This week Gareth Bale penned a new four year contract at Spurs, which undoubtedly involved a pay rise, but a deserved pay rise. Bale has played some top quality football over the last two seasons and has been central to our relative success. Towards the end of last season he wasn't at his best, but he was often pushed into the middle. The BBC amongst others jumped on the bandwagon stating that our failure to secure Champions League football would mean that he would be plying his trade else-wear next season. The welsh international, who is set to star at the Olympics proved everyone wrong by agreeing stay at the Lane.
Last season was a some what transactional one for Bale. He needed to develop his game, he needed to learn how to come inside. By his own admission though the next step is to learn to come inside and use the wings at the same time. In his most recent interview he stated that next season his aim is to work on his all round game and not have to just come inside, or not always hug the touchline. If he can do this, combined with his blistering pace, the sky is the limit for Bale and Spurs next season.
Bale will not be a Spurs player forever, he is destined for great things, he is destined for great things at Spurs and he is destined for great things individually too. One day he will grace the shirt of Real Madrid or Barcelona, and he will do very well there. The fact that he has delayed these moves by at least a year, maybe two if we get in Europe's top competition, shows a great maturity and a lot of loyalty. He realises Spurs have done a lot for him, Spurs as a whole as well as Redknapp, he knows he owes the club and signing a new contract shows that he is willing to repay the faith that has been shown in him by the fans, the management and the board. Staying after Redknapp has gone shows real passion for the club.
The most refreshing facet of Bale signing a new contract is that he turned to his sceaming and skiving agent, who was already lining up a move abroad, and said "NO!", "I want to stay at Spurs". Not many players would say that in this day and age, most are concerned with personal achievement as quickly as possible. It would have been unwise for Gareth to leave this summer, he is not developed enough to move on yet, he will be one day but he is not yet the complete player. Once he can pull all the areas of his game together then he can become a world class player. Two more seasons and the world will be his oyster. His actions in signing a new contract show a remarkable amount of maturity and humbleness. Hopefully he will be rewarded this season by winning some silverware and having another great season.
Friday 29 June 2012
The Pre-Pre Season Report
This weekend could prove to be a decisive one for the future of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. It seems to be a certainty that by Monday evening AVB will be firmly planted in the cooling seat that was once occupied by Harry Redknapp. Some bookmakers are even offering odds of 1/14 that he will be our next boss. It has been widely reported that Levy has spoken to Blanc and Capello as well, so our chairman must be sure that AVB has learnt from his unsuccessful spell at Stamford Bridge. His time as Chelsea boss could be of benefit to us, providing he has taken on board the frankly disgraceful way he was treated by Lampard and co, so that he will have more control over the Spurs squad. What everyone forgets about AVB is that he was incredibly successful at Porto, who are not a small club, the sort of managerial class he showed there does not simply disappear because he has been bullied by overpaid, egotistical players. He is renowned for playing good football and we can expect to see a 433 formation, with Bale and Lennon on the left an right and new forward up front. Playing three central midfielders will make us very hard to breakdown whilst also giving our central players the chance to get forward and join the attack.
Who will be in that midfield though? Gylfi Sigurdson looks to favour move to the Lane over a move to Anfield. Much to everyone's surprise we have offered a higher wage to the goal scoring midfielder than Liverpool have. Whether the deal goes through we will have to wait and see, as he is still talking to both clubs. All corners of the press are reporting that Modders is leaving, but then they did say that last season. Personally I would let him leave now, Gylfi would be a good replacement and today there are reports of Mountinho, so there will be life after little Luka. Whether Mountinho would come in or not is precarious but the rumour does at least show that there are other players out there who can do the job Modric does. Providing the Croat goes abroad he will go down as a Spurs legend in my eyes, however, should he demand a move to Chelsea or United, I will not look on him so fondly.
One area that has gone a bit quiet recently is the transfer of Jan Vertongen. He still wants to come to Spurs, we still want him and Ajax still want to sell him to us. So what is the problem then? He has a clause in his contract to receive fifteen percent of any transfer. A clause that Ajax are not honouring. I just hope the whole scenario can be sorted quickly and the center back can start pre season training with Spurs. To me it seems that no matter what happens Jan will be a lillywhite next season, if this can not be resolved quickly he will give in a move to Spurs anyway. I only hope I am right.
We have also been linked with Danny Sturidge, Lassana Diarra, Sahin and at one particularly audacious moment Hulk. It is not worth talking about these until the new boss is in and there is some substance the rumour. This weekend will be a very exciting one, potentially a new manager and two new players, the 2012/13 season will be one to remember.
Who will be in that midfield though? Gylfi Sigurdson looks to favour move to the Lane over a move to Anfield. Much to everyone's surprise we have offered a higher wage to the goal scoring midfielder than Liverpool have. Whether the deal goes through we will have to wait and see, as he is still talking to both clubs. All corners of the press are reporting that Modders is leaving, but then they did say that last season. Personally I would let him leave now, Gylfi would be a good replacement and today there are reports of Mountinho, so there will be life after little Luka. Whether Mountinho would come in or not is precarious but the rumour does at least show that there are other players out there who can do the job Modric does. Providing the Croat goes abroad he will go down as a Spurs legend in my eyes, however, should he demand a move to Chelsea or United, I will not look on him so fondly.
One area that has gone a bit quiet recently is the transfer of Jan Vertongen. He still wants to come to Spurs, we still want him and Ajax still want to sell him to us. So what is the problem then? He has a clause in his contract to receive fifteen percent of any transfer. A clause that Ajax are not honouring. I just hope the whole scenario can be sorted quickly and the center back can start pre season training with Spurs. To me it seems that no matter what happens Jan will be a lillywhite next season, if this can not be resolved quickly he will give in a move to Spurs anyway. I only hope I am right.
We have also been linked with Danny Sturidge, Lassana Diarra, Sahin and at one particularly audacious moment Hulk. It is not worth talking about these until the new boss is in and there is some substance the rumour. This weekend will be a very exciting one, potentially a new manager and two new players, the 2012/13 season will be one to remember.
Thursday 14 June 2012
The Tottenham Civil War!
When I returned home in the early hours of Thursday morning I was shocked to read that Harry Redknapp had been sacked by Spurs. The vast amounts of beer and vodka i had consumed through out the course of the night led me to believe it was best to wait until the morning to see if this was true or not. Sure enough my eyes had not deceived me, Harry and Spurs have parted company.
Personally I have mixed feelings on this. I have never made it a secret that I not a Harry fan, his press performances, his lack of tactical knowledge at crucial times in crucial matches, his disloyalty and his refusal to see himself as one with the club are just a few of the traits that have pushed me away from the man, who was seen by many as more of a step-father than a father. There is no doubt that Harry has done a decent job, two fourth placed finishes is not a bad achievement, but I (and i'm not the only one) feel that his good points do not necessarily outweigh his bad points.
Redknapp summed up his Spurs tenure over the last two weeks. He showed his disloyalty by claiming he would have accepted the England job if he had been offered it. He has continued the constant media circus by showing his anger at the lack of a new contract, at the end of the day why should disloyalty be rewarded. The most laughable comment was that the players will be put off by him only having a year left on his contract, yet they were not distracted by the England speculation. Levy like most has had enough of Harry self preserving, contradictory comments to the press. You can't help but feel without talking to the press Harry would have been at the Lane for years to come.
What has been most noticeable in the last few hours is that Tottenham is divided into two parties. The "Love Harry" party and the "We Are Spurs Not 'Them, or They'" party. This worries me, this could pull the club apart, with the "Love Harry" party blaming non Harry fans for forcing their savour out of the club. I have read more than one article slamming people like me for questioning his decisions and behavior. Equally the "We Are Spurs" party are not too happy with the Redknapp fans for slamming Levy, as they cling to the belief (rightly or wrongly) that he has a plan and will pull off a masterstroke.
Only time will tell if Bale, Modric and Co will want to stay without their old pal Harry, the Welshman's agent is already flirting with the powers that be at the Nou Camp. Charlie Corluka thinks Modders will be off too, but £25 million to Man Utd is laughable, cheep and frankly lazy journalism. I can only hope that the Vertonghen deal will still be going ahead because he will be a top class signing.
I personally feel that Levy has an ace up his sleeve, he will know who he wants in and he will know he can get them, my money is on Capello, who's odds have been slashed over night, but I also think AVB, Rafa Benitez, Klinsman and Van Bastan are names that should be considered. David Moyes is odds on favourite to get the job, he would not be a bad signing, but would he be of a high enough caliber to hold onto the stars?
The next few days and weeks will be exciting and will hopefully push us on to the next level, we need to stick behind Levy and judge his actions once he has made them rather than just assuming he doesn't have a plan. There will be life after Harry, just like there was life after Martin Jol, just like there was life after Hoddle, just like there was life after Venables, there will be life after Harry and the club will continue. What is important is that we all stick together and all follow the club we love, no matter what we thought of Harry, he has gone, there is no changing that, now we need to get behind Levy, get behind the players and get behind ourselves. We are Tottenham, the future is bright, and there will be life after Harry.
Personally I have mixed feelings on this. I have never made it a secret that I not a Harry fan, his press performances, his lack of tactical knowledge at crucial times in crucial matches, his disloyalty and his refusal to see himself as one with the club are just a few of the traits that have pushed me away from the man, who was seen by many as more of a step-father than a father. There is no doubt that Harry has done a decent job, two fourth placed finishes is not a bad achievement, but I (and i'm not the only one) feel that his good points do not necessarily outweigh his bad points.
Redknapp summed up his Spurs tenure over the last two weeks. He showed his disloyalty by claiming he would have accepted the England job if he had been offered it. He has continued the constant media circus by showing his anger at the lack of a new contract, at the end of the day why should disloyalty be rewarded. The most laughable comment was that the players will be put off by him only having a year left on his contract, yet they were not distracted by the England speculation. Levy like most has had enough of Harry self preserving, contradictory comments to the press. You can't help but feel without talking to the press Harry would have been at the Lane for years to come.
What has been most noticeable in the last few hours is that Tottenham is divided into two parties. The "Love Harry" party and the "We Are Spurs Not 'Them, or They'" party. This worries me, this could pull the club apart, with the "Love Harry" party blaming non Harry fans for forcing their savour out of the club. I have read more than one article slamming people like me for questioning his decisions and behavior. Equally the "We Are Spurs" party are not too happy with the Redknapp fans for slamming Levy, as they cling to the belief (rightly or wrongly) that he has a plan and will pull off a masterstroke.
Only time will tell if Bale, Modric and Co will want to stay without their old pal Harry, the Welshman's agent is already flirting with the powers that be at the Nou Camp. Charlie Corluka thinks Modders will be off too, but £25 million to Man Utd is laughable, cheep and frankly lazy journalism. I can only hope that the Vertonghen deal will still be going ahead because he will be a top class signing.
I personally feel that Levy has an ace up his sleeve, he will know who he wants in and he will know he can get them, my money is on Capello, who's odds have been slashed over night, but I also think AVB, Rafa Benitez, Klinsman and Van Bastan are names that should be considered. David Moyes is odds on favourite to get the job, he would not be a bad signing, but would he be of a high enough caliber to hold onto the stars?
The next few days and weeks will be exciting and will hopefully push us on to the next level, we need to stick behind Levy and judge his actions once he has made them rather than just assuming he doesn't have a plan. There will be life after Harry, just like there was life after Martin Jol, just like there was life after Hoddle, just like there was life after Venables, there will be life after Harry and the club will continue. What is important is that we all stick together and all follow the club we love, no matter what we thought of Harry, he has gone, there is no changing that, now we need to get behind Levy, get behind the players and get behind ourselves. We are Tottenham, the future is bright, and there will be life after Harry.
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