Modric
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 at 11:36PM If it's true, if a bid has been made (debatable - if they truly have bid, they don't appear to be very serious about it), Levy needs to show some true grit here. Laugh it off. Tell Luka Modric he's going nowhere. He's got a job to do. Make a statement of intent.
Simply put - if he's sold, we'll never shift out of this perpetual state of flux. Two steps forward, one back, one forward, one back. No one player is bigger or more important than the team. But the reattainment of our best players is vital. We're not mid-table Spurs pushing for top 5. We're top 5 Spurs pushing for top 3. We have to believe that, starting with the players. If you sell and the power is for you to retain, then you're more or less giving up and starting over. I don't want to hear about the fiscal aspects of profit. Retain your top players, cement and consolidate a top four position...then you'll have all the money in the world. We've also got enough deadwood to start a fire that will burn for centuries.
We're not a selling club, right? So says our chairman.
Anyways, Sky Sports News understands usually translates to one of their in-house producers reading something on a message board or Twitter then gleefully running the yellow ticker. £22M? Arrogance and cheek. Has Roman lost his wallet and is only bidding with the loose change in his back pocket? Their bid is better suited as a donation to the Tottenham Foundation. You can get a Henderson for £20M.
"Tottenham Hotspur gave me my chance in the Premier League and I want to go on to achieve great success here with them. Yes, there have been enquiries from other big clubs, but I have no interest in going anywhere. Last season's Top 4 finish was an indication of where we are as a Club and I feel I can continue to improve and go on to achieve everything I want to at Spurs"
- Luka Modric, May 2010, 6 year contract signed
Don't want to be overly dramatic, but we'd only sell the player if we gave into it. Would be soul destroying. This is not a Berbatov saga. The lad is not attempting to engineer a move away, neither is his agent.
How about this for a slice of ITK. My heart says, no chance. The club has to rise above it. The media and one or two 'interested parties' will continue to do their best to destabilise and unsettle. Wouldn't put it past someone else (go on guess) starting this rumour for their own agenda and benefit to drive a bidding war. It's a dirty game. They want everyone talking about it, they want Luka thinking about it. The irony, not lost on any of us because we're all doing the same thing. I'm writing it, you're reading it.
Stand strong Tottenham. It's going to be a long hot summer with the possibility of a brooding storm or two.
Reader Comments (41)
Its all good saying Levy and co need to stick to their guns but lets face it,
we may have the ambition but we don't have the means. If we had the means to backup the ambition we would have purchased a good striker within the last 12 months in order to capitalise on the opportunity that Champions League football afforded us. But we were priced out of moves which Chelsea aren't so it seems clear that Chelsea are quite clearly a step up for a player like Modric.
Therefor lets make our peace with it
I can see a club statement being released by lunchtime. If not, then fear the worst my friends, fear the worst.
Brilliant Spooky
But make sure he bloody reads this one & put a FIRST CLASS stamp on it
Club statement:
"We'll start the bidding at £60M..."
Spot on Spooky. Blog and your last post.
We held out with Berbatov for one year, we can do the same with Modric surely.
£22M will get Chelsea or anyone else a phone call with Levy.
He will duly tell them to fuck off.
Henderson £20m
Carroll £35m
Torres £50m.
Modric = ???
As an opening bid of £22m they must expect to be asked for at least £45m. Best pull up the shutters now and say not for sale. End of. Then offer Luka parity with our top earners.
So guess we'll see what Luka is made of, and whether Roman has got a new object of desire which money will not get in the way of.
This is your fault anyway Spooky for complaining about lack of inspiration.
I have to smile---grimly-- I as I suspect that the recent storm around Modric has its roots in the pro Man Utd media and they way the media is manipulated to aid them. I smile because if they succeed in unsettlling Modric they will unlikey be the ones to benefit as both Chelsea and Man City could easily outbid them, and I am sure that Man U would rather see Modric at Spurs rather than at Chelsea or the City.
City out bid Utd last time round, but Berbatov never had any intentions of talking to them.
Sell Modric and we sell all our ambition to become the top club we have always strived to be. Tottenham is in business to play football, not to count the shekels in the bank. The shekels will flow in once we become a big, CL club, which we cannot do without Modric for the next several years.
Dan Levy knows this - as does Harry Redknapp. The wimping out with Berbatov and Keane and Carrick days are over.
Every club sells at some stage just got to be right for both clubs and the player.35ml+Drogba then go get Ganso.Get it done quick.No fanning around.Tell the russian thats the deal take it or go do one.Tell him its to be done dam quick.Get Ganso no matter the price even if it takes the whole dam 35ml.What a team with Sandro and Ganso running the park with Lennon/Walker on the right and Bale AAE on the left .Sell the dead wood and get Cahill for the back.Add Damaio and keep Pav and Defoe.Looks like a team to me.Don't like all this will he or won't he sh8.Do it and get it over.United sold Ronaldo and every other team if the price is right would sell their top players trick is to get the same or better and Ganso looks the dogs big swingers.
im afraid this is just first bid everyone they went in low, knowing it will shun a response from the other chasing clubs. don't be surprised if a big club from spain come in for him too. chelsea and the 2 manchester teams will be prepared to pay alot more. very worrying, i think his head has tuned now hes tasted champions league football and he wants more of it. tottenham dont pay enough wages to keep players of this calibre. he is without a doubt our best player imo. well end up with 40mill for him probably, but wont be able to replace him, thats why teams are willing to pay so much for him :O( :O(
I could not have put it better myself, spooky.
All bluster. we will retain Moders for another season. If no CL footie the season after we will loose him. I am sure we will get top 3 next season anyway so no worries. This is all media generated hype, obviously a bidding war will now start, started by sections of the man u supporting media who still think Man u are still untouchable (get into this decade). All they have done is start a feeding frenzy with only 2 possible out comes. A) Moders goes to Man Citym, Barca or B) Moders stays at Spurs. Dont see how manure win really. And as i said he will go nowhere this season.
any news is bad news....i remember saying to me dad after we last played liverpool" modric is putting in a realy big game defensively" me dad said"yer man u like players to put themselves around a bit" i said"yeh it looks like he is getting stuck in cause he knows there is another bigger club after him"......you got to admit modric is a world class player who is going to get better....modric aint worth $20mill he is worth at least $30mill.......
Daniel Levy, more than ever will have to prove now (talk is cheap) above any shadow of doubt that our best players are not for sale. Getting into the CL was vital last season, but Harry and Co got carried away on that and didn't concentrate on staying there through our league results. We need a loud shout from our chairman now saying Chelsea, go away, we are not selling you the best midfielder in the EPL, not even for £60m. He has to warn all the big EPL and European clubs that they just cannot afford our best players and go and rape some other club.
Daniel Levy needs to make a powerful, positive statement today. AM.
That bid is a joke,if I'm not mistaken chelski paid,50 million for a average striker named torres who was not even in form...I think if they want modric they shud come would atleast 60 million,anyway let's be realistic would all his flair,passing and defensive abilities,one thing he lacked was the ability to finish in front of goal.he reminds me a lot of park at man u,whole thing park is very deadly in front of goal.to be honest spurs need goals and we thank modric for his services to spurs but its time we move on,let's bring in some new players,spurs need a major clearout the only players we should keep is dawson,kaboul,walker,ekkoto,bale,sandro,wan der vaart,lennon,defoe,king,rose and maybe pavs.we should sell the rest and bring in the likes of marin,charlie adams,adam johnson,podolski,phillip mexes,edison cavani,santi carzola,juan mata,klaas jan huntelaar,leighton baines,mikel arteta,scott parker,falcao,phillip lahm,thomas mueller,tasci,mario gomes,graffite,diego,hulk and velasco....we need to sign top quality players to show our intent to win the league cos we almost there and to end I will like to say"let's do a bit of charity and donate gomes to any team that is in search of a goalkeeper"..lol...
interesting to see what darren lewis from the mirror will say today, remember his recent "exclusive" - "MirrorFootball understands, they would allow Modric to leave if they were to receive an offer of £20m-£25m from a Champions League club". well I'd say £22m fits in that region but so why haven't we sold him? journo's are lazy, modders may well go but not for less than £30m
he's not going anywhere this summer. Unless a club came in with stupid money which would be £50m+ he'll be with us next season. That was the case when the season finished and it's the case now.
Next summer however is a very different story unless we can prove Redknapp wrong and it can get better.
seems darren lewis also thinks that arsenal are going to buy jermain defoe from us (http://tinyurl.com/5ucvrf6), we can only hope, but then again darren lewis thinks that defoe scored 21 league goals for us in 09-10 season (http://tinyurl.com/39u3tjl), if he can't get the facts right then i'm not sure i can believe his itk.
Modric's agent has just felt compelled to make a statement that the bid is "too low". That strikes me as a bad sign.
There's little doubt in my mind that Modric will not be a Spurs played come the opening game of the season.
It's early days in the transfer window and we are already starting to receive offers. With 2 months still to go that is a very bad sign.
If it's true that we enquired about Marin, then it has to be seen as us being willing to sell Modric.
£22 million is a derisory offer and should have been laughed off, with Levy asking Roman how much vodka he'd consumed during the afternoon.
At that price it shows that Chelsea only view Modric as being 10% better than Henderson, a player who was largely in the shadows at Sunderland when their form slumped.
They paid £50 million for a striker who couldn't hit a barn door until he played West Ham.
It's inevitable now that City & United, and probably Liverpool, will start to launch bids which break the £30 million barrier.
Even that shouldn't be enough - £40 million minimum especially with another 5 years on his contract.
40m 2.5x what we paid for him.
Levy would probably take that - but I think only if Modric comes out and says he wants to go. If no transfer request do an Arsenal and say 60m. I would happily let Modric go for 60m, then if anyone comes knocking for Bale you have your lowest bid point straight away.
in reality we have to keep him for one more year. If not Bale, VDV etc will probably be away as well this summer.
Once you let one of those three go it's open season..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13789159.stm
Modric's agent at it now.
How can a bid be acceptable for the player when the player wont get to talk to another club, because Levy wont be accepting any bid?
Not a selling club, right Mr Chairman?
That just re-iterates what Modric said a couple of weeks back "I'm happy, but if an offer was good enough for the club, then I'd consider the move".
I'd like to see us stand strong like Arsenal did over Fabregas, but that only works if you can offer the same as the approaching club e.g. CL and challenge for PL title.
Every player has his price, but it's the responsibility of the chairman to set that price at a level no-one will bid. United won't go above £30 million, whereas Chelsea & City will do.
I give it 2 weeks before he's gone..... Won't even be arriving for pre-season training.
While any sale is a bad thing, doing it early is good as it gives us the opportunity to find a replacement and get them into the team blend. Is this why we are ready to offer £4 million for Parker??
Just a thought, its this not like offering a woman £10 for her virtue, only for her to say i would want more than that. So its just a matter of price then!
We say NO NO NO NOT AT ANY PRICE that is a clear message that tells everyone Modric is staying even if hell freezes over.. if we simply say that`s not enough, then it just becomes not if but when Modric goes and how much we get.
Like the woman who thinks she should just say no not at any price and keep her virtue in tact otherwise every one knows she is simply a whore, just a more expensive one.
1.Godric is 1 season & a few goals away from being Barca class.
2. His present value is 50 million.
3. If we eventually have to sell, then Levy will use Utd,Chelski & the ridiculous Man City as stalking horses before selling him last minute to Real or Barca.If not, he has failed us & evidenced that THFC is about turnover and not the intention of glory.
4.The aforementioned clubs will never sell to us, we should never sell to them.
5. Fuck Fergabub & his manupulation of the sports media.
6. I have come to realise I hate ManU more than Chelski.So much so, that when i think of those 2 clubs, I actually respect the cracked actor that is Wenger & the Emiratonians.
7. Man U's domination & influence of the great game is very very unhealthy.
8. F*** Man U.
Redknapp: ""22mil for Modric? We've been quoted more than that for people that couldn't lace his boots"
We've probably been quoted more than that for people that can't lace their OWN boots!
We have been offered more than 22mil for people who didn`t know boots had laces !
is it just me or does anyone else fancy getting themselves a sandwich from Boots today. Sure there's one near Bond St tube........
Bucking the trend here, but if he's gonna go please, please, please let it be abroad. £35 million to Real Madrid or someone, but FFS don't sell him to any of our rivals.
See Modders light up La Ligue I can handle, seeing him swan around in a Chelski shirt I can't.
And what about £15/16 million from Arsenal for Defoe?????
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/06/15/ms-european-team-of-the-season-2010-111/
Bluffers guide to who we should buy with the Modric money ;-)
Ah, the DML Modric edition- I've been waiting for this one...
Try as I might, I just can't come to view Modric as irreplaceable. Beloved, yes. Valuable, certainly. Arguably even our best, or most important player. But ultimately, I am not a Modric Fan- I am for Spurs. My criteria for selling Modric is thus quite simple. Will it improve Spurs? So the question I have been asking myself, rather than "should we or shouldn't we" is "for how much and for what purpose?" Is it truly inconceivable to imagine a situation whereby Modric leaves and Spurs are actually more competitive? Here is one such scenario I have allowed myself to entertain by way of an example...
Spurs trade Modric to Barcelona for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Straight up. Barcelona receive a skilled midfield playmaker that would fit well into their team and style of play. This would cost them essentially nothing, as Ibra spent the whole of last season on loan, and it is likely that the wage bill would be reduced. This would also negate the need for a 40-50 million pound bid for Fabregas (I'll come back to that). Spurs would be obtaining a dominant, international-class striker capable of playing alone or with a partner. HE HAS WON NINE CONSECUTIVE DOMESTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FIVE LEAGUES- that's got to count for something. The knock on Ibra is that he's perceived as underperforming in the Champions League, but we've got no CL football next year, and anyway we already have two strikers who seem to be especially suited to the CL (if not only the CL) in Crouch and Pav. Another (perceived) benefit to this scenario, would be that a clearly unsettled Fabregas STAYS at le Arse. I suspect that much of the blame for their struggles this year stems from the fact that he clearly wishes to be playing for the blaugrana, and I see no reason that will change if he is retained in North London for another year. To fill the Modric-sized hole in our midfield, we obtain a marko marin, eden hazard-type (young, skilled, yet to make the leap) player at whatever the market rate may be. Would this work? If not, please share your (realistic) ideas of how a potential Modric sale, at his true value, could be used to move Spurs forward.
It's a nice idea CASpuur9, but what are his wages? They'll break our structure for sure.
How about Modric to Inter for Eto'o? Not that I believe they're looking at him, i just dream of the day he lines up in lilywhite.
Canada Yid,
Hmmmmmm. Eto'o is a player I rate, but I just don't see the deal appealing to Inter unless they lose Wesley first. As long as Sneijder is there, I can't see Inter pulling the trigger on that deal. Sneijder is their Modric, only he's got a wicked free kick and a nasty habit of scoring big goals...
I think you've hit upon something with the wage issue though. More than anything else, I think this is the biggest obstacle Spurs face in competing with the other top PL clubs (because it means that we consistently struggle to retain our best players, regardless of our relative success(es) on the field). Unlike some, I have no desire to see us shatter the wage structure in order to protect our position in the league table if it means that our financial (and long-term) future is compromised. I don't see this changing until we get a new stadium sorted, unless the financial fair-play rules are enforced in such a way as to put an end to the inflated transfer fees/wages that we're seeing now.
tbf, it's just nice to see the fans and harry agree on a few things.
Sometimes tellig it like it is, might just be the kick taht levy needs.
(unless this is all part of levy's grand plan to do something to make harry quit this summer, rather than having to justify supporting him until the FA come knocking).
Cave in on this and we never really wanted to be up there anyway...
Oh and Zlatan Ibrahimovic? The most over rated lesbian on God's green earth.. Couldn't even score past us..
As I said weeks ago spooky...... here we go !!
(and this time I have a sinking feeling)