Champions League a couple of years ago, mainly against Inter Milan, will live in the hearts of Spurs fans for a long time.

In the same vein, I don't think Bale will be hated for this transfer. Like Cunningham, Beckham and Ronaldo before him, they left English clubs to go to the Spanish royals and walk in the shoes of Eusebio, di Stefano, Puskas and Zidane, and I hope that moving from the medium sized pond to the enormous water of the Bernabau will benefit him.

The other reason Bale will not be hated is because his transfer fee has permitted the signing of seven new players (at the time of writing) and generally, his fee has covered that of Roberto Soldado, Eric Lamela and Etienne Capoue. Last season we were accused of being a one man team; this season we have almost filled the gaps that were so evident in our squad and look stronger than ever. Yes on the last day of Bale's employment as a Spurs player he saw us lose the North London derby, but would we have won with him? 

The final reason Bale will not be hated is because he chose to play abroad. Had he moved to Chelsea, Man City or Man United (my suspicion was the latter due to him being a natural replacement for Ryan Giggs) he would have faced the reception that Sheringham and Berbatov did, or the many departing Gooners to the Etihad. Instead he has gone to Spain, a move overall that is bad for the Premier League as it loses one of its leading lights, and for commercial reasons as Bale was one of the faces of BT Sport's promotions. 

I'll remember Bale fondly as the generation before me remembered Glenn Hoddle - a natural talent who saw a move to the continent as the way to improve himself and not as a sly upon Spurs. The 2012/13 season will be his Spurs epitaph and it will be a strong one, ending with Footballer of Year of the awards from all.

In the words of Freddie Mercury, Gareth Bale "You made us laugh, you made us cry, you made us feel like we could fly."