Funny you should mention that....i was reading a piece about us and world class players the other day(see below)....its a good read....the word 'world class' is branded about to much i think now a days....imo players from yesteryear like Pele...Bobby Moore...George Best...Maradona...Maldani were true world class players....moving on to more recent players like Cantona....Bergkamp...Roy Keane....Zola....Klinsmann...Viera(finished now)....now at the minute Drobga....Gareth Bale?...Van Der Vaart?....them old players and the 3 that plays now in the EPL could walk into any of the top teams in world football...thats the only two 'world class players i think we have atm'
Are we closing the "world-class" gap?
I have said for some time that as good as our squad was, we lacked in two major areas, experience and a couple of world class players, but I wonder if we have closed the gap in both departments?
Firstly we have added around 250 international caps worth of experience with the signings of William Gallas, Stipe Pletikosa and Rafael van der Vaart, and even if we assume that the first two will be squad players, their influence in the dressing room could be immense. When you consider that they also cost a combined total of £8 million, it is pretty shrewd business from Tottenham`s point of view.
As for debating whether a player is world class is always a difficult one, but perhaps we could consider players who would not look out of place alongside the very best or who could comfortably fit into the likes of Inter, Barca or any of the elite teams in the game, that is as good a level indicator as I feel we need.
In the last year or so, I feel that the established big boys of our game, have perhaps dropped one or two superstars such as Ronaldo, but when you look at the current squads, which players from the established teams are genuinely considered alongside the very best?
For Chelsea, I would argue that they have Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole, as truly top players, but United seem to be increasingly relying on a team ethic, with only Vidic, Evra and Rooney, even worth considering in that bracket at this time and which of those have ever set the world stage alight?
Ars*nal have Fabregas and possibly Van Persie as exceptional players, but are they world class? Probably, in my opinion. Similarly Liverpool have Torres and Gerrard and City have some exceptional players, but which would get into the very best sides in the game?
At Spurs we still probably rank alongside City, with the signing of Van der Vaart and the emergence of Gareth Bale, we have one potential world star and another who out shone one of the world`s best in Kaka, last season.
Consider the quality of Ledley King and even Heurelho Gomes, and we perhaps could argue that although we are not quite there yet in terms of elite talent, we are certainly closing the gap and maybe even overtaking one or two, if we can get everything to click into place...