freundorfoe
Vital 1st Team Regular
Someone in the US?
muttley
Alert Team
2 things here
Interesting, if it's an offered player then the assumption is that they were never on the main target list. It's then a case of whether Poch feels that player is at the level whether they could work at the club. There's always the "improve the team" versus "improve the squad" argument to consider within that.
Here's the subtle piece for me. If you take someone like Andre Gomes, some on here strongly advocated for him over multiple windows. I didn't really have an opinion as I hadn't seen him, but felt in the pre-season game before he went off injured that he was neat and tidy but wasn't covering the hard yards, wasn't physical enough and wasn't influencing the game against our kids. Less than a half in a preseason game doesn't draw a conclusion though. Gomes then gets loaned to Everton and has done OK. I say OK, because I don't think he's set the world alight. He's sprayed some amazing balls and has clear abilities on the ball, but just doesn't look athletic and physical enough even at 6'2" in the Prem. His minder, Idrissa Gueye, is wanted by PSG and yet the pair of them just don't win midfield battles. Gomes has no goals and one assist in all competitions. When I watch Everton I never think that he's one that's got away or we should go back in for him. I'm more with Poch versus the folks on here advocating for him at this point.
I guess the point I'm making is that Poch gets paid the big bucks to make these calls. You might be right on the player you're talking about, but unless I know the name (which I would never expect you to divulge) I'll back the manager's opinion over yours. What's more concerning is our inability to land main targets and even when we do, was the identification of them great? That is becoming a long term trend and not necessarily about a couple of windows with no signings. It's just amplified now because Poch is not settling for less.
I strongly believe we will all be chatting a lot in the summer though :-)
Real Deal
Alert Team
This isn't about egos though. It's about taking the club to the next level and winning trophies. The way we are doing our transfer business from selling players and buying players is nothing short of pathetic.
Sorry anyone defending it are part of the problem.
We will not win anything with this strategy. So lets cut the crap and say it as it is.
Sorry anyone defending it are part of the problem.
We will not win anything with this strategy. So lets cut the crap and say it as it is.
Greavswasthegreatest
Vital Football Legend
No surprises then Greavsie...you like many on here were spot on....what are the lottery numbers for tonight then?
Spursex
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Spursex
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Spursex
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A deadline day so quiet, Newcastle are top spenders as they bring in Miguel Almirón
George Caulkin, Northern Sports Correspondent
Tottenham sign no one again while Liverpool and Manchester City resist the urge to spend, writes George Caulkin
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Traditionally a source of crushing disappointment, deadline day passed with a rare outbreak of positivity for Newcastle United, who finally broke their venerable transfer record with the £20 million addition of Miguel Almirón from Atlanta United.
The fee for Almirón, 24, who has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract at St James’ Park, supersedes the £16.5 million that Newcastle paid Real Madrid for Michael Owen in 2005. The Paraguay midfielder was Rafa Benítez’s first-choice target for January.
Unusually for them, Newcastle were the prime movers on a day of limited activity in the Premier League. Neither Liverpool nor Manchester City, rivals for the title, brought in first-team players, although neither had been expected to. Pep Guardiola’s side signed Ante Palaversa, an 18-year-old midfield player from Hajduk Split, and immediately loaned him back to the Croatian club until the summer of 2020.
After buying nobody last summer, third-placed Tottenham Hotspur continued that policy for a second successive window and there was little significant investment elsewhere. Jonny Castro Otto’s loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers from Atletico Madrid was converted into a permanent £15 million transfer — another club record — with the 24-year-old Spain full back signing a contract until 2023.
There was little significant activity at the clubs threatened by relegation, who often make signings to try and survive. Cardiff City signed Leandro Bacuna, 27, who can play at full back and midfield, from Reading. They never found a replacement for Emiliano Sala, the forward who became their record signing at £15 million and two days later was on a light aircraft that went down over the Channel Islands and is missing presumed dead. Of the other teams near the bottom, Burnley brought in Peter Crouch, and Fulham were attempting to strengthen their defence last night.
The lack of spending was in contrast to a year ago when Liverpool paid £75 million for Virgil van Dijk from Southampton and sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for £105 million.
It was left to Newcastle to fly the flag. The fee for Almirón is noteworthy largely as a historical milestone for the club; Southampton, Bournemouth, Fulham and Crystal Palace are among the Premier League clubs to have spent more on individual players in the past. When Newcastle bought Owen, it was as a long-term replacement for Alan Shearer, whose £15 million transfer from Blackburn Rovers in 1996 represented a world record.
Source: Transfermarkt and Times Research
No present Premier League club had spent less than Newcastle on new players over the past three transfer windows, leading supporters to protest against the parsimonious ownership of Mike Ashley, but Almirón’s arrival should boost the team’s chances of avoiding relegation.
Newcastle are 14th in the table after Tuesday night’s surprise 2-1 victory over Manchester City, the champions. They have nothing else to play for after losing to Watford in the FA Cup fourth round last weekend.
With Ashley failing to sell Newcastle at the third attempt and Benítez out of contract this summer, there have been few reasons for optimism on Tyneside, but Almirón will bring pace and creativity to a first-team squad lacking in both. Almirón, who won the MLS Cup with Atlanta last year, scoring 13 goals and claiming 11 assists in 37 matches, said: “I’m very happy and eager to start and to meet my new team-mates.”
He will not, however, receive his work permit in time to play against Tottenham at Wembley tomorrow.
Tension over transfers has been a feature of Benítez’s three years with Newcastle, with the manager repeatedly calling for the club to “do things right”, both in terms of spending and timing, with Lee Charnley, the managing director, keen to tie the Spaniard to an extended deal.
Newcastle have also signed Antonio Barreca, the Italy Under-21 international, on loan from Monaco until the end of the season, with an option to buy the 23-year-old this summer.
Elsewhere, the trend of young English players moving to Germany continued on the final day, as two Premier League prospects completed loan moves to Bundesliga teams.
The West Ham defender Reece Oxford, 20, joined Augsburg, while Arsenal’s Emile Smith-Rowe, an 18-year-old midfielder, was loaned to RB Leipzig. They follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho, 18, who has shone for Borussia Dortmund this season after leaving Manchester City in 2017, and Reiss Nelson, 19, another Arsenal loanee, who has scored six times for Hoffenheim this season.
Oxford looked set to be joined at Augsburg by Smith-Rowe’s club-mate Eddie Nketiah, but the 19-year-old forward’s move fell through. With Arsenal unable to agree deals for either Ivan Perisic or Yannick Carrasco, Unai Emery, the head coach, was unwilling to sanction the departure of another attacking player.
George Caulkin, Northern Sports Correspondent
Tottenham sign no one again while Liverpool and Manchester City resist the urge to spend, writes George Caulkin
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Save
Traditionally a source of crushing disappointment, deadline day passed with a rare outbreak of positivity for Newcastle United, who finally broke their venerable transfer record with the £20 million addition of Miguel Almirón from Atlanta United.
The fee for Almirón, 24, who has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract at St James’ Park, supersedes the £16.5 million that Newcastle paid Real Madrid for Michael Owen in 2005. The Paraguay midfielder was Rafa Benítez’s first-choice target for January.
Unusually for them, Newcastle were the prime movers on a day of limited activity in the Premier League. Neither Liverpool nor Manchester City, rivals for the title, brought in first-team players, although neither had been expected to. Pep Guardiola’s side signed Ante Palaversa, an 18-year-old midfield player from Hajduk Split, and immediately loaned him back to the Croatian club until the summer of 2020.
After buying nobody last summer, third-placed Tottenham Hotspur continued that policy for a second successive window and there was little significant investment elsewhere. Jonny Castro Otto’s loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers from Atletico Madrid was converted into a permanent £15 million transfer — another club record — with the 24-year-old Spain full back signing a contract until 2023.
There was little significant activity at the clubs threatened by relegation, who often make signings to try and survive. Cardiff City signed Leandro Bacuna, 27, who can play at full back and midfield, from Reading. They never found a replacement for Emiliano Sala, the forward who became their record signing at £15 million and two days later was on a light aircraft that went down over the Channel Islands and is missing presumed dead. Of the other teams near the bottom, Burnley brought in Peter Crouch, and Fulham were attempting to strengthen their defence last night.
The lack of spending was in contrast to a year ago when Liverpool paid £75 million for Virgil van Dijk from Southampton and sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for £105 million.
It was left to Newcastle to fly the flag. The fee for Almirón is noteworthy largely as a historical milestone for the club; Southampton, Bournemouth, Fulham and Crystal Palace are among the Premier League clubs to have spent more on individual players in the past. When Newcastle bought Owen, it was as a long-term replacement for Alan Shearer, whose £15 million transfer from Blackburn Rovers in 1996 represented a world record.
Source: Transfermarkt and Times Research
No present Premier League club had spent less than Newcastle on new players over the past three transfer windows, leading supporters to protest against the parsimonious ownership of Mike Ashley, but Almirón’s arrival should boost the team’s chances of avoiding relegation.
Newcastle are 14th in the table after Tuesday night’s surprise 2-1 victory over Manchester City, the champions. They have nothing else to play for after losing to Watford in the FA Cup fourth round last weekend.
With Ashley failing to sell Newcastle at the third attempt and Benítez out of contract this summer, there have been few reasons for optimism on Tyneside, but Almirón will bring pace and creativity to a first-team squad lacking in both. Almirón, who won the MLS Cup with Atlanta last year, scoring 13 goals and claiming 11 assists in 37 matches, said: “I’m very happy and eager to start and to meet my new team-mates.”
He will not, however, receive his work permit in time to play against Tottenham at Wembley tomorrow.
Tension over transfers has been a feature of Benítez’s three years with Newcastle, with the manager repeatedly calling for the club to “do things right”, both in terms of spending and timing, with Lee Charnley, the managing director, keen to tie the Spaniard to an extended deal.
Newcastle have also signed Antonio Barreca, the Italy Under-21 international, on loan from Monaco until the end of the season, with an option to buy the 23-year-old this summer.
Elsewhere, the trend of young English players moving to Germany continued on the final day, as two Premier League prospects completed loan moves to Bundesliga teams.
The West Ham defender Reece Oxford, 20, joined Augsburg, while Arsenal’s Emile Smith-Rowe, an 18-year-old midfielder, was loaned to RB Leipzig. They follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho, 18, who has shone for Borussia Dortmund this season after leaving Manchester City in 2017, and Reiss Nelson, 19, another Arsenal loanee, who has scored six times for Hoffenheim this season.
Oxford looked set to be joined at Augsburg by Smith-Rowe’s club-mate Eddie Nketiah, but the 19-year-old forward’s move fell through. With Arsenal unable to agree deals for either Ivan Perisic or Yannick Carrasco, Unai Emery, the head coach, was unwilling to sanction the departure of another attacking player.
Spursex
Alert Team
What every journalist has failed to address so far is the issues/factors that made this window so quite and how it perhaps flags that the tipping point for transfer inflation *might* have been reached....
It certainly looks like PL clubs have finally realised that getting raped by European leagues isn't a smart way to operate, or even sustainable.
It certainly looks like PL clubs have finally realised that getting raped by European leagues isn't a smart way to operate, or even sustainable.
Welshtel
Vital Football Hero
I have to ask the question, “If we’ve spent nothing for 2 seasons, does that mean we could well splash out in the summer?”
I mean, we could do with a blast of new blood and a surge of winning ways to go with the opening of the new stadium. I don’t begrudge us not spending as long as we have good motives for doing so, such as having to pay for the new stadium. But if we are paying out, we need to remember why we’re here, it’s to satisfy the fans. So in the future, we need to see some clear progress. Cups, trophies and prestige. We’ve seen the latter to some degree with a snazzy stadium but we need to make the fans proud again.
So I’m looking for 2019 to be the year TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR becomes true big club in real terms.
I mean, we could do with a blast of new blood and a surge of winning ways to go with the opening of the new stadium. I don’t begrudge us not spending as long as we have good motives for doing so, such as having to pay for the new stadium. But if we are paying out, we need to remember why we’re here, it’s to satisfy the fans. So in the future, we need to see some clear progress. Cups, trophies and prestige. We’ve seen the latter to some degree with a snazzy stadium but we need to make the fans proud again.
So I’m looking for 2019 to be the year TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR becomes true big club in real terms.
Knowing Poch's actual 'target list', if there is such a thing, would be super helpful in understanding some of this.
The player I referred to is a non HG player, this was explained to him as a non-issue, he plays in a top league in Europe, and is under 25. He has been linked in the press, and I mean reliable press, with Spurs and not just recently. He is likely available in the Summer, and would still welcome the opportunity to come to Spurs, but now a few other things need to get sorted first. No it is not Christian Pulisic, that is another story altogether.
My only point in bringing it up, was to illustrate how odd the situation appeared to be, at least from a traditional process perspective. A player, with the bona fides, at a position of apparent need, at a price that is certainly reasonable, was available, was interested in coming, discussed basic terms, was put before the manager, and it ended there, for whatever reason. At least for now. I got the impression everything was on still fine between all parties, and now was just not the right time for the deal.
This player not joining had apparently nothing to do with DL and his willingness to buy, but on Poch for footballing reasons.
And as I've said, I feel he has earned the right to manage his squad & choose the players in it, as he sees fit.
Do I think he's made an error in not signing this player? Yes I do. Was the kid a guarantee? Of course not, but he could be great. Especially with a coach like Poch.
Hope they go for him in the Summer.
.
freundorfoe
Vital 1st Team Regular
I just don't think Poch cares about short-term deals. He's all about the long term, hence not being interested in the various loan deals we were supposedly offered.
Realistically whether it's a loan or a free transfer it would take months to integrate those players effectively, by which time the season's over. At least our youngsters should be fit, whereas who knows what state Yaya and Cabaye are in?
Spursex
Alert Team
why Tottenham didn't sign anyone in January
Antony Martin
@antonymmartin84
Gary Neville spoke exclusively to Sky Sports, and shared why he believes Tottenham didn't sign anyone in January.
Spurs have actually not signed anyone since January 2018 yet, incredibly, they are still well in the race for the Premier League title this season.
Mauricio Pochettino's men currently sit in third spot in the Premier League table, five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, and they have managed to keep on the Reds' tail without their two best players - Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
Tottenham fans were desperate for Pochettino to sign some new players last month, whilst many pundits suggested that the north London outfit would be out of the title race, unless they strengthened.
When speaking to Sky Sports, Neville believes the main reason why Spurs didn't sign any new players, however, was because Pochettino couldn't buy anyone who he actually wanted:
"Are we surprised Tottenham didn’t bring in a replacement for Kane, or anybody?
The problem is, they can’t get the players available. They cannot get them.
Honestly, it’s a real issue. Clubs are not letting go for normal prices. Am I going to get the player I want? Is Daniel Levy going to panic to get in the Champions League, or win the league? Does Levy buying four players for £100m guarantee you the league? No."
Antony Martin
@antonymmartin84
Gary Neville spoke exclusively to Sky Sports, and shared why he believes Tottenham didn't sign anyone in January.
Spurs have actually not signed anyone since January 2018 yet, incredibly, they are still well in the race for the Premier League title this season.
Mauricio Pochettino's men currently sit in third spot in the Premier League table, five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, and they have managed to keep on the Reds' tail without their two best players - Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
Tottenham fans were desperate for Pochettino to sign some new players last month, whilst many pundits suggested that the north London outfit would be out of the title race, unless they strengthened.
When speaking to Sky Sports, Neville believes the main reason why Spurs didn't sign any new players, however, was because Pochettino couldn't buy anyone who he actually wanted:
"Are we surprised Tottenham didn’t bring in a replacement for Kane, or anybody?
The problem is, they can’t get the players available. They cannot get them.
Honestly, it’s a real issue. Clubs are not letting go for normal prices. Am I going to get the player I want? Is Daniel Levy going to panic to get in the Champions League, or win the league? Does Levy buying four players for £100m guarantee you the league? No."
