The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE 10th August 2012

[Original # 10]

I was going to post something similar to this last night but forgot, it appears it is well needed...

To halt the panic, I am going to reaffirm what I said a few days ago. Nothing has really changed since then, the steady progression has continued.

Nothing expected this week, but things to be done before Newcastle. 2, if all goes well. Definitely at least one.

I'm going to have a massive stab in the dark here. All in. Completely off the fence.

You are referring to Adebayor and Leandro?

 

[cookiemonster]

It will be Adebayor

He's the cheapest of the lot, transfer fee wise.

We might get that Julius Cesar fellow too since he's cheap too

That will placate the fans for a while

Oh...Modric will probably be sold around 30th-31 aug...money received will be bank in

Excuse given will be it's to late to get a replacement,we tried our best but Moutinho etc too expensive,money will be saved for the next window .....you know the drill

 

[AFred]

All bow to me.....Some of you may recall me replying in yesterday's ITK thread that the goat's info yesterday (AVB was telling people Leandro was ours blah, blah) should be treated with caution and that we are more likely to find out from the chairman of Internacional because these Latin chairman tend to make bold and brash comments in the media when it comes to transfers....

What did the loudmouth Internacional chairman do recently....thats right, he made a bold and brash statement saying Leandro wont be leaving until his huge buyout clause is met.....

Does it make me ITK????? Lol probably not.

 

[Paolo10]

Oh no, the 2 best squads in the league can't get the right players at the right prices.

Somehow I think they'll both be alright. We are a completely different kettle of fish and it's not just this window either when it comes to Spurs.

Edit: Where exactly are Utd and City lacking like we are?!

 

[Danny1]

I was going to post something similar to this last night but forgot, it appears it is well needed...

To halt the panic, I am going to reaffirm what I said a few days ago. Nothing has really changed since then, the steady progression has continued.

Nothing expected this week, but things to be done before Newcastle. 2, if all goes well. Definitely at least one.

Rebrab I love you! Saying the above has brought peace & harmony to these plains, you are like our very own Aslan.....(Liam Neesons voice by the way - stupid fact of the day award....check!)

 

[Spurger King]

Well. If nothing else is done by Newcastle, Adebayor will be. So yes .

Cheers rebrab. Sounds a bit more promising.

 

[ohwhenthespurs]

Rebrab I love you! Saying the above has brought peace & harmony to these plains, you are like our very own Aslan.....(Liam Neesons voice by the way - stupid fact of the day award....check!)

Yeah, woop de bloody do. We'll get Adebayor in on the eve of the Newcastle game, he won't have had a pre-season and we'll pick him up on the team bus at the M1 services on the way to the game so he can meet AVB, Jan and Gylfi for the first time. Then we'll bid 14 million for Leandro on August 31st, leak some bullshit to Sky Sports News about a big money move for Llorente or Hulk, who ever the current flavour of the month is by then, and then post some carefully concocted shit on the official site or through one of the itks about how we went for it this window but some force of evil beyond our control thwarted us and we just fell short, but we'll be ready to rumble in January with the money in the banks and the targets agreed in principle already to come. Heard it all before.

 

[Ledley's Right Foot]

I genuinely have no idea how transfer negotiations work, but I can't get my head around how long they seem to take. Maybe someone who's a little more 'ITK' can shed some light? When I negotiate to buy a car I might do a bit of posturing, but it'd still be done and finalised within a couple of weeks. Knowing what causes the delays might put some fans' minds at rest (probably not but still).

From a very basic point of view, surely we go in with an enquiry or initial offer, then they reject or negotiate that offer? How is it that this negotiating process seems to take us months, and even years in the case of Leandro!? If the figure they throw back at us is extortionate, then we'd just move on wouldn't we?

I'm thinking of setting up eBay for football clubs. Selling clubs can set a reserve, buy it now price and a deadline. Other clubs can bid away, and Levy can be one of those bar stewards that flies in with a low bid with seconds remaining on the auction!

I don't know how they work either but what I've noticed supporting spurs is that:

1) Strikers are rock to buy unless from a small club (Defoe/Keane). If they're top quality we have to get them early (Berbatov). Even then, if Chelsea, City, PSG or Man Utd want them, then forget it. 2) Wingers and creative midfielders are slightly easier to buy but still rock hard. 3)These things tend to go in cycles, we recruit well when the top teams have a stable squad but when they are looking for the same position as us prices are inflated. 4) Generally midfielders and defenders, when we need them, are easy to get. 5) We've done our best work buying young talent from lower leagues (Lennon, Walker, Naughton, Dawson, Bale, Huddlestone,). When we need a show piece name, we just don't have the finances, unless we get lucky (ala VDV). 6) We've done our worst work buying from premier league clubs who want big money (Bentley, Bent).

Strikers are expensive, easy to get wrong and hard to find. That's why they take so much time. we literally can't offer more than we do. I'm worried about the start of the season but I'm also pleased we're not spending our money foolishly. We might have to bite the bullet this transfer window but I hope we'll start looking at the lower leagues again soon and catch some of that talent into our development squad. We've missed a few recently whilst our eyes have been elsewhere (Oxlade-chamberlin and that guy from Crewe who Man Utd took earlier). They take longer to come off but that's where our future is.

 

[Stoof]

Cheers rebrab.

Hopefully the rest of the forum will see this for what it is: an "OMG WE'RE GOING TO WIN THE LEAGUE!!!oneoneone!!11!" moment.

 

[neptunes]

Cheers rebrab. Sounds a bit more promising.

OK, so Ade comes in. Fine. Is he at the same level of preparation as the rest of our squad? How can we use Ade unless he is physically and mentally ready v barcodes?

I hate to say this but this is deja-vu as the beginning of our campaign as last year. And we all know how it started!!

 

[thfc1989]

Well. If nothing else is done by Newcastle, Adebayor will be. So yes .

I dont quite follow. Can you rephrase this ITK in the form of a cryptic, possibly involving colours?

 

[Lilbaz]

Harry kane to be top scorer next season?

 

[Bus-Conductor]

You wonder if we put football or business first, look at signing Rafa for cheap when he wasnt even what we needed...a striker.

.

You really are a fucking hoot. Really, we didn't need a player like VDV ?

Instead what we needed was another mediocre striker to add to three that Redknapp had paid nearly £50m for you mean ?

 

[THOWIG]

I dont quite follow. Can you rephrase this ITK in the form of a cryptic, possibly involving colours?

I'd take it as Adebayor is a fall back plan, but that we are still trying for Falcao, Tevez and Muniain. Right?

 

[Riandor]

I dont quite follow. Can you rephrase this ITK in the form of a cryptic, possibly involving colours?

All will be fine, for black and white... blue will be ours, thank you goodnight...

That do it for you?

 

[scat1620]

Maybe it's just indifference, then. Maybe I'm giving up on arguing with people who get so out of their box on the subject that in the end it's easier to say "change your attitude; live a bit longer". I'm 28, I'm no wise old owl, but I write well and understand the complexities of business and have been involved in several 100m+ corporate and property deals to know how directors of big companies work.

That's not to suggest some people don't. But when people say "oh just a few million", it riles me as I've been on con calls with directors of companies who are penny pinching over thousands of pounds when their profits after tax are in their hundreds of millions. (Not a mere 670k). You can argue the business vs. football line if you like, but we both can see which way it goes.

I've bolded the part that I think is relevant here. It seems like you've emotionally pulled away from Spurs a bit more than some others on this site, according to that first paragraph. But when you're posting on a forum specifically designed for Spurs fans from all walks of life to discuss their team, you surely must expect people to feel passionately about the fate of our club (and in this particular case, what effect improving/not improving our strike force will have on that fate), even if this specific striker thing doesn't provoke as passionate a reaction from yourself. Seems to me like you're getting more exercised by people going OTT when discussing the issue than you are by the strikers/no strikers issue itself. But I digress: I'm not even sure if I'm arguing against your point, because I'm equally no more of a fan of the "SPEND SPEND SPEND!!" brigade than I am of the "Chill, dudes, things will DEFINITELY be fine" camp. All I'm trying to say is that there is a section of people with pretty moderate opinions who are worried, and a good number of those have very respectable business nous outside of these forums too (I'm a 30 year old accountant with a Masters Chemistry degree from Oxford University and worked for a Big 4 firm before moving to a major name in the aerospace industry, if we're all getting our "I understand the complexities of real-life business" credentials out on the table) so their opinions very much aren't the whining of spoilt children, and should be respected as such.

You don't have to quote post histories at me. I've been here through plenty of rotations of posters - especially in this part of the forum, the ITK and Transfer stuff. And while I don't agree, I empathise. I just choose to wait and see.

And as for the actual post you quoted - my concern was that people are getting upset because of what ITKs said. I haven't got that the wrong way round at all. If you choose to believe what people say, then that's your lot. That's your choice. They're passing information on in good faith - no matter their choice of presentation, or their confidence - remember where the information has come from and there's no need to get so upset (is my point).

Fair point, maybe I quoted the wrong post to properly illustrate my point. My worries aren't there as a result of what ITK's have said and are saying; I'm concerned because of the situation as it currently stands. As things are, our squad isn't good enough at the current time. The more reliable media outlets and the one-or-two solid gold ITK people are the sources I would turn to to get a best-estimate of what might be likely to happen in the near future, but speaking for myself I am worried because as of today, 10 August 2012, we only have Jermain Defoe, Harry Kane and Souleymane Coulibaly to choose from when selecting a matchday striker. Even if the ITKs and the media were saying that we were likely to get someone brilliant in before the Newcastle game, I would be a little nervous until I see the new signing in a Spurs shirt. That's why I'm worried: a bird in the hand is worth two in the ITK/media bush, so to speak.

 

[yido_number1]

Yeah, woop de bloody do. We'll get Adebayor in on the eve of the Newcastle game, he won't have had a pre-season and we'll pick him up on the team bus at the M1 services on the way to the game so he can meet AVB, Jan and Gylfi for the first time. Then we'll bid 14 million for Leandro on August 31st, leak some bullshit to Sky Sports News about a big money move for Llorente or Hulk, who ever the current flavour of the month is by then, and then post some carefully concocted shit on the official site or through one of the itks about how we went for it this window but some force of evil beyond our control thwarted us and we just fell short, but we'll be ready to rumble in January with the money in the banks and the targets agreed in principle already to come. Heard it all before.

How much of a preseason did he get last season...? None if I recall yet he still had a goal scoring debut against wolves...

 

[L-man]

So, I just read this entire thread.


Fuck. Me.

 

[paulcumpstone]

Oh no, the 2 best squads in the league can't get the right players at the right prices.

Somehow I think they'll both be alright. We are a completely different kettle of fish and it's not just this window either when it comes to Spurs.

Edit: Where exactly are Utd and City lacking like we are?!

Exactly, how can you compare our situation with the likes of utd or city, or any of the other top clubs in the prem, do you seriously think any of them would allow themselves to get in a situation where they were heading into the new season with 1 striker, ok the market is quiet and everyone is waiting but we are in a far worse situation squadwise.

I have faith that somebody will be brought in but I don't for a second expect much movement before the end of August because that the way Levy rolls, just hoping he pulls a rabbit out the hat, not a Rasiak or Andy Booth on loan

 

[rebrab]

I dont quite follow. Can you rephrase this ITK in the form of a cryptic, possibly involving colours?

If the rest of the rainbow doesn't materialise, we can always use the manuel