Player watch: Toby Alderweireld

[Indisguise]

At least no one has brought up Sugar signing Klinsmann.

'til now.

 

[spursfan77]

Yeah I keep hearing this but it's still speculation. It also has to be a team Toby wants to join and a team that can offer him the wage he wants. I'll take the £60m now thanks. We can't spend it after our window closes.

We won’t spend it before the window closes either!

 

[allatsea]

I’m not Levy’s biggest fan but what I can appreciate is what he has done over the years which is stabilize our club. We have ‘gradually’ increased the wages & have a new stadium on the way which will eventually increase revenue.
We only need one or 2 special players to add to our quality squad. Leeds blew a fortune in a short space of time & relies on sustaining CL football which was a fleeting visit from them. We are showing consistency at staying at that level so should be able to take that risk.

That was my point. Amidst all the childish rants about Levy so many choose ignore that we won’t be doing a Leeds, or many other clubs, because of him.

 

[Metalhead]

I’m not Levy’s biggest fan but what I can appreciate is what he has done over the years which is stabilize our club. We have ‘gradually’ increased the wages & have a new stadium on the way which will eventually increase revenue.
We only need one or 2 special players to add to our quality squad. Leeds blew a fortune in a short space of time & relies on sustaining CL football which was a fleeting visit from them. We are showing consistency at staying at that level so should be able to take that risk.

Ha ha love the fact that @Ricky_Yid said that he won't miss people mentioning Leeds at the top of the page and boom - Leeds has been mentioned again. There is no danger of us ever doing a Leeds under Levy. It's such an extreme example.

 

[George94]

Why does everyone assume that Levy is at fault here?

Or that United have come in and just bullied through with one bid of £60m last night?

Surely it's possible that just like in our other dealings, we've been talking all summer, and only now are United willing to meet our demands. And actually Levy hasn't blinked first, but he's got a bloody good deal for a guy who's been unfit for most of the year, and available for £25m in a year.

When you look at it this way, you're right. £60m for 29 year old Toby isn't the end the world, it's actually a pretty decent price.

Having said that, we're directly strengthening a rival (again) even though United look to be refusing Martial to come us. From that point of view, we look pretty weak regardless of how much money United have given us.

Now, I'd forgive Levy for this pretty quickly if the money is reinvested into the squad and we go out and actually get some top players in (hopeful, I know).

 

[Indisguise]

I hate saying this because I don't like it either but we're still undeniably lower in the food chain than United. We, in turn, take players from clubs lower in the foodchain. It's how football transfers work. If United are stupid enough to pay £60m for a 30 year CB that's their problem.

 

[sausage]

At least no one has brought up Sugar signing Klinsmann.

Or Sugar immediately selling Klinsmann again

 

[knilly]

My onions on TA

We player trade every year. Generally we lose a first teamer that the majority would love to keep for an inflated fee. This props us up and has seen the club rise constantly closer to the top teams

£60m for a centre half who is turning 30 and has had a long term absence for a hamstring injury is quite frankly insane money. All the fees, but this is particularly ridiculous.

Cash is king. Whoever has the most of it has the upper hand. We are getting closer to the top table every 12 months.

TA is very shrewd. We’d like for him to be committed to Spurs, but the truth is he’s put a clause in his contract for a second time in his career to force a move. This has likely panned out that he moves 12 months early and we get a bigger fee, as it would be unlikely for a nearly 31 year old with a year left be sold for £60m.

We held our own without him for a lot of last season, we’ve already moved on in some respects. And running a lean operation you need to remove the excess.

He won’t be the last to go like this.

 

[Metalhead]

That was my point. Amidst all the childish rants about Levy so many choose ignore that we won’t be doing a Leeds, or many other clubs, because of him.

I can't think that anyone is expecting that level of spending. Assuming that you were around when Risdale was chairman at Leeds - it was a ridiculous and clearly unsustainable level of spending that was obvious to everyone. It frustrates me that as soon as there is even the slightest criticism of the transfer policy at the club, someone mentions Leeds but for me, it's such a non comparison.

 

[Metalhead]

Or Sugar immediately selling Klinsmann again

I assume that they made up in the end when Klinsmann helped us out in the 97-98 season.

Looking back, that original signing was one of the most exciting that we ever made.

 

[ghjk_91]

Not sure why people are making out Toby is over the hill at 29? That's nothing for a CB. You can attribute his poor form at the end of the season to the injury, wanting to leave etc.

He still looked quality at the World Cup against Brazil. He's been an amazing player for us since joining and I think very underrated in our recent progress. He was the catalyst in making us a real force imo, you can't overestimate the importance of the solid base he gave us with Jan. Sanchez is great, but we weren't as strong defensively last season.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

So. Much. Whinging.

Toby was always going to Man U. No other team in Europe was ever gonna pay £60m for a 29 yr old defender. So we had to take the cash from them. Hopefully this now allows to go and spend money in the areas that strengthen us.

 

[jonnyrotten]

Is there any club left on the planet that hasn't bought anyone this summer?! And now we are strengthening a rival again, just like last year. Might as well sell Liverpool Eriksen while we're at it!

 

[Ben1]

The age thing is amusing though..writing him off as old at 29.

Don't we have a defender that many thought was the best in the league, aged 31-32.

 

[SpartanSpur]

Why does everyone assume that Levy is at fault here?

Or that United have come in and just bullied through with one bid of £60m last night?

Surely it's possible that just like in our other dealings, we've been talking all summer, and only now are United willing to meet our demands. And actually Levy hasn't blinked first, but he's got a bloody good deal for a guy who's been unfit for most of the year, and available for £25m in a year.

Man Utd, like Liverpool before them, have unlocked the riddle to dealing in this window. Pay the inflated price for your top target.

Bet their fans are gutted to be fair (sarcasm)

I am part of the group that reluctantly accepts the sale if it's at £60m though. Although backing off from Martial and Zaha to possibly Rebic is not the best development.

 

[George94]

Posted this in the ITK thread accidentally, but with 4 days being left - we're going to have to start making some serious movements to actually bring players in soon, right?

Surely we're not going to leave every potential signing until deadline day to complete?

We need 3, arguably 4 players now Toby is going - that's potentially one a day!

Now I know that we're not starting from scratch this week and we've probably had deals we've been working on for a while, but I'm talking about actually pulling the trigger and getting these deals over the line. So risky just to wait until deadline day with the hope the price will drop a couple of million.

 

[Clark28]

The age thing is amusing though..writing him off as old at 29.

Don't we have a defender that many thought was the best in the league, aged 31-32.

It's his fitness record with soft tissue injuries in the last 2 seasons too, not just his age.

 

[Metalhead]

Posted this in the ITK thread accidentally, but with 4 days being left - we're going to have to start making some serious movements to actually bring players in soon, right?

Surely we're not going to leave every potential signing until deadline day to complete?

We need 3, arguably 4 players now Toby is going - that's potentially one a day!

Now I know that we're not starting from scratch this week and we've probably had deals we've been working on for a while, but I'm talking about actually pulling the trigger and getting these deals over the line. So risky just to wait until deadline day with the hope the price will drop a couple of million.

Well, selling Alderweireld to Man United (which, whilst I can understand it from a pragmatic point of view does seem to take us back to being that club that sells its players to the bigger clubs) without recruiting at least a CM is not going to look very good.

 

[Haddock]

Don't forget that TA might want to go to United. It makes the most sense even. He's obviously looking for a big pay day and United is the fastest route towards that.

Holding on to TA until a non-PL club comes in for him is undoubtedly risky as there is no guarantee that they will meet his wage demands.

 

[Ekmek]

As opposed to when we had him int he team against lower league opposition in the FA Cup and he was all over the place?

Well that is not relavent in this discussion its just a way for you to score some cheap points. We were talking about what a fully fit Alderweireld contribute to our team not the recently injured version with no match fitness that played those cup games.