Spurs 2018/19

[SquishyMcSquish]

If Spurs land their targets it will be a good window, Rose, Alderweireld, Dembele out.

Grealish, Cook, Zaha in? No real 'superstar' signings like a Pulisic or De Ligt, but solid players that will add depth which is what they need.

If we sell Rose, Alderweireld and Dembele and sign Grealish, Cook and Zaha, how exactly are we adding depth? Replacing the best central midfielder we have by far with two young players would be incredibly risky, for starters. Not replacing Alderweireld would be absolutely suicidal, we absolutely cannot go in to next season completely relying on Davinson Sanchez. Then we sell Rose too? What happens if/when Davies gets an injury or needs a rest? Zaha would be great but as I've said before, incredibly unlikely that Levy pays the kind of money Palace will be demanding.

If that's our window we are in big trouble. We need to be adding numbers to our squad, not getting rid of two of our best players and replacing them with potential. If the three you mentioned do leave, we need to be signing proper replacements in their position on top of a few other players needed for depth. Hence why it's not an excellent idea to be leaving this all to the last week, because so many potential ins and outs all at once could be a massive issue come the start of the season.

Personally I can't see us selling any but Alderweireld this summer, we just don't have the time to properly replace the other two. Even Alderweireld will probably stay unless we receive the right sum. We'll probably add a Grealish, but I can absolutely see Levy making that our only business of the window.

 

[Scroto Baggins]

If we sell Rose, Alderweireld and Dembele and sign Grealish, Cook and Zaha, how exactly are we adding depth? Replacing the best central midfielder we have by far with two young players would be incredibly risky, for starters. Not replacing Alderweireld would be absolutely suicidal, we absolutely cannot go in to next season completely relying on Davinson Sanchez. Then we sell Rose too? What happens if/when Davies gets an injury or needs a rest? Zaha would be great but as I've said before, incredibly unlikely that Levy pays the kind of money Palace will be demanding.

If that's our window we are in big trouble. We need to be adding numbers to our squad, not getting rid of two of our best players and replacing them with potential. If the three you mentioned do leave, we need to be signing proper replacements in their position on top of a few other players needed for depth. Hence why it's not an excellent idea to be leaving this all to the last week, because so many potential ins and outs all at once could be a massive issue come the start of the season.

Personally I can't see us selling any but Alderweireld this summer, we just don't have the time to properly replace the other two. Even Alderweireld will probably stay unless we receive the right sum. We'll probably add a Grealish, but I can absolutely see Levy making that our only business of the window.

I honestly dont think you have a choice with Dembele and Alderweireld, they are both on the move for different reasons. Dembele because his body just cant keep up with the physical demands and Alderweireld wants more than Spurs are willing to give him wages wise. Rose has been on the out for a while no? Again for the same reason, he wants more money, didnt he come out in the press and have a go at Spurs for paying low wages?

If Dembele stayed he would be playing a lot more of a bench role, you are right Grealish and Cook are both a step down from Dembele. Just dont see Levy/Spurs stumping up the 60mil it would take to buy a midfielder of equal skill. So the usual modus operandi for Spurs is to invest in young talent, and two players in for 1 out gives more depth, albeit not in the same league as Dembele. How much would Palace demand for Zaha? He has what, 2 years left on his contract?

I thought you had a ready made replacement for Rose with that academy player Walker Peters?

I thought Sanchez had a good first season from the limited amount of games I seen with him playing. But going into a season competing on four fronts with only 2 recognised CB's is risky, but totally Spursy. Depends on how ready that South American kid is to step up. I guess Dier can always play CB in a pinch.

 

[Needham]

If we sell Rose, Alderweireld and Dembele and sign Grealish, Cook and Zaha, how exactly are we adding depth? Replacing the best central midfielder we have by far with two young players would be incredibly risky, for starters. Not replacing Alderweireld would be absolutely suicidal, we absolutely cannot go in to next season completely relying on Davinson Sanchez. Then we sell Rose too? What happens if/when Davies gets an injury or needs a rest? Zaha would be great but as I've said before, incredibly unlikely that Levy pays the kind of money Palace will be demanding.

If that's our window we are in big trouble. We need to be adding numbers to our squad, not getting rid of two of our best players and replacing them with potential. If the three you mentioned do leave, we need to be signing proper replacements in their position on top of a few other players needed for depth. Hence why it's not an excellent idea to be leaving this all to the last week, because so many potential ins and outs all at once could be a massive issue come the start of the season.

Personally I can't see us selling any but Alderweireld this summer, we just don't have the time to properly replace the other two. Even Alderweireld will probably stay unless we receive the right sum. We'll probably add a Grealish, but I can absolutely see Levy making that our only business of the window.

You'll need someone in for Son as well, he has a complicated 8 months ahead of him.

 

[TheReligion]

Lots of talk tonight about Toby to United.

He'll allegedly run down his contract to force the move.

Think there's going to be action this next few days!

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

I honestly dont think you have a choice with Dembele and Alderweireld, they are both on the move for different reasons. Dembele because his body just cant keep up with the physical demands and Alderweireld wants more than Spurs are willing to give him wages wise. Rose has been on the out for a while no? Again for the same reason, he wants more money, didnt he come out in the press and have a go at Spurs for paying low wages?

If Dembele stayed he would be playing a lot more of a bench role, you are right Grealish and Cook are both a step down from Dembele. Just dont see Levy/Spurs stumping up the 60mil it would take to buy a midfielder of equal skill. So the usual modus operandi for Spurs is to invest in young talent, and two players in for 1 out gives more depth, albeit not in the same league as Dembele. How much would Palace demand for Zaha? He has what, 2 years left on his contract?

I thought you had a ready made replacement for Rose with that academy player Walker Peters?

I thought Sanchez had a good first season from the limited amount of games I seen with him playing. But going into a season competing on four fronts with only 2 recognised CB's is risky, but totally Spursy. Depends on how ready that South American kid is to step up. I guess Dier can always play CB in a pinch.

We could definitely keep both for this window, Dembele is inevitably on the move but if we signed another player as depth, we could use him more sparingly. Alderweireld could possibly stay and then move for 25 mill the season after but I do expect him to leave and hopefully be replaced, because if he isn't our CB depth is going to be extremely poor. Rose did want to leave, but then realised nobody wanted him anymore because injuries have fecked him, so he'll stay now. Nobody is paying him lots of money to sit in the treatmeant room half the season.

Levy probably won't pay up, but if we sell Dembele and don't bring in someone who can actually fill his shoes then he can get fecked. One of our most important players is going to be phased out of the team, you can't bring in youngsters who will need time and development. We obviously can't afford to go out and bring in a Matic, but we'd need someone at least semi-established, not a championship player or somebody who had a decent season at Bournemouth. We've invested in talent but also brought in the likes of Wanyama, Alderweireld etc in the past, so we do signed older, more established players if the price is right.

Palace don't have time to replace Zaha and he's by far their best player, their future in the Premier League could depend on keeping him this window. If we want him we've likely left it too late because Palace can't replace him with a few days to go, and if they didn't replace him they would almost certainly be relegated. Again, out utterly ludicrous negotiating 'strategy' of leaving absolutely every deal to the very last minute 'to get the best deal possible' has been an utter failure this window, and will probably lead to us running around like headless chickens on deadline day. Walker Peters is a right back.

Sanchez had a good first season, but was at times inconsistent and still needs time to develop. He shouldn't really be always first choice, and a much more preferable situation would be to have him rotating with Alderweireld or in a back 3 when we play that way. To actually choose to only go in to the season with him and Vertonghen would be madness, but as you say it would be proper Levy stuff, and no Foyth is not ready to step up. Dier at CB is an accident waiting to happen unless he's in a 3.

Basically, if we were to sell the three you mentioned, we'd be getting rid of 3 key squad players (2 of which are clear starters when fit) without actually properly replacing them. As much as I've criticized Levy, even I doubt he'd want to leave Pochettino with the absolute bare bones, so I don't see it happening. Toby is by far the most likely to leave, the other two I imagine will stay. As for any other business, I don't even know anymore, Grealish seems like the most likely but I don't see any other solid links aside from Zaha, but again I can't see this happening because Levy won't pay the fee.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Lots of talk tonight about Toby to United.

He'll allegedly run down his contract to force the move.

Think there's going to be action this next few days!

I think it's 50/50 on whether he stays for another season, or moves to United. I can see the former happening because we have no time whatsover to line up a replacement, but if United do decide that he's worth the money then it's likely Levy will cave, because that will always be his priority. If we do sell him and sign nobody as a replacement then it will be an absolute mess and a proper middle finger to the fans.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

You'll need someone in for Son as well, he has a complicated 8 months ahead of him.

Indeed. Zaha is the one most bandied about, but as I keep saying I can't see Levy forking out the 60-70m that Palace reportedly want for him. Not sure about the alternatives, but no decent wide players who can fill in for Son are going to be readily available with only a week of the window to go, so we're going to find it somewhat difficult to find one who is good enough to reliably cover for Son. No doubt some on here will tell you it's all part of Levy's master plan and Palace will cave in at 30 mill with an hour to go, but personally I doubt it.

 

[TheReligion]

I think it's 50/50 on whether he stays for another season, or moves to United. I can see the former happening because we have no time whatsover to line up a replacement, but if United do decide that he's worth the money then it's likely Levy will cave, because that will always be his priority. If we do sell him and sign nobody as a replacement then it will be an absolute mess and a proper middle finger to the fans.

Mina to Spurs to link up with Sanchez?

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Mina to Spurs to link up with Sanchez?

Doubt it.. Mina would probably want a guaranteed starting spot after his situation at Barcelona, and we would still start with Vertonghen-Sanchez as our first choice. Not actually sure who we would go for if we lost Toby, hence why I do think it's possible we'll end up hanging on to him this summer.

 

[TheReligion]

Doubt it.. Mina would probably want a guaranteed starting spot after his situation at Barcelona, and we would still start with Vertonghen-Sanchez as our first choice. Not actually sure who we would go for if we lost Toby, hence why I do think it's possible we'll end up hanging on to him this summer.

If he's definitely leaving though it's a rubbish situation to be in. You won't want to really use him and he'll just be running his price down. Surely best move him on now and promote?

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

If he's definitely leaving though it's a rubbish situation to be in. You won't want to really use him and he'll just be running his price down. Surely best move him on now and promote?

It's the sort of situation where it would have been much better to get it sorted earlier in the window and have time to look for a replacement. Selling him last minute leaves us scrabbling to find a replacement, but that isn't anything new and appears to be our transfer strategy for this window. Selling him and relying on youth would be incredibly risky in the short term, would leave us with only one experienced central defender (Vert), which would be far from ideal. We've clearly tried dragging our feet in the mud with regards to Alderweireld, but United hold all the cards because they know he wants to leave and they know Levy won't want to have to sell for cheap next summer. So .. it's failed and now we're in a situation where we can't be haggling down the last hour of the window without jeopardizing the team in favour of money.

 

[Ooh2B]

I know the 3 lads mentioned are Pro’s, and this question should be moot, but how do you see their performances in the team going forward after them essentially having a “for sale” sign hung out?

And if the do go, and if there’s like for like in terms of numbers replacing them, is there a concern that they won’t have had a decent pre season with the team?

Poch has been a revelation in terms of style and performance, but I have a feeling he has a bit of work to do to maintain that momentum and keep the squad motivated throughout a massive transition.

 

[cesc's_mullet]

No point, mate ... I'm staying out of this argument till post-window, or Glaston will be here to call me a child for wanting us to actually do something to fix our mounting problems, or chicken little because I don't think we're in a great situation going in to the next season. No point in engaging with it.

Mate you must learn to leave Glaston be, there is no reasoning with him.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Doubt it.. Mina would probably want a guaranteed starting spot after his situation at Barcelona, and we would still start with Vertonghen-Sanchez as our first choice. Not actually sure who we would go for if we lost Toby, hence why I do think it's possible we'll end up hanging on to him this summer.

Toby will be at United next season, I’m 99% sure. It will either be for a silly price or a more sensible price with a certain player coming our way. I don’t know how you thought this is Levy’s fault again. Rumour was he had a greed a new contract but then refused to sign it, clearly Levy would rather sell abroad but if Toby doesn’t wanna go what do we do? We dragged nothing it’s just how football is.

Mina to Spurs to link up with Sanchez?

I’d rather resign Dawson than go for Mina lol.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Toby will be at United next season, I’m 99% sure. It will either be for a silly price or a more sensible price with a certain player coming our way.



I’d rather resign Dawson than go for Mina lol.

Doubt we'll get Martial. If we do sell Alderweireld and decide not to bring anybody else in it'll be a joke.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Doubt we'll get Martial. If we do sell Alderweireld and decide not to bring anybody else in it'll be a joke.

Again let’s wait and see, I don’t think we need a massive signing at CB when Toby goes. I wish Dier would realise he is a much better CB than he is a DCM.

 

[SambaBoy]

Not looking good for Spurs in terms of potential signings. Are they even seriously linked with anyone at the minute? Heard Chelsea are now the favourites to sign Zaha. I think he would be a brilliant signing for whoever signs him, his improvement since moving back to Palace has been at a very good rate and towards the end of the last season, he was putting fear into the opposition. He's ready for the step up now, and would be a big signing for either side. Even more so for Spurs, they need good depth for their forward 4 or someone to come in for Kane. They have tried with back-up no9's but someone who can also play on the wings and upfront would essentially kill two birds with one stone. I presume that's why they are linked with Martial and Zaha.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Not looking good for Spurs in terms of potential signings. Are they even seriously linked with anyone at the minute? Heard Chelsea are now the favourites to sign Zaha. I think he would be a brilliant signing for whoever signs him, his improvement since moving back to Palace has been at a very good rate and towards the end of the last season, he was putting fear into the opposition. He's ready for the step up now, and would be a big signing for either side. Even more so for Spurs, they need good depth for their forward 4 or someone to come in for Kane. They have tried with back-up no9's but someone who can also play on the wings and upfront would essentially kill two birds with one stone. I presume that's why they are linked with Martial and Zaha.

Yeah that’s exactly why we’re leniked with Martial and Zaha. The other main position we need to fill in CM and this morning have been linked with Amadou Haidara, Tanguy Ndombele, Marseille's Morgan Sanson and Southampton's Mario Lemina.

 

[africanspur]

Not looking good for Spurs in terms of potential signings. Are they even seriously linked with anyone at the minute? Heard Chelsea are now the favourites to sign Zaha. I think he would be a brilliant signing for whoever signs him, his improvement since moving back to Palace has been at a very good rate and towards the end of the last season, he was putting fear into the opposition. He's ready for the step up now, and would be a big signing for either side. Even more so for Spurs, they need good depth for their forward 4 or someone to come in for Kane. They have tried with back-up no9's but someone who can also play on the wings and upfront would essentially kill two birds with one stone. I presume that's why they are linked with Martial and Zaha.

Linked with:

Graelish, Cook, Zaha, Kovacic, Martial, De Ligt, Lascalles, Pulisic, Modric when there were some rumours he may be leaving , Rabiot, Andre Gomes, Malcolm, Bale , Barrios, Maddison, Ndombele, Sessegnon, Barrios, Sanson.

Off the top of my head. I'm sure there are others as well.

Now obviously some have now moved, some were always ridiculous rumours. But the reality is that for the most part, the club has managed to do its business in the past few years quite quietly. Sanchez and Son came completely out of the blue from what I remember, there weren't months of rumours and to and fro beforehand.

So the lack of rumours for a certain player doesn't necessarily mean anything in fairness.

Im starting to think Zaha is the modern Downing. Not in terms of ability but in terms of the fact that he would, without fail, be linked to Spurs every single window, regardless of where we were or he was.

 

[vadimivich]

Mina to Spurs to link up with Sanchez?

No chance, Pochettino prefers to have clear left and right sided center halves and to have one of them being the athletic enforcer and one to be the ball player. Sanchez is much better on the right side, and he's the athletic enforcer. Mina is also right sided and he's not a ball playing center half at all. He basically just would be Sanchez backup in the way Spurs play.

Juan Foyth is already at the club and being groomed to replace Vertonghen long term, and I'd expect another ball playing center half that can play the left side to be brought in either this year or next. Sanchez is clearly the man going forward at RCB so going forward the defence will be built around that.

 

[Moshe Dayan]

Toby to United and Martial to Spurs + cash last minute has Levy written all over it. Plus it favours both clubs. Spurs and Utd are rivals next year whether either stays or goes anyway.

 

[AR87]

Toby to United and Martial to Spurs + cash last minute has Levy written all over it. Plus it favours both clubs. Spurs and Utd are rivals next year whether either stays or goes anyway.

No chance United would swap Martial plus cash for Toby. In that exchange United would need to get cash, not Spurs.

 

[finneh]

Typical Levy "nowhere near" Villa's valuation of Grealish whilst briefing the press that their players are for sale but for silly money.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Mate you must learn to leave Glaston be, there is no reasoning with him.

Very true. There's no point arguing with someone who has completely entrenched views .. first reaction will be to defend Levy no matter what.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Typical Levy "nowhere near" Villa's valuation of Grealish whilst briefing the press that their players are for sale but for silly money.

Shock horror as other clubs aren't keen on letting their assets go for cheap when we very clearly demand a fortune for our own. It's the same story every single window. Of course Villa and Palace or whoever else don't want to let their prize assets go for peanuts in this market, offering derisory sums is going to achieve nothing but wasting time and irritating other clubs. We'll hear the same old about this all being the Levy 'master plan' and how he will eventually save us bucket loads of money by waiting till the last second to get deals done.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Shock horror as other clubs aren't keen on letting their assets go for cheap when we very clearly demand a fortune for our own. It's the same story every single window. Of course Villa and Palace or whoever else don't want to let their prize assets go for peanuts in this market, offering derisory sums is going to achieve nothing but wasting time and irritating other clubs. We'll hear the same old about this all being the Levy 'master plan' and how he will eventually save us bucket loads of money by waiting till the last second to get deals done.

So what have we offered and how much do Villa want? You seem to be pretty clued in, even though Bruce himself says no offer has been recieved. Also the media running this bullshit story that Villa don’t have to sell because of their new owner, the wealth of their owners doesn’t change their problems with FFP, which has to be settled by March I think.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

So what have we offered and how much do Villa want? You seem to be pretty clued in, even though Bruce himself says no offer has been recieved. Also the media running this bullshit story that Villa don’t have to sell because of their new owner, the wealth of their owners doesn’t change their problems with FFP, which has to be settled by March I think.

Steve Bruce has literally come out and said that our offers are nowhere near their valuation of the player. They can find other ways of dealing with FFP, or they can sell elsewhere, they aren't going to sell him for some ridiculously cheap fee just because they have financial issues. They're cutting the fat off the wage bill but Grealish is probably the most important player at the club and if they can keep him they will do. With so little time to go, do you really think messing them about with offers which aren't remotely acceptable is a sound strategy?

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

We have had an entire transfer window to negotiate a transfer for Jack Grealish, yet have decided to wait until the last second and are still apparently not actually close to finding a deal. What are we going to do, potentially call Villa's bluff and risk ending up signing nobody? There's also a number of reports that Chelsea are interested in hijacking the deal, and if Villa do end up having to sell for cheap I doubt we'll be the only ones involved.

We've handled the window horribly. I don't get how even the most pro-Levy fans could deny we've been inept this market, our strategy has backfired and we've ended up rushing everything and sorting out none of our issues with less than a week to go. It's the exact opposite of what our manager asked for but you'll still have some justifying it.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Steve Bruce has literally come out and said that our offers are nowhere near their valuation of the player. They can find other ways of dealing with FFP, or they can sell elsewhere, they aren't going to sell him for some ridiculously cheap fee just because they have financial issues. They're cutting the fat off the wage bill but Grealish is probably the most important player at the club and if they can keep him they will do. With so little time to go, do you really think messing them about with offers which aren't remotely acceptable is a sound strategy?

They can't solve the FFP issue without seeking players, I think it's £40m they need to be clear, it can't be solved without player sales. Bruce has said our offers have been low but has said no bids have been made lol. No idea because we don't know what's going on.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

They can't solve the FFP issue without seeking players, I think it's £40m they need to be clear, it can't be solved without player sales. Bruce has said our offers have been low but has said no bids have been made lol. No idea because we don't know what's going on.

???

There have obviously been discussions (what the feck have we actually been doing this entire time if not?) and so far we've clearly not met their valuation. That is exactly what Bruce has said, you don't have to make an official bid for there to be an approach.

 

[finneh]

So what have we offered and how much do Villa want? You seem to be pretty clued in, even though Bruce himself says no offer has been recieved. Also the media running this bullshit story that Villa don’t have to sell because of their new owner, the wealth of their owners doesn’t change their problems with FFP, which has to be settled by March I think.

Bruce "at the moment Spurs haven’t got anywhere near what the owners want to consider".

Considering Villa have been briefing that only offers of £30m+ would be considered we can assume Spurs haven't got anywhere near that figure (we can argue about what "nowhere near" is but it's fair to say it's an 8 figure sum rather than a 7 figure one).

Typical Levynomics - their players are worth twice market value but only deserve 50% of market salary, whilst opposition players are worth 50% of their market value.

All whilst his manager wants him to be brave, realise the market isn't going to change just because he waits until the 12th hour and bring in his targets efficiency, whilst at the same time getting rid of the unhappy players that will have a negative effect on the dressing room.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Bruce "at the moment Spurs haven’t got anywhere near what the owners want to consider".

Considering Villa have been briefing that only offers of £30m+ would be considered we can assume Spurs haven't got anywhere near that figure (we can argue about what "nowhere near" is but it's fair to say it's an 8 figure sum rather than a 7 figure one).

Typical Levynomics - their players are worth twice market value but only deserve 50% of market salary, whilst opposition players are worth 50% of their market value.

All whilst his manager wants him to be brave, realise the market isn't going to change just because he waits until the 12th hour and bring in his targets efficiency, whilst at the same time getting rid of the unhappy players that will have a negative effect on the dressing room.

Don't bother. Nobody knows anything, we need to be patient, and we can't afford anybody anyway. Any reason whatsoever to justify the big mess Levy has made of this transfer market. It's literally impossible for some of his biggest supporters to criticize him, they think he's a super genius who has a master plan every time we go in to a window.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Don't bother. Nobody knows anything, we need to be patient, and we can't afford anybody anyway. Any reason whatsoever to justify the big mess Levy has made of this transfer market. It's literally impossible for some of his biggest supporters to criticize him, they think he's a super genius who has a master plan every time we go in to a window.

Mate I have plenty or criticism for Levy, I just think too many fans suck in BS that media hacks publish and use it to batter their club with. That is your choice as a fan and I respect your opinions, but don't pretend to have an idea what other fans think when you are completely blinkered. This has been a shit transfer for most clubs but it's still not over. Bruce is a fat gobshite, what's he even talking in public about it? Think about it. Your clearly very frustrated, so I'm not gonna comment till next week on the transfer market cause it honestly bores the feck out of me.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Mate I have plenty or criticism for Levy, I just think too many fans suck in BS that media hacks publish and use it to batter their club with. That is your choice as a fan and I respect your opinions, but don't pretend to have an idea what other fans think when you are completely blinkered. This has been a shit transfer for most clubs but it's still not over. Bruce is a fat gobshite, what's he even talking in public about it? Think about it.

Oh here we go. Standard defence line of 'same for everyone' (it isn't, everyone has done more than us and clubs like West Ham and Liverpool have brought in a ton of players) and 'if you think this has been rubbish you just believe the sun and the express'. I don't even bother reading the tabloids and I haven't for one second believed any ridiculous transfer rumours in this window. Stop implying that if you don't think Levy has handled this window well you must be a transfer muppet, because it's just outright incorrect.

It's boring now, mate. I'm not blinkered because I think we've messed the window up. I don't have to be in the boardroom to understand we've had an entire window to try and sort out a signing or two and have less than a week to go with no signings, and potentially nobody even close to signing. It's incompetence, it's unacceptable, and it absolutely deserves to be criticised by the fans.. which it has been by most of those who aren't Levyites. You keep saying 'it's not over' as if that doesn't mean leaving ALL of our potential business to the last second is utterly ridiculous.

Bruce was interviewed and asked about Grealish, and he said he's spoken to the owners and we haven't got near their valuation. He's not a schemer, I'm inclined to believe he's probably just being honest, especially since in the past he's admitted they will have to sell players. It's you who wants to ignore every quote which comes out which might suggest Levy has got stuff wrong, or that Pochettino isn't happy with what has happened. At some point there's just no smoke without fire, if we had offered a reasonable amount for Grealish then I doubt Villa (with their FFP concerns) would be pushing it to the last day of the window, especially considering it seems other clubs are perfectly capable of getting deals done. Levy has a reputation/a history of dragging transfers out in this way, so why don't you think about it? All the evidence points to our famously tight fisted chairman penny pinching at the last minute to the detriment of the team.

 

[Charlie Foley]

Mate I have plenty or criticism for Levy, I just think too many fans suck in BS that media hacks publish and use it to batter their club with. That is your choice as a fan and I respect your opinions, but don't pretend to have an idea what other fans think when you are completely blinkered. This has been a shit transfer for most clubs but it's still not over. Bruce is a fat gobshite, what's he even talking in public about it? Think about it. Your clearly very frustrated, so I'm not gonna comment till next week on the transfer market cause it honestly bores the feck out of me.

?

 

[breakout67]

I can understand why some Spurs fans are worried, but they have a very good base to work from. Lloris, Vertonghen, Wanyama, Eriksen, Kane is a very good spine. It's not City levels of good but can compete with the rest.

More importantly, I don't see it as likely that Spurs will get displaced out of the top 4 which is probably the most important thing for them now. Chelsea have only just fixed the Bakoyoko problem and still have the Morata problem (who still can't hit a barn door in pre season). Arsenal have signed prospects and free transfers so it's difficult for them to match the quality of the other teams.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

?

?

 

[Charlie Foley]

?

?

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

I can understand why some Spurs fans are worried, but they have a very good base to work from. Lloris, Vertonghen, Wanyama, Eriksen, Kane is a very good spine. It's not City levels of good but can compete with the rest.

More importantly, I don't see it as likely that Spurs will get displaced out of the top 4 which is probably the most important thing for them now. Chelsea have only just fixed the Bakoyoko problem and still have the Morata problem (who still can't hit a barn door in pre season). Arsenal have signed prospects and free transfers so it's difficult for them to match the quality of the other teams.

Wanyama has injury issues and is no longer really part of our 'spine'. Our excellent starting players have never been the issue, it's our lack of depth which is causing a massive headache for a lot of fans. We struggled with it last season and with another year gone we have fresh injury concerns, world cup fatigue, Son off to the Asian games and Dembele looking a bit shot. We will likely lean very heavily on youth this year (risky) unless we act pretty quickly in the last week of the window.

Think it's very dangerous to be making assumptions about Chelsea. We know they perform under a new manager, they have done it countless times before and I expect them to do it again. They have world class players in the side (Hazard and Kante as the two gems) and a manager who had Napoli challenging Juventus. Even with their team at odds with their own manager they pushed Liverpool till the final day for top four, and they've brought in Jorginho who was fantastic last season. I expect Hazard to tear it up under Sarri, too.

Arsenal are a bit of a mystery, but again .. new manager, fresher feeling surrounding the club and a few tidy additions. Can't be underestimated and the top 4 is nowhere even close to a gimme.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Oh here we go. Standard defence line of 'same for everyone' (it isn't, everyone has done more than us and clubs like West Ham and Liverpool have brought in a ton of players) and 'if you think this has been rubbish you just believe the sun and the express'. I don't even bother reading the tabloids and I haven't for one second believed any ridiculous transfer rumours in this window. Stop implying that if you don't think Levy has handled this window well you must be a transfer muppet, because it's just outright incorrect.

It's boring now, mate. I'm not blinkered because I think we've messed the window up. I don't have to be in the boardroom to understand we've had an entire window to try and sort out a signing or two and have less than a week to go with no signings, and potentially nobody even close to signing. It's incompetence, it's unacceptable, and it absolutely deserves to be criticised by the fans.. which it has been by most of those who aren't Levyites. You keep saying 'it's not over' as if that doesn't mean leaving ALL of our potential business to the last second is utterly ridiculous.

Bruce was interviewed and asked about Grealish, and he said he's spoken to the owners and we haven't got near their valuation. He's not a schemer, I'm inclined to believe he's probably just being honest, especially since in the past he's admitted they will have to sell players. It's you who wants to ignore every quote which comes out which might suggest Levy has got stuff wrong, or that Pochettino isn't happy with what has happened. At some point there's just no smoke without fire, if we had offered a reasonable amount for Grealish then I doubt Villa (with their FFP concerns) would be pushing it to the last day of the window, especially considering it seems other clubs are perfectly capable of getting deals done. Levy has a reputation/a history of dragging transfers out in this way, so why don't you think about it? All the evidence points to our famously tight fisted chairman penny pinching at the last minute to the detriment of the team.

Yeah yet he has seen overall a massive improvement in the club and squad? I've said before he has dome plenty wrong so I don't see how I'm blinkered.