The Fabulous Flops & A Few Diamonds in the Rough at Spurs Part 2 of 4

So we have looked at Tottenham's purchases throughout the year of 2005, and surprisingly we didn't spend all that much. It seems like the last year of truly sane spending before the figures become astronomical. So today we are going to look at purchases made in 2006, and whether we did any better in the market in this year.

January 2006:

Hossam Ghaly- (2 million pounds) Could his career have gone much worse at the club? I never liked his play, he always seemed a little too combative for my tastes, and his passing was always lacking. Throwing his shirt to the turf was the last straw, and I think that no Spurs fans were sorry to see him exit the club in January. More known for his attitude than his play, which is a shame.
Verdict: Flop

Danny Murphy- (2 million pounds) Here is a signing I thought would be great for the club when it happened. An England international, he came to us on the cheap, and could play on the left side if needed at times. He was combative, a decent passer, and could score the odd goal. But no such luck at the club. He was limited to mostly substitute appearances, when he even made the team at all. A year and a half later he was sold on to Fulham, where he has become captain and the cornerstone of a team that recently built Manchester United. If only he'd done that for us.
Verdict: Flop

June 2006:

Didier Zokora- (8.2 million pounds) Zokora was bought as the replacement for Michael Carrick in the summer of 2006 after it became apparent that Carrick would be moving on from the club. A good player in France, he came here with big expectations after playing in a World Cup and trying to fill the void of Carrick in our midfield. One thing Didier is not, and I doubt ever will be, is a gifted passer. He works harder than almost any player on the field and he'll tackle like no one's business, but it's final ball, whether it be a pass or shot, that lets us down. We have lacked that link between the defense and offense like we have with Carrick, and Zokora was built to nominally fill that role, and has never done so. We have now seen Harry bring in Wilson Palacios to play this role, and he has done it very well. But I don't think we're going to see Didier going anywhere, he is still a favorite of Harry's it seems.
Verdict: Disappointment

Benoit Assour-Ekotto- (3.5 million pounds, rumored) Here is another player that I had very high hopes for when we bought him. He had played on a championship side in France and was just starting to come into his own. But injuries marred his first season at the club, and indifferent play for another season or so made him my personal whipping boy. But after Harry took control of the club he started to get something out the hairdo. His performances over the past couple of months have been solid, if not spectacular. I think there may be a player here yet.
Verdict: Starting to Come Good

July 2006:

Dimitar Berbatov- (10.9 million pounds) A great buy, no other way to look at it. A really gifted footballer, he knocked in quite a few goals for us in two short seasons. Yeah his attitude seemed poor at times, but everything is forgiven when he nets at the frequency he did. I thought he was gone after one season, but we held on to him for another year. It was clear he wanted to play somewhere bigger, and it turned into a good piece of business, we made what, a 17 million pound profit from him? The biggest problem I had was the lateness of the sale, making it tough to bring in other players to fill his spot.
Verdict: Diamond in the Rough

August 2006:

Pascal Chimbonda- (5.5 million pounds) Here's another player I wanted no part of, handing in a transfer request while still in your uniform on the last day of the season, Pascal clearly didn't care about anyone but himself, and I didn't want him at the club. He displaced Paul Stalteri at right back, but to be honest his performances were no better to Stalteri most of the time for us. It also always bothered me that he wore gloves, even in August. Lost favor with Ramos and I was delighted when he was sold on, and gutted when we paid another 3 million for him to rot on the bench again. Please, please sell him this summer.
Verdict: Flop

Steed Malbranque- (4 million pounds rumored) I liked Steed and am sorry he's not a the club any longer. Made his debut in November and always played hard, and was a nifty little passer and knocked in the occasional goal. Could also play out on the left wing at times, most Spurs fans liked him because of his effort. Unloaded during the Ramos era, he's another player who I don't think should have left the club.
Verdict: Solid Buy

Mido- (3.5 million pounds) This was the month that we finally made Mido a permanent player, and not just a long-term loan player, and I think this is about the time he fell off the face of the earth for us. Was a great player in 2005/2006, but once Berbatov came into the club Mido found himself warming the bench, and not very happily I might add. Went off to Boro, and is now at Wigan. If he could rediscover that form of 05/06 he could be a great footballer.
Verdict: Solid as a Loanee, Flop when we paid money for him

So that is our spending spree of 2006. A total of 39.7 million pounds spent, more than likely, and who is still at the club? Zokora, Assou-Ekotto and Chimbonda is on his second tour of duty. Less than a 50% retention rate, which is worse than 2005. Not the best job of Damien Comolli of buying players. And the other big thing from this year was the sale of Michael Carrick. Yes, I know he wanted to go, and we were paid a lot of money for him, but until Palacios came along we had never really replaced him, and his leaving left a huge void in the midfield, which certainly impacted how we looked at signings in the transfer window.

So 2 years down, 2 to go. Tomorrow we'll look at the signings of 2007, and if Spurs did some good business that year, see you then.