The fascination and excitement surrounding new arrivals in the Premier League does not just end with established, experienced players with high profiles abroad, it also stretches to the exciting prospects that regularly turn out for their clubs on the continent as well. Perhaps an indication that the country is not settled on the many talents that are produced in clubs all over England, but rather an insistence of bringing in talent who are well coveted and maybe have a greater likelihood for success.
The success of the Spanish national teams—from youth levels through to the senior squad—and the remarkable consistency of the German sides have paved way for a number of admirers to look up and take note of how well these countries fare on the youth development side of the game. Maybe there’s a lack of patience from club’s to consider their own, rather preferring the attraction of a potential big name from abroad.
There are certainly a large number of foreign based young players who fit that bill, and would do extremely well and add significant quality to the Premier League.
Click on Javi Martinez to unveil the top 10
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The Champions League Group Stage has rarely delivered as much excitement and drama as the brain-melting hype may have implied, due to the usual suspects virtually always progressing to the knock-out stages. And the usual suspects almost always include the English participants. Even when Spurs debuted last season, they progressed in style.
An even stronger Premier League this season suggested business as usual in Europe. But that’s not quite how it has panned out. The two Manchester clubs never made it out of the group stage. And as of next week, it would be perfectly plausible if there are no English representatives in the last eight of the Champions League for the first time in over fifteen years.
Of course it is par for the course that debates will start about the strength of the Premiership, if there is a power-shift, if Italian football is resurgent, and so on. But the more probable explanation, as is often the case, is one of circumstance, a consequence of short-term events at individual clubs.Chelsea appears to be the current “club in crisis”. There always has to be a “big” club in crisis, and Arsenal have passed over the mantle, having themselves taken it off Manchester City, due to their never-ending crises (if you believe what you read, which I’m confident you don’t).
Chelsea’s struggles in Europe have mirrored a slump in league form, so the explanation seems quite straight forward. A new, inexperienced manager dedicated to a distinct change in tactics to what went before has led to a bumpy ride that Villas-Boas, recalling the track record of the club’s owner, could not survive. It is of course far too early to predict a wane in fortunes for the London club, especially with such a wealthy owner behind them, who will not stop in his desire to capture Europe’s biggest club prize. But with many of their key players reaching the twilight years of their career, and with a £50m white elephant in the room, it is little surprise everything hasn’t gone according to plan.
As for Manchester City, their debut season in the competition has been an education for all concerned. Only in one of their first five games, away to Villareal, can City be credited with a good, professional performance. Otherwise, it has been a struggle. Changes in playing personnel have cost City dear. Playing Kolo Toure in Munich cost them dear, apart from Carlos Tevez super-gluing himself to the bench, wrecking Mancini’s attempts to turn the game. Playing two back-up full-backs away to Napoli brought similar results.
City can had no excuses for not qualifying irrelevant of the difficult nature of the group, because of the money they have spent. But we can see in how the crucial game in Napoli was approached by the two teams some clues that explain the end result. Whilst Napoli’s league form had tailed off and the goals dried up, they were fully focused, as were their fans, on playing City and getting the necessary victory. Mancini and City found themselves at the time five points clear at the top of the Premier League, and perhaps their focus has shifted in that direction for many a month now. Either way, Mancini probably thought he could get away with changes and still qualify, but there is nowhere to hide in the Champions League, as he discovered at Inter Milan, and the competition may prove to be his Achilles heel – it’s rather early to be drawing such conclusions though. Since demotion to the Europa League Porto have been despatched 6-1 on aggregate, but only last night they once more struggled – they remain favourites for the trophy however.
Manchester United last finished as group runners-up in 2004-05 and were duly beaten home and away by Milan to crash out in the knockout stages. In 2005-06, they finished bottom of their group. Apart from that, their progress to at least the quarter-finals has been consistent. And the statistics show their start to the Premier League season to be one of their best.And yet the murmurings continue about the quality of the side, or at least of their performances. United are used to this – such noises accompanied them to a league title throughout last season and all the way to a Champions League final.
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Their Champions League group was considered one of the easier ones, especially for a club with United’s experience. Their struggles have been easy to explain, though no one expected them to struggle this much. Alex Ferguson has to rebuild another team. Much of the old guard has gone, or is going. A new batch of young players have arrived, but despite the ridiculous levels of media hype, are not fit to lace the shoes of some that have gone before them just yet. Their time may come, but they are having to learn on the job, the hard way. Throw in a few injuries and the odd player out of form, and the team certainly is not firing on all cylinders. Again, this is most likely a short-term problem. As much as many would like to see United diminish as a force, they won’t be going anywhere in the foreseeable future – but their current struggles lie in the simple fact that they are not quite as good as they used to be. There has been money to spend, but United no longer seem to have the capability to buy big, and smash transfer records, to compliment the squad’s potential.
What’s more, the fear factor seems to have gone. Ajax turned up and won at Old Trafford, and then there was Athletic Bilbao. For those who knew the Spanish outfit, last night will not have been that big a surprise – an excellently assembled side that is well organised, speedy and comfortable on the ball under the guise of a manager who devotes every waking hour to studying the opposition and how to improve his own team. In a world obsessed with two Spanish teams, there is plenty of exciting talent bubbling below the surface.
As for Arsenal, well they performed pretty much as expected for a team without any honours for seven years in 4th place in their domestic league. They qualified with ease, but were ultimately undone by one horror night. But to really challenge the best, Wenger has to soften his ideals, and buy established talent.
The Spanish League may or may not be stronger, but Real Madrid just thrashed Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday night without any trouble whatsoever. It was a victory against one of the many teams fighting for the very open fourth Champions League spot in la Primera and the 14th time in 25 league games that Madrid have knocked four or more goals against their opponents this season. So clearly there is a lack of depth in all the major divisions – and there are also big teams horribly out of form, as Inter Milan have shown recently. Even Bayern Munich have stuttered recently, especially away from home, and have already conceded the league title.
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Arguments over who has the best league are tedious anyway, but the point is that teams like Manchester City and Manchester United will be back, along with the other big teams, next season and pose a strong challenge in the Champions League. Let’s nor write off the league because of a small period of struggles against foreign teams. Better instead to simply credit some of the “outsiders” for quietly building brilliant and entertaining sides – be it Napoli and their magnificent front line or the scintillating Athletic Bilbao team, and the fairytale progression of Apoel Nicosia. Rather than bemoan a “boring” quarter-final line up devoid of many of the traditional big names, let’s celebrate a more eclectic mix of teams, and some exciting emerging players. The traditional big boys are no longer having it their own way, and this should be applauded.
But there is an easier solution to eradicate the struggles faced by English sides in recent times. Every tie completed so far in the current knockout stage of the Champions League has been won by the southernmost team (a trend Napoli should continue next week). So the answer is obvious – tow Britain to somewhere off the North African coast – then we’ll conquer Europe once more.
With Leeds’ playoff hopes all but over, the fans can’t be blamed for turning their attention to next season, although few are looking forward with much optimism.
The club have recently made a new contract offer to Robert Snodgrass with Warnock personally asking him for one more season in which he hopes to get the club promoted, unsuprisingly, Snodgrass hasn’t exactly jumped at the chance.
Reports suggest that Snodgrass is waiting to see the calibre of player Warnock is allowed to bring in before signing on the dotted line, whilst Bates has stated that the contract offer made is the highest we can afford, a line that will sound eerily familiar to any Leeds fan. There has been a problem with negotiating contracts for a while now, too many players have failed to agree new terms and left the club for it to be mere coincidence and the clubs apparant lack of desire to tie players down before their final year leaves most fans ripping their hair out, season after season.
This, understandably, makes it hard to believe that any significant investment in the team will be on the horizon in the near future, despite the positive quotes from Warnock about the type of players he wants to bring in.
The next few weeks will give fans a real idea of what to expect from next season, you cant help but think that whatever decision Snodgrass makes will be an indication of whether any realistic investment will be fortcoming, it’ll also show just how much determination Ken Bates really has in ensuring Leeds return to the country’s elite. The decision by Snodgrass is clearly a massive one, if he signs it’ll renew a lot of optimism in the fans who might actually start looking forward to the summer, if he doesn’t it’d be hard to imagine anything other than a long, dissapointing one.
On a lighter note, for those that are eternally optimistic, Leeds could still theoretically make the playoffs, or at least be in with a shout. Quite simply, if we beat Blackpool on Tuesday and they then go on to lose their next game, Leeds could be two points off the playoffs on the final day. The same applies with Cardiff, if they lose their next game, then to Leeds, we could also only be 2 points away on the final day. This of course also requires almost every team above us to lose their last few games, but I did say this was for the eternally optimistic.
In short, the season isn’t quite over but the summer has already started for the fans, by the end of May we’ll know whether our captain wants to stay, whether any investment is on it’s way and ultimately, whether we’ll be putting up a challenge next season or preparing for another dissapointing year.
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Barcelona are ready to offer Chelsea centre forward Didier Drogba a two-year contract to move to Camp Nou this summer, according to The Sun.
The veteran striker is out of contract in the summer at Stamford Bridge, and the Blues have been reluctant to offer the African the two additional years that he desires.
With the Ivory Coast international knocking back the option of a one-year extension from the Premier League side, a big-money move to join former team-mate Nicolas Anelka at Shanghai Shenhua has been speculated.
However, the latest inclination is that Barcelona will look to bring the forward to Spain on a free transfer and offer him a two-year contract worth up to £5 million a season in wages.
Barcelona have had first-hand experience of Drogba’s abilities this season, with the forward scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 Chelsea win in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
With Drogba expected to lead the line in Chelsea’s final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, the player’s future is set to be resolved after the end-of-season clash.
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Nottingham Forest’s 2011-12 season has been diabolical, but despite that fact, away games at Birmingham and Leeds will be fondly remembered in amongst the drab everyone aims to forget. One match that is memorable however, isn’t necessarily for the game itself, but the occasion.
When Forest drew our little brothers from down the road, Notts County, in the League Cup 1st round, there was always going to be added interest, predominantly from the Black and White side of the Trent. Notts County, despite their geographical distance, don’t take up much time in the minds of the Forest faithful, as for a while now, they’ve been nowhere near competitive enough to take a genuine interest in, although they’re showing signs of possibly changing that.
The pre-match build up was marred by events that had nothing to do with football, as rioters descended on various cities across the country, mainly London, and put many games in serious doubt, as policing numbers became an issue. Matches involving Tottenham, Charlton, Crystal Palace, and the England team, were all postponed, as parts of the country came to a standstill, praying common sense would prevail.
The Nottingham derby was also plunged into doubt, and it looked at a time, that it would have to be rearranged. Fortunately though, the game went ahead, and we were treated to a great spectacle, spoiling the 21,000 fans that turned up. Notts County took the lead, through Mike Edwards, and Forest hit back, with an outstanding curling free-kick from Lewis McGugan, which gave Steve McClaren his first goal as Forest boss.
In the second half, Forest gained the lead of the first time in the match, with Robbie Findley’s first goal in a Red shirt. The enthralling encounter continued to entertain, and former Forest benchwarmer Craig Westcarr grabbed the equaliser, and strangely celebrated inticingly in front a of the baffled A Block, as the deluded idea that Forest fans cared about him seemingly got to his head.
Extra time arrived, and Notts took the lead nine minutes into it, when Lee Hughes placed his shot to Paul Smith’s left, hitting the inside of the post and finding its way into the back of the net, to the delight of 6,000 Notts fans who’d made the long journey. With time ticking over, and Notts fans growing increasingly excited at the prospect of victory, it was looking like it was going to take something spectacular to take the game to penalties.
Up stepped Wes Morgan. Rarely did his attempts of playing as a striker in the dying seconds of a game succeed, but Wes didn’t want to keep with the script this time. Receiving the ball from Findley, he ambitiously and fearlessly, wellied it towards the top corner, and to the shock of everyone present, it found its way into the red and white coloured net.
Forest beat Notts 4-3 on penalties, sending the Reds through to the 2nd round.
The most integral point wanting to be made, is the trouble free, commendably brilliant atmopshere before, during and after the game. This enabled local police, in their high numbers, to deal appropriately with the other troubles occuring in the City of Nottingham that night.
Nottingham gets a bad press. Football gets a bad press. On this night, 21,605 supporters attended the local derby between Forest and Notts, and no arrests were made. Not one. It only takes one idiot to lose all sense of what’s right, and for something to spiral out of control, but not at this game.
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The game held little importance, but nobody can deny that the immense pride of being a part of that occasion, did over-ride the sour feeling of seeing the negative aspect, as Nottingham hit national headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A highly contested meeting, with all of those observing remaining responsible, and overall, doing Nottingham, and the game of football proud.
Disenchantment with goalkeepers is a widespread problem, as is securing the services of a reliable one. And, as with most players in football, the grass always seems greener on the other side. Subsequently, coveting other teams’ goalkeepers is common practice in the Premier League. Unless you have one of the world’s finest sitting behind your back four, the chances are that watching your team week after week will inevitably lead to some hairy moments involving suspect keeping. And what does mistrust breed? Transfers.
So, with the transfer window opening in eleven days time, who’s got their eye on who?
Shay Given
It’s fair to say that the Republic of Ireland keeper was one of the worst individual performers at Euro 2012. He was totally erratic, slow to react to shots and even scored a beautifully timed diving-header in to his own goal. Nonetheless, there is no shortage of interest in the Aston Villa man. His season in the midlands was somewhat underwhelming and given that his former manager Mark Hughes has expressed an interest, and that QPR have money to spend, a move seems likely.
Possible destination: QPR
Rob Green
Green is currently out of contract after spending six years with the east London club. The Hammers’ joint chairman David Gold said that he hoped Green would agree to a new deal but it was not to be. Arsenal have shown interest in Green in the past and are expecting to lose both Almunia (already gone) and Fabianski this summer so are in need of a back up keeper. Whether Green would want to play second fiddle to Szczesny at this stage in his career is a different matter.
Possible destinations: Arsenal, QPR, Aston Villa, Sunderland, West Brom
Brad Friedel
Friedel started last season brilliantly. Lauded by many as the signing of the summer, he was attributed with the steadying of Spurs’ often-flappable defence and their subsequent surge up the table. However, as the season wore one Ledley King showed sings of weariness and Friedel showed signs of being forty. The pair’s form dipped and it was rumoured that Redknapp had once again run out of patience with a first team keeper at the club. Redknapp may have been sacked since then but it still may be too late for the American. With Craig Gordon being released by Sunderland, O’Neill could be tempted to move for his former keeper as backup to Mignolet.
Possible destinations: Sunderland, West Brom,
Ben Foster
On loan at West Brom this season from his parent club in the Championship – Birmingham. Any hopes of the Baggies signing Foster on a permanent basis may have slipped away with Hodgson but Steve Clarke could yet pull off a coup. Spurs could be another option for the 29 year old who has had an impressive season in which only an unfortunate injury kept him out of Euro 2012.
Possible destinations: Spurs, Aston Villa
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Paddy Kenny
Kenny must have watched as new owner Tony Fernandes spent vast sums of money improving all areas of the QPR squad and wondered when his time would come. It appears that time is now. Manager Mark Hughes has already expressed an interest in bringing in a new keeper and if Kenny wants first team football he may have to move on. Kenny has had a reasonable season yet, realistically, you’d have to say that he’s one of the poorest ‘first choice’ keepers in the league.
West Ham are back in the big time next season after clinching promotion to the top flight via the play-offs under the stewardship of Sam Allardyce, but already they’re being tipped for the drop in various quarters, which to an extent, simply ignores what a good manager they have at the helm, which begs the question, does Allardyce get the credit he deserves?
The modern fascination of winning in style has seen effective managers like Allardyce unfairly criticised for the style of play that their teams play with. Roberto Martinez is lauded at Wigan for the mediocrity he oversees simply because it’s aesthetically pleasing while people like Allardyce are lambasted for achieving just as much but without the panache. Successful football should be all that matters at any club to any fan, if you can incorporate a modicum of craft to the graft, then all the better, but it’s far from a pre-requisite.
Allardyce has managed eight teams in his managerial career to date – Limerick, Preston (caretaker), Blackpool, Notts County, Bolton, Newcastle, Blackburn and West Ham – three of these were in higher divisions by the time he left, with promotions with Notts County, Bolton and West Ham, while he won the league with Limerick.
His eight-year reign as Bolton manager, though, is the one that’s worth remembering most because there he took a team from the lower reaches of the Championship and established them as a top eight side in the Premier League and in 2004-5 they finished as high as sixth. While at the club he brought players such as Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha, Fernando Hierro and Nicolas Anelka to the Reebok.
After winning promotion courtesy of Ricardo Vaz Te’s injury-time winner against Blackpool at Wembley he stated: “I was considered the top of my industry at Bolton. We were fifth in the Premier League and I had to suffer two sackings that were harsh. It damaged my reputation, but I’m still achieving great things. Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle in the past all went down. I don’t take any satisfaction from that but I must have done something right at those clubs.”
It’s soundbites such as this and the now infamous throwaway line: “I’m not suited to Bolton or Blackburn, I would be more suited to Inter or Real Madrid. It wouldn’t be a problem to me to go and manage those clubs because I would win the double or the league every time” that give every hack their column inches and increases the negative press. To rate him as a manager, you don’t have to like him as a man. He can be hugely egotistical, and sometimes come across as an arrogant old fool, but he’s definitely someone who gets the job done.
At Bolton, the two times that the club tried a more expansive approach after Allardyce left the club, they suffered relegation under Owen Coyle, while Sammy Lee was sacked after winning just three of his 14 games at the helm with the club firmly entrenched within the relegation zone. It may be something of a pragmatic approach, but achieving what is expected of you is a hugely overlooked quality in a manager these days.
Would Blackburn have ever become the circus show they have under Steve Kean if Allardyce had been at the helm? Of course they wouldn’t. His football isn’t as ugly as his detractors would have you believe, but neither is it as beautiful as the man himself would try and claim. It may be a touch more direct than the punters down at Upton Park have become accustomed to over the years, but the club have suffered two relegations inside a decade from the top flight, so it’s time for a change because something clearly wasn’t working.
Last season, with an expensively-assembled squad and the highest wage bill in the league by some distance, the pressure was on Allardyce to deliver promotion at the first time of asking. Undone by some ropey home form and a penchant for drawing winnable fixtures, they had to go up the hard way as they narrowly missed out on automatic promotion by just two points.
But in the midst of all that, his side went 20 games unbeaten at one point, amassed a respectable total of 86 points, which would have been enough to finish second the year before and pick the confidence up of a bunch of under-performing players while adding a fair share of his own.
The Championship respects winning football above all else over the course of an extremely tough 46 game period, the task now is to add a degree of finesse to the side ahead of the coming campaign. Norwich should act as the blueprint next term for the club – capable of playing it on the deck and the longer stuff if required – but I wouldn’t bet against a top half finish with Allardyce in charge.
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Personal objections to the man always lead to the inevitable criticism of his style of play, but when it comes to results, there are few better around than Allardyce and it’s conveniently always an area where critique is few and far between. I would go as far as to say he’s the most underrated manager in England, but that would imply that anyone is as clueless enough to not rate him at all, which judging by his past CV, would seem a tad churlish to say the least.
Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that the owners of Manchester United, the Glazier Family, have had a positive impact on the club.
The American businessmen have been heavily criticised by some factions of the Red Devils’ fanbase, but the Scottish trainer has defended the club’s major shareholders.
“I’m absolutely comfortable with the Glazers situation,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.
“They’ve been great. So if you’re asking me for my views, I don’t have any complaints.
“I’ve never encountered opposition. They’ve always been as sensible as they can in terms of financing the team, and they have to invest in the team to maintain the value of their asset.
“I think there are a whole lot of factions at United that think they own the club. They will always be contentious about whoever owns the club and that’s the way it has always been.
“When I came to the club, Martin Edwards was always getting pelted because he was going to sell to (Robert) Maxwell, then to (Rupert) Murdoch, Michael Knighton and when they became a PLC there was disaffection.
“Then, when the Glazers took over, there was disaffection, so there have always been wee pockets of supporters who have their views… and there’s nothing wrong with that.
“But I think the majority of the real fans will look at it realistically and say it’s not affecting the team. We’ve won four championships since they’ve been there, one European Cup.
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“I think the problem is they are not publicists. They don’t go out of their way to seek good publicity. They are quite happy to stay in the background. Roman Abramovich is the same,” he concluded.
Roy Hodgson is set to select his squad on Friday for the international friendly against Italy, but will leave out his entire back four from Euro 2012 The Telegraph claim.
The Three Lions were knocked out of the tournament in Ukraine and Poland by the Azzurri, and will face Cesare Prandelli’s men once more in Berne on August 15.
However, Hodgson has confessed that he will be shuffling his pack for the exhibition fixture.
“With regards to the Aug 15 friendly, you will definitely see some revolution there,’’ he has admitted.
John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson will all be omitted as the trainer looks to blood some fresh players.
A number of players are being touted for inclusion, with Frank Lampard and Kyle Walker set to be recalled after missing Euro 2012 through injury.
Youngsters such as Ryan Bertrand, Tom Cleverley and Daniel Sturridge are all expected to get a look-in also, as Hodgson looks to prepare for World Cup qualifying.
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Spurs supporters have had a somewhat turbulent summer so far. At times, fans seem to have been left with more questions than answers as the Andre Villas-Boas led revolution appeared to have come to a grinding halt in the transfer window. The recent sale of Luka Modric to Real Madrid looks set to catalyze a dramatic, late splurge of cash- but there has been one element of the Croatian’s deal to Los Merengues that has left some scratching their heads.
Modric’s transfer saga became something of a bludgeoning affair for Spurs supremo Daniel Levy and co this summer. There was always a simmering realisation that the club was in all likeliness, resigned to losing the services of the talented Croatian. Quite how this was set to play out, however, was a different story.
Levy had set his stall out last season with the knocking back of a quite staggering £40million offer from Chelsea on deadline day. And to some extent, that figure seemed to affect the rules of engagement this time round. Some reports suggest that the now infamous offer from Stamford Bridge was in fact £30million in cash and the £10million-rated central-defender, Alex. Harry Redknapp said at the time: ‘”The chairman stood firm. I think £40m was apparently offered.” Redknapp, however, has said many things from the window of his Range Rover; his word should hardly be taken as gospel.
But whether it was or wasn’t a purely cash deal, the figure of £40million became something of a watermark over the Luka Modric transfer and this seemed to become a real problem for Levy. The Essex-born businessman seemed desperate to hold out for that marquee figure, but the transfer window can be a cruel mistress and his hand was eventually forced. There is no shame in selling at a lower price, either.
Many like to point to the fact Modric was tied to a long-term contract at the club, but that doesn’t paint the entire picture. Paris Saint Germain’s retraction of a reported £40million bid left Real Madrid as the only, seriously interested party and they knew Spurs had to sell. Yes, theoretically he could have stayed, but Modric’s time was up at White Hart Lane. Having already spat his dummy out by not going on Spurs’ pre-season tour to the United States, there was a real risk of him causing dressing room disharmony- something the new manager and the new set-up simply did not need.
The club did not need a season with a player who desperately did not want to be there and even though it’s impossible to tell how the White Hart Lane faithful would react, he certainly left a proportion of the Tottenham support upset with his behaviour. Modric getting booed would have been hugely disheartening for the team, whatever way you look at it.
It wasn’t ideal but it’s difficult to buy into this notion that Levy has been ‘mugged off,’ somewhere in this deal. Last season, he did what was right for the club. Modric arguably owed the club another year, the chairman didn’t want to sell to a Premier League rival and it ultimately paid dividends. The facts are, Tottenham finished fourth and Chelsea sixth. Transfers are a highly reactive process and Spurs did well to get what they did.
The most recent reports suggest that Tottenham will receive an initial €30million up front and another €8million in performance-related add-ons. At the current exchange rate, that’s about £23.8million up front, potentially rising to £30million (there or there abouts). But that’s not all Tottenham seemed to get out of the deal.
Curiously, the club’s official announcement on the transfer denoted a “partnership agreement” had been reached with Real Madrid, alongside Modric’s transfer. Another Levy masterstroke? Or an act of saving face?
The official line from the club was :
The partnership agreement will see the two Clubs working together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships.
At first glance, the most glaringly concerning assumption you can make from that, is that Madrid will end up getting first-dibs on Gareth Bale, should he depart from N17. But it’s all very well reading in between the lines. Support for the chairman has sometimes been perhaps too unnerving, but Levy is no fool and he wouldn’t agree to anything unless it was overwhelmingly beneficial to the club. In a business sense anyway.
The latest line out of this is that Real Madrid will agree to play two exhibition games against Spurs. If we firstly go with the global brand shtick that plays such a prominent part in football, it is doing the club no harm whatsoever playing against one of the biggest clubs in the world. There are already whispers that Spurs v Madrid tie at White Hart Lane could offer a glorious testimonial for the recently retired Ledley King. No one is going to argue with that. Both friendlies would be highly lucrative for the club.
The commercial opportunities that could arise out of this may also be beneficial to Spurs. It’s difficult at this moment to pinpoint exactly how the club may come into fiscal benefits from the deal, but Real Madrid are one of the biggest brands in football. Any links to the marketing juggernaut that is Santiago Bernabeu based club, surely can’t harm Spurs in their quest to find a lucrative naming rights partner for their new stadium. They need all the help they can get.
A sporting connection certainly isn’t going to harm the club either. Spurs are hardly in direct competition with Madrid for European glory and whilst many begrudge the notion of loaning a player at a club like Spurs, it’s a little bit different when you’re dealing with Real Madrid. The club has been mooted to get first refusal on certain players and loan deals. Considering they recently allowed a player of the quality of Nuri Sahin to temporarily seek pastures new at Liverpool, Spurs could do well out of Madrid in the coming seasons.
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But also the coaching element of the deal can be of huge benefit to Tottenham. If the club are able to send some of their youth products off to Madrid for a coaching camp or even a longer, more competitive spell, then that is only going to benefit the club. We’ve seen on an international level the benefits of Spanish players immersing themselves in a different league. If Tottenham can get their kids the experience of playing in some Madrid based set-up, it could hugely enhance their development.
We will have to wait and see to see how this deal really plays out for Spurs in the long run, but while Daniel Levy has come in for some stick recently, he’s played the best hand he possibly could for Spurs here. It remains to been seen however whether this deal really will be impactful for the club or whether it is simply saving face.
How do you view Spurs’ shiny new Madrid based agreement? Can it benefit or the club or are you not reading much into it? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and tweet me your views.