I want Real Madrid

Champions League quarter-finals. Choke on that one.

To continue in the spirit of all things Glory Glory I'd rather not draw any of the bland teams that remain in the competition. By bland, I don't mean to be disrespectful to the likes of Schalke and Shakhtar. Even though you might actually fancy us to get past both of them as long as we scored away from home. Although neither are ties I would look forward to. I guess the fear here would be failure to progress against a less glamorous club.

Inter - been there dismantled that. Possibly a dangerous tie to play what with their renewed confidence and thoughts of revenge. Bored of the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. Can you even believe we'd ever think that?

What of Manchester United and Chelsea? English clubs. That's reason enough to avoid them in this débutante Champions League season of ours. I'd rather continue with the glitz and glam, what with the unnerving possibility that we might not be back next season (we will be IMO) but for the sake of the present day - I wouldn't want to look back with regret that we could have played 'X' team in the quarters and instead got a team we know very well from domestic duties.

United have a hex over us. Chelsea are hardly dead, just sleeping. It would be a massive anti-climax for us to go out to either of them. I'd rather be spanked silly by Barcelona. Which is why in my wildest dreams we don't play them until the semi-finals (look, I did cite wildest dreams there so enough with the thoughts of delusions).

In a suicidal way I'd love us to play Barca. I'd hardly be gutted about it. This is Spurs, eternal strugglers for the Top 4, finally making it to the promised land. Why would any supporter not want to see us go toe to toe with the best club side in recent memory, possibly one of the finest footballing sides ever?

What's that? 10-0 to the Catalans you say? Would Barca release a DVD?

A Glory Glory night under the floodlights in deepest North London hosting a tie against the Spanish champions and their assortment of World Cup winners and the best player in the world or Manchester United with Howard Webb?

Exactly. So back to that wild dream, and a visit to the Camp Nou in the semi-final.

So that leaves us (me) with one team to face in the quarter-final. That other club from Spain. The also-rans of La Liga. Jose and Ronaldo. One or two other half-decent players in their squad too. The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The White Storm v The Lilywhites. Fantasy football, right? Up against a team that plays in all white against a team that plays in all white in Europe. Now that would be glamour. A clash of attack in Madrid and London.

Now in a pragmatic universe, you'd probably want Schalke in the QF's and a hard fought win over two legs. You would really not care who we played after that point. The objective being one of statement of progression.

In my universe, I'm floating on top of a sea of romantic notions and the best possible next chapter in this fantastical journey. It's not about the stage of the competition, it's about the quality of the competition.

Deep down, it probably really doesn't matter, does it? We're in the quarter-finals. It's the end game. It's where the standard of football goes up a notch so mistakes become more punishable teams are more ruthless and cunning. And offensively you can't afford to dither and hoof. We've gone further than most expected. There is no failure from aiming high. So we may as well. All we require from the team is that same spirit, belief and guile that finds us where we currently stand tall.

It's with the Gods now. I pray the balls in the pot are not too warm.

Second leg at home please.

Really Mad is our Wilson

Palacios to Madrid? It's an exclusive apparently, with The Sun running the story that Wilson would one day like to play for Real Madrid. And one day I'd like to return to the white island, Ibiza, and dance my arse off on the terrace at Space (although ideally would prefer to be part of the chemical casualty mess that is/was DC10). But that's not going to happen because DC10 has shut-down thanks to the corrupt police force and government. But that doesn't mean I won't return to Ibiza. I'm sure I will. Just wont be able to go exactly where I want because the choice won't be available to me. Much like Wilson probably won't join Madrid, but might end up at another club that plays CL consistently.

Look, let's be honest here. If he rediscovers the form he had prior to the death of his brother, someone bigger will attempt to pluck him from our grasp. It always happens. It's big fish eat little fish. On current form, and believe me he is imperative to our backbone, he's Premier League class, international class but not world class. Not to say Madrid don't sign their fair share of not-great players, but at the moment we can sleep peacefully about it. He won't  be moving on anytime soon.

He's ambitious. He obviously has much self-belief and it's a shame not all our players think the same way because then the collective eagerness to be better might pull the whole club forwards. And if we move forwards, enough to finish 4th, then Wilson wouldn't have to move.

The Sun have lifted the quotes from this interview here.

And in fact (thanks to a part translation from Cule-Spur), Wilson actually states the following:

"I'll keep working hard so that I'll soon have the possibility of playing for a bigger club."

Which is probably more worrying (if you're that way inclined) than the quote from the tabloid that reads as follows:

"I am really happy at Tottenham but I will continue working for a future move to a bigger club"

If anyone can translate the interview in full, please do. Other bits translated - from Cule-Spur - include Wilson talking about the anger he felt after his performance against Arsenal earlier in the season. He states he would love to play for Real Madrid (no shocker) and before you crucify the guy, he does say that he's never thought about playing for a bigger English club because he's very happy at Spurs.

Obviously, without question, if any player at the club no longer wants to be at the club, then show them the door. If the time comes, then take the pin and move it slowly towards the effigy. It does make me shake my head though how footballers don't stop to think how their comments might be perceived and latched onto and then possibly have their quotes distorted (not that they have in this case) and cause an ever so slight air of despondency. All quite unnecessary really.

Wilson - you play for Spurs. Talk up Spurs.

But regardless of all this non-eventfulness, sing up for The Panther and the team. Don't let the bed-bugs bite. This will be forgotten about tomorrow.

Sandro to Madrid?

Sandro to Real Madrid? €15 million bid. Pre-contract signed. Internacional haven't (apparently) accepted the bid officially yet but legal documents have been drafted and placed into motion.

I'm not ITK.

I just have nothing much to post at 23:43pm and noticed someone left some gossip on the blog about this potential transfer which I've only just noticed. Would be quite funny (ironic) if the above happened, considering the alleged effort to sign the lad and our supposed 'relationship' with the Brazilian club.

Not all is lost. No doubt Zokora has a buy-back option in his contract if we fail to find another available defensive midfielder this coming summer window.

If anyone spots anything that either confirms or contradicts this (Sandro, not Zokora) then feel free to share.

Transfer shenanigans

Sabastien Bassong to Spurs. Medical passed. Only a matter of time. £8M for a relegated defender. Look away now if stats scare you. Newcastle were better off without him in the side as they lost more and conceded more when he played. Add to it his record at Metz before signing for the Toon (22 games, Metz lost 14, drew 7and won 1 – two of those draws were achieve whilst Bassong went off injured due to injury). But we all know stats are misleading. Look at Darren Bent, great scoring ratio, but you won’t find a player more maligned. Bassong stood out in a very poor team, that mostly failed to match his determination. But at the same time, an inanimate carbon rod would have looked good playing for Newcastle last season.

We need a centre-back desperately. Woody is going to be out for a fair bit of time and Daws won’t be available for several weeks. However Bassong will miss the opening game of the season due to a red card offence from last term, so let’s pray King is fit for the big kick-off. Not sure where he fits in once everyone is fit and able to play. He must have been given some assurances over selection, so will be interesting to see what we do with Dawson once he’s available. May well be the case that Woody is out long term and with King’s troubles, there will be plenty of games available for the three of them to get along just fine.

Still, £8M? Wondering how good a prospect Beevers is at Sheffield Wednesday – who wouldn’t cost too much in comparison. Bassong may well prove to be a great signing for us. The stats I quoted above (and the ones SSN are displaying every half and hour) can be ignored. We all know that if you are a decent player surrounded by utter shit, you’re bound to suffer a little, mainly because your team-mates are not on the same level and can't offer support, so you end up having to do more than you should be doing.

£15M Rod bid rejected

We’ve had some defenders here at Spurs go through the same type of thing. King survived it. Gardner didn’t. Still, as discussed several times on this blog and currently cited in one or two message board threads – why does our scouting system not pick up players that would cost a fraction of the £8M? There must be plenty of undiscovered talents out there. We seem to do well picking up academy players and youth players – but when we want to fill a gap in the first team squad, we always go for the obvious.

Still, welcome to the Lane Sabastien. Good luck lad.

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Darren’s a Sunderland player now and he looks rather happy, and as expect he fired a very subtle dig at Spurs (I’ve seen his interview and he isn’t resentful in an obvious way and good luck to him). His dig concerned what goes on behind closed doors:

'There is a lot of politics at Tottenham, but that's Tottenham as a club’

Basically, Bent never believed he would start the next game even if he scored in the previous one. My guess? Probably has to do with Robbie ‘undroppable’ Keane. Rumours of the Irish windmill having a little clause in his contract. I'm sure this myth will be dis-spelled cometh the new season. Unless that's the reason Robbie isn't too happy at the moment. I'll stop now before I drown myself in ITK whispers.

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Talkng of which, a lovely piece of ITK information for you, this concerning Pascal Chimbonda (from rocknroll11 over at GG.co.uk):

Just wanted to put to bed all the random theories that are going round as to why we resigned Chimbo and what a pointless signing it is...

Sunderland never ever paid a penny for Chimbo, they were scheduled to pay after the first season. 6 months in he's obviously unhappy, missing the team bus, pissing off Keane etc... and 6 months in Harry's here thinking we lack a bit of steel and have a very small squad. Levy suggested we could get back Chimbo for nothing... so we went to Sunderland and said if you give him back we'll cancel the outstanding payment you own...

and that's what happened.

Lack of a bit of steel? Really? Still, it’s almost believable, although if true – I’m not sure anyone would have made any money out of the ‘transfer’ back to Spurs which is hard to believe considering the people involved.

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And finally, the dream is over. Klass-Jan Huntelaar is off to AC Milan. Negredo is being linked with a move to Roma. Then again, so is Pav. And it’s all gone quiet on Sissoko. Perhaps having aided Madrid in creating interest for Huntelaar, they’re let us talk to a couple of their players.

Madhamadou Diarra anyone? Gosh, I’m dreaming again.

For the record, he’s not on Madrid’s transfer list. Neither is Gago (who some of you don't rate) but he's a far more likely target if we do plan to look that way.

We could still do with a midfielder. Don't think we're quite finished yet.

Gago and Negredo will do

I see Robben is once more rejecting us publicly to make everyone aware he’d be interested to leave Madrid for another Champions League club. But nobody cares about this regurgitated non-starter. The (hopefully) next piece of action to storm out of the WHL HQ will not concern our never-ending should we or shouldn’t we sign a left-winger conundrum. Harry wants a CM. And Harry might just get one, although I hope that Levy has already done the work in preparation ‘just in case’ the target(s) in question become available. And they’ve probably just have. And Levy has allegedly spent some time chatting with Madrid this summer, so we can only hope.

The big news that might have a desired effect is that Alonso is signing for Real Madrid. No player swaps. Which means that Liverpool (if you go with the whispers from La Liga and one or two other sources) rejected the chance of signing Argentine midfielder Gago and forward Negredo, who was heavily linked a while back with us (the rumour being that Spurs had in principle agreed a deal). The Anfield club preferring straight-up cash could be a blessing.

And with Toulouse pricing out Sissoko (they want a ridiculous amount for him having apparently rejected a £10M bid)  the player has come and said he’s content with life in France. Could be loyalty from the Sissoko to help get the best deal for his club possible or might be a the normal brick-wall.

Whether either of the two Diarra’s are available or not, Gago is obviousl surplus to requirements with Alonso signing, having been initally offered. And Negredo, possibly stalled with a move to Spurs a month or so ago, because Madrid held back to wait and see what Liverpool wanted for their midfield maestro. Which is understandable as the Spanish giant’s priority was completing their Galactico puzzle with the final piece. And now it's done, both Negredo and Gago are up for grabs. Hopefully.

In the meantime, we are continued to be linked with Klass Jan-Huntelaar. Speculation continues that the problem isn’t the price but the wage packet the player wishes to command. Negredo is my preferred choice. He offers something different to KJH who is arguably a more silky Dutch version of young Defoe. Negredo would, I guess, be a substantial upgrade on Robbie Keane.

I guess I’m adding up on my transfer calculator, 2+2, and getting 5. But reading between the lines is all we have to go on.

But I do think, as far as the long running Madrid targets are concerned, Alonso signing today may just prove to be the catalyst.

Hopefully, benefiting us.

Negredo? Let's hope so

I'm still here. Just. Not leaving for another hour and a bit. Thought I'd share this from the resident Real Madrid fan over at Rumourwhores.com who obviously knows his La Liga inside out. This is an assessment of Negredo, who is being heavily linked as a soon-to-be Tottenham signing:

He is damn good. Product of the Real Madrid youth system. Should be good in the Premier League, IMO. Big, powerful guy who can bully defenders, win every header and a decent finisher in front of goal. Scored 13 goals in 07/08, 19 goals last season, that too while playing in a newly promoted team. If he adapts quickly, he will be dynamite.

Big mistake to sell him, IMO. Real Madrid needs a striker like him who offers something different up front. I hope it doesn't happen.

Fingers crossed it does then.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar 'linked' to Spurs

Here we go again. Well, it was bound to happen.

Apparently Levy is flying out to Madrid to negotiate the transfer of the Dutch striker, who Real spent £20M for last season.

Linkage to the story here.

Obviously I'm not dancing a jig of joy for two reasons. This may well be just some continental tabloid guess-work much like the work of the English red tops we laugh at every morning. With Madrid building a new version of the Galacticos there will be plenty of goings to help balance in the comings (ooh). Also, just how good is Klaas? He has hardly been given a chance and has only scored 8 goals in 20 apperances. With Villa on his way from Valencia, he may pushed further out of the running for a starting spot. Is he cut out for the EPL?

Interestingly, this has broken out in the press first rather than the seedy underbelly of a private membership Spurs message board, so lets see how long it takes for our pesky club insiders to update us with the latest on this particular piece of whorage. So no word just yet from the ITK grapevine yet, although many of them still believe Ruud is on his way to the Lane although the suggestions in the tabloids are we are unwilling to fork out 70K + per week. Snag hit there.

Huntelaar will be cheaper wage wise, although the fee will no doubt be steep. He cost Madrid a cool £20M.

Believable factor? I'd say about 70% we are interested or poking around with questions about his availability.

But wasn't he a player targeted by the likes of Manchester United prior to his move to La Liga? Linked to Utd, signs for Madrid, ends up at Tottenham.

Hmm. Believable factor dropping down into the sixties.

I have a 'man' out in Spain who supports the White Storm so have asked him if he knows anything about this and if there are any whispers out in Madrid about the players availability. Will update this blog post after I've spoken to him with any relevant update.

Loving these slow-news days, right? Makes a change to reading yet another 'Cisse to Spurs' headline I guess.

Jenas to Madrid