Last year it was the most unlikeliest of scenarios that would rob Tottenham Hotspur of Champions League football — blowing an 11 point lead in fourth place and then Chelsea winning the Champions League bumping Spurs out of their Champions League position..

When Spurs dropped to the Europa League last year, they also lost the bargaining power of attracting world class players and retaining their highest quality ones. Luka Modric left for Real Madrid. Without adding a new striker in the January transfer window, I feel the same fate will find Spurs in 2013. Just watch, Bale will also jump ship in the summer.

Without getting in Leandro Damaio or any of the other dozen strikers we were linked with, Spurs have to rely solely on just two strikers, one of which is rumored to be unhealthy (Defoe) and the other is absent from games altogether (Adebayor). Would any other top four side let themselves get in this position, with just two strikers?

Defoe is clearly patched up and is not fit or in form (1 league goal in past 8 games). If Defoe gets injured or just continues to be totally ineffective, then only Adebayor can fill the void. If Adebayor pulls a hamstring, then what?

We have gotten where we are in the table on the back of some very good early season performances from Defoe which have now completely vanished and, under the circumstances, is unlikely to reappear. Adebayor has been horrible all season (2 league goals) but apparently he has been this way in every second season he’s played for former clubs. It’s a wonder Spurs are in fourth given these circumstances. It just shows the quality the rest of the team and how much better we would be with a good finisher. If we had gotten someone clinical up front, we could have been aiming for third or possibly even second. By not signing a new striker in the January window, I won’t be surprised if Everton, Arsenal or even Liverpool finish ahead of us this year. Liverpool may be the furthest behind but they’ve added some quality recently and look set to make a strong push.

Signing Leandro Damiao apparently fell through by a slim margin and is now being tabled as a summer bid. Will he want to sign for a club in the Europa League? I can’t help but think a small increase of £2-3million would have made the difference in getting him. Failing that though, even a loan signing would have sufficed. In fact the depression of getting Louis Saha in last year’s transfer window would seem like a bit of good business in our current situation. Just a decent centre forward would do. I wasn’t excited about the Gary Hooper rumors but boy would I take him now!

Watching our team have the lion share of possession in games and whipping some decent balls into the box with no one good enough to get on the end of it is tragic.