Yes, I saw that and posted it at the time. Real gets away with things here that no other club would be allowed to. Looks like that applies to the whole of Europe too!...
Remember the **** some of the papers were giving us because we got £8m from the urban regeneration fund for the area around the new stadium, with (who else?) the Wail saying we were stealing cash put aside for the post-riots clean-up? Not exactly the same as siphoning off money from the local council to sign Isco with, is it?
Really? Seriously? If you ask me, Real Madrid's PR department aka Marca have printed most of the garbage which the English papers have paraphrased and added meat to, after they apparently submitted a transfer request to Spurs. Bale has declined to comment. The club has declined to comment. So the rags fill in the blanks with whatever they can grasp at. It's like the Royal baby birth debacle. Hundreds of supposed "journalists" outside a hospital all reporting on.... nothing, whilst a woman is in labour. What were they expecting, updates every time the contractions changed? So to fill space in the news segments and the papers, they just make mindless crap up based on zero facts and here say. It's called selling papers and fulfilling advertising contracts by getting traffic to their websites. It hype, hype, hype, hype! Smoke = fire? I think they are just blowing smoke up their arses frankly.
I don't know if any of you guys have seen it, but Ian Rush is being quoted as saying that he would advise Bale to stay at Spurs until he's 28 as moving abroad too early in his career would be a bad move. Didn't I tell you that I've always loved those Mousers!
I'm sure Bale approves of it, and I would guess his family does as well. While it's disappointing, there are very few modern athletes who don't do everything they can think of to negotiate or renegotiate the most money for themselves they can. I personally am withholding judgment on Bale until I see how the whole thing pans out. He has got his agent threatening a move if Bale doesn't get the contract he wants--or has decided only another club like Real will give it to him. Bentecke, just to name one, did the same. Bale has not refused to train, or handed in a transfer request. So far, if you can possibly ignore the enormous media blitz, it's a run-of-the-mill renegotiation attempt.
We'll have to agree to disagree then. It seems fairly clear to me that Bale wants to talk to Real. Whether Levy allows him to, is another matter..
Sure its perfectly okay to have opposing opinions. I am curious to know though, what facts make you feel that Bale actually wants or has asked to speak to Real Madrid?
Too much anecdotal evidence. Plus, something would have emerged to the contrary, if there was absolutely no basis to it. There are plenty of ways of doing that without speaking directly. He has had his head turned by Real's persistent tapping up, IMO.
Repeated a few times on Talksh1te that I had on in the car last night: "Talk Sport understands that..." [Bale has told AVB that he wants to leave]. I only mention it because its just typical of the rubbish we've been hearing ever since that Marca article restarted all this. The statement is so devoid of any fact or corroboration yet this is what passes for sports journalism. Obvious questions like who told them, when, what was said, where, what other source can verify this is (obviously) completely lacking. And while Bale may leave I would still say lots of people reporting the same thing is not enough evidence because none of them are quoting attributed sources. They are just publishing all this stuff so when it happens they can claim how much ITK they were. It would also be great if we presented to the authorities a dossier on the Real illegal tapping up campaign, but probably won't because we may wish to do business with them in the future if they are going to have silly money to throw around. And where does their money come from anyway (see article on illegal state aid earlier), which is disgraceful enough given how much the Spanish people are suffering in the current economic crisis.
Yes, we know that Real's behaviour has been disgraceful - almost certainly against all rules on wooing payers of other clubs. And yes, we know that the press in general prints a lot of sensationalist crap. However, the debate was over whether there was any substance behind these stories of Bale wishing to join Real. I felt that there was just too much smoke - Flaspur thought differently. That's just difference of opinion. I assure you that I will take no satisfaction at all from it, should my suspicions be proved correct and Bale does indeed leave. I will be as upset as all other Spurs fans.
If you read the actual quote and not the headline you may conclude that RM are talking internally to fund a solution and not with Bale at all. Not good enough and certainly backs HIAGs grievance.
PESKIE's wum response is simply part and parcel of his continued campaign of hate and spite against me, despite the very clear warnings that he has been given by our mods to desist. He won't desist, because he is too obsessed to desist. One has only to visit the Chelsea board to see what his attitude is towards me and the excesses he would readily ascend to if he were given a free reign, here. PESKIE is not interested in discussing anything with us, all he is interested in, and all he will ever be interested in, is making points to take the piss and to disrupt. When our mods realise, understand and accept this, perhaps they will do us all a favour and ban him. I'm not suggesting a permanent ban (although that is what I would vote for, if given the opportunity), but certainly a temporary ban would more than in order, say for the entirety of the coming season. I know our mods don't like banning people, but that doesn't mean that they should never ban; and PESKIE's behaviour, not just towards me but towards other posters on this board, has more than justified a ban.
The fact a member of THFC staff said they had been reminded of the need for total confidentiality is the biggest sign i've seen that _something_ is happening with regards to Bale. Whether that is Bale wanting to leave, Levy about to accept a bid or something else is anyones guess though.
I don't mind some of his banter, but he has, for some time now, gone too far. I really am not enjoying it. It's not just his spiteful campaign of hate against me, it's his general lack of respect for every debate. If I poke fun at rival fans, I like to think that I do it whilst making a valid point, especially if I am a guest on their board. I'm beginning to despair of him, and I know I am not alone in this.
