I'm staring out the window at the moment. The evening sky where I am is an assortment of angry dark greys, all brooding and moody looking. If the clouds happened to be in a bar enjoying drinks, one of them is about to bump into another and spill a pint and it's all going to kick off. A downpour and a thunderclap. Any minute now. Here it comes.
That other window, the one most of us have our eyes on even when we sleep, is equally damp. What has today brought us? Just more suggestive journalism and soundbites. Very little dancing in the rain. Early days though, right? Reading too much into it, yeah? Might be sunny tomorrow, you just never know.
Abel 'goal machine' Hernandez bid rejected
In summary:
Uruguay international.
20 years of age.
Plays for Palermo, Italy.
£8.9M bid.
Maurizio Zamparini (president) rejected it.
£18M the valuation and alleged acceptable offer.
I don't know too much about the player but was told the quoted '2 goals from 22 games' is not quite factual. It's 3 goals from 12 starts and 10 appearances as a substitute. So statistically (not much of a difference), it's hardly the world class forward signing we need. But then if we did bid for the lad, considering it was a bid under the £10M mark you'd think this signing would not be the marquee statement we are eating away at our fingers for. Rather 'one for the future' who could still make an impact as our second striker in rotation.
I've had the following pointed out to me (not disputing it, but if anyone has anything more to add, please do):
He's had heart surgery.
Recovered from an injury.
Is highly rated by the press and by other Serie A clubs.
He's expected to truly take the league by storm next season.
Cavani, in his first season in Italy, only scored 5 in 33.
Palermo are known for their good youth work with young South American players.
It's down to the person who scouted the player and fedback to chairman and manager on how best he could fit into the team. If they want more it probably wont happen because we are obviously working to a budget and can't over spend on players we don't value as highly as the potential selling club. Can't complain. We'd laugh off £20M for Modric if someone has the nerve to write a cheque for that amount.
Phil Jones. Nearly.
Harry Redknapp is always at hand to compliment others, never a bad word to say and always looking to make sure everyone knows he/we were somehow involved in the big story of the day. Phil Jones signs for Manchester United and guess what...we tried to sign him. He's obviously a lad with great potential, so I don't disagree with Harry on that. I'd expect us along with one or two others to be interested in the player. Why would you not be if you harbour ambitions to progress, push on and polish up on your squad by signing a young talented player? What I don't need to hear is a post-mortem on how we missed out, pinned to our chest like a badge of honour. Whether we inquired or actually lodged a bid or even spoke to Jones, I'm not sure. Harry has retained the details perhaps to reveal more in another interview. I guess the point is, why do we need to make public every single target or attempted signing? Why can't we just get on with it, and if it doesn't happen move on without comment? Why?
What? Oh yeah. Harry Redknapp.
Crouching Peter Hidden Somewhere
Here is the quote (apparently from Harry on a golf course, the bloke can multi-task with the best of 'em) in response to Peter Crouch being sold:
"I doubt it. Crouchy is a good player. I like him. He is a great lad and I love him as a fella. He is not one I'm looking to shift. We are looking to bring a striker in but he is not one of those that we are looking to sell if we can help it"
You take the Phil Jones soundbites as face value (perhaps with permission from the chairman to share the info, hinting at activity behind the scenes) but how to take the above? Personally, it's akin to the Bible code. A cryptic message can be found if you look carefully at the text, if you study it with time and patience. Here, take another look:
"I doubt it. Crouchy is a good player. I like him. He is a great lad and I love him as a fella. He is not one I'm looking to shift BUT HE'S BLATANTLY AVAILABLE YOU JUST NEED TO ATTRACT OUR ATTENTION WITH A BID THAT ISN'T ON THE CHEAP SIDE. We are looking to bring a striker in but he is not one of those that we are looking to sell WE'RE LOOKING TO SELL ALL OF THEM IF WE CAN REPLACE THEM WITH BETTER PLAYER if we can help it"
See anything yet?
Kyle Walker
Is Walker back at QPR on loan? Bit miffed if he is. Yes he's a right back and we have a neat collection of them in the first team squad currently, but I have this fantasy that he breaks into the first team and doubles up as a right winger (ala Bale's journey on the opposite flank) as back up for Lennon. He's a talent and unless I'm mistaken we've got the Prem, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup to contend with next season. Always feels like we loan players out until they're good enough to be sold for a tidy profit. Hutton will be sold (I've been pinning needles into a voodoo doll since the end of the season) so we need some enthusiastic fearless yoof in the side for rotation and cover. Walker back to QPR? Apparently just red top gossip at the moment. Phew.
Redknappology
Once again (and as a conclusion to the running theme pillaging its way through the above) we find ourselves asking what is the internal directive concerning the manner in which we update the media on our every move? There is nothing to be gained (other than informing all of our scatter-gun desperation and the apologetic nearly men theme) to continuously comment on any failed bid or interest of an unattainable player. Once upon a time (be it a short space of time) it was all hush hush then suddenly bang bang...here's a new player for ya. Currently we have a living breathing RSS feed relaying conflicting information via a twitchy somewhat unreliable server updating us on all our transfer movements. Unless of course Levy let's Harry get away with it all because it serves him as an means to an end. Look at plucky THFC, doing it's best for a third successive window.
Harry loves a camera and can't help himself so it's more than likely that he uses the countless occasions to do himself some good and get the word out on players we might be looking to offload or sign or make people believe we want to sign. Levy in the shadows, lurking...allows it to play out because it won't make a blind bit of difference to the work he's doing. Remember the van der Vaart signing? Harry couldn't wait to let us know how the deal came about and underplayed it a little too. I think he's opportunistic with the soundbites. I just hope Levy isn't so opportunistic this time round with the signings. Three fantastic signings is what Redknapp wants the chairman to bring to the club. If that's the case can we stop with all this persistent Parker, Cole, that bloke from Fulham linkage? What's that? Rio Ferdinand? Murked.
Someone define fantastic (not to say a fit Rio wouldn't do a job for us, but seriously...define fantastic).
Harry Redknapp loses his voice? We live in hope. Even if it did happen he'd probably turn up on Sky Sports News dressed as Marcel Marceau.
It's stopped raining now. More of the same forecasted for tomorrow. Much of the same in the news columns too I'd expect.
