Special speculation

Five days into the January transfer window and it's started. Rumours, whispers, suggestions. The WBA game and the hectic Xmas and NY period proved more or less the importance of rotation and resting players. We have to be in a position to do that without detrimental effects on the team.

My personal mantra remains the same:

We need to bring in couple of players, ideally though that cover should be competition for the players in the squad already. So we should look to sign quality players that are long term and not just short term. If one of them happens to fit the 'special' bill, then that does me just fine and it will elevate us further forwards. But in terms of reality, that 'special' big name signing doesn't quite fit into the sides dynamics if you consider our current first team if all fit and well.

Midfield wise, we've got star quality. Signing a major player for a key midfield role, it's hardly pragmatic. Although the more astute might point out that Levy did just that with Rafa van der Vaart when he was not the type of player we actually needed at the time. That was supremely opportunistic and it was a risk, one that worked at the time and one that did shift us up a level performance wise.

Up front we have Adebayor. On loan. So if we do sign a striker for plenty of £££ then I'd expect our loanee to return to Eastlands in the summer. Any new signing in this position that is not a young hungry player willing to play second fiddle, will want more game time and although Adebayor is in need or a rest we can't keep him + two other forwards content (not forgetting Pav).

Then there's centre-backs. I've ever so slightly changed my opinion on this. Signing one will give us more than ample cover at the back (with Dawson, Gallas, Kaboul) what with King and his cameos. If any of the aforementioned three pick up knocks (Gallas already has) then its too much of a risk to ignore not signing someone. It will also allow us to play Kaboul at right-back to cover Walker (if Corluka goes or is simply no longer fancied). Not ideal having him deputise at RB, but its an option. It does look congested with that extra CB. So again, it has to be a long term signing if it happens and not simply 'cover'.

edit: not forgetting Bassong. Or forgetting him if you so wish.

I guess, what with our position in the league, we can't hope we muddle through Jan/Feb without any further knocks. Hence the importance of getting in players that will improve the squad in key positions and inspire competition. Again (repeating myself now) its dependent on how much money Daniel Levy is willing to spend this window.

The right-wing can do with some injection of new blood. A three-tier player will do. That's an attacking midfielder that can play wide and either just behind the main forward (van der Vaart role) or further forward. To find such quality though, it's a big ask. Which is why we're being continually linked with Junior Hoilett. But again, Harry might be okay to simply push Rafa out there (which is never a good thing), much like pushing Luka to the right.

Huddlestone has stated he's back 'running' in the next week or so. Sandro is out with a calf injury. Parker is injured (not too seriously) and was in a dire need of a rest prior to that. I feel Harry will stick with Livermore to cover the midfield unless there's a better quality player who can be signed. Rodwell is being linked. It would have to be someone similar. Young, willing to be patient. Because once Parker is 100% and Sandro is fit, then its the midfield's turn to be congested.

I'm not even going to consider the consequences of losing Luka to injury. Or Bale.

Perhaps that special player will do after all.

Check out the monster ITK thread over on the forum. I prefer to stay clear of it, but you might want to keep track of all the tittle tattle.

Listen out for the latest episode of The Fighting Cock podcast where we discuss the Jan transfer window. Available on Friday via itunes and on the FC website.

Ideal targets?

I wrote the linked article below a few weeks back and if you've read my last blog you'll note I've change my mind in terms of transfer target expectancy (especially with the centre-back position).

Click on the above image to see the article. I'm being a little wishful with two of the three ideal transfer targets. Although I still firmly believe we need cover for the flank and a forward. Just don't think we'll be looking at tens of millions of pounds in new signatures.

Sweepstake time. Name three potential signings this window (limit it to three targets otherwise you'll be as bad as any ITK sharing inside info).

The winner gets to gloat.

The window is open. Can you not feel the draft?

So it’s already started. The rumours and whispers  and the regurgitated transfer ramblings. The window is open. If only we could all jump out of it. Doesn’t quite work like that though and as I sit here ever so slightly on the edge of hypocrisy ,as much as I enjoy laughing at the media/Harry Redknapp and the ITK community, I obviously (deep down) don’t mind it as it tends to elevate an otherwise distracting month of irreverent chit chat. We all live in hope Jim White’s head WILL explode. One day, soon.

Mathematicians will obviously point to the fact that there is only a small group of high profile players that we’d potentially be able to sign. The unknown quantity are scouted players completely under the radar which usually don’t get highlighted by those privy to inside info because they don’t truly have access to said info. It’s far easier to suggest signing someone ‘famous’ especially someone who has been linked before. You know how it works. It’s the same formula the back page tabloids enjoy printing.

Once in a while, sure, someone does get it right. Mostly when the deal has practically been concluded and Levy and co can’t stop info from being leaked and hardly care at that point in time. Usually know, no one has a clue until the club tells us. So we populate the time with all the fun and games, the playa hating and the name calling.

I won’t be copying and pasting info this time. It’s out there, it’s easy to find and considering how disparaging I can be towards all the worshipping and the God complex that’s synonymous with it I’m hardly going to share cheap headlines just for the traffic when the info is pretty much irrelevant until said player is paraded in Lilywhite.

So instead I’m going to make logical predictions (will leave the names blank for you lot to discuss) based on nothing more than hope.

We’ve been obsessed with centre-backs. Cahill could have signed for us in the last window. Samba is always a popular and obvious player that gets linked. But then when you note the return of Dawson and add Kaboul, Gallas and the part-time King to the list you start considering the possibility that no new defensive rock will join this window. Perhaps in the next one when Gallas (probably) departs and question marks remain with Ledley’s longevity. Then there’s Caulker, the one for the future that might be part of the first team next season depending on who the manager is at the start of 2013.

It’s more likely that defenders will leave, although we half expected that last time out and it didn’t happen. Bassong probably needs to escape for his own sanity. Corluka? We have to hold onto to cover the right-back position otherwise if Walker is out for x amount of time then Kaboul will have to deputise there and depending on our centre-back situation it could get messy.

The philosophy here ideally should be think long term because long term will aid the short term. Economically (finances and squad size) I’m unclear how Levy plans to work this what with Redknapp’s future uncertain depending on how much you read into outside of Spurs distractions. Hopefully the chairman will appreciate we’re in a position where we need to consolidate and leave nothing to risk, what with the opportunity we find presented to us (top 3, game in hand, potential to push on further).

The midfield is key. Outside of transfers, Harry has to make sure he doesn’t burn out the likes of Parker. We’ve had to adapt and mix it up with the formation in recent games. With Kranjcar out in the cold and Lennon injured (on way back) either we start using Niko (even as an impact sub) or we look to bring in someone young, hungry and happy to play patiently as cover for the flanks. That’s either going to be someone in the Prem from a mid-table to bottom side that’s impressed thus far this season or a player from the continent that perhaps will escape the newsfeeds until it actually happens. Can you think of any high profile players you’d want? Considering high-profile might equate to Lennon ending up as the cover.

Pienaar doesn’t appear to be fancied much (where does he play exactly?). How Giovani remains perpetually linked to a move away without every appearing to make that move possible, irks me. Townsend has gone to Leeds on loan, so you hope there’s more than a suggestion that the club are not going to ‘wing it’ where this is concerned and cross their fingers. We can all see the detrimental impact of not having Lennon available to us. Although it’s allowed us to re-shape and work towards a tangible plan b.

The forward conundrum is far more complex because of the Adebayor loan deal. If we’re going to sign him permanently then money has to be placed aside. I doubt anything will happen in Jan. I hope it doesn’t mainly because it will force the player to continue to work hard (and avoid comfort). Although I’ve been impressed with his words as much as his work ethic (less so for his first touch). Again, politics might mean he doesn’t sign at all and returns to City (then onwards to Italy) in the summer. If Harry is no longer with us, the next man in charge might look elsewhere. Meaning that’s where the big money will be spent.

Pretty much irrelevant from my perspective as a fan though. Harry is the manager, he’s still the manager and we need to be decisive and completely confident in the squad we have post-Jan.

And so begins the second guessing. If the right player *is* available now and that player has the world class about him then regardless of the future, if its right for Spurs he should be signed.

Fact is, we have three forwards. Only one of them gets to play consistently. Pavlyuchenko is the one that needs to leave as he remains surplus and mostly unimpressive. Frustrating, as he’s technically a great finisher but usually a lazy unintelligent individual who doesn’t quite fit in when it matters. Cameos are not enough to retain his services. So based on that, we should be looking for someone to come in. If Levy isn’t willing to spend the masses of millions then much like the flank cover, we’ll look to be shrewd but sign someone with experience (rather than a young player who would be too great a risk, especially if Adebayor got injured).

Knock yourselves out guessing who that player might be. There are several touted ‘big name’ players who fit the bill. One or two less glamorous ones already plying their trade in England. Interestingly we’ve (ITK’s, the media and more importantly the fans) have moved on from waiting for a fully fledged La Liga superstar to sign. We are hardly going to sign someone that will demand to play ahead of Adebayor. Would make little sense.

Those that chose to be critical of Adebayor need to also appreciate he too was a shrewd signing. Experienced Prem player with something to prove. No big fee paid, percentage of wage the only damage. Roman’s ‘departure’ is key here. If he doesn’t leave then can’t see us signing anyone up front. Don’t see how manager and chairman could validate such a move (although it’s more than obvious Harry wants rid of the Russian).

The gaffer cites that ‘special player’. No doubting a goal-scorer would be the ideal special player he’d like to make part of the squad. But then trying to decipher whether this is another deflection sound-bite or Harry letting us know subtly nothing will happen is again...anyone’s guess.

I’ll be made up with a midfielder. Perhaps one that can play wide but also do a job where Rafa plays behind Adebayor – meaning we cover two positions. I’ll be made up if we make it a double signing with a forward to retain a cutting edge if others pick up knocks.

One thing is for certain. Regardless of the necessity we all seem to share in wanting to know what player the club are working towards signing (if any) if it happens it makes no difference if you knew about it before the official announcement.

In an ideal world, we won’t be asking the above questions on the final day of the window because we’ll have concluded our business some time before. We are much more likely to see Sky Sports News reporters interviewing Harry (through his car window) every twenty minutes as he drives in and out of the Lodge car park to get as much air time as possible.

Spurs finally 'sign' a big name striker

Antonio Michael Pedroza Whitham.

What? It's a big name, isn't it? There's four of them and they're bundled together. A mish mash of Mexican and English. For a snappy £1M (insert little finger to corner of mouth).

Done and dusted. Delegation sent over to thrash out the deal. Allegedly. All this according to the Daily Mirror who apparently first 'broke' the story two weeks back. It's obviously true, so kids, save up your money...it's gonna cost your piggy bank to get his name printed on your shirt.

Okay, don't go blaming me for this article, it's gone midnight and I'm only as good as the material I have to work with and considering the ITK community have spent the summer thus far reacting to the press and making sh*t up I'm waiting for one of their esteemed members to lay claim that they saw this one coming to restore my faith in...oh wait, I have no faith in them.

Of course, the alternative is that the Daily Mirror are talking nonsense and this Mexican forward with family based in Cheshire is not on his way to N17. If the Daily Mirror prove themselves to be on the ball then it will officially mean: Daily Mirror > ITK Community

0 goals, 12 games apparently. Oh well.

Wickham, Whitham...not that much of a difference there. Well, apart from several million pounds.

The summer transfer window just keeps on giving.

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.

Spurs are not willing to sell Modric AND Bale

Tottenham will not be entertaining any bids for their key players this summer, news that will disappoint the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea along with dozens of journalists and sports writers across the country.

Luka Modric and Gareth Bale - both on long term contracts will remain at White Hart Lane as the North London club look to reignite their push for a Champions League spot next season.

Dearmrlevy.com understands that chairman Daniel Levy will only sell players considered to be surplus to requirements. The likes of Alan Hutton and Jamie O'Hara, more viable transfer targets for any one looking to spend some cash in N17.

The main focus for the chairman and manager, Henry James 'Harry' Redknapp, is to pin point new recruits with a centre-forward the main goal for the club. Daniel Levy has already reiterated they will not be selling any of their key players and are in a strong position to once more battle for a top four place if they strengthen their squad accordingly.

A source within the walls of White Hart Lane revealed, "I think people are using their hands to count up numbers in the dark rather than a trusted calculator in the light of day. £20M-£25M for a player Spurs paid £16.5M for is laughable considering his form and quality and even more so that Levy would be willing to entertain offers from a Champions League club as though we're sat 10th in the table with no hope of further progression".

The source also stated '...you wouldn't sell someone a twenty pound note for a quid'.

Luka Modric himself recently spoke about his desire to stay, "The fans are amazing, the club is amazing. There are Croatians here. I really do enjoy it here. I’m not missing anything. I think this club can achieve a lot of great things. I think we can challenge for the Premier League and the cups".

Welsh wizard Gareth Bale also pledged his loyalty to the Lilywhites in an Interview with Sky Sports News. But there are suggestions from some quarters that perhaps CGI and audio manipulation were used in both instances by Tottenham to hide the reality that both players are desperate for a move away.

Elsewhere, tabloid newspapers will wait another three days before rehashing the same quotes with additional ambiguity and citing Modric and Bale as £18M targets (value will drop with each exclusive) as they continue to unofficially broker a deal for any Champions League side that might be theoretically interested. Along with Juventus.

Potential replacements for Modric will only cost around £8M because it's the right amount of money to spend when replacing a player that is worth anywhere between £30M - £40M in todays inflated market.

In other news, if Manchester United or Chelsea or Manchester City for that matter do not sign Modric or Bale this summer, they most definitely will the following because Tottenham can't possibly finish back in the top four and retain their key players a second successive summer if they return to Europe's elite competition. That is simply not a viable scenario and we shall not speak of it again.

The Berbatov Hypothetical

Would you?

Some would say it's a little bit like taking back an ex-girlfriend who was cheating on you for a year before she finally walked out. Having completely fallen out of love with her, you let her walk.

The first reflex surrounding this suggested transfer (based on the fact that even though Berbatov has scored plenty of goals this season, he's benched more often than not for key games and went AWOL before yesterday's CL final) concerns the fact that Manchester United might want a little something in return. Guess it depends if they come knocking on our door, offering the Bulgarian as part of a player + cash deal for our little but big time Croatian.

Still on the hypothetical, I would hope Levy scans his private area and faxes it across to Ferguson with love and kisses. If we go knocking on their door (not implausible as seen by the Robbie Keane debacle) it will have to be a strictly 'no player swap' strategy.

There is hardly an argument concerning the players quality, say in comparison to what we need and who we've been linked with. He's better than anything we have. Can he play up front on his own with van der Vaart just behind him? Probably, quite easily. His working relationship with Keane is not too dissimilar in terms of vdV being a player who attacks the penalty area and looks to get on the end of it.

Teddy returned to us from Utd. But Dimi is no Teddy.

He sulked his way out of our club, striking his way to Old Trafford and igniting the beginning of the end for Martin Jol. Not sure too many of our players would be fussed to see him return, regardless of the alleged affect it all had on team morale at the time. All players by their self preservational nature are disloyal. Part and parcel of looking after ones own priorities.

Interestingly, there have always been whispers of this potential deal simply based on the fact he played for us in the past, we are searching for a striker and the relationship between player and manager has been one of an erratic and strained nature. All based on what we see on television and Utd's selection. No 'in the know' has suggested this, but probably will after yesterday so expect plenty of 'we're in talks' snippets to start appearing all over the place shortly.

So would you? Would it still taste as good?

Blink, and you'll miss someone else blink...

Evening.

Carroll bid rejected, ho hum. Remember when Sunderland wanted £25M from us for Jones. And where is Jones now? There's a Bentleyesque risk about it for sure. Although you wouldn’t scoff at say £15M for the Geordie, especially if he got the goals that took us back into 4^th and consolidated another Champions League finish. And we sort of kinda want some consolidation. The running theme since the summer continues its march forwards. Although it’s hardly a march. More of a drunken waddle.

From the outside looking in, you wonder how reactive and chaotic our search for ‘the answer’ is. Do we have a list of players that Levy and Harry agree are viable targets? I reckon so. Are they in agreement that say, player 1 is the priority but player 2 and player 3 will also be good signings. I reckon yes. Are they shifting from one to the other in a constant merry-go-round, flirting with player/agent/opposing club and using in addition using the media to perhaps aid manipulate and work their way to a resolution? Hell yeah. Considering how focused Levy is I doubt there’s much dithering going on behind the scenes. The issue, as frustrating as it appears, can be blamed on circumstance. Mainly, transfer fees and wages and genuine availability (from club and the player). You can't force the issue, especially if others are also playing the waiting game.

If none of the targets we want are going to join for any amount of reasons, then bidding £25M for Carroll might be the only way we can attempt to force some home made consolidation to arrive before the month of February begins. Or, if you like the left-field, Levy is making a bid for a player that Newcastle don’t and won’t sell in order to perhaps send out a message to one of the other targets and the club that currently owns said targets contract.

Last minute deadline day transfer shenanigans can sometimes appear to be frantic opportunistic desperate risks. Equally so, clubs can end up with 3^rd of 4^th choice players. I prefer to think that the links, the connections – they are there and when you get towards the last grain of sand in the hour glass both opposing clubs wait to make a final move, their best interests at heart.

Not to say mistakes don’t happen. Pav being one of them. £14M for one of the most apologetic forwards I’ve ever seen. And we’ve hardly thrown him in at the deep end and asked him to play ten straight games. Proved vital, ironically, last season with some important goals. But the point being – we need someone several ‘levels’ of upgrade above the Russian.

Caveat here: More irony, Pav almost felt like the second prize (player) signed and delivered because the Arshavin transfer never materialised, what with Zenit going loopy with their demands. Sometimes, your number one target ends up being tagged as a lucky escape. There's always an element of risk. You don't ever quite know. But if we spend, would rather a player that's young and has potential but can do a job here and now. Both aforementioned Russians flatter to deceive.

Great movement, good in the air, runs like the wind...cheeky bid?

I wouldn’t believe any statements anyone makes either as we edge closer to end of the month. Especially Harry who (as tehTrunk pointed out) resembles a footballing version of Comical Ali at the minute, constantly contradicting and deflecting. Other clubs are hardly going to welcome us in with ease and agents will always tell their clients to not appear too overly keen and eager.

When a call comes in with a final offer...it’s time to make up your mind. For all concerned. And deals tend to be made far quicker with the deadline in sight. The early part of the month is just teaser.

If Harry is truly sharing with us the truth, it’s an insane amount of transparency (i.e. ‘we can’t afford the wages of certain players etc etc’) so personally, there’s an agenda to all the soundbites. And the chairman is in on it. Just my opinion.

I'm actually disappointed that world football only appears to have four or five available forwards for us to flirt with.

Since the window opened there has been around 5-6 viable transfer targets based on history of prior stories, quotes and windows. I’m sure you’ve all been following the ITK updates as they move from one player to another. Reactive to what is actually being reported elsewhere. One of them is bound to strike lucky at some point. What a mess of love that will turn out to be.

Only piece of ITK I've been told (and asked not to share at the time) turned out to be true, even if the timing of it was off by several hours (and no, I’m not sharing it – it’s happened now so it hardly matters, but out of respect to the person it’s best left alone). The point is, the info was precise, unlike some of our esteemed friends (including the ones that have now retired thanks to the rotten fruit thrown in their direction after one too many tall tales).

Considering the amount of work that goes into transfers (ground work especially) the detail, the granularity of the details these ITK's go into can only possibly be known if they know someone at the club who sits on Levy's lap whilst he phones up chairman of clubs on the continent inquiring about the availability of target(s).

If I was a betting man, I’d wager on another vdV type ‘omg where did that come from?’ signing.

No new blood up front would be disappointing. We never consolidated in 2006 (remember that particular window?). Considering how the Prem is beginning to shape up, both chairman and manager must appreciate what is required to level things out. If we’re discussing it, so are they. And at the end of the day – literally – if something is going to happen, it will do so regardless of whether we know about it hours before.

Speculate to accumulate. We’ve got the money.

So who out there has the testicular fortitude to spearhead our attack?

Anyone?

Beck to the Future

Plenty being discussed about Beckham and I’ve sat on my thoughts (amazing what you can do with a tab of acid) and pondered the various pros and cons and listened and read various opinions on why he should/shouldn’t become part of the Tottenham evolution.

No matter the countless strong arguments for and against this potential loan deal there remains one constant which for me has got stronger and stronger every time I sit and think about the logistics of signing a thirty-five year old on loan for a couple of months. The constant being exactly that. A couple of months. A loan. He’ll arrive, no doubt to the usual media hullabaloo with giddy fans outside WHL telling the Sky cameras they have no time to chat as they run towards the massive queue outside the Spurs Shop salivating at the prospect of ‘Beckham’ printed on the back of the home shirt and to also get their hands on the specially released official dvd – ‘Beckham: The Medical and Press Conference’.

Regardless of whether you believe in ‘the circus’ that follows him around, cameras always on him before anyone else, if he does accept the invitation and if LA Galaxy give their approval – it’s as short term as it can possibly get. Hello, how you doing, goodbye. That’s about six hundred flicks of the hair, two thousand moody stares from the bench and at least six and half thousand smiles. Or in relative terms, two months or so, a few cameos, the odd start, a free-kick or two and hours upon hours of hard training and chats and hugs with the squad.

It’s that constant again. Two months.

I don’t see the point in dissecting this in any great detail. We know Beckham is past his prime. We know (if played often) he’d be far more effective in Italy where the football caters for the older generation of footballers or the MLS where the football caters for the.'.yadda yadda yadda.

We know Tottenham play counter-attacking football, at speed, and that his role at Spurs will probably be more about his presence on the training ground and as a very astute deflection of attention away from the players who might start finding the pressure pressing down on them in the coming weeks.

We also know that he will play a part at some point, otherwise - for the sake of commercial reasons and coaching (tips and hints etc) it’s hardly worth all the effort if Harry doesn’t have reason to use Becks out on the battlefield. As reinforcement. Perhaps as a calming influence in the latter stages of a game.

So that’s it really. No need for dramatics. It’s a loan. For two months. As long as we do sign players we actually need as part of the Harry/Levy blueprint for the now and future (i.e. world class forward, another midfielder) then having David Beckham at the club is hardly going to be detrimental. If people actually believe we'll drop Lennon and change the whole system to accommodate him, you need your head checking.

We should all know in under 48 hours. Probably.

As for transfer news – Graham Hunter has been at it with some ITK suggesting Llorente was a target but no longer one (due to price), Pienaar has signed on a pre-contract and we are also looking at Cazorla. Tip of the iceberg, there are plenty more stories doing the rounds. Doesn't matter too much, does it? We sign who we sign, how we get there is just process.

Welcome to January.

Hold onto your hats.



Levy, don't even think about it

Dear Mr Levy,

I'll get straight to the point.

Leyton high road, in-between the KFC and Orient is Coronation Gardens. Lovely place, probably the only place in Leyton where you won't find a bed mattress or broken television every few feet as you walk briskly along. What you will find are some park benches, specifically the ones that face the high road, near the bus stop. And here, on Fridays and most weekends you will see Whiskey Tom. You can't really miss him to be honest. Stinks to high heaven, always intoxicated on Tennents, puking up against walls, screaming at the trees. He's about forty-five, looks sixty. Scruffy beard, stained clothes. You get the picture. He's a hobo, a tramp. Probably has some mighty deep story about how he ended up on the streets, but you'll never get past his ramblings to ever know.

He's a fruit loop. My personal favourite was the time he pissed in his boots and chased a number 357 bus screaming till his lungs burst that 'Satan's seed needed to be purified'. Go visit, he's always there. Not sure what he does for the rest of the week, but probably sleeps it off in some squat somewhere. Or just uses one of the many street-beds you get in that part of east London.

If you want to sign someone on a free, then I suggest Tom. To my knowledge he has absolutely no associations with Chelsea and Arsenal and even though his plight appears to be one of sadness, he's actually quite content with his little kingdom of desolation. You'll never find him sitting in the middle of the street crying. Standing up and urinating over cars, guaranteed on a Saturday night.

Don't say I didn't give you the heads up.

regards,

Spooky

Forward thinking the only way

It's the calm before the storm, right? Reading the tabloids, watching Sky Sports News or trying to decipher the cryptic inside knowledge from the 'In the Know' community is proving to be as enjoyable as an England World Cup performance. That's not very enjoyable. Pockets of my brain are haemorrhaging from the boredom. It's not exactly exciting, but then arguably, there is no Klinsmann type of signing out there in these rather lacklustre modern days. And no yoof either, it would seem as the kids with potential prefer to completely bypass the stepping stone clubs* and move straight into the elite. Surely there's a younger version of Berbatov out there? Well, one that won't want to move on a season later. If that's okay. Not asking for much here, just some hunger and loyalty.

*What's that? We're not a stepping stone club anyone?

I'm half jesting. We signed Modric a couple of years back, so there is plenty of hope, no doubt festering in the shadows ready to jump out and scream in our face when the time is right. Marquee signings are over-rated anyways.

Obviously, we as football fans, are selfish creatures we simply want want want, all of the time. And we want NOW.

We shift around uncomfortably like Gollum, obsessed with every single comment or alleged movement or sound-bite made, moaning and sighing.  And then analysing and theorising how said player would fit into our first eleven if signed and whether they will aid our progression. All of this from a couple of newspaper articles, hearsay, guess work, agent talk. It's the scraps we feed on because, usually, one of the scraps out of the many turns out to be a genuine link.

Gollum to be signed by ITV soon.

We've had very little this summer that we could possibly tag in the 'Levy and Harry were seriously looking at spending cash there' bracket. Joe Cole being the obvious one thanks to Harry telling us that we had offered him a contract. No massive surprise there. We knew the moment he became available that HR would want one of his former 'sons' on board the THFC Express.

Cole rejected a continued stay in London and opted for a central midfield role up at Liverpool, something Harry did nod towards when he flirted with Cole via the media (saying Cole's best position is central). How that would have worked out for us - I don't know. And if 'football reasons' means guaranteed first team football, then so be it. I'm not crying my eyes out over here. And regardless of Liverpool's current plight (it's a mess at Anfield no matter how their fans wish to dress up the truth) there is opportunity for Cole to shine there.

Good player is Cole on his day, and would have been a diamond signing if he arrived and accepted a little squad rotation. Whether the Chelsea fans prove to be right (Joe Slow according to them), we'll have to tune into the Hodgson Show to find out. 90k a week is a lot of money for a player who has hardly played in recent seasons thanks to injuries. I'd have accepted the risk if he had agreed our alleged 65k. And marginalising the likes of Huddlestone would have been just plain silly just for the sake of beefing up a position we don't have too much trouble with.

(Although a free-scoring midfielder would be nice, but don't think it's essential - at least not to Harry).

Still, this area (central mid or even left mid) is not the area we should be concerned about. I doubt very much both our gaffer and our manager are ignoring say the following must-haves:

- Another CB (because King and Woody are bit-part players for us, the latter someone who might not even return) for cover (Bassong and Dawson are in for another big season)

- A Forward

We've got Sandro on the way. We've got players who can adapt and play two positions (Modric, Bale) and we've got one or two who perhaps might just get an opportunity (dos Santos and dare I say The Rat).

But some of this will depend on who we finally get rid of, because with the new season approaching, we've yet to see the back of the deadwood.

Deadwood, is defined I guess by last season and personal opinion along with once more reading between the line. Keane. Hutton - are two players probably on their way. Pav is always linked with a departure.

It all comes down to this: Who and when we sign a forward. We can dream about one of the new kids on the block as much as we like (Dzeko, Suarez) or others of the ilk of long-term proven players like Fabiano and Raul (LOL). But might well end up with seasoned English based terrier such as Bellamy. Who happens to be a **** of a player. If he wasn't so injury prone (if I'm wrong, show me the stats, ta) then perhaps I'd swallow my pride and sort of half-admit and say 'okay then, he might be able to do a job for us'. But he does pick up knocks and although his off-the-field charity work is very commendable, his general persona in the dressing room is subject to far too much debate. Harry and him on the golf course? Happy days. Bellamy would show some tenacious bite we sometimes, on occasions bite. But then who knows what type of focus he'll have if he moves to N17. It's a risk. Cheap one probably. But still.

It's fairly imperative we get the signing for the forward position spot on. Someone who can hit the ground running, score and create. What? Did you say Bellamy? Oh ffs. Anyways, whether a Suarez could do that is altogether another discussion. 49 goals in the Dutch League means very little to me. No offence to them over there, but Kuyt was knocking in goals for fun and over here he's a defensive forward.

We do need a striker right? Defoe, Crouch, Pav...that's not enough. Keane staying would surprise me about us much as walking into my bedroom to find Jessica Alba there with the words 'I'm all yours' written across her waist in lip stick. And the three we do have, to expect them to handle the League and the CL and the cups? Nah. We need depth. Need quality. Because if we make the CL group stages, we need someone who can unlock those hefty seasoned doors. Otherwise, it's Defoe getting flagged offside all night long on Sky Sports.

So, as far as being all quiet on the transfer front, I don't care too much as long as we get a couple of tasty press conferences in the next few weeks. The papers can continue to link us to everyone and anyone, as long as the end result is more pieces for our Lilywhite jigsaw puzzle. The right pieces.

But even with everyone being so cautious nowadays, you'd think it would be near suicidal NOT to spend well this transfer window. What with the potentially hectic calender year ahead of us. Key game being that qualifier.

How many times around Christmas time have we wanted to see us sign players to consolidate our position and push forward only to be left disappointed? Then again, perhaps more trust for the gaffer is required. Considering what he achieved last season without the need to go loopy with Levy's transfer fund at that critical mid-way point.

In Harry we trust then. Right?

Bale and the Old Lady

I'd love a job where I could turn up in the morning and make some shit up with nothing to back up my claims and still get it signed off by my manager and approved and then published. No talent required. Just the ability to write ambiguous nonsense. Better still a job where I'm tasked with writing something for the sake of aiding an agenda. Substance is over-rated, right?

Bale to Juventus. A perfect illustration.

Tiresome.

Wank story which first did the rounds a while back along with the Bale to Birmingham stories that persisted before his renaissance began. In fact, this Juv link was possibly birthed and borrowed via the Italian press who are no doubt attempting to aid The Old Lady by suggesting Bale would be available on the cheap. A case of the Italian media creating some transfer hype and our media copy and pasting it. Testing the waters the aim of the game to see just how much Spurs might be willing to tag on the young Welsh star. Such is the plight of Serie A and it's loss of grace, they whore themselves via the tabloids. Bale would probably be boss out there, but he'd need a time machine to go back to an age when their league was golden. It's hardly that now.

So well done the media once more. Let's print some crap about Spurs but continue our campaign to turn Theo Walcott into some form of England international saviour by continuously publishing photos of him in non-sports sections of newspapers to keep him safe in the hearts and minds of the public (he's got a fit girlfriend too) and highlighting his odd goal and speed (he's fast, can't pass for shit, but he's fast) even though he's been predominately shite for 3-4 years and would be nowhere near the England squad if he played for anyone else. 150+ games for club, and about 10 half decent performances lost somewhere in there. But hey, he's English and plays for Arsenal so he must be good. Talking of which...

Forza Barca, innit? Messi was ridiculous. As was Andy Gray's commentating that was beyond bias. Yes, do (that's you Sky Sports) feel free to be pro-English clubs but do try and leave the hypocrisy and contradictions at home next time (that's you Andy). If you happened to watch the game on a stream (pwoper norty) you'd have heard Gooner Richard Keyes colourful words on the game including the golden "You've been shite son with your daft pink boots". Guess who he was chatting about? Very funny to hear the waxed one doing a Fanzone, unintentionally, and unaware he could be heard by one or two non-Sky Sports subscribers. There was even a Fart-gate incident in the studio. Hilarity.

Anyways (sidetracked there) I'm content with the purchase (Bale) we made from Soton. Walcott was rumoured to have agreed a move to us before changing his mind last minute. Phew. Our Azza had his moments when he looked to be nothing more than a speed merchant. He progressed. Bale? Progressing. Think we can smile about that. Theo does do a mighty good impersonation of Henry though with the posturing and blank moody face. All we got are big ears hidden by plenty of hair and a shaved eyebrow. Not quite newsworthy that.

There was a time when there was questions raised about how badly we handled Bale's development. Injuries, shattered confidence - credit to Harry Redknapp there for managing the situation with some finesse. 2012 is when his contract ends. So Levy, sign up that boy for an extra 5 years. Make it a priority. Would make it one less player the tabloids can badger us about. And we need to be keeping Old Man Fergie away a little bit longer too.