I'm quite surprised but also happy no one has taken him from Ajax yet, the Ajax in me likes seeing them keep their best players and reading that he and Alderweireld rejected moves to Russia and Norwich respectively recently, gave me a smile. He's probably now at the right age to move, he's clocked up over a 100 appearances now at a young age but he's matured into a fine a player, I've always said I'd love him at Spurs and that has hasn't changed. I think Barca and Madrid (who've been rumoured to have had interest for a while) haven't moved for him yet as they rarely take risks on young players, so they'll wait for him to join a club like us or someone similar, realise he is the real deal and then after a season or two start their annual tapping up process.
Yet they spend 34 million pounds on a 23 year old from Real Sociedad: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/jul/12/real-madrid-sign-asier-illarramendi I really can't see why to be honest... He is a big talent, but 34 million big? No.
I didn't really follow La Liga much last season but I knew Sociedad had an impressive campaign claiming a Champions League spot and that Illarramendi was instrumental in that but like you say, £34m is a crazy amount. I'd actually never heard of him until the recent season. Supposedly the man they want to replace Xabi Alonso with, no pressure then lad!
I wouldn't be surprised if the main reason for their signing Isco and Illarramendi has more to do with satisfying UEFA's quotas on home-grown players than anything else. Both of them being key members of Spain's U21 squad also hint at that.
I know, us Dutch got kicked out of the tournament by them, well kicked... it was more of a walk of shame. 3-0 victory for the Spanish, it was a painful match to watch.
Yeah, thanks, Clint and good luck. A lot of us ran you down while you were here. I ran you down before you got here and continued to run you down while you were here. But you worked hard, you were a model professional, you produced goals and assists at a rate second only to Bale, and you scored some gigantic goals. A winner and a tying goal vs. Man U, and a tying goal vs. Man City. Let's call it five points against the Mancs. I'm also surprised you didn't go to Everton or another PL club. Almost everyone needs goal scorers, and you might be the cheapest guy per goal around. Anyways, thanks again. You're a credit to the game.
If it's any consolation Cove, those Spanish U-21's would tear our Senior England squad a new one (as would the Dutch U21's come to think of it!).
Yea but your first team already has a tradition of getting torn a new one, especially during tournaments, that's no consolation, that's terrifying and depressing
The last time England won a game at the Under-20 World Cup was in 1997. Funny that nobody mentioned that fact when two of the players in that match, Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher, hung their boots up at the end of last season...
AVB has just told SSN that Bale is not for sale. Now while it's still not 23:00 on 2nd Septermber and therefore anything can happen, I think it would be really unfair on AVB if we sell Bale now. It'll make AVB look a total fool for releasing that sort of statement only to see the player off within the next few weeks. I've said all along I think Bale will stay but naturally I've come to question that with all the constant reports and obviously his exclusion today has to make you wonder, but hearing AVB say that puts a little reassurance in me. Surely Bale is happy enough to give ONE more season? I mean surely even neutrals can appreciate that the squad we're assembling is pretty special?!
I really hope it's true and not some bluff as part of the negotiation. I have said that 100 million would be too much to turn down however I would bloody love him to stay and play with the new signings. It would make for an interesting season as long a we get Kaboul and Sandro back fairly quickly.
Hmmm..all very interesting. Reading between the lines, it sounds to me as if a pissed off Levy has tried to nail Real's balls to the floor on this, Real have refused, talks have broken down, and Levy has now given AVB the all clear to say that Bale is not for sale. Sounds like the stories about how pissed off Levy was were true.
This is the story, so far...reading this, it sounds like talks have broken down - for now!.. http://www1.skysports.com/football/...tti-wrong-to-go-public-over-gareth-bale-offer
In the light of AVB's comment it makes all this media stuff look even worse. They have pursued this with a vengeance and have slowly upped the anti until most of us started to believe this crap. The FA must surely do something to support Spurs for the sake of the club, the player, the fans and the game in general.
That's certainly positive if, like me, you're in the 'Bale must stay unless Real give us £100m upfront' camp. IF Bale stays then I'd say we still need to have a busy August in terms of signings - we need: A new centre back urgently A new left back - Coentrao rumoured strongly A new CAM - Eriksen? Then we need to keep selling players - BAE, Gomes, Huddlestone, Livermore maybe etc. etc. If Bale goes then the above list is still valid but we'd also need 2 more forward players I think (Lamela and someone else probably).
I think we're ok in CAM's at the moment, hoping one of Siggy, Carroll or Holtby make the step up this season. I also think Rose has the potential to make it if we put some real defenders next to him, with Livermore and Fryers he doesn't have a hope . A Centre-Back is a must though. I'd be happy with either a Nelsen/Gallas type signing or a young up and coming centre-back, in the Caulker mould (again ).
Gah I've just got back from a week away with no internet so its been the papers every few days to feed off...what a week to miss! I was certain we'd lose Bale around Tuesday and hit despair on Thursday despite Soldado...I think I'm a bit happier now. Maybe. Here's the AVB Sky interview everyone is talking about if people haven't seen/heard it http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/8853828/avb-criticises-carlo-conduct If this 'agreement of goodwill and respect' between ourselves and Madrid is still in any way still existing...I hope Levy is telling Madrid to go forth and multiply, with all due goodwill and respect. And thats not a lot. AVB's comments about the FA and about us as a club being sue some respect are completely valid and we can hope and dream that some sort of action might be taken. I think we'll still be dreaming on though. The positive I've been taking up until tonight, and I shall continue to take this line, is that all the stories about Bale leaving and dreaming of Madrid and having final talks with Levy have been coming from the papers and Madrid/Marca. To my knowledge Bale's representatives have not yet been quoted in any reputable way as saying that he wants to leave, and until tonight we had not said anything concrete on the matter for a good while (although I will say that I'm pretty knackered right now and haven't had the internet for a week so if I've missed/forgotten anything that recent I'll happily concede the point). Despite this clear statement of intent from us now, whats the odds on Bale dominating the newspapers and internets again tomorrow...not that we're not used to it now. I think Bale stays now. Perhaps if we'd been offered some of the truly ridiculous sums being touted around now - the likes of the £100 million plus with cash and players - but a month or so back we might have sold, but with less than 2 weeks until the first league game I think it's too late to strengthen to the extent we'd need to to compensate for Bale leaving. A month or so Levy might have said yes IMO but I think he's also learnt his lessons over time and doesn't want to have to endure a slow start to the season while expensive, key signings (the kind you make when you sell a player for a world record fee) settle in. Anyway I believe our business may be done in terms of serious incoming transfers anyway, rendering the extra cash redundant for the summer. I don't think its a case of selling Bale to fund the stadium plans either. We may pick up a youth/prospect centreback or an experienced old hand to fill in there for a year or two (like a less **** Gallas, if that is possible) but having spent what we have I think we're done on the incoming front. Now Dempsey has gone Sig and Holtby are safe, we may see Hudd leave, I'd be open to that for a decent sum - say around £8 million. EDIT: WY, thats what was so frustrating about the Caulker transfer - he's the kind of 'prospect' we both talking about, but I think it was done a) because it was in the interests of all parties and b) because it pays for some of Soldado and in doing so helps to quash such rumours as "Spurs need to sell Bale because they've spent 'x million pounds' this summer"
