Spurs sign Luka Modric

[Teasy]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support.  Having said that I agree he looks class in the Euros, but he won't get the same sort of time or space in the EPL.  I would much rather have Raphael VDV who really looked the business against Italy.  Add Turan to the squad as well and we could really be going places.  Having said that its all just pie in the sky.  None of this will ever happen under Ashley.  He had to stump up an extra £100m to clear the debts and he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen again which means only buying players out of money generated by the club from ticket sales etc and selling before buying.  He is taking this club backwards with his pennypinching  ( i.e. making the players pay for their own club suits! whats that all about?) and we will have the healthiest bank balance in the Championship if he doesn't get his finger out.  Rant over!

 

How can you talk about the Modric transfer and then accuse Ashley of penny pinching and forcing us to sell before we can buy?    Did we sell someone for £16 million recently to fund the bid for Modric or are you talking total s***?

[TRon]

Tought he was immense last night. Seems like a class player.

 

He hasn't looked 'immense' to me so far. Nice and tidy passes, mostly sideways, and strolling around the centre of the pitch at a leisurley pace from what I've seen.

 

I think he could have been a bit more direct, so aye I agree. Wouldn't write him off though until we see how good he is at running at people. Arshavin did this in the UEFA Cup Final, it makes a big difference.

 

 

 

Well I was expecting to see him running at people more than he has so far, but he has played very safe so far. I do get the feeling he's an intelligent player though - plenty of football nous as madras would put it - so there may be more to come.

[Rich]

He looks very good to me, like, considering this is his first major championship. Took a lot of bottle to stick that penalty home in the first game, too.

 

Just looks a very solid, technical player, who isn't scared to put his foot in despite his size and who has a bit of zip about him.

 

Could have seen him at Arsenal, easily, and that's high praise indeed.

[Tooj]

Seems to have been playing a lot deeper than I expected him to be doing so.

[Rich]

Seems to have been playing a lot deeper than I expected him to be doing so.

 

Same here. He's the smallest central midfielder I can ever recall seeing.

[Guest kingdawson]

I'm glad that others can actually see that he's playing a deeper role than he usually does.

[Skeletor]

I'm glad that others can actually see that he's playing a deeper role than he usually does.

 

I feel so proud for you.

[Guest gbolem]

Where's the poll option for "Yes he's quality but when if we were to sign him we'd turn him into a big steaming pile of turd, so for the good of the footballing world it's excellent news that he went elsewhere"?

[Guest meursault1]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support. 

 

LOL!

 

meanwhile back on planet earth.....

[NE5]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support. 

 

LOL!

 

meanwhile back on planet earth.....

 

On planet earth.........

 

there was a football club that had "supporters" that slated the club for not buying the best players available and thinking its an automatic right to play in the Champions League, Europe and qualifying for the UEFA Cup was a sort of indignity

 

Now we have supporters that think we should be 2nd fiddle to clubs such as Spurs (qualified for europe less than 50% of what we have done over the last 10-15 years) to be the better club.

 

Its either a sign of lower standards adopted in the last year, or a sign of someone who has absolutely no idea of the footballl club he says he supports.

 

You decide.

 

This could be interesting.

 

 

[Dave]

Or boring as fuck.

[NE5]

Or boring as fuck.

 

I agree with Brazilian Bob, Dave.

 

I take it you don't ?

 

 

[Adam]

When VDV signs no one will care about Modric 

[sicsfingeredmong]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support.  Having said that I agree he looks class in the Euros, but he won't get the same sort of time or space in the EPL.  I would much rather have Raphael VDV who really looked the business against Italy.  Add Turan to the squad as well and we could really be going places.  Having said that its all just pie in the sky.  None of this will ever happen under Ashley.  He had to stump up an extra £100m to clear the debts and he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen again which means only buying players out of money generated by the club from ticket sales etc and selling before buying.  He is taking this club backwards with his pennypinching  ( i.e. making the players pay for their own club suits! whats that all about?) and we will have the healthiest bank balance in the Championship if he doesn't get his finger out.  Rant over!

 

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 shite.

 

 

[Guest justin99.]

just show them the movie Goal.

 

and tell them "that could be you"

[mattypnufc]

is this thread still going?

 

[Guest SpinTheBlackCircle]

Modric is the new Silvio Maric

[James]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support.  Having said that I agree he looks class in the Euros, but he won't get the same sort of time or space in the EPL.  I would much rather have Raphael VDV who really looked the business against Italy.  Add Turan to the squad as well and we could really be going places.  Having said that its all just pie in the sky.  None of this will ever happen under Ashley.  He had to stump up an extra £100m to clear the debts and he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen again which means only buying players out of money generated by the club from ticket sales etc and selling before buying.  He is taking this club backwards with his pennypinching  ( i.e. making the players pay for their own club suits! whats that all about?) and we will have the healthiest bank balance in the Championship if he doesn't get his finger out.  Rant over!

 

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 shite.

 

 

 

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.

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

Luka who?

[Guest Slippery Sam]

Tought he was immense last night. Seems like a class player.

 

He hasn't looked 'immense' to me so far. Nice and tidy passes, mostly sideways, and strolling around the centre of the pitch at a leisurley pace from what I've seen.

 

Exactly how I've been thinking about him. He reminds me a lot of Ray 'the crab' Wilkins in that he plays a lot of easy sideways passes.

 

Following Croatia attacks, and the opposition counter-attacking, I notice that Modric seems to be one of the last ones back in his half to protect the midfield. Keep an eye out for this in future games to see if it continues.

 

I wish this didn't sound like sour grapes, but I guess it does. All in all, he went to Spurs and didn't sign for us so I guess it is inevitable for me to want him to fail spectacularly in England Oh, and he's almost as ugly as Eric Gates!

 

 

[sicsfingeredmong]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support.  Having said that I agree he looks class in the Euros, but he won't get the same sort of time or space in the EPL.  I would much rather have Raphael VDV who really looked the business against Italy.  Add Turan to the squad as well and we could really be going places.  Having said that its all just pie in the sky.  None of this will ever happen under Ashley.  He had to stump up an extra £100m to clear the debts and he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen again which means only buying players out of money generated by the club from ticket sales etc and selling before buying.  He is taking this club backwards with his pennypinching  ( i.e. making the players pay for their own club suits! whats that all about?) and we will have the healthiest bank balance in the Championship if he doesn't get his finger out.  Rant over!

 

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

 

 

 

 

[Guest Heneage]

Get wise to deal with the beirns. Keegan the big player.s

[James]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support.  Having said that I agree he looks class in the Euros, but he won't get the same sort of time or space in the EPL.  I would much rather have Raphael VDV who really looked the business against Italy.  Add Turan to the squad as well and we could really be going places.  Having said that its all just pie in the sky.  None of this will ever happen under Ashley.  He had to stump up an extra £100m to clear the debts and he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen again which means only buying players out of money generated by the club from ticket sales etc and selling before buying.  He is taking this club backwards with his pennypinching  ( i.e. making the players pay for their own club suits! whats that all about?) and we will have the healthiest bank balance in the Championship if he doesn't get his finger out.  Rant over!

 

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.

[OzzieMandias]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support.  Having said that I agree he looks class in the Euros, but he won't get the same sort of time or space in the EPL.  I would much rather have Raphael VDV who really looked the business against Italy.  Add Turan to the squad as well and we could really be going places.  Having said that its all just pie in the sky.  None of this will ever happen under Ashley.  He had to stump up an extra £100m to clear the debts and he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen again which means only buying players out of money generated by the club from ticket sales etc and selling before buying.  He is taking this club backwards with his pennypinching  ( i.e. making the players pay for their own club suits! whats that all about?) and we will have the healthiest bank balance in the Championship if he doesn't get his finger out.  Rant over!

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

So much verbal diahorrea, so little knowledge of how the current set-up actually works, or is supposed to work.

[Martin Lol]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  When Spurs come to SJP, Modric will see the stadium and the support and he will know deep down that he made the wrong choice in going to Spurs with their crappy old stadium and average support.  Having said that I agree he looks class in the Euros, but he won't get the same sort of time or space in the EPL.  I would much rather have Raphael VDV who really looked the business against Italy.  Add Turan to the squad as well and we could really be going places.  Having said that its all just pie in the sky.  None of this will ever happen under Ashley.  He had to stump up an extra £100m to clear the debts and he clearly has no intention of allowing that to happen again which means only buying players out of money generated by the club from ticket sales etc and selling before buying.  He is taking this club backwards with his pennypinching  ( i.e. making the players pay for their own club suits! whats that all about?) and we will have the healthiest bank balance in the Championship if he doesn't get his finger out.  Rant over!

 

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.