Modric. Again.
Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 10:17PM Late last night I was drowning in delusions and denial. We all speculated and attempted to work through the Dail Mail 'exclusive' concerning several paragraphs worth of quotes directly from Luka Modric via his holiday boat, very politely informing us of his ambitious plans to leave us for another that can offer him an immediate challenge in the top tier.
As much as it pains me, deep down, we all know footballers are hardly loyal to the club they play for unless said club is giving them exactly what their heart desires. The likes of Giggs and Scholes never looked to move. But then they were products of Man Utd and have played through one of the most successful periods for a club in modern times that any player could ever wish to be a part of.
Other successful players (i.e. Ronaldo) enjoy their success then want to move on for something different for a number of reasons (lifestyle, new league, new challenge, more money).
Then you have the clubs that are not quite top tier, but wish to be. The problem is said club (us) ends up being nothing more than a stepping stone simply due to the fact that even though we might be confident to challenge again for a Champions League spot next season we'll have to wait for the season after to be involved in it. Patience is not a virtue most players possess. Perhaps they look at their peers, believe themselves to be as good if not better and question why they're sitting amongst the chasing pack rather than in the leading pack. Not an excuse, it's a harsh fact. As much as we kid ourselves that some players are different, they all want to play at the very top.
I tend to wish (dream) that they can see the bigger picture. Spurs are trying to build something, create history and perhaps become a permanent fixture in the top four. We'll be the ones forever plucking the cream of the crop from whatever team(s) fall out of their lofty positions. And that's the crux of it. We look at it from the clubs perspective as fans. Fans who will always be here. Unlike players that come and go. They tend to look at what the club can give to them from a personal perspective.
Modric has a winners mentality. He wants to win. Sadly, much like so many of his peers, he might not want to be part of a team building up to something rather just move into one that has already been completed.
You would wish for Modric to wake up and smell the rose of our reality that can allow for his destiny to be one of far greater value in terms of allowing him to gain the success he aspires to and fulfil our ambitions as supporters. If it wasn't for dropped points here and dropped points there perhaps a more clinical finish or control of the ball or the right pass instead of one a yard off...we'd have finished 4th. Or higher. There's a fine line at work.
Our failure last season is one of a collective responsibility. So I guess what with recently signing a new and improved contract (5 years left?) Luka should have perhaps looked at how the Prem played out, how close we actually were and simply worded his 'exclusive' to be more of a challenge (a throw of a gauntlet) to the chairman in terms of matching his ambitions.
'Prove to me how ambitious Tottenham are'
Instead we got a rather apologetic thanks but please please please let me go. Which I guess is better than a sulk and a strike.
Fact is the club has to now show its ambition by signing the players that will aid us with pushing onwards, to galvanise the squad further. To truly show our unity and that we are here to stay to continue to dick off the media and the clubs that enjoy looking down and bullying us every summer.
Levy's statement was powerful. It's one thing telling interested clubs sniffing around Luka to go away, it's another to inform them and the world that there is next to no chance of him being sold. For any price. Now my thinking has been that we would play a game, one that Levy is pretty much the master of. Deflect and manipulate the situation to our favour to maximise a potential transfer fee. Have the likes of Chelsea breaking British transfer records (again) to sign him.
Remember this concerning Berbatov and Keane?
"I have absolutely no wish to sell either player and to date we have not accepted any offer for either. However, when a player's head is turned and their commitment is absent, particularly when they occupy key positions such as that of striker, they become a negative influence in a team dressing room in which they were once a positive addition and influence.
This is the situation we now have on our hands, with both Dimitar and Robbie having made it clear that they wish to leave for Manchester Utd and Liverpool respectively" - Daniel Levy
Difference? I guess two things. Contract length and the fact that today isn't yesterday. Where we currently in terms of position as a squad means that if we don't fight to retain the spine of our team then the message to the squad and everyone else is that if you want to push us over go ahead. We'll stumble and fall and pick ourselves up. Then you can wait. Then push us over again.
I know it's dangerous committing yourself to words that never speak louder than actions, but when you read the statement from the chairman it's abundantly clear to me that Daniel Levy has supreme confidence that there is utterly not a chance in hell the player will be sold or bother to continue to engineer a fruitless move away. It's worth repeating.
Which means this is end game. Final boss defeated. No lives lost.
So what now? I said yesterday that what happens post-Daily Mail article would be important to how things shape up for THFC and the player. Levy has done his bit. It's now over to Luka Modric. We still don't know how the events leading up to yesterdays bombshell came about. Perhaps it was as simple as agent/player using the media to pressure the club into accepting talks with Chelsea. Someone pointed out to me the timing of the statement. Why had Levy waited to inform us about rejecting the bid post-bombshell? I guess I would have done that. Makes you look even more kick-ass, standing in the face of adversity and sticking up two fingers.
Rooney was practically done and dusted at Utd before he signed a new contract there. Some took a while to forgive him. Seems like a ploy in hindsight, a stupid one, to earn more money. Modric was ill advised and naive to do what he did. It's happened but I'm not going to allow any part of my heart to darken over it. He's just a player that plays for my team. This has always been about intent to finally buck the trend. Modric on the pitch in Lilywhite epitomises what is so great about supporting Spurs at this moment in time. We can't allow a key player to leave.
I will just have to readjust my expectations of footballers and remember they are not Tottenham Hotspur. We are, the fans. If we happen to balls up next season, then next summer will be grim. But we're not going to balls it up and this summer will be looked back on as the turning point.
So Luka. Man up and send Daniel a box of chocolates and a card. Because he's the daddy.
Reader Comments (38)
1st nicely put we are tottenham hotspur. I can't help but think that modric will still get his move for 45-50m. Levy playing a very good game but mods will leave
As you rightly say it's not enough to just block the transfer, it's time for the club to match hus ambitions by signing two or three high calibre players.
No re treads like Joe Cole.
Much as I hope he stays it seams with Spurs any player with above average talent is like a libary book which has to go back to the sky sports libary;still the star striker we are about to sign from Wells next the sea f.c might make him in the words of E17 stay another day.
Good article. Hope you are right. My view is that he will accept what the clud decide and knuckle give his all come August. I hope so, anyway.
Looking forward to seeing Modric's response to Levy's statement.
If he accepts the position, the supporters will forgive him. If he takes the Berba route we are in for a bumpy ride.
He's a fantastic player,I hope we keep him, whatever he wants. Play him in the reserves if we have to. We need to do it to send a message to other players and teams that we are not going to be just another rung on the ladder to the top. We have serious ambition, and Luka is a huge part of that. I hope he eventually comes round to see it that way too.
Hmm, think I meant "knuckle down", but who knows, much stella passed lips :o)
Great read - loved the last line!
Your spot on about the modern player and that we shouldnt ever kid ourselves that their in it for our club and indeed sadly its all about them and how much they can earn.
Like you say the fans are our club and best present from levy remains imo the new WHL.
When we have that no one can take that from us! It will be the best arena in football, with the best atmosphere in the country and will provide the gate receipts needed to avoid the very situation we're living through now with luka.
I would agree with most of what you have said. 4th place was THE priority and we screwed up. but we are where we are. Modric will leave and i hope we do get top $$ for him.
We are a a vicious circle:
1. We did not get 4th place
2. We got a taste of the big time
3. Players want more
4. We won't buy big time
5. We won't pay big wages
6. We don't have a 60,000 stadium for us to be able to pay and buy big time
7. We do not have an owner who wants to match the top 4 spend
8. We lose our best players
9. We buy fringe players
10. We turn them into starts
11. We taste the big time again
12...................and around and around we go.....
How do we break into the big time...........i'm afraid it needs big money and that's somewhere Jo Louis is not willing to go
We are the SPURS and that's bigger than anything. Loyal we shall remain and loyal is a word Man City and Chelsea will never comprehend or understand!!
There is no loyalty left in the game!!
really, spooky? You won't let it darken your heart? For me, Luka's statement revealed his true colors. Fella signs a six-year contract then wants to leave a year later? Says a transfer request is disrespectful, but apparently dragging it through the press (and hurting the club) isn't? Fuck that, send Levy an email if you want to leave!
I want Luka to do well this season, but that's only because our fortunes are tied to him. All this does is make me appreciate players like Rafa, Ledley, JD, and Jenas even more. Even though the last two under-perform (often severely), they are happy to be at the club---you can't deny the effort and heart that Jenas shows (for example during the 2008 debacle, he seemed to be one of the few who cared), even if the skill is a bit lacking.
p.s. we failed to get fourth, but Modric played a huge part in that, missing a fair few easy chances!
If the quotes have been captured accurately, the writing is on the wall that he will leave.
Could Drogba be part of the return deal? Talksport were hinting at £30m plus Drogba - I personally would be happy with that, alongside other key signings.
I wish we get top 4 next season at the xpense of Chelsea, if he's with us he'll be happy and if he's at chelsea that's great too
I agree overall with your sentiments spook, but a big part of me thinks sell the judas and bleed the chavs or mancs dry. One things for sure its a bit of a Dionne Warwick. :-(
in my opinion this is almost definitely about money as a posed to "footballing reasons". remember harry once saying that the key to signing top players wasnt champions league , but how much you pay them a week (man city , robinho). As it stands for modric are the chavs going to have a better season than us next year, is there squad better than ours. its marginal without doubt.
Levy should bid 5mil each for lampard and terry and drogba.
Great news from Levy, what a champion. Pretty much said F you chelsea and F you Luka for saying what you said. Like you said Spooks, he's the daddy. Now on to what I really want to say. I have always been on Redknapps side since he came here, but some of the things he has been saying lately are really getting to me, especially the talksport interview today. Saying how hard it will be for us and we will be lucky. Man up and say we can do it, we are here to win, if we don't ad hoc, then so be it, we gave it a good crack, but don't give us this deafeatest crap before the season/big games. He also is deflecting a lot of the pressure of the transfer market onto Levy, trying to save his own arse in my opinion, and thats weak. I hardly feel that Levy is doing everything in the transfer market and Redknapp has NOTHING to do with it. rant over. Luka wake up and Harry shape up. Daniel, keep on keeping on.
See a few blogs saying Sandro has asked his agent to look at a move with Madrid interested.These are starting to get to worrying times.To loose one midfielder is one thing but two and i bet old red nose will now come looking at Bale just wait and see.We could end up with Drogba,Berbatov and Diarra in our team and loose Bale ,Modric and Sandro.This might look a strong team but keeping a dressing room like that happy would be a mare.If this comes to pass and it is very early days yet i wonder will Arry rue not buying Saurez now.Are we paying the price now of our own success.Of playing such a great game in our first time in the champions league.What chance now of Damaio if Sandro was to leave.All pie in the sky but very scary times.
Spooky - Moonlighting for the Daily Mail I see - http://www.footballfancast.com/2011/06/premiership/tottenham-premiership/tottenhams-shrewd-transfer-move-harrys-3-ideal-signings-rodwell-the-answer-to-spurs-midfield-best-of-thfc
Now we know where these 'EXCLUSIVES' are coming from :)
Great (again) Spooky. One of the saddest elements for me is that he'd happily swan over to SW6. No Chel5ea player with an ounce of savvy would ever dream of coming to N17 - for example Duff wanted to but was warned off. Before then, Durie was just too stoopid to get it & even commented to Steve Clarke during a game @WHL that the Judas taunts from the away, Chel%ea fans were just a joke. Clarke, who does get it, told him the truth.
winning titles with Chelsea must be like getting a platinum album as a member of the Spice Girls, good fun, lots of cash but not really yours.
however if spurs were to go on to win a big title, being a part of that must feel like being Mick Jagger, A part of something great, from the start.
Some people are missing the point,
Moddle leaves this summer after kicking up a fuss, what's gonna stop Bale this or next summer?
Modric stays, even in the reserves if we have to. Send a message to other clubs and our players about the meaning of a contract.
On a seperate note i see Adel T has said now he wants to leave QPR and the good news is we get 40% of the selling fee and they are looking 10ml for him so thats 4ml for us if they get it.Just trying to forget the other sh8 at the minute thats why i posted this.
Well said. There now is a few possible solutions:
Modric makes a public apology to the club and the fans, saying that he wants to fight for the club and that he was just distracted by the lure of champions league football, but he regret saying he wanted to leave.
Modric is finally sold for a very high fee and perhaps with a player in exchange towards the end of the transfer window.
Modric stays, keeps on moaning is underperforming on the pitch and is sold in january for 20-30 mill.
Ha
We the media love Man Utd and Chelsea and are willing to expose our blatant lies in order to do so as shown by the lies about us and the Telegraph both having EXCLUSIVE interviews with Modric
It seem's to me that Modders has said exactly what he has said all along."If an offer comes in to the club which is acceptable to the club I will consider my future." well there is no acceptable offer! Mr Levey has told Chelsea and Man Utd to bog off! and I belive that Luca as A Proffesional and a man! will accept this and continue to give his best for Spurs. I can not belive that anybody with any sense can be influenced by a right wing rag (Daily Mail) whoe are proberbly under the payroll of the small time wannabes from Sw london who still have an inferiority complex about us IMHOP! Cheers.
The Chairman states he is not leaving. He goes on to say that none of the top players are leaving this season and that we are building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level and, he reiterates that, retaining quality players is crucial to that. He doesn't mince his words when he says ''For the avoidance of any doubt, let me reiterate that we shall not enter into any negotiations whatsoever, with any Club, regarding Luka''.
I think we should take it that Daniel Levy means what he says and that he has learned a thing or two in his dealings with the Berba and Carrick saga's. Anyway I am off the firm opinion that he wants a tilt at the title next year. Up our Chairman and Fuck Chelsea.
You can't blaim Luka for going to a bigger club going places instead of being happy finishing 4th.
Chelsea finish 2nd and Carlo is gone,thats the difference.Luka wants to play with winners.
Even if Levy holds out and Modric stays things won't be the same again. Like with Berbatov, Adebayor and others the implications won't go away. No side is a one-man team and getting two or three quality players as replacements could be of more benefit next season and beyond.
Emotion shouldn't be the deciding factor in this. It's a hard-headed footballing and business decision. And at the right price, Modric can go.
I'm dismayed at all the comments I am reading. So Levy grown nuts! Nut's eventually fall off trees! Modric will do one of three things (1) he will stay on for one more year and see how the club goes for recruits/ambition and finally see where they end up at the end of the next season (2) his wage will be increased to ease the pain, and he will probably be Spurs highest paid player, say 100K a week (3) if 1 and 2 arent achieved her will have an assurance that he can leave for a huge fee to Chelsea or who-ever. FACT no large stadium FACT no big wages FACT no Arab billionaire FACT Spurs are a "wheeler-n-dealer" club, always has been always will be PERIOD. So we will always find a talent, he will play for a period of time and then we sell him to the highest bidder, that's Tottenham
The fact is, we ARE two players away from being a top, top club, however, we have not shown any ambition towards this, so can you really blame Modric for wanting to go to a club who will spend, he will win titles but most importantly, earn more money, which lets face it any of us here and now will do.. remember.. we are SPURS FANS.. he is someone who has come over and served for 2 or so years, we don't mean as much to him as he does to us.
What I do not understand is, how are Chel$ki a bigger club than us? because they have an owner with unlimited money? I mean you can polish a piece of pooh but it is still a piece of shit, am I right? If he goes, he goes, but I do NOT want him at Chel$ki... Also, top four was in our grasp last season... we gave it away because of two things... 1) Defoe coming back from injury, 2) Redknapp and his silly 4-4-2 tactics just so he can play his best mate Defoe... ridiculous, we started the season so well when Defoe was injured and as soon as he came back.. he score 2 goals in 23 games or something ridiculous and it was all over for us.. Lastly, which I personally think was an important factor, there was on squad rotation..
For final thoughts I think Modric will stay with us, up until next season which our season will dictate... great player, but just to soften the blow and to cause some controversy, statistically, Modric's stats are useless... I'll be happy with 50+ million... Sandro and VDV in midfield with our wingers... two world class strikers up front and we can cause some damage...
Most importantly, COYS... also spooks, you should get some blogs together and start posting blogs about other players at other clubs.... cunts do the same to us
"Modric has a winners mentality. He wants to win. Sadly, much like so many of his peers, he might not want to be part of a team building up to something rather just move into one that has already been completed."
This is very unfortunate conclusion aimed at Luka. What "team building up" we talk about? Where the money for this "buildup" is supposed to come from? How will Spurs shackle down realistic 150K/week earners and hold onto them at 50K/week? Levy knew how crucial importance a move to Stratford would be to the Spurs, but most of the fans could not see the big picture, and wanted to crucify him for trying to make Spurs a bigger club.
Modders gave 100% to Spurs, and it was not his fault that the manager didn't take advantage from the rest of the available quality players at the club, instead of playing his buttboy favorites (Hutton early on, mostly fooking Jenas and Defoe, and Pienaar lately), and consequently losing more than a handful of winnable games that cost us not playing CL this year. I respect HR but this level is clearly above his abilities, and he is doing “windmills” in desperate attempts to punch above his head. His occasional-but-unavoidable brainfarts with team selection and/or substitution patterns will never allow Spurs to break into current top four in the future. Therefore, if Modders wants to go – let him go to the highest bidder, and hope of another miracle, like the one that landed us RvdV. Luka deserves such respect.
Modric will stay and in a couple weeks we'll be having a great time watching our friends from up the road shit themselves when fabregas and nasri will be the tranfer talk
I am not worried about the team not being able to replace modric as hudd is a good player
However I feel it may spark another 2 point 8 games season; because of all the negativity
I'd be happy to take 22m for Modric, as long as we got a decent replacement like Parker or Joe Cole.
Seriously which line up would you prefer:
Lennon/Sandro/Modric/Bale
VdV/Pav
or
Lennon/Hudd/Sandro/Bale
VdV/Drogba
And which one would you rather go to Old Trafford with?
Why is everyone reading between the lines in the Chairmans statement. Read the fucking statement. It is clear as day what he's saying. The player is not for sale to any club at any price. Fuck Chelsea, Fuck Redknapp also for his 'gun to the head statements' at the Chairman. I salute Levy here. He's the only person, without exception, who has made a clear statement.
Who, fucking who, cannot understand what the man is saying.
While I'd be loathe to sell Modric, I'd take Sturridge and £25 million, or Sturridge, Drogba and £20 mil.
We should be able to sell other players (Gomes, Keane, Palacios, Bentley, Jenas, Hutton, Kranjcar, Bassong, Defoe, Pav, Crouch, dos Santos) to the tune of around £50-60million this summer, freeing up even more cash for wages.
Bring in a good attacking midfielder or two, Leandro, another keeper and a defender perhaps, and give Townsend, Caulker, Parrett, Bostock and Mason some games in the cups to see what they've got. We all know that Harry only uses about 18 players so there should be no need to sign experienced depth players on big wages. Give the academy guys a chance and buy quality for the first team.
Re: my last post (above):
My first choice would be to keep Modric and buy Leandro, Sturridge (I guess that won't happen if we won't sell Modric to Chelsea), and a couple of others.
Now is the time for Joe Lewis to step things up. We all know he's a billionaire Spurs fan living in the WI so now is the time to prove it.
If we're gonna compete with the Chelski's and ManC's of this world then you gotta dig deep.
It's all well and good running a club sensibly and ensuring it's financially sound but that isn't going to (a) win you trophies and (b) attract and retain the top players.
I don't see a trophy for balance sheet of the year.
Now is the time for Mr Lewis to prove his worth, the rigorously enforced wage structure has got to go and the transfer record has be to smashed and re-smashed.
To compete (and beat) the big boys you have to be like them, no more pussying around with CL and big talking, now is the time to make the transition.
We need to change the mentality at WHL, CL qualification has to be a formality and the least of our expectations.
So Joe, dig deep and spend hard. We will never have a better opportunity of making the final jump up to one of Europes elite clubs otherwise mid-table mediocrity will rule WHL for the next 20 years and the last 3 years will have been for nothing.
None of us want that.
I am just pleased that Levy has taken a firm stance and that it is clear that if Modric is sold its not because "every player has a price" but that the position was forced by the player. Like you said, its over to Modric now. He will now show his true colours, whether they are lilywhite or rotten like Berbatov.
If Levy had stayed silent then it would indicate that although not looking to sell our top players we would let them go if the right offer were made.
Well done Levy! He has done as much as he possibly can and if Modric still wants out we can rely on DL to get top dollar.....not the paltry sum offered by Chelsea (as much as they paid for ramires). The fact they have bid so low indicates that Roman has no appetite to dig as deep in to his pocket as he did for Torres. They felt they could bid low and unsettle everyone and ultimately get him on the "cheap". As you rightly state Spooky, they are trying to play a game that Levy always wins.
By making his statement 2 things need to happen. Modric hands in a request and Chelsea stump up at least £35m, at least!