The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - PINCH & A PUNCH 1st June 2013

[absolute bobbins]

Fair point. Im still hoping that the interview that was supposedly on BarcaTV (David Villa) was true. Villa basically said that there is an offer from Spurs on the table, and he is interested and that it is possible. Only seen it on twatter though.
We have offered the most money apparently though.. (to villa)

I'm 99.9% sure that interview is bollocks, the entire club were more interested in Abidal last night, howeverMundo and elsewhere in Spain have no idea what Axel Torres was talking about on talkSPORT yesterday when he mentioned the now widely reported pre contract.

A story just popped up on Mundo about Villa stating that the rumour about the pre contract originated in England, not Spain. It began with Torres talking to Mark Saggers and Brian Moore which leads me to (hope and) it's nonsence and Torres is the Marca version of Jiggins

 

[WiganSpur]

Eder is basically Adebayor with a better first touch and a few years younger. He attacks the ball better the air as well. Seriously though, whenever I watched him it just reminded me of Adebayor. He's very good at getting other players involved, he can body up defenders on the ball as he waits to play others in and he's got a decent shot on him. He's a good player and he's been consistent for Braga.

I'm personally not a big fan of Balde. To be fair, I haven't seen him play much, but when I have he's been pretty 'meh.' He's only 22, and he does show some signs of being a quality striker, but I think I'd like to see more out of him. He can be a bit clumsy on the ball, a little selfish at times, but when he does try to actively get other players involved he can be a pretty good player. I just think he needs to develop more of the mental part of the game before being a really good striker.

Would really like Eder at Spurs

 

[PrettyColors]

I see what you're saying, and although many don't agree that they're ready, yet, i think we DO have some 'decent' depth in midfield. We have Townsend who is cover for both wings. We have Carroll and Holtby who could be cover for Dembele. We have Parker and Lluongo who could cover for Sandro, we have Livermore too but I don't personally think he's good enough.

I have high hopes for both of Carroll & Lluongo, both are more creative than Parker, Livermore, Sandro & probably even Dembele too (he's not creative, he's good at beating players). Lloungo has real devilment to his game, I like that, and Carroll has impressed pretty much everyone. Holtby has spoke of his desire (preference?) to play a deeper role, and I think AVB could well give him that chance once Holtby has fully acclimatised to PL football.

My point? Well as much as I see what you're saying, and agree to a certain extent, I don't think that strengthening the 'depth' of midfield is quite as important as strengthening the 'depth' of our striking department, of which there is none whatsoever. And why does our defence need more depth? As it stands we have 3 potential LB's (BAE, Rose, Fryers).. We have 2 RB's (Walker, Naughton) and we have the choices of Kaboul, Caulker, Vertonghen & Dawson for CB. That's without thinking of Gallas & Khumalo..

Hope I've explained myself OK, PC..

Those are good points; and I think that with Townsend back and Sigurdsson seemingly shifted wide, wing depth may not be an issue. However I can't see us relying on two 21-year-old midfielders who have never started consistently above Championship level to bring us CL. I would feel a lot more secure with a player like Diame backing them up.

Also I really don't think we have enough quality in our defense, though we do, admittedly have depth.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

If the wage bill is above £52mill per year, the club can only use £4m for wages. Hope that clears it up for you.

Nice one MJ, I think lots of members will find that info useful

 

[Only 1 Spurs]

I'm 99.9% sure that is bollocks but Mundo and elsewhere in Spain have no idea what Axel Tprres was talking about on talkSPORT yesterday when he mentioned the now widely reported pre contract.

A story just popped up on Mundo about Villa stating that the rumour about the pre contract was from England, not Spain

This Pre Contract thing popped up on Twitter either yesterday or Friday? the rumour was that Villa had the offer from Arsenal....which obviously caused a meltdown among the faithful ....great player but the pull of Champs league may well be the deciding factor hes not getting any younger although to go with the Scum because they are in the Champs league is a joke TBF as they are also rans before leaving the blocks .

 

[absolute bobbins]

This Pre Contract thing popped up on Twitter either yesterday or Friday? the rumour was that Villa had the offer from Arsenal....which obviously caused a meltdown among the faithful ....great player but the pull of Champs league may well be the deciding factor hes not getting any younger although to go with the Scum because they are in the Champs league is a joke TBF as they are also rans before leaving the blocks .

I'm still blaming a Torres, Fernando, Axel, A N Other, one of them is to blame

 

[Super Tottenham]

What's the chances of Levy ballsing up this window and us starting the season with just Adebayor and Defoe leading the line? I can just see him dragging deals to the last minute and then they collapse in the dying minutes.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

Those are good points; and I think that with Townsend back and Sigurdsson seemingly shifted wide, wing depth may not be an issue. However I can't see us relying on two 21-year-old midfielders who have never started consistently above Championship level to bring us CL. I would feel a lot more secure with a player like Diame backing them up.

Also I really don't think we have enough quality in our defense, though we do, admittedly have depth.

But the 21 year old midfielders wouldn't need to be relied upon, mate. They're there for cover, to play in cup matches, to give the likes of Sandro & Dembele the occasional rest. The core/spine of every team should remain as constant as possible. I think our core/spine should be Lloris, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Sandro, Dembele, Bale... Build the rest of the team around those guys & it should, in theory, be easier to rotate & alternate players?

As for not having enough quality in our defence, I'm not so sure mate? Kaboul, Vertonghen, Dawson, Caulker... I don't think many clubs have 4 better quality CB's? And our FB's aren't exactly what could be described as 'shabby'. Walker, although he infuriates the shit out of me, is regarded as one of the best FB's in Europe & there's a reason Real Madrid were rumoured to be watching him. Naughton just needs a run of games, but there's definitely worse FB's playing regularly in the PL. At LB we have the baffling BAE, who is just as infuriating as Walker, though capable of being as good as most LB's in the league. Rose has just had a fine season, whilst Fryers is extremely highly regarded & there was talk that, had he stayed at United, this upcoming season would have been the season he'd have been used more in the 1st team. I think there's a reason Fergie was so pissed off to lose him, and even more pissed off when we signed him 6 months later ..

It's also worth considering that Vertonghen can switch to LB if necessary and is still better there than most LB's in the league. Whilst the same can also be said about Kaboul at RB.. We do have quality mate, we just need it to all be fit at the same time. Unfortunately we support THFC, which means we will never get to experience what it's like to have a fully fit squad lol

 

[sammy j]

It's seems the club with little money will follow the fair play rule but the clubs with loads of money will just ignore it , shame really because the clubs we are trying to compete with all have loads of money

 

[Only 1 Spurs]

What's the chances of Levy ballsing up this window and us starting the season with just Adebayor and Defoe leading the line? I can just see him dragging deals to the last minute and then they collapse in the dying minutes.

After the past couple of Seasons of being in commanding positions and then suffering an alarming dip in form due to not having quality in depth in certain positions has cost us dearly i seriously cant see the Board letting this happen again we have a state of the art Training facility a great stadium to look forward to and a v.good team that is a few quality players away from regular Champions league and dare i say it silverware....IF the penny hasn't dropped for Levy and co now i fear it never will. We have a great young manager who can take us to the next level IF he has the full support of the board. With all the top 4 and Liverpool no doubt strengthening this summer we cannot afford to be left behind due to last minute deals going tits up we need to strike earlier than the last Hour on deadline day!! .

 

[ackie]

anyone?

Please don't consider me ITK. I do get some infos from Agents and other sources very high up in what they are interested but if it never comes off, people get angry and disappointed and nasty.
Never take what I post as gospel but just infos for you all.
Some comes off and others don't!
Thanks...God bless you all.

 

[ackie]

Says the same things every window, maybe the mods feel sorry for him? Or he knows kaka.

Actually I do know Kaka... so there!
hahah some people!

 

[SpursTillIDie1882]

1. maybe damiao announcement after game incase injury? make sense, or maybe only finalised if he comes through game uninjured .... .?

 

[tony0379]

1. maybe damiao announcement after game incase injury? make sense, or maybe only finalised if he comes through game uninjured .... .?

Maybe our scouts aren't quite sure, and want to take one last look at him!

 

[TottenhamLegend]

1. maybe damiao announcement after game incase injury? make sense, or maybe only finalised if he comes through game uninjured .... .?

So optimistic!

I fear for you on September 1st..

 

[spursboy2008]

Eric Dier young English Sporting Lisbon player!, could he be the one we have inquired about?

 

[gibbospurs]

Actually I do know Kaka... so there!
hahah some people!

Has he told you he is coming in on loan again?

 

[C-oops]

It's seems the club with little money will follow the fair play rule but the clubs with loads of money will just ignore it , shame really because the clubs we are trying to compete with all have loads of money

I've read reports saying that if any club does actually get banned over ffp there is a chance they could take it to the European court. Dunno if it's restriction of trade or something. Read something about the lawyer who argued Jean marc Bowman's case going on about it too... Can't see it making the blindest bit of difference. Money talks at the end of the day... The game is rigged.

 

[TottenhamLegend]

Eric Dier young English Sporting Lisbon player!, could he be the one we have inquired about?

I've played against him and he was absolutely superb. Obviously that doesn't necessarily translate to being a good signing for a top level PL team, but he has so much talent.

 

[shelfboy68]

After the past couple of Seasons of being in commanding positions and then suffering an alarming dip in form due to not having quality in depth in certain positions has cost us dearly i seriously cant see the Board letting this happen again we have a state of the art Training facility a great stadium to look forward to and a v.good team that is a few quality players away from regular Champions league and dare i say it silverware....IF the penny hasn't dropped for Levy and co now i fear it never will. We have a great young manager who can take us to the next level IF he has the full support of the board. With all the top 4 and Liverpool no doubt strengthening this summer we cannot afford to be left behind due to last minute deals going tits up we need to strike earlier than the last Hour on deadline day!! .

Really can't see levy changing his MO if I'm honest he is a big advocate of FFP and he won't spend over £ 15 Million imo on anyone this summer although we certainly need to.
We are hearing lots of info saying we will spend more this time etc but for me I can't see it and I'm sure come the end of august we will still be scratching around for a couple more players to add to the squad with levy trying to lowball other teams players.
Along with this we will probably lose the first couple of games as the side won't be settled and we will be playing catch up as normal but would most certainly loved to be proved wrong.