Hooray, finally some real transfer rumours.
It looks like Spurs are finally going to sell Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United, with Fergie being less than subtle about the bid and verging on cocky about the club’s chances of securing the Bulgarian.
It’s a shame for Tottenham, to lose your best and most creative player at a time when the Ramos Revolution looked to be in full force with some big early summer signings. If Keane buggers off to Liverpool, suddenly its a case of one step forward, and anywhere from one to 1000 steps back.
But for the doomsayers, there is still reason to be hopeful. The massive clearouts at Spurs means that Ramos will be able to secure the players he really thinks will make his favoured tactical system tick rather than hoping that the incumbents would be able to do the business. Flying wing play and two good box strikers are usually the order of the day, and Spurs definitely needed a shake up to get the right men in for that.
I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them go with a 4-2-3-1 though if they can’t replace everyone in time.
The good news is that Darren Bent is a very good player as a lone runner up front. He's got pace to work the channels, his hold-up play is vastly underrated and of course he's a clinical finisher.
Even though many Spurs fans thought Bent looked out of sorts in a more thoughtful system as part of a striker pairing, he actually had a fantastic goals/assists-to-minutes ratio. If he gets a proper chance over a full season, I have no doubt he will manage more league goals than either Keane or Berbs managed at White Hart lane.
United obviously will have themselves one heck of a player. Berbatov is definitely in the Cantona mold in terms of his potential, attitude, and playing style so it's no wonder that Fergie is so high on him.
If he can find the key to getting Berbs to play to his full ability week-in and week-out, then I think he’ll easily have the same impact as Cantona and probably be able to play well into his 30s in a Sheringham-type capacity.
If Spurs can take the money and turn it into two signings who fit right into Ramos’ system, then this could be a case of both clubs coming out stronger at the end of things.
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2 months ago
As high as you are one Bent, Spurs needs to go out and get another body up front otherwise all the other great signings that Ramos made won't mean anything.
With the money from Berbatov and possibly Keane as well, what do you think their chances at a guy like Podolski are?
from 2 months ago
Chances are good to sign Podolski if Spurs wanted him, but his fee is inflated after the Euros. He performed the same way at the last World Cup and then was very poor for Bayern since so I'm not convinced he's the right solution. I think he'd be good playing off Bent but again, the fee is inflated thanks to this summer's exploits.
Someone like Fred probably becomes much more realistic, he's a good box predator and also has some skills as a linkup man to play off Bent and help bring people in from midfield. If they stick a another mill or two on their last bid then Lyon should let him go.
I actually don't mind Bent up front on his own. Dos Santos and Modric aren't really wide players in the truest sense and Dos Santos especially can play as a second striker, so he's an option there. Also, with Bent up front on his own and a 3 man central midfield (Jenas, Modric, to-be-named-DM) then Jenas can be freed up to get forward to support every attack, at that point I could easily see him being a double digit league goal midfielder like Lampard.
2 months ago
I don't know, you say Poldoski was poor for Bayern, but I really feel like he was never given a fair shot in the side. What with Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose in the side where was he going to play?
As for Bent, I never understood why Tottenham picked him up, and for that much money, he never impressed me once playing for Charlton. Though I was impressed with the pickup of Giovanni Dos Santos, and it will be interesting to see how he ends up in the Premier League.
To me Tottenham seems to just buy and sell players like it is nobodies business, it seems like it would hard to put the right foot forward with so many players coming and going, how can the team gel...?
from 2 months ago
I think Spurs got Bent because they weren't sure whether Berbatov would stay, and the top scoring English striker of the last two years was available although at a high price. It was a lose-lose situation, if Berbatov left and Bent went to West Ham then Spurs fans would probably complain that they didn't get him.
Podolski didn't get much of a chance, but Klose went through a few slumps for Bayern last season and still didn't lose his place. I don't doubt Podolski's quality in certain situations but he certainly doesn't shine all the time, so it's a risk.
2 months ago
A refreshing slant on the Spurs strikere debate. I feel the same way to be honest - they will never be able to get this kind of money for Keane and Berbatov again and it will enable them to have a massive rebuilding project to the liking of Ramos, something Benitez would surely have loved at the end of his first season.
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