i think he wants to go but considering we now spending money and signing a striker, to lose Bale now would put us back in the position of playing catch up. If Levy is brave enough to reject their bid and Bale can put it behind him ( ronaldo done it at utd, as did modric) then Bale can go in a years time if he wishes but to lose him now would be such a blow.
I think we give holtby and sig 6 months in the creative role, if it fails one of them goes to make room for a decent creative mid. A way around that is to buy a youth player now who in a year could be really really good (halilovic) I agree about LB. no idea who though... Llamela as bale's replacement. Anyone suggesting hulk should be shot. Eriksen could play wide right (Oscar esq) but not in a 4-3-3. Backup keeper I think should be a January buy as they'll get very little playing opportunity pre Christmas. We need a really super good striker aged under21 if ade goes. I love soldado (praying we get him) but going into a season with 2 middle aged strikers (see last year) is suicide. Someone that in 3 years could lead the line for us. A lukaku or benteke could be of real use here. Baldini. Your time to shine!
Seems to just be getting better and better for Spurs. First off the "Bale will not be sold" stance seems to be disintegrating and now we're selling the best defensive academy product we've had in years. I see no logic whatsoever in selling Caulker. Loan him out but certainly don't sell him. We already let Gallas go, with Kaboul looking like a new Ledley, Jan out for the start and Dawson's had injuries in the past, I really don't think the club have thought about this properly. With or without the potential arrival of Chiriches, selling Caulker is just a no-no in my eyes.
an interesting angle on Caulker. Apparently he is managed by Stellar&co, which is owned by Barnett, Bale's agent. Maybe Levy's had a falling out and had new signings lined up anyway (chiriches for example), so he's deciding to get shot of Caulker too, so he hasn't got to deal with Barnett in the future?
Whatever happens to Bale, the CB stuff is still a joke. Selling Caulker WASTES a PL squad slot at the very least.
The more I think about this the more clear it is. If Bale really does want to go and they really have offered in excess of £85m we have to let him go. Now. The sooner we let him go the sooner we can find replacements and £85m is a ridiculous amount of money for any player. Keeping him against his will is only going to cause us problems throughout the season with the team being unsettled, everything being about Bale / Bale's body language / Bale's form. I'd much rather we cash in now (IF HE WANTS TO GO) and get on with being Tottenham Hotspurs FC not Bale Hotspur FC. Disagree completely. If we sign some top players to replace him and are sat 4th or higher in January he has no reason to leave, and I'm certain won't leave. People on here are so melodramatic.
Tom Carroll is able to be our creative midfielder, he just needs to be given a chance as right now he keeps getting overlooked when he has superb vision and quick thinking.
If true, I think it's a petty way of dealing with things. The agent, regardless of whether they're a prick or not shouldn't be the decisive factor on keeping/ buying players.
disagree. Sig and Holtby may well have been slightly out of position last season and we might not have seen the best from them, but that's too big a risk giving it 6 months to see what they can do. Losing bale will be like losing catastrophic sized piece of the pie. We need to use that money for someone who's already making headlines elsewhere. 6 months is too long with out a marquee replacement. if we fail to make CL football on the back of bale leaving, so many others will want out. **** that.
That would be a MASSIVE call by AVB. To sell our most creative player for £85m and effectively replace him with a teeny tiny youth product with a handful of games. AVB knows him better than anyone though, but it would still be ballsy. Cut...nose....face
PowerSpurs : You are correct (my mistake) . Tis the "homegrown" count that decreases if Caulker goes.
Maybe be a bit controversial and jumping the gun after only half a season, but I'd happily sell Holtby. Seems a great guy and top professional but he'd be way down the pecking order if I were manager and with youngsters like Carroll, I'd rather give them the sub appearances/ cup starts etc over Holtby.
I'm gonna drink a lot tonight. If Caulker didn't want out then thats a massive cock-up i think. I'm borderline more angry at that than the supposed Bale transfer.
Spurm : Agreed on both counts. I've never seen Carroll boss an U21 match for 2/3 of a game. And there is no commercial advantage for doing that to that agent (though I must admit I would have - especially when younger) .
He was signed on the understanding Bale was staying,so even if we are 4th or higher,i reacon he will want to go,not only him,but other's will think,like me we have no ambition,you can try to get top players but you can't replace Bale,and top players won't come because we have no ambition
If bale leaves the mentality around the squad will be shot. And I understand that roo, but who is dropped for a creative mid? Dembele? A great player last year? Paulinho? Our record signing? Or the defensive beast that is sandro! No one deserves to/ can be dropped. But, if we were to buy one, eriksen would be my shout. And go for broke and try and sign llamela or reus or something to replace bale. Who will most likely not come to us I'm serious when I say I'm thoroughly worried if bale goes. Money or no money. We could see a thoroughly disappointing season. Too many changes will need to be made.
