So the exit and entrance doors at White Hart Lane have been turning in equal measure. Juande Ramos and Gus Poyet clearly have a vision for Spurs and Daniel Levy has backed his manager with more funds.

If it all goes the shape of pear, the one person who the fans cannot blame is Levy, although he got his fingers well and truly scorched with last season's purchases. The chairman has once again sanctioned a spending programme designed to elevate Tottenham toward the Premier League top table. Fans of Newcastle and Everton must be envious when they read in the newspapers of yet another quality player arriving and another mediocre one departing.

This brings me to the million-dollar question. Obviously many of those who've left are inferior to those who have arrived, but have Spurs been a little too hasty in allowing two players in particular to leave? Steed Malbranque, for instance, is a tremendously under-rated player in my opinion, and even if not first choice would be a great player to hold in reserve, especially when the going gets tough.

Another imminent departure is Younes Kaboul. He should be given time to develop over another season and then re-assessed to see if he can cut the mustard, or establish for sure that he was another of Damian Comolli's expensive yet ineffectual purchases.

So now Spurs have a quality midfield with Englishmen prominent throughout the team. The purchases appear deliberate and calculated, and therefore are the choices of Ramos and Poyet. So no blame for failure on past managers or Comolli (which begs the question, what does he do, and can I do it better?).

David Bentley and Luka Modric SHOULD form a chalk-and-cheese partnership, alongside Jermaine Jenas and Didier Zokora, but where's the tenacity, where's the bite? In defence, Spurs have quality players on both flanks and in the centre, but ALL are injury-prone and there seems no cover of note should the treatment room beckon.

Heurelho Gomes is a purchase that, on paper, would have seemed essential, but also consider that he's the No.2 Brazilian - and their No.1 isn't all that marvellous, is he? Paul Robinson could have improved this season, of that I have no doubt. When you consider the calamities the Spurs defence endured early last season, it was no wonder his confidence suffered.

I believe if the team had been a little more industrious and tenacious in midfield last term, then you would have seen perhaps fewer goals, but a tighter outfit generally. This year we'll see if the Spurs faithful will once again sell out White Hart Lane and the team score a shed-load of goals but, more importantly, concede far fewer and retain the ball better. If those things are drilled into them, who knows?

As an early-season indicator I think the major success at Spurs this year will be Tom Huddlestone and the player most missed will be Malbranque, while the player least missed has to be Pascal Chimbonda.

But rumour has it that there are a few more yet to leave ... plus perhaps a few more to arrive. Still, not long now... tick, tock, tick, tock.