Meh. Spuds are lying but probably no more than others. The fudging is relatively transparent eg. Yes, almost everyone pays in stages but 75% down and 25% in quickly and easily obtainable incentives is much different than 5% down and 95% in whacky, unlikely performance clauses or payments spread out over 100 years.
I don't believe WBA is necessarily more ethical then Tottenham. They announced the transfer dealings publicly because it was to their advantage and suited their narrative. Just because you issue a press release instead of a "leak" doesn't make it true.
The bottom line for me is that I think any objective analysis of Spurs would conclude that Dier is a CB, not a DM, and they need cover for Kane. And if you don't get it done, don't point your finger at others. Sure, maybe WBA screwed you. It happens. Deal with it. I think Pulis did want to get rid of Berahino, but Peace did not. Ultimately Peace runs things so don't count chickens before they hatch.
We thought Clyne might sign, he didn't. So we got Soares. We thought we would get Alderweireld. We didn't so we got VVD.
It is early in the season, so I wouldn't claim victory. Maybe those guys end up being poor signings.
But if Saints were to release a statement like, "yeah, we don't need a CB or RB. We didn't try, we totally planned this," I wouldn't buy it for a second. Some of us were more forgiving of management than others for failing to sign those guys. But I don't think anyone thought it was okay to just act like it was no big deal and enter the season without a Plan B.