Gareth Bale is...The most expensive player ever?!

GlastonSpur said:
He clearly likes being at Spurs and clearly likes AVB (co-incidence or not, his new daughter has been named Alba Violet Bale).

Also, if we finish in the top 4 he'll get a new contract with a very substantial wage rise ... and have the the prospect of CL football.

In addition, I don't think Levy is ready to sell, not least because he's still in the process of seeking a deal for stadium naming rights (for the new stadium) and in this regard knows the value of having a super-star name at the club.

Taken all together, if we finish in the top 4 then I very much doubt that Bale will be leaving this summer.
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I admire your positivism. But money talks and if Bale wants away and they get a big offer, why would he stay?

If you believe the papers he has the right to speak to certain clubs as agreed in his new contract. If a Real Madrid come in for him that's a chance that may not come again.

I think he might consider his position - specifically whether Spurs likely to be challenging for the title next year. Without serious investment and some really top players coming in I cant see it.

The CL is a big carrot - but if he moves on he's obviously only going to a CL side anyway.
 
GlastonSpur said:
He clearly likes being at Spurs and clearly likes AVB (co-incidence or not, his new daughter has been named Alba Violet Bale).

Also, if we finish in the top 4 he'll get a new contract with a very substantial wage rise ... and have the the prospect of CL football.

In addition, I don't think Levy is ready to sell, not least because he's still in the process of seeking a deal for stadium naming rights (for the new stadium) and in this regard knows the value of having a super-star name at the club.

Taken all together, if we finish in the top 4 then I very much doubt that Bale will be leaving this summer.
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:lol::wenger:
 
RedRover said:
I admire your positivism. But money talks and if Bale wants away and they get a big offer, why would he stay?

If you believe the papers he has the right to speak to certain clubs as agreed in his new contract. If a Real Madrid come in for him that's a chance that may not come again.

I think he might consider his position - specifically whether Spurs likely to be challenging for the title next year. Without serious investment and some really top players coming in I cant see it.

The CL is a big carrot - but if he moves on he's obviously only going to a CL side anyway.
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Well, I don't believe the papers. It's not Levy's style to include any such clause in a player contract.

And even if there were such a clause, letting Bale talk to club A, B or C is not the same thing as Levy being willing to accept an offered transfer fee.
 
Unless he comes to Utd I think he'd be better off giving Spurs at least another year of the clubs who can afford him (city, real, Barca, Chelsea) none of them are exactly stable from a managerial perspective are they?

Why risk getting mixed up in that when he can just stay at a stable and improving spurs, in Europe and at the top end of the league.

If all goes well he could be the main man at spurs. They might not quite be able to challenge for the big trophies but he has time on his side.

I could easily see him staying there next year.
 
GlastonSpur said:
He clearly likes being at Spurs and clearly likes AVB (co-incidence or not, his new daughter has been named Alba Violet Bale).

Also, if we finish in the top 4 he'll get a new contract with a very substantial wage rise ... and have the the prospect of CL football.

In addition, I don't think Levy is ready to sell, not least because he's still in the process of seeking a deal for stadium naming rights (for the new stadium) and in this regard knows the value of having a super-star name at the club.

Taken all together, if we finish in the top 4 then I very much doubt that Bale will be leaving this summer.
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This would be such a devastating combination on the left for Barca.
 
Eyepopper said:
Unless he comes to Utd I think he'd be better off giving Spurs at least another year of the clubs who can afford him (city, real, Barca, Chelsea) none of them are exactly stable from a managerial perspective are they?

Why risk getting mixed up in that when he can just stay at a stable and improving spurs, in Europe and at the top end of the league.

If all goes well he could be the main man at spurs. They might not quite be able to challenge for the big trophies but he has time on his side.

I could easily see him staying there next year.
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I can see him demanding a move if Barca or Real come calling. Other than that, I hope he's sensible enough to stay and develop at Spurs where he's given the license and is the main man rather than move to Chelsea or City.
 
We'll have one more season at least of Bale at Spurs. Next summer, then we'll see. That will be when he moves imo, if he pushes for it.
 
If Spurs finish top four then Im confident he is going to stay. Levy will stave off any offers for one more season. But then next season its their job to convince him to stay and make a better job of competing for the league title. If they cant do that by next season, then I dont see him staying because he is not going to stay just to come 3rd or 4th every year and go to the knockout or QF's of the UCL.
 
He could be the one to lift Spurs from a top 6, top four club into the top two. If they can keep Bale and the rest of their team and sign a quality striker (why the hell didn't the go for Berbatov?), then they could challenge for a top two or three position next year. They probably need one more winger also. Entertaining team!
 
GlastonSpur said:
Well, I don't believe the papers. It's not Levy's style to include any such clause in a player contract.

And even if there were such a clause, letting Bale talk to club A, B or C is not the same thing as Levy being willing to accept an offered transfer fee.
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It would be to get him to sign a new deal and therefore get a much larger fee for him if he was sold. He's a business man, as we're constantly being reminded by Spurs fans and a longer contract would strengthen their position in negotiations.

Obviously that doesn't translate to a bid being accepted - but the last time Madrid came knocking they yielded, because very few clubs, if any, can refuse to let a player talk to a club of that size. Even United, a team challenging for the CL every year couldnt keep Ronaldo for long once they came knocking.

Fact is Levy may have learnt a lesson holding onto Modric and realising less money than they would have gotten from Chelsea the summer before with little discernable benefit.

I'd also suggest that if a "once in a lifetime" offer comes in and Bale wants to go and its rejected, he'll end up unhappy, form will probably dip and he'll end up gone the next year for less money.

If a club will pay big, then I see no reason why Spurs wouldnt sell.
 
Rossa said:
He could be the one to lift Spurs from a top 6, top four club into the top two. If they can keep Bale and the rest of their team and sign a quality striker (why the hell didn't the go for Berbatov?), then they could challenge for a top two or three position next year. They probably need one more winger also. Entertaining team!
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Spurs problem is they dont go out and spend big money on top players. prime example was in january, when despite Adebayor being away and only having Defoe they didn't do anything.

Next year Chelsea look like having Mourinho back, City will strengthen and Arsenal look like they're finally going to loosen the purse strings.

For me, unless Spurs spend big they'll be where they are this season, next season.
 
RedRover said:
It would be to get him to sign a new deal and therefore get a much larger fee for him if he was sold. He's a business man, as we're constantly being reminded by Spurs fans and a longer contract would strengthen their position in negotiations.

Obviously that doesn't translate to a bid being accepted - but the last time Madrid came knocking they yielded, because very few clubs, if any, can refuse to let a player talk to a club of that size. Even United, a team challenging for the CL every year couldnt keep Ronaldo for long once they came knocking.

Fact is Levy may have learnt a lesson holding onto Modric and realising less money than they would have gotten from Chelsea the summer before with little discernable benefit.

I'd also suggest that if a "once in a lifetime" offer comes in and Bale wants to go and its rejected, he'll end up unhappy, form will probably dip and he'll end up gone the next year for less money.

If a club will pay big, then I see no reason why Spurs wouldnt sell.
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We yielded because we received an offer Levy considered acceptable and we'd already held onto Modric for a year, same with Berbatov as well.

What was Levy's lesson? He held on, in the face of ridicule from the media, opposition fans and some Spurs fans and Modric stayed, put in one of his best seasons at the club and, were it not for an unlikely series of events, we would probably have been playing in the CL this season. And Chelsea never offered 33 million. And Real aren't a direct rival, either in terms of league placing or long standing rivalries between the fans.

The same was said about Modric. Offers for players like Bale will not be 'once in a lifetime', especially at his age.
 
RedRover said:
Spurs problem is they dont go out and spend big money on top players. prime example was in january, when despite Adebayor being away and only having Defoe they didn't do anything.

Next year Chelsea look like having Mourinho back, City will strengthen and Arsenal look like they're finally going to loosen the purse strings.

For me, unless Spurs spend big they'll be where they are this season, next season.
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That's because we usually don't need to "spend big" to acquire top players, as illustrated by Sandro, Lloris and Vertonghen for example: each of these three were acquired for an average of slightly less than 10m (or a combined total of around 29m).

As for last January, Spurs did try to do something about the striker situation, but ultimately Damiao's club wanted more than we were willing to pay. With no sugar-daddy, that's just the way it is sometimes. But Levy's stance will be justified regardless IF we finish in the top 4 again ... when I'd expect a renewed approach for Damiao this summer.
 
Spurs have made big strides in the past 2 seasons. They are now a top 4 side on merit in my book. They aren't far off being a side that can challenge for the title with the addition of a couple of players (a top class striker is a must imho)
 
GlastonSpur said:
That's because we usually don't need to "spend big" to acquire top players, as illustrated by Sandro, Lloris and Vertonghen for example: each of these three were acquired for an average of slightly less than 10m (or a combined total of around 29m).

As for last January, Spurs did try to do something about the striker situation, but ultimately Damiao's club wanted more than we were willing to pay. With no sugar-daddy, that's just the way it is sometimes. But Levy's stance will be justified regardless IF we finish in the top 4 again ... when I'd expect a renewed approach for Damiao this summer.
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You don't need to spend big to acquire top players, but you've needed a quality striker since Berbatov left and one could argue that you've missed out on 2 Champions League campaigns at an absolute minimum (plus potential silverware) because of Levy's stubbornness to pay market value. The money should be there since your wage bill is low and you've spent basically nothing in 5 seasons.

If Spurs miss out on the Champions League this season as they did last season and the season before, Levy will once again be to blame for not loosening his tight (as a camel's arse in a sandstorm) purse-strings.
 
finneh said:
You don't need to spend big to acquire top players, but you've needed a quality striker since Berbatov left and one could argue that you've missed out on 2 Champions League campaigns at an absolute minimum (plus potential silverware) because of Levy's stubbornness to pay market value. The money should be there since your wage bill is low and you've spent basically nothing in 5 seasons.

If Spurs miss out on the Champions League this season as they did last season and the season before, Levy will once again be to blame for not loosening his tight (as a camel's arse in a sandstorm) purse-strings.
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I agree that we've needed a quality striker ever since Berbatov left.

The striker situation is one where we might actually need to spend big in order to get someone of top quality ... partly because strikers tend to cost more than players in other positions, and partly because it's one area where we don't really have any hot prospects coming up through the ranks.
 
golden_blunder said:
Spurs have made big strides in the past 2 seasons. They are now a top 4 side on merit in my book. They aren't far off being a side that can challenge for the title with the addition of a couple of players (a top class striker is a must imho)
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I agree, a top striker, keep Sandro fit, couple of decent squad players and they'll be challenging. They could actually gamble and spend sone real money because even if it doesn't work they can always sell Bale summer 14 and recoup the outlay.
 
peterstorey said:
Spurs haven't gone anywhere except backwards - they're worse than they were last season with Modric and an Adebayor who gave a flying feck.
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Actually we're 3 points better off than we were last season after the same/equivalent fixtures.

Or on a time-basis (number of games played) we're 4 points better off.

Moreover, we're almost certain to make it into the EL QFs, whereas last season we didn't progress beyond the group stages.

In contrast, Arsenal's slow decline continues, with player after player jumping ship, only to be replaced by inferior quality. Next up: Sagna gone in the summer.
 
GlastonSpur said:
Actually we're 3 points better off than we were last season after the same/equivalent fixtures.

Or on a time-basis (number of games played) we're 4 points better off.

Moreover, we're almost certain to make it into the EL QFs, whereas last season we didn't progress beyond the group stages.

In contrast, Arsenal's slow decline continues, with player after player jumping ship, only to be replaced by inferior quality. Next up: Sagna gone in the summer.
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You and Petey ... Play nice.
 
GlastonSpur said:
Actually we're 3 points better off than we were last season after the same/equivalent fixtures.

Or on a time-basis (number of games played) we're 4 points better off.

Moreover, we're almost certain to make it into the EL QFs, whereas last season we didn't progress beyond the group stages.

In contrast, Arsenal's slow decline continues, with player after player jumping ship, only to be replaced by inferior quality. Next up: Sagna gone in the summer.
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To be fair, that's a massive step in the right direction.
 
peterstorey said:
Why? Spurs are more shit than they were last year when they had Modric in CM and an up-for-it Adebayor. It's a no-brainer.
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I do agree with you suprisingly, and you have to consider money spent again and that for me despite Spurs currently being higher in the league bangs it on the head... Spurs need to spend a lot every season IMO to achieve slightly better,. slightly better and then fall back 3 space to start again, they are at the 'pinacle' of Spur's form revolution, and I have no doubt, next season will be 5/6th at top.. whereas Arsenal will be top 4 again I believe...

Although I have heard a lot about Arsenal's players such as Gibbs, Sagna, Wilshere, Walcott (Although I think that's cleared up now obv) and Jenkinson all rumoured to be off, and I think that would hurt Arsenal if that happened....

Spurs loosing their best player also would hurt them a lot more than Arsenal loosing theirs.
 
Spurs now have a better manager, better defence with Vertonghan in there, a better keeper, a star player that is playing better than he ever has done, and Parker has become a second string player when they have a fit squad. Modric was a blow but he wanted to leave and Demebele is fantastic.

They are better than last year, and of course Arsenal minus RVP are much worse than they were.
 
Jaybezia said:
.... Spurs need to spend a lot every season IMO to achieve slightly better,. slightly better and then fall back 3 space to start again, they are at the 'pinacle' of Spur's form revolution, and I have no doubt, next season will be 5/6th at top.. ....
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This is not supported by the facts. In the last two windows (covering one seasonal cycle), for example, our net spend was 3.5m.

In the two windows before those, our net spend was a gain of 28m.

Nor are there solid reasons to suppose that next season Spurs will fall back to 5th/6th, when we have finished in the top 4 twice in the last 3 seasons and stand a very decent chance of doing so again this time around.
 
Do they necessarily have a better manager? Look at where Harry found them and where he left them, whereas Villas-Boas has them almost exactly where they were a season ago.
 
I always wondered why Spurs' wage bill is well below £100m. How long can they sustain that, with Arsenal's being around £150m, not to mention the likes of Chelsea, City and us? They've done exceptionally well to get where they are with that kind of wages, but surely to get any further they must break their wage structure?
 
GlastonSpur said:
This is not supported by the facts. In the last two windows (covering one seasonal cycle), for example, our net spend has been 3.5m.

In the two windows before those, our net spend was a gain of 28m.

Nor are there solid reasons to suppose that next season Spurs will fall back to 5th/6th, when we have finished in the top 4 twice in the last 3 seasons and stand a very decent chance of doing so again this time around.
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Your not understanding my comment, I didn't comment on NET spend, I commented on how much Spurs spend, yes it does do well when you manage to rake a lot of sales in to pull that figure down, but that's a seperate issue, your sales/purchase aren't usually that break even, and do you know why that was? Because you sold a lot of your better players.. surely you can't think that represents progress? Again you presume that when I said of the 'Spurs cycle' that I can't be talking about a period longer than 3 years? I would say around 5-6 in total but they are coming to the peak of that cycle, time will tell, if I'm wrong I'm wrong... I don't have a grudge against Spurs though, a few likeable players, decent Manager IMO, just Levy... ;)
 
TheRisingSun said:
Do they necessarily have a better manager? Look at where Harry found them and where he left them, whereas Villas-Boas has them almost exactly where they were a season ago.
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Harry did a good job, but the scattergun all out attack and little tactics approach will only get you so far. AVB has made them a steady team.
 
Glaston has every reason to be optimistic. I also think they'll hold onto Bale another year, at the very least. It's probably in Bale's best interest as well, as opposed to playing 2nd or 3rd fiddle to the likes of Ronaldo, Messi etc. If Bale tears the UCL apart next season, then surely either Madrid or Barca (probably Madrid as Barca will go in for Neymar) - hopefully even us, will be in for him.

I can't see Levy selling him yet, unless someone offers 50 - 60M, which I think is ridiculous but that's what it will cost anyone who'd want him this summer :nervous:
 
peterstorey said:
Why? Spurs are more shit than they were last year when they had Modric in CM and an up-for-it Adebayor. It's a no-brainer.
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Whether we're better or worse than last season, we're comparatively so far doing better than Arsenal. We're 3 points up on the equivalent fixtures from last season and 1 point up from the 28th round of games, whereas Arsenal are 12 points worse off from the equivalent fixtures and 5 points worse from the 28th round of games.

Season doesn't end now of course but just something to chew on.
 
GlastonSpur said:
That's because we usually don't need to "spend big" to acquire top players, as illustrated by Sandro, Lloris and Vertonghen for example: each of these three were acquired for an average of slightly less than 10m (or a combined total of around 29m).

As for last January, Spurs did try to do something about the striker situation, but ultimately Damiao's club wanted more than we were willing to pay. With no sugar-daddy, that's just the way it is sometimes. But Levy's stance will be justified regardless IF we finish in the top 4 again ... when I'd expect a renewed approach for Damiao this summer.
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Top players for reasonable sums are few and far between. Those referred to are good players, who have had (or are having) a good season. But its an example of Spurs buying good players in the hope they can develop them into really top players, rather than sometimes buying established quality which you need to challenge the top teams over a season. RVP is a great example - the difference this season for United.

My point uis that they seem to lack ambition at times. As an example, Adebayor is a cast off from a club they hope to be challenging, where he clearly wasnt good enough.

Say waht you like about Damiao. Bottom line is they didnt get it done, and its easy to tell the fans they were rebuffed. It might be right, but they also may have come in late trying to steal a cheap deal - who knows.

For me Bale is far and away the best player at the club - and when that happens, usually said player ends up moving to a team of other established players.

The point re Levy we often hear undermines itself here. He's a businessman who likes to spend decent but not massive sums on players who may yield a profit. A good approach, but surely it follows that he will then cash in onplayers hwere the price is right if it can improve the team in the long run?

To be fair Spurs may go out and buy players of similar class, or at least closer to Bale and actually mount a challenge - but I remain unconvinced.
 
GlastonSpur said:
This is not supported by the facts. In the last two windows (covering one seasonal cycle), for example, our net spend was 3.5m.

In the two windows before those, our net spend was a gain of 28m.

Nor are there solid reasons to suppose that next season Spurs will fall back to 5th/6th, when we have finished in the top 4 twice in the last 3 seasons and stand a very decent chance of doing so again this time around.
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I think that highlights the point. Surely Redknapp and AVB would have liked more money to spend - but its not there.

A £60 million offer for one player may therefore suit club and manager if it allows them to build a better quality side by making 2 or 3 additions without hurting the bank balance.
 
africanspur said:
Whether we're better or worse than last season, we're comparatively so far doing better than Arsenal. We're 3 points up on the equivalent fixtures from last season and 1 point up from the 28th round of games, whereas Arsenal are 12 points worse off from the equivalent fixtures and 5 points worse from the 28th round of games.

Season doesn't end now of course but just something to chew on.
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He wasn't comparing Spurs and Arsenal? He was comparing Spurs today vs Spurs of recent years?
 
africanspur said:
But those stats are a direct comparison of Spurs this season vs Spurs of last season?
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Your missing my point, yous started your post by stating

Whether we're better or worse than last season, we're comparatively so far doing better than Arsenal
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Which is comparing Spurs and Arsenal... my only point was I think he was talking about Spurs vs Spurs, saying that basically they have a worse team, if your better off points wise (I don't know I haven't worked it out) But that could be to many reasons such as weaker opponents/ injury luck/ luck results etc etc again, I'm not saying that's the case and I may have misunderstood but I think Peterstorey was just trying to say he thinks Spurs as team are worse... not Arsenal have moved on more than Spurs have moved on from Time A to Time B...

As i said though, If I misunderstood his point, then disregard this :)
 
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