Morning.
It's a Monday tradition to run through the 'news' items of the past few days but as we were blessed with International break weekend there's little point in dissecting any of the alleged transfer stories covered by the tabloids. As per usual, there is nothing worthwhile to report on. Once again, we were subjected to another Huntelaar rejection. Diego Capel is a target (yes, we've been here before). And Sandro also got a mention with him apparently interested in a move to N17. It's like I'm quantum leaping into the same moment in time over and over again with no means of escape. Oh boy.
Elsewhere, the doom and gloom relating to Carlo Cudicni's accident and subsequent injuries have proven (it would seem) to be exaggerated. What a shocker. If it wasn't bad enough he broke his wrists and shattered his pelvis, the papers went to town over contract clauses and retirement. Moddle's comeback has hit a 'snag' according to the NOTW. I've not read the NOTW for almost a year so not sure what this snag is. And tbh, considering he's been out for an age, another 2 weeks or so is no major bugbear. We don't want the lickle man rushed back.
Exciting stuff. Talking of which...
Did you manage to catch the England v Brazil game? I spent it multi-tasking rather than glued to my seat. Proved to be the waste of time many predicted it would be. I know that come WC I'll be as patriotic as the next man, but I'm slowly becoming a little disillusioned with the whole set-up. Not too bad on Saturday in that the usual detestable suspects (Terry, Lampard, Rio etc) were all missing but their replacements were not exactly eye-catching. Just damp and wet much like our miserable weekend of rain.
There were some relevant footnotes for Spurs fans, if you managed to stay awake long enough to notice. Rejoice.
John Bostock scored a debut brace for League One's Brentford against Millwall. Wasn't that long ago John was turning out for Crystal Palace in the Championship. The cynical amongst you might cite he has gone backwards since leaving. Arguably, any player moving up a tier and training with internationals and within facilities that eclipse anything he's ever had available to him, would unquestionable NOT be a step backwards. John was out injured during the summer and going out on loan (be it a division lower than where he came from) does not mean his development is being stagnated. He needs competitive football. And he'll get it at Brentford thanks to our non-entry into this years reserve league.
However, the club has a duty to the lad and the fans to introduce him to first team football in the next year or so. Otherwise the questions will be asked again about our youth signings and the way they are (mis)managed. John is still a kid, but either he's more than decent and if he is then it would be nice to see him given a go. However, I tend to question the validity of sending out so many of our youngsters on loan, basically because it sometimes feels more like shop-window than evolution. Or admittance that they are not half as good as we wish them to be (I think in John's case, he's very good - but still relatively young and there's no need to rush his progress into the starting eleven).
Talking of which…Danny Rose scored the only goal for the England U21's at Wembley against Portugal. This is a lad 'promoted' from the U19's into the U21 squad and one we should be keeping an eye on in the next couple of seasons. Recently recalled from loan so perhaps we may see him figure earlier than expected. Or perhaps not. Personally, I cant comment because I've not seen enough of him. Some say he's a prospect. Pace and skill, bags of potential. Other suggest he is erratic and shows no signs of making it to a decent Prem standard. Terribly over-rated apparently, which is a tag used more often than not when we see yet another young hopeful disappear from our radars forever.
The last 'next big thing' we had (other than Tommy's gut) was Terry Dixon. Remember the hype? Remember the injuries? He's now at West Ham having practically retired when he was released by Spurs.
Finally, Wilson Palacios. Apparently considered quitting after the murder of his brother earlier this year. Although he has his brother in mind at all times and says he uses his memory as an inspiration, it's quite obviously no coincidence that his form has dipped a few levels this season. Wilson is a rare breed, a complete gentleman. Honest, modest and respectful. Hopefully he'll re-discover his form soon.