Martin Lol

Can't honestly say I'm wild about him, he looks very good sometimes and very average others, a bit like Berbatov in many ways. All the talk is that there will be a major overhaul of the strikers if we can find new homes for the existing ones. All the popular talk is Vucinic, Adebayor, Rossi and Pav are the preferred striking options and are achievable, but what they want and what they get may turn out to be two completely different things. The bottom line is Levy is in control and he says he wants sales to happen first. There's certainly clubs that have been asking about Keane, Crouch and Defoe but Levy's selling prices and the players' wages might slow things up! Reports in our press say that he's very close to signing for Juve, so you might be late on this one. Never likely in my opinion. Just couldn't see Levy parting with the wedge of money that would be needed to get him.

Can't honestly say I'm wild about him, he looks very good sometimes and very average others, a bit like Berbatov in many ways. All the talk is that there will be a major overhaul of the strikers if we can find new homes for the existing ones. All the popular talk is Vucinic, Adebayor, Rossi and Pav are the preferred striking options and are achievable, but what they want and what they get may turn out to be two completely different things. The bottom line is Levy is in control and he says he wants sales to happen first. There's certainly clubs that have been asking about Keane, Crouch and Defoe but Levy's selling prices and the players' wages might slow things up!

When Bojan makes his move to Roma it will clear the way for Vucinic to Spurs. Bid of £15m accepted and now talking personal terms ............... reputedly. I did say a couple of days ago that I expected Vucinic to be our next signing. Nothing being rumoured to make me change my mind.

Kyle Naughton on a season long loan at Norwich

Yes. We're probably near the top of our wage budget vs turnover (considering we don't have CL this year) and have more than 25 potential squad players. Losing high-earning bit-part players like Keane and Bentley would be nice, but we're having to consider cashing in on Palacios and Kranjcar to create space. The rumour is that the clear out (and some new recruits) start on Monday when they all get back from South Africa. My money is on Vucinic being the first one in.

Paul Jose M'Poku has left Spurs to return to Standard Liege and the rumour is Spurs will be signing Eliaquim Mangala.

West Ham have extended the renewal period for season tickets ....................... due to the high demand Can't wait for them to move into the Olympic Stadium. Be even better if they are still in the Championship! http://www.whufc.com/articles/20110601/201112-season-tickets_2236896_2387399

1 year loan with an option to buy apparently. We're also talking to Vucinic. And Udinese have apparently bid £10m for Gio. If it's true, it would be a great deal by Levy. Potentially a very good player but so undisciplined it's unreal.

Is that definite? This morning it was being said it was close but could be finalised next week. I reckon the Greek kid could be signed first.

Redknapp's response: "whether he writes it down on a piece of paper doesn't really make any difference to our stance."

Every player is for sale at the right price. Don't give a f*** what your ITKs have agreed. If Modric goes Bale and VDV would follow very quickly after. If Modric goes in this window I'll happily give £100 to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, I've done that before but, on this occasion, I don't think I'll be donating anything. I'm very confident. Just bumping this after seeing Chelsea have reportedly offered circa £27m for him. Got it fully recorded below. Not looking unlikely! I haven't forgotten Still hearing he won't be sold under any circumstances in this window.

From the Telegraph last January................. An agreement is in place now to switch from the match day revenue model to a flat £3m yearly charge. Loose change to a club that can waste £17m on the privilege of having Roque Santa Cruz sit on the bench on match days but nonetheless a 50 per cent increase on the roughly £2m generated in each of the last three years under the current terms. For that modest sum City have the unlimited use of a superb, modern 48,000 capacity stadium that was paid for by scratch card junkies and the City of Manchester Council, who today announced the redundancies of 2,000 of its work force due to the austerity cuts that are starting to slice up the nation’s public sector.

SSN now saying 1 dead and 12 trapped. Not good.

Honestly don't think that's the end of it tbh. If Levy wants to keep a player who doesn't want to play for Spurs then that's his business but it's not a situation that can go on for long. It's cutting off his nose to spite his face OR a clever negotiating move to get as much as possible when they relent and let him move on. Dangerous games to be playing though. How long has he got left on his contract? 5 years Signed 6 year contract last year £70k pw not £40k as SSN keep saying Thought it was only 2 or 3 years. In that case Levy can afford to call the shots safe in the knowledge Modric isn't walking away for nothing any time soon. Still don't think it's the wisest move in the world in keeping a player when the don't want to play for you though. The reaction of the fans will be interesting if he goes on strike, AWOL or his performances drop though. Might change Levy's mind a bit. It'll be interesting to see how it develops. There's no doubt in my mind that Modric wont go this season. Similarly, I honestly believe he will go this time next year ......... assuming that we wont finish in the top 4 in the coming season.

Honestly don't think that's the end of it tbh. If Levy wants to keep a player who doesn't want to play for Spurs then that's his business but it's not a situation that can go on for long. It's cutting off his nose to spite his face OR a clever negotiating move to get as much as possible when they relent and let him move on. Dangerous games to be playing though. How long has he got left on his contract? 5 years Signed 6 year contract last year £70k pw not £40k as SSN keep saying

It was live the previous evening. As Redknapp said, all the negotiating is done by Levy, Levy has already said Modric will not be sold this window at any price. There is nothing being said which would suggest Levy is having a change of heart. SSN also said Modric will be talking to Levy today in 'clear the air' talks. I would guess Modric will be shouting because he is currently still in Croatia. Returns to England tomorrow, starts training on Thursday (late start due to international duty).

A shadow was cast over the Olympic Games last night after it emerged that the £500m stadium is at the centre of a corruption scandal. One of London’s biggest football clubs has been exposed for making secret payments to an executive on the body that awarded the stadium to the club after the Games are completed. West Ham United made payments totalling £20,000 into the executive’s bank account before and after it was selected as the owner of the stadium in east London. The money was paid to Dionne Knight, the Porsche-driving director of corporate services at the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), the quango that awarded the stadium to West Ham. The arrangement was put in place by Ian Tompkins, a director of West Ham who masterminded its Olympic stadium bid. Knight and Tompkins are in a relationship together. Both executives were suspended on Friday after The Sunday Times confronted them with evidence of the payments. They told reporters that Karren Brady, West Ham’s vice-chairwoman and a judge on BBC television’s The Apprentice, had known about the payments. They said it was for “consultancy work”. However, Knight also admitted that she had not told her employers about the payments. The disclosures could force the government to reopen the bid for the Olympic stadium if West Ham is found to have acted improperly. The information — detailed in bank and telephone records — was obtained by corporate investigators hired by Tottenham Hotspur, the Premier League club that was the loser in the contest for the stadium. Tottenham is seeking a judicial review of the decision. The club refused to comment officially but a senior source said: “Clearly if West Ham had someone on the payroll from the OPLC and it can be proved that she had access to confidential information relating to the bids, there is no way it can’t go back and be reopened.” Knight, 34, who earns £84,000 a year, is one of a small number of directors on the OPLC, a government body set up to manage the handover of the stadium and the surrounding Olympic park. The investigators were hired by Spurs two days before West Ham was voted the preferred bidder on February 11. Both clubs hoped to make the stadium their home ground. West Ham was the preferred bidder because it pledged to keep a running track inside the stadium. Investigators obtained bank statements, credit reports, utility bills and telephone records for Knight and Tompkins. Knight was placed under surveillance. They established that four payments had gone into Knight’s bank account between December and April from a West Ham United account at the Bank of Scotland, for £566, £1,302, £3,400 and £4,600. They say there was a further sum of £4,800 in June. This weekend Knight admitted receiving a total of £20,400 from West Ham and said it was for consultancy work. The arrangement was made two months before West Ham won the bid. She had initially refused to say what the work was. Yesterday her lawyer said it was “a procurement contract in relation to the stadium”. Knight had informed the OPLC about her relationship with Tompkins but admitted she had not told it about the cash from West Ham. She accepts this was wrong but denies leaking confidential information. West Ham faces questions about why it commissioned the work before it had even won the bid and why it sanctioned payments. The club, relegated from the Premier League last season, said Brady had been led to believe that the OPLC had approved Knight’s consultancy work. It would give only scant details of the work. In a statement, the OPLC said Knight had told it about her relationship with West Ham’s bid director and measures were taken to ensure she had no access to sensitive information

Capacity: 36310 Average Home Attendance 35910 Do you declare people through turnstiles or tickets sold as we do? People through turnstiles

Capacity: 36310 Average Home Attendance 35910

Wishful thinking from the 25000+ people on the list to get a season ticket. The only empty seats each week are the ones not sold in the away support section.

Yes, but as you've got a specific thread on the subject it doesn't seem unreasonable to post it here either.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8611476/London-2012-Olympics-Olympic-Stadium-employee-suspended-over-West-Ham-consultancy-role.html There are other places which are indicating the identities of the OPLC Director and West Ham employee with whom she has a relationship and his position at West Ham. Needless to say, I'm not even thinking about going there but it does sound very murky. Shame in a way that this has seen the light of day as personally I'd be happy for the bingo club to keep the OS to be honest.

Not just an OPLC employee, a Director http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13996504

pkelso Paul Kelso OPLC plot thickens: the employee who has been suspended for moonlighting for West Ham used to work for their stadium partner Newham Council

From the OPLC web site. Statement regarding our Stadium process It has come to our attention that an employee of the Olympic Park Legacy Company has been undertaking paid consultancy work for West Ham United FC. The Company had no knowledge of this work and no permission was given to undertake it. This individual had no involvement whatsoever in our Stadium process. The individual concerned had declared a personal relationship with an employee of West Ham United FC when she joined the organisation and we therefore put robust measures in place to ensure our Stadium process was not compromised. The Stadium team has been based at our law firm Eversheds’ offices in the City and only the Stadium team had access to information about the bids. As soon as this new information came to light the Company took immediate action and launched an independent investigation. The employee has been suspended pending the outcome of this.