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Patience.

This last week reading various blogs and articles in the aftermath of our bore draw against QPR, I am finding myself full of irritation at the Spurs community.

Here are the facts, as I see them. - This match had banana skin written all over it. Our old boss, cruelly fired in well publicised and controversial circumstances, in charge of a relegation threatened QPR. The script said that Spurs would dominate possession and chances, before QPR got a breakaway goal to win 1-0. 'Arry's revenge. Thank Christ that didn't happen. He would have been intolerable. - 'Arry, for all his faults, has always been good at getting the best from struggling players. Saving teams from relegation is something he has done and done well over the years.

QPR were always going to rally at some point under Redknapp, and it's started to happen. - People bemoan the lack of VDV and Modric as the reason we can't get through teams that 'park the bus', as though this is something new. We had the same problem last year when they were in the team. Why has everyone forgotten this? - Teams park the bus for a reason - its hard to break through, you might get a point, maybe even three, from a match where you wouldn't expect anything. It's a tactic that can work well. (Lest we forget, it was a Spurs side about whom the term 'park the bus' was first coined, by Jose Mourinho)

Our form is still good, last six league games W4 D2 L0. Scored 10, conceded 2. Four clean sheets. Last ten matches - W7 D2 L1, which maintained for a full season would see us with around 87 points, albeit this was achieved in a fairly kind run of matches. One poor result and all this is forgotten. However... - This is one more point than we got from this fixture last year. I'm not saying that all of this is reason to rejoice at getting a point against the bottom club, far from it. We should be winning these games, for sure. We are not yet the finished article and there will be matches like this.

There are players that we need and the January window being open at present perhaps brings this more sharply into view. I hope we manage to sign Willian or Damiao but I'm not going to hold my breath, particularly not in January. If nobody else arrives, we still have a good, solid, versatile squad. We didn't get the breakthrough, but at least we got a point. That could make a big difference at the end of the season. One more point last season would have seen us third.

We are still doing well. To put this into context, Manchester United lost at Norwich not so long ago. Are they suddenly a lost cause that doesn't learn from their past failings? No. They will likely win the league this season. We are building and there will be off days. So please, some patience. This knee jerk moaning from a lot of Spurs fans is ridiculous.

Written by Yorkspur

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Writer: Yorkspur

Date:Wednesday January 16 2013

Time: 11:38AM

Your Comments

We are 15 points behind First position...........this time last year, we had a very good chance of winning the prem'. Always lots to talk about, with regard to football and spurs....lol

82spursdebut

You can't win every game. That's why we watch football, for its unpredictability.

Crissybwoy

Agree about the moaning aspect, bored of it tbh, the same people always dishing invective on the team, the club, the management, and the owners. If people get no joy out of Spurs, then why do they bother watching, hang yourself if all you can do in life is moan. Seriously.

Crissybwoy

Yorkspur, how much patience are we supposed to have. We have had a glaring hole in our team/squad since the departure of Berbatov, and the end of his partnership with Keane, that was 8 windows ago, and we have yet to repair the damage. We just go from window to window, season by season, full of expectation but have to make do with the signing of the likes of Campbell (loan), Bent, Saha, Adebayor, and Dempsey, together with the retention of Jermaine Defoe as our attacking options, hardly likely to make your mouth water, together with a total lack of creative guille since the departure of Modric, and VDV, neither having been successfully replaced. Hence the reason we are unable to see of the likes of QPR, never mind all the romantic crap re HR facing his old club etc.etc. We had 16 shots, 7 on target, and failed to score, while they had 0 shots on target, all excuses and theories aside, we managed to salvage a draw from the jaws of certain victory. I know patience is a virtue, but there are limits for Christ's sake.

Frank

Ironic how I read an article about moaning fans and Frank appear!!

yiddyboy

Lol, Frank. Ever dependable.

micyid

Had a burger last night, feeling a bit hoarse today!

vicspur

Frank - Since Berbatov left have we not achieved high league positions? I know you want to see Spurs clean up in all competitions but please, have some reality too. I think we have issues in certain positions, especially in the striker division but I can see a massive difference in the squad, facilities and the club in general since Sugar sold his shares to ENIC. You are one of the fans that expect ENIC to throw every penny plus a bit more to buy success, success is built from failure, having never failed means you won't know when you succeed!!

yiddyboy

Like a genie...

Crissybwoy

No yidddyboy I don't expect us to "clean Up" in all competitions, I just expect us to compete to the best of our ability, and perhaps win something once in a while, as we have in the past. I don't want anybody to throw anything at anything, but for example I would have expected after 12 years that we might have a stadium to compete with our near neighbors, and others, and to have recognised and repaired, the obvious deficiencies in our squad, after all we haven't had a decent striker for 4 years.

Frank

I wonder how Mr.Levy and Mr.Joe Lewis..acrued their personal wealth ?........neigh lad, we are just talking. Would rather face Birmingham than Leeds ..in the F.A. cup.....tricky.

82spursdebut

If you don't learn from your mistakes, you will be waiting a very long time.

vicspur

Frank, you mention losing Keane and Berbatov, Last season we had Ade scoring 18 with 12 assists, JD chipped in with around 18 (I think) Rafa with about 11. 2009-10 - JD got something like 22. We have had and still have strikers that score. JD already has 14 this year with Bale 10 and Demps on 6 and finding form. We do need another striker thats a given. Our striking options were probably better back then but the rest of the team now is so much better, we are building from the back. How would you have it? Zokora back or keep Sandro and Parker? Jenas or Dembele? Walker or Stalteri? BAE or Park? Lloris / Friedel or Robinson? Bale or Malbranque? What would you prefer?!

Yorkspur

Frank, most people on here seem to think Defoe is a decent striker. I was so happy when he went to Pompey only for Bagpuss to bring him back. It's not all doom and gloom which is how your posts come across. Oh and if we use our neighbours as an example, are they more successfully now they have a new stadium? I think they bought a tin of Mr Sheen 8 years again and it's still unused :-)

yiddyboy

Spot on YorkSpur. Also has everyone forgotten about Pav? I'd love him back at the Lane...

Sebthespur

Frank you are spot on mate, we need a prolific striker and have done since we sold Berba for £30m. This isn't moaning as a result of the QPR game it is a fact that has been there for 2-3 years. Patients and getting behind spurs at WHL is important but demanding a proper striker and a Modric replacement are fair shouts - it'll be the difference between 3/4th and 4/5th.

T.H.F.Chris

It's Leeds then at Elland Road, should be straight forward, then it's last 16 in 5th Rd.

Frank

Patience! I think we have been patient enough for long enough.

TopSpur13

currently, we have scored 54 goals in 31 games. We now have the business end (harder, 2nd half of the season), to come.

82spursdebut

Patience is a virtue. I agree that we shouldn't be so knee-jerk but what some of us are asking for (a 'proper' top qualty striker, a creative attacking midfielder and our much promised new stadium) are hardly knee-jerk requests. We've needed them and, more importantly, been promised them for years with no delivery. It comes back to ENIC's approach. I will repost my view posted on another thread yesterday. Any debate about ENIC is bound to divide opinion on here. I have my own particular view as does everyone else. The way I see it is that over the past 6 years or so ENIC have slowly (I emphasise slowly) moved us from mid-table performers to being regulars on the fringes of the top 4. At the same time this has added vast amounts to the value of our club and its exposure across the world. We've been unfortunate in previous years that the might of United, Arsenal, then Chelsea and more recently City resulted in us always just missing out. However over the past couple of years we've got a little stronger whilst our main competitors for the top 4 have a got bit weaker. This has opened up a fantastic opportunity for us to finally take the next step and establish ourselves as a consistent top 4 team. To do so requires ENIC to invest wisely but reasonably significantly now. However for some unfathomable reason they keep getting cold feet. That is what sparks such constant and vigorous debate about our beloved owners. We've finally got to the edge of the cliff but suddenly seem to lack the courage and conviction to take that leap of faith. That is what divides us as supporters. There are those of us who think it is pointless to work so hard and so long to get to the edge to then not have the courage to jump, flap our wings and fly. There are then those that prefer to err on the side of caution and watch those around us jumping with some flying and of course some falling. It depends if you believe it is better to try and fail rather than to fail to try. Carpe diem! COYS!

SpuriousLife

It would be interesting to say the least if Pav was still here. People can moan about him being lazy, but nobody can question his finishing. One thing's for sure, AVB would have given him more games and got much more out of him. We could definitely use him right now.

laughter7

No Yiiddyboy, they didn't have to buy a tin of Mr Sheen, they borrowed ours, after all there is plenty left, we have only used it once. I see you have ignored the 14 seasons in the CL. On what statistical basis do we deem Defoe a "decent striker", his PL goals/season (best 13), or his 1 goal/6 shots, his goal scoring record against rival top 4 clubs, his proven ability to interact as a team player, or some other measure.

Frank

the realism of spurs fans never seems to amaze me "leeds it is then, should be straightforward then its the last 16"......... no no no. This is not straightforward in the slightest. Infact its bl**dy difficult. A bit of respect to other teams and a huge dose of reality are needed by many, many fans on here. We were never challenging for the premier last year, we can't just go out and buy a £30m stiker to solve all out problems, we cant just build a 60k seater staidum just like that. Once you realise that you might see the world for what it really is.

jimmy-yid

yiddyboy- the irony is not frank posting. The irony is reading a piece by a moaning fan moaning about other fans moaning!

shedboy2

Also, let's not let our patience mask the apparent reluctance of ENIC to do the little they need to take us to the next level.

SpuriousLife

I would agree this isn't a new problem, but it is costing us a lot of points. The QPR game was just the latest where we have dropped points against a team that set out to defend. This isn't about personnel, its about tactics. We know what the opposition are going to do but still don't seem to go in with a game plan to break them down.

jod

jimmy-yid- I read that quip re: Leeds as tongue in cheek/sarcastic...perhaps seeing the world for what it really is is a little more difficult depending on your perspective.

shedboy2

Vicspur are you sure you're "stable" enough to be commenting? Your lucky that burger didn't give your the trots! I'm only horsing around with you - but like an Irish burger maker I never look a gift horse in the mouth!

Slurms McKenzie

Jimmy-yid, build a stadium just like that. 12 bloody years, just like that. Was the Emirates there when ENIC took over, answer no. Replace Berbatov just like that, 4 fecking years, just like that my arse. You want reality, the reality is that Lewis an Levy are bull$hitters and they are bloody good at it apparently.

Frank

Spurious, agreed, we have come a long way since ENIC took over. Anyone who followed us through the 1990s could not disagree with that. Mid table with no hope of improvement. Our progress has not been meteoric a la City but for that reason it has been solid and maintainable (with brief hiccups around the year or so Ramos was in charge). Its been a winning formula and I think we need to keep faith with Levy now and trust in him, remember how far he has brought us. As for cold feet - well we nearly spent a club record on Moutinho (just wish they sorted it 24 hours earlier!) so I think the money will be spent on the right player, but not at a stupid price and not at the expense of the wage structure. (If you need a reminder of the consequences of overspending, take a look at our opponents in the FA cup).

Yorkspur

Jimmy-yid.......we challenge for the prem' every year. AND we most certainly did have a realistic chance of winning the prem', this time, last season. Plus it's not a impossability, for this season....though 500/1..unlikely...lol

82spursdebut

Hay, hay do we have to trot out this puns for every dog and pony show? I'd hate to be saddled with this investigation. It was a beef burger, in the mane. The media are just jockeying for a story. No point bolting the stable door now!

Slurms McKenzie

Crikey guys. Spurs spent more in summer than the other top 6 - apart from Chelsea, who spent marginally more. Why do some people think that ENIC aren't investing?

TonyRich

every game we have we have a thread to discuss it....some we win some we lose...when we lose there will be percieved reasons for the loss that will be articulated....it doesn't mean we're knee-jerk or lack patience, it's why the thread was crated!....as for the need for players, it's been a constant and always will be as with a squad of 25 atheletes at varying stages of their careers there is a constant need to evolve. The fact that certain positions Striker now, leftwinger a few years back come to the for is because more and more people realise the need but the club still fail to act....do you see anyone calling for a new keeper?

shedboy2

aww gawd what have you started lol End of the day we need a striker, its not patience or anything else. You can get all the stats together, muddle the figures, say we are only spurs etc but come on, we all know (including AVB & levy) that we do need to buy one or two bits of quality if we are going to "keep up"

Just like any other club not named Real Madrid or Barcelona, we will lose our better players once they are put in the spotlight. Like it or not, bale is going. Soon. Take Bale out of our team at the moment and we would seriously struggle to finish in the top 8. Thats why when you sell a decent player, you need to buy a decent player, although slightly less know shall we say. We are doing ok at the minute yes, but like i say, we just need to be careful.

hudderspur

There is no meaningful comparison between us and Leeds Utd, the circumstances are, and always will be, totally different and poles apart. The same goes for Portsmouth as well, they are silly examples used to support a failing arguement.

Frank

TR-because it wasn't new money they merely re-spent some of the sale money and pocketed the rest.....that's not investing but profit taking.

shedboy2

Frank, you are an angry man. Do you remember what it was like before ENIC?

Yorkspur

Frank - I would base Defoe on the fact that the biggest club he has ever appear for is Spurs, no top draw club have ever been interested in him and he even struggles to get in the England setup playing second fiddle to the likes of Carroll/Wellbeck. The sooner he is a benchwarmer at best for us we will start to see more success on the field due to the fact that the TEAM play better and work harder for each other when he's not playing. He is far too selfish with a poor historic record IMO. It's a TEAM game, if everyone does whatever they are asked to do then you will win every game. I cannot imagine AVB saying to Defoe "no listen Jermain, I want you to get the ball and shot. I don't care where you are or who's around you, just shot"

yiddyboy

slurms & Vic...loving the stand up routine...;)

shedboy2

And yes agreed - Defoe is no worldy - he is a good premiership striker and we should hope for better. But world class strikers arent always easy to find - Ade should be, for example, and probably was last season, but either his confidence or his attitude has gone and he just isnt at it this year. But before you accuse ENIC of not acting, well they bought Adebayor in this year, which based on last season was very good business.

Yorkspur

Yorkspur when you are looking at strikers stats, please can we look at league goals, goals in the PL. The league is our primary objective, our bread and butter, the competition that opens the doors, measures us against the others, JD's best PL season 13 goals, we need a 20 PL goals striker or close. We also need a striker who score regularly against the better teams, not clutches against the wrangum.

Frank

In fairness to Frank he is only saying what most fans have been saying on here, the squad needs improving in the striker department as it has needed for the last five years but it hasn't really been addressed. Thats hardly a moan about nothing. We have a good squad but yes it could be better and yes we fans want it to be better so we can push on and really compete at the highest level. Jimmy-yid also makes a valid point, we as spurs fans always want our team to win but we must realise that every other team approaches a game in the same mind set. Just look at Bradford beating Villa, Swansea beating Chelsea, QPR beating Chelsea, Bradford beating Arsenal every single football match is a potential banana skin for one of the two teams involved. Should United be given the three points on Sunday because they expect to beat us? Because alot of fans on here seem to think thats how football works! London Derby, returning ex-manager, relegation fighting side of course it was going to be a tough game throw in the fact that our manager just won the manager of the month and we were always on a hiding to nothing! Draw was not a great result but we controlled the game and for the lack of a bit more attacking threat probably would have won the game. Which brings me back to Franks point!

Slurms McKenzie

I'm with Frank on the Defoe's stats. The sooner we have a much better option than him to play the better. I don't care if its Messi or a 17 year old nobody's heard of. Defoe is a proven premiership average striker in his best season. United's, Citeh's 4th strikers are better than our best.

yiddyboy

Man.city..and man.utd....have 4 strikers each....i think they are greedy...lol

82spursdebut

82spursdebut- that's because they understand it's 3 points for a win....the same amount as for 3 not losing games...

shedboy2

Nice bit of realism in the article.Just one point, you are right about not being able to break down teams last year with Modric, but it is also about tactics.We would be more successful with Modric playing for AVB then when he was playing for Redknapp.

matt hoten

No shedboy......it's cos they know goals win games, winning games wins trophies, trophies wins fans and that's what fans of football want...lol

82spursdebut

Yorkspur, Do I remember what it was like before ENIC? I remember what it was like with Billy Nick and the double team, the ECWC Final winners, and incidentaly Arthur Rowe before him, so yes I do remember what it was like before ENIC. I can also remember when we had the likes of Gilzean, Chivers, Ardilles, Villa, Gazza, Chrissy Waddle, Gary Linekar, Stevie Archibold, David Ginola, all the stars of Billy Nick's team etc etc etc. when we used to look forward to years ending in 1, when we invariably won something, until Coventry cocked it up in 1981. I remember several FA Cup successes, UEFA Cup wins, So please, yes I remember very well what it was like before ENIC, a bloody long time before ENIC, right back to the 50-51 season, when we incidently won the First division title. The difference is, at no stage during this period, to my knowledge, has the club been owned by anybody with the financial capability of ENIC and Joe Lewis, the pity being his reluctance to invest in his football club. Hence this tenure of ENIC producing less trophies than any comparable period in the last 50 years, fact.

Frank

Take the fans away...and you have no football club......

82spursdebut

Tony – Not “picking on you” mate but like I posted to you the other day. We made a fortune in player sales and have done for the last few windows. When you take out the 2 of the most influential players in our team you can’t replace them with the Dempseys and Siggurdsons of the PL. The problem is THFC transfer policy seem to be very simple, they set a figure they are willing to spend in any one position and then look for whatever players are available, regardless s of quality or suitability to the team Siggy and Dempsey cost a combined £17m thereabouts. For 17m we could have had willian, Witsel, or any number of quality players. The fact is we just don’t like giving big sums to one club. Bad for cash-flow or something. The owners talk a good game on sponsorships, partnerships, merchandising and challenging for trophies etc but Like it or not, they need to increase the amount they set aside for individual players if we are going to move upward. It seems that we want to be reorganised as a force in Europe who can attract the best players but have nothing to back it up with. One appearance in the CL, one trophy in decades, the stats don’t lie as they say.

hudderspur

82spursdebut- that's what my post implied...you mean Yes, shedboy...;)

shedboy2

Just a question but is this article more to do with our match against Manchester United this weekend? You expected QPR to win so you must be expecting United to win also? I didn't see much knee jerking from fans after our draw...yes we wanted to win but there was no AVB out chants or anything?? The weekend will be a tough game for us win or loose. Imo we can win with the available players we have. It will be a different setup of course. Against a team that ‘park the bus’, you need to keep the tempo up, keep the pressure on and crosses, passes coming, utilize the flanks well and have them swap over to stretch teams and create space. As long as you keep chucking the ball towards their goal (Easier with Modders or VDV in our team, or any new creative midfielder we try and get) you will most of the time get through, didn't happen at QPR but then their defence played really well (it was like the Alamo a friendly QPR fan said to me). United will stretch their midfield right to each line to try and cope with our flying wingers and will pump balls into the danger area as much as possible. We are at home this time as well and have beaten them away so this is a plus. Preparation is the main thing but it will be tough. I’m not being funny but you will still get people moaning on here if we lose regardless, the same Anti Harry folk were at it last season and now the Anti AVB folk. Constructive criticism is another thing entirely. Nice article but it’s gonna happen mate. Hope we get the win against the red devils! COYS.

SpursOne2

One more point last season would NOT have "seen us third". We would still be fourth on goals. If you're going to wrote an article at least get the facts right.

Hot_Spur

Well it won't be ''park the bus'' this sunday, that i'm certain. We have done it, remember Anfield 0-0. A lot of it, is born out of frustration, playing lunchtime as we did on saturday and knowing we need all 3pts, with all the other games to come, makes it worse the longer it stayed 0-0, we only had two chances, just one of those days, Man City beat le scum so that helped, Everton drew, WBA lost. It's not the end of the month yet, still a few players open to moving, no deal for sneijder, willian never returned to training, did AVB text him? Negredo why did El Presidente come over to london or was he doing a bit of january sales at HMV, Knowing they had sunk? Heung-Min Son his still pushing for a move, Moroccan playmaker Younes Belhanda is expected to recover from an injury scare in time for the start of the Africa Cup of Nations, he will be watched another possible, Levy may just pull a RABBIT from the magic hat, if he does. i hope the fluffy little ba5tard can score goals.

spu 4 life

You moan about moaning yet your article is a moan!

Med1

Spu I love the optimism its what makes teh transfer window so enjoyable and the 1st of Feb so awful!

Slurms McKenzie

med1- finally someone gets the irony....he also says facts to assert opinions....oh well it creates a debate that will always come round to sign a bloody striker!

shedboy2

Or midfielder!

SpursOne2

I´ve been wondering lately about all these rumours surrounding Spurs. Cannot see lots of actio happening, if none. But from all players we have been linked to versus the amount of financial resources Levy would be willing to offer versus players´ age and wage demands, it seems to me that William from Shakthar would be the perfect match and the playmaker we need . Since his signing would be around as much as Dembele´s (15MM), I think Levy won´t go for another striker. Would it make sense to promote one youngster like Obika besides William signing and declare this transfer window shut ?? What do you think ??

AlexSpur

There's talk that Real Madrid may be willing to offer us a loan deal for Callejon. Is he any good?

coopsieyid

Old `Arry is "confident that Livermore will join QPR on loan for the remainder of the season". Good or bad for Spurs?

dannylane

Coopsie, I just check wikipedia (as we all know its the only way to select potentail spurs signings!) and he seems to be a 25 year old, pacey winger who averages about a goal every ten games! I presume I'll be hearing from Spurs soon in realtion to the head scout role?

Slurms McKenzie

Dannylane he's just a poor man's Huddlestone!

Slurms McKenzie

Hi Coopsie. I've never heard of Callejon. A quick check shows he is a striker in his early/mid twenties but that's about it.

SpuriousLife

José María Callejón Bueno - Coops yeah his on a par with Hazard

spu 4 life

Danny, if Sandro´s knee injury is worse than we all think, maybe Livermore should stay to be Paker´s reserve. Otherwise, I would be glad to see Livermore go on loan to QPR as his abilities would be developed in a relegation-battling side.

AlexSpur

Hello Coops - Not much mate but cover for forward/wing will tick the boxes! Only a loan option?

SpursOne2

Alex- willian would provide options so good buy now. Obika leave it to AVB but don't think he's the future.
Coops- is that a new rumour or one re-hashed from a while back? as for the boy don't know much about him but would seem like a levy sticking plaster solution to me. Perhaps they should pay most of Kaka's wages and we'll make up the rest for a loan till the end of the season....much better deal.
Dannylane-depends on our injuries but Jake needs to be playing..

shedboy2

Shedboy2, I don´t have enough data to state whether Obika could be or could not be the future. I´d love to bring a killer striker in, but I was considering Obika only because I don´t see Daniel Levy splashing money this january by signing a playmaker and a striker because we have been linked to expensive playmakers (William, Sneijder, etc).

AlexSpur

"People bemoan the lack of VDV and Modric as the reason we can't get through teams that 'park the bus', as though this is something new. We had the same problem last year when they were in the team. Why has everyone forgotten this?" I guess im 1 of the people who has forgotten, as I don't recall us having the same problem breaking teams down last year, as we do this year. We are definitely finding it more difficult this season.

Guyver

SpuriousLife, I agree with your approach. My opinion is that the fans have different aspirations and ambitions with their club. Some find a draw with the bottom club a success and some a failure. Frank, for example, is just more ambitious with Spurs than some other fans.

Ioan X

We wont get Callejon on loan. He's played a fair few games for Real this season i think. Good little player though, wouldnt hurt but not what we need. Reminds me of a bojan Krkic type palyer, or even Pedro.

hudderspur

Completely off topic... but i just watched this video and thought about our gareth and all the controversy about him hitting the deck too easily. Watch Messi.. admittedly a much lower centre of gravity and stockier frame but he never goes to ground unless he's forced but more importantly note how many times the referee still gives a free kick or penalty... roughly zero. It's a sad state of affairs when refs know so little about the game that they can't recognise a foul unless a player flings himself to the ground.. http://www.break.com/index/lionel-messi-refuses-to-fall-2304848?utm_source=taboola

SanchezSpur

AlexSpur- in that case we would have no option but to elevate Obika...not good for a top4 side! Did you miss the thread on this topic?

shedboy2

thanks for the info about Callejon guys. It's just gossip (and we all know what we should do when it comes to gossip) but I was intrigued to know what he'd offer us & why we may be interested.

shedboy2 - The Callejon whispers are fresh as from this morning mate.

Frank - it's no secret that Defoe is far from my favourite player BUT his best PL season most certainly was NOT 13 goals. He got 18 league goals in the 09/10 season. His best prior to that was indeed 13 league goals. It's also worth pointing out that when Defoe did get 18 in the league, he'd got 11 of them by the end of November lol.. 5 of them came in 1 game (Wigan 9-1) and he also had a hat-trick too. So 8 of his 18 goals came from just 2 matches. He's NEVER been a consistent striker/scorer, he never will be either. He's currently on 10 league goals this season BUT, I think, he's only scored 1 goal in his last 8 matches?

coopsieyid

as the rumours are fresh and as there has been talk before perhaps theres somthing in them...http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1453188-real-madrid-why-jose-callejon-is-a-prototypical-jose-mourinho-player/page/2...looks like he's rated pretty highly...

shedboy2

The beauty of the ENIC/DL style in the open windows is that hope never ends until some minutes after midnight on the last day of the window. We've got two whole weeks to go in this window and a history of signings at the nth second of the nth minute of the nth hour of the nth day. COYS. Make us joyful unto that last moment with two strikers and a two-footed wing. (Or, go to a 4-6-0 and bring in two or three more shifty midfielders and hang any signings of a forward. Indeed, trade away Adebayor and Defoe and commit 100% to a striker-less formation. Nyuk, nyuk.)

Total knobhead

Schalke have just signed a Brazilian midfielder on loan for rest of season, does this mean holtby coming this window???

tottingham10

COYSS. Come on you striker-less Spurs.

Total knobhead

Nice one shedboy, Thank you... I'll go for a quick scour to see if I can find anything else out about him (or any other supposed targets)..

coopsieyid

SanchezSpur, your point regarding the comparison in the center of gravity of players of Messi's stature, compared to the likes of Bale's, is totally valid. From an engineering point of view, it is quite obvious that when a guy of some 6'0'' tall with a center of gravity at, or above waist height, gets his motion interrupted at knee height or below, while at speed, due to the length of the lever, his body will automatically try and rotate about his centre of gravity, and he will go down, even if the contact is minimal. A player of squat stature of 5'6'' or below with his centre of gravity around knee or thigh height will, if struck at knee height or below, will have less tendency to rotate, due to the short lever, and will not go down. Bale is just unfortunate that he is not only lightning quick, but unusually tall for a player of his type. Unfortunately this problem is incurable, it is beyond his control, so if referees continue to fail to apply a bit of logic to their decision making, he will keep on getting into trouble unjustly.

Frank

Shedboy2, I guess so. I know that in an ideal world our Chairman would recognize Spurs (as a company) would be better off by playing CL football season-in, season-out because of CL money and marketing revenues powered by TV exposure etc, etc. In order to get this, investments are needed, but I completely fail to see that happening the way we wanted, based on Levy´s behaviour in the last 2 winter transfer windows. I understand a "wannabe"top 4 side needs a world class striker, however, again, sorry, don´t believe Lecy will invest that much. He´ll stick to what Spurs have and Obika is "embedded" on this single phrase.

AlexSpur

Yorkspur - Call it moaning, call it commenting , call it what you like - it what a forum is for - expressing points of view and being prepared to defend them. "Our form is good" Rubbish, it has been inconsistant and we are only still in the running because the scum and poo have been unexpectedly sh**e. We need to be much better this half if we are to get near the 70 point target never mind 87.

Love totty

Lets put this in perspective re: a striker we need. We are linked with every tom,dick and harry now and in the past. If we had a bottomless pit of money we could have had Torres or Carroll, both failures. We may have been able to get Damiao, Willian, Cavani, Llorente etc, All would be unproven in the EPL so may be failures. We do not have the funding (as we run as a proper business ie, self funding) but we need to get most of our transfers right. Remi today has gone to QPR for 8m which we were being quoted last year 20m. Strange but Harry loves him. Levy obviously doesn't. Patience is key here so lets just wait and see if we get anyone we NEED, not WANT. In Levy/AVB we trust. (This from a previous 'Arry supporter). Agree that 1 point was OK as QPR did the same thing v Chelski week before, and nicked all 3 points. Even Chelski's millions and talent didn't break them down to score. Lets beat ManUre on Sunday (on my Birthday) and then the double over them will be sweet.

CoysRus

I have to cling to the hope that we will buy at least one decent player...after all Levy appointed a new manager in the summer...usually when that happens the new manager has some sort of transfer budget/war chest over and above player sales. I can't believe that AVB would take the job on the 'you can only buy if you sell' basis??...

shedboy2

Frank.. refs rarely apply any logic to any of their decision making. In order to make accurate decisions regarding footballing incidents and collisions you would assume that, as in any walk of life, to make an informed decision one must be exactly that, informed. It strikes me that most of these referees have never played a game of football in their lives and were picked last in the school playground. Therefore they don't recognise when a player is clipped or hindered in anyway unless that player falls over. Diving is a self perpetuating problem brought about by referees with no real game experience. Had Bale stayed on his feet against Sunderland when caught in the box (and i think at a push he probably could have) he wouldn't have been awarded the penalty but similarly wouldn't have ever caught up with the ball... players have no choice but to go down half the time just to prove to the referee they were fouled. As i said previously, it's a sad state of affairs...

P.s thanks for the science to back up my reasoning! You're not and engineer by any chance are you?!! ;)

SanchezSpur

Frank - Great explanation of the science of diving, thank you. Having seen the recent bookings Bale received for his diving, I can assure you that there WAS contact, however if he was playing rugby he would not have gone to ground. It is diving even though there was contact, purely and simply of the way he goes to ground. As you mentioned the science will make you lose balance, the natural reaction would be to try and regain you balance not go down. I love Bale and I'm no way calling him a cheat but he's looking for the contact whereas a player like Messi is looking for the goal, hence 91 in a season. If Messi was to go down on contact then he'd have ended up with about 30 goals last year.

yiddyboy

Yiddyboy - see above for response to this! And i would also assert that Messi still would have scored this many goals though the percentage of penalties would be an awful lot higher!

SanchezSpur

August 2012 - Remy £16m, M'Villa £10m. Jan 2013 - Remy £8m, M'Villa £6m. So was the interest in August actual or ITK rubbish? How do these International players values half in 5 months? Remy is the type of player we need at a price that isn't silly and wages that could be accomodated? Do we have bigger ideas and can we expect 1 marquee signing or will it be bargain basement last day shopping. Well with this new manager we don't know. The silence is refreshing. We will announce when we are ready and not have the rollercoaster of well we are looking at X or Y from HR but up to Daniel to do the deal nonsense like before. Be nice to deal early but not the way of the chairman so AVB and the fans will have to wait to see if we strengthen or weaken this window.

Wilts Spurs

How do you put in paragraphs in a simple to understand way and so I don't break the site. Thanks

Wilts Spurs

Love totty - "inconsistent"? Have we not won something like 9 out of our last 11 games? God knows what constitutes for consistency in your mind?

coopsieyid

Agree with Totty, this is one of the better forums that debate all things Spurs, so I don't regard differing opinions as 'moaning' ( some do come close though). Many times I have been swayed from my point of view by a good argument . Most posters do see it this way and you'll always get the cranks - remember that there is no qualifying criteria to be able to post and I swear that some sound seriously inebriated at times!

Durbanspur

Wilts Spurs - WITHOUT ANY SPACES the following < br > < br >

SanchezSpur

Thanks Sanchez

Wilts Spurs

Wilts Spurs - I heard QPR nipped in and offered Remy 75k a week, signing on fee, bonuses and first team...might be the reason we didn't follow it up? Could we have offered a more attractive personal terms inc guaranteed first team ect? (must have been better than the toon offer) Obviously i only have someones word for that, but still took note

SpursOne2

Wilts Spurs, just right totall bo///ox like wat i do. dat never brakes the shi7e....

spu 4 life

Durbanspur - are you insin, insinua, dating. Saying that some people are pi$$ed when they post on here, no can't be true, when we talk about the special one, some think we mean SPECIAL BREW.

spu 4 life

Good point SanchezSpur

I forgot he would convert the penalty...LOL

yiddyboy

If the 15 millions for Remy and M'Villa are paying over the odds, as someone said, what are the real odds? To me it's more like daylight robbery! My Newcastle friend is furios over the Remy deal and says that Saggy face better stays out of Geordieland for some time or.............

dannylane

Presunctly P Yiddy! Hic..

SanchezSpur

Lol! Spu.....present company excluded, of course!

Durbanspur

Anyway enough of that, i have my Alcoholics Anonymous meeting tonight, I don't have a clue, who half the people are that go, but t least it ends in time for last orders.

spu 4 life

dannylane - Wonder what happens if QPR go down though, did they include some release clause? Maybe they will be in the championship next season. If Newcastle go down instead of QPR then yeah haha, don't go up North Arry

SpursOne2

Off topic, Sky saying Pep going to Bayern in July.

Durbanspur

That's now confirmed!

Durbanspur

Saw the replay of the QPR game, what a fantastic save that was from Caesar, and a b...dy good strike from Defoe as well! We looked like sure winners, for the first 20 minutes or so!

dannylane

Coopsie - Against teams we would expect to beat easily mostly, and not convincingly either, despite superior possession. Scrapped through the EL group, and out of the Capital Cup against high flying Norwich. Like I said inconsistent, not terrible but plenty of room for improvement.

Love totty

Coopsie - it's all about expectations isn't it. I looked at our squad at the start of the season against the others and thought Yep, only the scum can touch us for 4th. But no, we've let Everton and West Brom stay with us too with an improving Liverpool not out of it.

Love totty

Seems to me we are doing just a bit better than last year in as much as we are still in Europe, if anyone wants to be, on top of losing agruably our best player and changing manager. That's pretty good. We now do need to buy a couple of very good players in January to help cement top4 and allow us to kick on. Also need to really bring on a couple of younger players also, I think most notably Townsend.

tophobunty

Sadly, Sky also confirming that Sandro has undergone knee surgery, cannot say how long that he will be out!

Durbanspur

Sandro was out for around 3 months last time he had knee surgery.

Guyver

Love Totty - and of course we should be more consistent and more settled from Day 1. Be more realistic. New players take time to bed in (remember Modric, Bale) and criticism of Siggy & Dempsey is ridiculous. Similarly with AVB - he needs time (Rednose came 14th I think in first season). You would have been calling for his head, no ?

Windlespur

Gutted about Sandro - but Parker back is fantastic and hopefully Kaboul soon (if we needed an alternate holding midfield tank). Against Coventry, BAE & Parker back in the side seemed to settle us from first minute.

Windlespur

So no Pep to go up against shame.

Who will Chels/Goons get now?

Bad news on Sandro. Just tried paragraphs hope I didn't break site.

Wilts Spurs

Big blow for Chavs & goons re: PEP. Stick with Rafa then :)

Windlespur

sadly my ITK is genuinely ITK on this Sandro op, he also told me they were expecting six months.

tophobunty

Chelsea may have to stick with Rafa the Jaffa after all, Pep going to Bayern Munich in July, what a kick in the bollox for Abramovich.

Frank

good posts from Frank, shedboy, alex, but dont hold your breath waiting for the players we have needed.this is not moaning, just the usual lack of ambition that has been shown in the last few windows.

topspur53

yiddyboy- the irony is not frank posting. The irony is reading a piece by a moaning fan moaning about other fans moaning! shedboy2

Shedboy 2 ,told ya you was a genius ,an article to moan about people moaning ,you couldn`t make it up ,brilliant .

big cockeral

Remy for £8.5M and M'Villa for £7Mish, just shows what Redknapp can do when he is allowed not impeded. Our esteemed DOF would struggle to beat that, although he would probably have bid £5M for the pair before reporting "We tried very hard to bring both players in, but there were reasons why we couldn't make it happen" that well rehearsed twice annual after window speech, bless him.

Frank

As written on the spurs web site; Sandro has undergone knee surgery following the injury that forced his substitution against QPR at the weekend. The midfielder's recovery schedule will be assessed over the next few days.

spu 4 life

Frank, 0 goals in 8 games from Remy this season is hardly blistering form. No wonder he's going for peanuts, mercenary business.

Crissybwoy

That's a right blow, Lvermore won't be going to QPR and it may force us into the transfer market, before the end of the month come midnight, reporters standing outside Enfield Training Centre, in 3ft of snow, brass monkey's -9

spu 4 life

It's op on Sandro. If Dembele breaks down, we are in deep s..t. Why not steal the de Jong-deal from Newcastle? We can blame it on 'Arry if they get upset!

dannylane

Windlespur - AVB had a full pre-season and we weren't the only squad to have changes to bed in or injuries to contend with. Why look for excuses, just see it as it is - not terrible but need to be better. I don't think anybody's calling for his head now. At the start of the season I had my doubts but said then that Xmas would be the time to judge...and that's what I'm saying now. 7 out of 10 but more than happy for him to continue our more recent improvement.

Love totty

How does a small club like QPR afford such a big squad on big wages ?
Exactly what lead to Pompeys demise

big cockeral

Well my only questions are; 1.Can Levy really not sign a striker again and turn a blind eye to it? 2.Can he show a total lack of backing to AVB so soon after his appointment? The answer I come up with myself is yes, we do not have the money free to do this with structure our Club is run on. It is the correct structure for us, but sadly we can't afford that 20m player that will bang in the goals for us.

ledgespur

Indeed Big C, Harry must be after an extension to his massive Pompey-funded house. :)

Crissybwoy

Frank ,, You are fully aware the Remy isn`t even that good ,& M'Villa has an attitude problem which is why noone has taken a punt on him .

big cockeral

4 goals for Alex Pritchard last night, augers well!

Love totty

Crissybwoy IMO we dodged 2 bullets there ,both love the lifestyle more than the football .

I hope we go for De Jong from Ajax ,he looks mustard .As Adebayor is showing ,attitude is just as important as talent

big cockeral

Good post Frank, but apparently M'Vila hasn't yet made up his mind that he wants to move to QPR yet.

Love Totty Pritchard has been getting alot of rare reviews, a star in the making lets hope.

Ossie

Ajax De Jong is the one for me ,watch this brilliance by De Jong ,I know they all look good on You Tube but this is different gravy ,class

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2013/jan/14/remarkable-miss-ajax-siem-de-jong-video

big cockeral

Time will tell Big C. But yeah M'Vila's attitude problems are well documented, getting banned from the France squad isn't good in anyone's book. He sounds like a French Joey Barton by all accounts.

Crissybwoy

Sorry, I wrote "French Joey Barton", forgetting that the helmet himself is now actually French with that ridiculous accent.

Crissybwoy

Big C, you know very well that QPR can afford these players because of Tony Fernandez's money, with the likes of Ecclestone etc in the background, they have more money than Portsmouth have ever seen. The other thing is, as well as being stinking rich, Fernandez is also a fan. I realise that that is a difficult concept for us as Spurs fans to grasp, it took me a while, with our billionaire owner, who probably needs a program to put a name to the players on the pitch, or somebody to show him where the ground is. Mind you he is a fan, of money, not football.

Frank

Frank faiurplay ,good post .I was thinking more about the FFP rules ,do they go out of the window when it suits ?

big cockeral

trust me on this loic remy will be a brilliant player for qpr,strong,direct,great dribbler and not bad finisher-r

ghulamville

I agree with De Jong, he looks like a steal for 9m. We need a midfield enforcer now Sandro is out. M'Villa would be great business at 8m. Some people are concerned about his red card habit, but every continuously successful team has had a player who could mix it and play and got their fair share of reds, but more importantly became the driving force, the motivator, the one who led by example. Think Souness, Robson, Keane, Vieira. The player that lets others know we are not too be messed with. I think M'Villa is capable of this in the right team, where he will find his place and become a better player. I can see him getting comfortable with Kaboul and Lloris in the French team and Vertonghen and BAE speaking the lingo as well. We would then potentially have the spine of the French national team.

vicspur

ghulamville Wasn`t Cisse ?

big cockeral

just goes to show if their is a genuine will to sign someone its easy peasy,

ghulamville

cisse has by and large done well for qpr but they dont play him regurlarly but remy is better

ghulamville

ghulamville ,,referring more to Djibril Cisse stats before he came to England . Maybe his leg breaks phucked him up ,but before Liverpool he looked unstoppable & twice the player Remy looks now

big cockeral

Yorkspur, why is is you ENIC fan club members always tell us Tottenham Hotspur supporters to be patient. We are now in the middle of ENIC season number 13. Levy has got through 8 coaches, 3 Directors of football, countless coaching staff, and over a 100 professional footballers, and the only silverware he has brought us is the Mickey Mouse Cup. Levy has failed to reach the final of any tournament other than the League Cup and has the worst trophy per season percentage of any THFC chairman in over half a century, and the new stadium Levy promised 13 years ago is still a minimum of half a decade away. minimum! And your telling us real Spurs fans to patient??? Please read Daniel Levy's personal Fantasy Football list of players he has bought during the past 13 seasons, which has been funded by his Sugar Daddy Joe Lewis. Levy has turned THFC into footballs version of bloody EBAY! http://www.transferleague.co.uk/premiership-transfers/tottenham-hotspur-transfers.html

pelebro

well said Pelebro and spot on Frank......! Either we are serious about taking this club to another level or we aren't....that was the promise given to us by Levy in the summer and that was why AVB was appointed....to take us to the next level..........if AVB cant do that with this current squad then Levy and ENIC need to improve their track record by improving the squad....if they dont, then we as a club, will always remain successful failures.

OyVeh Maria

THFC has become Daniel Levy's Football Fantasy/Football Manager/Ebay personal play thing, bought for him by Uncle Joe Lewis...

pelebro

Levy never said he wanted to take the club to the 'next level', he said 'a different direction'. Reading things properly is too much of a chore for some.

Crissybwoy

My biggest problem with our draw with qpr is this : on its own, a point is not the end of the world. However looking at our next game means that we may only get one point from two league games.

In-spurs-ational

I know it feels like a long time, but remember the 90s. We struggled then. Relegation battles and long injury lists. We are a lot more consistent and finish high in the league. Like yorkspur said, we have also built the team from the back. Our defence used to be shambolic in the 90s. We'd all love stars up front, but you can't get them without champions league anymore, and you can't get champions league without stars. So you need a bit of luck, and Spurs are historically short of that! I'd sooner wait for a consistently better side than we are now than blow it all on one 2nd place finish and a cup only to fall down to 7th the following year. I know Levy can really wind us fans up though. Seriously, lets at least have a half decent striker this Jan! Just a bit of support and a few extra goals. Big busines should be done in the summer. And not at the last minute.

edmontonspurs

What I can't understand is if Levy *****s us over and doesn't take us to the next level then what are players like Lloris, Vertonghen, Dembele, and of course Bale going to think coming to us on the belief that we are building for the future and then it turns out that Levy is just a cunning, conniving scumbag who has no interest in turning us into winners, I have patience but will the better players have patience if we don't progress.

Jantheman

"Remy for £8.5M and M'Villa for £7Mish, just shows what Redknapp can do when he is allowed not impeded." Frank, you come up with some gems but this is the pick of the bunch! Not sure how many Pompey fans share your sentiments after Harry was allowed to spend his way to near oblivion. Now, a manager who spends his club's money to buy his own son at the end of his career doesn't sound like someone that can be trusted with anyone's money, did he actually get to kick a ball for Portsmouth? Can't say I can recall. COYS.

ItalianYiddo

I don't think that we need to buy anyone in to replace Sandro, as Parker will come straight in like for like. If Parker gets injured then we have Livermore, who's not ideal, but he's there for a reason and may take his chance. If we were to buy a replacement for Sandro what would happen when Sandro was fit again?

Fanman

Crissybwoy, you are arguing semantics, he said "different direction" yes, but it was misinterpreted as "next level" by most fans, they once again misguidedly trusted Levy. I and others did post at the time, that the intention could well be the opposite to that generally expected, and he may have meant down into a comfy, cheap to run, low investment mid-table position. The activity in the three most recent windows (last January, last summer, and the current one, would seem to bear this out), last January we signed 2 jokes in Saha and Nelson, then in the summer we sold our 2 most accomplished players, and several competent squad players, replaced Ledley King, and our aged GKer, signed a couple of journeymen in Dempsey and Sigurdson, and a decent MFer in Dembele, we had our customary "just missed out" deadline day deal, and turned over a profit for the window yet again, and in effect weakened the squad. This window there is no apparent will, or desire, to sign either the type, or quality, of player to take us upward, particularly up front, or maybe even to maintain our current 4th place.

Frank

like I said....if Levy is serious about this club then he has to give AVB the squad he requires..... if Levy wants us to go in a different direction then the only direction that could be is down, because before AVB arrived, we were going up!

OyVeh Maria

Frank, I agree with most of the things you write boss, let's see if by February we have addressed the much needed issues in our squad that we all know we need. I still have faith we'll sign one more player this window, whether that faith is misguided we'll find out in the next two weeks. I think Willian is a possibility for the "right" price, he's on-strike atm, Chelsea don't need him so that leaves us or other teams on the continent. Whether Levy will pay the fee required is a different story, but I hope he backs AVB more than he has done so far. I'm no Levy fan-boy, not by a long stretch, I just see the good that he's done for our club that atm slightly outweighs the bad, we're in good shape but of course could be better. My glass is always half-full, but if February comes and no new additions have been made then I'll be as *****ed-off as the next fan, trust.

Crissybwoy

Oyvey, sorry but Harry was running the club into the ground in a downward spiral, just like he did the last two seasons after Christmas for our team, and every other club he's been at. Time will tell if AVB can keep the squad fresh and fit, Sandro will be a MASSIVE loss if it's a season ender for him. Fingers crossed it'll only be a couple of months at the most. Agree that he needs to back AVB and do it now.

Crissybwoy

Frank, interpretations can be wrong, we all interpret things differently, in all walks of life.

Crissybwoy

Frank, what if AVB has faith in Defoe, Dempsey, Adebayor and Sigurdsson? You haven't given Dempsey and Sigurdsson a chance. In business and football, you have to give your investments time to see if they work out. Ditching them because they don't hit the ground running is an example of hasty and perhaps incorrect judgment. Also, how could you possibly know that "This window there is no apparent will, or desire, to sign either the type, or quality, of player to take us upward, particularly up front, or maybe even to maintain our current 4th place." Do you have any facts which support that statement?

Fanman

OyVeh, have you bought your hooped shirt yet?

matt hoten

Jantheman, players will always say they want to go to clubs to win things. However, in truth, as long as you pay them enough, they don't care where they play. Take Remy for example. Given the choice of a relegation battle or playing for a club that get 50,000 plus every home game, he went to who was going to pay him more. I don't blame him, I'm sure I would have done the same myself, it's just that it's a false belief that if we don't do well all our players will leave.

In-spurs-ational

We will miss Sandro but Parker is good enough to do that defensive role and has come good at the right time. We also have Hudd and Livermore although they are not great they are there to do a job and they will but we will be less effective. Fed up of no transfer news.

thfan

thfan, we are Tottenham. The transfer window for us opens on January 31st at 11:45pm

In-spurs-ational

Losing Sandro is a massive blow. Having Parker back will be a massive boast and it may also loosen the purse strings for a creative midfield player now. It will allow us to play 4-5-1, which I think AVB will play. That means that Dembele will stay in the middle more alongside Parker and then a William or Sneijder in a more advanced role. Then with any luck a new striker too. I do think that Levy has to act in this window or we could see a repeat of the last seasons fall down.

nothappyharry

Haha....the Chavs only managed a draw with Southampton, on the back of the home defeat to QPR you can see the fat waiter being given his cards soon. :-)

TQ2Spurs

Frank et al....Just out of curiousity have you ever just said"well played" to the guys we were playing? Or" they were well up for it and any team would have had trouble breaking them down?. Nothing personal but jeez guys its FOOTBALL some days the opposition is better or equal to us and constantly bagging out your own team/ management achieves exactly what????

Underspur

A couple of rumours in the press that it's season over for Sandro & due to that we're going to push through the Holtby deal.

Spurs Allday

You could go round and round and round with Frank. It's not worth the bother. Here is a man who needs a massive dose of reality. Of course we need a top striker, of course we have needed a new stadium. But they don't grow on trees. You have to look at the over all picture with ENIC and realize that without spending out of there own pockets, they have probably done as well as they could have done. There are the Sugar Daddy's of this world, and those clubs that have one are lucky. But there cannot be one for every club. As far as owners who run there clubs off there own backs, which is the way it goes with most club owners, ENIC are right at the top.

asherthesmasher

"who run there clubs off there clubs own backs". That's what i meant to say.

asherthesmasher

...why Matt? have we changed our away kit again!

OyVeh Maria

had to go to work so missed a bit. so, to answer a few posts... we would have finished third with one more point. we were a point behind the goons with equal GD. one more point would have meant a game drawn instead of lost which would have meant our GD got at least +1 better. Frank - I wasnt referring to the glory years of the 50s and 60s or even the 80s when i said the time before ENIC.I meant the time immediately before ENIC ie the 90s when all was bleak and desolate at the lane. (in point of fact we won the FA cup in 81. Coventry was 87). We can bemoan not getting Remy of M'Vila all we want. Remy hasn't as far as i gather been that prolific in his career and gone further off. AVB obvoiusly doesn't fancy him or we would have him. M'Vila is has a rep as a trouble maker and plays the position we are best stocked in, with Sandro and Parker blocking his way and Livermore and Huddlestone as second string. Put simply unless we wanted him to sit on the bench we didn't need him. Comparisons to Leeds can be made, before Sugar took over we were in some financial bother (not as bad as them admittedly) which ended with us selling Gazza, and if we didn't run the club properly we would end up in the same boat they are in now. there may be nobody left reading, just wanted to get all that off my chest!

Yorkspur

Chelsea again drop points at home so only 2 pts above us now. See, it is not always easy to beat everybody you should beat. THEY WERE 2-0 UP AS WELL. More booing of Rafa especially now they know they won't get PEP. Who next at S.bridge?

CoysRus

good fun this, will have to get stuck in more often

Yorkspur

Agreed CoysRus, its game on now and some timely support from the blue scum

Yorkspur

OyVeh, glad you appreciate the joke.I think we disagree about Spurs management, but got great respect for someone who goes to every game.

matt hoten

Good good result today for us with Chelsea dropping 2 points. I know it is a cliche but there are not easy games. We're doing ok, :-)

Madaboutspurs

Ossie don't get your hopes high on Pritchard. The lads contract ends in June and no where looking like he will sign new one . Crazy but that's the fact atm

sydqcb5

M'Villa is someone we don't need. We have two of his kind but better. Remy has been over rated for some time now. I mean come on, he's going to Q.P.R.. Use your brain.

asherthesmasher

I guess the only question I have for all those who think Levy is missing two tricks here that Harry has picked up on, why is no one else jumping in? If these guys are that great, surely Liverpool, Fulham, Newcastle and all above them should be jumping right in there, no? Here's what I do know. QPR are going all in. They have lots of guys under contract and if the owner is willing to throw his money at the problem, good for him. His choice. It is the very behaviour though that the FFPR should be eliminating. Not being anti-capitalist here, just trying to be pro-fans and clubs. QPR are fine so long as the owner is willing to absorb the losses. Add those two players and their net spend (just on transfers not salaries) is 35M. If they stay up, it'll just be big losses. If they go down, it'll be huge losses and they probably lose their players of quality at losses and will be saddled with older, overpaid players. To their credit, many of their contracts (Park etc) are for 2 years. Still, I find it hard to believe M'Vila, M'Bia, Mackie, Hoilett, Remy, Granero, Onuoha, Derry, Hill etc will want to toil in the Championship with a hope of promotion. COYS

peterballb

Son, Dzagoev, Negredo, Willian, Leandro, Sissokho, Benat is where we should be looking. Son, Negredo and Willian would be a huge offensive upgrade and all three can play fabulous football. 45M to get them and Holtby in now and Sissokho next summer. Sell Rose and Hudd now. May the best survive and the balance be sold come summer. We also must get playing time for Townsend, Pritchard, Smith, Carroll and a few others. COYS

peterballb

Willian is who i am hoping for... I think an attacking line of BALE, LENNON, WILLIAN and DEFOE could do some serious damage...

I think for 2m odd, it is worth bringing Holtby into the squad now.

Perfect January shopping list, WILLIAN and ALEXIS SANCHEZ...

Yidmarks

Maybe a ruthless move..

TAP UP MATA... AVB COME ON SON...

Yidmarks

peterballb, Harry has been given the creative freedom by his new owners to buy a couple of class players at low cost to help in his relegation survival mission, and you start bringing the FFPR issue in? I mean you can't compare tiny little QPR to the likes of Madrid, Barca, Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea etc can you? You appear to be getting somewhat desperate in your mission to discredit the very coach who saved our own club from relegation and then proceeded to turn THFC into a top 4 and Champions League club for the first time in the clubs history...

pelebro

Yidmarks has officially lost the plot..

hudderspur

agrees with Hudderspur...

Yidmarks

Any news from any of you ENIC HOTSPUR fans about the new stadium? I mean the local area is looking like world war 2 just finished with all those empty plots of land that Danny has created in preparation for his new fantasy football stadium, that has decimated the local community spirit. Still not a word on when Danny Boy and uncle Joe will start the building work??? If any of you ENIC HOTSPUR fan club members have any information, we Tottenham Hotspur supporters would gratefully appreciate the info...

pelebro

Massive thankyou to southampton.... See you next season,Sandro, good luck with the recovery. Think we best get Holtby, to the club asap. Still hopeing we lose Bentley, Gomes, Jenas, Rose. Not convinced on Siggurdsen....but Just "Maybe"...he can be "Useful"....as a "Striker". I.e.....Dempsey behind Siggy....combo'...vs Man.utd. Defoe and O'Bika..on the bench. Worth a try, i feel.

82spursdebut

The stadium will get built...but my mind is set on completion, ready for season 2017/2018.

82spursdebut

peterballb, writes "Son, Dzagoev, Negredo, Willian, Leandro, Sissokho, Benat is where we should be looking." Correct Peter, but I don't think your hero Danny Boy will find any of them in the ENIC bargain basement bins. I mean the likes of VDV only come around on the cheap, once in a losers lifetime... Right???

pelebro

I thought the title was patience....first Sandro, now yidmarks after Mata, no sign of a striker or creative mid....at this rate we'll all end up as Patients! of the Psychiatric variety!!!

shedboy2

82 - Dempsey behind siggy combo…my eyes bleed with some of the craziness I read on here. Siggy shouldn’t be on the pitch and Dempsey should only start as we literally have no other option (apart from playing bale there with Andros on the left)

Seriously guys is anyone else getting a bit worried about the situation. Sandros knacked for the season, Defoe isn’t firing, Dembele is looking fully fit, ADE is away, and there is absolutely no sign of anyone coming in! I remember last Jan and in the summer everyone saying its gone quiet which means something gonna happen. I think its gone quiet because there’s nothing to report. Surely we aren’t just going to sit on our hands again, I expected to wake up this morning to read that Holtby had joined are squad, not even a murmur anywhere on line (from a good source). What the hell is going on.

hudderspur

but yidmarks I'm with you on ALEXIS SANCHEZ...I think Barca would let him go, they'll be after funds for Neymar but don't think AVB will want him...:(

shedboy2

Hudd- have faith in Levy....I hear on the grapevine he's bought a pair of boots (after a bit of haggling) and is going to give it a go as striker himself....he did ask AVB but he couldn't hit a barn door and Stefan, well he's steffan...

shedboy2

Frank etal - It is not just the £15.5 million Harry has paid for those two players, but the very high wages offerred (from a man complaining about QPR's high wages) and blowing Newcastle out of the water. Strange to see that none of the top half teams were in for either - yet you feel we should have spent £15.5 million on them. Spend the money, but not on average, high earning and mercenarie, disruptive players FFS. Odemwingie for £3 million may be a better short ternm option - goals & pace or bid £15 million for Lukaku. Ok, I can just see a post in a month saying why didn't we buy Remy after he has scored a hatful early doors ............. D'oh.

Windlespur

82spursdebut, thanks for your 2017/2018 stadium completion date prediction... If your correct, it will have meant that it will have taken the ENIC corporation 17 seasons to build us that new stadium. Just think of the many hundreds of millions of pounds of stadium revenue that the likes of AFC have been making from their stadium, have been lost in the long, long wait... And yet quite incredibly, you ENIC fan club members, keep telling us, what great 'off the pitch' business men the ENIC corporation are???

pelebro

Hudderspur....i agree, that siggy / dempsey and defoe (ideally a third choice striker). ARE NOT....setting our world alight. BUT, they are what we have at present. I'd leave Bale on the left.....and let him do his usual strays. WHY, change something that is generally working. But i'd be giving him instructions, that he is a left sided player and that's where he entertains me most..lol. Townsend.....i think he best suited to the wings....either left or right. Don't want too many of our players being confused on positions...and just become utility players. 2 possible positions for each player is enough. IMO.... Personnally, i think, ideally, Bale and Walker ..could be wingbacks..in a 3 / 5 / 2...formation. I'd like to see Caulker in the side.

82spursdebut

As for the terrible Sandro injury... The curse of ENIC/SUGAR continues...

pelebro

pelebro'...what annoys me most with the stadium completion date...............is that when they originally announced and showed the lovely photos and the Spurs kop end..inclusion. They said completion date for start of season 2012 /13. To be 4 to 5 years out....is very dissapointing. What our country needs..is the Rich Men to start spending in this country. Ideally on Building construction.............hence i don't understand why, Mr.Joe Lewis...and co'......could not have left a Named legacy in Tottenham. BLackburn....will always be thankful....to Jack Walker. We will just have to be patient.

82spursdebut

Man there's some prize chumps registered on this site since I stopped being a regular.

Ox, mate, I feel for you, I truly do!!

coopsieyid

pelebro, the stadium will cost hundreds of millions, it was always going to take a while, especially given the transport links to WHL which will need improving and newly discovered problems with listed buildings in the area upsetting the plans. As far as I gather ENIC has been buying up land around the stadium for years in anticipation of doing this and Levy has been gathering partnerships to help with the cost (like the Sainsbury's supermarket). there are many examples of clubs who have suffered due to the cost of building a new stadium meaning a reduction in the amount available to invest in the team, look at Coventry City, Southampton are only just getting back, Middlesbrough, Darlington now bankrupt (though why they ever thought they needed a 25000 seater is beyond me), even the goons (arguably) - they haven't won anything since they moved into the emptycrates, and they never spend that much on players. you may accuse me of being a fan of ENIC Hotspur. I want a new stadium as much as you do, but I would rather we didnt bankrupt ourselves and wreck the first team in the rush for success or a new stadium.

Yorkspur

pelebro, the FFPR are precisely for this sort of insane spending. the point is that clubs should be financially viable, and break even at least over a rolling three year period. that's pretty doable for man united, arsenal and thankfully something levy is damned good at. but what QPR is doing is madness. a clubs wage bill should not exceed 70% of turnover, ours is maintained at under 60%, pretty great actually, city's is a pretty crazy 114% as of last season but QPR's is probably over 200% after this latest roll of the dice. how can you suggest that that is not relevant to the FFPR?!? QPR are very likely to get relegated and be left with massive debts. Fernandes is said to be worth 200 million, thats hardly abramovich wealth is it. he has said that the club needs to become self sustaining because he is not willing to bank roll it indefinitely. he is also a west ham fan. sounds good for a QPR fan doesn't it. but once again Harry simply doesn't care about QPR and likes to saddle his clubs with wage debt, just ask portsmouth, southampton or west ham. he told remy come and use QPR as a quick stepping stone to better clubs, of course he did, thats what he intends to do

Guernman

peterbalb, last season you told us all what a great thing the Under Armour kit deal would be for our club... How are the sales in the US, Asia, and Africa of the new new Danny Boy jokers kits coming along pete? And what happened to the 50 million quid back hand-er, bung, that big Joe took from the Under Armour boys? How much of the money has been given to AVB to invest in his team??? Do you still believe Danny Boy has been correct to blow out both Nike and Adidas for the past 13 years because he wants to control the clubs merchandising, even though Nike and Adidas are the masters of football kit merchandising... Anyone checked out the beautiful Swansea City all white, Real Madrid style Adidas home kit? Way to classy, for clueless Danny Boy...

pelebro

Yorkspur, where is evidence of any "rush" to build a new stadium, 12 years and counting since the staement saying an increase in match day revenue was a priority, Christ only knows where we would be if it wasn't a "priority", currently there is not a brick laid, a completion date just extended to 2018 has been announced, no doubt the first of many extensions to come. We are currently on schedule to rival the Egyptians in the time taken to build the great pyramid. Lewis and Levy have never "rushed" to do anything, where the spending of money is concerned, they are too busy trousering any profit that may accrue from transfer dealings, prize money for CL performance, and PL finishes, whilst making excuses every window of how "we couldn't quite get it done" to placate gullible fans. You and your ilk, the ENIC Lewis/Levy apologists, will get a rude awakening as Spurs continue to wallow in the nearly areas of English football, whilst failing to invest sufficiently, to push into the elite group on a regular basis, while peddling myths about falling into the same traps affecting Leeds, Portsmouth, and now you have included Middlesbrough, and Coventry, we could possibly include several more who decided to build new stadia, this suggests the way to financial stability is for us to regress to parking horse drawn carts along the touchlines from which to watch, as once was the case. All the clubs you highlighted never had "two halfpennies to scratch their arses with" unlike us, remember Forbes rating of us in the 15 most valuable clubs in the world, although you would never know. You mention Arsenal, during the ENIC era at Spurs, they have built a 60,000 seater stadium, dwarfing our match day revenue, and yes I will concede, they haven't won a trophy since, whilst our lack of bravery has seen us win, wait for it 1, that being the "Mickey Mouse" trophy of English football, but what they have done EVERY season during the ENIC era, is qualify for, and enjoy the revenue generation of the CL, whilst we have done it once, hence I would hazard a guess that their merchandising income dwarfs ours as well. If you think ENIC have been successful, good luck to you, when evidence to the contrary is obvious and just down the road. In any kind of industry, you have to speculate and invest to succeed, or you can take the other option, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Perhaps the time is fast approaching for ENIC to do just that, and let others who may have more drive and ambition, and who might even have the remotest interest in football, to have a go. I suppose our best hope of change may be that when Joe Lewis who is 80+ years old expires, and we see what happens to his holdings.

Frank

well frank i think we'll just have to agree to disagree. i only started to follow spurs in the mid 80s and lived through the 90s where we were not a nearly team, we were nothing, a lower mid table team being laughed at by everyone, living off long past glories. a nearly relegated team on a few occasions. we were such a mess. surely even you must agree we are better than that now? in 2006 we qualified to the UEFA cup through the league for the first time in over 20 years. now we expect this, in fact we are disappointed if this is all we achieve, and want more. too right as well. we all want signings, we all want a new stadium, but not to the ruin of the club. saying all that, a new striker would be lovely

Yorkspur

Yorkspur believes a new stadium will ruin our club! You have to be a Danny Levy vital spurs 1 League cup in 12 seasons, the worst trophy per season of any owners in over half a century internet creation... You tell us we are better now, when your hero Danny boy has failed to reach the final of any major cup comp in 12 seasons. Your a joker, just like Danny Boy's new under armour away kit... ENIC LOSERS OUT!!!

pelebro

Oh sorry yorkspur, peterballb, your official ENIC fan club president, calls the b team League Cup a title... I forget were the champions...

pelebro

Pelebro, if (and it is certainly possible) Southampton, QPR and Villa all go down, those three teams will be taking with them a net spend of about 100M all the way to the Championship, not including wages, which you seem to flippantly dismiss. Let's not forget that this is not a Juve situation where the stars will play for the team and work to get back up. Remy. M'Vila, M'Bia, Hoilett, Granero etc have no intention of playing in the Championship. So they will all be sold at a loss because of their overinflated wages or they will be unable to be moved. Won't be Harry's fault. I'm sure his contract has a get out of jail clause. But then, it's never his fault. Pelebro, you scoff at the League title as did Harry. No Spurs fan I know who has followed the team for decades looks at titles as a joke. Winning begets winning. Apathy begets apathy. COYS

peterballb

It's Peter, pelebro. You asked about UnderArmour, so I'll tell you what I know. Can't speak for outside of North America and the UK, because I haven't gone shopping in the other areas. I can advise that the entire time under Puma, Spurs kits, in North America could be bought online (Spurs shop) or at specialty sports merchandise shops (who bought them online, likely from the Spurs shop). In all the years since the 90's I have seen but a few Spurs items in stores in Toronto, Montreal, even New York. Now fast forward to a brilliant deal done by levy (I do not agree with everything he does, just accept that in the final analysis, he is doing well more than bad). Under Armour. Hugely popular in North America and is one of the quickest growing sports gear companies out there (hockey, football, rugby, baseball). Quality products across the board, but expensive. So, we sign the deal, I look online at UANorthAmerica as soon as the new kits were available at the Spurs Shop and....Nothing. I was so disappointed. Loved some of the new stuff and bought it online and bought more when at the stadium. Came back. Still nothing here beyond the normal ManU, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, RM, AC Milan garbage. Then in November, that all changed. Under Armour North America does now have Spurs merchandise online. Sportschek, a sporting goods franchise in Canada, now carries kits, hoodies, jackets, sweaters etc. I almost cried. That is a national chain in Canada and was in a store in Mississauga. So, how has Levy done? Franchise since 2007 has grown in value from 243M to 546M, surpassed only by the increase in value of ManU. Merchandise was almost impossible to find (and was generally 2 or three years old) to being available beside the merchandise of ManU, Liverpool, Arsenal etc. So again, the result has been what I expected. Spurs are becoming a hot property and it's all largely due to continued presence in Europe and at the fringes of the top 4. Spurs Europa games were all on cable/satellite where a few years back there was none. Our exposure has gone up immensely. Bring in Son and go to Hong Kong. Watch how it explodes further. Win the FA Cup and Europa and qualify for CL (long odds to be sure) and watch the explosion. COYS

peterballb

Good article: well-written, sensible and intelligent.

Airwave

Frank - Just to correct you on an earlier post. We beat man city in the '81 cup final (remember Ricky Villa?), didn't lose to coventry till '87.... Come on mate, it's basics!!

TomYid

Agree with Coopsie, some proper bellends on here

TomYid

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