Interesting to hear this and thanks for the clarification on the current status on the policy at Watford. It did seem a shame to me that the club couldn't proceed with their application as I did know the infra-structure had been in place for a number of years. Anyone with knowledge of academy football knows about the Harefield scheme the club set up and for a while we at Spurs were closely following the success of this to assess how we could maybe do something similar. As it turned out we are now in a position where we do it 'in-house' at our new training complex, although the substantial guaranteed annual grant from UEFA through gaining Elite status does help, something which I am sure the Watford people knew about when they made their decision.
A lot of my friends who are Watford fans had similar concerns when the Pozzos took over thinking they might simply become a feeder club for Udinese but they now seem really pleased with the blend of loans, youth and the continuing Harefield Academy - odds are that if Watford were promoted they could afford the higher tier academy.
Spurs61,did you ever drink in The Pennant near the station? I stayed in School Lane Brickett Wood for a time drinking in The Old Fox.
The Pennant - yes but not often - the Old Fox - very often - some friends lived within a short walk so no driving .....
I used to work at the Old Fox, back in the day when peg-leg Pete was running the joint. Nightly lock-ins til 3/4am with people getting stoned in the corner, doubt they'd get away with that today!
It was back in the 80's - can't remember name of landlords - my mate used to have a beer tankard kept behind the bar for him and it got filled as he went in - always liked that
I know the Fox, I worked ar the Building Research Establishment for a sandwich year as part of my degree. I got absolutley **** faced in there for my leaving do.
we,ve rejected an offer from Anzi,to take Younes Kaboul,on loan,till,the end of the season,according to reports
I reckon Benteke could be prolific if he had quality team mates around him. He could slot in nicely for us. I'd be happy to see us sign him and 1 other, whilst getting shot of Adebayor. LOL. If its true... Totally ridiculous. If its a made up report, pure comedy! They just get better and better. So we've waited all season for our best CB to get fit, and we're gonna lend him out to Russia, the minute he's ready? Priceless.
If Bale goes I'd prefer cash plus a striker from Real or wherever he goes. The way I judge a player like a striker is as I'm on the continent if I hear a a lot about said striker then I now that he's good. But if I hear little then I know he's not so good. As I've heard little about Bentenke then I'm dubious about him. I just hope if we get him he's not Bent with an Enke as an add on.
Then I'm surprised you haven't heard his name constantly TMT. It's been pretty frequent this season. I like the idea of a cash + striker, but the problem with this option from Real is - who do we get that works for us? Benzema won't be part of the package, nor will Higuain, I doubt. Callejon isn't proven yet, which doesn't really leave anyone else. IF a sale was to happen, I'd rather we had the cash, so we can choose who we want.
I'm pro-Benteke. He looks like a good player to me, and we have a couple of Belgians already to help him settle in. Young, powerful, can finish and has already semi-proven himself in the prem with an absolutely dire team around him.
Why any team would want to take a player who hasn't set foot on a pitch for 6 months, and is still weeks away, to help them in a dozen games at most is almost unbelievable. Why would YK want the abuse Samba got??
