Rival watch

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Citizen Kane. said:
This has hurt us in the long term imo.

It was the double whammy of losing Modric and Bale to Real in back to back seasons and subsequent fan retaliation that seemed to bruise Daniel's ego to the point that he basically would never again sanction a key player moving anywhere unless they effectively did a Kyle Walker and forced through a move in the most snake-like way.

The post-Bale reaction was quintessential Daniel:
1) Fail to comprehend the bigger picture (we were and still aren't anywhere near Real's level and therefore there was and still is no shame in selling to them)
2) Misinterpret fan reaction (fans were more pissed at the fact that the sales were pitched as part of a "special relationship" with Real than what they actually were: young players who we'd developed and grown to the point where they were simply too big for our club and again: there is no shame in that).
3) Total panic (cancel the "special relationship", confirming that it was bollocks all along. Simultaneously make a gung-ho announcement about never being a "selling club again": little did we know this would mean literally hanging on to the likes of Moura, Sanchez and Ndombele until their contracts expire).
4) Stick stubbornly to that panicked decision based on incomplete research and despite evidence mounting that it was the wrong decision to make (block moves for Eric Dier and Dele Alli to leave the club for extortionate fees to United and Real respectively which denies the club crucial income at a time when there is little to no investment anyway.)
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Plausible argument but there is no evidence that any harm was done. What research do you think was missed by the way? And why do you think we could have known in advance that the Dier and Dele fees were good value?
 
Citizen Kane. said:
This has hurt us in the long term imo.

It was the double whammy of losing Modric and Bale to Real in back to back seasons and subsequent fan retaliation that seemed to bruise Daniel's ego to the point that he basically would never again sanction a key player moving anywhere unless they effectively did a Kyle Walker and forced through a move in the most snake-like way.

The post-Bale reaction was quintessential Daniel:
1) Fail to comprehend the bigger picture (we were and still aren't anywhere near Real's level and therefore there was and still is no shame in selling to them)
2) Misinterpret fan reaction (fans were more pissed at the fact that the sales were pitched as part of a "special relationship" with Real than what they actually were: young players who we'd developed and grown to the point where they were simply too big for our club and again: there is no shame in that).
3) Total panic (cancel the "special relationship", confirming that it was bollocks all along. Simultaneously make a gung-ho announcement about never being a "selling club again": little did we know this would mean literally hanging on to the likes of Moura, Sanchez and Ndombele until their contracts expire).
4) Stick stubbornly to that panicked decision based on incomplete research and despite evidence mounting that it was the wrong decision to make (block moves for Eric Dier and Dele Alli to leave the club for extortionate fees to United and Real respectively which denies the club crucial income at a time when there is little to no investment anyway.)
Click to expand...
TBH you're omitting that Bale hardly had clean hands in his move to Los Ladrones, as his agent was conducting the tapping-up campaign

More than that, though, realistically it was the summer of Keane/Berbatov that is why Levy's default position is to dig in his heels as both were subject go naked tapping-up campaigns (and, in Berbatov's case, a mild case of kidnapping) and that’s where we are now
 
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Citizen Kane. said:
This has hurt us in the long term imo.

It was the double whammy of losing Modric and Bale to Real in back to back seasons and subsequent fan retaliation that seemed to bruise Daniel's ego to the point that he basically would never again sanction a key player moving anywhere unless they effectively did a Kyle Walker and forced through a move in the most snake-like way.

The post-Bale reaction was quintessential Daniel:
1) Fail to comprehend the bigger picture (we were and still aren't anywhere near Real's level and therefore there was and still is no shame in selling to them)
Click to expand...

Total rewrite of history.

Spurs were faced with losing two world class players,
with neither the offer of prestige (CL etc) or wages
(unlike the state-sponsored funding of Madrid, Spurs
are run as a "business of own account" ) to keep them.

Unlike what happened with Berbatoss, Levy ensured
that if the players were going (therefore weakening Spurs) ,
they were NOT going to STRENGTHEN a PL RIVAL.

No shame in losing players to overseas apex predators
while rinsing their finances in the process.

No brain in losing them to direct rivals.
 
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The RDBD said:
Total rewrite of history.

Spurs were faced with losing two world class players,
with neither the offer of prestige (CL etc) or wages
(unlike the state-sponsored funding of Madrid, Sours
are run as a "business of own account" ) to keep them.

Unlike what happened with Berbatoss, Levy ensured
that if the players were going (therefore weakening Spurs) ,
they were NOT going to STRENGTHEN a PL RIVAL.

No shame in losing players to overseas apex predators
while rinsing their finances in the process.

No brain in losing them to direct rivals.
Click to expand...
I assumed his argument was that we knew Dier and Dele were useless so getting a good fee for them made the rivals suffer.
 
PowerSpurs said:
I assumed his argument was that we knew Dier and Dele were useless so getting a good fee for them made the rivals suffer.
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At what specific season were each objectively so, and :

1: what would their market value have been at that point
2. would a rival have even bought them


For Dele Alli, I contend that the season would have to
be at the end of 2018-19. No opinions on when that
would have been for Dier (so am open to suggestions) .
 
PleaseNotPoll said:
Can he not? We've got them on the last day.
Their remaining fixtures are City (A), Newcastle (H), West Ham (A) and us (H).
It's going to be a real scrap down there, I think.
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I think we can pretty much guarantee that they will win the last game!! They will either be playing to stay in the league and therefore be more up for it than our lot or they will already be down and playing with no pressure and therefore will with a freedom that we won't be able to cope with.
 
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I'm struggling to understand Chelsea's plan here or why Kante's on the right of their midfield 3.
Surely he'd be better in the middle, unless he's supposed to help deal with Trossard?
Seems like he's too involved on the ball and not involved enough in defending, to me.
 
PleaseNotPoll said:
I'm struggling to understand Chelsea's plan here or why Kante's on the right of their midfield 3.
Surely he'd be better in the middle, unless he's supposed to help deal with Trossard?
Seems like he's too involved on the ball and not involved enough in defending, to me.
Click to expand...

I don’t think they even have one.

They make us look competent.
 
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