leffe186

While we're on the subject, thank you for that sound affects find. Cracking.

It's the viewing choice of real men, tonight.

How did he not see the right back ? He was playing him so far onside that he wasn't even in his line of vision! I'm still bitter about that Adebayor decision at the weekend though, so I guess I'm acutely sensitized...

Terrible, terrible linesman decision (against Brum).

I really thought you meant the Findlay miss, and spent ages trying to work out the simile.

Cracking game this. Bit like a game of Sunday parks football, mind.

Too high or too low?

Fucking brilliant. Didn't expect that. Pity Sunderland have Bendtner up front,otherwise that's a great set of results.

Maybe he should knock him down a few pegs on the game then, the daft c***, since he's tipped as 'the next Jairzinho'. The next Jairzinho? It's been forty bloody years. Surely there's been another Jairzinho in the meantime?

Well at this level, how much does a really top class player cost? Bent went for 18M rising to 24M. Our targets are Leandro and Remy, I believe, both of whom will probably go for 20M or so, or more. The problem is that we've hit something of a financial ceiling, and the key issue is wages. When we were building the squad, we were still recouping money in sales and we had a fair few players on lowish wages. That allowed us to invest money in new transfers - successful (Modric) and unsuccessful (Bentley). Right now, we are probably at our limit as far as wages go (and with a full squad), so we have to sell to buy. It's all very well saying that we have to look at top class players, but to pay a wage of, say, 80Kpw we'd have to find that money somewhere. The next opportunity is to shift Jenas and Bentley, then probably Pav and Dos Santos (and Bassong?), but then what? Ledley and Gallas will probably free up some wages next year, but you have a whole raft of players whose wages are going to be steadily increasing (Walker, possibly Livermore, Bale, Caulker, Sandro etc etc etc) and again, that money has to come from somewhere. That's why getting shot of Smith and that Spanish guy (whose name escapes me) should allow you to bolster your squad. The consensus at Spurs is that Levy has managed to square the circle by making our contracts heavily incentivised. Our wage bill went through the roof when we got into the CL, but we believe that this was due to massive bonuses for VDV, Modric et al. Then the suspicion is that Modric's pay dropped massively (no CL money) and, of course, Chelsea can double his basic wage. In our position, like yourselves, we have to look at Blackburn, or Bolton, or Huddersfield, or the French teams who aren't PSG, because they are the wages we can afford to pay. To get a big-earning player like (half of) Adebayor, we have to sell Keane/Crouch/Palacios. There isn't that much dead wood left. It's a bit irritating to hear that we've been very lucky with injuries, when Man City have barely had any all season. Man U have been decimated, as has Arsenal's defence, but we have also lost Huddlestone, Dawson, King, Gallas, Lennon, Defoe, VDV and Sandro at various times. Against Everton, we were missing King and Gallas at CB and Sandro and Parker at DCM - thankfully Livermore stepped up (and Everton were toothless). 'arry has made a couple of strange decisions regarding rotation (we just cannot fathom why he never tries Kranjcar in VDV's position), but the decision to play comedy sides in the Europa seems to have been vindicated. As others have said, our first XI actually haven't played that many games. VDV has played 17. Van Persie has played 23. I get it, obviously, but I will say this. If we are still there or thereabouts in the last couple of games, surely it is a massive incentive for clubs like yourselves. It shows that it is possible, even if you don't have a sugar daddy or massive matchday/merchandising income, and even if Fair Play is nothing but a pipe dream. Without a new stadium it will be impossible for us to sustain that success next year (competing in CL and the League? Not a chance), but it will have been worth it.

I still think that the game in 85-86 when we beat you 5-1 at ours was one of the best performances I have ever seen. We could have scored 20. Have the distinct feeling you had George Reilly up front /askyourdad. Really young Gazza on the bench too. Actually had Hughton and Roeder on the pitch too!

I still think that the game in 85-86 when we beat you 5-1 at ours was one of the best performances I have ever seen. We could have scored 20. Have the distinct feeling you had George Reilly up front /askyourdad. Really young Gazza on the bench too.

Oh I agree, but that doesn't mean the loan system shouldn't be completely overhauled. I genuinely believe that allowing loans in the same division is fundamentally wrong, whether it's Adebayor or, say, Steven Caulker (Spurs to Swansea). In Adebayor's case, not only are we benefitting at the potential expense of City's rivals, but City are not having to deal with the full ramifications of doling out ludicrous contracts willy-nilly. They also have Roque Santa Cruz and others on loan - if they were forced to keep Adebayor and Santa Cruz (as they were, say, over 21) and pay their wages that would at least make them think twice about stockpiling. Caulker is more plausible as a loanee as he is young, but, again, he is giving Swansea an advantage against our rivals. If youngsters were still allowed out on loan, but to the division below, I can live with that. As well as stockpiling players in general, I would like to see bigger clubs restricted in their ability to stockpile younger players. Arsenal and Spurs each currently have 10 or more players out on loan, of whom at least four for each club are 22 or older. The lower divisions are staffed by a huge number of loanees from bigger clubs. Restrictions on numbers of loans - even for those under-21 - might redress this imbalance a bit.

Indeed. Transfer windows were a daft idea. Under what premise were they first conceived? Was it some bullshit about helping the 'smaller clubs'? Remember one of the biggest 'benefits' being that flush clubs couldn't just go out and splash money at the first sign of trouble, wasn't it? Aye, great help, that. Well, yeah, it is. I know they're annoying in as much as the media go bonkers and everybody just makes shit up for a month (or a summer) but I much prefer them to a free-for-all. As of Feb 1st, you guys know that you have Ba for the season, we know we have Modric, Blackburn know they have Hoilett etc etc. Lower division teams can relax a bit too. We get annoyed every Jan, but were it not for the window it would be all year round. Surely the idea that it forms some protection for less "flush" clubs is actually legitimate? I'm far more annoyed at the loan system and its abuses. I would rather see intra-division loans banned, restrictions on the number of loans, restrictions on the age of loanees etc etc.

I'll be glad to get it out of the way. It's too easy to look at the table and think "oooh, win that game in hand and look where we'd be". I think it will be a tough game. Both of us have a few injuries - Everton may have more missing but ours are all central and defensive/defensive midfield.

Put 141 in front of the number and they'll not know who has sent the fax.

I think we need to know which way the Spurs Forum Council of Elders has adjudged this rumour. What say they, MJ? Or are they yet to announce their judgement? The Leffe Council of Me judges it to be complete made-up bollocks, courtesy of the Metro. They have form, are not fans of Spurs and the story itself was actually about Redknapp talking about Samba. They just make it up, frankly. I'm afraid I absolutely refuse to believe that. It can't be not true. You planted it! I should have known.

I think we need to know which way the Spurs Forum Council of Elders has adjudged this rumour. What say they, MJ? Or are they yet to announce their judgement? The Leffe Council of Me judges it to be complete made-up bollocks, courtesy of the Metro. They have form, are not fans of Spurs and the story itself was actually about Redknapp talking about Samba. They just make it up, frankly.

Aye, this. A ball to the face of Dalglish wouldn't go amiss Hope he does the old Charlie George sliding double-two-fingered salute to the kop. And gets away with it.

Don't forget his relentless pro-Liverpool bias.

This is the main question for me here. If Ba's available for less than 7m, why would Redknapp leak the info to the media so that everyone else could then compete for the signature? Makes no sense atall unless hes either a complete moron or not actually interested in signing Ba. Either that or he thinks just registering known interest will turn Ba's head somehow, he doesnt need to do that publicly though. Its also obvious potentially bigger clubs than Tottenham would become interested now hes done that. Doesnt add up. Agreed. It does rather suggest that he simply can't keep his mouth shut and will try to answer any question posed to him.

Wasn't it in response to a question from a journalist specifically saying "Did you know about Ba's release clause?" or something along those lines? Not that that excuses him from responding, or doesn't mean that he wasn't in cahoots with the journalist, but this always seems to be the way. Someone asks him a direct question and he can't help himself. I wish he'd shut up, but I genuinely believe that he hasn't always got an agenda. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't - some of his comments over Modric were ill-considered and could only have been counter-productive. Levy was livid with him.

I assume only for training/keeping fit purposes? Or is it a loan? He was at Spurs for a couple of weeks for training/keeping fit purposes.