Summer is almost upon us...
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 12:06PM ...so brace yourselves for the opening of the transfer window and the army of a thousand 'in the knows' that will bloody their sword in battle.
I adore the fact that so many people claim to have contacts/deep throats (or know someone who is connected in some wishy washy way) within the recently reinforced walls of White Hart Lane (if you believe the ITK that suggested Levy has tightened security of transfer shenanigans to a need-to-know basis).
All the information passed on from said insider(s) is then shared with the online community without hesitation. Although considering Harry Redknapp tells everybody via press conference who we're looking at it's hardly ground breaking stuff when something from within is then leaked into the public domain and is duplicated in half a dozen news streams. Guillem Balague also busy with the La Liga connections today (Osvaldo anyone?).
When the ITK's do let us know what's happening at the club, the information differs (in some cases vastly) from one to the next. So that's basically 40-50 people involved at the club at varying levels of employment who are privy to conflicting information (if notes were compared) and are all willing to share with people outside of the club that either use message boards or pass on the info to someone who does, resulting with rich ambiguity and canny cryptics of the transfer deal at hand. Yet rarely can any one ITK nail it beyond absolute doubt with definitive clarity. Then again, perhaps that's the point. Grapevine, whispers and misinformation.
Strangely, I can never force myself to look away. Probably because I need the material to work my way through the months before pre-season begins.
I've been privy to some information in the past (hasn't everybody?) although I know not a single person working for the club. The information was agent/player related and to be honest heavily dosed in salt. I've also been privy to other pointless whispers. But hardly any of it relevant to the necessity to know something before it happens even though if it happens you'll know about it regardless. Better left to the professionals.
Considering the variables at play and the limited scenarios that can potentially play out, if you throw enough **** at the wall, some of it will stick.
This summer the aim is to simply find the gem in amongst the rehashed echos of the prognosticative and the bleeding obvious and crown it as the definitive example, absolute clarity that Daniel Levy's Lilywhite walls have been penetrated and the juicy secret has oozed out into the wild.
I'm drowning in hypocrisy but I don't care. Follow the updates here:
Reader Comments (48)
Eagles circling above the home of the unicorns
Beckham it is again then
I've never really trusted any of the so called 'In The Know' people. It's a fairly new concept to me anyway. Have they actually ever been right? Like "leak" a potential transfer months/weeks before its in the press or Harry spurts it out to the media, to keep them on side?
Problem is, we get that crap all the time now, it doesn't wait for the window to open.
98% of what ITK's reveal is wishful thinking / another ITK on another board being repeated / complete b*llocks...
...however with no actual Spurs games and not even an international tournament to suffer then I say bring it - at least it provides a distraction from getting any work done.
I work about 6 miles from the ground and recently saw someone that looked a bit like Lionel Messi driving around in a Ford Fiesta. I reckon he was looking for a house. He was heading up that way so could well be looking for a pad in Stamford Hill. You know what that means. You heard it here first!
It's been relatively quiet other than the usual (obvious) plots surrounding Woody and King and as the season has progressed, the apparent Levy/Harry relationship and the England job. Now that we're heading towards the summer, it's going to be a shit storm - what with half of our squad already being touted to other clubs and our never ending quest to sign some quality forwards.
So much for people to feed off.
Just saw a bloke with a coat like Sam Allardyce and a bluetooth headset having a pint outside a pub near Liverpool Street. Must be about to get the train to White Hart Lane. Which means Harry must be off with Allardyce replacing him.
Just read the ITK thread and there's some scary stuff in there , especially the ones that mocked about Harry wanting o'shea and brown for Modric and cash
the thing is , i really believe he is capable of deciding stuff like that will benefit the team.
"Just saw a bloke with a coat like Sam Allardyce and a bluetooth headset having a pint outside a pub near Liverpool Street. Must be about to get the train to White Hart Lane. Which means Harry must be off with Allardyce replacing him."
good god. can you imagine??? bring back the "Rivaldo nearly signs for spurs story" anyday.
The sooner other teams sign the West ham deadwood the better - that should cut the ITK's by about 40% (parker being being 38%)
Just pray to Billy Nick that we don't leave it all until the last minute on deadline day. Top quality CF, CB and GK please. Thanking you.
Just seen Lady Penelope pop into a fried chicken joint on the High Road. Wherever she is, Parker's not far behind...
Ah, the transfer speculation season, traditionally this was the highlight of our year, being linked with Rivaldo and signing Andy Booth... happy days...
Guillem Balague is Tweeting that City want Bale.
Surely something lost in translation? ;)
Guillem Balague is a prick of the highest order. A Spanish Andy Townsend.
List the best, say ten players in the country, and City will 'want' them.
I have little doubt that at some point this summer they will test us with a silly £40M bid. Levy is going to have to show strength.
Simply put: None of the 'key' players, the spine, can go.
Modric won't go
Bale.....i dont think will go either, tbh if we get £40m+ for him and get Hazard for half that, might be a great deal - Bale is becoming the new Anderton with all these injuries! Psychologically he seems weak too, which im not sure will be easy to overcome....
VdV is staying
I think we need the following: -
Parker/Adam - Us and the Scousers will get one or other
Samba - beast of a CB, leader, great cover at CB - esp if we're going to be in Europa
Hazard - this guy looks a talent (esp if either Bale and/or Lennon leave)
2 Strikers - tbh im harbouring deluded visions of Harry luring Drogba to Spurs, but other than that, Aguero looks expensive (£45m buy out clause supposedly which AM seem to be holding out for) and supposedly Madrid want in, Rossi is supposedly a Barca target now which leaves us with the few Ligue 1 guys we've been supposedly scouting - Gamerio and Sow - both have good goal scoring records this season....then again it is the French league.....Berba back anyone?
off topic but be sure to listen to latest football weekly on Guradian, Arsenal are in meltdown. lavvley.
Heard it on the way to work this morning. It's a strange thing, success and then the lack of it when compared to said success rather than based on the cycle of success most (top) clubs enjoy.
Their fans have such massive expectations and utterly no patience, but then when they can see what's wrong it must be frustrating. Much like it is for us, be it on a lower tier of progression.
No idea if any of the above makes sense.
Levy has one eye on the fair play rules, one on the Sky case, and the eye in the back of his head on West Ham and the OS. All of these effect out transfer policy more than anything.
So if City offer 50m+ for Bale he will probably be off, with Levy squeezing them to £60m!
Harry may not want the Europa League but our chairman will. Also 2 decent cup runs and and a good league position. Pretty much what most fans want I suppose.
i had to read that twice spooks but i get the gist!
they aint a happy bunch that's for sure. great how the french dude was reporting on them too..
Legarcon , Hazard is good but on his way to L'arse i am afraid ...
Would be gutted. He's a gem.
He (hazard) has declared that his favorite teams are Arsenal and Real (because of his mentor Zidane) ...
Another Belgian player , Lukaku , has answered to the Spurs interest and said he would like EPL football (duh) but especially in a club where Drogba is present , because the drog is his hero ...
Then surely we need to sign Drogba and take in Lukaku as 'the one for the future'.
Forward conundrum solved.
Realistically, don't you think we need to be able to offer Modric 150K and CL next summer or he'll go (if not sooner).
Enjoy him in a Spurs shirt while you can.
This would all be just dandy if we had won Stratford.
Moddle in stasis for a few years, then unfreeze him to a capacity crowd of 60k.
Just as long as we don't fanny around until Sep 30, or whenever deadline is, before bringing in new players and expect them to instantly fit in.
Next season yet another in long line of 'make or break'. Top 4, or wave goodbye to Modders, Bale, Sandro, VdV.
See Europa Lge as a big plus - great chance to rotate squad, bed-in a few youngsters and give them a bit of experience.
modric and sandro
it's all about modric and sandro.
I say we pay up the ar** for Aguero and/or Llorente.
What's worrying is that we are being linked with so few realistic strikers, yet our current strikers aren't being linked with anyone else.
I'd love to check-in on newsnow and read "Crouch ready to pack bags as Blackburn come calling"
Transpose Crouch with any of our sh** strikers.
Europa league as a bit of fun/chance to rotate players????
Have you all gone nuts? The Europa league is a competition that we have a serious chance of winning, if we did win it it would be our biggest triumph since 1984, that 1984 people, 27 years ago!!!!!!
Is also a great experiance for a players, we should look to win every competiton we are in like Man U/Chlesea do, lets not F**k it up like we did with the CC this year!
Tottenham Hotspur, too big to bother with the Europa league, Billy Nic will be turning in his grave
Ossie League Cup last year was below us, FA cup beyond us. Seems mad people treating the Europa League in this way.
I would love to see us win a European competition again, what better way to get the players wanting more European football, and developing a taste for winning.
Last time we got to the quarters in the old UEFA cup we didn't sell out the Lane, where were the 35k people waiting for a Season ticket that night?
Slightly off subject anybody know of any ST holders not renewing this year - or is it another year static on the list. We must have the healthiest, longest living football fans in the world!!
Hardest job that Levy has this summer: selling our deadwood... and I very much doubt he'll be letting any of them go on the cheap!
Best bet, sell them all to QPR... and give them a bulk discount (plus a 50% sell-on clause)!
Easiest job Levy has this summer: telling Citeh to do one... no way will we be selling any of our top drawer players unless they hand in a transfer request and i can't see that happening this summer. Plus I'm not sure if any other club will be able to afford the transfer fee that Levy would demand for the likes of Sandro, Bale or Modric.
We have a great core squad to build upon, plus some exciting youngsters whom are now that little bit older that I'm sure will start to come through this coming season. With a few additions, tweaks here and there with the right character and calibre of player we will be right up there next season, i've got no doubt. GK, CB and strikers top the wishlist. It looks like Parker will come in too which will give us a different dimension to our play and no doubt help our cause when we're in a dogfight against the more combative teams in the Prem, our achilles heel this season... and if it means letting Jenas and/or Palacios leave to make way for a reliable player with real character that shows leadership in the dressing room and on the pitch, that can only be good for the team.
At no time this year have i ever watched a game and thought the opposition were better than us, if we lose it's only been down to our own errors, lack of focus/application and the odd suspect decision thrown in for good measure, we've never been beaten good and proper by any side. I can't remember ever looking back at a season watching Spurs (for nearly 30 years) and thought that no team is superior, in a season where we got to the CL QF that has to prove we are making progress.
Belief is the key...
One thing's for sure, if we are to maintain a genuine push for top 4 or better, we have to keep that core of a squad at all costs... and i think we all know what that core consists of.
Gotta keep the faith... COYMFS!
I think levy will be distracted again by OS. it's the itch he can't quite scratch it seems.
The grounds for Judicial review on the surface appear to have some merit. But until Boris and co 'team go spurs' can find an alternative, and with spammers not exactly 'covering themselves in glory' (depsite Messrs Sullivan and Gold trying to wash it under the carpet as 'one unruly drunken fan' when he was one of a table that kicked off, and these guys are their 'corporate clientele'), they got big problems and I can't help but get the feeling that politically (and from a media perspective), a lot of people must now be wishing that they'd given it to spurs. Too many connected persons now just wanting the issue to go away. Looking like they backed the wrong horse (any inference to Brady is purely conincidental here).
Modders will stay, for now, bale is injured so chances of him passing a fitness test will be suspect, (but would we turn down £40 mil plus?), Sandro is just gettting used to life, and looks like a gem, think he'll stay haing put so much in to getting settled. SO think we are genuinely ok for midfield. Defence and strikers, that's our issue. The one keeper we are already connected to is Foster, who has done well at brum, but can't help but get the feeling that he's not much better than what we already have.
And as some of the above have already stated, it's selling that will be the issue, time for levy to forget about the OS for while (maybe) and get on with the task of 'streamlining'.
As for gooners, funniest reports from last weekend was the crowd booing the announcement that the attendance was 60K plus change, when clearly there were 10k plus seats empty, my goon mates (sic) are starting to call for some serious changes.
Maybe they should take a leaf out of our book, 'be careful what you wish for', or maybe Ramos will be available for them next season?
A top cb and fwd is wot we need maybe Cahill and benzema? And I hate to say it but I think the scousers are going to finish 5th, our home form aint great brummies are fighting for there lives and villa have nothing to play for so the scousers will beat them and at best we will draw. Made all tthe worst by the fact I'm going to the game, god I hope I'm wrong I WANT 5TH COYS!
In my opinion, if we get a big money offer for Bale we should let him go.
We've seen before that players can always be replaced, and with the exception of European games, he's not exactly set the world alight this season.
£40 million will buy us a top quality centre-back and either a striker or replacement left winger. In fact, we could use pre-season to be letting Rose & Townsend blend in.
@the glory boys - what do you mean by our home form not being great?!
We've only lost once at WHL all season....... Granted it's those draws that have stagnated it, but it's still somewhat of a fortress this season
Defoe appears to be gobbing off in the press again. I think he'll be off.
I'm confident we can keep all stars for one more season at least. If next season isn't a major success then they will want out, so it's vital we strengthen this summer.
Striker(s) needed desperately, someone who can play alone up front, someone with presence. Dead wood out, leaving wages available for new signings and space in the team for promising youngsters. We don't need to buy and sell many players, we have a good spine, just need those missing pieces to the puzzle.
The press will link the players we want to keep with moves away, try and stay calm, we don't need to sell and key players want to stay (for now).
Just read that JD piece where he's whining about not getting enough opportunities at Tottenham. Really? Earth to Defoe: You have had, if anything, far too many chances this year and you haven't produced. Please don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Just seen the Defoe interview on SSN..... said he doesn't want us to be in the Europa League next season as it will prove to be too much of a distraction. That's the complete opposite to what VDV has said.
As for whining about playing games, I can see his argument, but if he scored more often then he'd have more sympathy.Problem is, very rarely has he taken the opportunities presented to him.
Jermain Defoe's 100 Spurs Goals DVDFrom his first goal in Spurs colours against Portsmouth in 2004, right through to his 100th goal against West Bromwich Albion in 2011, Jermain Defoe has become a Spurs hero during his two spells at Tottenham Hotspur. This DVD re-lives all his goals for THFC.
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Now that's funny !! wheres Keane's one?
I'm releasing the sister DVD - Jermain Defoe's 10'000 Offside's.
Guaranteed to have you shouting in disbelief!!
Harry Redknapps 100 Spurs Quotes DVD. Comes complete with dunce hat.
what about Jermain Defoes top 100 wag wannabies?
exculsive footage of Jermain getting a blowy outside the training ground. plus un-seen footage of A place in the Sun when Jermain tells Charlotte to do one. There's interviews with Danielle, Chantelle, Imogen, Chardannay and a whole host of large breasted babes who have experienced nights in with the Tottenham pocket dynamo.
Rated 18
In the last home game Defoe was put through and he lost out in a one on one with the Blackpool center back. Said it all about Defoe i.e. he aint the blistering striker he used to be. He has inmho lost it a la Keano. Very sad coz Defoe has been a fantastic striker for us but as is often the case with strikers who break through at an early age i.e. 17/18 (Owen, Keane, Defoe, Fowler) they often lose their pace after 10 years.
I've had a blast this season, the Champs League was an incredible journey I couldnt care less what goons say about it being a one season wonder for us. And 5th in the league isn't a disaster by any means. Onwards and upwards with a 50m quid chest. And we do need a new stadium that's for sure.
But for now I am enjoying the demise of a club in the East, a club ruined by greed and self indulgent muggy owners. They should have stuck with Terence Brown. Instead they've got 3 muppets who can't keep their traps shut for more than 5 minutes. And they hold an end of season bash (sorry, Academy fund raiser) 48 hours after getting relegated with tickets discounted from about 500 quid to 275 coz they couldnt sell out according to the papers where it all kicks off after too much booze and racial abuse. Unbelievable. Nice to see keane in his claret and blue tie what a great signing he was for them! They will struggle next season with the pressue on them and I can honestly see them going bust coz whilst their owners are muppets they are not so stupid as to chuck in much more of their own cash in. Mk dons 2, West Ham 0 i can see it now!
JD needs to look at Javier Hernandez stats before shouting off his mouth. But he has always been that way, self ahead of the team.
Here's me going on about also requiring a CB, and we have Bongani Khumalo at the club already.
/tumbleweed
Khumalo won't be enough with Woody & Bassong going mate. Add the temperamental nature of Ledders and that leaves us short if we get injuries! (which is pretty much guaranteed)