The Discussion

Here is a message I received from an extremely passionate Spurs fan, via Facebook;


Aaron Barnes 18 May at 15:54
Hey!

Ok can't wait for next season!!! We've got Sandro already signed but I don't know much about him. I think we need a fast striker for when Defoe's out. Pav and Crouch just don't have pace. I think Keane maybe sold to finance any deals. I'm not sure we need too much more though.

We need to hang on to Bale and Modric. There's talk of Joe Cole, who I think is quality, but can he play in the same team as Modric? I don't know...

We'll have to see I guess...


Here's my response:

Jaymes Marsh 18 May at 16:01
Hi mate,

Give Sandro at least 2 seasons to bed in, and then some. Young players that come over from Brazil, normally take a good 18 months to adjust to life away from what they're used to.

The Modfather won't be going anywhere. Keane will be sold, as will Pavlyuchenko, Jenas, Taarabt (to Real Madrid or Barcelona; the lad just has to make up his mind where he wants to play :-), Dos Santos, O'Hara, Hutton, and Dervite.

Harry has been given assurances that he will have money to spend, plus the money we make from any sales. Therefore, you could be looking at a £50-60 million kitty! Is that enough though?

Woodgate may announce his retirement next month, so Harry may go in for Micah Richards. I still think we need a commanding central midfielder. So I would like Harry to buy big in that department. There's been some chatter on the forums in relation to us selling on Palacios, but I can't see that happening. The lad does need to learn to not give the ball away so much.

All in all, our squad is brewing with quality at the moment, so there really isn't any need for us to make wholesale changes.

Anyone you'd want us to sign? Be realistic though mate.

*********

In other news, Carlo Cudicini has signed for another year. I suppose that puts to bed any rumours of us signing David James (thank God!).

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What was he doing on a motorbike?

Firstly, I would like to wish Carlo a speedy recovery.

Right, now that I've got that out of the way, I would like to ask what our keeper was doing on a motorbike? I only ask, because after researching the accident rate (you can find that here in the Department of Transport In Depth Study of Motorcycle Accidents) of motorcycles, it's quite clear that all and sundry should stay well clear of them, let alone £35,000 per week professional footballers.

"Motorcyclists have an especially poor safety record when compared to other road user groups. Their killed and serious injury (KSI) rate in the UK, per million vehicle kilometres, is approximately twice that of pedal cyclists and over 16 times that of car drivers and passengers. Motorcyclists make up less than 1% of vehicle traffic but their riders suffer 14% of total deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads (DETR, 2000)."

Harry, if you haven't banned the players from owning motorbikes, then I think now would be the time.


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Is Harry telling us fibs?

So then, Harry's gone on record and said that he knows nothing about the Negredo deal.

Hmm. I remember him saying the exact same thing when asked about Cudicini.

Still, he could actually be telling the truth. To be honest with you, I hope he is. If the reports that we'll be spending £15+ million on him are accurate, then I'd rather keep the cash in my pocket, or spend it on Huntelaar (that's if he's interested in joining us).

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