Martin Lol

Is there a problem? Newcastle have made a bid for Kaboul, around the same figures offered by Pompey, Villa etc I believe.

Players often withhold their services to get the move they want. Bentley didn't play in Blackburn's pre-season games due to a calf strain yet recovered to make his debut within 48 hours of signing for Spurs, Berbatov also has a calf strain which has caused him to miss 4 preseason games, not consecutive ones btw. It's very rarely described as going on strike, a slight calf strain or a slight hamstring twinge usually mean the same thing, that's all.

Unless you're ITK of course Seriously though, I hope Sir Bobby enjoys whatever time he has left, will be terribly sad when he is gone. Unnecessary comment in what is probably the saddest thread I've seen in a long time.

Sad news indeed. Hope he does what everyone should do, enjoy today because you don't know what tomorrow might bring.

Link? To radio Manchester that is... http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/manchester.shtml

No idea, but if we do sign Corluka for £6.8m and Hughes really does bid £10m for Lennon, Spurs' net spending for this window will be about £1m.

Link? To radio Manchester that is... Posted by someone on Bluemoon. An ITK is saying he is having a medical split over today and tomorrow with a view to signing on Friday. City are playing Celtic tonight so he shouldn't be expected to be in the team if what is said is true.

Radio Manchester reporting Corluka in London for a medical. City fans on their forums not happy that Corluka + £3m might get them Lennon.

Maybe he was expecting his assets to be released? Maybe all his money is being channelled to his defence legal team?? If he was asked if he wanted Jo or a good lawyer, I could hazard a guess at the answer.

Doesn't seem as though there is much money about while his assets in Thailand are frozen. Still, it's good news for Spurs. Corluka is at the Spurs training ground today and I don't think there would have been a chance in hell of signing him if Taksin had been flush. Maybe the right time for the top clubs to go for Richards and Johnson??

At least Bellamy won't be facing any action. One piece of good news in a depressing article for Whammers fans. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1041988/6m--Thats-Ljungbergs-reward-Premier-League-flop-Hammers-door.html £6m...That's Ljungberg's reward for being a Premier League flop as Hammers show him the door By Neil Ashton Last updated at 12:54 AM on 06th August 2008 Freddie Ljungberg's disastrous spell at Upton Park is over after only 12 months as West Ham agreed to pay a staggering £6million to get him off their spiralling wage billl. As the full extent of Ljungberg's incredible salary details emerged - he is paid £85,000 a week and had an option for another year if he made just 15 appearances this season - West Ham are still suffering from the aftershock of one of the most expensive mistakes in British football history. In total, he cost them approximately £13m, taking into account transfer fee, wages and his pay-off - working out at over £500,000 per game, following 25 appearances for the club last season in which he made little impact. West Ham have yet to announce Ljungberg's departure, but the deal has been agreed and he has been told he is now effectively a free agent. Ljungberg, 31, believes he can still play at the top in England, Italy or Spain and has asked his agent to find him a new club. The Sweden midfielder was due to earn £8.84m over the next two years at West Ham and initially informed Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury that he had no intention of reaching a settlement. Despite being told by manager Alan Curbishley that he would not be playing for the first team this season, the injury-prone midfielder told the club he would sit tight and see out the remaining two years on his mega-bucks deal. He has not been part of the pre-season programme and is understood to be back home in Sweden 'weighing up a number of options'. It is an incredible fall from grace for Ljungberg. He was a member of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' who won the Premier League in 2004 without losing a game and was recently voted the Gunners' 11th best player of all time. The Hammers signed him from their London rivals for £3m last summer, but he showed no signs of his Arsenal form and his season ended early when he broke a rib in a collision with Newcastle defender Steven Taylor. Although Ljungberg recovered to play for Sweden at Euro 2008, he announced his retirement from international football after the tournament in order to prolong his career in the Premier League. Another of West Ham's injury-prone strikers, Craig Bellamy, faces being out for up to two months after tearing a hamstring in the first half hour of Monday night's 5-3 friendly win at Ipswich. This setback follows news that Kieron Dyer's long-awaited return has been put back until November because of a stress fracture in the right leg he broke early last season. However, Bellamy will not face any action following an alleged verbal spat with a female fan at Portman Road.

Why would they want to sell him? Just signed Ben Haim so Richards at right back? Richards in midfield probably. Ben Haim and Dunne at the back. New, proper right back instead of playing a rotating collection of centre backs there. That wouldn't make any sense, they've got money to burn out of their arse and they're selling one of their best players because they got Ben Haim? And they're going to push their best defender into midfield... They haven't got money to burn at all. Thaksin has hardly spent f*** all and Jo, his only big signing, is costing them buttons in the short term, paid on the drip over several years. Richards has played midfield before- they need a defensive midfielder and don't have the money to buy anyone good. Edit- and why would Ben Haim leave Chelsea's bench for City's? He'll be going there to play every week. Apparently Corluka all agreed at £6.8m subject to a medical. Irrespective of whether City have got money or not, I'm surprised they would be selling a good player they got last summer at a loss for no good reason. He has proved himself able in the Premier League after all. Kicking off in the City forums......................... Did you ever find out who the two medicals were booked for by the way? Bywater.............Ramos had a change of heart Arshavin....... Zenit moved the goalposts for the umpteenth time. I think Levy has just about had enough of trying to put a deal together with the Russians. The sub keeper now looks like being Cesar Sanchez. Definitely an upgrade on Bywater. In fact, I'd almost be an upgrade on Bywater!

Why would they want to sell him? Just signed Ben Haim so Richards at right back? Richards in midfield probably. Ben Haim and Dunne at the back. New, proper right back instead of playing a rotating collection of centre backs there. That wouldn't make any sense, they've got money to burn out of their arse and they're selling one of their best players because they got Ben Haim? And they're going to push their best defender into midfield... They haven't got money to burn at all. Thaksin has hardly spent f*** all and Jo, his only big signing, is costing them buttons in the short term, paid on the drip over several years. Richards has played midfield before- they need a defensive midfielder and don't have the money to buy anyone good. Edit- and why would Ben Haim leave Chelsea's bench for City's? He'll be going there to play every week. Apparently Corluka all agreed at £6.8m subject to a medical. Irrespective of whether City have got money or not, I'm surprised they would be selling a good player they got last summer at a loss for no good reason. He has proved himself able in the Premier League after all. Kicking off in the City forums.........................

The Mirror and the Sun are both talking about a 15 match ban, though neither have ever been tied to conservative journalism. A season long ban would be their preferred option tbh.

No, £700k initial payment, additional payment of £1.45m split up when a) Bostock makes 40 first team appearances and b) gets his first England cap, making a maximum possible total of £2.15m. Don't know how the £1.45m would be split up. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/football_league/article4379195.ece

Agree. It will be the end of the transfer windows when people finally realise these recruitment men are as useless as their experience in the position suggests. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're all useless. In fact I wouldn't describe any of them as such, there's a big difference between between being inexperienced in a role and being useless. People with connections at Charlton say there was real disappointment went to Real, and Real wouldn't have settled for an average performer tbh. Wise, as Sporting Director or whatever his official title is, knows more than enough to agree with KK what positions need dealing with and what sort of player is required. IMHO it's the next stage, convincing the player to move to Newcastle and getting the contract signed, is where it's going wrong. Coloccini reputedly agreed terms, then wanted more time and in the meantime, there's a question mark whether the transfer fee is to be renegotiated. My gut feeling is that it just needs to be a bit sharper to get the deal finalised. FWIW, I don't believe finances have anything to do with it. There have been numerous examples of Levy refusing to increase a bid to get a player or standing steadfastly behind the salary scale and losing players as a result. If Levy can't get a transfer completed as a package that he thinks is ok, the deal won't get done, it's as simple as that. And that, omongst other things is why Spurs always have a list of 4 or 5 potential players for a position, sometimes you can't get your first 2 or 3 preferred options. Would you say they've got most of their first and second choices so far? Near impossible to say in most cases because although we might know 4 or 5 names, the order of priority is very rarely known. Diego Milito's agent said today that Spurs have today decided not to pursue Milito's signing. As Levy is in Russia presumably to finalise the deal for Arshavin, it would be fair to assume that Milito was behind Arshavin in the pecking order, but that's only assumption, not certainty. I would guess for a striker Villa would have been their #1 target, but that then brings into question the level of expectancy of actually signing him.

With a strict wage budget and net spending of £4m this summer I certainly doubt it. Tottenham probably have another £20m to spend, £50m if they sell Berbatov They havent spent a net of 4 at all. They spent 18 £15.8m on Modric, 7 £4.8m on Dos Santos, 7 or 8 £7.1m on Gomes, 18 £15m on Bentley plus the money they spent on Hutton and Woodgate 6 months ago. Plus the 24 £16m they are going to spend on Arshavin. They have gotten 20 back from Keane and like another 15 from their reserve squad.

Agree. It will be the end of the transfer windows when people finally realise these recruitment men are as useless as their experience in the position suggests. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're all useless. In fact I wouldn't describe any of them as such, there's a big difference between between being inexperienced in a role and being useless. People with connections at Charlton say there was real disappointment went to Real, and Real wouldn't have settled for an average performer tbh. Wise, as Sporting Director or whatever his official title is, knows more than enough to agree with KK what positions need dealing with and what sort of player is required. IMHO it's the next stage, convincing the player to move to Newcastle and getting the contract signed, is where it's going wrong. Coloccini reputedly agreed terms, then wanted more time and in the meantime, there's a question mark whether the transfer fee is to be renegotiated. My gut feeling is that it just needs to be a bit sharper to get the deal finalised. FWIW, I don't believe finances have anything to do with it. There have been numerous examples of Levy refusing to increase a bid to get a player or standing steadfastly behind the salary scale and losing players as a result. If Levy can't get a transfer completed as a package that he thinks is ok, the deal won't get done, it's as simple as that. And that, omongst other things is why Spurs always have a list of 4 or 5 potential players for a position, sometimes you can't get your first 2 or 3 preferred options.

Going right back to the original post, I think it is hard to argue that there is enough experience to get deals done speedily. Only Vetere imho has the knowledge to do his job satisfactorily. Players are being identified but transfers are not getting completed. There just doesn't seem to be the negotiating skills in place otherwise I feel certain Newcastle would have signed more players than they have currently. I might be totally wrong but I honestly can't envisage things changing soon. Horse-jism. With respect to exchaning large amount of money to acquire the services of people or any type of resource, i think a retail organisation like Ashley's has amongst the best expertise in the business world since the purchasing department drives overall profitability. He knows how to bargain and knows how to employ people who know how to bargain. When it comes to a chairman upping a bid by 2m at the 11th hour, it will be Ashley personally who makes the call. The problems in recruitment have f*** all to do with the right skillset internally but more to do with broader factors that are well documented at this club. I'm not disputing that Ashley would undoubtedly have recruitment expertise in his particular field but I do question what qualities being a property developer would do to aid Jiminez in negotiating with a football agent/club about signing a player, especially as that player may well be wanted by another half a dozen clubs across Europe. Vetere seems more than capable of identifying the right players, Ashley has shown willing to pay £15m+ on the right player, it's the bit in the middle of a transaction that doesn't seem to be working. I dont see that as the problem. There are only 2 critical factors, does the player want to come (wages, ambition etc) and do the club want to accept the financial offer. Once the first bit is done then the same priniciples of financial negotiation apply in this situation as in any other. If the offers arent good enough for the selling club it has nothing to do with Jimenez and everythig to do with the man who has executive decision making power over finances. I can see what you are saying but i reckon you're wrong and the reason i'm a bit tetchy about it is that there seem to be a plethora of Spurs fans at the moment trying to point to the better business acumen of their men in charge as the reason the club is doing well. Its like 'those Geordies eh, they've got the finance and the fans, if only they knew how to run a club?'. I'd be interested to hear what you think Levy and his team do other than hoy the offer in on a fax and see what the response is. Perhaps they are like my advertising agency and they send little presents all wrapped nicely and stuff just to say 'Thinking of you!!' during the deal. I doubt it like. Lets face it, its either 'we want more' or 'that'll do nicely'. It's not a case of not knowing how to run a club, more lacking in experience. But that doesn't mean Wise and Vetere can't do a good job, their background suggests that they should do very well. With Jiminez, I'm not convinced that doing property deals with Paul Kemsley necessarily gives him the experience to convince a player that his future lies at SJP As for Spurs, it was less than 3 weeks ago that Arshavin said he dreamt of playing for Barca in La Liga or Arsenal. Comolli went to Russia for 2 days soon after that, spent another day there last week and now Arshavin's agent says that personal terms are agreed and Spurs and Ramos are perfect for him. I might be doing Jiminez a disservice but the results so far don't suggest there is that amount of drive to get a deal done. BTW, I understand that Comolli is now in Portugal working on the next target.

http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/1a_division/deportivo/es/desarrollo/1151554.html I think it says negotiations are deadlocked...............

How do you know they are Medicals as opposed to scans etc? Medicals are booked, scans for injuries are 'straight in', though they are not often done at the clinic. Seems like tomorrow's is Bywater, Arshavin for Monday.

Going right back to the original post, I think it is hard to argue that there is enough experience to get deals done speedily. Only Vetere imho has the knowledge to do his job satisfactorily. Players are being identified but transfers are not getting completed. There just doesn't seem to be the negotiating skills in place otherwise I feel certain Newcastle would have signed more players than they have currently. I might be totally wrong but I honestly can't envisage things changing soon. Horse-jism. With respect to exchaning large amount of money to acquire the services of people or any type of resource, i think a retail organisation like Ashley's has amongst the best expertise in the business world since the purchasing department drives overall profitability. He knows how to bargain and knows how to employ people who know how to bargain. When it comes to a chairman upping a bid by 2m at the 11th hour, it will be Ashley personally who makes the call. The problems in recruitment have f*** all to do with the right skillset internally but more to do with broader factors that are well documented at this club. I'm not disputing that Ashley would undoubtedly have recruitment expertise in his particular field but I do question what qualities being a property developer would do to aid Jiminez in negotiating with a football agent/club about signing a player, especially as that player may well be wanted by another half a dozen clubs across Europe. Vetere seems more than capable of identifying the right players, Ashley has shown willing to pay £15m+ on the right player, it's the bit in the middle of a transaction that doesn't seem to be working.

Stephen Bywater is one of them Very weird signing tbh. We might as well have kept Cerny. Wanted more 1st team games didn't he? Not really tbh. He wanted a new contract but we didnt want to give it to him. He was a solid keeper, so i really dont know why we didnt extend it for at least a year. Can't argue with that tbh. He wasn't brilliant but fairly reliable, never bitched about not playing much, wasn't paid much even by Spurs' standards, but still he was ok about it. I would have preferred Cerny as the back up.

Going right back to the original post, I think it is hard to argue that there is enough experience to get deals done speedily. Only Vetere imho has the knowledge to do his job satisfactorily. Players are being identified but transfers are not getting completed. There just doesn't seem to be the negotiating skills in place otherwise I feel certain Newcastle would have signed more players than they have currently. I might be totally wrong but I honestly can't envisage things changing soon.

Spurs have booked 2 medicals at the private clinic they use, one for tomorrow, the other for Monday. Don't know who.