Luka Potty and the Threatly Hollows
Monday, July 11, 2011 at 12:41PM (Part I)
It's a war of words between Luka Modric and Daniel Levy and it can still take on another twist and turn if action is taken as the next form of attack. But we've been promised no such undertaking from agent and player with regards to a transfer request. The words at play appear to be slow brooding monsters which wont truly pack a punch until they are backed up with substance. The trouble is, such substance would constitute an action that would possibly push this saga to the point of no return with any chance of a reconcile left bloody and lifeless on the dirty floor.
At this point it's hard to guess which of the two will be holding the shovel, digging the shallow grave. I'm going to side-step the necessity to drown myself (and you) in another philosophical dissection and instead just respond to what Modric has said in his most recent comments, post-meeting with Levy. I'll include a caveat. It's just a theory. Again, probably just part of the denial process we're all working our way through.
The caveat is this:
The words from Luka hurt because they are words directed straight at the chairman and at the club and appear to be pretty much final in terms of where his preference for football resides. Now regardless of whether these are actual words straight from the horses mouth or are in fact via the mouth of whom mounts said horse is neither here or there because the agent is protecting his clients best interests. Or at the very least advising client of what his best interests should be.
Note how quiet the agent is. Not too many quotables from him. All the sulking and disparaging remarks are from Luka. The victim. The one chained to a drain pipe in the basement. I'll get to the details below, but I'm wondering if victim Luka has been advised that the only way out is to engineer a sh*tstorm via relentless insubordination. Scrap relentless. It's more akin to a crying child that refuses to go to bed, ignoring his father and the belt he holds firm in his hands.
If there was no gentleman's agreement then perhaps a half-truth distorted to create the illusion of a broken promise? The fact is, how desperate is the player to leave Tottenham? If he's that desperate and hard done by, hand in a transfer request and go on strike. If this is a matter of honour (not to go back on your word) and handing in a transfer request is not a possibility and is in fact a point to be made (against Levy's apparent dismissiveness of the aforementioned broken agreement) then how about extending that honour to include the six year contract signed at the time?
I don't believe there's any prolonged tapping up at play. Chelsea have told the player they want him. They've done their bit. Light the match, watch the fire spread.
So unless this is a slowly orchestrated attempt to gradually force the club to sell up, I hardly see any point in all the crying from the Croatian. Because it won't be enough. He (along with agent) know there is no way out of this. They have quite possibly even accepted it. No legal clause, no leg to stand on. Massively long contract. Other clubs have stood their ground. Why should we be condemned for doing the same thing? He's our player. He should have thought about the challenges ahead for Spurs in terms of fighting to cement a top four place for more than just a cameo.
So all they can do is make biting remarks and point fingers about how unfair things are. As cited, if you mean it, then push us a little more to see the type of reaction you'll get.
If Luka had the same length of time left on his contract as Berbatov, then Levy would never have said what he said about this being a closed subject/not for sell/not about the money. Luka loses because of the signature he signed. This is not about loyalty because we know its something only supporters embrace. Luka left his boyhood club to join us, but that was thanks to an accepted transfer bid and agreement between two clubs and the player. He wants to play CL football now and his personal opinion on THFC has changed from this time last season when he was committed. In a blink of an eye things can change.
Until such a day (another move) he should deal with the reality that unless someone breaks a transfer record, we wont entertain it. And even then we probably wont - if you wish to take the chairman's words at face value.
The club > a player
Unhappy footballer aside, this is a statement. If Luka wants to be the sacrificial lamb, that's up to him.
Play out of your skin or be skinned. Over to you Luka.
Lengthy caveat or what? Okay, so I failed to side step drowning in another philosophical dissection. This is my therapy so thanks for listening. I've used The Guardian's article as reference to the translated interview from Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti. My thoughts included below each quote.
(Part II)
> Modric, who said Levy had given a "twisted account" of their meeting at the ground last Wednesday...
Anything can be 'twisted' if you don't happen to agree with it. It's called perception. If you're told something you don't like but it's an unequivocal truth you simply have to take it on the chin. So stop suggesting you've been knocked down to the canvas with a punch below the belt.
> "I reminded the chairman of our gentleman's agreement when we were in Dubrovnik last summer and I agreed a contract extension with Tottenham"Spurs are saying, supposedly, there was no agreement.
You wonder how this played out at the time. Was it part of the formal discussion? Did they sign the contract whilst dining at a restaurant? Few drinks? Perhaps Luka leaned forward, politely asked if the club could listen to any offers with Daniel nodding a yes and a sure. Is that it? Is that the get-out-clause? Is that Levy down on his knees with gun pushed hard to back of head? Levy, the shrewd negotiator agreeing to something doodled on a napkin? Give over. This sounds like nothing more than a seed planted to be refereed back to if required. Which is what agent and player have done.
Considering how content all seemed post-signing of contract, I doubt this was anything other than a whimsical whisper lost over some choice food and wine.
> "At that time, I had an open chat with Levy – that if a bigger club came in with a concrete offer, we would consider it and agree the best solution for all concerned. Now Levy doesn't want to talk to me and said there is no possibility that I can leave Spurs. He threatened me – he said if I didn't accept the club's stance, they would make me sit on the bench or in the stands."
Does a club that advertises season tickets to fans with zero loyalty points constitute a big club? Or is it simply a club with big money? Sorry, low blow. Could not resist.
This is about Champions League and having it every season. Shame on us for attempting to break the already degrading monopoly. Fact is, had we qualified for it again we'd not be talking about Modric to Chelsea. Fact is, had Luka scored a couple of comfortable chances we'd not be talking about Modric to Chelsea. We are owed a lot by both Luka and the rest of the players. Just a couple of home wins in it, that was the difference.
Retaining Modric will mean nothing, not a thing, if we don't consolidate and sign 2/3 top drawer players. The onus is on the chairman here.
As for the rest of this quote. Anyone wish to explain to Luka what 'best solution for all concerned' means? It doesn't mean agreeing a transfer because the player wants one. Chelsea want you Luka? Get on the phone, have a word, tell them to start at £40M.
The threat part is tricky. Levy might well have explained that any player bringing the club and his contract into disrepute would be dealt with in the same manner. Do you see a problem with that? I don't. He can spend the whole season on the bench just to prove a point. A costly one. But he wont spend it there because he'll suck it up and perform for himself and the club.
> "I must say that I am genuinely disappointed about what Levy said to me. He didn't care about what I was telling him. It all only convinced me further that I was right to consider moving on to another club. I hope that eventually he will understand the situation and that we will reach an agreement and go our separate ways in an appropriate manner."
Hi.
Hello.
I want to leave Spurs.
Right.
Can I leave?
You're in a long term contract, you signed it very recently. Nobody has meet our valuation of you in terms of a transfer bid. And we also wish to retain your services, as per your contract.
I want to leave.
Close the door shut on your way out.
> Levy has a reputation for being a tough negotiator and there is no indication that he will back down. Modric's agent has suggested that his client will not lodge a transfer request to try to force the issue, which points to an impasse unless Chelsea make a substantial bid and Spurs accept there is nothing to be gained from keeping a player against his will.
That last bit is being touted as the probable conclusion. Can you see Levy going back on his words? Apologising that the situation has got to the point where player can no longer be retained? Honestly? Its about making a statement. The chairman's statement states that, no? If other clubs can hold onto a player under a long contract then we have to be seen to do the same. Otherwise, there's no point. Just get rid of Bale now so we're not put through the same saga next season.
Levy has made a stand. He simply can't be seen sitting down.
> "There is no doubt that Chelsea want me – they sent a concrete offer to Tottenham"
Concrete? More like Playdough. If Chelsea want the player, where is the renewed bid? Or is the plan to wait until the last day, with Luka protesting naked outside The Lodge refusing to train, before they table another £22M bid believing we'll do anything to get rid of him, even on the cheap?
Not going to happen. Words are cheap right? It's about actions and ones with substance. We've done our bit. We don't need to do anything else.
> "I know that the new Chelsea boss [André Villas-Boas] said he wants me in his team. Of course I am flattered by this interest in me – it's a club that all players dream of joining, fighting for every competition available."
Sorry what? Where? Did I miss this? Stinks of agent propaganda. No offence to Chelsea but 5-10 years ago players had never even heard of them. If you're going to leave, grow a set of balls, and let the missus know there is more than just London. Because that's the crux of it, isn't it? Head turned by CL (fair enough) only destination is Chelsea. Because anyone else would wish to perhaps aim slightly higher if they wished to jump from a small club like Spurs.
In conclusion:
Yes footballers have short careers and there's no wage cap so why not jump ship and go elsewhere and be given CL football without the concerns of having to chase it and then triple or even quadruple your earnings? All with the added bonus of elevating your stature in terms of exposure to continued top class football and silverware.
Clubs will continue to lose out to players. We'll continue to lose out, forever an easy access stepping stone. We have no choice but to make a stand. It's up to anyone wishing to employ Modric to call our bluff.
Modric will not sit on the bench. He'll play. All just empty threats to force us to give in and get rid. Hand in a transfer request. Make a genuine concrete bid for the player. Otherwise, just f*** off and shut up.
Reader Comments (109)
Yidal
'Offer them 5m for Frank Lampard & John Terry.'
Only problem is they might take it
Don't fret - we've signed someone.
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/ceballos-completes-move-110711.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=ceballos-completes-move-110711
WinterWeekend61. I'm guessing you're not a male escort then!
Diaz , or not a very good one :)
Jimmy , if we buy Terry and fwank after a joke bid no other married player is going to want to stay , perfect way to motivate the deadwood into moving (whilst losing VDV - because who'd risk to put his wife in the vicinity of Terry if your wife looks like that) Wait , how the hell is Terry even a threat to anyone when chasing women with a mug like that ... Thats not possible is ... ah wait , the money. In the end its always the f'ing that does it ...
Don't you agree , Luka ?
Ceballos - Yay!
Poor delusional lad, all he had to do was talk to his old team-mate Gio and he could've had a proper career somewhere else. Instead he'll enter the abyss of our pool of youth (until Harry goes I suppose/guess).
I'm sick of the Modric saga now. Puka Modric I think I'll call it.
Sky Sports News ticker saying they have an update on Modric at 10pm.
Derisory offer!
Also regarding the difference in stance between Levy and Harry, I hope this is just a use of 'good cop/bad cop' and not a a growing rift.
£27M bid. As reported earlier.
Ridiculous. Chelsea just trying to further unsettle him. Luka should take this as proof that Chelsea don't rate him as highly as we do.
Spooky, everyone, just let it go. This story ran out of legs a couple of days ago. Modric is no longer a spurs player in my mind. He's already gone. I dont really care where he pitches up. He's let us down. He's let himself down. Now he can just fuck off. All footballers are greedy twats. Keep milking this story if you like but you'll find rapidly diminishing interest.
For what's it's worth, I'd let him go to Chelsea. He isn't that good in truth. I'd like to smirk at
his cuntish little face, big hurt eyes staring down at his boots on the bench, wondering where his dream move went wrong as his agent desperately tries to find a club willing to match his £80k per week salary. Is he really any better than that little Brazilian they've got playing his role? Probably not. And lets face it, he'd be in good company with cashley hole and wankalas anelka, would he?
This saga will break me if we sell him.
Matter of principle.
"Luka loopy nuts are we, we're all Luka loopy." I swear I came up with this first. Somebody else posted it on another site recently. Ok so its not that great, but I liked it at the time. For the young among you, it's a Chas n Dave reference. For the young among you, Chas n Dave have a humourous association with our glorious club. Harry is a twat. He is obsessed with money and doesn't understand fans. All fans of his previous clubs hate him, without exception. So he can't comprehend why we are all so pissed off with the tiny Croatian shit. And that is why football is fucked.
I'm sorry then Spooky, for broken you will be. He's gone. There's no coming back from this, even if he were suddenly to change his mind, he's gone too far. If he stays I WILL boo him, regardless of what others would think of me. You know fir me his flirting with Chelsea is actually worse than if he'd done a campbell. I don't like arsenal if course, but I do respect them. I hold Chelsea in complete contempt, much like their northern cousins in blue. it says a lot about a man that he could hold some Russian mafia controlled zombie club (there did presumably used to be a real club in there, but the parasite has long since destroyed it's host) ahead if a club like spurs. And what it says us this: it says that this man is a twat, that he has no soul, no morality, no sense of right and wrong. And that's why he is as good as gone for me. I don't want him.
Bale, vdv, king - these are all better players. I'd even take an on form Lennon over modric.
Sure I enjoyed watching him play, keeping the ball, recycling it...all clever stuff. But he rarely actually did anything game changing. I think jenas got the same number of assists! We'll be fine with a fully fit hudd, sandro and vdv, bale and Lennon terrorising from the wings. Players that actually want to play for spurs. Let this little runt go - he's shown you his true colours now: shitty brown all over
He won't be at the Lane for long, but please let him move overseas even if we £10mil less.
And what's all this about offer him to united?
If they get another one of our best players it will be embarrassing. I'm sick of being united's feeder club. Sick of losing to them again and again, and listening to all the plaudits of what an entertaining game it was, and what great sportsmanship we showed. Sick of taking a lead against them and apologetically giving them the game back. So why should we help them even more?
I don't hate then, I just can't see us going anywhere if we let our best players leave to the teams above us.
Also Chelsea could be in decline so why help them rebuild?
Paul, if he wasn't that good it wouldn't be so painful. Despite lack of goals and assists there's not many players who can run the game like he can. And maybe we would be fine on the pitch without him, but for how long with the message that losing him would send out? Lose him and we'd probably lose all of our best players.
I think the one thing to remember above all here is that Levy simply CANNOT go back on his word now.
How would we feel about our well respected chairman after going back on his word?
He'll be less respected too, that's for sure. He just can't do it or we'll all be a laughing stock. Levy will not let his own reputation be damaged like this, let alone the club's.
For this reason alone, I think Puka will have to stay regardless of what he tries to the contrary.
There are going to be a lot of upset people around here come September.
Modric is as good as gone. Levy couldn't give a shit about what any of you lot, or anyone else thinks about him. While a lot of you are licking his arse, he's probably thinking how to utilise the 20m pound profit from the sale of Modric to make more money from Spurs fans.
'Rot on the bench!' What a load of bollocks. There are millions of reasons why that will never happen.
I envy Modric in that he can just walk away from a club which talks the talk, but never walks the walk, without a care in the world. Whereas I'm emotionally imprisoned in this ambitionless mental asylum for life.
Even if Levy doesn't care what we think, he will care about how he is perceived as a leader and negotiator. Backing down now would look stupid and weaken his position. Selling in a year's time is another issue and I don't think he would lose any face doing so, if this saga rears its ugly head again.
Surely it will be seen as another master-class in brinkmanship; a poker game where the conclusion was known before the flop, i.e. extracting the maximum amount from the Russian.
That's what his disciples will have you believe anyway.
I'm sure our Daniel won't mind taking a bit of flak when there's £30+m burning a hole in his pocket.
Luka said he won't ask for a transfer so Levy said "we won't sell, Luka is not for sale."
But if Luka goes back on his word, then chances are Levy will go back on his. Remember Robbie Keane anybody?
Ideally I would like him loaned out to Barca or RM for a season, watch his value shoot up again, see him have a cracking Euro's and then sell him for even more money.
We still have about 50 days of this to go anyway, if he is still with Spurs at the end of the transfer window I will be amazed.
And what's all this about offer him to united?
@ Lammy cutlets because it's the most realistic option for everyone, and one that i can just about stomach, include Berbatov in the deal if you will and at the same time stick two fingers up at Chelsea. Sell him abroad? - no-one can afford him apart from Real and they don't need him.
He's burnt all his bridges with us and he has behaved worse than Berbatov had when he tried to force himself out of the club, I'm unsure why people think he'll still be here when the season kicks off. Like Keane and Berba Levy had no option to sell and stated this however it's wasn't in our best intresets to keep wantaway/unhappy players then - just as it is now.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the little rat faced punk pouring the tea in the canteen, but it just isn't going to happen.
Levy is in an exceptionally difficult situation where either outcome (rot, or not) is far from ideal. I really don't see Levy's image as a hard nosed negotiator being that badly damaged here when he does sell.
We also need to do what's best for the club and not what's best for Levy.
I can see the argument that Levy needs to make a stand by not selling the Crorat; a big fuck off 'WE ARE NOT A SELLING CLUB!' sign if you like, and the notion that this would put a stop to any future players behaving like cunts, but it won't.
Rather than send out a signal that effectively states "Come to Spurs where you will rot if you don't like it" (not very appealing, eh?), we need to send out the signal that he isn't worthy of any more of our time, and we're moving onwards and upwards asap. In other words, get rid quick and bring in some more players.
Classic "divide and conquer" tactics by the Chavs and their use of the media: start sewing the seeds via Abramovich's yacht whilst getting in the ear of his new wife on their honeymoon, then leak a bid to the press after the initial private bid and private declaration of he's not for sale. Chavs then proceeding to encourage the media to push and push on the story in a vein hope of just the one comment from Modric that they can jump all over. Press and press for more statements, hound him on his way home from honeymoon, incessant announcements from so-called Sky Sources i.e. Chelsea FC even though they've been told he is categorically not for sale at any cost... and yet the Breaking News banner continues to spout stories from sources who have a clear agenda and that's unsettle a player, back him into a corner, divide him from the club and the fans, force the sale, Chavs land their player and the media get their scoop and it's win/win for the money men.
Modric is a pawn, classic tapping up and Sky Sports' agenda is clear, they don't want a Spurs team contending for a title when they have multi-billionaries with shady tactics trying to buy their way to success. This whole saga transcends one player, it's not about Modric as if we fold in this game, the powers that be would've won and we will have to endure the exact same underhand treatment and total contempt for the rest of the transfer window and it won't stop there... Bale will be next on their hit list for the divide and conquer tactics, shortly followed by the likes of Sandro and VdV and they won't give up until we're stripped of our best players.
One thing's for sure, we have to make a statement and it has to be very soon of our intent, we have to acquire these 2-3 top drawer players as soon as possible, it would put an immediate stop to all this bullsh*t as it would prove we're here to challenge, we will make a stand and not be forced back down to mediocrity whilst their dirty agenda help the plastic football clubs like Chelsea and Man City buy success and not earn it.
Arsenal are a fading force and they don' t have the contracts to make a stand, Chelsea are a fading force on the pitch, the differences are we have the midfield but they have the strikers and the cash to splash... your dirty cash won't be spent on buying our players you c***ts!
Modric can say what he wants to whomever he wants, he simply cannot be sold... the matter will not be closed until we sign the strikers to match our midfield, until then we're unfair game... COYMFS!
If making an example of Modric (be it detrimental in some ways to THFC) is, in the long run, a necessity to make the point that the club doesn't always have to buckle. Maybe we're a selling club by virtue of our statue compared to seasoned CL teams? Doesn't mean we can't make a stand and stick two fingers up and play it out. You don't know what might happen in the course of the season. We might find ourselves seeing Luka retract his statements and commit based on our league position. It's worth taking that risk on this occasion because other players might take note that if you shut up and play you might find yourself with the very thing you lust after.
I refuse to stay at a team that is not playing Champions League football. This is the minimum requirement for a player of my caliber. Tottenham are simply not a big club. The Carling cup will not suffice. Please accept Chelsea's increased bid so I can join the big teams like Arsenal, Man United and Barcelona in the Champions League.
Thanks for your understanding.
Luka.
Luka, you'll have to try harder than that. Now get back in the boot.
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/ledley-update-120711.html
Ledley King underwent a successful arthroscopy on his left knee last night (Monday).
The defender is expected to rest for up to 10 days before progressing to full activity within a further 10 days.
TMWNN: "Come to Spurs where you will rot if you don't like it"
Spooky: "It's worth taking that risk on this occasion because other players might take note that if you shut up and play you might find yourself with the very thing you lust after."
Since we're currently not financially in a position to buy established players, we have to take chances on high potential candidates like Modric. None of the established top 4 was prepared to make that gamble. If we sell Modric to Chelsea, at any price, we cement our position as the top four's proving ground for up and coming European players. Which means this will happen again and again and again.
TMWNN, any player who is put off signing for us because Modric was held to the terms of a six year contract he had just signed a year before is not someone we want to have in the first place. I'd like to think that Modric was truly tapped up, had his head turned, brainwashed whilst on Roman's yacht, since he has played for us as a genuinely committed player. But if Levy caves on this one, we will start attracting players who view us purely as a stepping stone.
More good news.
Sandro has done his knee and his calf. On his way back to England. Might be 4 weeks out, might be 4 months.
In the unlikely event we don't sell him and 'let him rot', new players won't go anywhere near a long 'lock and key' contract at Spurs, not good players anyway.
Levy likes to have players on long contracts so they don't walk out for free like Judas not because he actually expects them to see it out. All this bravado is to make up for the massive cluster-fuck of not buying at the right time, i.e. last summer.
I understand what you're saying, but keeping Modric won't change anything. I've said it before, you get two or three years max to build a team capable of challenging.Your better players won't hang around any longer than that these days if they don't believe they can win things at the club. No matter what that idiot Redknapp says, we went backwards last season. United couldn't keep Ronaldo, Liverpool couldn't keep Torres and we won't be able to do fuck all about letting future players go if they really want to leave.
Looking on the bright side regarding Sandro's injury, he's less likely to be tapped up...
But then again, it could be an excuse to keep Jenas. :(
"I've said it before, you get two or three years max to build a team capable of challenging.Your better players won't hang around any longer than that these days if they don't believe they can win things at the club"
I've preached this too. But I'm tired, so very very tired.
Maybe if we don't let Modric go and any subsequent rebel players that want to leave because they're head and shoulders above most of their team mates, we could actually have a brilliant 2nd side. We could call them 'The Rotten XI'.
TMWNN, I agree with your last post just like i've agreed with you for the last two seasons about Redknapp. We did totally drop the ball last year with respect to adding key players (who are we kidding--strikers, for not buying functioning strikers) and consolidating our top four spot.But if I were Levy, I would not have handed an open check book to harry either. If I were Levy, I would have thanked Harry nicely for getting us out of our bit of relegation zone bother at the end of his first season, paid him a bonus and let him go. Was Levy concerned about the blow back if he sacked a second "successful" manager in the space of three years?
But that all is past praying for. To quote Beckenbauer, the shit we're sitting in now is of a different shade. When Berbatov and Carrick left, Spur were CL wannabes. Now we can make a genuine claim to being viable contenders. A team that expects to get back to CL and is not selling players to direct competitors. Sell Modric to Chelsea and we tell the world (including all potential signings) what our expectations are--mid table, maybe a cup run.
Don't sell Modric, sack Harry now for gross insubordination and sign some forewards--that's a positive statement of intent.
erm, TMWNN's second to last post. Though the last one was funny.
Shame about Sandro. When it rains...
Can anyone confirm that Harry's trial starts this monday?
Ziegemonster,
I agree with all of that, but is it too late as far as Modirc is concerned? Rightly or wrongly, Modric feels that he's been lied to and wants out. He's also probably spent the summer listening to his missus working out how she's going to spend all that extra dosh.
We'll just have to wait and see how it all ends up. Transfers and court cases. I'd be tempted to sell and keep the money for the new manger and start again.
It is my firm belief that much of Luka's posturing is a result of pressure he is receiving at home in Croatia. I don't think he necessarily wants to leave Spurs, but the powers that be in Croatian football would rather see him at Chelsea, as they are perceived as a bigger club.
"I've said it before, you get two or three years max to build a team capable of challenging.Your better players won't hang around any longer than that these days if they don't believe they can win things at the club"
Spooky: "I've preached this too. But I'm tired, so very very tired."
Well I might as well preach that we need to get the DNA of Pele and clone 10 of him to form our outfield team. With all due respect - and I mean that, I think this is a cracking blog and you have great insights - where is the money coming from? Of course we all wanted a striker in the last transfer window, but we just didnt have the money in a crazily inflated market. And please, for the 11 year olds commenting, dont trot out the old 'Joe Lewis is worth £2bn' crap. So what if he is? Its his money and he chooses not to spend it making some chav with a daft haircut rich for kicking a ball. Cant say I blame him for that.
Spurs as a club exists to strive for success on the field while generating an acceptible return for ENIC in the long term. That is as it should be. I wouldnt be comfortable with a sugar daddy. As long as they dont take the piss a la Sugar (taking £40m plus out of a club was going too far), then I'm fine with it.
Complaining about our lack of activity in the last year is ballony. Two of our best players - VDV and Sandro - were signed within the last 12 months. I accept we need a striker, but some clubs need whole new teams. My wife wants the moon on a stick. Thats life. We were the 5th best team in England last year and one of the top 8 in Europe. We hardly lost a game at home (I vividly recall seasons watching us lose more than we won at home - and trust me allowing for inflation, it wasnt like I was paying a lot less for a season ticket). For some fans this is apparently completely unacceptable. For some, it is evidence that Harry Redknapp should be fired. Firing our most successful manager since David Pleat! What fking planet are you people on? Who the hell would replace him and have us challenging for 4th place? Sven? Cappello? This is nuts!
Anyone who thinks getting to the last 8 of the CL is unacceptable, watching players of the quality of VDV, Bale and (grrrr...) Modric along the way is welcome to get in my time machine and go back 10 years. There my friends I will show you the joys of following a team managed by George Graham, with Gary Doherty up front and Stephie Carr as our most effective attacker. See how you like that.
Small clarification to the above. When I referred to David Pleat, I was of course referring to his first incarnation as Spurs manager when he took the team to 3rd in the league, cup final, Clive Allen's milion goals etc. Not to his rather less successful caretaker stints. Although I now recall that Terry Venables took us to 3rd in the league too, so the sentence can be changed to 'most successful manager since Terry Venables'. But being as that was 1990, it doesnt really change the jist of what I am saying
Paul, I feel we could be heading back to those dark days if we don't make the most of the squad we've got now and add to it. We have never been so close to the elite in the PL era, we need to take our chance now. We can't rest on our laurels, stasis is not an option.
Didn't see the last post. By dark days I was referring to the Francis/Graham era.
Regarding where the money for our summer transfer spree is coming from, here's a rather amusing insight:
http://themondaysupplement.co.uk/sport/tottenham-in-160-million-transfer-gamble/
The greed has spread to Dawson, apparently.
Without quotes though......may have tapped his phone?
Seems the fashionable thing to do right now....write shite about us.
Had to laugh at his reasoning though (according to 'them' anyway) in using the England cap/appearance thing as a bargaining tool....did he not get fookin injured on England duty whilst still picking up his wages?
Makes total sense to me..........GROAN.
Walker, qualifying for the CL was our Euromillions moment but we didn't build on it. The equivalent of winning the lotto and staying at your dead end job!
well said winterweekend. Or the "source" is his agent maybe? The daily Scum reporter seemed to think we were being stingy, they hate us...
Stop the press. Permanently maybe.
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/daws-responds-130711.html
Nice one Famalammy....you have to wonder at the logic of writing bullshit stories like this at the present time.
the logic is the same as before, to get us to click on the link to their miserable site, to read their rubbish.
I'd think twice in the future before posting links. Be more cynicial about the media in general, and don't give them the satisfaction with reating to unsubstantiated 'facts'.
Think I prefered it when we'd have a weekly update, our desire for information was created by 24/7 news and now we accept it and cherrish every single possibility that news will break somewhere first. And I know I'm as bad as the next person.
Maybe for the next month or so, the Official Site is the only way to really know what is going on.
I might have to enforce my own block on all 'news' regarding spurs. You know when things have got bad when the beeb start quoting 'caughtoffside' and 'goal' as a source for gossip on transfers, even they are unreliable.
Time to go cold turkey!
I was praying Dawson would quash those shit rumours. He obviously understands were all gutted at the moment and didnt want us worrying. He's a gent and I hope he does get a new contract now.
Blup Blup, yours is an argument that is, if I might say, rather lazily trotted out regularly, but it holds no water. Qualifying for the CL isnt like winning the lottery at all. It provides a boost in income for one season - of around 20%, more if you progress further, as we did - but hardly history changing amounts. All of that money is pissed away on new player contracts as 'rewards' for the great success that is finishing 4th (witness Bale and Modric's huge pay increases last summer). It also raises fans expectations that CL football is the norm when infact of course it is not, for all but a select few. Those expectations trun to frustration when fans such as yourslef cannot understand why, now we have have CL football, Messi and Kaka are not being signed.
The truth is, for an uncomfortably large number of clubs, qualifying for the CL iactually sets them back financially. Leeds are the obvious example, but I could throw in Dortmund, Leverkusen, Valencia, Basel, Ajax, Hertha Berlin and countless Eastern European clubs. They see the fdream, overspend and then spend a decade recovering. Its very similar to getting promotion to the PL. Is that winning the lottery? No, its a nice boost and a decent adventure for the Blackpools, Readings and West Broms, but a fking nightmare for the Hulls, Bradfords, Shefff Weds etc who end up with unsustainable wgaes based on that extra signing here, extra signing there which their fans are so sure will make the difference.
The fact is, we finished one place ABOVE where we should have finished last season, based on our wage bill, which any analysis tells you is the best measure of where a team will finish a season. So whether people like it or not, Harry overperformed as manager, two years running. It isnt his fault we finidhed 5th, it is actually to his credit. Again, you can like it or not, but its a fact. Nor is it Levy's 'fault' that we are where we are. We spend as much as we can as a club while statying within responsible limits. The fatc is, we have 3 clubs in Enfgland that are untouchable financially, short of some fked up nutter from a dismal part of the world taking us over and spending all his people's money on overpaid players, like the twats running City and Chelsea. Utd are in a different league to us financially, simply because they have more fans. Arsenal are also in a different league financially - self generated revenues, to their credit - and also, annoyingly, have a better team than us. The only way to compete is to keep building within our means and hope one of the teams above (and Liverpool, who shouild also finish above us based on wages and revenues) have bad seasons. If that happens, great, we get another go in the CL. But dont assume that will mean anything for theseason after - it wont.
I know this all dsounds pretty depressing - it is if you are a fan of level playing fields. That being the case, lobby the EU to stop clubs like Chelsea and City benefitting from outrageuous subsidies from their owners. But dont start hysterically trying to blame people like Redknapp and Levy. They really arent part of the problem.