The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - The first of the Month Edition 1st July 2013

[kaz Hirai]

Despite our disdain at the moment for Real Madrid, in the long run, this "partnership" really can give us a leg up on some competition given that many of these talents will have a long-term look at their footballing careers and have the aspirations to one day play for them. At 17 years old, Jedvag and Halilovic will still have the opportunity to get an additional year of consistent match minutes across the Croatian League and also Champions League and in their age 18 season come over to us and hopefully build up their roles in our squad.

If this deal does happen, and it is us securing their services, it's not unrealistic to think that in 2-3 years we could have an incredibly strong RW to replace Bale and a CB that could be a sort of hybrid between a Vertonghen/Kaboul.

Even if only one of these players were to reach their potential, that player alone could realistically fetch the fee that we are paying for both. Add on top of that this deal most likely includes payments over time and just goes to build our relationship with Dinamo Zagreb (Which for us is just as important as the Real Madrid one), this would be just another huge move for the future of our club.

I see your point, but Real Madrids Feeder Club

 

[Snarfalicious]

I see your point, but Real Madrids Feeder Club

Yeah, the stigma of being a feeder club can suck. But, hopefully over time we continue to build up our trophy cabinet and international exposure which in turn can distance us from that. I don't think, at this point, there's much wrong with being a feeder club to one of, if not the, biggest clubs in all of football.

As we continue to show our class, get our new stadium and as a result hopefully get a little more of a consistent cash flow, we could really move away from that. But, just like any other club, when you have good players consistently, like we do, you're always going to be subject to the interest of the big clubs.

 

[tony0379]

IIRC Archibald said something similar about 5 incoming at the end of the season.

Sigurdsson. Dembele. Dempsey. Vertonghon. Lloris.

 

[absolute bobbins]

Sandro and Kaboul are both key considerations.

If Kaboul's injury is very serious (i.e. long term like Ledley's) then we'll probably need another centre back unless AVB trusts that Caulker can step up. It's an area where it's important to have a partnership so we need someone to be consistently playing alongside Vertonghen, and I'm not sure if AVB thinks Dawson or Caulker are that player.

Spot on sir, I expect Caulker will get extended game time against Espanyol and Monaco so that AVB can make an informed decision

 

[JerryGarcia]

How long has the official Website been down for? When this happens I always assume they're updating it with news of incoming superstars although today I'm certain of it. F5x9999999

Edit- And it's back with my first press of F5

 

[Scutch]

hertyid on COYS in David Villa thread:

Hearing this is moving fast now, expect something by end of the week.

 

[Snarfalicious]

Spot on sir, I expect Caulker will get extended game time against Espanyol and Monaco so that AVB can make an informed decision

I'm expecting big things from Caulker. I thought that last year he looked a little overwhelmed at times, which appeared to slow down his decision making, but I have no doubt that he will be one of our rocks in defense moving forward.

He's a fantastic player and I think he could form a perfect partner to Vertonghen so long as he builds up his strength. The reading of the game will come with experience as I think there were plenty of signs that he has the ability to diagnose runs off the ball and he obviously has the technique, it's just a matter of the game slowing down a tad for him.

Thinking of Caulker being only 21 and possibly Jedvag coming in at only 17/18, we could have a really solid CB duo for many years.

 

[Snarfalicious]

hertyid on COYS in David Villa thread:

Why are we moving fast on things? What the fuck has happened? Is this the Baldini Effect, the Bale Effect, the AVB wants-to-go-race-cars effect? It's incredible whatever the Hell it is.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

hertyid on COYS in David Villa thread:

End of the week?
I can't wait that bloody long!!!!!

 

[Waiwonder]

Can anybody explain who 'mamic' is if I read correctly. 'Very close to mamic' is he an agent of the said Croats?

 

[JerryGarcia]

Why are we moving fast on things? What the fuck has happened? Is this the Baldini Effect, the Bale Effect, the AVB wants-to-go-race-cars effect? It's incredible whatever the Hell it is.

It feels very strange and uncomfortable, I fear we may all get the ITK bends. Slow down Danny boy!

 

[Scutch]

Can anybody explain who 'mamic' is if I read correctly. 'Very close to mamic' is he an agent of the said Croats?

He's one of the presidents of Dinamo.

 

[MightyModric]

Why are we moving fast on things? What the fuck has happened? Is this the Baldini Effect, the Bale Effect, the AVB wants-to-go-race-cars effect? It's incredible whatever the Hell it is.

Levy knows that we're capable of challenging for trophies this season and getting new players in and giving them a good pre-season will boost our chances.

 

[JerryGarcia]

Can anybody explain who 'mamic' is if I read correctly. 'Very close to mamic' is he an agent of the said Croats?

Dinamo Zagreb chairman I think

 

[Mr Pink]

Will be over the moon if we get Villa.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Why are we moving fast on things? What the fuck has happened? Is this the Baldini Effect, the Bale Effect, the AVB wants-to-go-race-cars effect? It's incredible whatever the Hell it is.

It's the end of the Confed Cup effect.

 

[Blackcanary]

It feels very strange and uncomfortable, I fear we may all get the ITK bends. Slow down Danny boy!

Possibly we've ever had the opportunity to use these words genuinely and not sarcastically!

Whatever is currently in the water at our place: I like it and long may it continue.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Spot on sir, I expect Caulker will get extended game time against Espanyol and Monaco so that AVB can make an informed decision

An informed decision? If AVB hasn't seen enough of him already then we're in very deep shit

 

[norsk2]

Can anybody explain who 'mamic' is if I read correctly. 'Very close to mamic' is he an agent of the said Croats?

He is the executive director of Dinamo Zagreb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zdravko_Mamić

EDIT: and he seems to be quite a kick-ass character, dishing it out to journos, getting arrested etc.

 

[Snarfalicious]

Levy knows that we're capable of challenging for trophies this season and getting new players in and giving them a good pre-season will boost our chances.

I also think it may be one of the first times where Levy may see our club as a "stars aligning" scenario.

Think about it: We've got one of the Top 5 talents in all of football capable of winning matches on his own, a manager that in his first year set a single-season points record, the backbone of our squad (CB and Midfield) is very strong and up there with the best in all of the EPL and the title-contenders are all going through a transitional period.

Maybe Levy just views this as the time to strike.