Kenny Dalglish Won't Be Delivering the Module: English Premiership 2011-12

Joey7Barton Joseph Barton
Don't want to leave Newcastle........I've made that clear but my hands are tied.
2 hours ago

Joey7Barton Joseph Barton
Going for a medical now, still no contract offer from NUFC.......think that just about makes my mind up.
3 hours ago

blimey are we actually gonna pull this off? i just assumed willy mckay was spreading the news to pull bigger clubs in

really hope it's not true that we're matching his 60k a week wages, but i know it probably is. i know the mittals can theoretically easily afford it but still getting a portsmouth vibe about all this (or palace with tony fernandes as well-meaning idiot mark goldberg)...

'arry's been caught 'aving a go:

"Separately, and only for clarification as we have been inundated with inquiries with regard to a Scotland Yard statement today, we confirm the Metropolitan Police's Economic and Specialist Crimes Unit is dealing with the serious matter of a private investigator acting unlawfully, reportedly under instruction by Tottenham Hotspur.

"This is in relation to reported breaches of the Data Protection Act and Computer Misuse Act as a result of the unlawful acquisition of bank and telephone records belonging to senior executives at the club and the OPLC.

"We are advised that if found guilty of these crimes, those responsible can expect to receive custodial sentences. We have full faith in the police investigation into this matter and shall continue to provide the fullest of assistance to them.

"In response to media inquiries, we can confirm that West Ham today received a document from Tottenham asking us to give up our claims against them in relation to the above, in return for Tottenham withdrawing their judicial review proceedings. West Ham naturally refused.

The Blues are also reportedly planning a final offer for their long-term target Luka Modric, in which Tottenham will be offered £30m - plus midfielder Yossi Benayoun - and as a further enticement, striker Daniel Sturridge on a season-long loan.
Full story: Caught Offside

lol transfer rumours and all that but this would be one hell of a deal for spurs imo.

Daniel Sturridge had gone to Chelsea?

supposedly.

I disagree but this'll happen now I think - the relationship seems to have broken down beyond repair. I still say Spurs needed a guy of Modric calibre more than three or four at the level below.

I don't think it'll happen - the more Modric pisses and whines in an attempt to force a move the less like Levy will be to cave into it. He'll dig his heels in. Kinda depends on what kind of mediating role Redknapp is playing I suppose.

Yossi Benayoun would immediately feel surplus to requirements at Spurs - he's a very good player but another lightweight winger with a poor injury record is not exactly what we need right now. Would take Sturridge but a season long loan that Chelsea would doubtless offer to some other club anyway feels like adding insult to injury.

Not sure there's an option to turning it down unless Modric and Levy can get together to work something out, which they apparently haven't been able to yet. Harry seemed fairly open about the fact that he doesn't feel able to play Modric in his current mood and sees Levy as key to fixing things. I'm sure that he's doing great work on the Adebayor / Diarra deals but it's crazy if he hasn't talked to our best player weeks after all this blew up. Levy can dig his heels in all he wants but if Luka's sitting in the stands, nobody's going to benefit.

Yeah that's true. Really the best option strikes me as "give us one more year then we'll let you go" but if Levy really did go back on a similar agreement last year then that's not going to wash.

Amid all the hysteria, it's worth pointing out that Modric was out injured for at least a half of the season when we finished fourth.

Actually I'm not sure that Levy story *is* true because Modric was not particularly fiercely coveted a year ago by Chelsea or anyone else.

That's true.

On a separate note, Diarra has apparently been quoted saying that he doesn't think a deal to take him to Spurs looks likely.

yeah, i'm not convinced there was any such deal.

Tbh, redknapp is involved here where he shouldn't be, muddying waters and publicising the problem. He should play modric if fit, stfu and let levy deal.

Levy has dealt with it, btw.

Boris's riot money is going to be used to pay for an improved contract for Modric, apparently (at the insistence of the former residents of the flats above the carpet shop).

i don't believe that'll change anything for modric. Only a realisation/acceptance that levy dngaf about what he wants is gonna make this settle. And harry is fucking that up.

Is a bitter, resentful, demotivated Modric + the message Spurs isn't a selling club worth more than 30m + Yossi?

Levy's approach works if Modric isn't going to sulk for the rest of the year. I hope Luka has the professionalism Levy surely must assume he does.

that's the key.

I was all for this stance with berbatov, and i've more faith in modric than i did him.

Once the window closes, it's down to the player.

If Modric sulks and underperforms for a year that's potentially a massive problem for his career, so if he knows what's good for him he won't do that.

In the back of every Spurs fan's mind throughout the Modric saga has been that if/when Levy cracks and sells then that opens the door to losing Bale sooner rather than later.

i'm more worried about us getting 30m and spending it on an AM we don't need.

If Modric goes, let it be today, let the money go on a CB and a physically proficient CF

Cheeky 20m bid for Carroll imo, or test Wolves for Doyle.

Or is Levy just going to wait till the last day of the window to get another £5m out of Chelsea?

Would you really want Doyle? Is he even as good as the forwards you've got, let alone better?

i) i hope not, that he'll have learned from berbatov

ii) 'better' at occupying centre halves, creating space for midfielders, heading, hold up play- things we badly need and have badly needed since berbatov left.

Not great at actually scoring goals though.

Would a cheeky bid for Berbatov be feasible?

PSG were told he's not for sale. Would be good to have him back though.

I'm thinking Utd trump Chelsea with a Berba + £10m offer for Modric maybe. They surely will sell him. You probably couldn't pay his wages though.

70 goals in 216 league games (202 starts). PL is 15 in 62 for Wolves (60 starts).

not on his wages

doyle's goalscoring probably more reliable than crouch's, tbh. And does all that other stuff that peetah peetah doesnt bother to

berbatov and 10m can fuck right off, wages or otherwise

Bet Doyle gets goals at a big team

i think so, yeah. He'd get on the end of crosses, and he'd work centre halves a bit. We're missing that.

Well, jermaine, gawd bless im, he's avin a go at working the centre alves, but for sam reeson it's not workin aaaht for the little fella

Might be interesting to see how well Kane gets on tonight, even if it is against a weakened Hearts team. How highly rated is he?

"He's less rubbish than Crouch" isn't really going to sell any striker to me right now. I can see why someone like Doyle would get goals with better service and he had that one really good season with Reading but I dunno, what's his conversion rate like with the chances he does get?

Premiership has quite a long history of prolific strikers in otherwise limited teams, not sure I'm really buying this "he'd score more at a big club!" line.

It'll be interesting to see how many players I know in the Hearts/Spurs game tonight. Both teams seem to be scrabbling around to find their least important players just to get the tie out of the way. Can still see 2nd/3rd/4th string Hearts taking a tanking from 5th string Spurs though. Dunno what the record defeat is for a Scottish club in Europe over two legs (Juve 8-1 Rangers maybe?) but there's a good chance it'll be broken tonight.

bentley hat-trick

Matt, that's a logical point yeah. I'll just rep for doyle as one of the guys that would do the job, given the chance. I'll say the same for Pav, but 'the chance' in his case is one start in a row before arry decides he don't fancy it.

Fergie talking to BBC again. See ya, Mike. It's been fun.

Rangers famously lost 12-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt back in the early days (when British football was still the envy of the world, etc)

ari sez e moight ploy looka tnite if eeze fit

Ah no, it was 12-4. Bloody hell, that was in the 1960 semis before Eintracht took a beating in the final.

I'm browsing through a Wee Red Book (1999-2000 edition) looking at Scots in Europe results. Just discovered Aberdeen beat Sion (Celtic's opponents tonight) 11-1 on their way to winning the Cup Winners Cup in '83.

(this isn't the thread for this, sorry)

Patrick said City is the place to be because they are the club of the future and they want to win everything.

Patrick said City is the place to be because they are the club of the future and they want to win everything.

Patrick said City is the place to be because they are the club of the future and they want to win everything.

Patrick said City is the place to be because they are the club of the future and they want to win everything.

Yes, I don't look forward to seeing Fergie interviews, but I do look forward to not seeing Phelan interviews.

Quite looking forward to him laying the smackdown on Man City a few times.

going to WHL tonight to eat prawn sandwiches and watch footie.

he will be more than a phelan in some respects, though conceivably less noble and implable than his erstwhile deputy

If Modric plays tonight, he's staying at Spurs; if he doesn't, he's going to Chelsea. Isn't it that simple?

It's not quite that simple - he's apparently got an injury as well (maybe fictional) and we have a 5-0 headstart and don't really need to bother with him.

fuck that noise. Sub him after a minute, let him kiss my arse on the way off.

Thought 'Arry was insisting he would play. Still not sure how this will work out, but if he doesn't play it surely goes down to DEADLINE DAY. Clear the decks for it, there's no other business outstanding.

Might Coulibaly play at forward tonight? Would like to see him.