He droned on and on and on and on about winning the big one. Well they didn’t win the richest game they have ever been part of.
Between laughing so hard I nearly soiled myself, I caught bits of Steve Bruce's post-game interview. he said "This is a big club" about a dozen times between begging Jack Grealish not to leave and regretting that Robert Snodgrass was going back to The Spammers. Big club.........? .....and the only big one on show was this twat..... please log in to view this image
Bruce is another of the Allardyce/Pulis set of managers yesterdays men playing a team full of yesterdays men....but I disagree slightly about only 1 big one on show when this one of yesterdays men was also on the park he is not in Terrys league but still a big one in my book please log in to view this image
If Van Dick is worth £75M after his performance v Madrid, the Toby must be work at least £150M so he's not far wrong there. Eriksen must be worth more, say £175-£200M based on the Couthino/Neymar transfers so he is a little off the mark there. Deli? Anything between £150M if we needed to sell to £250M if Levy has anything to do with it so Mr Stan is a bit off the mark there as well. Perhaps you are right, a bit of a knob, he should stick to dogging.
I posted this on the Hack Watch thread but I guess it is also relevant here: Gareth Bale: Real Madrid forward will not join former club Tottenham https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44281572 A total hack job. Not one shred of evidence , but it gets headlines as if it is fact. The only source of the speculation is Bale's wages which we all know anyway.
Classic BBC impoverished 'hackery'. Proper BBC sports journalists of yesteryear must be turning in their graves at the tripe the likes of Stone and McNumpty come out with. 'the forward has a contract with the Spanish giants until 2022 and is thought to earn more than £400,000 a week after tax. It means his likely transfer fee and wages would make a Tottenham bid unrealistic.' No feckin' ****, Sherlock. In the meantime maybe quote any club that CAN and WANT TO afford that kind of money. If Bale leaves Madrid he will certainly not be getting a pay rise west of Beijing!!
So we’ve seen some names mentioned that we’re supposedly interested in signing this summer. - Sessegnon, Martial, Zaha, De Ligt, etc etc. In general, we all seem to agree that there’s obvious positions that need some cover/ improvements and the need for these players is either crucial right now (ie back up striker), or, will become extremely important if certain other players depart. Potential positions mentioned that we seem to all collectively agree on (or most of). - ST, CM, DM, LB, CB. We’ve also been talking of the need to take a slightly different approach to help us push on, as we’ve plateaued. Some, including myself, have suggested that may mean spending some more money than we’re used to. However, it may not. That’s just opinion. Realistically, who are the players in those positions (or any others you can think of) that we need to be looking at, that will make a difference? Where do we draw the line with calculated risk vs reward? IMO, and I don’t think for 1 minute this will happen however, Bale should be our top target. If we can negotiate some some sort of massive signing on fee that will allow him to take a lower weekly wage, boosted by huge bonuses, then we should do all we can. The income his transfer could bring to the club could be extremely lucrative, and there’s also a lot going for us right now. New stadium, CL football, a much better team and coaching set up from when he was last here. It’s very unlikely, but not impossible. However, we’ve gotta get creative with this one to have any chance of making it happen. Bale also solves the “back up striker” problem. He can be used in that role instead of Kane, he can partner him, and he can play in any of the forward positions. It seems mad to me that we’re looking at Martial or Zaha (or BOTH) who would cost a bomb for different reasons, and would also cause a massive headache with up to 8 players competing for 4 positions. (And potentially a striker like Rondon for example on top of that too, making it 9!!!) Whilst every signing we make isn’t going to be a game changer like Bale for example, we still need to ask ourselves whether the new players will improve what we already have, or at the very least, genuinely challenge for a place. There’s nothing wrong with bringing in some squad players with potential, but at the same time, we need more than that as part of our transfer policy. Some of the signings really do need to be at least be challenging for a place in the first team straight away, just like Sanchez did this season. I don’t think anyone thought we’d see as much of him as we have, but he’s been an excellent addition due to his technical ability. Whatever position on the pitch the “new Sanchez” signings play, I think we need to ensure that they possess the ability to be able to do it from the off, just like him. Any up and coming youngsters need to have some sort of proven ability of football in this country, or at a decent level abroad. The N’jie’s and N’Koudou’s just hadn’t reached a level that was worth taking a punt on, and we need to learn from this. Sadly, I think that’ll cost us a lot of find these players, but it may have to be done, and perhaps it’s what we need to do. In terms of the CM/DM role, I can see why we’ve been linked to Kovacic and why Poch is supposedly so keen. He’s looked good when I’ve watched him, and for me, he’s a bit like Lucas was. - Struggling for game time in a talented squad. He’s certainly better than Sissoko and potentially better than Dier and Wanyama (only premier league games will tell), so he’s another I’d like to see us go for. Let’s also remember, he’s been part of a winning team. If we signed those two mentioned, that would certainly give me confidence that we’re genuinely looking to upgrade the quality of the first team/ squad immediately, even if we made 2-3 other signings that are squad players and/or potentials for the future. As I’ve said before, a mix of signings is fine, but IMO, there’s not been anywhere near enough genuine proven signings made by us in recent years in that mix. I’m hoping that Lucas’ arrival back in January was actually a change to our policy, and in fact, the first of many like him going forward. He’s genuine quality. Should no vital players leave (other than Toby), Bale, Kovacic, and De Ligt would be superb business. In the likely situation that we can’t get Bale, then we need still need to be looking at someone else who is of genuine quality, but within our reach. I know some will say Zaha or someone similar, but for me, we need to be aiming for better than that now. Otherwise I feel we could find ourselves just not progressing. Who do you guys think will we need to go for that will genuinely make a difference? And who do you think is genuinely within our reach?
CM: Dream: Seri or Milinkovic-Savic Good: Kovacic, Andre Gomes or Doucoure. CB (for when Toby goes): Dream: De Ligt. Good: Tarkowski, Mawson or Evans. LB (for if Rose goes): Dream: Not sure there's any better than Ben/ fit Rose who we could buy. Good: Grimaldo, Kurzawa or Telles. ST: Dream: Immobile. Good: Hwang Hee Chan, Rondon, Wilson. Marquee (all dream): Bale, Mahrez or Modric. Seri and Milinkovic-Savic would also fit the criteria.
If not Bale, then Isco. Another serious question Poch needs to be looking at , is the formation. Do we go 4,3,3? It could solve alot . Front 3 of Lucas, Kane and Son. Behind them, Dele, Eriksen and Dier/A.N.Other DM Against weaker teams who play Busparquet, that would work .
Nah, mate. Not because I don't want him but I just can't see it happening now Fulham are up. He'd be silly leaving a guaranteed starting spot to come here and likely start on the bench until an opportunity arose.
Do you think the players falling into your “good” category will make enough of a difference though? Is there a real drop in quality from the “dream” players? I’d be mortified if we ended up with Doucoure. Started well, but faded very very quickly. Quite different from Barca and Real Madrid players on that same list! We’re not getting bale. It’s a pipe dream, but despite this, it could be said that we still need still need a “next level” player or two. Maybe one or two that also find themselves on the bench at a major club. For me there’s too many names (not just in your list) floating around that will simply add quantity to bulk the squad, but not enough of a step up in quality.
True. And the ability to be able to transition between formations frequently so we’re not so predictable.
CalcioMercato are reporting that we're preparing to submit an opening bid to Ajax ...for Kasper Dolberg. Centre Midfield Best case: Jean-Michael Seri Would also be happy if we signed: Mateo Kovacic, Milan Badelj, Abdoulaye Doucoure Hope over experience: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, Tanguy NDombele, Bryan Cristante Potential for grousing: Amadou Diawara, Mathias Jensen, David Brooks Centre back Best case: Matthijs De Ligt or Benjamin Pavard Would also be happy if we signed: Alfie Mawson, Issa Diop, Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Filip Benkovic Hope over experience: De Ligt with a complete lack of Mino "****" Raiola's usual ****ery Potential for grousing: Johnny Evans, Nordi Mukiele, Kim Min-jae Left back Best case: Alex Telles Would also be happy if we signed: Kieran Tierney Hope over experience: Ryan Sessegnon Potential for grousing: Luke Shaw, Layvin Kurzawa, Arthur Masuaku Kane backup Best case: Anthony Martial Would also be happy if we signed: Jan-Fiete Arp Hope over experience: Ciro Immobile, Marcus Rashford, Janssen suddenly becoming good Potential for grousing: Jay Rodriguez, Salomon Rondon Other randoms Best case: Gareth Bale on a two-year loan (a la James Rodriguez at Bayern) Would also be happy if we signed: Christian Pulisic Hope over experience: Gareth Bale on anything other than a loan, Malcom Potential for grousing: Wilfried Zaha, Adama Traore, Kwon Chang-hoon
The good players can definitely make a difference but the dream players would make a substantial one. I think you're sleeping on Doucoure there, may not be as glamorous as other options but that guy is just waiting for the right manager to unleash an absolute powerhouse. I still maintain we'll sign a marquee player. Bale and Mahrez would be amazing but there's players out there who could be attainable. Though chances are, IF the club is looking for a big name signing then the media (and therefore us fans) won't even get a whiff of it. Similar to the time we signed Modric, there was literally zero rumours about him joining and then one morning we woke up to the news of him as a Spurs player.
These are kind of rhetorical questions, but what difference will the good players make though? Will it be enough to compete for the league title or some other silverware? I’m not convinced a lot of them will. For me, those sorts of players mentioned in that category (maybe with the exception of Kovacic and Gomes possibly), without the addition of a marquee signing, will probably give us the same outcome. It’s such a tough call to make. Some of the dream players really could make the difference we need, and most are genuine possibilities for us. The issue these days compared to when we signed Modric is how powerful social media is now. The press and ITK’s get wind of everything. There’s no secrets anymore. I’d be amazed to see a signing completely out of the blue like that. Someone somewhere always knows something, and shares it. It spreads like wildfire.
Interesting list HBiC. I think we need to see one of the “best case” players you mention, + others. If not, 2-3 of the “would also be happy if we signed” category to add that extra quality in depth, presuming we fail in getting that top target.
