Field report: Daniel Levy THFC club secrets revealed

Dear Mr Levy,

Evening to you.

Well technically, it's morning. 4am.

Been sitting here for an hour. Meditating. Yes, yes. I still recite passages from The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Some things, they never change. But other things, do. I recently upgraded to the ATN Night Warrior. Let me tell you, it's a stunning piece of kit. It really compliments my Snap Gun Lock Pick (it's what police officers use to open locks with minimal fuss). Very handy when you've gone and forgotten your credit card at home. Uses primary laws of physics to compromise locks. Genius. Picked it up on-line for just under £50, comes with picking needles and a tension tool. But without the ATN I'd be lost out in the dark, walking into your professionally trimmed rose bushes (why no Lilies?) and falling over the copies of The Opus you keep out back near the trash. If you need a fence to get rid of them, I know someone. He's well kosher. Knows a man who knows a man. Text me.

As for that ATN. We are talking high-tech, water-resistant second generation pocketscope technology. Had to upgrade from my trusted PSP-10 Cybereye which to be honest has seen better days. Sadly almost damaged beyond repair after the last squirrel attack at The Lodge. Those pesky b*stards never forget a face. Still, got a decent price for it on Ebay. I've already tested the ATN prior to my current assignment. Was out the other night with it. All girl Catholic boarding school just down the road. Have to say the 3X magnification on the lens...just stunning, stunning. Perfect for best balance between light-gathering ability and field of view. Paid out a little extra for the IR illuminator and the camera adapter.

Battery life, 15 hours. More than enough time to go in and come out. You should know, I see you have your own NVG kit. Along with a 12 channel UHF receiver and various transmitters. Where did you get the ultra slim voice activated room bug from by the way? Lovely build on that. You been busy doing some surveillance of your own then? Let me guess. That same Catholic school? Don't worry, it will be our little secret.

Enough about technology. Let me take a moment to breathe in the surrounding odours that have me transfixed. Yes, yes. I can smell you Daniel. I can smell the smell of a true mans man.

It's been some time since I've sat in this room. In your home. Been a very long time. Although the view from underneath the dining table is hardly my choice of comfort. Work before pleasure. Hence the camouflage, face paint and hiding place. Reconnaissance means sacrificing one or two pleasantries, like treating myself to your biscuit cabinet. You still digging the Custard Creams? I bought my own food supplies this time. Wasabi peas. Keeps me on edge, alert. Takes me back to the Gulf. Actually no, wasn't a gulf. More of a bay. In Cornwall, near Newquay I think. Lovely little restaurant. I ran away without paying the bill. The adrenaline, man, was something else. The peas, they work like a flashback mechanism. Triggers the edge, the alertness. It's the difference between sitting here in ninja silence and tripping a security alarm.

In fact, the more I think, it's been an absolute age since I last found myself spending several days a week completing community service due to my prior...let's just call them indiscretions. Or 'home invasions' as CID exaggerated. No longer does the 100 metre restraining order matter, long since ceased. If I get caught I'm hoping the judge will not dismiss my recent good behaviour out of hand. Everyone is susceptible to a relapse. I can just blame it on forgetting to take my medication.

I've been a model citizen. You'll have probably noticed, I no longer stand around the West Stand entrance holding a bucket of p*ss. I'm a reformed character. Although I remain completely committed to making sure you do an acceptable job for us, the fans. Which is why I'm here.

It's my duty to make some noise. Metaphorically speaking. Would not want to wake up your wife. By the way, if the dog is still sound asleep in the morning when you get out of bed, don't fret. The sedatives are extra strong, for that extra reassurance. No long lasting damage. Other than perhaps a day or two of incontinence.

I've already found what I was looking for, along with one or two other minor surprises.

Here's a tip for you. Free of charge. Don't stash your porn behind books in your study. If I found them then it's only a matter of time before your missus does. Also, 'Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair' and 'The Playbirds'...really? This stuff is softer than a Care Bear drowning in feathers. I'll hook you up with some Tori Black sometime. You do p2p?

Talking of porn, your laptop was easy to login to. Security is a joke. Password: Stratford4eva. So textbooky Levy that. Your screensaver is an even bigger joke. Although as far as photo-shopped nudes go, it makes Karren look very, dare I say, sexy? Granted, it's Karren Brady's face on Natalie Portman's body, but hey...whatever turns you on.

I also see (from your internet browser cache) you still flirt with the message boards. Look, some more free advice for you. If you wish to go incognito online you need to be a little more subtle. People will put 2 and 2 together, you'll leaving far too many obvious stand-out clues. Firstly your user-name on Spurs Community. Blatantly blatantly obvious to the more inquisitive user.

Allow me to show you the math.
 
What music plays before the team runs out: Duel of the Fates from Star Wars Episode 1.
What's our home: White Hart Lane.

2+2 = Phantom (as in, Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace) of the Lane.

Where's the imagination Daniel?

You are winding up people who spend hundreds on a season ticket yearly. Which by the way is stupendously hard to burn in protest. You do know it just melts away right? You can hardly start a bonfire like the old paper booklets. I had to claim it lost when I was informed that you're meant to keep it for the following season. The irony of having to hand over money because of a protest against season ticket price increases to get a replacement card burnt in protest of season ticket price hikes...it kills me, kills me.

What else can I see? World of Warcraft installation. Lady GaGa mp3's (illegally downloaded) and a Facebook friend request to Carlo Ancelotti.

Word of advice. Again.

You should also look to encrypt your word documents. I just read the Luka Modric related club announcements you've drafted. Very clever. You've done this on purpose haven't you? In fact, it's the reason why you've not encrypted your documents. Trying to f**k with my mind, Daniel?

Statement one: An apology and explanation why the offer from Chelsea was too good to turn down and in the long term best for the club to sell a player who no longer wanted to be part of the team. Complaint lodged with FA. Undisclosed donation accepted to the Tottenham Foundation.

Statement two: An apology and explanation why the offer from Manchester United was too good to turn down and in the long term best for the club to sell a player who no longer wanted to be part of the team. Complaint lodged with FA. Undisclosed donation accepted to the Tottenham Foundation.

I've helped you out here. Both beautifully crafted, but I've deleted the first statement. Let's not go ruin the relationship with our parent club. Also, just to let you know, he wont be any good for us or anyone else chained up like that. Kudos for the basement prison and I know the little Croatian is gaunt and petite looking at the best of times but I made him a cheese and pickle sandwich. He needs to regain strength in time for pre-season. He called me 'mother' so I think he might also be hallucinating, so I left him with a couple of bottles of water. At least have him chained up in the back yard or somewhere with a window.

Then there's the small matter of...Christ, there it goes again. That snoring, it's relentless. Damn it, lost my train of thought. Best I leave my base under your dining table and return to the living room. Do I need to leave an anonymous phone message with the Daily Mail about this? I can see the headline now.

MEXICAN IMMIGRANT FOUND SLEEPING ON PREMIER LEAGUE CHAIRMAN'S LIVING ROOM SOFA.

He's in his boxer shorts. Let me revise that headline.

MEXICAN SEX SLAVE IMMIGRANT FOUND SLEEPING ON PREMIER LEAGUE CHAIRMAN'S LIVING ROOM SOFA.

What's the deal with this guy any ways? Pedroza Witham? Really? Is this the best you can do?

Let me give you a heads up. Football Manager 2011. It's like Damien Comolli but without the smug glasses. Actually, Comolli is more like a ten year old with Google and You Tube access. My point is...Pedroza Witham? Really? Did the scouts misspell Wickham? Mexico and Ipswich. Guess there's not that much of a difference. Just ask Gio.

Bless Pedroza, he's now talking in his sleep. 'Gooooala, Goooola'. At least he's scoring somewhere. I've checked Wikipedia and his stats belong on a t-shirt. 12 games. No goals.

Oh look, the sunrise, my cue to leave. Daylight is creeping into the room. And I now need to creep out. Not quite had enough time to rummage through your laundry basket. Souvenirs can wait for my next visit. Although I'm liking the calendar in the kitchen. Never guessed you were a Glee man. Felt-tip circled around the 31st August, 11:45pm. You got something planned for that day?

By the way. Love the new carpet. Never red, hey?

Yours quietly,

Spooky

This will make your head spin

This is satire at it's very best. From West Ham site, KUMB:

Tottenham's dirty tricks exposed

Filed: Sunday, 3rd July 2011
By: Staff Writer


The full extent of the dirty tricks played by Tottenham in the 'cash-for-stadium' row have been exposed.

Today's Sunday Times revealed how the OPLC's director of corporate services was paid circa £20,000 for 'consultancy work' by West Ham - work sanctioned by the club's Olympic Director, said to be in a relationship with the aforementioned. More details on that can be seen here.

However it also reveals the depths that Tottenham were prepared to sink to in order to derail West Ham's move into the Olympic Stadium, which was ratified by the Government earlier this year.

1. Hired 'corporate intelligence' company: The Times claimed that Spurs hired the intelligence agency two days before the OPLC declared their preferred bidder to investigate the 14 members of the adjudicating panel in order to unearth any potential conflicts of interest.

2. Hired private investigators: Having struck gold, Tottenham ordered investigators to place Dionne Knight, the OPLC director at the centre of the storm under personal surveillance. This included a 'stake-out' of the single mother's home, where she lives with her 14-year-old daughter.

3. Accessed personal information: Tottenham's investigators admitted procuring sensitive documents - including personal bank statements belonging to both Knight and the West Ham employee - along with other sensitive personal information usually protected by data protection laws.
 
West Ham fans posting on forums across the web tonight have urged the club to immediately halt any future transfer dealings with Tottenham in response to the revelations - including any potential move for Scott Parker.

Sorry, I lied. It's not satire. Honestly, hand on heart.

West Ham's response to The Sunday Times article that revealed the 'conspiracy' can be found on their official site. They're going to sue us.

All kicking off. Again.

A Machiavellian migraine: Levy, the NDP and Stratford

Okay, so let me see if I have this right.

Northumberland Development Project is presented as a viable option to redevelop the surrounding area White Hart Lane currently sits on to build a stadium nearing 60k capacity.

Then, thanks to unforeseen (and failure to forecast) rising costs the viable NDP became not so viable as it was apparent to the fans via the club and the walls being built by local government (the only thing being built) stopping progression and leading us instead to a near fatal conclusion that it was now far too expensive - bordering on the crippling - and thus not feasible.

Out of nowhere, Stratford and the Olympic site became a priority. By 'out of nowhere' I mean it was always an option for the club and slowly slowly crawled into our future stadium landscape by becoming a 'backup plan' because business wise it made sense to show an interest, to then taking over as the plan.

Even though logistically in terms of borough and geography there was a suggestion the Premier League would frown upon a club moving into another clubs territory (West Ham's - not Orients, because nobody appears to give a sh*t about the Leyton team), with each passing day the club's stance became stronger and their commitment to the OS completely and unequivocally 100%.

The NDP was dead in the water. Legacy details of the dream eventually being removed from the club site. Why keep plans for a project that was not viable? Why keep plans for a project that would undermine the clubs push to claim the OS site? Tottenham had to be seen to be a one-stadium bidder - with no apparent 'second' option. The NDP had to be far removed from being tagged viable. No questions asked. Even if most of us scratched our heads at it's demise.

Local government aided Levy's argument and course of action. Although it's not as clear cut to some as it's easy to lay the blame with politicians (Haringey easy pickings at times for criticism, although it's worth remembering in the case of public sector funding, a rich football club asking for tax payers money can appear to be a tad cheeky, but not so when the project at hand is to regenerate the surrounding area).

For Levy, the board of directors and the shareholders - the OS made perfect business and fiscal sense in terms of saving the club up to or around £200M. From what we understand, we were invited to bid. Told we would stand a chance (I'm reading between the lines, but few would argue against the fact that someone lifted their skirt up to reveal crotchless panties...and it wasn't the porn barons from Upton Park. Neither was it Karren Brady, so you can all stop puking now).

Plenty of twists and turns played out. On paper, no doubting the fact Spurs had a far stronger far more fiscally powerful plan for the OS compared to the West Ham bid. Plenty of chat about the Olympic legacy - probably a political reason for Spurs being told to get involved, so that emphasis and pressure would be placed on the WH bid to include all the niceties certain interested parties would want to be safe-guarded. Like the ridiculous post-Olympic games running track.

West Ham win the bid (recommendation). 14-0. That's as comprehensive as you could possibly wish to hope for. Well, for pro-N17 supporters and most of West Ham's. Question here would be whether Levy genuinely felt we had a chance. You would think, with him being shrewd and immensely clever (they say that) he understood the probability of it going to WH would always remain the obvious outcome.

Perhaps, purely from a business perspective he had to make the bid for the OS and deal with any consequences in terms of fan disapproval. To him it would have been collateral damage. The club would have hit the ground running. Alas, 14-0 and ended.

So back to the drawing board. Since the decision, Levy has continue to appeal against it via a judicial review - rejected out of hand once, with a second hearing pencilled in. Reasons for the continued push is perhaps to reclaim some of the money spent by the club on the bid. Perhaps to prove a point that the process was unfair. Perhaps even to mould a negative into a positive for reasons of leverage. The Olympic committee would rather mud slinging not drag on into the summer and beyond. In addition an OPLC member with West Ham links has been suspended (and allegations of secret payments). Whether anything is proved to be relevant or damaging remains to be seen. But now it becomes that slightly more clearer why Levy has persisted.

Slowly slowly, the NDP begins to make its way back into the stadium landscape. Mentions of the club working hard to make it viable again. Mentions of other sites being looked for the sake of an alternative location. It's still not quite viable.

Which brings us onto the bid for a Regional Growth Fund. My understanding is that there's money in the pot. You make your case why you would deserve (let's say £100M) and why it would benefit more if the total sum is given to you rather than it being shared amongst various projects. A small cut of the total sum the club are going to ask for will probably not be as dramatic as the whole of the sum of money we would wish for. Which is why we might not be stepping back into that viable tag just yet.

But to even apply for a RGF - you can only ever hope to win if your project is deemed to be a non-starter in the first place. We are back to requesting help with the costs of the regeneration.

I guess perhaps the original plans and costs of the NDP way back, deep down, the club always knew it was not quite a feasible project and that mounting costs would push it beyond that. Hence the reason for the OS bid. We (Levy and co) had to prove to everyone they gave N17 a go - and it simply could not work to the point of it being boxed up and stored under 'never'. But if the OS bid failed, which it did, removing it from the box and re-introducing it whilst building up various pockets of momentum in terms of grants and pressures on the Mayor and friends...I can only go back to something I've always been desperate to cling onto even when I began to doubt it.

Levy = Machiavellian

We don't know every detail and we don't understand every decision because we're not meant too. Not clearly. Every move, every contingency if something doesn't go his way is mapped out. Given sometimes it's out of good fortune (RGF is a relatively new option).

Although that's not to say he's always pulling in the same direction we want to go. He's doing what he believes to be best for THFC. That, was at one point, Stratford. And had it worked (God forbid the West Ham bid ever collapsed) we'd be looking to move there. In the grand scheme of things, the chances of sharing those fourteen points was zero. I can't help wonder if he knew from the start that the only chance Spurs ever had of building a 60k all-seater was to generate money, support from the government meaning:

NDP - never truly viable from the offset (unforeseen costs were not unexpected and help from Haringey hardly viable in its self due to them having no available monies at any given time)

Stratford - never achievable in hindsight, but the clubs number one choice, and at one juncture 'someone' hinted and flirted with us that it could happen

Post-OS NDP - the only true option if the right level of cost support is there, and viable 'in time' now the OS is done and dusted by pushing the emphasis back on 'redevelopment', because it's about the area as much as it is about the club - which means the people obstructing previously might just wake up to the concept of holding our hand

There was never a contingency plan for the possibility of the NDP failing because its not the clubs intentions to allow it to fail. Might be fantasy on my part, having already made clear if the OS was given the go-ahead we'd be on our way. By virtue of losing out in the East End the contingency plan for the NDP has turned out to be the...NDP.

I always asked what would we do if the OS never existed? I'd hazard a guess that Levy would still have eventually deemed the NDP not viable to apply pressure to bring down costs anyway possible. Where we are now, is where we would have been in that scenario. Probably would have even flirted with the idea of leaving N17 too.

The RGF (information here and here if you want to read up on it) is simply a step in the right direction, one that looks perfectly natural with everything that's happened up to this point. We are talking about the NDP again. There might be another twist or turn around the corner, it's hard going attempting to second guess any of this because I'm sure someone will claim the RGF means very little in the long run - and that might be the case if we're awarded very little of it. We'll see how it all pans out.

Let's hope we bid for £100M and we get £100M. That's £100M to go towards investing in local people and the regeneration of the area to aid us with costs with the stadium. The crux of it will be whether we can prove the NDP can generate more jobs under the roof of redeveloping Tottenham than perhaps the money shared to a variety or projects could produce.

As for everything else I've mused, it's all just a theory. I'm sure there are holes in it. I'm sure you're going to point them out. More prevalent to the hear and now for most would be to consolidate on field progression so there's a team in full flow to match the ambitions of the redevelopment. No need for the Machiavellian here, just decisiveness of the swift variety.

All of us had our emotions pulled to the left and right whilst this has played out, questioning ethics and loyalty and what defined progression via revenue and the sacrifice of geographical history with the potential for a new chapter to be written elsewhere.

The pro-N17 people, screaming 'Say no to Stratford' at least wore their hearts on their sleeves. No different to the ones who simply accepted a move and supported it in their own way (can't really be that pro-active if you're supportive of moving). Just accept all at face value - i.e. Stratford is the only choice, let's get out of the sh*thole. Pro-move people simply tunnel visioned into the facts presented. NDP not viable, OS fiscal heaven. Far easier to accept it all than to jot something down on a bed sheet and wave it around outside White Hart Lane with ten mates keeping you company.

But then it was never about bed sheets was it? Or organised demonstrations. Some of the blog articles, the comments and and on-line discussions were far more powerful than the demonstrations could ever hope to be. Same in the stands and in the pubs. It was about the discussion and debate that unfolded with so much passion and fire, displaying how loyal all Spurs fans are no matter their opinion on the subject. Say no to Stratford, we are N17...it was more than just sound-bites and websites.

There were some that remained far more angry and belittling than others on the subject. Most agreed to disagree. Others anchored themselves to N17 no matter what, even though they had more to lose than those who did not mind moving.

In the end, we all want the same thing: THFC marching forwards. The ones that preferred only to do so without turning into a fully fledged franchise will have to unite with the ones that didn't even blink when the OS became 'available'.

I've already cited that business is business and it's more than obvious that Daniel Levy has to work diligently to safeguard the club (and the investment made). You don't really need me to point that out. The club will not be placed into a position of weakness financially. And the NDP - on the current costing - would do just that. But then it was always going to cost us.

I'm more than glad we are back to where we started this journey, still a long road ahead of us and this time no roads turning to the east. Tottenham is Tottenham no matter where the club plays it's football, some said. Well actually no, Tottenham is Tottenham in Tottenham.

Hopefully that's a reality we can all agree upon now. The supporters, the club and the local government who in-turn should embrace the potential of redevelopment in N17 to aid the area and the people who reside there along with the club.

Spurs have the key to the door. Lay down the welcoming mat, step aside and allow us to unlock it.

Stratford's death still leaves us feeling White Hart Pain

So the High Court has refused our application for permission to bring a claim against the London Borough of Newham and the Olympic Park Legacy Company along with the Mayor of London and Government Ministers for the judicial review re: bid process for the OS.

What a guest list, would have been some party.

We await to see if Levy persists with this in the next few days (club can basically take an option to renew its application of complaint).

Vast majority (controversial?) of Spurs fans are probably more than happy to hear this news (happy and fed up) and hope the club, chairman and board of directors leave it in the past and move on with finding a true solution to the stadium issue. What's done is done. Right?

We've been told a few times by Levy that he can't reveal certain information due to the process at hand and from a business perspective, playing politics with local government can be a game of poker so he's hardly going to show us all of his cards. However, there has to be some transparency and based on the recent meeting between club and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust it still sounds like we're walking through mud.

The NDP remains an expensive proposition, one without public sector funding. Which seems to be the excuse given (someone can remind me but I'm sure there's a fallacy surrounding Arsenal and the money they got for their stadium - i.e. they didn't).

In comparison (Stratford and the NDP) purely from a fiscal perspective (is there another perspective?) the OS was made priority because it would not have cost as much as remaining in N17 and in the long term was a far more achievable financial outgoing compared to the debt that will have accumulated with the NDP.

Business sense and shareholder gleefulness - Stratford was the answer. The other perspective? History of a geographical nature and various emotive arguments regarding identity. For most it was too much to ask and to see the club uproot and move from North London to the East. Progression off the back of increased revenue would secure the club's history even if we left our spiritual home, some said. Others preferred to remain anchored to the past and use that as the driving force to push on, remaining in N17, with an increased capacity.

There are arguments, good arguments for and against. But the one question that looks down at all of the in-fighting asks: Was it ever truly plausible for us to move to East London?

We've been over this a million times, so I wont lose myself in another rant. I will share a couple of thoughts off the back of the latest club statement.

Was the NDP ever viable? The reason I ask is, considering the business acumen of our chairman and the fact that forecasting every conceivable scenario would have been discussed in terms of the potentiality of increasing costs - why present the NDP as a viable project in the first place? Perhaps this is naivety on my part. I can appreciate that the NDP 'on paper' worked until it drowned in various red tape and outgoings once it began it's stuttering journey.

The more Stratford hogged the limelight, the less feasible the NDP became.

Stratford first appeared as a backup plan, then became our first choice (but there were mentions of it long before the NDP - the suggestion being it was always the clubs first choice). All guns blazing we went. Even though there were FA Premier League issues (ignored in the case of Orient post-decision) relating to boundaries and territory. Even if us bidding for it was (amongst the people locally and back in Tottenham) a non-starter - to Levy and from what we are made to believe certain people involved in the OS stadium process of selection and the Mayor - it was very much a competitive bid. One that stood a chance.

On paper, miles and miles ahead of West Ham's and in long term financial gain, utterly no competition when comparing the two clubs. The voting appeared to suggest that Tottenham never stood a chance. Hence the complaints made by club.

The crux of it falls on Daniel Levy. Here's me banging on about Machiavellian strategy and playing people off each other for our own gains, and yet looking back our hard nosed negotiator wore his heart on his sleeve. He was pro-Tottenham the club, the brand...and pro-Stratford to aid with elevating us to the next level of financial clout and stability. The sacrifice (the emotive stuff) worth while.

Did he genuinely believe we had a chance? Or did he expect to be p*ssing in the wind, all part of the game plan? Was the NDP only ever presented to us to appease the masses? Or is it still the ideal solution but one that simply isn't probable any more due to the constraints placed upon it?
 
Wouldn't moving to a different part of North London (or wherever else) equally see us battling against rising costs and political chess? As noted in the dismissal of the Tottenham Hale site.

Can't argue against Levy not wanting the best for the club. But that transparency, that direction...it's hard to know what we are concentrating on if we continue with our OS complaints whilst walking into brick walls that need to be knocked down first.

Perhaps everything that has played out has not been to his surprise. Although I can't quite grasp how any of it acts as a leverage towards the the NDP. But then I'm not a chairman of a football club and managing director of an investment company.

From the meeting with the THST:

“The Club is very busy behind the scenes trying to make the NDP viable”

If the OS never existed, what would our contingency plan be if the NDP went from viable to not being viable? Because that's where we currently stand at the moment.

It was never do or die for Stratford. Yet I can't shake off that feeling that some believe it to be the case.

In Tottenham we trust

My head is pounding, gut churning. You know how it is with man-flu. Fathers amongst you will appreciate that in the first year or so of having a baby you tend to pick up any cold/virus they pick up. Probably a lack of vitamin c on my part, but I appear to be sick without fail every 5-6 weeks. Or perhaps I’m not sick from a bog standard bug and the baby is just a patsy. Perhaps I’m just depressed and I don’t know it.

Lack of summer sun, lack of summer transfer activity.

Sure, we’ve had the Modric saga slapped down like rolled up newspaper squashing a fly. Luka supposedly said what he said. Levy responded and closed the matter. Whispers of a possible statement from the Croatian, but nothing yet. Perhaps there’s no point in one although it would silence the vultures of the press if he came out and said something pro-Tottenham – ending any further sequels to the first episode of discontent.

New kits out. Love ‘em, hate ‘em. Seems like there’s an unwritten rule which must state something like: We shall not release the perfect kit, instead we’ll retain some imperfections with random streaks of yellow just to make it look like some thought went into it. Sponsor pays money, sponsor has right to include their logo on kit, but would be nice if both sponsor and club found a middle ground where they would share a celebratory drink with style. Style, for the record, does not include yellow or a bold font.

Then there’s the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust. You know who they are, right? Quite a few of you do but it’s always up to someone else to remind you, to give you a poke of encouragement to take a look when you’d have probably missed it altogether.

I had no idea they meet with the club on the 14/06/11. I missed a tweet earlier this afternoon that would have linked me to the minutes made live on their site today and only found out about it because someone gratefully left a comment on my blog. Considering the questions asked and the answers given, its information that should be far more reaching. You know, neon lights and not a candle in the wind.

Blogged earlier here highlighting some of the minute but now I have some available time to run through a couple of things that stand out for me.

If you’re on Twitter, follow @SpursFuture for the latest on the stadium developments. Their website is here. Look out for some news they plan to share tomorrow.

Stadium

“The Club is very busy behind the scenes trying to make the NDP viable”

Pretty much what appears to be a very positive message given in the meeting. Either that or a PR friendly ‘we’ve not dismissed the idea of the NDP’. The issue still remains one concerning public sector grants. The project still weighs in at around £250M - £300M leaving it with that not viable tag currently.

You do have to wonder what the committee discuss every week when it's obvious nothing changes from one to the next.

Have we looked elsewhere? Yes. But the land near Tottenham Hale is equally not viable due to the expense of purchasing it and countless surveys and God knows how much more time would have to be spent on proposing design, affect on the surrounding area etc etc.

We appear to be stuck in limbo in terms of direction. The club are at least investigating an increase in any proposed capacity (along with market research for corporate hospitality) but no movement (as you would expect) on naming rights and the supermarket deal. No stadium means we can hardly have a sponsored name for it.

As for the Olympic Stadium shambles, the legal challenge is in process. End of July is when Levy and co will find out the result of their complaint. I guess this is the back-up plan, be it one rooted deep in fantasy (if Levy honestly thinks he’ll get anything over-turned he’s mad). Then again, it’s not about over-turning a decision, you would think it’s more about making a point in how the decision (recommendation) was made.

The point being, we (the club) we’re used to force the reattainment of the running track and the OS legacy via the publicity of our bid in comparison to the one made by West Ham United. Considering how voting went, it was a blatant stitch up. Not that I have any complaints about it. Say no to Stratford all day long. But from the minutes the following leaves me a little cold: “Uncertainty remains that NDP will ever become viable”.

Add that quote with the following: “DL advised that he has no preference re stadium he just wants a stadium solution whatever that may be” – and we are back to the question of geography and history against revenue and progression.

There’s no time-frame on any of this, which makes me question the whole premise of the NDP and it's contingency plans that would have been in the original discussions the club had when outlining the ground redevelopment. To quote the past, if the OS never existed, if the games were to be played in France next year...thus no OS...where would we be looking towards now?

Club suggests we lobby DL David Lammy, Boris Johnson, the Sports Minister and the Local Authority 'to constructively point out the benefits that would accrue to the local community from providing some Public Sector grant support to the stadium project'.

Game of tennis.

Transfers

Nothing we don’t know already. We need to ‘trim the existing first team’. No sh*t Sherlock. We’ve got enough deadwood to reconstruct the Great Fire of London. Get the impression Danny boy is always looking to make a profit on a player bought and then sold on. Which might see us getting unstuck with one or two turning away at the thought of paying what our valuation is for the likes of say, Robbie Keane or Wilson Palacios. Selling players who no longer fit into our plans will also aid with the wage bill.

‘There will be activity this summer’.

Set your watches for the final ten minutes on the last day of the transfer window. No, hold up don't fret, it’s just how it all works. Deals only kick-off in domino fashion when everyone gets desperate as time runs out. Levy states he understands why there is a perception but it’s not deliberate.

Phew. I was going to suggest we only have a transfer window of 2 days in the middle of the summer for all clubs to do their deals in. It will be akin to Wall Street with loads of chairman waving their hands around in the air screaming and shouting. Robbie Keane will no doubt be in the thick of it, signing for at least seven boyhood clubs who would share him across the course of a season.

Levy cites wish lists and clubs working through them. Perhaps it’s best to just cross out the ones that are unlikely or just start from the bottom up. Unless Carlton Cole is at the bottom of said list. Let’s be fair, I don’t think it’s an easy job to do. As long as we do have a wish list and we aim to work through it with urgency. Problem can usually sit with the opposing club who might want to hold off for a bigger fee. That’s not to say I will be forgiving if we don’t sign what we need to sign this summer. Have to be decisive.

Interestingly, the manager puts forward recommendations for players and the chairman and board of directors discuss taking into account long term financial implications. Actually, that’s not that interesting. It’s quite traditional. Although obviously Levy does a bit of work on the side (i.e. van der Vaart).

The hypothetical situation outlined (during the meeting) in terms of when the chairman/directors would say no to a proposed deal relates to a big fee for a 30+ player with little chance of re-sale or the possibility of a new manager taking over during the player’s contract who might not see the player as part of his squad.

Hypothetical or perhaps a clue to our not so far off future? I would hope the club look at certain potential players on merit of ability/experience and what they could offer in the way of leadership and that galvanising touch. Now say signing Scott Parker for £8M-£10M would fall into the ‘just say no’ category due to his age and the fact that Harry will probably not be Spurs manager beyond the 2012 season. It’s logical not to splash out such a sum on a player that wouldn’t even be first choice at Spurs (my two cents). But say, just for the hell of it, Drogba was available for £3M-£5M...would that not be a worthwhile investment? You wouldn’t get any money back on re-sell but you’d make your money back on another CL placement. No? That's the risk, gotta speculate to accumulate.

Finally, academy players. Lack of. Club are aware improvements are needed. Caulker gets a special mention, as many of us already hope he will be a special player for us in the future. We need more of this.

Harry and the Press

Brilliant side-stepping here. Harry calling fans idiots, accepted by the club as an inappropriate comment to make but it’s the fault of Sky Sports thus, mitigating circumstances, that Harry was given a leading question to answer. We’ve apparently spoken to Sky about this.

Harry loves the media, media loves Harry. Always the potential for the good and bad. Perhaps if Harry limited himself to only, say, 400 interviews a day...he wouldn’t slip up too often.

Shame the Trust didn’t ask why Harry persists with the disassociation (it’s always ‘them’ never ‘us’). I’m being petty now. We all know his only priority is to himself. I hardly care as long as he produces the goods next season.

Finance

We didn’t make as such from the CL as other English clubs due to the limited stadium capacity and restricted corporate hospitality. All links into the search for a NDP solution or a potential agreeable move to a new location that won’t fragment support. Although chairman is simply looking at the club as an entity, a brand and all that matters is that 60k capacity and plenty of boxes for the rich to swim in tubs of caviar whilst drinking unicorn blood from diamond encrusted skulls of baby seals. Because he knows in the CL (gotta get back there) we would sell out and the revenue would make us richer. If we’re 14^th now in the world (last time I looked) then it’s scary to think how strong we’d be with a new stadium.

But then, call me soft, call me a romantic...I’d rather it be just under 60K and built in N17. Tottenham is Tottenham after all. Sorry, I want my cake and I want to eat it.

Kit and Sponsorship

Reason for delay in release of kits? To coincide with the shirt sponsors launch of a new product. I honestly don’t think anyone is going to care about the launch of the shirt sponsors new product. Do football fans really take note of what's on a kit other than the badge? I know advertising is just that but I didn't spend the 80s painting the walls because Liverpool were always on tv drunk on Holsten.

Under Armour from next season replacing Puma. Five year contract. Let’s pray they don’t include the random yellow streaks in their début kits.

That’s as much as I can muster.

Join me on Twitter because that's where I live.

"There will be activity this summer"

Click here for the full minutes of the meeting between the club and the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust.

Covers off questions around the Stadium, transfers, Harry and the press, ticketing, finance, fair play rules, kit and sponsorship and some other bits and pieces.

Stadium

• The Club is very busy behind the scenes trying to make the NDP viable. There are two dedicated people working 24/7on the stadium project and a committee of 15 meets weekly to discuss progress. The Club is seeking public sector grants to help reduce the costs and in light of this has appointed Savills to explore this avenue.

• The Club is carrying out market research to ascertain what the appetite for corporate hospitality is as well as considering a moderate increase in capacity.

• At the same time the legal challenge regarding the Olympic Stadium bid process continues. The club should know the results of their challenge by the end of July. There are two reasons for this; (i) Uncertainty remains that NDP will ever become viable and (ii) Genuine concern that the bidding process was unfair.

• With regards to other Haringey locations DL confirmed that a site near Tottenham Hale was considered but, due to the amount of property that would need acquiring, this would have been extremely time consuming and in all likelihood just as expensive as NDP with a further need for seeking planning permission from the local authorities.

• With a capital cost of £250-£300m it is just not viable right now.

• Re funding, the Club has not gone to Market yet re Naming Rights and the Supermarket deal is on hold.

• The Section 106 agreement has been agreed but is not yet exchanged.

• Ultimately, despite the huge investment this would be from THFC in the local community, there is no public sector money being made available.

• No timeframe can be put on how long this may take to resolve one way or the other.

• BK asked what supporters can do to assist THFC? DL advised that it would be beneficial for THFC supporters to lobby David Lammy, Boris Johnson, the Sports Minister and the Local Authority to constructively point out the benefits that would accrue to the local community from providing some Public Sector grant support to the stadium project. Ultimately this should be a Private/Public Sector project so all pressure exerted on the decision makers would be very welcome.

• DL advised that he has no preference re stadium he just wants a stadium solution whatever that may be.



Transfers

• The club has to trim the existing First Team squad as only 25 players are allowed excluding home grown Under-21’s who don’t count towards the 25.

• There will be activity this summer but the club does need to sell players for the above reason.

• DH asked if it was a deliberate tactic to wait until the end of the window before any intense activity? DL said he understood why there was this perception but this was far from deliberate, it was just the way the transfer market worked with buying clubs having their 1-10 wish lists and the fact it takes time to work this through.

• The Manager puts forward recommendations for purchases and the Board of Directors have the final decision taking into account the long term financial implications for the Club. For example, a hypothetical situation where the Board would need to say No would be where the selling club is seeking a sizeable transfer fee for a 30+ year old with little chance of re-sale and/or the possibility of a different manager appearing during that player’s contract who didn’t see that player as part of his squad.

• The lack of home grown players was raised by John Morrow. DL agreed that academy produced players needed to improve. S. Caulker is a very promising academy resource right now.



Harry and the Press

• The subject of Harry’s public criticism of some THFC fans as idiots was raised as an inappropriate comment to make. This was accepted by the Club however mitigating circumstances of a leading question from the Sky reporter was raised and the fact that the club had spoken to Sky about this.

• It was agreed that Harry had an incredible relationship with the media (They like him/He likes to speak with them) and that with this there would be some positives and negatives.

Discuss amongst yourselves. There's a few things that really stand out. It's worth reading the full set of minutes. I'll revisit most of it again in more detail when I get a moments chance.

Statement of intent

Brace yourselves. It seems Sam Wallace of the Independent is privy to an imminent statement from Luka Modric concerning the players future at the club. The statement will no doubt be apologetic spin to limit any further damage made by the perfectly scripted quotes made from his boat to a Daily Mail reporter. Something lost in translation no doubt, he’ll say. It’s almost a certainty that Luka will be positive towards the club he’s currently contracted too and perhaps we can all move on and hope that Levy follows up his blockbuster statement from the other day with one pertaining to a new signing (or two).

Kia Joorabchian was/is (according to the Independent article linked above) involved with the Luka bombshell which more or less explains the shady developments of recent days. It’s looking more and more like they were testing Levy and the clubs resolve, possibly knowing deep down it was a long shot but giving it a go regardless - be it for a transfer or further improved wages (worked with Rooney). I guess had Chelsea bid £40M from the off, we might have found ourselves in a different position today. But they only bid a laughable £22M. Proving I guess that their ambition hardly matches Modric’s, if they don’t rate him highly enough to pay his worth.

To repeat what I said in my previous blogs, Levy’s devastating hand to face statement is one that allows zero wriggle room to go back on his word that the player is not for sell at any price (in addition to Luka’s comment that he would not hand in a transfer request). Levy knows the move is fantasy and I don’t blame him for taking advantage of this. He’s made sure he gets maximum impact out of making a mockery of the Chelsea bid. Flexing muscles for all to see. Using the ilk of language that shows off his strength in refusing to buckle.

Luka/agent/Joorabchian might want something else out of all this but they’ll have to wait another season at the very least.

It's been theatrical from all concerned. More so once the Luka statement is released. Because regardless of what he says in terms of appeasing the disgruntled and disappointed Spurs fans, it’s all been akin to a father taking a belt to his rebellious son to then have said son return from his bedroom after reflecting on his behaviour and apologise to the family for being out of line.

He was never going to get away with it.

Redknapp

Some general musings and observations from today.

Sky Sports News constantly running the 'Luka Modric wants to leave Spurs' story then breaking the Daniel Levy statement response and then still continuing to run the original story like it was completely irrelevant that the club had shut up shop over any possible transfer.

Harry Redknapp on TalkSport. Never listen to this station (I guess only idiots do) but tend to look for relevant interviews or sound bites when told to do so and our gaffer post-Levy statement gave one of his routine interviews to the station.

Read this article for a general overview.

Do you think he makes it clear enough that it's Daniel Levy's promise that the player will not be sold?

He's relentless with it. Okay, so Levy does have the power to buy and sell but once more Harry hardly endears himself with his disassociation tactics. Seems hellbent to get the message across that if anything hits the fan it's not going to projectile from his backside. It will be Daniel in urgent need of Imodium.

But then it's no great surprise. Harry looks after Harry. He's hardly one to talk about loyalty. But clearly his agenda is to always come out smelling of roses so in case you've not quite grasped it: IF MODRIC IS SOLD, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HARRY.

@fizzyswizzle

Daniel Wynne of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust was also on TalkSport and mentioned how he believes Harry should be more positive about the club when speaking to the media. The same Harry that uses 'them' when referring to us? Disassociation tactics, invisible divide...no matter how you wish to describe it that's how he operates. At least that's how he began to operate last season when the pressure was on. Said it many times, he does great PR that will always appease his pals in the press but he can't quite master the relationship with the fans when things get a little pricky.

I agree with Wynne, Harry needs to be far more positive. But to do so he has to be consistent. I lost count of the times last season when we were in the race and out the race according to Harry. He don't half contradict. He talks like a consultant to THFC rather than our manager (to quote a nail on the head tweet). Perhaps that's all he is. Steady the shape, get us into prime condition for a younger more long term appointment post-2012.

Probably doesn't really matter what Harry says as long as he gets his message across clearly in the dressing room. He loves to have a word on camera, in a mic, so he's hardly ever going to shut up. So he'll continue to churn out the sound bites. Harry should have kept it short and sweet today.

Alas, just roll with the punches.

Love him or hate him, he's worked wonders for us. He has a chance to do so again this up and coming season.

Modric. Again.

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.

Tottenham's Got Talent and the Daniel Levy connection

For reasons which will become obvious, I can't reveal my full identity.  But let me just say that, I am involved with Tottenham Hotspur and have many years experience within the football industry, at clubs and for sporting agencies.   My work involves close liaison with Daniel Levy’s ENIC (that’s the English National Investment Company) and, as a result, I have seen what goes on from the inside and this has left me increasingly uncomfortable about the integrity of Tottenham and particularly the workings of their chairman.

It's long been known that there is quite a degree of "wheeling and dealing" at White Hart Lane (You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5fwFba59lQ )  But press reports on "wheeling and dealing" are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to  ENIC’s manipulation of, not only potential transfer targets and the fans expectations, but also the media and hopefully, in this email, I can shine some light on the smoke and mirrors trickery of Levy.

Take the last transfer window as an example. Shambolic you’d think? No. It was expertly planned right down to the finest detail, nothing was opportunistic or desperate, everything was staged. Spurs purposely waited until the last hour to bid for Charlie Adam because they knew it would fail but at least the endeavour would gain press coverage, allowing Redknapp to perpetuate a ‘hard nights work’.

In the previous one, they were always going to sign van der Vaart. The player did not become available last second. Levy know a forward would propel Spurs into the top four, so avoided this and signed a midfielder which would generate excitement but also limit the team and confuse tactics.

It's no big secret amongst the fans that Spurs have been looking for a centre forward who could crack the top four push again, particularly in and around the penalty box.  At least that’s the illusion Levy has created to appease the hungry Tottenham faithful. The reality is, there were no true targets, just frivolous bidding and political statements where everyone pretended Spurs were busy trailblazing across La Liga bidding for anyone with two legs and an eye for goal when in reality Spanish club presidents gained kudos for rejecting bids for their star players. It was all pre-planned and agreed. A gentleman’s agreement.

So far in the history of Levy and Harry Redknapp, no one has ever signed who has not been a "buy then sell at profit" signing, and it does sadden me that, all those thousands of linked players, lining up via message board ITK threads, often behind a members only error message, are basically wasting their time. 

The directors at Spurs are not looking for the talented players, they already have those. The reality is that the producers are hunting out oddities, freaks and, I'm ashamed to say, mentally ill people, to act as amusing fillers on News Now. They are nothing more than made up transfer targets and they don't even qualify for medicals and work permits! 

It's quite disgusting and shameful really, how the board and Levy operate.  People come from all over the country, often at great personal expense, standing outside the Lodge waiting to see a major signing because they think Tottenham is a talented team missing one or two key signings that would stand them a chance of realising their dreams. 

I can tell you from the inside that Spurs is no more a "contender", than I am an astronaut.  Nothing is left to chance at Spurs, everything is micro-managed, choreographed, manipulated and planned down to the last detail including, the chaotic deadline day transfer madness and average obvious signings that can sometimes prove disruptive or warrant scratching of the head. Recent South African signings for example are simply there to aid the clubs promotion and awareness in Africa.

The ability to manipulate Sky Sports News opinion is vital if you are to control fees and indeed get the required transfer value for a player and an agreeable donation to the Tottenham Foundation. Levy sees this as essential to the success of the club and are very open about fact; signing and selling players of quality is impossible for an investment company if it purely looks to retain them and not sell them on for profit the moment their value doubles. if it was purely left to the fans, as Harry recently said  "They’re idiots".  Everything at Spurs is geared towards telling you who you we should be signing with misinformation and planted sound-bites with the media and sports writers, particularly via Harry Redknapp who acts as the protagonist for the chess game Levy is playing.  It's an art really, which they have honed to perfection and Spurs are now world leaders at.

The micro-management of Dimitar Berbatov’s transfer was incredible.  I was really quite shocked at how the club let him go up to talk to City when he was always going to be picked up at the airport by Utd.  From a starting point of wanting Berba sold, Levy had totally screwed Fergie in the process to the tune of £30M. But it looked like it was Utd and Berba controlling the destiny of the Bulgarian. Levy looks like he put up a gallant fight and looks better for it when he lets us know the money the club have received for the player. But what did we get in return? Frazier Campbell. Levy hardly interested in plugging the hole that was left. Money earned, job done.

In the present, as a footballer on the flanks, Gareth Bale has a relatively short shelf-life.   Levy knew he was going to have to hit the ground running to maximise Bale’s transfer potential, particularly if they go ahead with a planned sale to La Liga or Italy.

If you think Bale was bad during that run of games when Spurs failed to win with him in the side, you haven't got a clue.  With an "anything goes" attitude all morals have long since gone out of the window.  There  was no allowance for Bale’s age and he was expected to perform before he got injured which he did, rising hopes for his return. When he did, they then strategically played him in games that Spurs would possibly fail to win in order to generate negative hype around the player being jinxed, building up a body of disgruntlement. Then they pretended to offer him out on loan to other clubs, waiting patiently for BAE to get injured and then start Bale, first at left-back then left-wing. They always knew he would be a star, and this way it was rags to riches with an impact that has left the Welshman with a £30M+ valuation. The story its self, worth its weight in gold.

And if he gets exhausted, there's always some other youthful player in the Championship to pluck from a team right under their nose. I've seen it a million times.

Of course, once Bale’s pace goes, it's game-over and he will be commercially redundant for a few years until he re-signs for Spurs as a player in his mid-30s.  By the time he gets through that, the world will have moved on and his  fan-base will have moved onto the next big thing.  Will he make a successful comeback?  In my experience I'd say probably not. Because before Bale’s pace goes, he’ll have been sold to Man Utd or City. His return to Spurs will be nothing more than a sham, a player on his last legs earning a few more dollars.

I've also met Luka Modric privately a few times over the past couple of years.  He's a really nice bloke with a generous, warm personality and the most wonderfully cute, girlie-giggle.  There's nothing to not like about Luka.  He's a really sensitive soul and this comes across as him being a bit effeminate.  But in a world of thuggish chavs, Luka’s a real breath of fresh air really and a real delight to chat to.  Do I think Luka is gay?  No, is the short answer to that. Levy and Redknapp have got a lot to answer for in their initial styling and image for Luka

Like many Spurs midfielders,  Luka may have issues in coming to terms with sometimes having to play alongside Jermaine Jenas but in a year or so he’ll also be sold to Man Utd.  But right now, he's just a great midfielder...a bit different, I admit with the hair and the dainty baby elf type frame ...but a great lad just the same.

I hope Luka and Bale are not damaged by Redknapp’s tactical and formational shuffles geared to keep Spurs from a permanent spot in the top four, fortunately, history warns otherwise...but whatever, the genie is already out of the bottle and come this summer or next, their lives will change  forever.  Whether it's a good or bad experience being a superb player at Spurs in this day and age, only time will tell.  But as an football insider I have serious reservations about what is  about to happen at White Hart Lane and I doubt the home fans are ready for what's coming.

Thanks to my friends on Twitter and Facebook for getting this email out.  Without you my voice would be silent.

** If you want to help expose the lie which is Tottenham Hotspur FC and ENIC, please feel free to republish this article or post a link to it**

Anon
THFC

Chairman's message...redux

You'll have read it here. Would be rude not to respond.

Dear Supporter

I write this today ahead of knowing whether or not we have qualified for European football for next season and ahead of a final day of fixtures that will settle key positions for so many teams - such has been the intense competitiveness of this season's Premier League.

Can not disagree, it has been intense. Although not to the standard of last season which involved far more sustained tenacity from the top tier clubs, including ourselves in what was an epic backs to walls fight to claim a top four position. The Premier League has been competitive from top to bottom, but at times also limp and lacklustre. It seems the sides that dug that little bit deeper got that little bit more out of their season.

Harry and his coaching staff have worked with the squad to deliver performances during the season that fans will remember for years to come.

You can be critical of Harry much like you could pin point weakness in any other top class coach in England but when he's achieved something tangible, it's best not whispered. It's unfair to just highlight what you might persist to be his failings when not balancing them out with the positives. He's not meant to be tactically astute to the point of genius, but on more than one occasion he's out foxed the opposition and the players have stood proud and accomplished at the final whistle. Inter at home (dismantled), Milan away (out-Meelaned). The turnaround at the Emirates (half-time battle cry and shift of tempo - although, sure, why can't we start games like that more often?).

We can on our day (cliché) compete with the best. Inconsistency has been the flaw in games where perhaps expectations were not on the same level of intensity and glamour as those bigger occasions.

This season we experienced our first venture in the Champions League and it was one which saw us reach the Quarter Final stage. We achieved this playing some of the most entertaining and exciting football of the competition - truly memorable performances.

We shall miss and all be disappointed at not qualifying for the Champions League for a subsequent year, but I know that the players will be fully focussed next season on returning us to this elite competition.

Our performances in the Premier League have provided great entertainment for supporters too. This season we scored our 1000th goal in the Premier League - a goal which was also Jermain Defoe's 100th goal for the Club - and we recorded wins away at Arsenal and Liverpool, our first wins there since 1993.

Again, kudos to all involved. Manager and players. We made the type of impact in the Champions League that only Tottenham Hotspur could. From the ridiculous to the sublime, there wasn't a moments pause for normality. As a learning curve it was positively unmissable. We made the group stages sexy. Redknapp and the players, take a bow. Some of those memories are practically iconic already. Don't pretend the hairs on the back of your neck don't stand when you re-watch footage.

It's also good to see the chairman reiterate the clubs ambition (what other direction could we possibly take?) in competing for a return to the CL during the course of next seasons league campaign.

Hoodoos smashed by Redknapp? In the time he's spent at the club our mentality against the bigger sides has never been so good. The nightmare of the the 1990s finally banished into the very dark corners of my mind. Whether he is interim or not, we have to remain and look to better our 'position' from one season to the next allowing for minimal fuss when he does decide to leave. The handover has to be clean and crisp.

We have spent years and hundreds of millions of pounds investing in our First Team squad and in creating a settled team. Having quality players means they automatically attract attention from other clubs - but I can assure you that we have no reason to sell, and every intention of retaining, our key players. We shall simply not entertain any approaches for these players.

Reading between the lines, he'll accept any bids as long as a generous donation is made to the Tottenham Foundation. I jest. Yes, we've spent years and hundreds of millions but those years and those millions have hardly gone into creating a settled team. Our recent stability is a consequence and end result of the mistakes and struggle to find consistency off the pitch as well as on it.

Levy, never someone who claimed to be a footballing man, thought he was doing the right thing with the DoF system and believed in the people who advised him. Sadly, no matter how we attempted to go about our business we had fallen so far behind the Sky Sports Top Four that even when we did get our **** together it was still very difficult to even attempt to break the monopoly. Time and it's degrading powers has helped us catch up, but also the realisation that going back to basics (no DoF) without the in-house politics has settled the team and allowed for the foundation to achieve targets that were beyond us for so long.

The end result was the realisation that the former system was not working.

As for selling our top players? It will send out a defeatist message. We all know how football works and if any one player (any top player we have under contract) decides his future is away from WHL, then I hope Levy takes the buying club to the cleaners in terms of transfer fee. I don't want a player who isn't 100% focused on Tottenham.

We're an attractive proposition and we have to remain one. Levy sees this as good business sense as well as good footballing sense (both of which drive each other forwards). If we add to this team and do so well, we'll be up amongst it again.

We do, however, currently have one of the largest squads in the Premier League and, given the 25 man squad rule, it is no longer practical to retain players who are unlikely to qualify within that limit. We shall, therefore, look to reduce the number of these players during the coming summer transfer window in order to operate both effectively and efficiently.

I referenced this in the last blog. Deadwood has to be sold. Loaned players will play a part in our season next year, drafted back to first team training in time for pre-season. Levy and Redknapp have to have a clear plan of action for the summer in terms of players that need to be sold and players that need to be signed. The latter, preferable already decided on in theory so that they can work through the hit list if their top target(s) are unavailable or not interested.

I'm hoping, without any build up or sound bites in public, we sign players out of the blue leaving the ITK's all confused about the lack of inside information leaked. If we approach the start of the season and we've yet to sell certain first teamers who need to be moved on to make way for the players we need - then fire up your webcam, paint your face and turn emo with poems of despair.

Additionally, this season we saw the growth and development of several younger players who have undoubtedly benefited from the combined system of loaning to ensure match time whilst retaining training sessions back at Spurs Lodge. Several of these players will be valuable additions to our First Team next season.

The two Kyles. Danny Rose. The future is bright. And we have Europa League football which means intelligent rotation will benefit all.

We were delighted to see Tottenham Hotspur Ladies top the South East Combination League this season, winning a well-earned promotion to the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division. We shall have the opportunity to applaud them at half-time today as they parade the trophy and we wish them well for next season.

Congrats, but it's not something I follow.

Off the pitch our players have, as always, given their time generously to support the community projects delivered by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, which continues to go from strength to strength. Its added focus is on increasing the employability of individuals of all ages and abilities - a vital role in current times.

Great work again by the club, as you would expect, involved with the local community. I know players are expected to perform such duties but we give a good account of ourselves and hopefully it retains some sense of reality in comparison to their millionaire carefree lifestyle.

We continue to plan for the future growth of the Club. On Friday we took the First Team players and coaching staff to visit the new Training Centre at Enfield. Construction of the main building is well under way and they were able to see the layout and scale of this vast new facility. It is well on course to open in the summer of 2012.

It has taken us six years and three planning applications to achieve and is clear evidence of the determination and ambition of the Club.

We are equally determined and ambitious for a new increased capacity stadium and we shall apply the same energy and vigour in achieving this. We shall look to keep you all updated.

The training centre is a great win for the club. The continued ambiguity and confusion over the OS aftermath and the viability of the NDP is not. At one point this season, it's all we spoke about, dividing fans with pro and anti stances about moving or staying put. Levy cited how he could never comment on some of the politics and movements the club was making during the process due to the nature of the bid and the clubs ambition to build a world class stadium. No doubt this remains protocol whilst we can only guess what Levy's end game is.

The Stratford debate continues whilst the club attempts to push their argument through the courts. I'm not quite grasping the point, but then only Levy knows how best it will help us moving forward.

When the players circle the pitch at the end of the day they will be thanking you for your tremendous support and for the way in which you filled stadia home and away cheering and spurring them on. It has been this combination of team and supporters that has made this season so memorable for us all. Thank you.

I wish you and your families an enjoyable and relaxing summer and look forward to welcoming you back next season.

Yours, Daniel.

I'll relax and enjoy the summer based on criteria concerning decisive transfer window action.

Concluding comment? 

I guess as a  collective we are probably struggling a touch to come to terms with the ambitions that we believe (should) match our progression. Which is why some look at 5th as failure when it's probably more important to see us anchoring ourselves to the top tier of the league.

It's the fact that everyone (Levy, Harry and fans) know that deep down we could have had more this season. We've only got what we've deserved based on the results, and its a shared responsibility for chairman and manager to fix the issues at hand and for us to support the club in doing so. We're in good nick and when you do take into account how brutal modern day football and it's expectations are (Chelsea anyone?) and also our recent history with frequent managerial changes, I'm going to just suck up Harry's personality and say (if nothing interferes) he deserves next season in what most believe to be his last with us regardless.

Simply put, we need to be united (we can actually do with beating them, but you get the meaning).

This is as good as it gets

Firstly, frequent readers of this blog, I apologise for the lack of activity this past week in the build up to the season finale. I was brainwashed by the other half and spent most of it with her and the rugrat. Something about the latter celebrating her first birthday. To be honest, regardless of lack of time, I hardly felt inspired to match preview our final game of the season. When thinking 'football', my thoughts were on more pressing matters such as whether we have a decisive strategy with how to deal with the transfer window from opening to closure and if we plan to get our business done and dusted long before pre-season with viable targets already listed and targeted internally. Yes, I have my mind on science-fiction and my body is about to be frozen with the aid of cryogenics to allow for a more comfortable summer.

Okay, so 2-1. Pav with a couple of scorchers.

A game that spent most of the first half with no bite, like a sleeping lion. Plenty of teeth, just not on show. Livened up a little second half but mostly because of the Survival Sunday musical chairs playing out across the country. We performed with persistence considering this game was hardly do or die for us but we didn't quite brush the visitors aside where it mattered (in front of goal). Birmingham were plucky in pockets of play but without possession and without a Pavlyuchenko. In the end, Liverpool lost to Villa so 5th was secured regardless of Roman hammering the final nail into the coffin of Birmingham's Premier league life. Their fate sealed elsewhere on this day, Death lingering with his scythe, teasing the afternoon away.

The match doesn't warrant an in-depth analysis. Tag me with the lazy label. It doesn't mainly because it felt like an afterthought on this; Tottenham's finest ever season. Hey, don't take my word for it, just take the words of our gaffer. Go ahead and pick any words you want.

"This is as good as it gets"
"They're idiots"
"What do they expect?"
"Won't get any better"
"Anyone who has got any brains and understands will know it's been an amazing season"
"Go and support someone else if you don't enjoy it"

Redknappology at it's finest. I'll come back to ' finest ever season' and other discussion points in future blogs. As for Harry...

It's no longer about the cluster of contradictions. No point reminding him of when he talked us up as title contenders which probably followed a comment about how it would be impossible to finish top four again because nobody else will point it out. Sports presenters will probably just laugh with him when they repeat his rant on tv or radio. Good olde Harry, he's socking it to 'em. Let's play the video/audio every half hour.

He's reactive to whatever is happening at the time and is usually happy to share safe and media-friendly assessments and vibrant self-preserving pats on back for himself and all his friends within the game unless there is something eating away at him. When there is eating we are treated to body-shots of sarcasm and petulance. A glimpse of his true feelings. You can only play ball with my ball because I'm letting you play ball with it.

Crouchie responding to a fans request for a strand of his hair

Let's send him to QPR next season

This isn't another slice of some 'lets all hate on Harry' propaganda. The actual crux of the problem, the reason why people (that's Tottenham fans regardless of whether they pick up the phone and dial up a phone-in show - which by the way, if idiots call up to complain via this method of communication it's ironic how it's the same method of communication Harry uses from time to time to hype up his portfolio) are unhappy is because of his body language oozing vanity and ego whilst spitting out disrespectful snides.

He's upset at the idea that any one would possibly dare to criticise him. Perhaps humility is a commodity he hasn't quite grasped can work in his favour, even if his underlying agenda (self-preservation) remains the same. We don't have to know we are being fooled. He doesn't have to comment on anything and everything and end up drowning in all the rhetoric.

Harry is deeply lost in his tapestry of talk like a badly organised Inception where he can no longer tell what level of the dream state he's in. But it doesn't matter because his media chums will not question the lack of continuity. What is birthed from this is Harry + tabloid story versus the ungrateful impatient fans. Makes us look fickle. We can do that just fine thank you very much without any additional help.

He cites the great Champions League adventure (which it was always going to be) and our wins at the Emirates and Anfield and against Inter and AC Milan. All great moments in terms of how much this side has progressed under his guidance (be it at the same standard of last season rather than a massive improvement).

Now perhaps another manager might actually brush it all off and say something along the lines of, "We've had some highlights this season, learnt one or two things. We're growing, progressing...but winning at places like Arsenal and Liverpool...this shouldn't be seen as anything other than what is expected. If this club wants to be top four or better we have to always look to win away to other 'top four' clubs. We've done well, it's a learning curve...but it's hardly worthy of being showered by an ice bucket".

In other words: Under play it. But that's not his methodology. He is far too involved with making sure nobody has missed the point: It's because of him if the because is something to sing about.

I have no idea if behind closed doors Harry does under play what he says in public. That behind closed doors he outlines the disappointments and how we have to look to improve further. Perhaps we believe what we see is what we're getting when in fact it's not and there's more than the one dimension. But considering the history Harry has with referencing players in post-match interviews, I doubt it. He's so wrapped up in himself he can't even contemplate genuine mind games of the ilk that would appease the Spurs fans who dislike his ways. For all the talk of his great PR skills he hardly displays them where it matters most.

Simply put, there are no other dimensions.

It's pretty much like if they cast Michael Caine to portray Jose Mourinho in a movie and Caine based his performance on post-match videos of Harry Redknapp. It makes no sense.

Harry is Harry. He does what he does. Deflect, protect and blame. He's obviously not a Jose and it's unfair to compare of course, but it's worth reflecting on the fact that with Jose it's Jose + the fans versus the world. A brand of unity that binds the manager and team with the fans unequivocally. We have a far more fragmented variant.

Harry doesn't play off the media in any clever way He just uses it as means to make sure he has his back covered. We knew this from before, it's no shocker. Still, anyone would think he was fighting for his life the way he was soundbiting our 'amazing' (it's the new triffic) season.

There is no need for him to be so defensive. Someone like Martin Jol, say in another hypothetical, would be quite apologetic when looking back at the season we've just had if he was the manager. But still carry a hefty weight of pride with his words that would warm the cockles of the listening Lilywhites. Even if he also carried the extra weight of responsibility for the failings that saw us fall short of another top four placement.

Redknapp prefers to simply remind us of how improved we are as a team and how all the positives are because of Redknapp. Of course they are, he's the manager. Everything the team does on the pitch is down to him. The good and the bad.

There is no need for him to be so defensive unless he can only be so because he can't fathom the reality of anyone daring to question what he knows was a disappointing end to the season (3 wins in 15 if my maths is right). That's not being ungrateful, citing such stats. They are worthy of discussion. United have won the title by accumulating 68% of all their points at Old Trafford. We've only lost the once at home all season in the Prem. Turn some of those draws into wins, and my God, he'd be banging on the door of the Buckingham Palace requesting a knighthood right about now.

THFC remains on the up. It's good to have the problems rather than sat in mid table. We should not be in a position of fragmentation regarding the relationship of manager and fans.

We've not had it so good?

There's more than an element of ample truth in that statement. It was however hardly delivered with a loving touch. And perhaps he meant across the two seasons, although he clearly stated this season to be better than the last. It's all relative. By definition this season might be deemed more memorable and the better of the two because of the CL adventure. In the grand scheme of things we've simply retained a level of consistency meaning we are in the position to challenge again within what is the most competitive top tier of any league in world football. We could have done better, it's a fine line and all that.

So yes, we are grateful and we're more than content that this club of ours finally has some stability on the pitch. We can look forward to being in the thick of it, from one season to the next. We can compete, we've proven that. So Harry should be taking that onwards rather than dwelling on any feedback or opinion (which is our God given right) as being some form of dagger to the heart.

It's all getting slightly embarrassing now. The post-match interview with Sky Sports was ugly.

Harry - I'm no longer certain it's us that you need to be constantly reminding we haven't had it so good. You've never had it so good. That huddle in the middle of the pitch that galvanises our players and stirs up emotion from the fans before kick-off. Get in amongst it.

COYS.

Images taken from Facebook via Daniel Nash (Crouch and his disagreement with a fan) and Twitter (Keano banner via @BurkosBox).

Original creators of Keane banner are Dan and Ben from Bedford. Clicky here.