The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - 5 August 2011

[chas vs dave]

Amazing if true...he's not worth the two players never mind cash on top...

why, bentley is worth -6 million.

Also, with his greasy hair, he must be invaluable to a chicken firm.

 

[ChristianBaler]

Roger Morgan responding to Jase's info

added this too

"Oh, and we'll get Samba if we let them have Defoe. Unlikely, I'd have thought, unless we get in two new strikers."

 

[walworthyid]

It seems to me, as many others have said, that we are essentially hamstrung by the fact that we cannot shift the deadwood players from the squad. We certainly have the money to spend in terms of transfers, but Levy quite rightly is not going to mortgage our future by allowing us to pay out too much money on wages. This is the real key, again as many others have pointed out, everybody looks at the headline of the transfer fee, but behind that is the wage bill.

Where Levy may be in error, and I say maybe, is in asking too much money for the players that we want to get rid of. However, what should be obvious to all of us is that Levy will make his decisions based on sound economic principles and if it makes sense for us to take a hit on the transfer fee in order to reduce the wage bill he will do it.

I saw somebody post the other day that we are in a very difficult position in the sense that we are a nearly club and this doesn't justv affect our pursuit of players it also affects our ability to get rid of players. Players like JJ, Keane and Bentley are more than happy to collect their money with the possibility, in their own minds at least, that they can force their way into the team. They are not good enough for teams on our level or above but they consider themselves too good for the teams below. If Keane goes to Sunderland or Everton, he will want to be the big star, the same goes for the others.

I think this explains the lack of activity so far and until we can get rid of these players we are stuck. Only the desperation brought about by the impending closure of the transfer window will force our hand and by then, the best players will either be gone or will be overpriced.

The fact as we all know too well is though that unless we can upgrade our strikers we are set for another season of frustration. None of our strikers offers enough and the best we can hope for, which won't happen, is that Harry plays Pav for most games because we will at least have a striker that scores goals. But his weaknesses will cost us.

Frustrating time for us all!

 

[Sandro30]

Yeah but I really don't think Harry knows the difference between Sky Sports Fantasy Football and the real world!

You mean we aren't having big and little upfront with Drogba and Defoe? :bang::wink:

 

[ohh Teddy Teddy]

I'm guessing this is officially open season on enigmatic bullshit that hints at knowing something without going through the mods?

Aimed at me or ? .

 

[Akqayid]

We will have something massive

Agents, players, management and DL working hard, fuck knows what but DL and especially agents will deliver a brief

 

[mw828]

We will have something massive

Agents, players, management and DL working hard, fuck knows what but DL and especially agents will deliver a brief

like right now or just the general "working hard" that we have heard for 14 months?

 

[jackson]

Massively worried that all our striker targets remain unconvinced to sign or be let go by their clubs or in some cases both... As it stands we dont seem to have the green light on anyone and are waiting for the player to decide he has no better options or the club to decide they need to cash in - neither of which may happen with anyone in which case we're fucked...

That said I'm sure we'll sign someone, just not who anyone, including the management, really want - I reckon last minute KJH.

Obviously we need to shift players but perhaps our reluctance to drop asking prices on say keane is because we have no-one lined up to come in. If we did I reckon we'd take a slight hit - if we dont are we really going to leave ourselves with only three strikers at the same time as getting what is believed to be under market value for the player...

If we can get someone actually lined up to sign, I'm sure we'll see Keane or whichever striker leave to make way.

 

[stemark44]

I believe that Vucinic was the BEST striker we could have got and we really needed to make him feel wanted............I don't think we did and for me that's a major fuck up that sits beside not getting Suarez in January and not upgrading our strike force last summer!

 

[frazer]

We are stuck, we won't sell as that means other clubs will raise price of there players as they know we need to buy and we won't buy as that means other clubs will know we need to sell because we have too many players. Levy needs to make a decision. I still hope that we are doing something quietly like falcao. I live in hope.

 

[walworthyid]

I believe that Vucinic was the BEST striker we could have got and we really needed to make him feel wanted............I don't think we did and for me that's a major fuck up that sits beside not getting Suarez in January and not upgrading our strike force last summer!

I don't watch a lot of foreign football so can't really comment on vucinic, Suarez is certainly a very good player and one that I would like to see playing for spurs, is either of them the answer, I don't know.

I am not and never have been a big Harry fan and would gladly see him leave, but I do think that we need a very specific type of striker the way that we currently play and I'm really not sure that Suarez is that player.

I think one of the problems is that Harry is a very simplistic manager, he gets as many good players as he can and plays them, that is fine, but it won't always work as we have seen (the Fulham cup game and the first half against arsenal at whl being 2 very good examples). He is way too rigid in his thinking. There are games where I would play wilson AND Sandro. There are games where I would play 2 up top, there are games where I would play Bale at left back. Harry just doesn't seem to think that way and while it is difficult for me as an armchair fan who knows sod all to argue with a man who not only has been a manager for not much less time than I have been alive but that has also managed to achieve the best results of any spurs manager for a very long time, there are occasions when it is not just about having the best 11 on the pitch.

Last season we could have finished 4th, even as late as April we could have done it. We did well in the big games, we played good football for the most part and in domestic terms we certainly never really got outplayed. We were a match for all of the topsides and how Man city in particular managed to get 4 points from 2 of the most one-sided games you are likely to see is still a mystery to me. However, while having a Tevez, or a Rooney would have won us games, when we play so predictably, when our best players are allowed to burn themselves out, when we don't seem to have plans for different occasions, is this mythical striker really going to take us to the fabled "next level"?

It will help, but I'm just not convinced that Harry is the man to steer us through the most crucial period for this club in 25 years.

Sorry, rambling, doesn't belong in this thread, but a few thoughts anyway!

 

[walworthyid]

We are stuck, we won't sell as that means other clubs will raise price of there players as they know we need to buy and we won't buy as that means other clubs will know we need to sell because we have too many players. Levy needs to make a decision. I still hope that we are doing something quietly like falcao. I live in hope.

I thought of it form that point of view as well, but I'm not sure it works like that. Obviously there is loads of brinkmanship going on at this time of year, but do teams really know the inner workings and finances of other teams?

If a team really wants to buy Keane, or JJ, are they realy going to risk losing that player in the hope that they can save a few bob?

 

[lifeof...]

I think secret spurs is probably more spot on, than any other ITK in my opinion.

It certainly makes thew most sense, Just need to look at the evidence out there

Why?

And, of course.

It's nothing to do with bloody Levy.

mg: The signing or selling of players have nothing to do with the Chairman....Really? Do you really believe that?

 

[hugrr]

I don't watch a lot of foreign football so can't really comment on vucinic, Suarez is certainly a very good player and one that I would like to see playing for spurs, is either of them the answer, I don't know.

I am not and never have been a big Harry fan and would gladly see him leave, but I do think that we need a very specific type of striker the way that we currently play and I'm really not sure that Suarez is that player.

I think one of the problems is that Harry is a very simplistic manager, he gets as many good players as he can and plays them, that is fine, but it won't always work as we have seen (the Fulham cup game and the first half against arsenal at whl being 2 very good examples). He is way too rigid in his thinking. There are games where I would play wilson AND Sandro. There are games where I would play 2 up top, there are games where I would play Bale at left back. Harry just doesn't seem to think that way and while it is difficult for me as an armchair fan who knows sod all to argue with a man who not only has been a manager for not much less time than I have been alive but that has also managed to achieve the best results of any spurs manager for a very long time, there are occasions when it is not just about having the best 11 on the pitch.

Last season we could have finished 4th, even as late as April we could have done it. We did well in the big games, we played good football for the most part and in domestic terms we certainly never really got outplayed. We were a match for all of the topsides and how Man city in particular managed to get 4 points from 2 of the most one-sided games you are likely to see is still a mystery to me. However, while having a Tevez, or a Rooney would have won us games, when we play so predictably, when our best players are allowed to burn themselves out, when we don't seem to have plans for different occasions, is this mythical striker really going to take us to the fabled "next level"?

It will help, but I'm just not convinced that Harry is the man to steer us through the most crucial period for this club in 25 years.

Sorry, rambling, doesn't belong in this thread, but a few thoughts anyway!

I get where you're coming from when you say Arry is a simplistic manager, but he's got us to our best position in the premiership era, by putting "square pegs in square holes", very simple but effective

We all know what we need to take us forward, we need a forward that can be strong up front and bring our other quality players into the mix, bringing those type of players in isn't simple though. It's all good saying Llorente and Ade can do it, but if they don't want to come then we're pissing into the wind

It's a massive shame though, as any forward that saw the way we played last year would realise that our midfield create so many chances it's obscene. We need a forward that see's the potential, our potential is for the title, we just need someone capable of burying the chances

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

I believe that Vucinic was the BEST striker we could have got and we really needed to make him feel wanted............I don't think we did and for me that's a major fuck up that sits beside not getting Suarez in January and not upgrading our strike force last summer!

When you say "I don't think we did" don't you actually mean "i've completely dreamed this theory up because really I haven't a clue about how any negotiations went"?