Trouble at Tottenham? Danny Rose opens up can of worms
By Joe Prince-WrightAug 10, 2017, 11:00 AM EDT
Danny Rose's outspoken interview with the Sun newspaper on the eve of the 2017-18 Premier League season has created quite a pickle for Tottenham Hotspur.
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With Spurs fighting for the title in each of the last two seasons and accumulating more points over those two campaigns than any other PL club, this moment was always likely to arrive.
Simply put: Spurs' stars want to be paid the same as star players at Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and the PL's other big boys. Is that too much to ask?
Right now, that's not happening and it seems likely to cause an issue for Tottenham's notoriously savvy chairman Daniel Levy and his talented manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Rose, 27, spoke out against Spurs' in a brutally honest interview where he stated his ambition to "make sure I get what I am worth" in terms of his salary and he also urged Spurs, who have yet to make a signing this summer, to sign two star players to keep them fighting for the PL title this season.
"As a Tottenham player I'd love to see more signings. It would lift me seeing a top player come through the door. I've seen a couple of players previously saying, 'We don't need a top signing or signings'. But I am sorry, I am not singing off the same hymn-sheet on that one," Rose said. "I think we do need one or two top signings to strengthen the squad. I'm just not buying the idea that we don't need anyone."
With Rose reportedly on $80,000 per week, like most of his teammates, he will likely have heard about his former Spurs teammate Kyle Walker (they share the same agent) earning double that amount after his $65 million move to Manchester City this summer. Rose revealed that he urged Spurs not to sell Walker and went on to discuss how he plans to get paid exactly what he's worth.
"When you're injured you get a lot of time to think and I've had a lot of 'what if?' moments. It's been hard to deal with. One thing is for sure — I know my worth and I will make sure I get what I am worth," Rose said. "I am not playing as well as I have done not to get paid what I think I am worth."
The left back who was voted in the PFA Team of the Year for the past two seasons has a point, and that opinion may be shared by many of Spurs' young, hungry players who have bought into the project managed expertly by Pochettino over the past three seasons. It has been tough for anyone not to get caught up in the wonder of Tottenham over the past few years with their exciting brand of soccer, top young talent and a bright future promised at their stunning new stadium.
With the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld targeted by Europe's top clubs and reportedly offered to double their wages, Levy keeping a rigid wage structure at Spurs won't keep them happy forever.
Of course, this measure may only been in place for another few years as Tottenham's move to a new $1 billion stadium at White Hart Lane needed to be financed by cutting costs elsewhere. Many players will have accepted that when signing new deals over the past 12-18 months as Pochettino posing for a photo with a player who has a pen and paper in hand has become a running joke such is the frequency of new deals being agreed.
All of these Spurs players knew what they were signing up for, but the money the likes of City, United (who are both complemented by Rose for the amount of money they've spent) and others are offering has increased rapidly and drastically. Rose spoke about moving back to the north of England where his family are from which prompted links to Man United, while Chelsea are also said to be interested in signing him. Tottenham don't want to sell Rose, or any of their star players, but he knew exactly what he was doing with these comments.
If Spurs don't listen to Rose and don't spend big this summer they will be just fine, their squad is strong enough to challenge for the title and do well in the UEFA Champions League. But if other players are now feeling the same as Rose but just haven't aired their thoughts in such a public and abrasive manner, that's where the real problem lies.
This Tottenham squad has always seemed like a harmonious bunch with every player willing to forego increased finances elsewhere to try and end Tottenham's title drought and at least win one piece of silverware.
Until that happens most of Tottenham's top players, especially the local lads like Kane, will keep buying into the dream of bringing glory back to White Hart Lane, but just how long will that sentiment last?
Tottenham have no doubt become a victim of their own success.