Steven Pienaar

A week after the end of the January transfer window, the strength of Tottenham’s squad is still the cause of great debate: Have the deadline day deals made it weaker?

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Kevin Bond rejected that suggestion in his press conference last Thursday: “I think the squad’s stronger now - obviously not in terms of numbers because we’ve let four go and only brought two in - but Harry felt that one or two of our players needed to be able to go out and play some football,” said Spurs’ assistant manager.

“The other lads have come in and they’re ready to play their part if they can, so I think it’s been a good window for us.”

That suggestion looked highly debatable on Monday night as Tottenham played their first game since the end of the window and named Bongani Khumalo, Massimo Luongo and Cameron Lancaster on the bench alongside Carlo Cudicini, Danny Rose, Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha.

It was a concerning mixture of rookies and veterans. Forgetting Saha, the remaining six players had a combined total of six Premier League appearances this season between them - mostly due to youth and inexperience or age and injuries.

Luongo has made just one appearance for Spurs, coming on at Stoke in the Carling Cup and unfortunately going on to miss the crucial penalty in the shoot-out – yet the 19-year-old Aussie was the only midfielder on the bench at Anfield.

Meanwhile, Khumalo has never played for Tottenham and, given that he recently returned from a loan spell at Reading because he couldn’t get into their team, looks unlikely to ever do so.

Of course, there are extenuating circumstances and those who defend Spurs’ deadline day deals will point out that the Lilywhites’ injury list was particularly long - William Gallas, Younes Kaboul, Sandro, Aaron Lennon, Rafael van der Vaart and Jermain Defoe, on top of the long-term absentees like Tom Huddlestone and David Bentley.

Indeed, some will argue that Monday night’s stalemate was an example of the strength of Spurs’ squad – particularly given the performances from Niko Kranjcar and Jake Livermore, who would probably not be in Harry Redknapp’s first-choice XI.

Yet the fact remains that the Lilywhites were one injury away from a major problem at Anfield, and those who suggest that Tottenham’s squad would look stronger if they had fewer injuries are rather missing the point.

The strength of a squad is best assessed during an injury crisis and, when the likes of Livermore and Kranjcar are called into action, who is ready to replace them? This week’s answer was hardly encouraging.

Had Parker or Livermore been hurt in a typically full-blooded tackle then Luongo was the only option. In the past, it would have been Steven Pienaar.

Had King been unable to finish the game, Spurs’ coaches would have had to choose between Nelsen – who has not played a first-team game for eight months – or Khumalo. In the past it would have been Bassong or Corluka.

In the past, there has always been yet another international ready and waiting in the wings. This week there were teenagers.

This raises the obvious question of why Redknapp allowed Corluka, Bassong and Pienaar to leave, particularly on loan, given that he spent most of January saying that he had no incentive to allow his squad players to leave.

“I don’t have any need to weaken the squad,” he said on Janury 10, ironically when asked about the possibility of Pienaar departing.

“I would rather have a good squad for last 18 matches of the season than let one or two go who could play a part in the run-in.”

The manager appears to have stuck to that view in his initial conversations with Pienaar and Corluka, and both players have admitted that they virtually had to beg their boss to leave.

Corluka reports: “When I told him that I had an option to move to Germany, Harry didn’t want to even hear about that.

“The day before leaving Spurs I called him, and even begged him to let me go, as that was the only option for me and my chances to be at Euro 2012. And, after that conversation, he softened up and said that I can leave Tottenham.”

Pienaar has reported a similar discussion, with Redknapp initially blocking his move before relenting at the 11th hour.

Given the Tottenham boss’ reputation for man management and motivation, there may be something to be said for maintaining his relationship with his players and sanctioning their departures, as requested.

Yet the concern is that Redknapp’s heart ruled his head in the final hours of the transfer window, causing him to relent on his original and entirely understandable intention to maintain one of the strongest squads in the Premier League - regardless of his players’ frustrations and international aspirations.

Fans could justifiably worry that the personal desires of Corluka, Bassong and Pienaar have now been placed above the needs of their employers - a club who are fighting for the title - and that Monday’s bench underlines the fact that Tottenham have indeed weakened their squad ahead of the run-in.

Follow me on Twitter @BenPearceSpurs