Martin Lol

Realistic yes. Depends who the alternatives are though for whether I'd want him. I don't think he's a great deal more than Milner with pace. At least you get an end product out of Milner sometimes, even if it does take him longer to get into an attacking position.

Would you consider Lennon a realistic target and would you want him if he was?

In the German media, now widely reported over here, Spurs have bid €20m for Lukas Podolski though have competition from Juve. Speaking of the approaches from Tottenham and Juventus, Podolski told German daily Express: "I was informed of the interest of both of these clubs and I find it very interesting."

Spurs have said nothing officially yet though Standard Liege announced it a couple of days ago. He had a trial last year and they've been after him ever since. Know very little about him except they are more excited about getting his signature than Bostock. Hopefully, Comolli is now starting to do for Spurs what he did for Arsenal a few years back. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11675_3693897,00.html

absolutely correct. I've said myself that showing players the stadium, the support is a big pulling factor but for some strange reason some people disagreed .......... Not only do Ferguson's personally guided tours of Old Trafford add the midas touch to any sales pitches arrowed at potential signees, they've also become a tradition over there. Something i've raised before, and KK - ie. a charismatic figure in his own right - and the 'SJP Factor' you speak of is the closest thing we can offer from a 'club selling' standpoint. But then again everything is fine according to many here, with regard to the suit-orientated 'selling team' led by Jimenez, and as always we're posting s****. Although you are ignoring the fact that the following people took part in the negotiations for Modric: Mike Ashley, Chris Mort, Tony Jimenez, Dennis Wise, and Kevin Keegan, who tried to charm the Mamic brothers with his Hamburg tales. James, the term 'too many chefs operating in one single kitchen' springs to mind. Too many amateurs - ie Mort and Ashley in particular - trying to play Football Manager. Keegan in this new-age set-up is a peripheral figure, whereas there is nobody who can sell the club better than Keegan, afterall he personally oversaw Asprilla's transfer and prised away a player of undoubted ability from a then high-flying Serie A club in the form of Parma. Parma were at that stage the 2nd or 3rd ranked/placed team in Italy, so Keegan - and this is just one higher profile example - has the track record when it comes to sealing deals for in-demand 'stars' when there are clubs at a comparable level to ours competing for these same signatures, and surely Spurs fits into this category at the minute. The club at the moment needs every advantage it can get at the moment, and while i have reservations about Spurs' continental set-up i'm prepared to acknowledge that Spurs will have a headstart on us - ie. sealing deals - because their 'selling team' headed by Commolli and Levi have been in caper longer than Wise, and longer in the English set-up than Jimenez and as such can sell the pros of English football more plainly as opposed to a high-powered, suit-oriented team issuing contract offer with a higher number ahead of the 0's, afterall we have offered more money in the way of contract offers to both Woodgate & Modric yet we've come up well short on both counts. As such he should be the central player in this regard, Jimenez and Co. should only enter the fray when personal terms need to be put on the table & signed by the relevant parties. There's nobody better than the manager/Keegan who can illustrate the club's on-field direction, and the pros of the English game with regards to tempo. The Croats, based on what i've seen of them, employ a spread-wide midfield line and they're largely a rapier-like counterattacking side. With the defensive bodies around him, and Modric is no shrinking violet either/he hasn't shyed away from a challenge when he's found himself defensively isolated in his often criticised 'deep role' for Croatia, he's ready-made for the EPL imo. Keegan should be the only 'player' within the football front-office, when selling the club & the EPL to prospective targets.... whether that be the player himself or the players' representatives. Right now, at the minute, our prospective targets are hearing too many voices when having the club pitched at them........ especially from blokes who know bugger all about football ala *Ashley & Mort. The 'miss' involving Modric fits into this category imo, as you've implied there were plenty of voices/pitchers in on the act. It's overkill imo. *and this is pertinent when considering that Ashley is supposedly going to be more 'hands on' from now on, whether this extends to transfer dealings/sealing deals, or providing assistance, is another matter. This will be discovered in due course. Keegan ran our transfer business/the front office, up to the point of SJH putting the 0's on the contracts, once before and he managed that task just fine. Over a decade ago we were at the forefront of what was the beginning of the Age of the Super Transfer, and Keegan was a spearhead in what was as a then ambitious drive in the transfer market. Wenger & Ferguson run there footballing front-offices with iron fists......... and likewise they've being doing just fine, especially when competing against the millions being thrown about by Abramovich, Kenyon & Arnesson. Like Wenger & Ferguson, Keegan is our top asset in the football front office, and it's a bloody shame that Mort & Ashley didn't take this on board by installing their continental set-up prior to seeking Keegan's services. He should not be restricted to being a peripheral figure in the front office, as opposed to being just the continental-style 'head coach' who is responsible for what takes place on Saturdays & Sundays & out on the training paddock. And this extends to the hiring & firing of coaches as well, because by going on a recent coach sacking he allegedly has little input & knowledge with regards to movement on this front as well Another article from this morning would suggest that Keegan still takes an active role: http://www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2008/06/17/keegan-takes-active-role-in-recruitment-61634-21085566/ I think the game has changed though since Keegan was brokering deals for Asprilla, and it is suggested by many that the many agents taking over the game was one of the things that most alienated Keegan from the game when he was at Manchester City. However with the team in place it creates a system where we can use the best bits of Keegan, and leave the murky stuff to others. Not sure that Spurs have any headstart given that Jimenez has been brokering high-profile deals as a super agent for years, while Wise has plenty of contacts himself. I'd agree with that. I don't think it's about the personnel available or their experience, I'd suggest a lot has to do with making the player feel that he's wanted. Levy flew to Belgrade to complete the deal for Modric, Bale's parents spent a day with two youngsters and the landlady of the digs that they all currently call home, Aaron Ramsey was flown by private jet to see Wenger at the Euros instead of having a phone conversation with Fergie, I think that attention to detail counts for a lot when a number of clubs want a player and are all roughly offering similar financial packages.

It is up to Newcastle United to make a huge public stand over this and pile accusations on the Premier League fixture compilers like Chelsea and Manchester United do. Otherwise we are just going to get the same again and again. You won't get any support for any protest from Arsenal. I think it's all but two opening season games since the Premier League was formed have been at home and half of those have been against teams who had just been promoted. Their opening fixture was predictable to say the least.

Will a 3-4 cm muscle tear really be ok for the final group game? I'm no expert but it seems quick to me. Would the Turkish coach play him in a desperate gamble for the team only to send him back to Tyneside in pieces and his hopes of a move to Fener in tatters? Would be very harsh if he did.

GDS thought so even if Eto'o didn't.

The truth behind Modric's transfer ........................or just journalistic licence? http://www.nacional.hr/en/articles/view/45008/ The truth behind Modric’s transfer Midnight transfer at Hotel Westin The president of Tottenham, Daniel Levy, unexpectedly flew to Zagreb via private jet on Friday 25 April and presented his final offer for Luka Modric to Zdravko Mamic at Hotel Westin Late Friday evening, thirty minutes after midnight, Zdravko Mamic called Luka Modric from Zagreb’s Westin hotel and asked him one question: ˝Do you still want to become a player for Tottenham?” Modric gave him a short confirmation. “Then consider yourself to be a Tottenham player from this point on”, said Mamic, who then hung up the telephone, turned to Daniel Levy, the 46-year old President of Tottenham, who flew to Zagreb in his Cessna Citation in complete secrecy that same evening: “We can sign the contract.” Singing the contract where Dinamo receives €23 million in compensation from Tottenham completed the ten month battle for Luka Modric between the largest European clubs, one of the best and most sought after European football players. Tottenham has never paid so much in compensations for any player, Dinamo has never made such a good trade, but all events which occurred over the past ten months surrounding Modric resembled a thriller movie. Even though it has been a well known fact over the past two years that Modric is a high quality football player, the first concrete offer for him was received by Mamic last year at the beginning of July after Arsenal signed a contract with Eduardo da Silva. At that exact moment, Arsèn Wenger, Arsenal’s coach, told Mamic that he was very interested in Modric. At the end of July 2007, Zoran and Zdravko Mamic were invited to London and found themselves on the guest list for the traditional Emirates Cup tournament involving Arsenal, Inter, Paris Saint Germain and Valencia. Wenger repeated that he wanted Modric in Arsenal at that time because of his European ambitions, but the Mamic brothers refused so quickly that Wenger did not even manage to tell how much money he was willing to offer for Modric. In November, negotiations once again began around Modric because Chelsea became interested in him. In mid November, Britain’s Daily Mail published an article stating that Chelsea was offering £15 million for him, even though, as we have learned, the procedure for this offer was quite different. Zdravko Mamic flew to London on a private jet at that time and resided in the private villa of Roman Abramovic, Chelsea’s owner. Abramovic offered Mamic €5 million for Chelsea to have the right to make the first offer, and the final price would be agreed at a later date. Mamic refused, and when Abramovic realized that the Executive President of Dinamo would not back down, he offered him £15 million, as reported by the Daily Mail, which totalled €21 million at the end of November. This was also rejected because Tottenham first appeared as a serious buyer at the time, represented by Sports Director Damien Comolli. In December, Mamic was also contacted by representatives of Manchester City, club owner Thaksin Shinawatra from Thailand and Swedish coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, as well as a representative from Newcastle, Vice President Tony Jiménez who is in charge of purchasing new players. Instead of backing down with these offers, the Mamic brothers made a sensational announcement at a press conference several days before the New Year that Modric would remain in Dinamo for another year and that he would be sold after 1 January 2009. As we have uncovered, the Mamic brothers flew to England three days prior to releasing this information and spoke with representatives from Tottenham, Manchester City and Newcastle. In the end, they told everyone that Modric was not for sale. Furthermore, on the day before this press conference, they were contacted by representatives from Spain’s Valencia, who offered €23 million and their immediate arrival in Zagreb, but Zdravko Mamic informed them not to get on a plane because Modric was still not for sale. There was so much surprise in that decision that Daniel Levy, the President of Tottenham and only President in an English club who finished a degree in Economics from Cambridge, called Mamic and informed him that, for the first time ever, he would ˝personally discuss the sale of Modric if necessary˝. That didn’t help either. Ajax, Hamburger, and Werder then contacted Dinamo with the most concrete offers for Modric, while Barcelona and Real were scouting him. The press reported that Modric wanted to go to Barcelona, but Barcelona did not make an offer that could impress Mamic. From what we have uncovered, Barcelona offered €15 million, hoping that the club’s name would be impressive enough for Mamic and Modric to sign. Mamic rejected this, in part because it was not certain in December whether Dinamo would win the Croatian championship this year without Modric. In Croatia, most journalists and fans attacked Mamic for his decision not to sell Modric. He was not sure what was going on; when he sold Da Silva and Corluka, he was attacked for selling off his players, and now he was being attacked for not selling Modric. There were reports that Modric was upset that he was not leaving, which was the truth, as was it true that his parents never bothered Mamic with questions on why he did not sell their son. In January everything froze, but in February the greatest European clubs began to once again show their interest in Luka Modric. At first, contact was not made by the highest ranking club representatives but lower level representatives contacted Dinamo, as well as licensed managers. In certain cases, they personally contacted Modric, but he told them the same thing every time – call Zdravko Mamic. At the end of February, Newcastle and Tottenham were the most interested for Modric and at the beginning of this month, Daniel Levy, the President of Tottenham, called Mamic on the telephone to discuss the conditions and told him that it would be best to continue the negotiations in London. The Mamic brothers went to Newcastle and announced the final amount which they were seeking for Modric - €30 million and €2.5 million annual pay for Modric. Of course, the Mamic brothers were ready to accommodate the club, from making payments in installations to the option of paying this amount for compensation if Modric would play a specific number of matches in one season. Newcastle requested 48 hours for their response, and once the deadline ran out, they offered €22 million. Tottenham offered approximately the same amount. It was time for the Mamic brothers to make their decision because Dinamo became the Croatian champion, and the European Championships were nearing and it would be best for Modric to sign a deal before the European Championships. The only thing which bothered the Mamic brothers at that time was the relation of the Great British pound to the Euro, because the GB pound was much stronger in December than it is now. However, £18.16 million last weekend was worth €23 million, while in December it was worth €25.25 million, €2.5 million more than now. Because the negotiations included payment in the Great Britain pound, Mamic realized that he was losing on the exchange rate. He is losing on Eduardo da Silva while Arsenal makes payment in pounds while he is not losing anything on the Corluka deal because payment was agreed in euros. Last week it was clear that Modric was sold, but it was unclear who the buyer was. Zdravko and Zoran Mamic travelled to Newcastle and met with Tony Jimenez and Dennis Wise, former football player and the current Executive Director of Newcastle. They met with British billionaire Mike Ashley for the first time, the owner of Newcastle, as well as Kevin Keegan, former football star who is now the manager of Newcastle. It was actually Keegan who was impressed with Modric, and to charm the Mamic brothers, he reminded them of the first half of the 1980’s when he played for Hamburger SV. At that time, the coach for HSV was Branko Zebec, and Ivan Buljan played, and to impress the Mamic brothers he portrayed his knowledge of Croatia curse words. The jokes and cursing did not change the standpoint of Newcastle or the Mamic brothers. Newcastle continued to offer €23 million, while the Mamic brothers requested more and rejected Newcastle. At that moment, Zdravko Mamic thought that he would have a calm weekend and that he would receive a new offer on Monday. On Friday night, at 22.30, after jogging near Tuskanac, he came home and had a shower. At that moment, his brother Zoran called him and said: “Daniel Levy is at the Westin, come quickly, he wants to finish the negotiations for Modric.” That was the peak of the waiting game because Levy was quite nervous, knowing that Zdravko Mamic refused not only his offer but offers from other clubs several times. That is why he said, immediately upon arrival: “I’ve come to Zagreb to take Luka Modric to Tottenham. If I don’t do that now, we will never meet again.” That was Levy’s blitzkrieg, who came to Zagreb in complete secrecy without any other clubs knowing. Mamic sat across from him and began to talk endlessly in his own style, and then became quiet at one moment. He realized that he spoke too much, that he was not concentrated and that Levy could win their waiting game. That is why he told Levy: “I am talking too much; why don’t you talk now.” Levy offered €23 million compensation and €2 million per year for Mamic. Mamic accepted and Modric agreed, even though it was clear that Newcastle would most likely raise their offer this week. Mamic had insider information that Liverpool wanted to get involved in the game, because before the first match of the Champions League between Arsenal and Liverpool, Rafael Benitez, Liverpool’s coach, said that he wanted Modric. However, Mamic no longer wanted to wait and does not want to consider now ˝what could have been.˝ The contract with Tottenham has bonuses: by the end of the year, Dinamo will play a friendly match in London against Tottenham, and by the end of 2009, Tottenham will play an away match in Zagreb and Dinamo will profit from television rights. Modric is the highest paid player which Tottenham has signed. It is not too much for 71-year old Joseph Lewis, whose company ENIC owns Tottenham. He was ranked 369th on the 2007 Forbes List of Richest people, and according to Sunday Times research, he is the 16th richest Brit. He became rich in the 1980’s through foreign currency trade, and he is considered once of the world’s greatest currency traders alongside George Soros. He increased his riches through a restaurant chain, as well as through his purchases of various football clubs and banks. Ten days ago, the Bear Stearns bank went bankrupt where he held 9.4% shares and it is believed that he lost .15 billion, nearly half of his estate, which Forbes estimated at .5 billion. The Sunday Times reports that his estate is valued at £2.8 billion. Not bad for a man who was a high school dropout at 15 and who was employed at his father’s restaurant. Night flight from Zagreb to London Tottenham’s President Daniel Levy decided to personally end the ten month battle for Luka Modric last week, which was ongoing between leading European football clubs. He boarded his Cessna Citation, flew to Zagreb, and signed a contract with Mamic following difficult negotiations.

i hop its him and dawson when we play you! dawson always has a holocaust against us, and anton is just plain bollocks It gets worse. Fella on the forum has been told that Anton has his medical later today. I know he'd only be there to make up the squad numbers but even so, Ramos must see something in him, but I'm struggling to think what. Ramos can prove me wrong but right now I'm seriously underwhelmed. The better news is that a Spaniard will be having a medical at the same time, probably Diego Capel or Daniel Jarque, both are high on JR's wishlist. Isn't Jarque another centre back? Anyway ... I know it's trendy to label Anton a crap player, but I'm not so sure he's as terrible as people make out. He is just a typical young , immature and cocky guy. I think he has abilty though, and in a more serious, structured and demanding setup I think he could still turn out to be a good player, especially as he becomes a little older and matures a bit. West Ham have been an absolute mess for a while now and it just seems the leadership from the managers has been poor. Yep, Jarque's a CB. With Dawson, Rocha and Kaboul on their way out, the CB options would be King, Woody, Jarque and Ferdinand. Not the best options in my view, though I do agree with your comments about West Ham. They bring through good youngsters who do well then start to stagnate after a while. The list of those that have moved on and given a fresh lease of life to their careers is almost endless. A bit more disappointing news is that Jefferson Farfan says it was a straight choice between Spurs and Schalke before opting for the German club. Shame, because I do rate him highly and the reported €10m was a bargain imho.

No idea to be honest. I didn't vouch for its accuracy, it didn't make a lot of sense for him to agree personal terms with Spurs in January to then decide he'll be playing 3rd fiddle behind Berbatov and Keane. Surely more logical to think that he won't be playing much so not interested in moving there without agreeing personal terms.

This has been posted on a Spurs forum, really got no idea how accurate it may be. Just passing it on .................... Got a bit of ITK off a mate who was out drinking with Peter Crouch the other day. -Looks like he's pretty much definitely going to leave, most probably to Portsmouth or Villa. Newcastle have bid for him as well, and Spurs agreed terms with him in January but he didn't fancy his chances of getting in ahead of Berby or Keane. Thinks he is most likely to go to Portsmouth and that's his preferred choice, but nothing concrete has happened yet so all parties are playing it by ear. He apparently likes the idea of playing for Portsmouth to be alongside Defoe, who he apparently wouldn't shut up about. Reckons he's the best finisher he's ever seen. -Loves it at Liverpool, says the club and everything about it is top notch - just hates not playing regularly and doesn't think that situation will change any time soon. Rates Benitez as a manager and a guy, but doesn't think Benitez will ever see him as anything other than a squad player. Interestingly he says that Torres isn't particularly popular at the club - respected for what he's done this season but apparently he moans whenever things don't go his way and if he disagrees with a decision by Benitez regarding him (subbing or being rested basically) he just ignores everyone for a couple of days and generally comes across like a bit of a baby (Crouch's words). Also, my mate says that Crouchy is a top bloke and is even more ridiculously tall in the flesh. And also Crouchy said the nachos story isn't true

i hop its him and dawson when we play you! dawson always has a holocaust against us, and anton is just plain bollocks It gets worse. Fella on the forum has been told that Anton has his medical later today. I know he'd only be there to make up the squad numbers but even so, Ramos must see something in him, but I'm struggling to think what. Ramos can prove me wrong but right now I'm seriously underwhelmed. The better news is that a Spaniard will be having a medical at the same time, probably Diego Capel or Daniel Jarque, both are high on JR's wishlist.

Spurs very interested in signing Anton. Jeez, I know Dawson is no great shakes but mini Ferdinand is signifantly worse imho. He's quicker than Dawson but that's not surprising, everyone's quicker than Dawson!

That'll be the final figure, not the initial payment. Spurs signed Leigh Mills from Swindon for "£1m" but the initial payment was £50k, another £100k when he signed a professional contract, and assorted add-ons after that for debut, appearances, international honours etc etc. I would guess that Newcastle's offer is along those lines.

It was well reported at the time, it was mentioned 3 posts before yours in fact. As he's a multi-billionaire, losing half a billion must be annoying but I would guess that it's not a catastrophe. As I'm not a multi-billionaire, I'm unable to judge!

What's the source for this rubbish? Stoke and QPR are squabbling him, Stoke are thinking about increasing their bid to £1.5m. If they sign him, will anyone seriously believe that Newcastle missed out??

Sky saying Alves going for £23m. Milan bid for Berbatov 'in the low 20's'. Turned down as Levy wants more.

Posted by Butcher on Spurs Community: Lennon and Quaresma I'm a Liverpool fan but have heard from a source within your great club that you put an 18m bid in for Quaresma some days ago. Apparently Porto surprisingly said that it wasn't too far away from their valuation but that they wouldn't be listening to offers until after the Euro's. The same source also informed me that Quaresma and Porto are aware of two other declared suitors : One top Italian team and a top premiership side - believed to be Liverpool (my team). The same guy has also told me that you lot are willing to let Lennon go at the right price and that Newcastle have made contact - and are mulling over a 12m bid (sounds too much to me). This same guy told me mid-may (posted on here) that Spurs were in talks with Barca about Dos Santos - although the fee he quoted was way out. Good luck chaps. Probably not a lot of truth in it, don't believe for a minute that Spurs are bidding for Quaresma. Liverpool are wanting a RW and Newcastle have enquired about Lennon before. The definites are Lennon can go if the right offer comes along and one bid has been received (don't know who from) which wasn't enough. Just passing on what the scouser said.

All the major Spanish media (AS, Marca, Sport) are all going with Dani Alves to Barcelona. Price varies between €30-32m.

There's been no contact, not even a preliminary enquiry asking about his availability etc. The article was written by the chief Everton correspondent at the Echo and billed as an exclusive on the back page, there will be something in it. I'm not disputing what your saying tbh, I think Hudd could fit in well. I know Ramos likes his skills but overall doesn't rate Hudd enough to want to keep him and I can understand why. I must admit though, I rate Hudd highly and would prefer that he didn't go. He hasn't made the England squad by playing crap, he has a lot of ability. But Ramos is building a fast attacking side and Hudd doesn't have pace and doesn't have a crunching tackle to fill a holding MF role. Zokora, by contrast, has more pace and has a tackle but not the technical skills, but the attributes he has got will probably keep him in the squad but not the team. For a team put together by Jol, Hudd could have stayed and done a good job. For a Ramos team Hudd I can't see Hudd being accommodated. But at the present time Boro and Villa are the only two to have made contact, Villa put in a bid which was turned down out of hand and Boro simply enquired. That's as much as I know.

There's been no contact, not even a preliminary enquiry asking about his availability etc.

If we start the new season with what we have now I would very much agree with you. I think there are still another 4 or 5 still be signed up.

sorry to bring this up again but i can se this being something that put Spurs in a better position than us to sign modric. Aye, my understanding was that there was a sell on clause, and if a bid of so much was made within the first few seasons, Spurs have to accept it with Dinamo/Barcelona keeping a larger percentage of the profits. For example: Modric, Spurs sign for £16m. Club X bid £20m. Spurs have to accept. Spurs recoup £16m, Dinamo get £4m. Therefore Dinamo get £20m which is more than our £18m bid. dos Santos,Spurs sign for £6m. Club X bid £10m. Spurs have to accept. Spurs recoup £8m, Barcelona get £2m. Except you seem to have pulled the bit where Spurs have to accept a bid of a certain amount out of thin air. The sell-on clauses with the Barca deal are documented on their site, but there's no mention of a minimum clause in his Spurs contract. Spot on. James you said something about a minimum release clause before, NOT a sell on clause. I've said both before. Unless Modric and dos Santos choose to stay for X number of years, you don't own them and are pretty much a shop window club. Spurs do not have to accept any bid unless it is acceptable to Spurs. Any involvement by a third party, whether it be Barcelona or Joorabchian, controlling the player's contract, isn't allowed under FA rules. There is a 20% sell on clause for the first 2 years, there is a 10% sell on clause for the 3rd-5th years.

Not exactly transfer news as such, news on Chelsea's search for a new manager as given on SpursOd. The fella who provided it I accept as 100% genuine, he does know someone high up at Chelsea. The Chavs news I have is that Roman is getting more and more irritated by the number and frequency of rejections he is getting...... my mate said whatever you have read in the papers about who has turned them down - Ancelotti, SGE, the managers of Roma, Fiorentina, Juve...... you can add another 3 or 4 names to that list where enquiries have been made and rejected out of hand.... Hiddink is one of those.... My mate joked they could end up with Allardyce if this carries on....... Someone on a Man Utd site was saying Hughes had said no to them, wanting City instead. Possible I suppose, wouldn't have to move house by going to City.