Tom Huddlestone has taken to Twitter to clarify comments he feels the newspapers have twisted.
"Would like to thank the Spurs fans, staff and players for the wonderful 8yrs I have spent there. Have some amazing memories that I will cherish and keep with me forever. A new chapter In my career is about to start and I'm very excited and can't wait to get started! Feel mis-quoted, enjoyed my season with AVB and my whole time with spurs. If you read the quotes you get a clear picture, not the headline."
Tom mentioned to the papers that he felt he was forced out the door, well to an extent that is probably true. Spurs did really have to force Tom out the door, he spoke to many clubs but never signed for any of them.
I hope he does well at Hull, at least he has given himself a chance to be seen by Hodgson and a chance of getting picked for the World Cup next summer.
Andre Villas-Boas has given a wake up call to those fans with their heads buried in the sand. Gareth Bale doesn't speak to him and Spurs may have to force Gareth to stay against his will.
"For the games against Palace, Tbilisi and Swansea, he will not be in line to threaten to come back. We will have to see how he returns today from [international duty with] Wales, and assess if the pain in his foot has stopped troubling his progress to return into first-team training. Our idea is to count on Gareth. I have told you lots and lots of times.
"Speculation has arisen with the player because of the quality that he has and the season that he had, the amazing moments of individual brilliance. Ideally, we would like the player to continue belonging to Tottenham. We are aware that Real Madrid are interested. It doesn't mean that we are willing to negotiate.
Villas-Boas confirmed decisions over the future of Bale would be made in discussion with chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Franco Baldini. "Everyone is involved, whatever the decision we take – including those from last season onwards," he said. "We explain to the clubs that have asked for him that the player is our player."
Our idea is to count on Gareth.
"Speculation has aroused with the player because of the quality that he has and the season he had last season, the amazing moments of individual brilliance. Ideally, we'd like the player to continue belonging to Tottenham.
"We can speak to the players regarding their ambitions and we can explain to them that at certain stages players are under contract and have the responsibility towards their clubs. And we as club, or the chairman as the person who controls the club, has to defend their own interest."
He was asked if Spurs are a one man team and he responded by implying that all major teams have one key figure. "You take Messi and Ronaldo out of Barcelona and Real Madrid, you see how many points they have."
When asked about Bale's state of mind: "His mental state nobody knows because the player doesn't speak. The only thing that we are able to see – or you are able to see – is the player arriving in and out of the training ground." When asked to clarify what he believed Bale's mental state to be, Villas-Boas simply replied: "It's fine, it's fine."
So basically he won't be 'fit' until after the transfer window shuts on September 2, surprise surprise. People read what they want to read into these things but the situation has been pretty obvious for weeks. Personally I naturally want Bale to stay and if he is still here at the end of the window he will knuckle down and give 100% of that I have no doubt, however this situation has happened many times before with many clubs. Mystery injuries suddenly appear as an excuse but most fans see through these things in this day and age.
The smokescreen of a painful foot isn't fooling many, it's patently obvious that Bale decided he wasn't playing for Spurs and wasn't training with everyone else in case he got injured and scuppered a move. It's a disgraceful way to behave, but it's common and he is doing himself no favours. If you sat down at the start of the window and wrote a script of how a saga will go, you would have written all this.
The big point for me was Hong Kong. A massive Asian market the club wants to promote itself in and where was Gareth Bale? Not one photo opportunity in a Spurs shirt for the number one marketing tool in football who basically had nothing better to do and against South China he even stayed in the changing rooms.
That shouted loud and clear I don't want to promote Spurs because I'm not going to be here, unless of course you want to believe our marketing department and PR departments are totally incompetent.
His silence is simply a way of not alienating fans in case he is still here in which case you will see quotes of "I never wanted to leave," I guarantee it. I hope he is still here but I'm a bit too experienced not to know that everything is not rosy in the garden.
"Would like to thank the Spurs fans, staff and players for the wonderful 8yrs I have spent there. Have some amazing memories that I will cherish and keep with me forever. A new chapter In my career is about to start and I'm very excited and can't wait to get started! Feel mis-quoted, enjoyed my season with AVB and my whole time with spurs. If you read the quotes you get a clear picture, not the headline."
Tom mentioned to the papers that he felt he was forced out the door, well to an extent that is probably true. Spurs did really have to force Tom out the door, he spoke to many clubs but never signed for any of them.
I hope he does well at Hull, at least he has given himself a chance to be seen by Hodgson and a chance of getting picked for the World Cup next summer.
Andre Villas-Boas has given a wake up call to those fans with their heads buried in the sand. Gareth Bale doesn't speak to him and Spurs may have to force Gareth to stay against his will.
"For the games against Palace, Tbilisi and Swansea, he will not be in line to threaten to come back. We will have to see how he returns today from [international duty with] Wales, and assess if the pain in his foot has stopped troubling his progress to return into first-team training. Our idea is to count on Gareth. I have told you lots and lots of times.
"Speculation has arisen with the player because of the quality that he has and the season that he had, the amazing moments of individual brilliance. Ideally, we would like the player to continue belonging to Tottenham. We are aware that Real Madrid are interested. It doesn't mean that we are willing to negotiate.
Villas-Boas confirmed decisions over the future of Bale would be made in discussion with chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Franco Baldini. "Everyone is involved, whatever the decision we take – including those from last season onwards," he said. "We explain to the clubs that have asked for him that the player is our player."
Our idea is to count on Gareth.
"Speculation has aroused with the player because of the quality that he has and the season he had last season, the amazing moments of individual brilliance. Ideally, we'd like the player to continue belonging to Tottenham.
"We can speak to the players regarding their ambitions and we can explain to them that at certain stages players are under contract and have the responsibility towards their clubs. And we as club, or the chairman as the person who controls the club, has to defend their own interest."
He was asked if Spurs are a one man team and he responded by implying that all major teams have one key figure. "You take Messi and Ronaldo out of Barcelona and Real Madrid, you see how many points they have."
When asked about Bale's state of mind: "His mental state nobody knows because the player doesn't speak. The only thing that we are able to see – or you are able to see – is the player arriving in and out of the training ground." When asked to clarify what he believed Bale's mental state to be, Villas-Boas simply replied: "It's fine, it's fine."
The smokescreen of a painful foot isn't fooling many, it's patently obvious that Bale decided he wasn't playing for Spurs and wasn't training with everyone else in case he got injured and scuppered a move. It's a disgraceful way to behave, but it's common and he is doing himself no favours. If you sat down at the start of the window and wrote a script of how a saga will go, you would have written all this.
The big point for me was Hong Kong. A massive Asian market the club wants to promote itself in and where was Gareth Bale? Not one photo opportunity in a Spurs shirt for the number one marketing tool in football who basically had nothing better to do and against South China he even stayed in the changing rooms.
That shouted loud and clear I don't want to promote Spurs because I'm not going to be here, unless of course you want to believe our marketing department and PR departments are totally incompetent.
His silence is simply a way of not alienating fans in case he is still here in which case you will see quotes of "I never wanted to leave," I guarantee it. I hope he is still here but I'm a bit too experienced not to know that everything is not rosy in the garden.
