Time to cash in on Pav?
Friday, October 9, 2009 at 1:15PM Been off-line for a few days, and come back to find a lovely gem of a news item concerning our forgotten Russian striker, Roman Pavlyuchenko. Apparently Zenit are interested.
"He does not intend to sit on the bench. We are aware of Zenit's interest. They wanted to sign Roman in the summer and I think we'll start negotiations again." - so says his esteemed agent Oleg Artemov.
If it's not meant to be it's not meant to be. He's struggled with an injury or two this season and has generally been a non-entity in our progress, other than a cameo in the Carling Cup. He looked bright and alive in pre-season and I for one was more than curious to see if this much maligned non-English speaking international was not yet another over-rated big money signing.
We remember last year well. He looked out of sorts. Whether it was the general struggle of learning the language (can anyone confirm if he can?) or looking confused when confronted by a Spurs fan in the Waltham Abbey Tescos partnered by his interpretor - Pav looked equally lost on the field too.
A bit clumsy, poor first touch, slow and very Zamoraish with his shooting. Other occasions he displayed a touch of class.
"He's just a bit tired, innit. Long Russian season, European Championships, then a move to Blightly"...was a common excuse by those who awaited the real deal to show us £14M worth of class.
We are still no closer to knowing.
And with JD, Crouchie and the undroppable Keano he stands little chance at the minute of making some kind of breakthrough into the first team.
Nailed on departure, no?
And having Zenit sniffing around is tinged with some of that ever so lickable irony dust. Oh yes. The same Zenit who moved the goal-posts around a dozen times during the Arshavin negotiations. How much did they want from us at the time? £18M? £20M? It was something ridiculous. Every time we seemed to agree a fee, they wanted a bit more. At the time our chairman got some stick from some quarters (cough) for not meeting their estmiation.
"Pay it. He's proper class"
Yes, he is a class player. Someone that would have fit in perfectly at Spurs. Imagine him linking up with Modric and...oh, whatever. It never happened, and to be fair AA is a bit of a git, as you might recall, he's 'dream move' seemed to change every other week. And he's already complaining about the 50% tax deductions that are not too far off for our footballing millionaires. But considering we paid £14M for Pav and £16M for Bentley...it makes you wonder. However, principles are principles, which is why Levy didn't buckle. Sickening he was sold for a measly £12M in the end.
So, back to that irony dust.
Zenit, if they do knock on our door, should be taken to the cleaners. IMO.
They want Pav?
Ok.
£18M. Not a penny less. Ta.
Reader Comments (13)
Too right Spooky. I remember HH's dodgy faux dealings with the Ruski's - what a farce.
Don't suppose they'd take England's future right winger/the next David Beckham for £25 million as well would they?
Screw 'em over.
your on the right track there maddy , maybe they will go for a package deal - 30 for both world class players and it s a done deal
Though i would rather have them succeed at WHL but then again i always want spurs players to do well in lillywhite
And i m always glad when former spurs (old campbell not included) succeed in their new clubs (i would even want Berbatov to do well , imagine that) except against spurs .for obvious reasons ..
I think a jolly good tea bagging sesion is in order. Spiffing good fun old chaps.
Zenit are money-hungry twats and burnt a bridge or two with the Arshavin saga. Can't see us selling him to them. Moscow a more likely destination for Roman.
Can't say a way in for him. Someone would have to get injured before Jan and be out for 5 months which isn't something I'm wishing for.
Bye bye Pavy.
So many players that fall into the unnecessary category and all for over £10M. Poor showing from us no matter how you look at it. Spooky, doubt we'll get anything more than £12M for Pav when he does go.
Hiddink wants him out of the Lane too.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1219246/Guus-Hiddink-calls-Roman-Pavlyuchenko-quit-Spurs-risk-frozen-Russia-squad.html?ITO=1490
Get rid, whatever they offer. He was a knackered last-minute UEFA Cup-tied panic buy. Bent, Pav, Campbell... Ramos didn't stand a chance. Speaks volumes that Harry went straight back for Defoe and Keane.
Never understood why the fans love him so much. He's basically Darren Bent but without the pace or goals.
Wasn't Zenit one of Robbie's boyhood dream teams? Maybe we can do a deal there and make room for someone with a bit of class.
I can confirm Pav's enlish is worse than my russian and i only know the word vwodka.......something tells me consistently he will not work at Spurs, shame he seems a decent comitted guy......i would take anything £12m + get rid of the pointy shouty bloke too and get another Defoe styled striker for a bit of healthy competition....COYS
What about behind the scenes at training and the like? Anyone got any ear to the ground, so to speak?
You just wonder sometimes how or if players put their minds into it, if things aren't looking good, like showing Harry at training that they virtually have to be played or forcing themselves to be considered and so on.
I read just when Bentley joined us, that he had always been a Spurs' fan - anyone know if this true or is it just a Robbie Keane bit of bollocks? It's a difficult one to really believe, given what's transpired.
Good one, Davek.
i like him, i dont want him to move.
it seems this year we thought it be good not to play in europe (bs). it seems we have the squad depth and quality that we completely lacked last year. we need another tournament to give the other boys a run. between pav, gio, naughton, bale, bently we've got a lot of talent and nearly 40 mill tied up on the bench with no real match time in sight. its a problem. what to do. sell? i dont think so.
it seems silly to have all the quid doddling around but most good clubs have the same problem. as the proverb goes shit happens. players get hypnotized into joining other clubs or get hurt... all the time. we are going to need these boys.
need to convince the boys to bide their time or force their way into the team. but it tough without oppurtunites that europe would have afforded. i think and hope this will lead us to long runs in the FA and league cup.
lillywhites look brilliant right now lets enjoy