Richards. Veloso. Moses. Sandro. Parker. Lewis. Keane.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 11:44AM Hype. Sometimes talking something up is far more exiting and interesting than the reality of how it turns out in the end. Take for example the weather. London was meant to be hit hard last night, instead we got a curve ball of snow that seem to travel from Buckinghamshire down and around towards the Gatwick area and then further around and then up towards Colchester, catching most areas - some worse than others - leaving the rest shrugging and asking 'Was that it?' Where I am (outside the M25) there was snow, nothing disruptive. Just enough to hear it crunch under my feet when walking to the station this morning. Sure, the tube journey into London was slow and the line has since been part suspended. Still low key stuff. Nothing as dramatic as having the line completely suspended and working from home. Anti-climax when you hear stories about Liverpool running out of grit and their roads icing over, with public travel and schools out of bounds.
Seems things closer to home are proving to be nothing out of the ordinary. Which brings me onto the not so exciting and not so interesting transfer gossip currently doing the rounds. It's not quite picked up yet. You'll have no doubt seen the Micah Richards stories, most stating that the lad has commented on how Tottenham would be his preferred choice, even though there are no direct quotes (understandably). Micah is a right-back that plays centre-back, but doesn't seem to do so with much acclaimed conviction. At least not when I've seen him play. I do like him though. Has potential if he's developed properly, but see no point of signing him if he's going to be used at right-back. Unless the plan is to sell Hutton to Sunderland and then have two right-backs in Corluka and Richards who can both (attempt to) play at CB too for cover. Not sure where that particular scenario would leave the likes of Naughton (he's a right back, right? Or is that Walker? I forget, considering one is out on loan and the other nowhere near the first team).
Veloso is once more linked. And various ITK forum dwellers are informing us that we're looking at this very closely. Might happen. Blah blah blah. Apparently the Sandro deal is proving to be too complex so we're looking elsewhere for a DM. I'll take a calculated risk here and say this one (Veloso) is a non-starter. Old story, resurfacing due to lack of creativity from both message boards and tabloid hacks. Personally, Veloso strikes me as a player in love with himself. He's the anti-Wilson. Rather look elsewhere. The young lad at Pompey, O'Hara, looks a bit tasty.
Nah, just pulling your plonker. Seriously wondering if Harry is even going to bother to plug the hole in midfield. Last transfer window he told the press we lacked numbers there. But we've all learnt to take Harry with a pinch of salt.
Moses has been tagged with a £5M price by desperate Palace. If we get rid of Pav (to Fulham on loan perhaps - according to a Spurs Odyssey ITK) then we have room for a young and hungry forward who won't complain too much about sitting on the bench. Although that might well stagnate his progress. Perhaps we can sign him and leave him at Palace (something we could have done with Bostock perhaps). Is he any good? He's showing promise. Big strapping lad, physical, bit of skill. Palace fan at work can't stop banging on about him. But then he would considering that the only thing they have going for them are their young players. But this type of hype is reminiscent to the type we endured with Giles Barnes and one or two others who were proclaimed 'the next big thing'. It's not going to be a signing for the present if it does happen.
As mentioned earlier, no movement on the Sandro deal. But then nobody really knows what is happening if anything is actually happening. Once more I refer you back to the near legendary Diego saga. Remember the badly translated Brazilian news articles covering Pleats exploits out in South America, talking to both Santos and Diego's father (who owned a percentage of his image rights)? Biggest regret is that we failed to sign 'The Sock'. But it's not for the want of trying. With Sandro, a lot of it is based on comments made by his current club. Harry's comments suggest that we might be interested and range from not knowing what's going on to claiming the chairman is looking into it. Don't be shocked if this runs into next summer.
And the less said about Scott Parker the better. Injury prone and has twice allegedly rejected us already. He makes no hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The next DM to be signed by us should be understudy material. Not West Ham trash on his last legs. Yes yes, he impresses every now and again - but that's the problem with Parker. It's every now and again.
There's also the Joe Lewis phenomenon. He's the decent Posh keeper that impressed in our FA Cup win last weekend, enough to have some Spurs fans, tongue firmly in cheek, singing his name. We do love a flirt. Much like Moses, would be one for the future. Barry Fry also with tongue in cheek sharing a joke with Harry over the kids availability (we can have first option).
And that's it. There's one or two examples of formulaic guess work going on where people claiming to have inside info create very subtle and ambiguous statements that don't hold up as anything more than a safety net for their ego. My personal favourite concerns how Robbie Keane has asked permission to be allowed to find a new club. Not a transfer request, just a gentleman's agreement. It's textbook. Everyone knows Keane is half the player he was, disinterested and generally struggling. So you've got a 50/50 chance if you say 'he's staying' or 'he's going' but in order to retain some form of credibility, you simply make the suggestion that he might be going. And if it happens, you can refer back to it. Genius.
The search for a definitive breakthrough story, before it actual breaks through continues.
Feel free to share the wealth if you have any. My guess is, you don't. Because the walls built around Daniel Levy's office are completely and utterly sound-proof.
Reader Comments (43)
Add this one to your list of recycled rubbish! Were the Spammers and ourselves both meant to be looking at him 6 months, a year, 6 years (!!??) ago?
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2010/01/06/1728597/tottenham-hotspur-and-west-ham-united-look-to-bring-eidur?
Understudy so now you are saying the Thudd is the dogs swingers when the thruth is play him against teams who give him time and he is average but against other better teams and he is crap .We need a partner for wilson and i don't care who he has played for or how many times he has rejected us if he improves the team then get him and here lies our problem and the reason i think we will fall short on 4th this season and every season from now on.I have supported Spurs from a boy been to the Lane to watch them and bought from the shop but if we don't get the quality in now we will loose out to the new big 4 next season with city overtaking us and arsenal getting stronger and the other two will just be were they always are above us with the pool loosing out but still above us .The chance is now not maybe next season or i think we have enough this season,try this Defoe gets another red card,Wilson is injured and so is our great keeper who replace them that can score goals,make tackles and keep clean sheets.Keane-No.Jenas-Hell No.Alnick-No No No.We need a keeper as understudy ,a striker to replace Defoe when injured or suspened and a quality midfield man to partner or replace Wilson and we need them before this window closes or we will miss a chance that might never come around for quite so time.How long can we keep Lennon,Modric and Wilson without Champions league -not long so Levy get your finger out and get rid of Hutton,Jenas,Bentley,Pavachenko and Keane and get them replaced or get them to get their fingers/heads out of their arses and start playing for the club as if they loved it like i do.
don't tell anyone but I know "for a fact" because I once saw "Jurgen Klinsmann" at the lane that we're going to be signing Peter Storrie to look after the clubs tax returns.
I used to love the transfer window, but now it's torturous. Between SKY's 24hr saturation and every blogging ITK the next 26 days will be libelous fictional hell.
Just as an aside does anybody know what happened to Giles Barnes. Was only discussing him last week as another 'best thing since.....'
In all honesty unless it's a complete surprise I can't see anybody out there who would be a better option to bring in than what we would be getting rid of.
Davy - understudy for Wilson, which is what Sandro would be. Unless Sandro is offensive. Hudd, for all his faults, is offensive. Arguably we probably need someone to cover Wilson AND another midfielder to take Hudds position and have Hudd cover the new player. But with all honesty, can you see that actually happening?
Nope? Same here.
The Brazilian league kicks off again in 10 days so if the sandro deal is happening expect news the next few days. Nothing in the press over here about it so far.
Buy Velos - midfield
Moses - striker
Sandro - cb and cdm
Lewis - if gomes gets injured then what
and keane should go =) along with pav unfortunately =(
Moses is a tiny winger, not a strapping centre forward...unless he has had a growth spirt since I last saw him. Think Keane needs to go with Bentley, I prefer Pav but it is unlikely he will stay. Sandro would be a good signing but do we need another DM as we have huddles and wilsom, jenas can play that role. Young players are more likely to be happier on the bench, but it slows down there progress and how long can that go on for. GK are different and Lewis had a good game. Something to do when you are snowed in!
veloso my bad
Glasgow rumour is Keane to Celtic with their goalie coming to WHL.
That would mean we need a new striker though. Lot of nonsense I suspect.
Davy41 has destroyed the nail. Bang on.
"and a quality midfield man to partner or replace Wilson"
Isn't that what Spooky is saying? Better options out there than Parker. Must be better options out there.
Scott Brown. He's not been mentioned for a while.
i would like to c pav/bentley/keane/hutton? all sold and moved on.....and 1 cracking goal poaching poacher and a left back brought in....as for the rest...blimey they r good enough so far to get us into the top 4 minus a few coughs and splutters....so my take on the transfer window is sir harry wont be selling anyone unless he gets top dollar(mr levy) and or a top replacement...our squad is settled and we av got depth in enough positions....so i guess i couldnt realy care less about the transfer window...its all blah blah blah...and blah...plough on you spurs......
I'd take Veloso. He would elevate the midfield a lot further than what Huddlestone is capable of doing. We need - to quote Spooks - to consolidate.
2006 hurt. The Jan windows was wasted by chairman, Dof and manager.
DM understudy
DM complete package (akin to Palacios signing)
New forward (backup)
Get rid of the deadwood.
CONSOLIDATE.
Do not let the mistakes of 2006 return to bite a chunk out of our arse.
We must be stupendously strong in depth.
Or what Kebab King said.
I've seen Victor Moses play a few times thanks to a lazy Palace mate with a season ticket. I have to say I am impressed by him, however, he does represent many similarities to Gio. Played a lot on the left wing, very quick, not very big. He gets a fair share of goals but not a massive amount. He's no direct replacement for Pav or Keane and he's more of a winger really. Definitely one for the future but I'm not convinced that we need him now.
I'd like to see the world peace.
Ain't gonna happen any time soon though.
Prepare to be disappointed, can't see anything too exciting on the horizon. Even the endless snow reports are more interesting than the current bout of unqualified spurious and regurgitated tat currently doing the rounds.
Unless we sign Messi, I don't want to hear about it, as I get the distinct impression that during this transfer window, I know I'll end up with a feeling of overwhelming apathy when 'whoever it is' is unveiled.
Would like to see us sign Clarence Seedorf. Says he would like to finish his career in the EPL and would give us the winning mentality that Davids gave us. He has won the CL with every club he's played for, so that's a given as well.
Does Keane count as dead wood?
Seedorf would be an interesting signing, where is he currently??
Giles Barnes was released from his contract from Derby last month. He has suffered a number of injuries and was causing considerable strain on their wage bill. He has apparently a bit of an attitude on him. Like many young players these days, it appears he believed the hype. The fact that Roy Hodgson took him on loan to Fulham last season and he did not feature once says a lot I think.
Parker is comparable in ability to Palacios if not better - certainly so this season - but then he is English, does not have a foreign sounding name and plays for a shit team so he must be pony.
Great blog, Spooky, when is Veloso signing?
'Clarence Seedorf' what a good shout? Harry should be reading this blog. Gary Cahill would be a good signing as a solid central defender is essential for the second half of the season. What's wrong with David James as back up for Gomez? He'd come for nothing?
WHY DOES EVERYONE GET ON KEANE"S BACK.SHOUTING ABUSE AT HIM,WILL NOT HELP HIS LOSS OF FORM.
JENAS (I HAVE A GOOD GAME IN 5)DOESN"T GET ABUSED EVEN THOUGH HE"S CRAP.EVEN PAV WHO DOES A BERBATOV AND SAYS ARRY IS TAKING THE MICK OUT OF HIM,JUST SO THAT HE CAN GET A MOVE,AND CAN NOT EVEN BE BOTHERED LEARNING THE LINGO.BUT HE GETS A STANDING OVATION ON SATURDAY. ITS NO WONDER KEANE DIDNT CELEBRATE HIS GOAL,WHEN HE IS GETTING ABUSED BY SOME OF HIS OWN FANS.IT REALLY MAKES ME MAD,THAT OUR OWN SUPPORTERS ARE HELL BENT ON UPSETTING OUR PROGRESS THIS SEASON BY NOT GETTING BEHIND THE 11 PLAYERS WHO COME OUT WEARING THE FAMOUS LILYWHITE SHIRT ON A MATCH DAY.NO WONDER OTHER SUPPORTERS SLAG US OFF,DUE TO THE WAY SOME OF OUR MORON FANS TREAT OUR OWN PLAYERS.WHO DO YOU THINK IS BENEFITING FROM SHOUTING ABUSE AT OUR OWN PLAYERS.CERTAINLY NOT US,BUT THE OTHER TEAM.ALL IM SAYING IS WE ARE 4TH,SO ALL GET BEHIND THE TEAM AND CHEER THE BOYS ON FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON INTO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.IF YOU CANT SUPPORT THE BOYS,THEN STAY AWAY.
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON.ON.ON
Agree with MK Yid minus the all caps. Keane is good enough.
If the rumours re the Sandro deal being done and dusted months ago were true, why is he not here, bearing in mind the Brazilian league is currently suspended ? Not convinced this is happening anytime soon if at all.
To be honest, I do not want us signing players who will make a difference next season or the one after that.
We need player(s) who will make a difference now and who can get us into the top 4 at the end of this season.
We will be handicapped by the injury to Lennon but hopefully our Croatians can fill the void.
Injuries to Defoe, Palacious or Gomes will leave another big hole.
Next season will be far harder with Man City about to spend fortunes.
We need to grasp our chance now, in this transfer window.
Well said MKYid, although i dont think you can compare Pav to Berbatov. Entirely different situation. I think wel regret selling Pav.
Also we all know that if the Sandro deal doesnt happen, hel go somewhere else and be top top class. Thats the only signing im really hoping will happen. You can keep Veloso hes massively overated COYS
Barnes. Shocked. Had no idea he was released.
Can West Ham not pick him up Chazza, and do a 'Terry Dixon' on him?
In; veloso 12m, richards 8m, parker 5m, joe lewis 3m, petrov 1m, drenthe 8m, beckford 2m. total 39m. out; bentley 9m, pav 8m, hutton 4m, jenas 5m, keane 9m total 35m....net spend 4m and much improved squad..
bentley! no! i dont want to do this...ahhh! take it out!
i work with spurs foundation and a few of the plc guys were talking about a France international player called Rio Mavuba today. anyone else heard about this?
i was born in france and have heard about Mavuba and spurs on the websites francophone. he replaced Thiago at Lille and is considered the best defensive midfielder in ligue 1 now, earning him a place in the france squad for the world cup.. he is very aggressive and a fans favourite at Lille.
Here we go again Hudds is average Bollocks when he wa said Ramos the famous, hardly a shite midfield .I will Have Little bet Davey if Capellow picks him for the World Cup he is one of the Stars of the world cup and meet me and I will give you 50 quid if you can do just one of toms passes with pace wen he is not playing we have no fucking idea how to pass the ball over 15 yards without losing it west ham where not very good, but energy they had ask arsoles players Big tom may look like he is sleeping but watch is feet he would be out of your bed before you got your key in the door ask you misses Hudds Thudds hes gunner win the cups
Heard that Pav maybe used as a makeweight in a Upson Parker deal, with Upson most likely to move.
Parker is detirmined to stay to keep them up.....just the fire in the belly stuff we need!!
Palacious has cover in O'Hara when played in that chase down role, but we need him back from pompey
Don't be suprised to see Kaboul back, with us lending Danny Rose to Pompey (if given permission). Harry wants to help Pompey (Storrie), but knows he can help us too!!
Good source tells me Kevin Davies is someone Harry favours, but would be at the expense of Robbie going to Sunderland
that goalie has the same name as the owner of our beloved club, sign him pronto!!
speaking of transfers that never happened, huntelaar just scored a penalty, his first goal at san siro (3 total?). he thought he was too big to play for us.
mavuba would be cool. davies would be cool. kaboul would be cool.
rose on loan to pompey would be cool. keane to sunderland or celtic is cool with me.
good posts davspurs and pavlos and thfcdacourt.
hudd is the man, we need him to spread play. hes almost there in terms of being able to deal with any kind of team but the kid is still only 23, show a teeny bit of patience alright? we have palacios pairing him to do the dirty work already although i will kindly point out that hudd is no slouch himself defensively by any means.
i agree Mavuba would be excellent. was just looking him up and he has been impressive for Lille and France. i saw this rumour on sport.co.uk too.
@Spooky - I know you jest regarding Dixon but he has featured heavily for the reserves over the last couple of months and bagged a few goals. Considering we played Arsenal last week with a 18 year old who had never made a start in competitive football before we are desperate for any small mercy in an attacking sense. Saying all that, I do not hold much hope for Dixon but the fact that he is even playing professional football is a small miracle in itself and shows the determination of the boy. Barnes is currently training with Birmingham in hope of winning a contract and would be worth a gamble for most teams on a pay as you play style deal.
@spursfan - The most ridiculous set of valuations put on players I have seen for ooh, all of about a day.
@bob58n17 - While his story is a tragic one, I am not sure Mavuba is good enough. He will run all day and puts himself about but is very limited on the ball - reasons why he failed in Spain at Villarreal. You recently sold a similar version in Zokora.
No jesting re: Dixon. I'd love to see him make a Prem start. Think its more than a minor miracle he is playing again. It's beyond staggering.
Barnes, I fear, will go from club to club.
to chazza re mavuba..i watch this guy all the time in France and he is top drawer. thats why he's been in the France squad for the last 6 games. he's no mug. you are to dismiss him.
That's probably why France are shit, coming second to an ordinary Serbia side in World Cup qualifying, failing to beat Romania, scraping passed the woeful whipping boys in the Faroes by a single goal and finally their shameful 'victory' over the Irish.
Julien Faubert was a regular in the French squad and I can tell you now that he's fucking pony.