Summer 2018 transfer thread

[Finney Is Back]

Shaw was promising once, but he's lost all his pace due to major injuries and getting fat, and hasn't really got the skillset to compete without that physical advantage. He's now just the sort of burden you want off your wage bill

Or is he just a player that has lost form and confidence due to working under a manager who has over complicated things for him, hardly ever put him in the team and puclically criticised him on the rare occasions when he did?

A Poch pre-season would knock the fat off of him and we know he is an effective player in Pochettino's preferred formation. So the only question is whether his double leg fracture really has taken away all his pace (I'm not sure why it would've done so?)

 

[Lemonade Money]

(I'm not sure why it would've done so?)

Mentally? As in fear of injury/rehab, or fear of missing games/loss of income.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Not that I want to rain on your parade (Ive mixed feelings on Bale btw) but Im not sure he is THAT guy.

He doesnt strike me as someone to demand the best of all those around him, to lead the standards etc.

He is an excellent player, and Im sure his presence would have an impact, but its not like bringing in Zlatan or someone like that who would insist everyone matches him...

Yeeeeeeah I think he would. He’s played for Zidane, he’s played with Ronaldo, he’s scored a winning goal in a CL final. I think his job would absolutely be to make sure guys like Dele and Eriksen become truly world class and to make sure everyone can handle expectation at the top level by aspiring to his standard. I’d say one of the reasons we may fall short in crunch trophy games is because being the squad of high potential is not a substitute for having some guys that have been there and done it at the highest level, and Bale has.

He may not do karate kicks to celebrate but I think it would be his role. And Poch would tell him as much.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

Yeeeeeeah I think he would. He’s played for Zidane, he’s played with Ronaldo, he’s scored a winning goal in a CL final. I think his job would absolutely be to make sure guys like Dele and Eriksen become truly world class and to make sure everyone can handle expectation at the top level by aspiring to his standard. I’d say one of the reasons we may fall short in crunch trophy games is because being the squad of high potential is not a substitute for having some guys that have been there and done it at the highest level, and Bale has.

He may not do karate kicks to celebrate but I think it would be his role. And Poch would tell him as much.

Being in that environment is not the same as directing/influencing that environment.

Ive never, ever, seen anything of him to suggest he is outward and vocal like that.

Only ever the consumate professional, looking at working on his own game.

As I said above, I think being as good as he is will have an influence, but I also think there is a big difference between that and the impact someone with the attitude of a Ronaldo/Zlatan would make. People who vocally demand the best from those around them, drag them up...

 

[greatwhitenorf]

Bale would definitely bring a lot of positive psychological assets to Spurs. He left WHL already showing a hunger to succeed and would return with a wealth of knowledge to pass on. Be huge to have him and Kane in the same 11.

When you look at how both have evolved in their personal lives, there's a lot of similarities - model pros and family men who aren't hunting the spotlight anywhere but on the pitch. Part of their characters is making stability in their lives a top priority. Bale returning to Spurs would be more likely than him going to Man U.

The only questions are about his physical durability. But he strikes me as an intelligent and self-aware player who, as he ages, will use his experience to pick the best moments to use his pace and power, then rely on experience and game-reading to position himself effectively. And to have him as an option on free kicks? Si senor.

 

[Rorschach]

Yeeeeeeah I think he would. He’s played for Zidane, he’s played with Ronaldo, he’s scored a winning goal in a CL final. I think his job would absolutely be to make sure guys like Dele and Eriksen become truly world class and to make sure everyone can handle expectation at the top level by aspiring to his standard. I’d say one of the reasons we may fall short in crunch trophy games is because being the squad of high potential is not a substitute for having some guys that have been there and done it at the highest level, and Bale has.

He may not do karate kicks to celebrate but I think it would be his role. And Poch would tell him as much.

We badly need a karate guy too. Martial?

 

[BrainOfLevy]

We badly need a karate guy too. Martial?

I have a lot of time for that sort of humour.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Being in that environment is not the same as directing/influencing that environment.

Ive never, ever, seen anything of him to suggest he is outward and vocal like that.

Only ever the consumate professional, looking at working on his own game.

As I said above, I think being as good as he is will have an influence, but I also think there is a big difference between that and the impact someone with the attitude of a Ronaldo/Zlatan would make. People who vocally demand the best from those around them, drag them up...

I think it’s about the right stage of his career too. Like with us in his last season, he’s attained the status of being world class but he was then ‘stepping up’ to Real Madrid, and there he wasn’t going to be the main man. If he came back to us, with the experiences that he’s had, I absolutely think he’d fill that role. The whole club would look up to him, and I don’t think he’d get away with focussing on his own game, and I don’t think Poch would either.

I read something from Clichy the other day and he was talking about when Pep joined, and told him ‘your career is basically over but I need you to fill the role in the team of the experienced pro’ like he could not let his standards slip, and then every player would know if Clichy is still doing it, having won all he had won, everyone else should do it too. Obviously Bale is on a different level and wouldn’t purely be asked to just ‘be a pro’, but I think these kind of chats managers have with players in order to get them to fill roles in the squad are relatively common, and I think now would be the right time for Bale to fill that role, where it probably wasn’t before. He had grown up with the club and had the same experiences as every other player here. If he returned he’d have so much more to share and I think we’d try and exploit that.

 

[Gazza]

I have a lot of time for that sort of humour.

Hopefully he is into the dark arts of football too

 

[AjaxDeSuperYids]

It's been a long ol' journey, one that really began all the way back to the day we won the fa cup in 91.

That should have been the moment this Club stepped up and acknowledged it had been too long since we won the title and subsequently had another shot at winning the European cup. We should have been looking to keep the top players we had and add the talent to make the aforementioned possible.

But alas the club did not have anything like those ambitions and since those days and the arrival of Alan sugar and the PL era, the club effectively died. It would surely only take a sugar daddy owner to turn the tide, but in came Levy who took the club on a different path, that many believed didn't even exist. A long gut wrenching painful path that others have tried and failed as expected. But levy somehow navigated this near impossible route and restored the club to its rightful place.

During this time another London club also joined the upper echelons of the game, taking the more familiar easy route using the brute force tactics of £££.

It used to be Spurs and arsenal but now by hook or crook chelsea are there and it's now three teams in London.

The other two are consistently winning trophies and now levy has reached the end of that fraught journey and yielded the training centre, new stadium, squad, manager and consistent CL football, the sole attention of the club must turn to winning trophies. It has to become the be all and end all now.

Everything is set and thanks to Poch we arrive at the new stadium already with a fantastic squad and constant CL football. It was concievable that once the stadium was done, the squad would need major work and CL football to be obtained but Poch has worked wonders and we already have that, hence why now trophies and nothing else matters - even the league cup, the dynasty has to start somewhere after all and we should look to win something like 5 trophies in the next 8-10 years.

The mentality needs to shift now from always looking to buy someone with amazing potential, who in 5-6 years will be incredible and then if we're forced to we can sell for huge money.

Bale is therefore perfect because of his age. It's good he is 28 because he has that experience, winning mentality and standing in the game to lift the whole squad and make the likes of Dele say to himself that ''I'm gona raise my game that little bit more, no more off days, Bale is coming!''.

The club fudged up as far back as before the PL era even began, now we're in a position to write a new chapter and it cannot be one that ends with semis here and CL qualification there.

It has to now be a chapter with silverware splashed all over it and at least one or two Bale like signings are gona be needed to achieve that.

COYS

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

@BrainOfLevy , I dont agree - but we are arguing the margins.

Needless to say, if he came Id love for him to be that man, I just dont see it in him.

Id much rather leave it here and let you crack on with enjoying it.

 

[SpurSF]

From a football perspective, I understand the pro and anti Bale arguments. But the truth is, the guy is one of the highest paid players on the planet — 3rd on Forbes 2017 list — on a contract that runs to 2022. I'm sorry, there's no universe where we can pay that, and why would Bale slash 200k off his 350k wages to come back to us?

It's completely impossible imo.

 

[markysimmo]

From a football perspective, I understand the pro and anti Bale arguments. But the truth is, the guy is one of the highest paid players on the planet — 3rd on Forbes 2017 list — on a contract that runs to 2022. I'm sorry, there's no universe where we can pay that, and why would Bale slash 200k off his 350k wages to come back to us?

It's completely impossible imo.

Or maybe he realises he might not get £350k a week when he comes back to England and is happy with what he has already earn’t

 

[SpurSF]

Or maybe he realises he might not get £350k a week when he comes back to England and is happy with what he has already earn’t

Sure. Or, he could carry on getting paid that same incredible money to play at the biggest club in the world, or get similar money at United, Bayern, or someone like that.

You've got to really, really love the club to give back a small fortune to play for it (basically 30 million pounds). I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Sure. Or, he could carry on getting paid that same incredible money to play at the biggest club in the world, or get similar money at United, Bayern, or someone like that.

You've got to really, really love the club to give back a small fortune to play for it (basically 30 million pounds). I'll believe it when I see it.

I totally agree with you, by all logical accounts of our previous strategy, how Levy has operated before, and the sheer absurdity of Bale needing to give up all that money...it's bonkers.

But for some reason, I feel like we'd figure it out. We'd work it so Madrid pay some of it off to get him out, we'd give him a big sign on and maybe something tied to a % increase in any naming rights deal by virtue of having him...we'd bump Kane up to 200k and have Bale there, and we sell a brick load of shirts.

It has no basis in logic, or realism, but for some reason I feel like it can happen. Something about this new stadium, something about Poch talking about needing to take a risk and change the strategy, something about Bale's lessening importance at Real and there not being too many other clubs he could go to. With us he would be the absolute main man and the reason we're on the map. United may well breeze in and offer him 600k a week and he goes there, but I feel like Bale coming back would be so huge, and involve so many players (sponsors, agents, clubs, financiers and so on) that I almost feel like it's been in the works on a very hush hush basis for a while. I could be totally wrong, but I'd love it, absolutely love it, if it all came together.

 

[Bullet]

I imagine that if Bale came back, he and Kane would be vying for top dog, each trying to outdo one another with outrageous skill and goals.
They may Spur each other on to new heights.
They may be greedy.
Bale may become great mates with Kane and whisk him off to stay in some of Madrid's finest locations and tell him how great it is to live in Spain, to prove yourself at the biggest team in the world, talking until Harry decides he too wants to try his luck at Real Madrid.

 

[SpurSF]

I totally agree with you, by all logical accounts of our previous strategy, how Levy has operated before, and the sheer absurdity of Bale needing to give up all that money...it's bonkers.

But for some reason, I feel like we'd figure it out. We'd work it so Madrid pay some of it off to get him out, we'd give him a big sign on and maybe something tied to a % increase in any naming rights deal by virtue of having him...we'd bump Kane up to 200k and have Bale there, and we sell a brick load of shirts.

It has no basis in logic, or realism, but for some reason I feel like it can happen. Something about this new stadium, something about Poch talking about needing to take a risk and change the strategy, something about Bale's lessening importance at Real and there not being too many other clubs he could go to. With us he would be the absolute main man and the reason we're on the map. United may well breeze in and offer him 600k a week and he goes there, but I feel like Bale coming back would be so huge, and involve so many players (sponsors, agents, clubs, financiers and so on) that I almost feel like it's been in the works on a very hush hush basis for a while. I could be totally wrong, but I'd love it, absolutely love it, if it all came together.

All of that sounds great, and it'd be incredible to have him back. Who knows? Stranger things have happened in football.

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

Sure. Or, he could carry on getting paid that same incredible money to play at the biggest club in the world, or get similar money at United, Bayern, or someone like that.

You've got to really, really love the club to give back a small fortune to play for it (basically 30 million pounds). I'll believe it when I see it.

It also depends on how much he loves money. If he's on 350k a week in his 5 years at Real that's £91m.

So is he giving away a small fortune or just adding to an already massive fortune a bit slower? He'll still be on 200k a week.

I think Bale is like Harry.....other priorities will carry just as much weight in their decision s as money.

 

[Rorschach]

Hopefully he is into the dark arts of football too

No better teacher than Mourinho for those.

 

[StephenH]

I think everyone should not get ahead of the facts of which there are none.
I have not seen anything in the press about any Spurs incomings that are not just complete rumour.