A crucial week for Spurs
I was commentating at White Hart Lane on Saturday as Spurs lost to Sunderland and after a thoroughly depressing day for the club you have to conclude that the next week could be the most crucial of their season.
As if defeats in their opening two games were not bad enough, the Dimitar Berbatov saga has edged closer to its inevitable conclusion with the Bulgarian staying away from the game. After talks on Friday, Berbatov was deemed not to be "in the right frame of mind" to play.
In his post-match interview, a refreshingly honest but clearly frustrated Gus Poyet made it pretty clear that Berbatov has run out of allies at the club. The only hurdle now is persuading Manchester United to pay what Tottenham feel he is worth - and that might not be easy with Berbatov's value falling by the day.
With this deal it's a buyers' market because United know Spurs need to offload a player who, by their own admission, is now a bad influence in the dressing room. United's own need for a goalscorer should ensure a fee in excess of £20m, but if Spurs want nearer £30m they are in dreamland.
Should the deal go through, Tottenham will then have just a few days, or maybe even hours, to find new faces or hope Darren Bent comes up trumps.
Ideally, with no replacements having been brought in for Robbie Keane or Jermain Defoe, let alone Berbatov, they need more than one top striker. But Spurs will then find themselves in a sellers' market as, with the transfer window on the point of closing, they would almost certainly end up paying over the odds for whoever they do sign.
Zenit Saint Peterburg's Andrei Arshavin has been linked with Tottenham for weeks, and interestingly was left out of their side which played Krylia Sovetov on Saturday. However, I'm not at all sure he is the answer. Arshavin is an excellent player but not a centre forward - the Russian season started in March and he has scored just three goals in the 19 games Zenit have played - and another creative attacking midfielder is not what Tottenham need.
You also have to take into account that if Arshavin were to move to England now, he would be playing an eight-month Premier League season on top of five months of the Russian season without any break, which is hardly ideal.
The same would apply to another Tottenham target, Spartak Moscow's Roman Pavlyuchenko and the fact that Spartak have just sacked their coach could also make it difficult for them to sell.
It all adds up to a monumental headache for Juande Ramos, particularly as Spurs play Chelsea next Sunday. If they fail to take a point from Stamford Bridge, it will be their worst start to a season for 29 years.
After Chelsea, it will be Aston Villa and by then Dimitar Berbatov will surely have been unveiled as a Manchester United player, but how will that story unfold? As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
One insider at Spurs told me on Saturday that the Bulgarian is an intensely private individual who detests the attention which being a footballer brings and who is uncomfortable with the adulation. You only have to hear the shrieks of excitement that greet the sight of even John O'Shea walking through the players' car park at Old Trafford to know that at Manchester United attention and adulation are guaranteed.
I’m Steve Wilson, one of the Match of the Day commentators. This season, I’ll be travelling round the country commentating on the Premier League and the Football League, as well as reporting for Football Focus. It’s shaping up to be an exciting season, culminating in the World Cup. On my blog, I’ll be sharing opinions and anecdotes and I look forward to reading your comments.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~41~RS~)
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Funny that the Spurs fans and board have not yet mentioned Ramos being shown the door, as Jol was after 2 defeats in 2 last season.
Spurs` poor start season only further highlights their atrocious behaviour concerning Jol last season
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It's a fair point about the adulation of players at Man Utd but players like Paul Scholes have proved that it is possible to duck under the limelight should they wish. Of course, that's not to say that they completely escape the media attention but if Berbatov were to sign for Man Utd he would become an excellent squad member - not a star striker.
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Spurs' actions in all of this only serves to leave bad feeling between all the clubs involved. Reporting teams to the FA and then retracting (in Liverpool's case) will only make teams more wary of dealing with Spurs in the future...isn't it just better for everyone that when a fair offer is made, it is accepted (esp when the player wants to leave) - and then focus on getting replacements quicker.
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I think Man U rely on Ronaldo more than Spurs rely on Berbatov. New strikers would be nice though
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Good blog, and I agree with you about Arshavin, with Dos Santos and Modric, they don't need him. I was, however, hoping you'd suggest a few strikers they could buy; for example, Lukas Podolski. He seems avaliable, was one of Germany's best Euro 2008 players, and would get Spurs some much needed goals. Thoughts, Mr. Wilson?
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I must say non-spurs fans have no idea how terrible we were before ramos came last season. jol was a disgrace. 1 win from 12, conceding goals with a terrible defence and throwing away leads against bad teams.
we never win against boro and have a poor record in the north east. sunderland at home is a game we expected to win but they are a much improved side and will not be relegation contenders at all.
ramos won us the cup. first in 9 years and we played some great football up until the carling cup final. after that we understandably lost motivation.
it is not his fault the strikers have defected. so once that problem is solved and we replace dawson with a decent centre back (because king will not play on a regular basis) and hopefully add an edgar davids type player then we will be fine again.
by the way if you watched the game vs sunderland either at WHL or on a live stream or extended highlights on football first you would know that after their goal we were the dominant side and have nothing to worry about. their first goal was handball and their second against the run of play. either way there is nothing to worry about. yes you take 46 goals out the team and we will struggle but once we get in some decent strikers we should start to rebuild again. no realistic spurs fan thinks we will come near the top 4 especially after our strikers have gone so just to play good football especially at WHL is our target.
p.s. bentley's delivery is incredible and just what we have been missing
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Fair point about Jol, but he had obviously been there longer and football people seem love change.
Spurs have been caught in the strange position of being a club in transition losing its top players, and a free spending powerhouse complete with lengthy transfer sagas and top 4 expectations. I think they were always going to need time to settle in.
Top 4 is unreasonable, nay impossible unless one of the big boys falls asleep, but 5th could still be attainable with some squad gelling...and a goalscorer or 6.
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Well as long as United cough up £25 mill+ then we'll let him go, quite simple really. But if they continue to say they're not going any higher than £20 mill then i'd rather we sell him for cheaper than that to a Barca, Real or AC Milan type of club abroad.
We don't need a striker ffs, we really need a DM player, if Ramos can't see that then he needs his head examined. It's so blindingly obvious we lack a midfield general, I want us to be looking at players like Gattusso, Senna or even Frings.
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What about Zokora? I didnt see the game this weekend but he was ball shandy against boro at right back, why would he play there when you clearly need someone to hold the middle together.
Even at that, iv always found him to lack the dominating streak of great DMs plus he can be a bit hasty going forward.
What do people who'v seen a lot more spurs games than me think?
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yea i totally agree with comment number 8. we need some steel in midfield because our midfield is so lightweight. what about xabi alonso? he is spanish too! but then we also need a centre back because dawson is inept - i have been saying this for a long time.
we cannot however go through a season with only darren bent so a striker is even more of a priority. i suggest 2.
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The Spurs board need to take the biggest slice of the blame for this debacle. In trying to act all back of the bus with Manchester Utd they have got their fingers burnt by a Manager and board who are much more used to this level of dealings than Spurs. Add that to the fact that Utd are not chasing Berbatov, since he desperately wants to go there, there will only be one winner.
The fact that the board have tried to hold on for too long is ridiculous. We are now in the position exactly as described in the blog - We have a unhappy star player who is effectively refusing to play (I wonder which club gave him that idea..hmmm) and very little time left with which to replace him. Add to that the effect this has had on the team in the first two matches. A disaster.
Berbatov should have been sold long before the season started. Levy should keep his mouth shut when making official complaints (after tapping up Ramos) and the manager should have been backed with action rather than posture.
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"we don't need a striker"? Come again?
We don't need A striker. We need at least 2. Replacements for both Keane and Berbatov. And we need to find them fast.
It's been a ridiculous start to the season. I don't know whose fault it is (wow, jumping on the blame culture bandwagon here for a second) but to get to the start of the season with Berbatov not sold and replacements not bought is ridiculous. Last season was a disaster (LC aside) because deals that should have been sorted in the summer were left hanging open into the autumn, meaning that Martin Jol had no authority in the dressing room and the players had no idea who was really in charge and who would be in charge next week. I can't believe the Powers That Be didn't learn from the mistakes of last season that business done outside of the summer months tends to have a hugely negative effect on the club.
Oh well. I guess if we get it sorted nice and soon it might not be too late to salvage something, but we're probably looking at cups again rather than any great strides back towards the top 5 in the league. I'd settle for it - especially if it were the UEFA or FA cup... but I can't believe we've played 2 games and the season is a write off...
Here's hoping I'm being unduly pessimistic.
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@1 - Yes the Spurs board did act disgracefully last season regarding Martin Jol - however, they will not even have entertained the idea of letting Ramos go at any point soon.
Whilst I thought the side grew under the guidance of Jol, Ramos is the man Spurs wanted, and they will allow him to adjust with his new signings this year. Talk of him going is very premature (even if you are just making a point about the board's behaviour last year).
What shocked me is that two of our best strikers were shipped out without replacements being brought in. I was vey pleased to see Bent get his goalscoring boots on in pre-season, however he alone will not be enough.
I wish Berbatov had decided at the start of the season to give us one more year of his sublime football, and give Ramos plenty of time to get a natural successor. It's hardly a shock that he wants to leave for Champions League football, but after stating last year that he would stay past the summer, it's not a great sitution for us to be in. He is a joyous player to watch, and I certainly don't want to see him lining up in the Premiership against us two games of the year (possibly more with cups). Spurs to sell him overseas, that would be the best option ;)
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Spurs seem to constantly take 1 step forward and then 2 back. With Keane, Defoe, Berbatov and Bent they surely had one of the best strike force's in the premiership. Their problem was always leaking goals. They seemed to have sorted the defence by capturing Hutton, Bale and Woodgate but now they're left with only Bent upfront and had to play a system against Sunderland to accomodate that.
The blog raised a very valid point that Spurs are going to pay over the odds if they want to sign someone before the deadline closes. Clubs will know Spurs are desperate to sign a striker or two and will just reject any initial offer knowing Spurs will come back with an improved bid. If Spurs don't sign a striker or two before the transfer deadline closes the top 4 will be out of sight by the time the window re-opens after Christmas.
It looks like this will be yet another season of rebuilding for Tottenham.
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Number 6 - Stop your crying about the handball, i noticed this at the weekend aswell. Spurs fans crying saying it was a handball, jenas handled it as much as richardson did.
anyways, spurs are becoming the new newcastle, massive spending and ambition but inevaitably doomed to failure.
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Nice dig at John O'Shea!
(I'm sure his champions league medal will make up for it though)
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Spurs have missed the boat in that berbi was always going to go! Their are not many quality strikers available on the market,so it could be another mid table bore fest ! We should never of got rid of Defoe! Ask any spurs fan who they would rather have up front ;Defoe or Bent ? Modric is going to need a minder in the centre of the park and who,s going to do that job!
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Man. Utd. have made a bid for Berbatov of 20m and have been told 30m is the valuation for this player. Berbatov must not be sold below his market valuation. Berbatov himself can play this season and next for Tottenham. He is exactly the sort of player Tottenham require and Arshavin would be a big help too.
Let the board get Ramos whatever players he requires this week. Berbatov will be worth every penny of 25m next year, so why on earth sell him to a top competitor? Tell him he is needed and that he is being held to contract unless his valuation is met. He has become irreplaceable now and must be treated as such. He's far too good to be allowed dictate to further his own ambitions. Hold on to him if at all possible. Jus like Utd. did with Ronaldo.
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Man. Utd. have made a bid for Berbatov of 20m and have been told 30m is the valuation for this player. Berbatov must not be sold below his market valuation. Berbatov himself can play this season and next for Tottenham. He is exactly the sort of player Tottenham require and Arshavin would be a big help too.
Let the board get Ramos whatever players he requires this week. Berbatov will be worth every penny of 25m next year, so why on earth sell him to a top competitor? Tell him he is needed and that he is being held to contract unless his valuation is met. He has become irreplaceable now and must be treated as such. He's far too good to be allowed dictate to further his own ambitions. Hold on to him if at all possible. Just like Utd. did with Ronaldo.
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p.s. bentley's delivery is incredible and just what we have been missing
What an absolute shambles, terrific point, but he will have no-one to deliver the ball to! If Ramos is smart he'll buy young strikers, up and coming, to replace the 2 27 yr olds, and for GOD'S SAKE FIX THAT DEFENSE!!!! Spurs can attack, always have been able to, and have great attacking midfielders, but without a stable back-line and a true CDM ala Mascherano/Essien/Hargreaves there will be little substance and no progress.
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Utd and Ronaldo was a VERY different situation, with him signing a 5 yr deal only 8 months ago, and the real reason he went no-where, he's injured until November!!!
Take the profit, he'll maybe have 1 good season with Utd before he falls out with SAF. And seriously, how can you say that selling to Utd is selling to a top competitor. PLEASE be realistic. The competitors for Spurs will be Everton, Aston Villa, maybe Sunderland, Newcastle and if all the afore mentioned team's christmas' come at once ARSENAL. Dominate THAT group, and maybe then a platform will exist to COMPETE with Man Utd/Chelsea/Liverpool...
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firstly, if berbatov leaves, then spurs ought to sign 2 strikers at the very minimum. even if spurs sign 1 striker, him and bent up front with no back up in case of injuries is hardly ideal. Besides, bent may have looked good in pre-season, but in both of the premier league games, he has hardly been involved in the game and has looked generally poor.
Once Berbatov has left, if Spurs can sign Arshavin, Huntelaar and Corluka within the next week then I would be happy with our squad.
Spurs have to sign a top goalscorer, to replace the 50 odd goals scored from Berba and Keane last season. Huntelaar may be the answer. If we do not sign an goalscorer, the midfield cannot be expected to score all our goals, and relying on Bent would be dangerous. We could be in for a hard season unless we bring in more players
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The root of the whole problem is chairman, Daniel Levy. He's put our manager in an impossible position and, in the name of getting the best price for Berbatov, has potentially ruined our season. He is a publicity seeking fool who knows nothing about running a football club and seemingly nothing about running a business. Sack him imediatly and get somone who understand what is needed.
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Oh haven't you heard that Ramos is planning on bringing in Heskey?? THAT should solve the striker problem eh???
I seriously HOPE that this is a baseless rumour, for all Spurs fan's sakes...
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would have let Berbatov go sooner if we had Keane. Ramos is going to have to be quick in the transfer market if Berbatov goes. No idea who he should sign, but I hope there are no panic buys
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totally agree there rob. What can we be thinking in bringing in Heskey for Berbatov??!!
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Sam, I am a Liverpool fan, but first and foremost a football fan, and cannot for the life of me understand how Spurs can be FREE SPENDING MONEY BAGS one week, then apparent misers the next... Why is Ramos waiting for the Berbatov conclusion to do more business??? Get it done, and make HIM surplus to requirements.
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I agree with 18/19.
Berbatov is a professional and Spurs have the right to expect him to act like one.
I dont see why Spurs should be the one's who get burnt in this whole situation; if Utd aren't prepared to meet their valuation of 30m or somewhere close to that, I believe Spurs have the full right to keep Berbatov at WHL. Once the window closes, Berb will realise that he can either become a professional and start playing or spend the rest of the season on the bench.
I'm sure he'll change his mood and mind very quickly.
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As a Manchester United fan I’m really exited at the thought of Berbatov linking up with players such as Ronaldo and Rooney. I'm confident that Berbatov will provide that extra fire power we seem to be missing upfront after seeing him excel in the premier league. After the signings spurs made over the summer I felt they could really push for that 4th champions league spot this season. However they then went on to sell probably their best players Keane and now possibly Berbatov which for me has put spurs back down to a top-flight team. With only a week to go before the transfer deadline they seem have their sights set on Arshavin or Pavlyuchenko, which will be an expensive gamble to whether or not, they can carry on their Euro 2008 form in the premier league.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
1) I think that Berbatov should be extremely ashamed of himself after all the Tottenham fans have done for him. He's just in a big sulk and this behaviour surely cannot be impressing Sir Alex.
2) Don't Spurs have some youth players we can blood for the moment as opposed to playing Bent up front by himself? Lee Bernard, Terry Dixon etc..
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I really don't buy into the idea that Spurs players stopped trying after they won the carling cup. Proffesional footballers should not be excused so easily, they are paid to win and it is simply not acceptable for them to stop trying with 3 months of football still to be played.
I think Spurs fans are decieving themselves if they believe this to be the case, using this excuse is just masking over the fact that the club has serious problems. Is Ramos the right man for the job? His record in England, Carling Cup aside, is poor for a club with such high aspirations and significant bank-rolling.
If Spurs do not sort out their striker issues soon they may find themselves well out of the mid-table european struggles and down in the midst of a very ugly relegation scrap. It's time for a reality check at White Hart Lane.
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As a life long Spurs supporter i completely agree with post 32.
The issue at Spurs does not really revolve around whether or not Berbatov wants to go or not but what is happening at the club higher up.
Why have we let two of our main strikers go without any replacements, and why are we looking to buy an untested mid field player in Arshavin when we need strikers?
Why did we not just get rid of Berba at the beginning of the transfer market and spend the rest of the timelooking for valid replacements?
Why have we still got Bent as our main striker when our manager di not even have faith in the player to play him until Defoe was sold and even then did so rarely?
Is Ramos the manager we need? If we look at the stats it suggests that his record after the Carling Cup is worse than Jol's.
Has he taken credit for winning the Carling cup when it was Jol's team that got us there and Jol who got us to the 1/4 finals before being sacked?
Can the Arsenal win and the Chelsea win be explained by poor tactical decisions by the opposing managers rather than tactical know how by our manager?
He has admitted that we did not have a replacement on our bench when he decided that Berba should not play on Saturday .... surely that is wrong
How good is his team/ man mangement when our three best strikers want to leave /have left and no replacements have been sorted out for the beginning of the season? Why have we sold our defensive midfielders and replaced them with lightweights?
More importantly if we continuein the form shown on Saturday we are serious relegation material and this is not right considering we have spent so heavily over the last few years. What is Commoli doing and similarly Levy .... we need these questions answered.
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My view is that Spurs should sell Berba overseas.
Whilst a club cannot keep a disruptive player - A disruptive player needs to be shown that if they cross the club... and say they want to leave... be careful what they wish for.
I am sure they could come to an agreement with one of:
Barca, Real, Valencia, Bayern, Juve, AC, Inter
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I think we miss Keane just as much as we miss Berba. Lets face it. Berba didn't really want to be with us last year and only showed up in the big games.
We should just cut our losses. But I'll be dissapointed if we get a replacement in like Heskey, Forlan or Arshavin. I don't rate them very high. I'd go for the dutch player. You probably know I'm speaking off. I just can't remember how to spell his name. Hunntlar or something like that.
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1. Spurs under Ramos last season were unquestionably a better team than under Jol earlier in the season. Forget Grant's poor tactics at Wembley and Arsenal playing a less than full squad. Remember the draw against Man Utd where we were clearly the better side and only a last ditch equalizer saved them. That was a full strength opponent with a top-class manager. Ramos shored up one of the worst defences in the Premiership with Woodgate and Hutton and improved the team and showed some brilliant game management.
2. I understand Keane and Berbatov wanting to leave. Spurs aren't yet a top-tier team.
3. What disturbs me is how unbalanced the current team is.
We have a better goalkeeper and good backup; but we've done nothing to further strengthen the defence. Ledley's long-term fitness is an unknown, Dawson is vulnerable and neither Assou Ekotto nor Zkora is a natural full-back. You're still reliant on Woodgate and a currently unfit Hutton. Not enough to compete.
We have a great attacking/creative midfield. We have a great attacking/creative midfield. Did I say that twice? That must be because we have about 17 attacking midfielders. Not a single bruiser (Zokora, perhaps) who is consistently winning th ball in the middle of the park. In both the Sunderland and Middlesbrough games you just couldn't avoid noticing that they were winning the marginal balls and were more aggressive in midfield.
Attack. We need two more quality strikers, and a young back-up. That's obvious to everyone.
4. Let's end on a note of optimism. I think Ramos is a great manager. This is a new team and he and they need some time. Just like he figured things out last season I think he'll figure them out this season. I just wish he'd get on with it.
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Spus have needed a real midfield general for years. The voids left by Carrick and Davids have never been covered - Zokora has never been up to it and players like Jenas/Modric need enforcers with them.
I believe that with a good DM then the defenders would have welcome relief and show the form they are capable of.
Up front the situation is a joke. Again Bent isn't really up to it at a club looking for the top 5 IMO. Some players have their level and perhaps Charlton (or 10-15th pos in prem) is his level. But now with selling Keane, Defoe, Mido and Berba going too - with no replacements at all - we are completely short and relying on goals from midfield.
Who would i go for???? Havent' got a clue to be honest. Ruud Van Nistelrooy would probably top my list - he should have 2 top class years left in him. Arshavin has Rebrov wriiten all over him IMO and isn't the way to go - particularly at that money. Ashton is OK but injury prone and could be another Bent. Forlan? No thanks. Pavlychenko?? Didnt see all that much to be excited about at Euro '08 so no thanks again.
I think we'll end up signing one striker and getting another on loan for the season.
Without a good DM being signed then a top 5 finish is beyond us.
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On a different note - its all being going on a downward curve since Arnesen left and Commoli came in. Don't rate Commoli at all. Jol and Arnesen seemed a great team and if both had stayed i think we could have champions league memories by now.
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i dont agree with 33 or 32. jol had lost the plot. it was not a knee jerk reaction to sack him 1 win in 12 matches is poor especially considering the defence were useless.
yes they underminded jol but the season before we were very lucky to finish 5th having conceded 57 goals and the writing was on the wall.
ramos is a better coach. there is literally no debate. what he did was incredible last season. i believe if jol had continued we could have been relegated and we def would not have won the cup. JR's record at seville was unbelievable. a 1/10th of the budget of barca and they almost won the league. their football was even slicker and better too.
also levy has backed the managers over the last 5 seasons ever since santini. we have been one of the biggest spenders in the league. it is well documented and quoted from levy that some of this summers budget was spent in january. yes we have spent 45mil but we have recouped more than 45 mil and cut our wage bill. hence leaving 6 players like boateng, lee and stalteri without squad numbers.
despite the strings being tightened i still think we will sign 3 players before next week even if berba goes
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Worrying times for everyone connected with the club but we are strong enough, as a football club, to see it through.
We'll be back kicking butt in no time!
COYS!!!!!
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agree with comment 37. carrick was the biggest loss to our team since paul gascoigne left for lazio.
also davids was probably the best player in the league during his first 6 months at WHL and that midfield was perfect. huddlestone and zokora have been big dissapointments and we need a DM asap.
i agree that ruud would be a good option. i also said huntelaar would be too. ruud is a bit old and i think our transfer policy is 25 and under but maybe we do need experience.
CB is also a major issue. dawson is useless. i wish we had sold him instead of kaboul. can anyone tell me why we failed to sign richard dunne this summer? terrible. that must be comolli's fault. it's the martin petrov saga all over again. could be the biggest mistake of the season if we dont reinforce the defence...
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Am i the only United fan not really excited at the prospect of Berbatov? I know hes a brilliant striker on his day but for me if his minds not on the game then he isnt going to play well! I want someone with commitment and takes pride in wearing the shirt!
For me United need someone with pace and the ability to hit the back of the net consistently!! Someone such as Huntellar or Podolski....
For Spurs i feel very sorry. They need to offload Berbatov or discipline him very quickly to let him know who is boss.
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I write as a Spurs fan and I believe what they need to bring them up with a bump is a spell in the Championship for one season.
I am sick of their unfulfilled promise. They will not beat Chelsea next week and will be languishing right at the bottom. I cannot see how Ramos is better than Jol who was treated abominably. With him at least Spurs finished 5th twice. The only reason they won the Carling Cup was because Grant fielded a poor side.
As for Berbatov, he is a whingeing prima donna - good riddance! Why they let Keane and Defoe go I shall never understand. Harry Redknapp appears to have rekindled Jermaine's career and I bet Robbie will do will at Anfield.
Tottenham you flatter to deceive.
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Funny that the Spurs fans and board have not yet mentioned Ramos being shown the door, as Jol was after 2 defeats in 2 last season.
Spurs` poor start season only further highlights their atrocious behaviour concerning Jol last season
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wrong mate, Jol was sacked 12 games in last year... he went at the end of October.
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Mr Levy - a couple of quick questions. Why do you have Mr Comoli as Director of Football? Why does Mr Ramos speak through Mr Poyet? Why did Mr Comoli sell Mr Defoe when he knew Mr Berbatov was on his way out? Why do you never release news about this mysterious new stadium that is going to be built (we are led to believe)? Why are Spurs now a feeder club to the top four and why every year do Spurs sell their best player (re - Messrs Gascoigne, Lineker, Klinsmann, Sheringham, Carrick, Keane, Berbatov (this is getting tedious now) and expect success?
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Firstly I don't think Berbatov is the player United think he is and that he will struggle there.
His ability is unquestionable but I would question his temperament - I have had United fans tell me that Fergie will get the best out of that and that may be the case but he is nearing the end of his career, not some petulant 21 year old who will respond if you throw a football boot at him. So I for one will be interested and unsurprised if he is not starting for United by the end of the season.
Secondly I agree with a couple of comments on here regarding Tottenham's position - they should force United's hand. There transfer budget for the summer is more or less balanced so bring in a striker now (they need at least one anyway) and then see who makes what move. It is the only way to wrestle control of the situation away from United.
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There are several strikers Spurs could look towards, it amazes me that their scope has been limited to names such as Pavlyuchenko, Milito, Forlan, Podolski.
A few others who might have been/might be good investments:
- Mario Gomez
- Dean Ashton
- Rafael Sobis
- Fred
- Roque Santa Cruz
- Giampaolo Pazzini
- Nikola Zigic
- Eidur Gudjohnsen
- Vagner Love
- David Suazo
- Guiza (before he joined Fenerbache)
The list goes on... Spurs easily are capable of signing two of the above named players!
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I think spurs should sign Samuel Eto after being told he is surplus to requirements by Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola’s. He is a proven world class striker and would definatly be a good if not better replacement for keane or Berbatov.
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I never fail to be amazed at how so many fans can seemingly see the blindingly obvious and how so many managers can totally miss it. Arrogance, perhaps, but surely so many footballing people cannot be wrong.
Zokora is not a right-back and is only filling a void left by the injury to Hutton, but why on earth shouldn't Chris Gunter get that opportunity? By putting him on the bench, Ramos is clearly saying that he is capable of competing at this level, and yet seemingly he prefers to take a player out of position to put there. I can't understand it.
As has been mentioned by so many posters above, we need a midfield general to play alongside either Jenas or Modric. Neither of those can be the hard case in midfield, and neither of them will happily sit back whilst the other goes forward and defend counter possible counter attacks. Also, neither of them can perform the quarter-back role that Carrick could perform; sitting back and using his vision to pick out forward players with superb long passes. Zokora may not be the answer to this void, but either he or Huddlestone are the best we have.
Us Spurs fan pined for a left-winger, any left-winger, for years. Duff, Pedersen, Downing - I even remember hearing pleas for the club to re-sign Matthew Etherington! Malbranque's work-rate and tenacity papered over the lack of a real left-sided attacker for a season or two, but I can't explain how excited I was when we signed Dos Santos - a genuine, left-footed, forwad thinking player. What does Ramos do? Bungs him up front for the first game and on the bench for the second. It's beyond my comprehension.
Ok so Bale played against Sunderland, which is at least putting a left-footed player in a left-sided position. But for me, Bale is a left-back, not a left-winger, and whilst he's pretty good out there, how much better would he be linking up and dove-tailing with Dos Santos? Assou-Ekotto has never really done much wrong, but I'm fairly sure having been signed to replace Lee Young-Pyo, he then lost his place back to the South Korean before Bale was signed, presumably to shove the other two into the shade.
As for Bentley and Lennon, I'm afraid deploying Bentley behind a lone striker, and putting Lennon on the wing, when he is quite clearly a far inferior crosser of the ball that Bentley, is another head-smacking error. Lennon, though quick, I'm afraid to say seems to have been exposed as limited after a smashing start to his career in 2005-06. The only time I have ever seen him really rip into opponents away from the right-wing is the season before last when he was deployed in the hole behind Berbatov and Keane in the FA Cup tie against Chelsea. Against Sunderland I think he would have been far better in that role, and Bentley's crossing may have actually given Bent some aerial service.
Before even considering selling Berbatov, these are fundamental, and to my mind really simple, obvious mistakes that Ramos is making. The team is totally inbalanced, has not gelled in an effective way, and seems lost at sea. Ramos must have known Keane would leave in the summer, and the world and his wife seem to know that Berbatov is inevitably going to depart. So why on earth wasn't he making plans to deal with these absences in pre-season? At the moment it feels like we're desperately searching for our strongest XI, and until we find it, we are at the mercy of the most mediocre of opponents.
Yes, I think we should sell Berbatov, and I think some sort of burden would lift from the club the moment he leaves and our bank balance takes a bump.
More pressingly however, I think Ramos needs to hand each player a little piece of paper, get them to write down their position, and then play them there. We are lacking fluidity, balance and goals. We will win nothing, and qualify for nothing, if we continue in this way.
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Very much agree with what's been said here.
Jol had lost the plot. To be fair to him, he didn't have the ability to buy top-class players like Ramos has had. If he'd have suggested a player like Modric, he'd have been laughed out.
Ramos has a record of doing to Sevilla exactly what we want to happen to Spurs - to bring a struggling side that should be doing better back to the top flight in a highly competitive league. The board are hoping he can just repeat the story.
The team seems a bit bipolar. Last season, we had fantastic attacking options and a poor defence. Our CFs could have walked in to any top-four club and been welcomed with open arms (as, indeed, seems to be happening). They were at a level far beyond the rest of the team, so everyone thought we should have been in the top 4. Now, we've concentrated on defence, and have a fantastic back four. We even have a fantastic keeper in Gomes. And now the CF exodus is losing all our attacking options, and although we have plenty of excellent chances (the scoreline on Saturday was unfair), we can't seem to knock a goal in.
We need to bring some world-class CFs in, and fast. I don't rate Arshavin at all. We've been linked with Forlan for over 20mil, and I think we should do it. We're overpaying (he's 29), but that's going to be the story everywhere. Then we need to speed up and bring in another one (Huntelaar would be my choice) - from this mythical "list" Ramos and Poyet keep talking about. We have 5 days left.
I also think Levy is being far too arrogant about Berbatov. Whilst I don't think he'll fit in there, from what I've heard of his character (doesn't like the bench, likes privacy), he wants to go. Look at what we've done with Arshavin and Zenit. These things are happening everywhere. FIFA should step in and independently impose bans and fines on players, but until they do, we're being arrogant if we think we can fight against the gravity of clubs like Man Utd.
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If Berbatov doesn't want to play - tough! Don't sign a contract then. I am so tired of the players dictating transfer policy. If Berbatov didn't want to play for Spurs this year (which it seems clear he never intended to), why not ask for a shorter contract?
I am all for players having rights and power, but that is what the contract is for!
But, these things won't change anytime soon, and in this instance I think Spurs have been idiots. The second Keane left, they should have been signing class strikers. They knew Berbatov wanted out at that time, and here we are 3rd week into the season and Spurs are playing with Bent?!
It wasn't as if anyone stole these players from them. They have known about this for months! Blame management, not Ramos.
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I think Gaffacake should be manager, he/she clearly knows a thing or two! Perhaps all bloggers should post a comment on Gaffacakes detailed analysis!
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oh, and I'd add that Podolski is a superbly brilliant player. He's got muscle (as have most of the german team), but also technique.
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sispurs4ever - legend :)
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We should have signed Martin Petrov, then we would have had a GREAT left winger last year and a happier Berbatov. Berbatov is great mates with Petrov and part of the reason he wants to go to Manchester is to be closer to his Bulgarian pal. I am not surprised that we are near the transfer deadline and have this hanging over our head. Every deadline day, Levy thinks that it is a great idea to do business at the very last minute. He thinks we get players cheaper that way. In reality we often have to pay over the odds and get stuck with players like the poor Polish CF we briefly had (who had a surprisingly good year in the Championship after he left us). I don't know why we don't do a better job of lining up replacements. We should sign players sooner so they have chance to gel otherwise we are doomed to poor starts such as this season. What is Commolli doing? Most of his signings appear terrible and we have probably lost money on them. He should at very least be lining up long lists of players for the positions we need. Hope things get better this week.
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as a man utd fan, I hope we re-sign diego "sally gunnell" forlan ourselves, and leave you guys with the sulking one!
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Some fans really do not understand football do they!
Spurs have tried and failed to sign at least 2 forwards (or midfielders) in Eto' and Arshvin.
Eto' tuned them down and Arshvin, whether some consider him a midfielder has been priced to highly.
Ramos obviously wants to play similar fashion to Man U and Chelsea, with one lone striker supported by attacking midfielders form wide, Arshvin on left and Dos Santos on right.
I actually feel sorry for Ramos, as he has gone about it right way as far as I can see but just missed targets. Idea is get player in to replace someone, then sell other at price u want. However either he has aimmed to high on players or board not backing him for funds, or possibly deal just cannot be completed.
Now I would suggest damage limitation is vital. I would sign 1 experienced striker and 1 gamble. Experienced one is someone who knows how to play in PL each week, and despite horror by many Heskey is exactly what they need, 1 season allow Ramos to fix next summer or someone to settle, would cost under 10 million, maybe under 5.
Other striker I would go for Huntlater, gives him time to settle having Heskey and Bent and if he settles day 1, then great other 2 fight for places. I would also on evidence of what i have seen so far this season buy someone to allow Midric to move up pitch, he has been far too deep, and is not built for the defensive side of the game, maybe play him in position thought for Arshvin?
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Really think it is time to move on regarding King, we really need an influential captain on the pitch. Of our current players maybe Woodgate may be the answer.
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i believe if jol had continued we could have been relegated and we def would not have won the cup.
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i dont agree with post 39 at all. yes ramos is a better coach but the ONLY reason spurs won the carling cup was due to the complete lack of tactical know-how by avram grant. jol would have won the cup if still in charge.
not to mention the fact that woodgates goal was pure luck.
other than that id say ramos won the cup for spurs.......
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The whole scenario demonstrates yet more Spurs incompetence. If they had decided to let both Keane and Berbatov go this summer, why let it drag out until now, when, as you say, they will be paying desperation money for a striker - Gzregorz Rasiak anyone??
The other frustrating thing is that it has been obvious to anyone who has watched Spurs play in the last 2 or 3 years that what they desperately need is a defendive midfielder - Diarra from Pompey would have been a far more effective buy than Dos Santos.
I'm not sure Ramos has got the idea of the Premiership yet.. his Seville team played a "we'll score more than you" type football when the likes of Real Madrid believed in not fielding defences.
Where's Christian Gross when you need him?
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Ramos has said he wants an end to this.
Well, he's got the power to end it hasn't he?
He can agree to sell Berbatov, or tell him he's stuck with Spurs for the rest of his contract, or when Spurs are ready to sell him.
Seems like Spurs have weak management.
GaffaCake is a natural successor to Ramos.
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As a Utd fan I'd like Berb to come as he's an intelligent player with great vision but Spurs are dreaming if they think he's worth 30mil. Keane was as prolific with a better work rate and certainly more vital to the team and they let him go for 22mil - why didn't they get a replacement for him immediately?
Best case senario is either they force an unhappy player to stay and hope he knuckles down or sell for less than their valuation and they desperately give the entire transfer fee straight over to a Spanish or Russian team for a player that is worse than the 3 strikers they let go in the first place.
I hate to say it but the transfer debacle at WHL this summer is another in a long tradition of board bungles that stretch back to the 80's - not signing Beckham, letting Gazza go, illegal payments in 94, Hiring Graham, Sugar letting Teddy leave for next to nothing because he didn't think he'd be playing past his early 30's, and then signing 31 year old Les Ferdinand for 6.5mil with the highest wages at the club... the list goes on and on.
It seems Spurs are doomed to be run by people who not only don't have the club's interests at heart and know nothing about football but are seeming inept at running a business as well.
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As a Chelsea fan, this has to be the best time to play spurs and I'm thankful we have that at a time where they are in disarray.
As a spurs fan I'd be frustrated that they haven't sold Robbie Keane with a ready made replacement. Arshavin is too much of a gamble to replace the space left by keane and potentially by Berbatov.
As for some of the other strikers mentioned, Huntelaar is being courted by Man Utd, Real Madrid, and previously by Arsenal so its a bit of a long shot Spurs will get him - I wouldnt rule it out though, as I didn't expect to see them sign Dos Santos.
As well as the lack of transfer activity in the past couple of weeks, I'd be frustrated by the fringe players they have in reserve who are adding to the wage bill - Lee, Rocha, Boateng, Gilberto, Ghaly etc
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There is a sense of deja vu about all this. Spurs procrastination last year in dealing with the Jol situation, along with his blind allegiance to Robinson, resulted in the main goal of the seaon being out of reach way before Christmas. That' when the rot set in for Berbatov.
Now another season is in danger of slipping away quickly for the sake of a few million, or, more likely, protection of inflated egos.
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if I was a spurs fan*
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STOP GIVING RAMOS A HARD TIME!! EVERYONE IS GOING ON ABOUT US BUYING ARSHAVIN, OR HUNTELAAR, OR ASHTON, OR SANTA CRUZ... but most of you havent done your research here have you?
I agree with what number 57- So_Cal_Dandie said:- about ramos trying to sign lone strikers for a competing formation to the likes of Man Utd and Chelski.
Ramos has tried.. but it hasnt worked out.
I reckon that Man Utd have made a £19million bid for berba with add-ons based on goals scored and first team apperances, going upto- and around- £23million, ramos and the board are stalling to try and find some1 to replace him.. NO CHANCE IN GETTING MOST THE PLAYERS EVERYONE IS SAYING! Ashton- West Ham cannot afford to sell, Santa Cruz- new contract and dedicated to the club, Mario Gomez- says 'i want to stay at stuttgart and win the league', Vagner Love- not good enough..
Ok so now, your probably shouting... 'alright then who smarty pants?!'
Well.. i agree that possibly: Rafael Sobis, Falcao, David Suazo, Pazzini.. however these players are all a bit of a gamble... its a different/ stonger/ faster ball game in the BPL that they have to adapt to quickly.
Podolski- wants to stay on one more season.. BPL clubs- aren't going to want to sell to league rivals (especially at the end of the window- where they cannot spend the money!!).. I GOT AN EXAM TOMORROW.. AND I'M MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE CLUB THAN MY EXAM.. but thats not your problem..
SO: Kanoute, Fred, Zigic (Last-Resort), Owen (on free next year).. theres very few.. thats whats so worrying.. so maybe berbs will be staying..
DO your research AND THEN come back with ideas...
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I think Ramos is under a lot of pressure and you would expect Spurs to be challenging with the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool for Europe.
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Martin Jol was unfairly sacked but that is all in the past now.
What Spurs fan's should be more worried about is that dork Commoli and how much influence he still has.
A man who spends £17m on Bent and backs it up with Essou-Akkotto and Boateng as the finishing touches to a team to challenge for 4th shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a club, let alone be director of football.
Ramos did a great job at Sevilla, no one can deny him that, the question is whether he will be able to replicated it at White Heart lane.
He DIDN'T achieve much on the pitch last year, poor league form, albeit some great cup performances.
Ramos has a history of being able to do it in cups, a la Benitez, looking at Ramos's record in the Spanish Cup and UEFA Cup, it will now be his job to prove he can make it over the finishing line in the league after coming close in the 2006/2007 season.
With time, he should do well but only IF he does actually have full control of transfers, buying and selling, yet playing four attacking midfielders in the midfield four like he has done in the past 2 games is ridiculous.
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Firstly, espana08 - writing words in capitals doesn't make your arguments any stronger. Writing your arguments logically would do so.
Secondly, good blog - but perhaps there has to be greater criticism of Ramos/Spurs here in terms of their strategic planning. After selling Keane and Defoe, and surely recognising that Berbatov was unlikely to be a long-term fixture, a sensible board and manager may have tended to buy a striker earlier in the summer, rather than wait till now, as Steve Wilson correctly states 'a seller's market'.
In 2008 Spurs have signed Dos Santos, Modric, Bentley, Hutton, Woodgate, Gomes etc - did no-one stop and think at any point in the last 9 months that a striker may be useful?!
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I'm bemused by the amount of fans on here who seem to have already decided that Gomes is a top class keeper. He's done ok so far but lets face it, he'll make one or two big errors over the next few months and then we'll start hearing how much people wish they had Robbo back.
I'm also not sure where the idea that Spurs have a top class defence comes from? Woodgate is the only defender at the club who comes into that category. You need 4 players to make a defence!!
I do agree that Spurs did have a top class strike force but seeing as Ramos is only too happy to let them go this is no longer the case. The cracking strike force is basically what kept Spurs above the other mid-table teams and without them, they are barely in that group.
The likes of Sunderland, Fulham and Wigan have bought well and will be up there in the midst of it all whilst Aston Villa are surely the favourites to get the 5th spot after some great summer strengthening. And that is all without the likes of steadily improving Newcastle, and the reliable contendors of Everton and Portsmouth.
Spurs will be down there with West Ham at this rate, worrying times indeed.
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With the creativity in Spurs midfield I think they need a classic centre forward who will be in the right place at the right time and finish off the chances created by Modric, Giovanni etc. One name springs to mind..... Michael Owen! His is a proven goal scorer in the Premiership and at international level. With his contract up next year Spurs would be able to get him far cheaper than Arshavin and then they could concentrate on getting a holding midfielder like Barry? With the £20mil from the Keane sale and £25mil+ from the Berbatov sale I'm sure they could cough up the 18mil Villa are asking for.
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As much as I admire Berbatov's skill, I detest his attitude. That's not the way u should act when ur paid in excess of 80grand a week and are worshiped by thousands of fans!
As for spurs though, I think you might find that Arshavin WILL end up at Tottenham, and they might sign ONE striker in my opinion...why? because, when Ramos was at Seville, he sometimes played with just Kanoute up front and 5 in midfield. I wouldn't be suprised seeing him repeat that, with the quality players spurs have.
team:
..............................Gomes..............................
Zokora.........Dawson.....Woodgate...........Bale
................................King.................................
Lennon.........Modric.........Bentley.......Arshavin
...............................Bent...............................
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rob2991, why on earth would Barry leave Villa for Spurs? Secondly Newcastle are trying to convince Owen to sign new deal never going to sell, and even if they did he needs partner!
Come out fo the clouds and be realistic
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the_thrid_ronaldo:
Yes, there is 100% agree that the board at some point should have bought a striker at an earlier point, but to be fair.. berbatov didnt really strongly indicate that he wants to only play for man utd.. we still dont really know.. he says its his dream.. but he hasnt said.. right thats it. im going.
If we don't find a replacement, do u think he will stay? I think he might. but the fans are quite against him.. until he starts scoring goals and rescuing us.
We need a DM and a Strong Lone striker..but first comes first.. a striker.. that can adapt quickly and put the goals away.
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'The only hurdle now is persuading Manchester United to pay what Tottenham feel he is worth - and that might not be easy with Berbatov's value falling by the day.'
This situation has been completely set up by Man United in order to get a player for the price they want to pay for him. By constantly releasing statements about their interest in Berbatov, they have unsettled the player to ensure he plays up and becomes worthless to Spurs. It's disgusting that United get away with this season after season and all too regularly at Spurs' expense. How many times did Sir Alex express interest in Carrick before he eventually put a bid in, which then derailed Spurs for months while they adapted to the loss of their star midfielder. Why should United be able to dictate the transfer market at the expense of smaller clubs, not for sale should mean not for sale to United either. I'd sell Berbatov to a club in another league for half the price rather than let Sir Alex get his way.
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HERE HERE! tyler9481
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Berbatov gets paid a large 7 figure salary. This is his job and he signed a contract, I cannot believe his attitude. Coming from Bulgaria Im sure that even if his family were well off he must of seen the majority of his countryman struggle to get by. Who does he think he is?
What Ramos should do is play him every minute of every game because that way he will have to listen to what the Spurs fans think of him unless he changes his attitude and actually plays well.
The other alternative is play him in the reserves and let him train with the 2nd team for three years. Spurs win support for every football fan who is fed up with the primadona premiership players (Ashley Cole, Adabayor, Drogba, Ronaldo, Terry etc,etc!)
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Bit bizarre that apparently Berbatov is "an intensely private individual who detests the attention which being a footballer brings and who is uncomfortable with the adulation". He seems more than happy to do adverts for a certain Bulgarian bank, which are available to view over the internet, and more than happy to set up a soccer school in his name in his native Bulgaria. Surely a shy, retiring wallflower would shun the limelight altogether?
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So_Cal_Dandie - I take your point about Barry, it would be a sideways move, i was thinking out loud. With Owen i was just suggesting that he is the type of forward that would be ideal for spurs. On the other hand Martins could be a more realistic option for Spurs, i know he is a different type of player compared to Owen but im sure he would do a good job for Spurs.
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Seems to me the 2 forwards in question probably know more than us supporters do.
Rat's of a stinking ship etc....So as we have always done since the 80's
another mediocre season, until the board is replaced we will always suffer and not break the top 4.
Anyhoo, being Spurs I predict we beat Chelsea this weekend 2-1.
Feel free to heap praise upon me come next Monday,but I will not accept the managers job till Commoli and co leave.
Sorry I believe we will beat them just watch.
P.S
If we lose and we won't be kind with the insults and profanity or I'll be off like Keane (who is looking like the 7 jinx is kicking in) and Berb (sell him to Barca so I can still appreciate his skill without cursing him)
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Great post @49. The real body blow for spurs of course was losing Frank Arnesen. Our dealings in the transfer market have been mixed and confused since his departure.
Ashavin? too similar to Modric. Pavlyuchenko? didn't he keep missing all those chances for Russia - and being linked with a last minute move for Heskey goes against all logical thinking.
A solid midfielder was always a clear requirement and yet nothing happens in that area. I'm still waiting for Carrick and Davids to be adequately replaced, so I don't expect any satisfactory movement in replacing Berbatov.
I recall how Orlando Engelaar excelled at the Euros and was almost Carrick like in his approach. Could have been signed at an inexpensive 6m too!
Of course it is astonishing how clubs fail to address the obvious.
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I don't think Utd have acted any worse than any other big club in regards to stating an interest. Its not against the rules of the game to publicly state your admiration for a player - certainly not tapping up anyway.
And I don't really think Berbatov should be vilified either - he's not done a Sol Campbell!
The bloke's in his late 20's, he's aware that he's got 2-4 years of peak football in him and his ability means he can play for teams regularly playing in Europe and challenging for titles - whether it be Utd, Barca, Milan or whoever, and even more aware that his current club now seem to be some years away from even getting in the Champs League, let alone having a chance of winning it.
You can't blame him for being ambitious.
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Surely questions need to be asked of Tottenham's academy. That, or their scouts. Where's the chap who found berbatov in the first place? Everyone listing names of already proven strikers can go on dreaming because this is a time to unearth new talent.
alternatively, i'd go for obefemi martins and
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I don't know...there seems to be so many rumours and so many clubs home and abroad chasing all the same set of players!. I'm more concerned as to how badly managed the whole scenario is, where we are now starting a new season without two of the best strikers and now one gone and the other not wanting to play for us with other things on his mind and us running around desperately trying to get the best deal we can after losing the first game of the season and we still have no idea who we are buying and what partnership and whoever it may be has yet still to settle in anyway. What a shambles,..its not like we have had the whole summer to sort this out properly..typical only 'professional' football can carry on and conduct a business like this. In the meantime our competitive edge has diminished even with the other signings and injured players back, we have already lost ground and will be on a clawback situation which is not fair on the other players and signings that the management can't get its act to together and then if we do not progress in or towards europe again then more players will be off to play for a club that knows where its going and can actually organise itself before the bloody season starts!.
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spurs to get a top 6 spot let alone challenge for 4th with just darren bent as their only striker.
hahahahahaha!
its gonna be a long hard season for spurs even if they do replace berbs
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Oh yeah that would fit, why oh why oh why would Newcastle sell Martins? Oh yeah, we'd sell him the day that we tie up the signings of Kaka, Messi and Ronaldo. Keep dreaming boys!
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players like Berbatov are worth 5 million, tops.
Saying he's worth 20 or 30 million is showing exactly what is wrong with football these days.
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I fancy Spurs to go out of the UEFA Cup at the first hurdle on current form which will be quite frankly exactly what the team deserve for the way they have performed since February.
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Spurs' actions in all of this only serves to leave bad feeling between all the clubs involved. Reporting teams to the FA and then retracting (in Liverpool's case) will only make teams more wary of dealing with Spurs in the future...isn't it just better for everyone that when a fair offer is made, it is accepted (esp when the player wants to leave) - and then focus on getting replacements quicker.
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I don't think Spurs have done anything wrong in this case. Berbatov is their star player and they obviously wanted to keep hold of him. I'm a United supporter, and despite the fact I'd love him to come to Old Trafford, the fact is the Champions have unsettled him and I don't think it was handled in the right way - especially after they bleated on at FIFA about the Ronaldo saga. Put it this way, if I were a Spurs fan I'd be very angry indeed. However, the Spurs management must take some criticism; unlike Ferguson who sought direct contact with Ronaldo and finally convinced him where he will have the perfect environment, Ramos remained tight-lipped and told his star player to sulk on the bench.
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It's tempting to criticise Ramos' for his hand in Tottenham's transfer dealings but in actual fact, the people upstairs are the ones responsible. I think we may have a situation where the manager has limited influence over the ins and outs of the squad.
Ramos seems a smart guy, so it's strange to me that Tottenham are never associated with quality defensive players. Yes, when all (or most of) their players are fit, they have a very impressive back-line; King, Woodgate, Bale and Hutton but, owing to injuries, these four are rarely in the same line-up.
Also, Heurleho Gomes is not a goalkeeper who fills me with confidence. He reminds an awful lot of Dida in that he's capable of the sublime and the stupid in equal measure.
Ultimately, the problem with Spurs is a longstanding one. Since the dawn of time, Spurs policy has been one of ''you score two, we'll score three.'' IF Ramos can shed this mentality, he'll go a long way towards improving Spurs.
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re comment # 82
wickedpiggerish
It works both ways. If it is as simple as you make out - Spurs let Berbatov go for a fair price - then why is it so hard for Utd to accept that (anywhere between) £60-90m is more than fair for C Ronaldo and you should just 'let him go'?
As much as Berbatov can achieve at Utd, Ronaldo can achieve the same at Madrid. At least that's how he feels.
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comment 59. yes grant started with the wrong players but chelsea have world class players in every position and they are all as good as each other.
but would jol have beaten man city away when they had won their first ten games at eastlands? i dont think so especially not with 10 men.
jol would have probably have made defensive substitutions and we would have lost in extra time if not sooner. facts were we bossed man city around, kept possession and that was because of ramos.
do you remember the fa cup match at stamford bridge against chelsea when we were 3 - 1 up with 30 mins to play? what does jol do? he brings off lennon and berbatov. inept tactician.
facts are apart from last season its now almost impossible to compare ramos and jol because we are a totally different side without berbatov and keane who would as other people have said walk into any of the top 4 sides.
in ramos we trust. blame should be apportioned elsewhere but not to juande who is a proper manager
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Never mind about Berbatov, he is a great but sulky player and a disaffected player is not worth the shirt. My gripe is letting go a player that was settled and a great squad member Robbie Keane. Liverpool's unsettling the player has done Spurs inmeasurable harm. It is difficult to see just who will score the goals in this current side but for certain it won't be that waste of good air, Darren Bent. I agree that he should be picked for England as he would feel right at home in that team of losers.
As far as Ramos goes, only time will tell but for me there is only one man who can bring back the glory days - COME BACK TEL!
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The fact is that if we take the last dozen or so matches fater the Carling Cup along with these two this season then Ramos is not doinmg any better than Jol. Lots of people have commented on him wanting to play a new system of one up front but if you were at the match on Saturday , it was absolutely clear that there is at best a HELL OF A LOT OF WORK TO DO IF THIS IS TO BE SUCCESSFUL. .
It was also clear that our creative midfield did not have a clue and that as pretty a player Modric is , he is not yet up to speed with the Prem League and is a lightweight , time will tell if he is any good for us but he has to learn that he cannot ball watch and must get stuck in and tackle. Having said that he was not the only midfielder to make that mistake.
Similarly if we are to play five across the midfield then we need to stop the wingers from cutting inside and running into cul de scak.... it was pityful
It is also clear that if you are playing one up front no matter how good they are you need back up.
Regardless of whether or not Bent is good enough ( and scoring a hatful against Leyton Orient is not an indication of your form in the Prem ) If Bent is injured then who do we rely on?
Dos Santos is only 19 and has just come into the side . If we had players that were coming through the ranks then surely Ramos would have had them on the benc h, but he did not. This is not rocket science
Commoli certainly has something to answer for as he is responsible along with Levy for securing the players Ramos wants but at the same time to allow Defoe and Kean leave without any replacements is scandalous.
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"Should the deal go through, Tottenham will then have just a few days, or maybe even hours, to find new faces "
Yes, and then you and your fellow media outlets can go about illegally tapping them up on behalf of clubs like Man Utd
You should be thoroughly ashamed of your role in this sorry year long affair
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Spurs fans , of which I am one for all my sins, are an odd bunch.
There are people on hre who are so blind they believe tht Martin Jol 'won the Carling Cup', with 'his team' and seem to think that he was unjustly sacked. This is thundering ignorance, and reflects woefully on their own memories and football knowledge. Jol manaed to beat one member of the top 4 in the whole of his tenure - Chelsea in November 2006,Aaron Lennon getting the winner. Ramos not only held Titlewinners Man Utd at home (and may have won the CUp tie with them last January, had it not been for the inept Dawson), and beat both Arsenal and Chelsea in a final. Ramos also knocked out Man City on the way, when that team was performing well at home. Jol would never have dones this - his team's form was relegation form, and also crucially lost to Getafe - Spurs first loss at home in Europe for decades - which set Spurs up for a rougher ride later in the UEFA Cup.
No doubt these morons who seem to want Jol back unfiarly dismissed Sunderland and Middlesborough, saying they would be easy victories for Spurs. Move aside: there are no easy games in the Premier League, and there is no room for 'fans' with no kowledge of the game.
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Berbatov not gone yet!
The most pathetic character in the history of the PL. Get rid of him NOW.
What a lousy character. I'm surprised any club wants to sign him!
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Tottenham should sell Berbatov £20m plus O'Shea, get Marco Pantelic £15m + Super-sub Real Madrid Gonzalo Higeuén £17m, they form deadly front partnership. that would be smart investment intead of gambling £25m + fancy salary on Arshavin alone.
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And I thought only us Gunners had problems! It seems Chelsea is the only club in London serious about the premiership this season. While I sympathise (no kidding) with spurs fans over their predicament I say; pray, cast an eye over at the emirates and see that you are not alone in team/player mismanagement. Lets see how these blundering clubs finally get it right, if at all, this season.
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Agree with all who say he should be kept unless united meet our evaluation.End of.Even pay him and keep him for the rest of his contract.Its time something should be done with these players who sign contracts and few months later decide to leave for greener pastures.
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Sorry about bringing this all up again and I dont mean to sound so negative, but at the end of the day these last 2 defeats are the fault of the board at THFC. Spurs wanted success and in Martin Jol they had a manager who was capable of bringing glory to the club.
He was not given the time necessary to do this because of the money hungry tossas who wear suits and think they know all about our beloved spurs.
Jol lead us to 5th place in the league 2 years in a row and we even finally beat that Stamford Bridge lot.
His third season, if he had just been left to do his job, would have either got us in the top four or another acceptable 5th place.
But OH NO, as usual they did not give him the time required to bring glory back to my beloved club. The strikeforce he had required and MOST of the players he had signed were first class. But everything started to turn to custard once the rumours started to appear in the papers.
They wanted a gourmet manager covered in bubble wrap that could bring instant success.
Im sorry Mr Levy but you will now have to do what you should have done a few seasons ago.......................WAIT.
Mr Ramos needs time to build a squad AGAI N, and get them playing in a way that they are comfortable in. Our strikeforce (which was the best in the premier league) has been decimated and now you want a quickfix? Im sorry it does not work like that.
We cannot undo the past and we must accept waht has happened and so must the board of THFC.
Mr Ramos must stay at Spurs no matter what unfolds and we must wait for him to create a team that , as MJ would have done , bring glory back to White Hart Lane.
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And when I say "we beat that Stamford Bridge lot" I meant in the league not the cup.
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united fans are so stupid. They say just let him leave tottenham for united because the player wants to leave....
Ronaldo wanted to leave united for real, but you didnt let him go.
This is not any different from the ronaldo saga.
Tottenham should not let him go cheaply.
Berbatov what a scum he is just like ronaldo
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agree with 96. jol was poor and his record against the top 4 was terrible. 1 win in 26 or something.
ramos had us competing with the top 4 last season. we matched chelsea, utd and arsenal.
jol was lucky having keane and berbatov. i dont agree with 101. our defence was poor in 06-07 57 goals and he had been found out the season he was sacked 1 win in 12.
once ramos finds strikers he will deliver.
COYS!
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As a long suffering Spurs fan I thought I'd make an offering.......
Firstly I would like to defend Martin Jol. 2 games into last season he discovered that the spurs higherachy had been trying to tempt Ramos into replacing him...... how would you feel if your employer did this to you? His love of the job went and I think he realised that he was living on borrowed time..... I think he resented the back stabbing to the point that he tried to screw Spurs over by dropping them as low as he could before he got the inevitable boot! Can't say I blame him, especially when you consider how far he moved the club forward (he's also a jolly nice bloke and in my opinion an excellent motivator and man manager). He was undermined so badly.......
On to Ramos, none of the Jol saga was his doing, he took the spurs job which in my opinion was fairly risky considering the unfortunate demise of his predesessors! I think he suits the spurs way, likes attacking football and given time will turn out to be an excellent manager (although had Jol been given more time I think he also would have pushed us on, after all most of the successful teams have a long serving manager, especially in the PL).
Berbatov..... what can I say? He's one of the most technically gifted players I've ever seen. He appears very private and I think the media have hyped this all up to the point where anyone would struggle to focus. He does have an arrogant stroppy look to him but if you look at his past he's always been the same. Does he really want to go? Has he said those words to anyone? Who knows? Either way, if you want to succeed in the PL you need great players, he's deffinately a great player.... KEEP HIM and show him we're moving in the right direction (selling Keane won't have helped convince him).
Man U..... they're hypocrites, having said that so are we...... aren't all clubs, everyones out for themselves, it's the nature of the game.
Arseshaving (note the spelling), 27 years old, has 2 good weeks at the Euros and nothing much else. Worth £20M? DEFINATELY NOT, unproven and possibly another Rebrov situation if we sign him!
Carling Cup win.... nice to win a trophy but NO TEAM SHOULD SWITCH OFF AFTER WINNING ANYTHING! Unacceptable and unproffesional end to last season. (it was only the Carling Cup for god sake!).
I think I'm done ranting, I've loads more I could say but I'll save it for my next post!
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i liked rebrov its a shame that hoddle didnt fancy him.
berbatov is a different story. one of the best players in the world IMHO. he is moody though and if you read the quotes from his agent he wants out. a reason why jol was sacked was because berbs wasnt bothered at the start of last season...
keane will get a good reception when he comes back to WHL
berbs will not if he leaves. which is a shame because he is in the ginola, klinsmann, gascoigne bracket
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Going back a little on my own statement, markinlondon1 makes a good point about Rebrov.... he was somewhat frozen out under Hoddle, much like Bent last year.
Having said that it's all about taking your chance when you get it, I sincerely hope Bent takes his this season, Rebrov never did.
A bit more ranting as promised, mainly about Berbatov: Quotes from agents and News Papers are what cause all the trouble in the first place.... Agents are bound to try and encourage interest in their clients as they'll get a juicy commision off the back of a £25M transfer! Agents are the scum / leeches of the football world. News Papers love fabricating stories as the big ones sell papers!
Maybe foolishly, I think Berbatov is getting a bit of unfair abuse at the moment...... he himself has said nothing. The big 'he signed a Man U shirt' story last week, a set up by 'The Sun', he was just signing anything put in front of him as most people signing stuff do. A bit more sensationalist journalism!
Lets wait and see what happens before we lynch him.... I'm still not convinced he'll go and I hope my gut feeling is right. He is Class (with a capital C) and if he stays we should give him a break...... after all as far as I can see he's done nothing wrong and we're all just going on what the papers say.
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17, 18… Both have a point. Even it is slightly different. We will see at the end.
99. Yeah, looks like some (or better said many) teams have messed up with the business – buying, selling players, etc. But more importantly creating quality teams…
Don’t know what is going on with Arsenal too. Looks like Senderos (info on Sky Sports) is heading to join his friend Flamini at AC Milan. I would say that quietly AC Milan, though not participating in the Champions League this season, are BUILDING A GREAT TEAM. Well Done for them…And keeping also their manager too :) . AC Milan – doing good business…
Back to Tottenham. I read and heard a lot of stuff – stories, interviews, etc. Even gossip…I thought Ramos is a very good manager. But he left it very late. The striker pair – Robbie Keane / Berbatov – was clearly very strong last season. Keane left already /a month ago or so – help me with the facts, pls/, Berbatov is still a Tottenham “player”. On the bench.
It is obvious. You don’t do that and you have to have a plan, vision, etc. quite a long time BEFORE the season starts if you want to have serious season as some here mentioned. Keane has gone, I don’t know what Berbatov would do at Tottenham. Striker pair – with whom?! How? It doesn’t add up. Plus the clear interest and bid long time ago from Manchester United. I clearly don’t understand why everybody involved left it so late. Just creating another saga. Or for considerate loss – eventually money and you can add the strained relationships in Tottenham, plus all sorts of labels for Berbatov – lazy, moody, you can name it. Why he doesn’t smile, why he doesn’t talk. Or he talks too much. Etc. Everybody just blames the other. And I thought and was sure Ramos and Berbatov had a mutual respect for each other. Or at least that was presented to us… Many things to comment and write now. But now will leave that to the other professionals.
Sorry, sometimes this long “lived” transfer or staying at Tottenham saga looks like soap opera. Anyway few days left for ANY CONCLUSION. And very quick job. You leave it late (that’s from management) and you have to have an escape and most of the time a quick fix. Till the WINTER Transfer Window opens :). Then the process and the new or old sagas start again…
I read somewhere suggestion / advice Berbatov to stick and hold on to his “dream” move. Which is good and we all have to aim higher and to achieve more. I just hope Berbatov at the end make the right choice and more importantly end up and start playing for the best TEAM for him. I mean TEAM that would suit his professional qualities and temper. And the other way round too. He to which TEAM will contribute more and won’t be a “waste”. (We saw the situation with Shevchenko, AC Milan and Chelsea).
Anyway, I wish all three parties make the right choices and decisions. Football wise. (Berbatov, needed strikers, building the right teams, etc).As for the business – I still believe (mainly) Tottenham left it very late and may lose – money, the mood in the dressing room, not buying quality strikers, etc. Or maybe at the end just being very lucky and somehow make it right. In few days we will know.
PS. I’ve got an information from somebody close to me that Roy Keane has said something about Tottenham, Berbatov, Manchester Unites case. And looked as he is right. Any more info or the facts/ links to that Roy Keane comments. Listen to the old guy, I would say.
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I apologise in advance if Damien Comolli's name has cropped up in the comments thus far, however I am fairly sure it has not. Furthermore, I am certain his name has not cropped up in the media when the tough has got going down the Lane in recent times. Yes the emphasis understandably leans towards the board and manager/s when Spurs have had poor results recently, but, predominantly Comolli has avoided any questioning. I personally feel he is the reason for our underachievement. He is, afterall, responsible for our signings and transfer policy. Without even mentioning the standard of certain players bought, he has overlooked areas of the pitch, leaving us with players playing out of position at the start of the season. Zokora isn't a right back even halfway through the season with injuries and suspensions. There are more examples of players playing out of position, and there is one reason for it in my opinion. Comolli hasn't sourced or sanctioned cover in all positions. Coupled with that Ramos does'nt rate the signings Comolli has authorised. The stark reality is we have signed too many under par players in not enough positions. Comolli must come up trumps in remainder of this transfer window otherwise he will not go unnoticed for long.
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I do apologize for the look of my post / comment. 108.
Only few of the question marks are real. My comment doesn’t look like that (have other punctual marks) but unfortunately I can’t edit now. And the meaning of my writing may be misunderstood.
Will see if I can fix it.
Thanks.
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It seems blindingly obvious what tottenham needs- squad players!
they have sold tainio, malbranque, chimbonda, defoe, kaboul. All of whom are 'squad' players- proven to perform decently in the premier league. Sure they may not be superstars, but they all cover for injured players and do it well.
After signing a whole multitude of unproven premiership players- dos santos, Gomes, modric, and even sanchez- tottenham have actually left themselves worse off.
Selling Keane- who I might had has been tottenham's best player in the last x years, was far bigger a deal than the possibility of losing berbatov.
what we need is 2 'star' players and about 3 'squad players' .
STAR PLAYER 1
A striker, maybe Arshavin? again unproven, or someone like Falcao/Huntelaar- ie a flair player with the ability to beat people and put the ball in the back of the net. If berbatov decides to come to his senses and stay (not quite as good as keane was, but then again dont forget what he has done at spurs), then this player isnt necessary.
STAR PLAYER 2
A centre back. Lets face it, King is just not worth the money. Tottenham need someone who can consistently play in the middle, because in case any one forgot, chances are woodgate will probably get injured to.
SQUAD PLAYERS
Dare I say it, Heskey would be a great signing. He brings other people into the game and England have been a better team with him at the helm. Someone attacking who links people together should be a priority.
If spurs were to get a centre back and 2 strikers, then they would need someone who can play in the defensive midfield region. Someone half decent from THE PREMIERSHIP would be good.
12th is an optimistic finish for us this season. I'm thinking leeds all over again. The board need to sort this out quickly, and be willing to face a HUGE short term loss in the transfer market to save the longterm future.
And i didnt even mention the quality of david bentley. what use is he without a finisher?!
rant over
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Can't help thinking Spurs will always consider themselves slightly 'apart' from other clubs with the whole 'One Hotspur' stuff, albeit a marketing ploy etc, but never the less is seen as fact.
This point seems to pass on to the actual footballing side of the club also. No matter what the media fraternity say or do, players have their own interests at heart as we all do. In Berba's case, his dissafection is merely ultra-enhacing his desperation to leave and making him public enemy No1 down the lane. If you dont wanna play for THFC, you should go, simple.
The Spurs achilles heel is two fold from my hazy recollection:
1) Have never really addressed the defensive side of the game since the days of Graham Roberts and Richard Gough et al
2) Seem to get the jitters if a manager or 'head coach' needs time to put things right.
Explanation: It can be so damn painful watching Spurs concede, not because other teams dont, its the way we concede. there is always this element of ineptitude in our defensive play that must by now mean we just don't seem to value the art of defending. However, this point is linked to the issue that the Club have never addressed the need for a top quality ball winner in Midfield and or either in the same player find a 'defensive midfielder' to save us from the 'unprecedented desire' for Jenas, Huddlestone, Zokora, et al to somewhow always be out of position when needed most.
There is no doubt Jol had the team fired up for two seasons in a row, and that fire in the belly is always what appears to be lacking with spurs players in the current era. There is this naivity that our boys just dont need to 'get their hands dirty'. Watching Man Utd vs Pompey last night again confimred my hypotheses that the best teams damn well work their socks off to get the points. Loathed to admit it but Utd work so hard on an off the ball.
Why can't Spurs? Its no about comparisons cause Utd and Spurs can't be compared, more over its about the aptitude, application and passion Spurs seem to lack which hurts the most. I just wanna see them actually get stuck in and give teams a 'fight' for the game. Either we can drill this into the current team or finally buy a player or two who can lead by example on this front.
Issue of 'Panic Decisions'. It's common sense and historical fact that a manager needs a feeling of stability and trust in order to transmit these feelings into gradual progress on the pitch. I think Jol did what he could and may have done more given time, but Ramos is equally if not more able to bring this feeling of progress to the club. However, unless you give him time to learn the ropes of the EPL and which players serve him best etc, he won't be able to deliver what spurs crave, Champions League football.
Its a long post, sorry for that. Finally, if the two points are combined ie, get the right players based on the needs of the team in and then give Ramos time, he must just get it right. There is in reality on a Top Three now, so THFC have a good a chance as any to make the CL if they act wisely...here's hoping.
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PS. I?ve got an information from somebody close to me that Roy Keane has said something about Tottenham,? Berbatov, Manchester Unites case?. And looked as he is right.? Any more info or the facts/ links to that Roy Keane comments. Listen to the old guy, I would say
Please enlighten us???????????
Or can you be sued?
Spurs 2 Chelsea 1
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I believe 113 (ChileSpurs) that Mr Keane said something along the lines that if he had a player like Berbatov who is so keen on leaving that he would drive him to his 'new' club himself. And he went on to give an example of when he has a player at Sunderland who behaved in a similar fashion.
He also said, Spurs are being affected by the berbatov issue.
Check the Daily Mail Website, there should be something on his comments there.
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Spurs are not in a weak position. Mr Berbatov will be the one in a week position come next Monday or Tuesday if Spurs stick to their word.
Spurs should stick to their original position and get 25million plus for Berbatov. This is what he is worth to Spurs, if the cheapskate Ferguson does not want to pay this price then Bebatov stays and it should be made clear to him that we will keep him for the next two years and exercise our option of a further two years should we wish.
for the sake of future transfer dealings Spurs should be seen to act decisively and strongly.
Man united should be Ashamed of the conduct shown in the Berbatov transfer. Spurs are not innocent but two wrongs do not make a right.
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Just a quick comment befoe the daily grind starts.
I do not think that Ramos should go. Even though in previous posts I have said that his record does nto stand up particularly well ikn the League against Jol's .
However the argument that he (Ramos) beat Arsenal and Chelsea and drew with Man Utd and this makes him the better manager does not make sense.
The reason for this si that two were in the Cup and we should have beaten Man Utd , further more we conceded 4 against Chelsea inthe League and Lost against Arsenal under Ramos . No body doubts that on our day we are a great Cup team butt hat is not the posint and not why Jol got sacked.
Surely we all want Spurs to be a great League team and to do this we need consistancy and recruitment of players that will perform week in week out , despite the weather their mood , who is interested in them ....
under Jol one got the sense that the team were united and wanted to work for him as a result we hadour most consitant finishes for two seasons in a row.. Now we have gone backwarsds both in moral and in terms of success.
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'under Jol one got the sense that the team were united and wanted to work for him as a result we hadour most consitant finishes for two seasons in a row.. Now we have gone backwarsds both in moral and in terms of success.'
This is absolute nonsense. What a 'moral' sense has to do with anything is anyone's guess. This is a sport. And Spurs had won once in something like the first ten league games under Jol - against Derby - and Spurs were beaten 3-1 at home by Arsenal under Jol: Ramos beat aline-up with many of the same players (Fabrega, Hleb, etc despite what Arsenal fans seem to think) 5-1 at White Hart Lane in the semi-finals of LC last year. Jol had lost this knock out LC tie the year before - memory? - throwing away a 2 goal lead in the previous season, remember when Mido scored and took it to extra time? Memory? We lost, unlike last season. That it was in the Cup is everything: you don't win a Cup without playing one of the top 4, so Jol was always a lost cause on that one. You seem to forget Jol was simply not capable of beating a side in the top 4 - despite the one-off against Chelsea, something like one out of 22 games - and the man himself spoke of how unlikely this would be,which was why he was fired. The idea a Jol side would ahve got to a final, and beat a top 4 side in the process and in the final is a joke.
About the worst thing tht a 'Spurs fan' could do at the moment is lament the loss of a manager who was not up to it. Why is there need for this contribution. Jol is gone and it was the right thing to do. That you are wrong about the past is forgivable, but why not concentrate on the present and the future?
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I think that the market and the fact that english clubs are leading the way across europe in business has really altered the buying market. As a collective we seem to be being held to ransom over player prices even within our own shores and Spurs are definatly a victim of this. Chelsea's pursuit of Robhino is another. This is having a nock on effect with other clubs that cant afford to match the prices. Is Andy Johnson worth 12 million? Then with that money Everton have to balance the books and look after the new stigma, players wages.
The whole cycle is damaging and the only thing will end up with six to eight super clubs with super rich owners.
Spurs are being told that Arshavin will cost them in the 25 mil region...thats 25 million pounds!! He could be injured for a season tomorrow, i only see chairman and boards now view the Premier league as a bank roll, 'want our player? pay our price.'
Being a life long Spurs fan we have this in built defence system that embraces every false dawn and allows us to just shrug it off until another two seasons down the road when we can clear out some of the old managers dead wood, and buy some more exciting players with the new greatest manager we have ever had!! Its a cycle we are very used to. I'm a bit concerned that we have not replaced our front line, keane, defoe and berbs are a trio any club would want, i'm not sure of ramos's focus but i can see a very big name coming to put a smile back on all our Spurs mugs....Emile Heskey!!
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im not a tottenham fan but i do follow them in the premier league and i think they have a decent team but lack an out and out striker that can finish eg:
huntelaar the berbatov money will pay for him
payulychenko will take a while to settle in
podolski will also take a while to settle in
forlan was shocking for man u so cant bank on him scoring
aguero could cost a bit too much
benzema lyon unlikely to let go of him
milito getting a bit old
if u get 2 of these ull do alright so the team will be gomes
hutton woodgate king bale
zokora/huddlestone
bentley jenas modric dos santos
bent/?
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I can totally sympathise with what the Spurs fans are feeling however, its time the board realise its time to let a guy who doesn't want to be there go, even if it is to Man Utd, then set about using that money wisely to sign a player/players the fans want to see, someone who can score goals and excite a crowd, as for the huntelaar suggestion that is a player i'd like to see in the premiership
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First of all I would like to say, as a Man Utd fan, that I have serious reservations about signing a player who acts as petulantly as Berbatov currently is, and to set the record straight I would add, that IF all the stories surrounding Ronaldo were true he should have gone too.
What I would like to address though is, considering that we are now two matches in to the new season and still talking about transfer rumours, this close season seems to have left a very nasty taste in the mouth. It is completely understandable that player wages have come under scrutiny when you look at the number of players that have refused to commit themselves to their current employer in an attempt to cultivate interest from other clubs.
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I stopped reading the comments after 60ish but to any Man Utd who thinks Berbatov would be a bad signing, you're wrong!
May I remind you all of a certain Mr.Cantona who was/is a bigger sulker than Berbatov but Fergie got the best out of him as he will with Berbatov.
I find it comical 'fans' think they know better than world-class managers like Fergie and Ramos.
Oh and Heskey, if the rumours are true, may not be a bad signing for Spurs. Bear with me now!! He's big, strong and can hold up the ball which if looking at the rumoured targets for you guys will be what you need to play in front of them or alongside them, Arshavin, Forlan etc And of course Bent as well who will always struggle up on his own.
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I think most of the people here have been taken in by the press. All the speculation about Berbatov and possibel new signings is just that, specualtion. How much of it is true we will never know but to take it all at face value is crazy.
The team that Ramos put out for the last 3 Carling Cup mathces was the exact same team Jol would have put out. There is no basis to claim Ramos did any special and it is common for player to raise their game when a new manager comes in, regardless of how good the manager is.
The Spurs board are shocking, inept and just buisnessmen.
The slating of Darren Bent is crazy. He is the sort of striker who need service and if does not get good service it is not his fault. In the 2 games so far he has only be played one good pass and he got a good shot on target from a difficult angle. Cant argue with that.
I am embarressed by my fellow Spurs fans who are mainly a bunch of fickle plonkers who can't make their minds up. When Carrick played for Spurs they all said drop him he rubbish, now he gone the want him back and so on. They will be the same with Robinson, Steed and other departures.
I never understood why in football the managers get blamed so much. When players are on 10s of thousands a week they should motivate themselves, the managers influence is limited in real terms. The Spurs players are guility in the 2 seasons of letting themselves and the club down. If we are winning they switch off give the ball away and we draw or lose. At the weekend half of them looked like they were out for a sunday stroll. Sometimes they play as if the expect to win by the Force or something. Hopefully Poyet will be hard on them as he is that sort of character.
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Spurs knew that Berbatov's head had been turned last summer. Ferguson does it ali the time even when he has no interest in buying a player. This serves to cause the club concerned a headache as their top player is now unsettled. Van Nistleroy, Hargreaves to name but two, Defoe every year since he was at West Ham.
No probs with the Carrick deal, financially but he was tapped at England camps.
At least we said the price , they agreed, job done. but it did put Spurs back.
Man U are the only club interested in him, so selling abroad is not an option. He only want's top go to ManU so bloody do the deal.
I can see why Levy is upset by all this but he needs to get a grip ..
Pride comes before a fall !
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i don't know if anyone has already answered this question cause i havent read all the comments, but why do people keep saying that you need a new striker if berbatov leaves...you need one anyway! I was at the middlesbrough spurs match(boro fan) and spurs looked rubbish and a sopurs fan who i was talking to on the train home thought exactly the same
also i dont think spurs fans should be bothered about giving berbatov to one of the big four as suggested you dont in comments 8 and 34. Although i think spurs long term couyld become a top tier side it's not now and it certainly isnt going to be berbatov who stops you pushing up higher in the table
you just need to get rid of him...against boro he couldnt be bothered and did nothing except one good move with bent. I feel sorry for bent and although I think he isnt worth anywhere near the ridiculous amount jol spent on him hes gonna be pickekd up on as a failure if he doesnt score many goaLS but even if he was brilliant he still wouldnt due to the fact that he hasnt got the support of another striker
boro for 7th though any thoughts...
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After Jol being wrongly sacked (in my opinion) we are now in the same boat with Ramos. 2 games no points and possibly the worse start for 29 years. 5th again well taht is what Jol gave us two years running and to some (Mr Levy) this was not good enough, so why is it to be deemed good enough this time?
I have said before and say it again give a manager a chance Fergie and wenger both were given timae and they have produced time amnd time again.
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We actullay won the Carling cup 9 years ago with a certain George Graham (that was not good enough) so why should we accept it now?
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Agree with UTD3inarow about Martin Jol. I still can’t believe Spurs got rid of him. The fans loved him, he produced great football and Spurs did well for two seasons, before suffering a blip and he gets sacked. OK, he didn’t sort the defence out but he would have, given time.
OK so Mr Ramos has won us a cup but I think Martin Jol would have done that (it was generally his team). Martin Jol made some mistakes and occasionally got his tactics wrong but was a good manager overall.
How has Ramos improved us? I know he hasn’t had long but his tactics really do baffle me at times. He buys Bentley (excellent) who is probably the best crosser in the Prem with his right foot and plays him on the left. When that didn’t work, he played in the middle. He did this to allow Lennon to play on the right – who can’t cross a ball to save his life – he can’t cut in to shoot left footed either. He only seems to play for short spells and can cause chaos when he does so more suited to a sub role I think.
Too many times, players are playing out of position to cover for players who are unavailable. For a while, we have been crying out for defenders, a defensive midfielder and strikers, so what does Ramos do - he buys attacking midfielders (I know they are good players but this was hardly the area we needed to improve most). He is then forced to play Zakora at right back and chooses Assou-Ekotto at left back. Alongside Dawson (used to be great but what has happened to him?), this is asking for trouble. I know specific injuries/suspensions cannot be predicted, but you have to assume injuries/suspensions will occur and get adequate cover (especially in areas where we are already thin and have injury-prone players, like in DF).
Although we all knew something was wrong, nobody could really predict the Berba saga would leave us without his services so early I the season, leaving us with only one recognised striker (if he went, we could have bought someone else). But Defoe was sold and not replaced, then Keane. Even if we did have Berba, were we really going to go through the whole season with 2 recognised strikers? I know there’s some time before the transfer window ends, but I wonder why he spent most of the time securing midfielders first.
Hopefully, he has a plan up his sleeve to prove me wrong, but it appears to me that we have a manager who is tactically inept and can’t see the obvious!
I would pick the following:
GK – Gomes (reserving judgement so leave him in unless proven wrong)
LB – Bale
RB – Hutton (Gunter – seen him for Wales and is starting to look the part – can adequately fill in for Hutton)
CB – buy a top CB to play alongside King or Woodgate (not easy but we should TRY - at least we can have one consistent player in there to keep the DF in shape – especially with the younger lads at full back). Rotate King and Woodgate (give each a run of 7 or 8 games at a time to lessen the chance of injury to each) and put the other on the bench.
LW – Dos Santos
RW – Bentley
Def M – buy a proven defensive midfielder but use Huddlestone or O’Hara for now
Att M – Modric
FW – buy two strikers!
Bench:
King or Woodgate
Huddlestone or O’Hara
Jenas or Zakora
Bent
Cesar
Clear out the following:
Lee Young-Pyo
Paul Stalteri
Benoit Assou-Ekotto
Hossam Ghaly
Kevin-Prince Boateng
Dimitar Berbatov
To be followed out the door by (ONLY if we get a good offer):
Michael Dawson
Didier Zokora
Aaron Lennon
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Duv, agree wholeheartedly, apart from the Jol bit. He was treated badly but I feel the team were not fit enough to last 90 mins, which explains the late goals conceded.
Why is Gunter not being played @ LB ??
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Sorry, RB
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I was listening to the world service on Saturday and when Russel Fuller said that it's over to Steve Wilson at WHL I just knew S'land had scored and it would be Cisse. I have been following Spurs for over 25 years from across the waters and now more than ever we need two things. A decent striker (cause let's face it, Bent is crap.Period) and a defensive midfielder. Jermaine Jenas is a swear world amongst Spurs fans here in Cape Town. The boy is no good Senor Ramos.
Jan Klaas Huntelaar plse. I think Spurs will at least get a point at the Boring Bridge.
Spurs till I die or when SA wins a gold at the Olympics!
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as a life long spurs fan i am personally disgusted with the current situation. I have lost all faith in the club, the manager and the board. Robbie Keane was the best player we have ever had and I shed a tear when he left. I think i am now going to start supporting liverpool, a team who actually play with passion and would die for the shirt they are wearing.
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Isn't the problem with the way that Spurs have handled this that they have treated Berbatov like a piece of meat? There's no, "forget it, you're not going at any price, we're not even entering into it," which is what United (despite all the allegations about debt and the Glazers being in it only for the buck) did with Cristiano. Instead it was, "you can bog off when we get our screw," which basically means we don't really want you, just show us the money.
You can never be impressed with a well-paid striker who throws his toys out of the pram and refuses to perform because he's not getting his own way but you can only really criticise him for that if you show him how much you want to keep him. If you tell him it's only a matter of how much someone is willing to pay for his contract, then, no matter what the reality of this kind of situation might be, he's bound to end up depressed and de-motivated.
This was just pure bad man-management from the board. I doubt if it had anything to do with Ramos who seems to have made it clear throughout how much he wanted to keep him.
This saga could unfortunately end with him going nowhere, Levy keeping his face after his ridiiculously hypocritical report to the authorities, but the victory being totally Pyrrhic because he's got a disaffected player on his hands whose value has just halved. The continentals won't pay that kind of money. They don't have it and they're just hanging round like vultures to see if there are any cut-price pickings. What did Spurs pay for him? £12m? £25m is a good return after two years of good service and at least one trophy in the cabinet.
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I agree with number 75. I'm a Spurs fan now living in Manchester, and the amount of un-provoked abuse and arrogance that he local Man U fans are displaying has completely turned me against a team that I previously enjoyed watching and quietly hoped did well. This Berbatov business has been going on for nearly a year and it's impossible to say it hasn't disrupted the team. I hope Man U finish 3rd behind Chelsea and Liverpool, and Man City beat them 4 times this season... and then Ronaldo leaves and Fergie retires... and Man U recruit Sam Allardyce
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If Spurs sign Heskey as a replacement for Berbatov I think I'll cry! Keane and Berbatov was one of the best attacks in the PL, Keane was very under-rated. We were mid-table last season with a better squad. Bent and Heskey instead of Keane and Berbatov!?! Worst Spurs strike force since Ferdinand and Iverson.
Berbatov should not be sold to United. United have unsettled him, Spurs look like a soft touch because they always cave in, just like with Carrick and Keane. This will happen again and again to Spurs until we stand up for ourselves. If he must be sold, sell him abroad, cut price if necessary. Barcelona would have him I'm sure, and Inter are still a little short of attackers for their CL ambitions.
Agree Arshavin has Rebrov written all over him, his head dropped in the Euro semi against Spain too quickly. Scouts need to find someone young and exciting who nobody is ready to take the plunge with yet because there is nobody obvious around. Bring back Defoe too and cut our losses with Bent who anyone could see when he arrived was overpriced by a good 8-10 million.
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The problem with 75 and 134 is you are just blinkered and perhaps blinded by envy in always making Manchester United the villain of the piece. United behave no differently from other top teams who have pulling power and Spurs do precisely the same with those over whom they can exercise similar power. Did they not buy Carrick from West Ham for £2m and then sell him to United for allegedly £18m? Do me a favour with your wingeing!
Chelsea are probably the worst offenders because they don't have to bother about balancing the books at the end of the day and the only reason Spurs have not felt their sting is that they aren't really interested in any current Spurs players.
Carrick moved to United to better himself and you don't have to look far for the proof of the pudding. United haven't unsettled Berbatov. It is no secret that they wanted him when he moved to Spurs but he made the wrong choice because he saw himself playing second fiddle to Van Nistelrooy. If he'd known then what would happen he would have joined United.
There is a way you can deal with this. You are Spurs, a big London club. Think about how it is that you were the big I am in the cup and the league back in the early sixties when United were near relegation whilst recovering from the Munich air crash and then plot how it is with your London resources that you are not as big as United now. The reason United are among the top three clubs in the world is good husbandry over the years. It could have been you. Stop whining about how it's not fair and do something about it.
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Couldn't agree more with comment number 1. The way Jol was treated last season was despicable and a season on things are still the same, if not worse.
I was at the game on Saturday and could hear mutterings from fans that we shouldn't have got rid of Jol. What a great thing hindsight is!
I have no doubt that Ramos will turn things around, I just hope he gets the time he needs which I know would be very uncharacteristic of Spurs but you can hope.
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That the hierarchy at Spurs have allowed this situation to develop is the most worrying thing!
How they didn't see this coming is beyond me- if Berbatov goes (which he has to now for the good of the club) we will be left with only the seriously inadequate Darren Bent unless new signings are made.
And if new players come in they are going to have to bed in to an already massively disrupted side which itself is struggling to gel.
I don't know where Spurs go from here to be honest and am deeply sad and frustrated that our season is threatening to be effectively over before it has even started.
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To all the Spurs fans who are sayin just sell him for less to another club.
You do that and United will still get him. And for less then £20million. You are saying that on the ashumtion that Berba would go to that club. For example, if Madrid bid £10/13 million (as Madrid do that, and wont pay more then £15million) then you would have to hope and PRAY he accepts, as if he doesnt (which imo he wouldnt) then you are screwed. Its all well offering him to another club for cheaper, but if he rejects that club thats it.
Berbatov has every right to want to go, your all forgetting he turned down a move to United to go to you. He believed you were aiming for Europe. You have failed two years in a row, and when he is subbed for Bent or Defoe, can you blame him. A player of that talent should be the first name on the sheet for a team like Spurs, and if I was berba id be annoyed at being second fiddle to Bent.
And then the club swap and change managment, and sell one of thier best players, as far as berba can see Spurs are a sinkign ship, and why should he stay and go down with the ship when the best team in Europe is offering him a chance to join them? I mean he wouldnt have to move abroad and can stay in the best league in the world.
You have plain and simply failed to hit your aims. Let Berba have his dream, at the end of the day £20million is the best you are going to get, and if you offer him to someone else for less United won't pay £20million.
He can't 'rot in the reserves' his vaule will plummit. So they have a choice, sell for £20million, or let a player who doesnt want to be there stay, then what? United are holding all the aces, as Fergie has said he would LIKE (not want) a striker but if we don't get one he isnt worried. Spurs NEED Berba, United don't.
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Spurs have dug themselves into hole.
Berbatov is clearly unhappy and wants to go.
Comments of him "rotting in the reserves" will not help the situation.
So, will Spurs play hard ball and keep a player who is desperate to leave and whose talents will be missed by playing him in the reserves?
If he wasn't in the right from of mind to play in the first team against Sunderland, he certainly won't be for the rest of the season.
Or will Spurs finally face up to the fact that they can get a good return for this player.
The only problem is that they haven't had the foresight to line up another striker. In fact, where is Keane's replacement?
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Spurs fans have seen and put up with alot of nonsense over the years and this is up there as one of the worst. It's up there with the Jol situation for me.
Personally, like alot of others on here, I blame the board, but most of all Damien Comoli...
Isn't he in charge of transfers? What does he do all day? He's brought in deadwood (Boateng, Kaboul) and sold our gold. Keane should've never ever in a million years have been sold without a replacement and the same for Berbatov. That's common sense.
Bent isn't good enough. If he was he would've started before Keane and Berba last season. what happened in pre-season means nothing now.
Our signings will come good - especially Modric. The facts are though, to get into europe, we need a few more signings.
Ashavin is not a replacement for Berbatov. For one, he's not a striker, he's an attacking midfielder and we've got 3 or 4 of them already (I'd take Forlan over Ashavin any day).
We need two proven strikers and some defensive cover.
We need to sell Michael Dawson. He's not the type of defender to get us into the top 4. King and Woodgate are, but we need more options for when they inevitably get injured. Corluka was a good option. Shame that fell through.
I hope fans appreciate that Ramos is dealing with a tricky situation here and back him over the board. He's without doubt the man for the job - he's 10 times the tactician Jol was and we need to keep him, he's quality.
In conclusion, i'm sure we'll be given some hope this week to reel us in for more drama this year and obviously at the start of next season.
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Spot on comment about the Jol business!!! Apparently 5th place and playing competitively wasn't good enough for spurs......well it's a lot better than fluking a mickey mouse trophy and finishing 11th!!!
The board should go this time!
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136, I wasn't whining at all and your arrogant reply just proves my point.
I believe the chairman and manager team is essential for success, and over the last few seasons Spurs have taken ambitious steps and made clever business, to build a squad that can challenge the "big 4". Although it hasn't quite worked as smoothly as planned because holding on to your top players is key.
The big 4 haven't always existed and it's their monopoly of the crucial Champions League spots that are giving them the power and money to look down on the rest and treat them like feeder teams. Chelsea decided to turn their back on attractive football in a quest to win everything and I'm glad they eventually failed. I'm looking forward to watching Chelsea turn on the style a bit more now, with essentially the same players as before, but with a more exciting boss in Scolari who has a more entertaining philosophy to his game.
I'm happy we managed to win the Carling Cup last season and I really enjoyed watching Spurs play, even though we don't win all the time. Believe it or not, I'd rather we lost 5-4 than drew 0-0. But this Berbatov fiasco is really getting on my nerves because it provokes even more arrogant jibes from Man U fans and I'd rather we played an up and coming youngster than someone who isn't 100% with us. However, we should hold out for the money that the player is worth and not be held to ransom. I'm sure Berbatov will be a good signing for United and I'm guessing Spurs could use the money to buy a couple of out and out strikers or a target man.
The knee-jerk reaction of United fans at the moment is that they can get what they want, which is why I hope that they "fail" in the same way that Chelsea did.
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I thought Barca was interested in Berbatov? Why not sell him to Barca for cheap with a clause that Barca cannot resell him directly to any team in the PL without paying Spurs a huge fine (just to deter Barca from selling him to ManU).
Is Spurs not playing the same game ManU played with Ronaldo. Why then are people thinking Spurs is wrong but ManU was right in the way they handled the Ronaldo saga
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As a Man City fan you can talk about people in glass houses throwing stones but I couldnt really see how Spurs could go from bottom half of the table to top 4 challengers when they have lost 2 and now even 3 of their best players in Keane, Defoe and Berbatov. Ramos did well winning a trophy last season but it will take time for him to adjust to the Premiership, Spurs dont have Chelsea's squad so to a certain extent he has to work with what he has, also some of the squad players who have been allowed to leave like Malbranque and Chimbonda are experienced Premier League players who can do a job, its all well and good bringing in foreigner super stars but as we found to our cost at City last year once the likes of Sunderland and Everton turn up on a cold winters night and start thundering into tackles the foreign legion may decide to give it a miss. Thank you.
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we were never going to do better than 11th last season after 1 win in 12. jol had totally lost the plot, the football was awful, the defence useless and it culminated in us losing our european home record against getafe which was one of the worst games i have seen.
our only win was against derby. we hung onto fifth in 06-07 and were poor in the fa cup after leading 3 - 1 against chelsea with 30 mins to play and he takes off lennon and then berbabtov. then we were leading against arsenal 2 - 0 and we were pegged back by their reserve side. he ran out of ideas after berbatov went off injured. he brought on defoe on the left wing in that match. how is that for clueless!
jol was overrated and over weight. the media loved him because he was quick witted and had a funny and comincal grasp of english. robinson, mido and andy reid were all fed on pies. we were unfit and conceded leads on a regular basis. he rowed with davids and sold carrick.
he was lucky. he had two unbelievable strikers. he had lots of money to spend. we spent more than 100million, second only to chelsea.
jol and o'leary are two peas from a pod. is david o'leary a good manager? i want people to tell me. and dont say leeds are now in league two he was good with hindsight because he had millions and millions to spend. that doesnt make a manager good. so again is jol a good manager. what did he ever do??????????????????????
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We have to hold on to Berba and all will be rosey once the transfer window shuts. Look at Chelsea with Drigba continually making comments about leaving and the same goes for Adebayor at Arsenal and Ronaldo at Man Utd. They will all be forgiven once they start knocking the goals in and it will be no different when Berba does the same at the lane. We still need another striker though if only to show Berbatov that he is not indispensable. Arshavin would be a great buy even if it is not the exact type of player we need but players of his calibre are hard to attract and he seems keen so sign him up Juande!
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Okay but it isn't arrogant to point out facts, particularly the main one that, short of Chelsea, no one has helped the other three get into the Champions League spots time and time again. They got there on merit by earning their way and now they've stayed there that's the meaning of "to the victor the spoils", something Spurs have to learn.
There are two issues here: the first is that no one decreed that Manchester United should be the power it is other than the club itself. It doesn't have a naturally bigger base than Tottenham, who should at least challenge Arsenal every season, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle let alone Arsenal. It is what it is by hard work.
The second is that Spurs have not acted the same over Berbatov as United have over Ronnie. Fergie told Ronnie, forget it son, we are not even engaging with Madrid, and Ronnie accepted that. He was pleased to be wanted. It will crop up again but United won't budge unless they see him, like Ruud and Becks, as a negative force. Spurs, on the contrary, can't wait to push Berba out of the door provided they get their pot of gold. That's really good for a player to know. There may be no difference in reality about Ronnie staying with United when he would have preferred to be at Madrid and Berba staying at Spurs when he would have preferred to be United but perception is everything. Ronnie comes back perceiving they really want me here; Berba stays thinking they don't really want me at all.
It's man-management issue and I don't think it's Ramos'.
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Jol was under put under immense pressure from the start. It was the worse kept secret that Ramos was being sounded out. How can you expect a manager and team to perform under those conditions??
What did Jol ever do? Mate..you seem to have lost your memory. Before last season every spurs fan was talking up the chances of doing something good. If the board and Comolli had backed Jol and left him to sign who he wanted, spurs would have done a lot more. Jol created that confidence and performances showed that over 2 seasons.
Let's see how long it takes before fans start grumbling about Ramos!
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That was a snidey comment about John O'shea,you must remember this man is a living legend amongst true reds for scoring beautiful goals against the gonners and diverpool in recent seasons,the man is an Immortal
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Dear Proper Football Fans,
I assume this comment will be wiped and taken off the site but if not then here are my comments.
" With this deal it's a buyers' market because United know Spurs need to offload a player who, by their own admission, is now a bad influence in the dressing room. United's own need for a goalscorer should ensure a fee in excess of £20m, but if Spurs want nearer £30m they are in dreamland "
The only thing right about this statement is that we have admitted that he is a bad influence in the dressing room, but if we want nearer to 30mill, why are we in dreamland ??
Steve because you work for the BBC and have created a blog does not mean you know everything about football, We have sold and made back the outlay that we have spent so far, i actually know we have quite a bit to spend. We DO NOT need to sell Berba full stop. We would like to sell him but for the right price !!! If yyour house was valued at £250,000 but your neighbour wanted to pay £100,000 thousand, would you sell ?? NO i think not. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get the right price for Tottenham and becuase we have upset the applecart of the " So called BIG 4 ", people like Steve and organisations like the BBC hate us, why ?? Becuase the Man U's and Chelseas keep people like Steve in a job, No Live Footie to respond hence why a blog is created.
You seem to not mention that we are the Richest Club in Europe who has never played in the Champions League ?? What people like Steve and the BBC are here to promote like all Mesdia is bad news as this is what pay peoples wages like Steve who i can pretty much assume is a yes man, Proper football fans will know what i mean.
Berbatov could have gone if the right bid comes in. Steve i offer you a bet that without Berba, Man U will not win the title, you know it, they know it and we know it.
If someone was sleeping with you wife assuming your not gay, would you then goand help that man sleep with her, NO unless thats your thing. Why should we help the Mancs to achieve another title. You i have to say are a crap journo and will continue to be as you are limited in what you say, go one tell the truth.
Real spurs fans are fed up but not stupid either, The reason teams are trying to pester us and degrade the club is FEAR, FEAR creates negativity and if there was not an article like this people like Steve would just be a nobody and this site would be crap as no one would read it.
Wake up and smell the roses, We know he is not going to play for us, but denying us the right fee, is that really wrong, only in the eyes of the media.
Steve your blog is rubbish and you know it
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I really think Spurs will struggle this season. I think they are looking at a comfortable mid-table finish if they bring a half-decent striker in to replace the Man Utd-bound Berbatov. However, if they dont bring a decent striker in we could see Spurs in a relegation dogfight this season.
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By the way the problem over the transfer fee for Suberb is that United paid £32 Million for Tevez and Tottersham want what they think United can afford
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properyid101....while you've been writing that nonsense, what do you think your wife has been up to? If you have one that is....or you may prefer your match day programmes.
Let's keep to the subject of footy and not get personal!!
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I think it's time we got over the whole Jol thing. We finished 5th twice, once by the most narrow of margins yes and had a reasonable run in the UEFA Cup, BUT was he really the man to take us above and beyond that - No! At least not without a decent Number 2 to challenge some of his shocking tactical decisions.
He served us well and I am ever grateful for that, as we all should be, but it's time to move on. I also think we should forget about the board; they have made as much money available as anyone, with the exception of Chelsea of course. Ramos and Poyet are good need TIME - at least 2, maybe 3 seasons!
In the short, we need a striker with bags of goals in him, but what world class striker wants to join a team outside of the Champions League?! We need a midfield general, but the same applies!
Podolski is a reasonable shout, but is he just a 'good' Bellamy? Pavyluchenko may be good, but it's a gamble. One thing for sure, Berba has to go and that will be 45-50 goals a season gone from Spurs!
One thing I will say is that I do not think Damien Comolli is healthy for the club - I am not sure that Ramos and Poyet get the final say on just who we sign and that is wrong! We should be looking to get who they want.
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not getting personal, just commenting on a statement as copied and pasted in my response.
Journos never back up there facts and i am not married by the way or gay either. Justin appreciate that Berba has had the help of the media to try and leave, accept that the media play a big part in all life not just football so respect that, if youmake commnets that are wrong, what wrong with letting that person know ?? i speak the truth and the whole truth, my other half also works at the club and has been for the last 12 years so i think i know !!!
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I don't profess to being able to run the show personally. but I wonder about how the what'sit these blokes are left to run our club. For a top club to be in this situation is incompetence. Everton can't reinforce, but they openly have no money. Can you imagine this happening in a commercial firm with a similar turnover ?
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Properyid101 - everything that is wrong with forum/blog posters summed up in your two posts.
Ooh my missus works at the club, I must know what I'm talking about.
My missus works as a personal trainer but I don't go telling everyone I know everything about health+fitness. As to everything else you said, what a load of rubbish. I hope you have an excuse for being so stupid? Your analogys did not work at all, as was the same for the anything else you typed.
Fear? Fear of what exactly? No one cares about your little mickey mouse team, as said in many previous posts you are no more than a poor imitation of Newcastle and that is saying something.
Your paranoid and deluded rants would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.
properyid101 your posts are rubbish and you know it, go spout your rubbish elsewhere.
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If berba goes Barca he is an idiot. And if he turns them down Spurs are screwed.
Either way as much as Spurs hate to admitt it, because of your joke of a board United have you by the balls.
The player wants to go
We want him but dont need him
The board wants to sell him
No one else has made an offer
If you dont sell him then you have an unhappy player untill January atleast. Then by then United will probably just move on, and then you will been taught a harsh lesson.
And I do feel for Spurs fans, its not your all your teams fault. I mean I thought the Carrick deal was a great deal for both sides, Spurs made £16million, and United got a great player.
But your board and chairman is a joke. Look at the Glazers, they stood by Fergie, and he decisides who comes and goes. Spurs one mistake is letting a man who has no idea what the team needs, buying and selling players.
I mean I am confident Jol wouldnt of paid £16million for Bent, yet some Spurs fans forget one of the reasons Jol was unhappy was the fact the choice of buying players was taken away from him.
Do you think Fergie or Wenger would let someone else do thier job? Look at Jose, he was unhappy with the set up at chelski.
The manager should be the focul point of the entire club. All the successful managers have been given time, money and power.
Look at Keane, he has doen wonders at Sunderland, and thats becaue the board had 100% faith and were willing to back it up. Same said for Moyes, though he hasnt had the same finacnel backing. However give Moyes the money Jol, Ramos, O'Niel and others have had and he would be up there with the best of them.
I like to see Spurs do well, but they wont due to the way the club is run.
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Spurs have done pretty well out of United: what's the combined profit on Berby and Carrick?
Add in the service you had out of the pair of them and you've got to be satisfied!
I think if United have shown anything to be true, it's that if you build from the back and have decent midfielders you will score goals. (see Fletcher, 2 in 2, and Ronaldo - winger with 40+ a season).
The question is, was it (is it) Berbatov's creativity that netted him the goals, or just the fact that he's a goalscorer?
Would Heskey and Bent equal Keane and Bebatov's tally? Would they even need to if the defence was solid and the midfield kept hold of the ball?
Some canny purchases need to be made, someone like Senna - who won't be expecting to set the world on fire at his age, and hopefully Bent and A.N. other will score almost by default.
But then again I'm a United fan and I don't really care - just give him up already! :)
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"jol was overrated and over weight...robinson, mido and andy reid were all fed on pies. "
________________________________
Coming in the midst of many, many, angst-ridden posts from Spurs fans, this was very amusing.
Also, Fineupstander in posts 136 and 148 talks a lot of sense.
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I lived in Manchester for 20 years, and have a soft spot for both sets of fans, but the arrogance of United always gets to me...
SAF whispers in the ears of players he wants to come to "The Greatest Club in The World"TM and play in "The Theatre of Dreams"TM, so why haggle over 5million? could it be a 600million debt serviced by 60million a year interest payments means he has to barter like a market trader at the Barras? Spurs want 30mil for their player and Utd can have him. Fairly simple I would have thought.
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In the end Spurs will sell Berba for the price that most closely matches their valuation. Just sign a couple of high qaulity replacements and start playing football....please
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Mr Wilson - you do surprise me. If you need to really get that information concerning Berbatovs character from one so called Spurs insider - you must really be out of touch and not performing to the standards i would normally expect from a BBC journalist.
Please do your homework/research before adding to the media maelstrom on his future.
BTW Its long overdue that someone stood up to Alex Ferguson who thinks he can go around unsettling players and coaching staff left right and centre with impunity. But when the shoes on the other foot he bleats to all and sundry.
REAL FANS OF THE LILYWHITES STAY CALM! AND IGNORE THE DRIVEL IN THE MEDIA
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It is quite simple, we don't want to sell to Man U. Albeit for silly peronal reasons at board level.
It is also apparent that commolli is pretty much clueless when it comes to transfer dealings. As such it would appear that we have shot ourselves in the foot. Given a bit of reality though Berba is unable to move unless sold, and I'm sure would prefer to play from now to xmas rather that languish in the reserves.
It still doesn't solve the longer term attacking problems. To slightly contradict my previous line, how about we go short term and look to take Michael Owen from the toon. He appears to be settled there but as we all know that can be changed in a flash of the cheque book
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Russian sites just reported Pavlyuchenko's contract with Tottenham. According to gazeta.ru Roman is in process of finalizing his paperwork and obtaining visa. No info as to the transfer amount or pay
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Yep, sure looks like Pavyluchenko will be announced shortly! Lots of sites are claiming that he has spoken with Russian reps of UEFA and has not travelled for Spartaks Champions League Qualifier as he has confirmed he is sorting out the transfer.
Looked a decent player in the Euro's; big, strong, skillfull, scores goals!!!
I'll be happy with it.....
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To the Spurs fans saying that he is worth £30m: no, not at this age. Three years ago, yes. Assets devalue with age. A 28-year-old is not worth £30m unless you're Chelsea and willing to pay inflated prices. Look at Henry - at age 29, was worth £16m. Berbatov at 28 - worth around £20m. Get it together.
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This blog has some great observations but its just like what's going on for real...lots of posturing but nothing happening...
As a Spurs fan I can see this being our worst for years; ie after consecutive 5th places and a League Cup...There is no way we will make top 4 and top 10 will be a bonus...however would love to be proved wrong!
I can't see that Ramos knows the way forward (no pun intended) otherwise he would already be playing his strongest team ...unless he is going for some Radical Raffa Rotation?
Please get something sorted whether Berba stays or goes.
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Hi, all,
I just wrote something on the other sports forum and thought it is good to share it with you too...I think it is a good stuff and observation.
comment by piskiesurfer (U6742203),
"Given the choice - Do you really think that top european players will want to choose a mid table club with internal problems over another more stable and ambitious club.
Do you think managers and agents will want to deal first with your club, given your track record, or another.
Spurs might end up missing out on any transfer targets precisely because of how they're handling the Berbatov situation.$
----------------
Definitely was not going to comment today, but just checking the latest info and good even to say hi.
Piskiesurfer, Thanks for that comment. Don’t have too much time to read all the others because this saga is a REAL SAGA, without any very important reason. I personally don’t like and don’t understand how all the things are presented. And why exactly like that? Even for all three parties concerned. It is like somebody wants to create a Scandal, where just player’s future, football and transfer fee (money) are involved. But looks like when we have all these together DEFINITELY have to be a scandal. For me this story now is more than a “transfer saga”. Everything doesn’t seem to be professional at all.
Anyway, still few days to go and also there are other important things so I just wish the entire BEST possible outcome for all the parties involved. Though for some it is very late. Very late actions and we will see who is going to benefit or who is going to lose. Though in any SAGA and SCANDAL for me there are only parties who lose. (Transfer) Saga, Scandal – Benefit – we know doesn’t work. Long term.
I wrote my thoughts and comments yesterday on the blog of Steve Wilson from 25 August 2008 – “A crucial week for Spurs”. But everything is “developing” with so much speed now (I mean the talks not the actual action) so we can’t catch up with all that new “information”. (My writing on the blog 108, 110. Not to be misunderstood with the odd question marks, pls, click on my membership name and you can read the “original”. Thanks)
Here I just want to say something I think for quite some time. It is not about Dimitar Berbatov directly and his professional football qualities on the pitch. Though is connected to him and probably has a part to play for all this. I don’t know his agent but I think Berbatov had to have somebody who knows how is the situation in England when a top player is making ANY transfer. England, Premier League, Top Player, Transfer, The Big Money, The Eventual (Future) Silverware, you can add the public interest and the Media / Press, etc and the RESULT IS - that is a lot of PRESSURE, SOMETIMES NOT WANTED AND NOT NEEDED and if you don’t know all these OR HAVEN’T BEEN in a similar situation before it is very difficult to handle it CORRECTLY. I think they made a mistake (big or small, I am not sure) this is NOT the Bundesliga, Italian Calcho, Spanish Primera Division, French Ligue 1, etc. This is the famous English Premiership / Premier League. Say England, football and it is different a bit. I MEAN THE PRESSURE, THE TRANSFER, the Big TEAMS etc. and mainly the whole MEDIA and PRESS RELEASE. And it is TOTALLY different. You have to have a special person or a very special advice HOW TO HANDLE IT. What to say, to whom to say, even the smallest actions, to whom to smile or not to smile, how to “behave”, etc. And I think sometimes in that kind of situation SILENCE is not so good. Berbatov had to SPEAK to the media DIRECTLY. It is his future and he cares about it but he doesn’t do the right (little) things and doesn’t have the right people around him too.
So I think Berbatov definitely got this wrong. And even me when I see the name of his agent, I know they will not get it right. They don’t know the environment and follows they don’t know how to handle it correctly and professionally. Plus I think it is VERY LATE even for Berbatov’s agent to get “involved” now. Don’t believe he will do any good to Berbatov and the whole situation.
Anyway, other things to do now so let us leave it for tomorrow. The end of the SAGA?! We don’t know yet. They still have some days more to finish everything. I do hope only what we will see at the end would be a little bit more professional and not any further Scandal. At the end Tottenham, Manchester United are big teams and Dimitar Berbatov is a top player. Top striker.
Hope all of them got it right and everything is finished quite soon. Otherwise nobody is the winner.
PS. And again if there are too many odd question marks, they are not real. Pls. for the "original" just click on my membership name. To get it right and not be misunderstood. Thank you.
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Those flaming Jol really need to look at themselves in the mirror. The man managed 2 5th placed finishes at Spurs. Excellent work there. I seriously think the jury is still out on Ramos. Yes, he won the Carling Cup, but it seems as if he allowed the squad to become de-motivated after that victory, a very dangerous game indeed. Lo and behold, Spurs have started with two losses. A laid back, de-motivated ethic should never be allowed to creep into the dressing room and this is a big mistake Ramos has made. To add to that, I really cannot see Spurs getting anything from their game at Stamford Bridge. It is looking ominous for Ramos in my eyes.
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i think even with pavlyuchenko (assuming that he does go to totthenham that you still need another striker...it takes lots of strikers time to adjust in the premiership and althoughnhes a good buy i think you need someone else as a backup and i dont think bent is that person
overall you need more strikers...two i snot enough and whilst your midfield is strong going forward it wont give you the goals you need to push for the top 4-5
i think totenham are in for a rough season another mid table finish i guess
look at middlesbrough weve got loads of strikers :D:D
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Isn't this all part of the Premier League tradition? Massive expectations for Spurs at the beginning of the season only to be met with massive disappointment and languishing in mid-table mediocrity at best.
As a neutral I'm always flabbergasted at how Spurs always fail to deliver. They have the money, the stadium, the fans, the players, the manager to be a successful club but can never seem to find the winning formula.
I saw a comment elsewhere that said Tottenham are the Newcastle of the south. That's a bit harsh on Newcastle, given that even they've managed to win a game already!
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As an arsenal fan, I have heard the sort of news that tottenham are hearing this summer. Indeed it hasn't even stopped this year, hleb, adebayor, vieira, henry the list is endless. This sort of thing happens in football.
As for the spurs - man u - berbatov saga. The guy doesn't want to play for you because (and lets face it they are) a BIGGER club have expressed their interst in him. Sell him at what ever you can get for him you only paid £10 million for him thats a return of a trophy last year and £15 million in cash for you, not bad business if you ask me. The longer this goes on the less he'll go for.
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What do some of you lot take in the morning. i bet none of you are season ticket holders, i have opened an account just to say this to you.....YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! end of!
we have one of the most respected managers in world football, he will put it right. martin jol is nothing to do with it at all as it is a year on since then.
yes, we do need a defensive midfield player but i would like to see big tom in the middle with luka. he is strong and a wonderful passer of the ball.
as for singing a striker, it is essential (and no, not emile heskey we need a goalscorer) whilst replacments for berbatov are hard top come by i dont see why there is still no replacement for robbie keane, granted you wont get his work rate but there are players of a similar mould available ie arshavin. why not sign michael owen though, £8-10million he is out of contract at the end of the season and when he plays he scores.
when berba goes however we have a problem, there is no-one like him in world football and he is the best striker in the world without doubt (at manchester united you will see this) as for replacemnts huntelaar is the only man i would view as a like for like replacemnt but is going to cost £20million+ i would pay it and get him. however a more likely option looks to be Pavluychenko who i feel misses a lot of chances to score 1 goal (a bit like adebayor) he will probably sign and he will score goals.
1 thing is for sure we need 2 strikers in before close of play on monday. i think huntelaar and owen would be the best two players we could get unless of corse david villa would actually come to spurs which i think is unlikely.
just get it sorted now....take £26-28million for berba and get him on his way. he has been fantastic for us and no matter what anyone says, his attitude has been 1st class up until the last week!
and please anyone who doesnt have a clue (ie most of you 100odd people) please dont give spurs a bad name by writing for the world to see on here, its embarassing!
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To continue from where i left off!!!
As for man utd's behavour as with liverpools in the keane saga. it's unnaceptable, this needs sorting lets stop the big clubs ridding over the smaller clubs to take their best players.
Personnally I think we need a 3rd party who will over see all transfers and set all asking prices independant of the players club. This will give smaller clubs more of a chance in signing and keeping good players.
lets use the berbatov issue for an example
man utd contact ( lets call them X for this exercise) X and tell them they are interested in buying mr berbatov are representative would tell man utd how much he is worth. to which they would be given 48 hours to decide if they want the player.
If they still want the player (berbatov) X would contact Spurs and say we have someone (but dont disclose at this point who) intersted in buying Berbatov for £????? are you intersted in selling him?
The selling clubs answer is purely based on an independent valuation. If they are interseted in selling the player the player himself is then asked if he wants to leave?
Only when all 3 parties have agreed the figure will anyone be told who the buying club is.
This will stop unrealistic transfer fee's (not that I think £30mill is unrealistic for berbatov) and stop clubs unsettling players before the transfer has been agredd between all 3 parties. It will give a clear indication of why the play wants to leave.
If any club or player is found in breach of the agreement the player is forced to see out the remander of his contract plus 1 season on half his salary. and the club is docked 10 points and are not allowed to purchase any players for 2 seasons.
I doubt many will agree but it WILL stop the stupidity of the bigger clubs unsettling players unfarely.
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164, u usually talk crtap but for once i actuially agree with you, SAF and Man Utd are very hypocritical and they clearly unsettle players they want to sign each year. They need to be stopped.
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I was at the game on saturday and, although we didn't play as bad as we did against boro, it astounds me (as it seems to everyone else) that Ramos insists on playing players out of position and keeping much needed talent on the bench. It almost seemed as if none of our players wanted to, or were unsure whether to, take a shot on goal for at least the first half and Jenas yet again showed that he is the king of inconsistency by playing well only for about 10 minutes. Why on earth is he captain?
Yes, Berba's acted disrespectfully towards Spurs. He's signed a contract and he should honour it. We won't get 30m for him now and surely SAF must be having doubts about having such a sulky prima donna at Man U. It seems that his relationships within the club have completely broken down; the rest of the players apparently won't speak to him any more and, let's face it, who can blame them. But the fact remains, WE NEED HIM DESPERATELY.
SO... (and this could could be controversial)
...I say, give berbs the captain's armband. Then the players will have to speak to him, he will have some say over what happens on the park, and it might just motivate him to stop sulking and play for us again.
BERBA FOR CAPTAIN!!!
What do you think?
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If Berbatov could stay and sort his head out he could lead us to places he 'dreams' of i.e. Champions League. I dont think he will though.
Pavelychenko is potentially a good signing and I think it would make Ashavin better for us if he signs too. It looks likely that both will sign and this may be our line up soon:
Gomes
Hutton King Woodgate Bale
Zokora
Jenas Modric
Bentley Ashavin
Pavelychenko
As always, on paper it looks very good.
I'd like to see Corluka join from Man City too as we need more solid defensive options.
I also think Taarabt needs more time on the pitch because everytime i've seen him he looks quality (far better than Aaron Lennon)
It's not as if this situation is new to Tottenham fans. We'll finish in the Uefa places, have a good run in europe and the cups and all this will happen again.
Blame the board and Daniel Comolli, not Ramos or Berbatov.
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The aim at the start of any season is surely to win the league, in Spurs case whilst it may seem a step too far it must be the aim at the beginning. Given that Spurs possessed Keane and Berbatov it was not unrealistic to expect the club to build from a world class base, add to the mix a fit King,Woodgate and Bale, with a competent goalkeeperand that would present a realistic expectation of success.
Spurs have of course completely destroyed this base, by allowing Keane to go and to be less that strident on Berbatov they have managed to royally cock-up their season. I really fear for their wellbeing this term, last season they managed to undermine their most successful manager since Keith Burkinshaw and this time they have desroyed the basis of a very fine team and allienated their best player...very sad....if there was a cock-up league no team could hold a candle to the mighty Spurs....
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I couldnt agree more, this week could well define our season.
Good work Steve.Really enjoy your commentating aswell.
On every football show this year, when the topic of Juande Ramos and his Spurs side come up Strikers will be highlighted. The debate will ultimately go 2 ways.
1: The most probable. Spurs bring in one strker who will find it hard to replicate the form of our former players. Analyst will point out that we have not replaced Jermain Defoe never mind Dimitar Berbatov.
2: We splash out on forward players, to try and cover or newfound problem area, forgeting that defensive players are just as important. Two expensive strikers may be brought in. They will take time to gel, Spurs will be terrible until just before Christmas. We will then go on an amazing run and finish in UEFA cup spots on the last day of the season or close to it. Ramos will be hailed and our new front players will be highlighted as resurecting us.
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UTD3inarow - Martin Jol was given a further 9 games to turn things around after a poor start and I don't believe Ramos would be given a great deal more than that - although he has won a trophy (something MJ did not) so I could be wrong....
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Every year the same expectation, every year the same result - still not broken into the top 4. Spurs have always played football the correct way and bought pretty players to do so, but they lack a cutting edge and some real steel in the team.
It is simple - Berbatov wants to leave for CL football and because he wants to win trophies (serious ones, not the leauge cup). Just look at what Teddy Sheringham achieved when he left for MU
The only way Spurs are going to hold onto top class players is if they are a top 4 club.
Unfortunately, though they would like to think of themselves as a cut above West Ham (no offence intended, WH are a great club) they are still only a feeder club who will bleed talent until they make a real break through, and with a defence like theirs it is not going to be this season or the next
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Although you are right in saying that Jol was given time, the writing was on the wall after week 1, spurs had basically came out and said Ramos is our man, leaving Jols position unteneable
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In response to comment 75 from tyler9481 I would like to point out the obvious.
In all walks of life the 'big fish' prey on the the 'little fish.' Whether you like it or not, when stacked up against United, Tottenham are a 'small fish.
However, Spurs when stacked up against Crystal Palace suddenly appear a lot bigger and don't Crystal Palace and Simon Jordan know it eh???
If Spurs are resolute and hold out for what they perceive as 'market value' for Berbatov fair play - in the mean time tyler, don't come crying to forems such as these about your club being bullied by bigger boys (ie utd dictating the transfer market to smaller clubs)when your club is guilty of the similar charges themselves. One of the few chairman who has been very good for football is leaving the sport because your lot decided they could pay next to nothing for years of his investment in the development of a young player whose head your lot decided they could turn.
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Before the start of every new season everyone associated with the media allways predicts that spurs will be the main challengers to the so-called 'big four'. They have only come close on one occasion that I can remember:the 2005/06 season when they lost out narrowly to Arsenal
What did the board do in the aftermath of this? Sold their most influential player:Michael Carrick, to Man Utd. It is a world class defensive midfielder that Spurs need, not Andrei Arshavin.
Spurs are becoming a feeder club, just look at keane to liverpool and the imminent transfer of berbatov. I feel sorry for Ramos and any Spurs manager for that matter. How can they be expected to succeed when after every season there is an exodus of match winners?
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I response to Stuboi10 like you I am a Season ticket Holder and supporter (attending matches) of 42 of my 46 Years.
People with limited knowledge and understanding of Football and specifically my club THFC post invalid,erroneous and plain stupid information on the web.
Even the BBc journalist of this blog needs a 'Spurs Insider' to tell him what all knowledgable fans know as to the character and make-up of Dinitar Berbatov who has been the best player to grace WHL since one P.Gascoigne esquire.
This is the first blog i have ever posted on - its needs some clarity and realism
As for the the ill informed scb1970 the football authorities decided on the Bostock package - yet again do your research or please just shut up.
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and mr 187, I'm sure if Berba's fee went to an arbitration panel spurs wouldn't get the £30mill that they want. I agree with scb1970...football clubs will complain about one thing but do exactly the same when the circumstances change in their favour.
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Thankyou 188.
To further validate my comment, the reason for the tribunal was because the spurs valuation of Bostock was a great deal lower than that of Palace. They were unwilling to pay a fair price because they knew the player wanted out. How did that happen? Oh yes - Tottenham came in and unsettled him.
Incidently, Palaces valuation of Bostock was far more realistic than the Spurs valuation of Berbatov, but then the Spurs valuation of Berbatov differs when the interested party is not Man Utd.
Mr Levy it would appear seems to think that any interest in his players from Man Utd means he can dictate terms on the ethos Man Utd equals a bottomless pit of cash. In essence Mr Levy would like us all to believe he is a victim of Utd bullyboy tactics while he is actually out to screw every penny out of them (not always in the best interests of THFC)
Perhaps he wants to look closer to home where he will see that unless he removes Comolli, this kind of thing will happen year in year out, because the way the club is currently run will mean his top players will always seek CL football and we all know that means elsewhere.
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Will berbatov play every week at UTD???
who would you replace? Tevez, Rooney, Ronaldo (when fit) ???
SAF builds his teams on character, is berba show the right charicteristics to be part of a team????
after all a squad of 22 players all pulling in the right direction and knowing there roll in the squad is what wins trophies.
While I can not deny berba's ability with a ball is he a team player?
can SAF tutor him and mould him into the player he wants him to be?
or will berba sulk again when SAF opts to leave him out for a few games???
We all know SAF isn't scared to sacrifice a world class player for the sake of the team.
Ruud, Staam etc....
So what if spurs are holding UTD to ransom regarding there price tag of him? I dont care, do you?
I dont care if Utd pay £100 mill for him.
Spurs should have either kept defoe or brought a replacement early on rather than scrathing round at players now.
They also need a holding midfielder there defenders are good defenders but get no support from the for in front of them, when ever i watch spurs play the vital 2 banks of 4 are missing most of the time when they're defending. This could be rectified by a good strong commanding holding player.
Luca, Bentley, Geovanni and lennon are all good enough going forward but if you dont conceed you dont lose.
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What people forget about Jol was that he was never hired as manager, he was assistant to the farcical Santini and then became caretaker. Martin was a decent man and I liked him, but had taken the team as far as he could. The boards handling of tapping up Ramos was appalling but after Jol got his £4 ml pay off I guess its all square.
We always try to emulate the mob down the road who have had to same manager for 12 years, against our 8. All with different ideas and a huge turnover in the squad, but at last it seems this manager is buying the players and not a director of football.
Ramos is a proven quality, the board have spent the money and the players coming in are class and not just there to make up the numbers.
So what do we do now ? Well, again lets all remember Wengers had 12 years and Ramos hasnt even had 12 months yet !
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Why should a struggling club like spurs be a special case? they have spent freely with a string of trophy mangers but even newcastle realise you cant live beyond ya means, as Mike ashley looks like to finnaly start running the club properly in buisness like manner. They have let managers such as mark hughes go begging real young british talent, how many foriegn coaches have been burnt by the premier league unless they have the cash of chelsea or liverpool, or the genuine talent of wenger? the fact is if you are as big as you say you are arsharvin should not have been a problem and keane would not have left. as for the carling cup middlesborough won the trophy with steve mclaren in charge. I believe spurs only chance is to recognise the new situation and start really planning for success in few seasons time you have everybody rebuilding as spurs get them selves stuck in the mire the big north east teams have already started with boro building steady under southgate newcastle going to sleep for a season of two as they look to finally rebuild rid themselves of debt and really release their spending power then you have sunderland starting to put a good squad to gether with future ambition in mind, and the only thing keeping pompey man city and everton out of the picture is cash flow and off the field distractions so sell berbatov take the transfer kitty and keep on with the foresighted programme of young and talented and for gods sake give ramos time and maybe in a couple of seasons you may push champions league places.
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I never fail to be amused by so-called journalists who state their opinions as if they are fact. Apparently, Spurs were in 'dreamland' thinking that we would get £30m for Berbatov. As it turned out, we got £30.75m plus a season long loan of a promising youngster. With his "value falling by the day" we must be imagining the statement issued to the stock exchange last night.
But nothing gets by Steve Wilson. He confidently predicted that Spartak Moscow's change of manager would be a hinderance to Roman Pavluychenko's transfer (it wasn't), shrewdly pointed out that Andrei Arshavin is not a centre forward (good god, that would have been an awful shock if Spurs found out!!) and bizarrely made reference to Arshavin having been involved in the Russian season since March (just like Pavluyvchenko and Jo at Man City).
Does the fact this was written as a blog allow it to be devoid of any facts? Because to be honest it makes about as much sense and has proved to be about as accurate as half the comments written here by those with no desire to discover the truth or even attempt to. This blog wouldn't look out of place in the Sun or the Daily Star - and for the BBC that is a disgrace.
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