please log in to view this image That looks like a photofit on Crimewatch, FFS. Is that an actual photo, as it doesn't look right at all?
The Mail running the headline Danny Rose is perfectly suited to Jose's Manchester United I must have forgotten all those games he came marauding forty yards up the pitch to bawl in the referee's face because he had the temerity to give the opposition a throw-in when the score was 0-0...
Various papers have been pushing this in the last couple of weeks, including fairly similar estimates as to the cost of such a transfer. I wonder where they've all got this idea from?
Others on here have pointed out that my wish for him to rot on our bench this season (or in the reserves) is unrealistic cos of our finances so I hope we get rid of it soon cos his attitude is shocking. Since being back in the first team he thanked fans for not turning on him and then told the press he was livid about not being in the NLD squad. He or his camp are now openly pushing the move to man Utd in Jan...get rid of asap for £50m cos I do not want to see it in a spurs shirt again let alone clap or cheer it during a match. Last April he was on Sky' s Soccer AM saying how close he was to Pochettino and how he (MP) had massively helped him become the player he was. He said that some days after training he'd stay and talk to MP gor 2 hours or so. Fast forward 3 months and he gives that outrageous interview to the SUN 72 hrs before our first match of the season. He epitomises everything wrong with professional footballers imho and I would rather him be a mercenary elsewhere. It's a shame cos he could of kept his mouth shut and then claimed to be home sick and we'd have missed him . As it is he can't **** off quick enough for me.
Luke Shaw starts for United tonight and I've read that he's been training like a demon and dropped a lot of excess timber. That kills any deal in January to my mind and if Mourinho gives the kid a chance, it might do for it permanently. So Pep, we'll take De Bruyne and Sane in exchange and say no more about it? Don't bother to wrap them.
There's a few reports suggesting that Janssen will be off in the summer, with Napoli being strongly linked.
Funnily enough, the papers have started linking us with left backs, with the Wail coming out of the traps linking us with Augsburg's Philipp Max (not to be confused with Dortmund striker Maximilian Philipp) Obviously this strikes me as a remarkable amount of joined-up journalism, as the Mail are busy linking one of our left backs with a move so that obviously means we'd need to sign a new one - however Max does come across as a rather similar player to Trippier, and from a rotation standpoint it does make a lot of sense if both flanks had one pacy player and one accurate crosser so we could mix and match depending on the games and circumstances.
With the reports today that Bale has reportedly agreed a deal to leave Madrid in the summer does anyone here want him to come back to us - we are apparently one of the clubs that maybe interested - Me I am not convinced I would rather remember Gareth as he was for us, not sure his body would cope as well now with premier league but I am interested to hear other opinions.
For me it would be about wages (on the basis he is not likely to give us full seasons as he did in his Spurs prime) . To have some of the 2012-13 Bale during a season would be immense.
I wouldn't want Bale back. Too injury prone and I don't think he's improved as a player since leaving, the injuries have obviously contributed immensely to that but I feel Bale is/ was better off being the big fish rather than Ronaldo's shadow. Considering he'll be 29 at the start of next season and would still cost a small fortune to buy, it doesn't make much sense to me to make that financial committent on someone who has only featured in roughly 50% of games over the past couple of seasons.
You make valid points DH, but I wouldn’t rule him out. He is still an immense talent and the one thing I might disagree with you on is that in my opinion he will have developed - if only a winning mentality and the experience of having won top honours. That is, after all the experience that we are somewhat lacking.
I really don't understand the hesitancy. I would get him back in a heartbeat! Even if he only plays a small part. He can't be any more injury prone than VDV was when we got him. Just in time for the new stadium.
If we managed to negotiate a loan with a bunch of guarantees that would prevent us being gazumped it would likely work out the best for us.
Yeah course, no doubting the winning mentality will be far greater and it'd be brilliant to have but with the money we'd likely to have to spend on Bale, we'd need him to basically join Kane in being a consistent superstar and although injuries is something you can never predict, his recent track record (not forgetting he had his fair share with us, too) just makes him too much of a risk for me. If he's getting constantly injured out in La Liga, I can't imagine how fragile he'd be in the Prem, especially under Poch's training regime. I think an ideal scenario - which wouldn't happen but it'd be a dream if it did - would be a loan with an obligation to buy deal once he's played X amount of games.
Totally agree with DH for a change. Sad to say it but Bale's A-game was always based around pace and raw power. Every injury chips away at that veneer leaving behind a shell of a player. He doesn't have the footballing brain or nous to reinvent himself as Ronaldo has done.