No place like home
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 8:17PM Pains me to see Sergio Aguero signing for Manchester City. At this rate they'll ruin any joy in managing Tottenham Hotspur in the next revision of Football Manager 2011 because all the top players will be unattainable meaning I'll have to raid West Ham as I plot to conquer the giddy heights of the top four and Champions League.
Reality has consumed the world of fantasy. Guess I'll have to invest in scouts and trail the world for rough diamonds and unknown talent.
Hey, at least I'll still have Luka Modric pulling the strings in midfield.
And Pav. And Defoe. And Crouch.
You can almost understand why it's such an impossible task for us to penetrate this sugar wall of prospective transfer targets. It's because we are limp. But we do try ever so hard. What with the chasing and the flirting. Sometimes, too much of it spent on visuals rather than the real thing. The best practice would be to focus on one tangible potential rather than risk a sensory overload going blind salivating at a dozen. Either we are aiming too high or not aiming at all. One thing is for certain, we haven't touched the sides for a while.
You have to be ambitious right? So you have to target 'top drawer' players. Except these players are only interested in signing for an elite group of clubs or preferring the 'better the devil you know' mantra and staying put. It seems the love everyone had for us in our swashbuckling debut in the Champions League has expired on the continent.
So what of the ambition? The targets? It's there, it must be there. By virtue of what we desire, what we need. How genuine these targets are is down to how much faith you have in our activity and the media coverage.
Rossi. Vucinic. Lukaku. Llorente. Mata. Osvaldo. Benzema. To name a few (won't bother adding the variety of midfielders we've been linked too).
Out of the above Vucinic is the likely one based on the fact that he probably wouldn't be considered top tier for those bloated big brands and the fact that after we allegedly bid for him Man Utd were supposedly interested (a blatant planted story to drive up his price by his club).
The rest?
Lukaku won't join. Elite only.
Rossi. Not sure we're willing to pay the asking price.
Llorente. Have we actually been linked with him again or is this a flashback to the last window?
Mata. Will want CL.
Osvaldo. Would rather not.
Benzema. If I can sign him in Football Manager then there's always a hope.
It's crazy I know but if you asked me what player I'd like us to sign this summer, I couldn't possibly tell you. Just a forward.
As for Adebayor on loan, I'm left scratching my head at the fact that this might be a possibility based on the fact that Levy doesn't have to over-extend with a hefty bid for anyone else until perhaps the summer of 2012 when we appoint a new manager that might have his own ideas (I read it on the internet Harry won't be with us after this season).
As pointed out many times, it's not the long term we need to be thinking about. Well actually, it is. But it's the short term that will define the long term. If chairman and manager are on a mission, behind closed doors, then I can live with the uncertainty all the way up to the closure of the window. But I'm not sure I could handle another blank shot.
We are left with a month or so to repackage the THFC forward line-up. Tick tock.
I'd promote Harry Kane and be done with it. 4th striker (I'm desperate, let's take the risk of ruining another kid). Then it's a case of signing that elusive 'big signing'.
Then perhaps move Crouch on to QPR.
Leaving us with: Big signing, JD, Pav and Kane.
I'd rather it be two big signings up front, but based on the previous two windows and the current landscape of modern football I think that's a step too far into the land of rainbows and floating pink unicorn hearts.
Where do we go? Where do I go?
Reality? Fantasy?
How about limbo? Better yet, purgatory.
No place like home.
Coming soon...
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Reader Comments (39)
City are said to be paying Aguero £200,000 a week and can offer him CL football, so why would he even consider coming to us ?
This applies to plenty of other top players and I am afraid we are a fair way down most of these players lists of potential destinations.
Sad but true.
If we were intent we could pay the 25m release clause for Falcao but being Levy he will never pay the asking price.
Thats his way, it has its positives and negatives but I guess we do have a super talented squad and arnt too far away from being at the very top.
If we get a good start to the season out of some tough games we will do well. People say about Liverpool challenging for the title.
Yet nobody they have signed would I want at Spurs. So how are they all of a sudden going to be better than us to such an extent of challenging for the league.
We will by a big name striker and start the season optimistic.
COYS
Genius as ever:) The pain of Levy's reign of profit over ambition. As I have said time and time again our motto needs to change from 'to do is to dare' to 'to cheap to challenge'. We are honestly one of the worse run clubs in the land and World. Thankfully the game hasn't spread to other planets, galaxies and other unoverses otherwise Id have to rearrange that sentence. Same old same old. We hint at spending fortunes, never do and then we sign them to close to the start of the season they wouldnt have time to adapt to the rest of the team. Different year, usual shit. I feel sorry for Modric, Bale and Van. Lied to again about us wanting to challenge for the title.
It's a real shame because for last season and the forthcoming one, we were/ are probably only one player short from making a real challenge. We will not get an established top level striker because we will not pay the wages and cannot offer CL football so we either take a punt on an up and coming player like we did with Berbatov, or we buy one who is heading towards retirement, like we did with Jurgen.
chris and david to say we are the worst run club and moan about our spending capacity and then feel sorry for poor old modric etc. What planet are you 2 on ???
Yidal - Falcao recently signed a new contract with a much higher buy-out clasue (around £40m)
frontwheel 2. Try reading my posts again and tell me where I am wrong.
I am simply stating facts. We cannot match the big wages our competitors are paying or offer CL football so our chances of signing a top striker are not that great.
Not slagging the club off, just being realistic.
We are the best run business in football.
That'll be something to proudly tell your grandchildren about.
"Bet run business in football."
They don't call us Yids for nothing, right?
I'm depressed. God forbid we buy a striker in time to give him a full pre-season to bed in, FFS.
Our transfer policy sucks balls.
'They don't call us Yids for nothing, right?'
I'll be calling the board much stronger names than that if they can't manage to offload our tat and bring in a couple of strikers. The Modric money alone will pay the hike in wages for a few seasons.
Tick tock tick tock..............come on levy and arry don't do it to us again buy a bloody FORWARD!!!
We ain't ready to pay the wages City,United and Chelsea pay and i hope we never choose too if we are in a position to pay these obscene amounts.We all slag of City and Chelsea for paying what they do yet some seem to hanker to be like these soulless clubs
"City are said to be paying Aguero £200,000 a week and can offer him CL football, so why would he even consider coming to us ?"
Bang on!
Really don't know why we get our hopes up when we're linked to a striker which we absolutely have no chance of getting. Honestly think about it if you're a striker looking to move up the ladder in his career why would you even consider Spurs? Look at the list of names we've been linked to bar one maybe two of them can we really foresee them playing for us when they could be getting more money elsewhere with a chance to play in Europe's top competition?
Which is why I think we're doing business late on in the window and will continue to do so, the CL clubs get their players first and the rest of the rabble fight between themselves for the remaining players. We are effectively a 2nd choice destination for top class players.
Expect last minute frantic transfer activity again, it's what we do best.
@ chris....what planet are you on.
What seperates THFC from someone like Everton is the way we are run. EFC are a club of equal size and stature. Both with similar size stadia, similar fan base, our glory days long in the past, both clubs of tradition and history. The difference is EFC have barely 2 pennies to rub together, while we have spent on average £10m a season since the inception of the EPL. 4th or 5th highest spenders.
Spurs wage bill is £60-£70m. About £40m less than the likes of Arsenal/LFC, about half of Utd & City and nearly 1/3 of Chelseas £175m wage bill.
We scrape a small profit of a few million and have paid no dividend for years. Out tightly run club has no scope to go on a £100m splurge like LFC or to increase its wage bill by £40m without posting huge losses. We are not privately owned.
If we did speculate to accumulate then we risk doing a Leeds. They based their massive investment of CL money and within 2 seasons of not getting it they were bust. We can't post £80m losses like Chelsea, we don't have a private owner to loan us money to fill the gap and then right off the loans.
The Top 4 is as competitive as it ever has been. City spent an extra £150m and got an extra 9 pts or something. Making the next step is bloody expensive. The closer to the top you are the more expensive it gets because we now need world class players who cost a fortune to buy/pay.
We have to do it how Arsenal have. We need the stadium. We need that extra income, that extra £1.5m-£2m per home game to generate the funds to pay more and buy more.
Many attack Levy for the OS saga and I bet you are one of them....however, the answer to those impatient fools like you who want a fast track to success would be the OS. A 60K stadium, quicker and £150m cheaper in the most accessible site in Europe.
Levy has maximised our income potential. we have the highest revenue in europe for a non-champions league team. WHy is that? Why is it not everton or villa or newcastle.
You should be careful of what you wish for. This time last year many were wishing for Dzeko....expensive bullet dodged.
Have some faith. We are in a place in the food chain where we have to see what is left for us. Adebayor, or any other top player, will not join us until he knows that there is no better offer out there. Expect some late window deals...but in the mean time get real and have some f~#king faith!
I really don't know how many of the big name strikers that I hear us linked with by the various bits of media are subject to real interest by the club, but I guess not too many. From bits and pieces I have seen on the web I am pleased if this is so, because superstriker is simply not out there. Sure Messi really impresses as that but not too many others, and even Chelsea, in their idiocy, do not think he would want to go there. I see no reason for Spurs to sign a 2nd rate striker in the market but rather take a deep look into why our strikers all misfired last season--there has to be a systemic reason it cannot be simply the result of individuals losing form at the same time-the odds on that would be astronomical! In addition lets not forget the youth. Clearly Kane and Courbaley are worth really nurturing. Spurs fans seem to forget what a really strong squad we have.
I am intrigued as to why all seem to have gone quiet on the Chelsea -Modric front from the club their fans and the media.Why?
Are Chelsea really at last understanding no means no?
Are negotiations continuing behind closed doors?
Is there internal discord at Chesea over the way Chelsea have handled this? After a stupid public lowball bid and offering through the media such trial balloons as aged has beens like Drogba, in part exchange, some Chelsea administrators may realise that it is not likely to make for a good negotiating enviroment. I suspect their new manager realises this.
Is there any truth to the rumour Levy has the Spurs legal eagles about to pursue 'tapping up' activities? Certainly a case that would be supported by Arsenal over Barcelona and Fabregas.
Has this all gone on for too long for Chelsea fans and the media, as they have really short attention spans?
Really the possibilities are endless
If Champs League teams get pick of the top players first then where the f@£k were our signings last year? They seem to have glossed over the fact and people accept it. Last year they messed up big style. The year we finally make it to the promised land, do we go spend big? Get the world class players we've been dreaming of. No we bring in vdv by pure luck and only because he was on the cheap then get kimono and pienaar. Not one striker. That's top thinking that. We threw it away and now we're going to be scrapping around for the dregs. Triffic Harry, real traffic.
Good points David, but more importantly, and talking of things going quiet, I have not heard a public comment from Redknapp in over 48hours. I am beginning to worry for him. Is he ok? He is a pensioner afterall and its been a cool summer! Anyone near Sandbanks check his milk still isn't on his doorstep!
I don't think I care who we sign at this point in time. Thought we would get Wickham - we get the Ivory Coast youngster for a lot less, so that could be a stunning bit of business.
Harry Kane getting good reviews, so would expect to see them both play in the Europa League and CC at some point.
Then Vucinic seems most likely, POTL has hinted at it so it must be true. And if Levy didn't want to spend big last summer then what's changed??
I'll just be gutted if we turn up to play Everton with Crouch up front, launching long balls that invariably go nowhere near him or when they do get near him the whistle is blown for a foul.
And would you sell Modric for 30m+ and Sturridge? What is Sturridge value in current market? Look at what Wickham went for having never played Prem football and I wouldn't want to put any money on that deal not happening if Chelsea really want Modric and we still need a striker come the end of the transfer window.
Spurfect
i agree that last summer was the better opportunity but the clamour for a world class striker was not so great. Defoe scored 18 league goals, Pav and Crouch chipped in with some real important goals, scoring was not our problem. Sure Keane needed moving on but it aint as simple as that, he basically refused to go. We got VDV which was no fluke, well its about as flukey as a pro golfer getting a hole in 1, it takes a hell of a lot of skill and some luck. VDV was effectively Keane's replacement as the second striker, in the hole. 12 goals, a decent deal!! And we got him like we will get our big signings this summer, last minute leftovers from the big teams table - Llorente, Adebayor. If no one else wants these guys we may be able to pick them up
i am sure that if we fail it will not be for the want of trying. But you have to recognise our position in the food chain. We don't offer mega wages, we cannot guarantee title challenges or top 4 or CL in the next or any season thereafter. We might have been after Aguerro last summer adn he would have likely thought "i'll bide my time, I can stay where I am for another season, try my hardest and get a mega move in a year" Many other top players will think that when Spurs come calling. You have to accept the reality of the situation
What Devonshirespur said... get real people
we got too many on th pay role we cant shift for the money spurs want. we re stuck in a transfer window traffic jam! im getting pissed off with spurs transfer tactics now. were be worse than last season as we stand. its not good enough! we will lose our best 3 players too if its the case!
A really good striker is harder to find than any other really good player, for another position.
That's why I think we should take the next Chelsea offer PLUS Sturridge, for Modric.
My season ticket is right by the corner flag in the Park Lane and Modric has always received a great reception from the most vocal Spurs fans that occupy those seats.
What's Modric's reception gonna be like next time he takes a corner? Muted, at best! He'll never be respected by most Spurs fans ever again.
Kranjcar scored another fantastic goal this week.He could easily take Modrics place. Modric only scores every pancake day and he's not as good as we've all convinced ourselves.
Let's take Chelsea's hand off for Sturridge and let them have that over-rated, greedy rat.
Devonshire - Well said
People still think Niko can 'easily' replace Modric, and under estimating Modric's true value to the team.
Oh God.
Shady, what's Modric's true value to the team, when he doesn't even want to play for us?
Not only that, he wants to play for one of our biggest rivals.
Why make out that Modric is Messi?
Why bring GOD into it?
Is Modric THAT good???
We should hold out for 35 million Plus Sturridge AND McEcheren together with a public letter of apology from Chelsea over their pursuit of Modric together with a one million donation to the Spurs development fund. They really need Modric badly.
However I suspect Man U to enter the field in the next few days ---all the signs are there---as their need is as bad as Chelsea's, and as much as I dislike the Reds we should sell him to them and really piss Chelsea off.
I hate to admit it but, this window will be a success to me if we manage to GET RID of Crouch, Jenas and Keane. I was worried about a striker but I'm not anymore. Its because of having rubbish like those three in the squad (who take up wages of almost 210,000 pounds per week collectively and starve off young talent like Gio, Kane, Bostock, etc) that we are in this shameful position.
Why doesn't anyone wan't to sign for us? Well, all they have to do is look at our treatment of talented players like Adel Taarabt, Giovani dos Santos, Niko Kranjcar, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Kevin Prince Boateng, John Bostock etc and realise that signing for Tottenham might terribly stall their promising careers. We act like nobody is watching when we insist on playing the pathetic four-goal circus man at the detriment of both our good players and overall results, then stand astonished when we finish outside the top 4 and find that no one wants to sign for us anymore.
We brought this on ourselves. Now lets all get used to seeing Crouch JUMPING up and about like a lunatic while missing sitters with his tongue sticking out for yet another season.
No one wants Jenas, not even promoted teams, yet he was given a bumper contract recently at Spurs. Why? We all know he is useless. Maybe if we got rid of him and gave his wages to VDV and Modric they would remain content.
It time we start acting like an ambitious club. Get rid of certified rubbish like Crouch and Jenas (and don't sign any more of them. e.g. Joe Cole) and start giving youngsters a chance (It will help us in future negotiations).
"Leaving us with: Big signing, JD, Pav and Kane."
And...Keane ? Not worth getting too excited about I'll admit, but still on the books.
yes good old psb ...he might get his mojo back...defoe might start banging them in(20+) crouch setting up a few goals and van chipping in with 8+goals....this is a possible scenario....i forgot pav the wonder striker might get 15 goals to...its possible but it depends on harry redknapp and his lineups.....3-5-2 way to go..get hudd back in form and niko to spice things up..easy as....looks like the transfer window for spurs will be to buy young talented players and loan em out..good business,make a profit......even gomes could have a dynamite season..has gomes ever scored a goal? would like to see him run up and get his head on the ball in the last seconds of a match and win us the game... coys
Players want to play for Champions League clubs because Champions League clubs pay £100K+ wages. When a club that doesnt pay high wages gets CL status they still choose to go to the clubs that dont have CL but do pay £100K+, how many of our targets in the last two windows went to city or liverpool?
Long story short: CL Status is unimportant to the majority of players, its the wages that talk, anyone paying that high is probably a safe bet on playing CL withing a 24 month span for prospective employees. £100K is the minimum wage for the sort of striker we all want and we wont get that in our current situation.
Unfortunately we had our plans upset by a surprise buyout of City, we were on course to break the top 4 and build NDP with little opposition from below but then City took the shortcut and suddenly we are about 3 years behind in the plans, probably what prompted looking for shortcuts ourselves (OS)
East end Spur - My point being is that a wantaway Modric is still better than a reformed
Niko in the role he currently plays.
Didn't mean to dress him up like Messi fella (although you've made him sound like Jenas) but he is indeed our Messi, he's our best player and he'll be extremely difficult to replace.
Shady, Modric isn't our best player, Bale is. Ask Barcelona or Inter Milan who they'd rather and you can bet your life they'd choose Bale.
Kranjcar might not be able to fill Modric's exact role, but at least if Modric goes there will be a role for him.
We've got a great squad, but they under-achieved last season.
I'm fed up with all the doom and fucking gloom from our fans. If Modric wants out..fuck him.
We obviously need a striker, but our midfield is as good as any in the Premiership (with or without Modric)
I think Levy AND Redknapp are doing a good job. Not perfect, but we're a lot better off than we were a few years ago.
We should all slow down on the negativism and look forward to a great season.
can't see city loaning us Adebayor, why would they risk it?
Deadly - not sure City are worried/concerned about us any more. Bigger fish to fry now.
I'd say oue wee Modric is more like Barca's Xavi...the heart beat of the team. Where as Bale is more like Messi...the direct attacking threat! (not saying Bale is as good as messi, I am talking about their roles in the team!)
Now Xavi had 1 goal and 1 assist last season, but he is integral to everything that Barca do. Modric has much the same influence at SPurs. He makes us tick. He may not be the one threading the killer pass, putting in the deadley cross of firing in a unstoppable shot but he is the one who lets our more attacking players play (VDV, Bale, Lennon).
You cannot underrate his importance to the team...simialr to when Carrick (inferior player) left. he didn't score too many, or assist too many. He didn't make crunching tackles or lung busting runs BUT he was vital to the way we played and this fact was only brought home to the idiots when they witnessed Zokora. We were a worse team without Carrick and we would be significantly weakened without Modric (While, BTW, improving our hated rivals!!)
We refuse to sell Chelsea get someone else (Pastore) and we all move on. Modric will get over it.
It also sends the message to Bale, you have signed up and we can and will hold you to it (not that I doubts Bale's current loyalty, although that maybe diffferent if we have a poor season)
One of the reasons we aren't signing players is because we are at our limit in terms of foreigners in the squad.
If you take last year's 25 and add in anyone who's no longer U21, I believe we have only 8 "home grown" players - which is the minimum requirement.
For us to bring someone in from the continent we have to get rid of someone (Bassong, Modric, Corluka etc.). It's not enough just to get rid of Bentley, Crouch, Jenas or Defoe.
Adebayor would actually be an excellent solution to our striker problem. The only problem is, is that he's a c**t
I told my grandkids that we were the best run club in the world and they burst out laughing.
Could be because they live 400 yards from Old Trafford where they started growing the capacity of their stadium before the kids were born over 10 years ago.
Have to stop now, time for my Levy is a Genius pill.......got any spares Devonshire?
I would love to see Adebayor take on this taks