Witsel joined Zenit for £32.5m last summer - obviously forgetting the reputation Russian fans have in regards to black players. We could always add another Belgian to the set.
Dear Daniel You normally spring a surprise for us on deadline day. If you really want to please all Spurs fans and cement your place as an architect of Spurs greatness, please deliver a Lewandowski before 23:00 on Monday night. Yours sincerely Deedub.
Just wrote a blog on my website, my goodbye to Eriksen: http://thecovereport.sportsblog.com/ Christian Eriksen, 21 years old, Danish international, star player of Ajax Amsterdam. And probably a star player for Tottenham Hotspur next week. The Dane is in London to do his medical and both clubs seems to have made a deal of 12 million euro's which could increase to 13.5 million. For months the Ajax fans have prayed, begged the club to keep Eriksen, and perhaps some have even shed a tear thinking of Eriksen leaving. In this fashion: please log in to view this image Lets go back in time 6 years, Eriksen is picked up by Ajax from the youth academy of Odense BK. The then 16 year old Dane is brought into the youth academy of Ajax where he was coached by Frank de Boer. He did trials at Chelsea and Barcelona but they thought he lacked physique so they turned him down. At the Ajax youth academy Frank de Boer brought him in the youth squad. Martin Jol decided in summer 2009 that Eriksen was good enough for the first team and he made his debut when he was 17 years old for Ajax. A decision that later proved vital in securing the first Eredivisie Title in seven years. In the 2010-2011 season Eriksen was in brilliant form and was at the age of 18 one of the best players of the Eredivisie and won the Player of the year award. Here is a short compilation of what he did in that year: [video=youtube;zeqyrhMMFLQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeqyrhMMFLQ[/video] The two years after Ajax still managed to win the Championship even though Eriksen never regained his top form after the 2010-2011 season. Yet he still had moments of sheer brilliance and he was still of massive importance of the team. Eriksen is nowadays more an assassin than a high profile play-maker. He gives the subtle passes, the quick action to set up the attack. His creativity and technique are world class and every football fan in The Netherlands knew he was going to outgrow the Eredivisie very soon. And it looks like that day has come, where the Eredivisie loses another key player, leaving behind a league in distress and without glory. On the day that Ajax announced they had made a deal with Tottenham Hotspurs the Champions League draw resulted that Ajax has to play FC Barcelona, AC Milan and Celtic. And without Eriksen, they look doomed from the start, he will be missed. Goodbye Eriksen, it was a great pleasure of having you in the Eredivisie. Hope you continue to do great things in the future. Wherever it may lead you. [video=youtube;WbDbU99uv70]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbDbU99uv70[/video]
I've read 6 pages to catch up and I just have to retrieve this. Lineker was a 6yd box poacher, who I think I'm right in saying scored one goal outside the 18yd box. I've heard Kane vaguely resembling a Sheringham type game...but Lineker???
Sorry to take your star player Cove. We probably think the same re: Gareth Bale. Life is dog eat dog. There is something wrong with football that the TV money allows us to raid a class side like Ajax and TV plus other sources allows Madrid to raid a team like Spurs. The beauty of the EPL is that all matches are competitive. It generates interest. It's where many of the European leagues have fallen down. Personally I feel it is almost the time for a European Super League where play offs for promotion and even relegation are involved. TV money could be shared with weighting to account for different national taxation systems. The system as it stands sucks. Football has become a business rather than a sport.
No need to apologize mate, it's all part of the system. We've seen star players leave before, think of Suarez, Sneijder, Van Persie, Ibrahimovic, Robben, Van der Vaart and Huntelaar for example. We are used to it, can you say goodbye to Bale so easily?
For £80m+ when we're replacing him with about 7 top players? Yep. We're used to it too, Cove. Think Modric, the same van der Vaart, Berbatov, Carrick going back to Sheringham, Klinsmann, Hoddle, Waddle, Gazza...
In this case it's a player your basically brought up yourself. He was at your club for more than six years, almost home grown as it was. Modric, VdV, Berbs were all passing through, tad bit different. The money is one thing, but seeing a player leave that grew up at your club is another.
We've seen Judas Campbell leave on a free to our most hated enemy. Nothing's going to surpass that one, I'm afraid.
Well so much for the 'new players parade' tonight. Am getting very impatient for the three amigos to appear on the OS. Hurry up and sign already
The Gooners think they're in for him. Shouldn't laugh, really. It's desperate over there, at the moment.
This goes back to what I was saying about Factitious' hoarding mentality on whichever thread it was - the options are they eat a huge loss by selling him (and he'd likely need to take a hefty pay cut) or they're stuck with him until his contract expires.
