3 Players I Wouldn't Mind Tottenham Selling in January

Let's face facts. We have a pretty big squad at Tottenham currently and it's highly unlikely that we will go through the January window without shipping a few players out. We're also light in a few areas (like striker) so it makes sense we'd shift some dead weight to raise funds for purchases too. As such, take a look at my way too early look at four players I wouldn't mind seeing sold in January. Note, this doesn't mean I want them out of the Club, just that I wouldn't hate seeing a sale at a decent price.

1. Nacer Chadli-The Dolphin is simply a lesser version of Clint Dempsey who we sold without a modicum of fanfare. He contributes the occasional goal but contributes very little else. With the recent acquisitions of wide men in Son and N'Jie I can't see a place for him here long term. Originally, I thought he'd serve as our backup striker but our Korean import has stolen that role as well. It might be best to get rid of Chadli while there's still significant value in him across Europe.

2. Tom Carroll- I hate to break it to you and Tim Sherwood, but the diminutive midfielder won't be playing for Barcelona any time soon. He isn't a bad player, but his size really limits his ability to play week in, week out for a top level Premier League Club. He is neat and tidy on the ball, but who do you see him playing in front of...Dier? Mason? Bentaleb? If the answer to those questions is no (which it should be) then you have to be ok with selling Carroll for a nice profit.

3. Federico Fazio- We just have to admit we missed out on this purchase. His lack of pace is ill-suited for our high line, high press system and he failed to start in the Europa League this week. He's clearly not a part of Pochettino's long term plans and I think he can contribute at a lesser team. Much like Chadli, January might be the time to sell while we can still recoup considerable value.

Disagree? Let me know about it in the comments section or on social media. Also, don't bother with the criticism for discussing the transfer of current players..I'll just ignore it.

How crazy should Tottenham fans go for Dele Alli?

Tottenham fans have officially initiated the Dele Alli hype machine. Whether you fell in love with the 19 year old midfielder after his diving header for goal against Leicester or one of his many nutmegs the affection is undoubtedly there. This begs the question, how crazy should Tottenham fans go over our young starlet at this point?

Most often I'm accused in this space of being a "happy clapper" but this piece may be characterized more as trying to pour cold water on the Tottenham player. I say this even though I've developed a pretty healthy man crush on Alli already.

I'm a sucker for a good nutmeg and if nutmegs were a statistic, Dele Alli would lead the world.

Unfortunately nutmegs and tricks do not make the world go round. If they did, Nathan Oduwa would be Messi. As of right now, Alli's style is ahead of his substance by just a hair. He has a little more flash than substance. The idea that he is a must start player ahead of the likes of Christian Eriksen that I've seen flying around Twitter today need to be tempered quite a bit. I like the lad's potential quite a bit, but the worst thing we could go for his long term success at Tottenham is to rush him into being an every week starter too soon.

Right now, Alli should continue to be involved in the squad no matter who the opponent might be. He is even entitled to continue on as a starter for the time being while Eriksen, Mason and Bentaleb deal with their injury issues. When everyone is fit, he should remain involved, but isn't a lock starter. He should be deployed as a dynamic super sub to preserve his fitness, confidence and emotional wellbeing throughout the long Premier League grind. We don't even really know what Alli's best position is yet. He has functioned at a high level as a No 10, but may very well be better suited as a CDM given our team's current needs.

Now I may have thrown cold water on some fans are spectators for Alli this year, but I am definitely not cooling down anyone's long term ideas. I think he has the potential to be Tottenham's best player. I say that with zero qualifications. I believe Harry Kane is a world class striker, Hugo Lloris a world class keeper and might even put Christian Eriksen in that same category. Dele Alli has the ability to play for any club in the world if his development continues at the current pace. I think he could walk into England's midfield right now over someone like Jonjo Shelvey and should own their midfield in a few years. The phrase the sky is the limit gets thrown around an awful lot, but it rally is true for the precocious Alli.

So go crazy Tottenham fans. Let's not bury our young midfielder this year with crazy expectations though. Let's wait until next season to put him on the cover of our Under Armour ads and FIFA 17.

Why Hugo Lloris can't be a Tottenham legend

Hugo Lloris is a world class keeper who we should all be proud to have at Tottenham. Furthermore, he captains our side with dignity, class and we never have to worry about him putting the Club in a negative light. So why do I, and many other Tottenham fans, struggle to feel the same connection with him in comparison with many of his less talented teammates? 

Don't believe that Lloris and Tottenham fans have a disconnect? Let me ask you, do you believe that Hugo Lloris is committed to Tottenham? Do you believe he cares about the Club in the same way as Ryan Mason or Danny Rose do now? How about Sandro a few years ago? Of course not, we see his measured statements and responses as a clear sign that he will leave us sooner rather than later. We do view him as more of an employee as opposed to being one of our own.

The first thing many will jump to as the reason is Lloris' French nationality. There is no denying that a certain rift exists between France and England ideologically for a variety of reasons that aren't worth going into here. Yet, I don't see that ideological gap preventing other Premier League fan bases from embracing French players. Newcastle and now, Palace fans, have been quite supportive of Yohan Cabaye for example. Even at Tottenham our fans have formed a very special connection with midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, who only recently chose to represent Algeria over France. In short, Hugo Lloris being French is not to blame for the distance between he and our fans.

So we must get to the real reason of the disconnect. Hugo is just too much of a politician. His comments in the media drain our affection for our keeper over time. He is the subject of frequent transfer speculation and never comes out with a firm denial of interest in other clubs. Nor does he ever come out and fully commit his future to Tottenham. Instead, his comments always stop just short of what we want to hear. Our captain never says I'm fully committed to Tottenhan without the phrase "at the moment" follow quickly behind. He won't say in the press that he is not interested in playing for Manchester United without ruling out future interest. His comments always leave the door cracked just enough for him to be able to leave Tottenham without being accused of lying. It's this measured rhetoric that builds that wall between he and fans.

That carefully worded communication doesn't make Hugo a bad person or even a player I don't want to stay at Tottenham. All but the most ridiculous of our fans can recognize his quality. What that hesitancy to fully commit does mean is that our fans won't ever attach themselves to Lloris like we do other players. He will be regarded as one of our best keepers ever, but barring a significant philosophical shift he will never be a Club legend.