After just two game days in the English Premier League, it's already clear to Paul Doyle which clubs need to do some hasty recruitment before the transfer window closes. "Without significant movement over the next seven days," he writes, "the transfer window will come down like a guillotine on the ambitions of sides such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and, most of all, Tottenham."
Although Tottenham have signed 10 new players since Juande Ramos took charge 45 games ago, it is still short-handed in many positions. Although it's understandably taking a while for all the new players to find their feet, some of Ramos' tactical moves during Tottenham's first two defeats have been baffling. "Oddities include omitting Tom Huddlestone when the midfield is chronically weak, sticking Didier Zokora at full-back in place of the injured Alan Hutton after paying £2m [$4 million] for Chris Gunter; removing David Bentley from the wing where he has thrived in recent seasons; and, of course, indulging Dimitar Berbatov's brooding."
Elsewhere, writes Doyle, Everton needs to reinforce its midfield and attack, while Manchester United could do with a striker (the bets are all still on Berbatov) and additional cover in defense. Liverpool needs a right-sided midfielder, Aston Villa another center forward, and Newcastle "would profit from new blood at the back and in the middle. And Chelsea want to buy Robinho. Just because they can." Arsenal, meanwhile, needs "to bring in the experienced lynchpin Arsène Wenger keeps talking about. Emmanuel Eboue is no more the answer in the middle than he was on the right last season."
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