It’s been something of a disappointing season for Tottenham.
After the excitement surrounding new boss Mauricio Pochettino last summer, Spurs have simply made no improvement on their previous few seasons whatsoever. They’re on course for another place in next season’s Europa League, thought both Southampton and Swansea are hot their heels as we approach the final two games of the weekend.
Pochettino inherited a squad that was largely littered with the rubbish bought in with the Gareth Bale money by Andre Villas-Boas, so you could argue he deserves a full summer of activity ahead of next summer before the former Saints manager can be judged.
He’s expected to do a lot of business this summer, but will undoubtedly need to scrap a lot of the dead wood in his White Hart Lane squad before bringing in any reinforcements.
So we asked Tottenham fans who they wanted to see the back of most this summer, and gave the chance to up/down vote the current members of the Spurs squad.
We closed the voting after a few days and were pretty surprised with the top five players set for the White Hart Lane exit door this summer. They’re not wanted by the fans, and probably by the club, too.
430 Spurs fans took part in the poll – here are the five players they want to see the back of this summer…
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5. Roberto Soldado
No surprise here.
The Spaniard has endured a torrid time in north London since arriving from Valencia for £26.4million in 2013, netting just seven times in 50 Premier League appearances.
The 29-year-old’s confidence has clearly been affected by his struggles to adapt to life in the Premie League and he’s fast become known as one of the divisions biggest ever flops.
But strangely enough the White Hart Lane faithful have grown to love him over the last couple of seasons. But that doesn’t mean they’d like him to stay at the club – 267 fans want him out of the door this summer, as opposed to the 81 who’d like to see him given one more chance to get it right.
4. Vlad Chiricheș
Another arrival on the back of the ‘Bale Money,’ and the Romanian centre-half hasn’t exactly set the world alight since arriving for £8.3million from Steaua Bucharest in 2013.
He’s struggled to establish himself as a first team regular since then, making just 27 Premier League appearances over two seasons. His unconvincing performances have led to him being linked with a move away from White Hart Lane in the summer, and the Spurs fans appear to be looking forward to seeing the back of him.
281 Spurs fans voted for him to be sold at the end of the current campaign, with just 63 supporters appearing keen on him staying with them for a little longer.
3. Etienne Capoue
The French midfielder arrived from Toulouse in a £9.6million deal in 2013 but has since made just 24 Premier League appearances, scoring one goal.
The 26-year-old is another one who was signed in the summer of 2013, only to become something of a White Hart Lane flop very quickly after arriving. New boss Mauricio Pochettino has his sights set on a big money replacement this summer, which means Capoue is expected to be one of many on his way out of north London.
And it seems like the Spurs faithful would be pretty pleased with that – 297 voted for him to be sold this summer.
2. Younes Kaboul
Now in his second spell at White Hart Lane, Kaboul was made club captain by Pochettino last summer.
But he’s since been a huge disappointment for Spurs this season and looks set to leave the club for a second time once the current campaign finishes. He’s only appeared 11 times in the Premier League this season, which shows you just how little the club captain features in the manager’s plans.
And the 29-year-old hasn’t earned any sympathy from the supporters as 342 fans voted for him to be axed by the club this summer.
1. Emmanuel Adebayor
Spurs fans were getting excited back in January when Adebyaor came ever so close to joining West Ham on loan until the end of the season. But Daniel Levy pulled the plug on that deal at the very last minute, which meant the 31-year-old was set to remain at Spurs for the foreseeable future.
After a successful loan spell from Man City, Adebayor signed permanently for Spurs in August 2012, but this season he’s found himself on the periphery of the first-team, particularly with the shock emergence of Harry Kane.
He’s netted twice in just 13 Premier League outings this term and with just a year remaining on his White Hart Lane contract, you’d expect him to flogged on the cheap by the club this summer.
And a host of lacklustre performances over the last 12 months have led the Spurs fans wanting to see the back of him more and more – 351 fans want him out of the club this summer, while just 34 supporters would much rather have him stay at the club and get paid millions for doing absolutely nothing.