leffe186

I'd say that was distinctly possible TBH.

Honestly, us finishing third and you guys fourth would be wonderful. I would love to see the aftermath.

As usual from swissramble, well-written and can't really argue with much of it - although don't forget he's an Arsenal fan. The only qualifier is that you simply cannot argue against what he has achieved in the last couple of years. The question for us at Spurs has to be, who can we bring in who would have the same success. Levy has to get a lot of credit for building the squad, but many of the players have clearly thrived under 'arry's apparent laissez-faire attitude towards tactics (I'd argue Modric, VDV, Bale in particular.)

Actually, that's a fair point. Which other club/site would do what RAWK did? One thing I don't understand - a few people have said that he should only get sacked if he gets a custodial sentence. That sounds like you're saying that it doesn't matter if he's guilty or not, but does matter if he gets put away and can't manage the team. Or do you think that by getting put away it automatically becomes a grave enough offence to warrant the boot? It will be interesting to see how the media treats him afterwards. Weirdly, if he stays on but loses his media jobs and shuts up a bit more, he might actually become a better manager.

TBH I haven't looked into it too much because I guessed it was going to be open-and-shut, didn't think it would go to court otherwise. As someone said, it looks like Storrie has 'fessed up. We're still at the stage where we've only heard the prosecution, so I'm interested to hear what the defense will be! There have only been two questions for me - what sentence he's likely to get (really anybody's guess, so nothing I can say about that) and what Spurs are likely to do. I trust that Levy has got a plan in place for a replacement if need be, particularly as there is always a chance that 'arry will decide to walk away. My gut instinct is that we'll stick by 'arry inasmuch as we'll not sack him. Thank Christ Levy has retained control over transfers etc. I suspect that Levy and 'arry have been having conversations about the tax stuff from day one. If 'arry does stay, then Levy clearly has the upper hand in contract negotiations/transfer dealings etc.

yeh true but the audacity to include us in his wheeling dealing is just out of order. no deal 'arry The audacity to ask another Premiership club if they're interested in a player you want to sell? You really don't like Spurs, do you!

I was there when you guys first sung the Heather Mills song. Magic. The response was the first bit of noise Arsenal had made all day.

Mike, are Americans fully aware of what an utter cunt he has always been?

*sigh*

Well, shit. Thought we'd done them up like a kipper when Bale broke, but there you go. Silly penalty to give away. I can see why some might want to give Balotelli the benefit of the doubt over the stamp, but I think they'd be wrong. For me it was pretty clear cut, it's just that the ref didn't see it. Disappointing not to get either that or the Lescott swipe, but them's the breaks. I thought we had done enough to get a draw, but am still pretty proud of us. It really pointed up how much we miss having proper back-up for Adebayor.

We get sixth, Liverpool get fourth. Not unreasonable, but I liked this quote: "[Dalglish's] simple presence will act as a unifying and galvanising force at a club that has wasted too much time on off-the-field acrimony in recent years." You could almost see that as prescient, with careful reading.

It's the Mirror, man. Why so sensitive? It's almost certainly bollocks, or Levy pissing about, do you seriously think we'd say no if they offered us 125M? And why say "First Modric"? You mean you hate us for not giving our best players up to the big boys? I'm not doubting that you hate Spurs, but if those are your reasons then they are very silly ones.

Wasn't someone telling me about 'arry's friends in the media mafia and the protection he gets? The Mail has been the driving force in all the Modric stuff from the beginning. Still, after Carrick and Berba, they'll be offering 70M for someone next.

Agreed. For a while I hated them more than Arsenal. Said this before, but when I was a kid in North London you were Spurs or Arsenal, or *spit* Liverpool. My best mate at Primary was Orient, my best at Secondary was West Ham, but that was about it. I only knew one Man U fan - can even tell you his name (Tasos Anastasiou). It would be worth them beating City in the semi if they go on to fuck it up in the final.

That would be great tbh. Sure Arsenal had something like 80 regestered players last season, you could probably get 3 teams out of that. Comes back to the loan system again. Cap the number of loans clubs can send out/receive (as well as none in the same division, none over 21 etc etc) and you may see the squad sizes come down. Kids will be faced with a choice - do they back themselves to fight their way through at a club like, say, Arsenal, or do they move to (or stay with) a smaller team, with more opportunities to play.

The thing is, I think many people would agree that the standard of player would probably improve. The problem is that a unique aspect of British football - the vast number of independent local teams being watched by appreciable crowds, all with an opportunity to climb the ladder - would be jeopardized. It's a choice, do we want to see the big clubs get bigger and lose a unique aspect of our game, but possibly see an improvement in the playing level? I think there's far too much to lose.

You really think we're going to sell both bale and modric if we get in the champions league? Seems more like wishful thinking. Without Harry's mafia media protection it'll be a lot harder to keep them regardless of where you finish. Soon as he's gone the press will love tearing you apart. If Modric had his way he'd be playing for Chelsea right now and if Barca come in for Bale he'll want to go. Yeah, that media protection really helped us out over Modric this summer. The thing is, I agree with you over Harry leaving, but for different reasons. His style of management seems to be perfect for the players and team we have - VDV for one seems to revel in a freer, less tactically restricted role - and it's hard to see who could come in and do the same job. Adebayor will almost certainly leave with or without Harry, but it may just be that if we get into the CL we could negotiate a deal with Citeh that means an extended loan, with us paying more of his wages. For argument's sake, if we get into the CL but Bale and Modric are off, then we're a team with CL football and an enormous amount of money available. That's not such a bad scenario - particularly if Bale is an overrated one-trick pony (which I have heard plenty of times on here). It's a tricky situation, but as you well know, unless you have insanely wealthy backers or a massive stadium (or both) then you're going to have to live on a bit of a knife edge. Well yeah, sometimes it is right to cash in on the flavour of the month, just look at Carroll. Wish we'd had sold Dyer, Bellamy and Jenas for the mental fees Manu, Chelsea and Roma were apparently willing to part with. It could fund the next manager's rebuild, all well getting rid of fringe players, but if you are operating at your max then it hardly makes a difference, not when you are wanting to sign big players to cement your position in the CL should you get it. Who would you sell first out of interest? (if you had to (Bale/Modric)) If you're operating at your max, then getting rid of fringe players is pretty much the only way to make a difference. You have to bring kids through too, and employ a wage policy that is heavy on bonuses (and thus a failure to, say, get into the CL does not bankrupt you). I'm not sure what people expect Spurs to do. We have enough excess baggage right now to generate the extra one or two players we need, but the squad will be sorely stretched next season. I think we're able to pay 15M or so for a key player, and right now that key player is either a forward or a young keeper. Krul fits the bill, so that's why there is so much speculation. I think you would be mad to sell. I think he is at the level where you build a team on him that lasts 10 years. I also think that he is perfectly happy at Newcastle. The only questions are whether we get into the CL next year, and who our manager is. They are the only things that might sway him, as you are going to be paying comparable wages to us. As for Bale or Modric, well I genuinely don't know. If you put a gun to my head I would probably say Modric, as we can still field a damn strong, balanced midfield without him. I honestly think that both are equally important.

Yeah, I know, but they still have to get him (or as much of him as they can) off the books. They may think that we are far less likely to challenge next year if we have CL football to worry about - no more comedy European sides. Edit: @Unbelievable

You really think we're going to sell both bale and modric if we get in the champions league? Seems more like wishful thinking. Without Harry's mafia media protection it'll be a lot harder to keep them regardless of where you finish. Soon as he's gone the press will love tearing you apart. If Modric had his way he'd be playing for Chelsea right now and if Barca come in for Bale he'll want to go. Yeah, that media protection really helped us out over Modric this summer. The thing is, I agree with you over Harry leaving, but for different reasons. His style of management seems to be perfect for the players and team we have - VDV for one seems to revel in a freer, less tactically restricted role - and it's hard to see who could come in and do the same job. Adebayor will almost certainly leave with or without Harry, but it may just be that if we get into the CL we could negotiate a deal with Citeh that means an extended loan, with us paying more of his wages. For argument's sake, if we get into the CL but Bale and Modric are off, then we're a team with CL football and an enormous amount of money available. That's not such a bad scenario - particularly if Bale is an overrated one-trick pony (which I have heard plenty of times on here). It's a tricky situation, but as you well know, unless you have insanely wealthy backers or a massive stadium (or both) then you're going to have to live on a bit of a knife edge.

I'd dearly love you to take me through the figures that have led you to that conclusion. My take on it: We are at maximum capacity for wages and players. Thus, we have to sell to buy. Selling/releasing players like Jenas, Adebayor, Pav, Dos Santos and Bentley (and Bassong?) this summer/January would free up wages, squad room and transfer fees for a new forward (or two) and a goalkeeper. Hopefully we will have CL money, which would probably be swallowed up by bonuses and a short-term solution (like Gallas was). We have built our squad, which now needs only minor tweaks and hopefully the odd kid coming through (Livermore, Caulker, Naughton?) to refresh it. I would expect us to be able to splash out 10-15M this January if the right player is available to go straight into the first team, which essentially means a really good forward (presumably from abroad) or a really good young keeper. We don't have a burning need to upgrade any other positions.

Why? Gomes has been sidelined and Friedel is maybe good for one more year at a push. Krul could be the keeper for ten years, as he will probably be for you. I think Levy will sanction what's needed for what's needed, within our usual parameters. Why didn't you get someone in last summer? I mean someone a bit longer term than Friedel? The thing is, last summer we still thought Gomes was number one, and Friedel was just coming in as extra cover. If anything, we expected a younger keeper to come in and challenge Gomes, which would have meant someone less established than Krul. I guess 'arry had made his mind up about Gomes, and Friedel being available for nothing meant that he didn't have to throw a younger keeper straight in. I'm not sure who else would have been available.

I was actually cheering for us.

Thank you. Was starting to wonder what people had been smoking. Would be very disappointed if he left....unless they paid us 15M for him, of course. Wh yon Earth would you be dissapointed? He never ever gets a game or even comes close. Strange statement. He's great, and should be getting more game time. Pav does get games, and I'd be bloody ecstatic if he left. Is it really so strange? Don't forget that Levy has more of a say in those dealings. The thing is, we ask the same questions about the money we're asking for deadwood like Dos Santos and Pav, yet we also hear applause for the money Levy claws back. 10M rising to 12M for Crouch? 6-8M for Palacios? 5M for Hutton? We even made our money back on Bent. Some work out, some don't, but at least he's consistent. Players don't often leave Spurs for free (although I suspect Bentley will end up doing so). Of the four other players you mention, three are ones we want to keep - particularly as we may be in the CL next year. Only Jenas is obviously surplus to requirements.

Would be very disappointed if he left....unless they paid us 15M for him, of course.

Just watching an FA Cup history thing on Fox Soccer (in the US), and they showed the Kevin Moran sending off in the final. I remember the uproar at the time, but watching it today it seems like such a blatant red card. Fair play to the ref. An early example of Man U players manhandling the ref too.