despite the claims of many, and even myself from time to time,  spurs are not yet a “big club.” as difficult of a statement as that is to admit, it’s unfortunately not that hard of a statement to back up.

sure, they’re sitting in 4th in the table at the halfway line, a position many thought would be too difficult to reach again. and yes, i’m fully aware that the lillywhites not only qualified for the knockout rounds of the champions league, but also won the group ahead of holders inter. yes, van der vaart has been the signing of the season so far in the premier league. and so what if gareth bale is the man i would be most inclined to sleep with most in-form player on the planet.

they’re all great things that define big clubs, ones that i surely point out to my friends more than is necessary, but none of those things really matter. not yet anyway.

what truly makes a “big club,” is a clubs ability to do all of those things on a sustained basis. the real madrids, chelseas and bayern munichs of this world are considered the big boys because they are always considered to be (at least one of) the favorites in every competition they enter. consistently finishing in the lofty table positions, regularly doing well in europe, habitually bagging big time players, and keeping the best ones you already have… that’s what puts them ahead of the eternal door-knockers like tottenham, sevilla, roma and aston villa.

tottenham’s rise to prominence this season and last has, no doubt, been meteoric. but just like a meteor, this run has been very brief. (admittedly, if you’ve been following the premier league for a decent amount of time, you know this isn’t exactly true. spurs have been actively chasing this elusive position for quite some time… way back in time, since the martin jol days of 2005.)

also, tottenham haven’t exactly been major players in the transfer market, at least not how i would hope. until very recently, they were only major players as a selling club. though i have to admit that the tidy sums we acquired in exchange for berbatov (sad to see him go) and carrick (glad to see him go) have been put to good use in building the current successful squad. the yids never threw money around like mad men; just small, sensible purchases. you can only be a big club if you’re paying out 30 million quid per player… right man city?!

so you can imagine how hard my jaw hit the table when i read that harry redknapp has been given the keys to the white hart lane safe this january. someone check and see if that’s the real daniel levy making all of these insane statements.

they’re kinda consistently performing well at this point, and now we’re supposedly able to spend like the big boys?! maybe if they make an intelligent purchase (meaning a world class striker or right back), tottenham hotspur could really be on their way to being a true elite level team! this is awesome! we will be legitimate title contenders! we’re going to win everything! come on you spurs!!!

wait… oh crap…

who are they going to buy?

…..

the only prominent name on the market was edin džeko, but citeh are looking to inflate the market a bit again by overpaying wolfsburg for him. and thus, every other decent option’s price just went up a bit. a less fashionable idea would be to make a move for the unsettled adebayor, but signing two ex-gunners in a season seems sinful. macheda won’t getting the starting time that sir alex is demanding for him. madrid misfit karim benzema, perhaps? too expensive and possibly overrated. renewed bids for luis fabiano maybe?  i don’t know. and quality right back options include: wayne bridge (meh), jonathan spector (blah), or perhaps maicon (comical).

as for the the two moves that have been touted the most in the lead up to january, for everton’s steven pienaar and l.a. galaxy’s david beckham… i’m actually ok with those despite the fact we don’t really need any more midfielders.

beckham makes sense for a few reasons. first, he’ll make a great 60th minute sub, coming on for a gassed lennon and slinging in at least five more quality services than lennon did in twice the time. put in crouch and let becks serve him up. secondly, his experience in the champions league could be vital for a team that’s short on experience at that level. young players will learn from him.

the move for pienaar should hinge on whether or not they get beckham. if they land the pretty boy, they will need to nix this move. either way, the south african would definitely be a versatile addition to the club’s increasingly overloaded array of midfielders. he could easily push lennon for a starting role on the right flank, perhaps causing both of them to raise their games. he could be used on the left should bale ever lose his invincibility cloak. and he’s shown he can play centrally, assuming modrić, jenas, palacios, sandro and huddlestone are all hurt.

looking at it again though, beckham is a short term gamble and fixes nothing in the long run. and the guy is old as hell, with even older legs. spurs currently hold the unofficial title of the flashiest, fastest side in the premier league with bale and lennon on the wings. would beckham be able to keep up, screwing up the team’s mojo on the pitch?

and while pienaar is a sensible buy for the supposed price (£2 million), do spurs really need another midfielder? will either player really make that big of a difference? and odds are the normal january price inflations means that tottenham really can’t afford to buy the types of players that would truly make an impact.

it’s a sellers market, right when tottenham are finally ready — and able — to make a splash.