Tottenham's Failure to Land Damiao May Come Back to Haunt AVB

Andre Villas-Boas has always maintained that he is happy with his forward options but as we reach the climax of a long, hard season you have to wonder if the Tottenham Hotspur boss will bemoan the club's inability to land a striker during the January transfer window.

With Emmanuel Adebayor struggling to replicate his impressive form from last season, and Jermain Defoe failing to score a single goal in 2013, Tottenham have been forced to rely rather heavily on the incredible goal-scoring form of Gareth Bale.

The Welsh wizard has found the net on 17 occasions in the league and has often been deployed in a more central role in order to have maximum influence in front of goal. Since Defoe's drought, even greater responsibility has been placed on his shoulders and he's proved game after game that he can thrive under the additional pressure.

However, after picking up an injury against FC Basel, Bale was forced to miss the game with fellow Champions League hopefuls Everton. With Aaron Lennon and Defoe also ruled out through injury there were limited options for Villas-Boas whose side were only able to rescue a point thanks to a late equaliser from Gylfi Sigurdsson.

This added to the amazing statistic that since 1 January Tottenham have not won a match in which Bale has not scored. It also allowed Chelsea to move above Spurs into third, while Arsenal are now just two points behind with a game in hand.

With Tottenham's recent history of narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Champions League, there were some signs of nerves as the home side failed to make the most of their statistical advantages. Yet Villas-Boas was confident that they will not be haunted by their previous failures.

"It definitely looks like it's going to go down to the wire with these teams," said the former Chelsea boss. "We don't look at ghosts in the past. The reality is that Arsenal feel their belief because they finish seasons very strongly and that belief helps them."

Tottenham had dominated possession and had some 19 shots on Tim Howard's goal, yet, they were forced to find an 87^{th minute equaliser. Adebayor may be slowly returning to his powerful best but this feels like a side lacking a cutting edge.}

Just last week Villas-Boas hinted that he would only look to add a striker if Tottenham qualified for the Champions League. But had they managed to sign a forward in January then they may have already of been assured of a place in next season's competition.

A late bid was made for Internacional and Brazil striker Leandro Damiao, who has been a long-term target for the north London side, but a deal could not be concluded. While there are no guarantees that he would have made an instant impact, it would have given Villas-Boas another vital attacking option.

Chelsea and Arsenal may also come up short when it comes to out-and-out strikers but they have an array of versatile attacking midfielders, and a squad that is used to performing in these crunch matches at the end of the season.

With Tottenham possessing the worst defensive record in the top six, there has been an extra emphasis on the forward players to come up with goals. Bale and Defoe are set to return in the next league game against Manchester City, before difficult trips to relegation threatened Wigan Athletic and Stoke City.

There is also a massive game against Chelsea in Stamford Bridge which is likely to be played in May after being postponed due to The Blues' FA Cup run.

If Tottenham cannot find the necessary goals to secure a top four finish then Villas-Boas may just be cursing the failure of the board to complete a deal for Damiao, or another striker in the January transfer window.

As Sir Alex Ferguson demonstrated when he signed Robin van Persie, sometimes even three world class strikers are simply not enough.