So then, if we believe today's reports about impending transfers we now know why Spurs have been trying to force the Champions into paying silly money for Dimitar Berbatov - the North London club have been pinning their hopes on United bankrolling the signing of not one, but three new players. According to the player, Roman Pavlyuchenko is about to sign, the fee is believed to be around £12m and what's more Spurs are being relinked to Huntelaar and Corluka of Ajax and Man City respectively.
Does this sudden reported burst of impending transfer activity mean that the crafty cockneys have extracted yet more cash out of United, or more likely does it mean that they have accepted the Reds "take-it or leave-it" offer of £25m for the Bulgarian striker?
If and it's a very big if, Spurs manage to pull off all three transfers it will no doubt turn out to be sound business coming on the back of selling Robbie Keane and Berbatov, netting a tidy profit into the bargain.
Spurs could yet surprise us all by announcing that Berbatov will be sold to Barcelona, but that seems highly unlikely as the Catalan club will not match the asking price.
When and if the Berbatov to United transfer goes through, it will no doubt be another bitter pill for Spurs fans to swallow, especially with rival fans and ex-players labelling them as "a selling club".
Then we come to the PR charade of Daniel Levy, who reported the Champions to the Premier League for alleged tapping. United countered that accusation when stating that they have done everything via official channels and what's more they have the documentation to prove it.
Reporting United was a calculated gamble, the fact that nothing was likely to come of it, is to miss the point, it was an exercise in being seen doing the 'right thing' with a view to retaining a player, despite the fact that Spurs knew it was likely he was destined for the exit door.
Spurs fans have been quick to make comparisons between the Ronaldo situation and the stories linking United with Berbatov, when accusing the Champions of "hypocrisy". These Spurs supporters should realise that there is a big difference between the two scenarios.
From the very outset Ferguson made it crystal clear that the player was not for sale at ANY price, whereas United have been clearly been given a perceived level of encouragement to pursue their interest in Berbatov.
Agent interference or not, if Spurs had acted in a similar manner to United over Real Madrid's courtship with Ronaldo then the matter would have come to a swift conclusion some time ago.
Reading between the lines it could be argued that Berbatov has been available all along subject to a fee being agreed and replacements secured. It could also be argued that Spurs have simply been trying to get the best deal possible and there's not a lot wrong with that.
The price of upsetting United by going public when making these tapping-up claims has to be balanced against placating unhappy supporters and so there is some logic to it all. It's all a part of the transfer game but let no one be kidded, money talks and it seems unlike Ronaldo (at least for now), Berbatov had a price.
As far as Spurs chances of landing Huntelaar and Corluka go, my advice is believe it when it happens, because this could be another case of smoke and mirrors...don't believe everything your chairman tells you and what you read in the papers...Finally, it could be a whole lot worse, Berbatov could be moving to Arsenal...
Hard to argue with much of what you say, but don't be so sure that Fergie has "won" the Ronaldo battle.
ReplyDeleteA combo of the preening little twat being injured and the fact that he has almost certainly secured a summer 2009 release (a bit like the Berba "deal" last summer) gives you another season, but I reckon that is all.
All that said, I am not sure Levy has played this terribly cleverly. As my old ma used to say "he's so sharp he'll cut himself".
We may get Pavlyuchenko, but any selling club with a ha'porth of brain cells (even Man City) will recognise that we are up against it
and will price accordingly as the window looms.
Good luck with SulkyPants, by the way. Fabulous talent, but he could be the one that finally gives Old Red Nose his coronary...
Lazy journalism again (maybe seeing what you want to see?)... two things.
ReplyDelete1. Tottenham don't 'Need' Man U to bankroll their current transfer dealing. At the end of last season the club had committed a fund of £40m to Ramos for transfers. Our net transfer expenditure this summer is £4m, so there's plenty left in the kitty.
2. Tottenham did not encourage United's approach. In Daniel Levy's statement he clearly underlined that ALL approaches by United were rebuffed and United were categorically told that we had NO INTEREST in selling the player.
For Daniel Levy, read Baldrick and his 'cunning plans'.
ReplyDeleteAnd douglas, if what you say is true then why pray tell will this deal probably be done?
Agree with Douglas. I'm getting really fed up with this assumption that we absolutely need to sell Berbatov to buy other players. It's total rubbish. Obviously Levy would fancy covering the costs of any further purchases with selling Berbatov, but it is not essential. The best thing for Levy to do is wrap up the signing of Pavy, then release a statement saying that Spurs do not need to sell to fund this or further purchases. As a publicly listed company, Spurs can not lie publicly about their financial situation. The downside to that is that other clubs will bargain harder with us but at least it would finish this lazy assumption that we have to sell Berba.
ReplyDeleteI personally haven't a clue how Spurs go about solving the problem that Ferguson & his PR department (The Daily Mail) have caused.
ReplyDeleteAll I know is that it wasn't of Levy's making - unless of course you count 'failure to roll over and do whatever Sir Alex wants' as causing trouble.
I just like to see facts accuratelty reported.