So, Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy has gone public at last and made a formal complaint to the Premier League over the tapping up of our two star strikers by top four cartel members Manchester United and Liverpool.
Most Spurs fans I know ( and I have read many comments on the message boards etc.) are praising their Chairman to the heavens for his strongly worded stance. I have to admit they are words that needed saying, but I am left with a feeling of wondering what will be achieved, apart from an ultimate ticking off of United and Liverpool.
Has Mr Levy left it too late to make his comments? In my view, he has. Will it prevent the departure of our two top scorers of the last two seasons? The answer seems to be a resounding "No". I have been forced to change my avatar on the message boards, which featured Berbatov celebrating one of his goals in the 2006-07 season, amd which was on the cover of my book. (Spurs Odyssey:Season Review 2006-07). We all have to find new idols next season.
Most fans have been prepared for the departure of "The Incredible Sulk", who has often demonstrated on the field his dismay at what he considered to be the efforts of lesser mortals in his team. We all agree that Berbatov is pure class, and I think the best player Spurs have had since Klinsmann. But, on the other hand, we only want players in the Lilywhite shirt (or whatever colour is dictated by club and league policies) that want to represent this beloved club of ours. Here we return to the point often made these days. Where in top flight football is loyalty to be found by the players to a specific club? Would even Ledley King still be a Spurs player if his fitness was not such a problem? Ironically, the best examples of player loyalty I can think of are at Old Trafford where Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville have been part of Ferguson's set up since the Premier League was established in the early 90s. Mind you, Fergie is ruthless enough to get rid as soon as he sees a player's abilities or atitude wane (e.g Beckham, and Van Nistelrooy).
Until last season, and even this summer, we thought that such loyalty was to be found in the shape of Robbie Keane, who has now got over 100 Spurs goals to his name. The emotion he showed after winning his first major medal at Wembley in February appeared genuine enough, but now we know that was about himself and not about our club.
As the summer opened, Robbie went on record in similar style to the centre-half that crossed the North London divide. He loved the club and its fans, and didn't want to leave.
I currently feel embarrassed to see the pictures of Robbie and Berbatov celebrating our Carling Cup win, and I also feel embarrassed about some of the below copy I have provided for this year's PFA "Who's Who" regarding Berbatov and Keane:-
"Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian International striker has had another great season at Spurs. Dimitar was level top-scorer for his club with Robbie Keane, with 15 Premier League goals and 23 in total. Berbatov continues to win the acclaim of pundits and fans, and inevitably is a constant subject of transfer speculation. Once again, despite his goal-scoring ability, one of Dimitar’s best performances came in a game where he did not score. Spurs had a player sent off (at Manchester City in the Carling Cup), and sacrificed his fellow striker. That meant that Dimitar had to play alone up front, and he had everything to do with Spurs’ 2-0 win which put them through to the semi-final of the competition they won. In the Final, Dimitar was ultra-cool when he scored from the penalty spot to put Spurs level. Dimitar scored 4 goals in the 6-4 league win over Reading, and continues to demonstrate class in ball-winning, holding and passing skills. Dimitar has played 7 times for his country this season, scoring three times in the process.
Robbie Keane. In the absence of club captain Ledley King for much of the season, Robbie has been an able deputy as Captain of Spurs. Robbie also continues as Captain for the Republic of Ireland. Robbie was voted as Spurs’ Player of the Season by a massive majority, and finished as level top scorer for his club both in the Premier League and in all competitions (15 & 23). Keane has played in 54 of Spurs’ 57 games. Robbie lifted the Carling Cup trophy alongside Ledley King, and reached another special landmark when he scored his 100th club goal against Sunderland in January. As well as his goal-scoring prowess, Robbie is likely to be found all over the pitch (even making a goal-line clearance), using his all round footballing skills. Robbie has often switched to a midfield role to accommodate an additional striker such as Darren Bent. Robbie’s best goal of the season was surely a 25 yard curler from the edge of the penalty box, to level the scores at home against Chelsea in a dramatic 4-4 game. Robbie became just the fifteenth player in Spurs’ history to reach that 100 goal landmark, and having added 7 more in the remainder of the season, now stands 12th in the all-time scoring ratings. Having committed himself till 2012, Robbie clearly has the 100 league goal target within his sights to join an elite membership of just 8 previous players for Spurs."
Berbatov will be received by Spurs fans in a neutral fashion, but Keane is in for a hot reception if he goes. He can also look forward to Rafa's rotation policies, but then I suppose the money will win him over. Robbie has always been a regular scorer for Spurs, but had his critics, even in the season before last. He had a slow start again last year, but won the hearts of all but the hardest minded Spurs fan with his goals and commitment to the cause on the pitch.
I have to admit to an over-riding feeling of negativity about Levy's statement. It appears to be an admission of defeat over the prospects of keeping our two star strikers. In my view Levy is trying (not very successfully) to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted. I suspect he has had his eye off the ball (perhaps whilst on holiday), whereas we have been hearing of these potential moves for weeks now. Surely Spurs could have cut off the transfer speculation at an early stage?
Is Levy perhaps covering his back for the probability of Keane and Berbatov departing, and no chance of adequate replacements being found?
The club will make a handsome profit on the sale of Keane and Berbatov, but will the fans see that sum re-invested into adequate replacements? I really, really hope so. I do hear that we may be seeking replacements in Spain or Russia (guess who), but fear that adequate replacements will not be found.
I just hope that the level of skill, pace and creativity in the midfield (through Modric, Dos Santos and Lennon) will be able to give the likes of Darren Bent (who does want to stay and prove his worth) easy pickings up front next season!
There is no doubt that the news of the impending departure is a massive kick in the teeth to those Spurs fans who have once again stumped up for inflated season ticket prices in the hope of getting closer to the top four. The longer that cartel remains untouchable and so arrogantly successful, then the worse it must be for Spurs, their fans, and for that matter several other clubs aspiring to emulate the usual suspects.
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