Former Spurs defender says they have lost their identity | OneFootball

Former Tottenham defender Sebastian Bassong has indicated that Spurs have lost their identity in recent seasons.

Over the past two seasons the north London side have finished 17th in the league twice, albeit whilst winning the Europa League.

Bassong, speaking as an ambassador for BetGoodwin, was asked whether Spurs’ change in recruitment from buying young stars from the lower leagues to stars from abroad has been a reason for their drop in quality.

“In a way, yes,” he answered. “Because with success, you start looking, I would say, broader, because you’ve been successful. The Spurs brand is getting even bigger and bigger so I’m not surprised, and I have nothing against the fact that you’re going to look abroad.

“You always have to be balanced, because it always comes down to your vision and to your DNA. Who you are as a club, what do you want to achieve, what is your identity? And based on your identity, you can go and pick the right players, whether it’s abroad or in English football, in the lower division. 

“But as long as you know exactly where you’re heading.When you know it’s easier to make decisions, but when you don’t really know, you’re not gambling, but you’re taking unnecessary risks and so many of the decisions that they made turned out to be wrong decisions, because there was no return on investment, there’s no result.

“That’s what people start to ask in question,” he continued. “Whenyou do compare, fix your identity, fix where you want to go, and then pick players according to that. You have your identity, you have your DNA, you have your direction. Each club has it, Spurs has one, get back to that.”

Bassong believes that integrating players from the Spurs academy including Mikey Moore, Will Lankshear and more could be a way for Spurs to find their identity again.

“There’s some good young players,but you’ve got to make them play,” he said. “You’ve got to give them a chance. “A good player is always going to remain a good prospect if you don’t give him his chance.

“Give him his chance and trust him, incorporate him around senior players in order to give him the support. 

“Of course, if there’s only young players around, it’s going to be difficult but you need this good balance in order to make those young players, you know, blossom. Because you need some homegrown players. You need to make the most of your academy.”