Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction

At Spurs : DOF always before the chairman.
The first knows his worth, and the second knows his place.

 

Somehow January doesn't seem an opportune moment to obtain him.

 

I can only speak two languages.....English and American!

 

I can do Australian too

 

Today's Times is suggesting that Conte was kept away from discussions with Barkley after the Oxlade-Chamberlain screw up. Their summer purchases seem to confirm that, generally, the club sees managers as a bit of an encumbrance and Conte's no different. He really wanted Llorente but they weren't keen. The same story with Alex Sandro and Danny Rose based on price and dealing with Levy.

The Diego Costa fiasco sits at Conte's feet and is going to Costa lot of money (sorry!). That text message has cost tens of millions and was completely unnecessary, petty and childish.

Even taking all that into account, if Barkley or any player that you're thinking of signing, says he wants to discuss where he's going to play or he's leaving then you find the bloke. Plus, what manager isn't capable of being contacted on TDD?

Chelsea and Everton will be working overtime to explain away this screw up and why it'll all work out next time around. Neither, for their own reasons, want Spurs and particularly Mr Levy, to pick up a cut-price bargain.

 

I saw enough of GKN and Georgiou to wonder why they wouldn't get minutes. They looked like good pacy attackers and created problems for Man City. My best guess is that Pochettino may have reservations about creating minutes for unproven players or that he isn't comfortable using pacy attackers, as opposed to pacy fullbacks.

 

I have a very simple belief: the more often you get the ball in the general direction of the goal, the more you will score--and the faster you do so, the less time defenders have to bunker down. Similarly, the closer players get to the goal, the more often they score. It's not the theory of relativity, but it looks true to me.

 

I think it was one of Cloughs points about football being pretty simple at the end of the day. He said that if you don't get the ball into the box then you're not going to score. Sure, you will get some goals if you shoot from distance enough times but you have to be sure you are guaranteed to get those chances. Sticking the ball into that corridor of uncertainty will put more pressure on the defence and goalkeeper. The more times you do it, the greater the chance they will make a balls up of it or one of your players will beat them to the ball. Being nearer the goal leads for less time for them to respond and the greater likelihood that the ball will end up in the old onion bag.

Football is a bloody simple game and it is infuriating to see managers and players complicate it by all this faffing around these days. There's the bloody goal, now run towards it and stick the sodding ball in the net where the goalkeeper isn't standing (as the great Greavsie once said, "I just pass the ball into the net where the goalkeeper isn't standing").

 

You want to be attacking the opposition's weaknesses. Some teams are great in the air, at which point there's a decent likelihood that they will be a bit slow on the turn and you can get in behind them. If you have a particular talent, then try to exploit it but don't become over reliant. Last season Liverpool murdered teams that came out to play against them because they had the pace to kill them on the break. Teams that offered no space behind their defensive line did really well and often beat them, especially from dead ball situations as Liverpool are a shambles at defending aerial balls.

Butting your head up against what the opposition do best is just dumb, especially if you're not the best at it. It doesn't matter what general statistics say. If you're a big team that's great in the air, get the crosses in. If you're not then don't. Try and have more than one string to your bow. United haven't kept 'The Elbow' for his dynamism or passing. He causes havoc in penalty areas as does Giroud for Arsenal. When teams have ten men behind the ball in the last 20 minutes, trying to pass through them is a lot more difficult than seeking out a bloke who's brilliant in the air. It's about being adaptable and exploiting the best avenue of attack 'at the time'.

 

If this doesn't count as tapping-up, what does?

 

Barklay's price to come down to between £15- 20mill.

 

There's obviously something going on with Aldeweireld, and I don't get what the club's playing at. He's one of the very best CB's anywhere. Pay him what he's worth, ffs!

 

Everything points at us selling him at the moment. He'll start to diminish in value after next summer as he'll be pushing 30 by then. We've just invested heavily in 2 new centre backs and still have CCV, if he trains on.

We're still a club that'll sell an asset if we think there's a replacement that won't weaken us and will bring in more money to strengthen elsewhere - see Aurier for Walker. I'd hate to see him go but I reckon that's where this is headed. Prove me wrong.....please?

 

It probably wouldn't surprise if Toby's keeping his options open. This season could be critical for us with him. Win a trophy, he stays, fail to do so, he goes.

At the very least, the acquisitions of Big Dave and one fourth (plus CCV gaining experience), we somewhat have insurance policies already in place. Would be devastated if he did leave though.

 

That's a lot of Trippier assists!

 

Why can't they win a bloody trophy at Spurs.It's their fault if they can't.They have the team but not the will (apparently!). So they start looking for a silver lining at LSD football club.
As Real and Barcelona have ruined Spanish football by buying everyone any good,so our English clubs will/are starting to ruin our league.
Baseball in USA have the equivalent in the New York Yankees who also buy everyone any good.....!

 

See also: München, Bayern (which is the club's actual name, not the mongrel combination of the German word for Baveria and the English word for München that makes as much sense as calling the the Stratford tax dodgers Ouest Ham...)

 

Which still surely seems like a huge sum for someone who's free in about 4 months' time?

 

I wonder if Man City will be tapping him up via their Twitter page next...

 

I don't get the obsession with players becoming surplus or thereabouts when they reach 30. Italians are the masters of defending, historically and currently too...their best defenders are over 30. Chiellini(sp) is hot property and he's over 30.

Give him a contract he deserves I say...look at Kompany at City..different outfit with him commanding the defence. Or how we used to wrap Ledley in cotton wool just for his experience in the big games.