Jol Late Bid on DeJong

[PoshSpur]

£35K a week to De Jong??? Is Levy mad?

[MrTea]

He is ment to be quite good, but 35k is mad.

[tapper]

A thing that concerns me is that Dortmund must have come closer to his demands. They'll be back in financial purgatory in no time if that's true.

If they pay him that much (35K), then Stalteri can kiss his job goodbye. That's a virtual promise to start, because you don't pay someone that much to sit on the bench.

[Dutchspursfan]

Nigel de Jong just signed a 4,5 year contract at Hamburger SV

[MrTea]

gutted

[Spur_Forever]

The problem I have with Jenas is that I haven't seen him have a good game. Great free kicks yes....short periods that look promising yes....but never a full 90-minute good game. I think that's the same frustration you have with his numbers of give-aways. Maybe I'm just judging him to harshly.
You are. Name me one player who does everything right for the full 90 mins. Even Davids loses posession, fluffs shots and commits needless fouls. Have you seen all of the recent Spurs games? Starting with oh, the time we played Sunderland he has been fantastic. If you need specific examples, he was great for 90 mins against Newcastle (granted he had a reason to be) and he was great for 90 mins against Man City too. And as everyone said, he was the best player on the field against Villa until he got a concussion.

[Jenas] has that extra something that would make me put him in the starting line-up every game... He and Teemu are the only midfielders we have that seem to pop up in the box at exactly the right time.

Agreed.

[Spur_Forever]

Apparently De Jong deal may be off due to his wage demands, he is said to want up to 50 grand a week. Which is way over the top. The club are said to be willing to pay up to 35 grand and a decent signing on fee, which is line with the wage structure.

I agree that 50k for a guy who is unproven in the EPL and who despite being a very good player, is hardly a world superstar, is too much. Good luck to him at Hamburger...

[KMJvet]

You are. Name me one player who does everything right for the full 90 mins. Even Davids loses posession, fluffs shots and commits needless fouls. Have you seen all of the recent Spurs games? Starting with oh, the time we played Sunderland he has been fantastic. If you need specific examples, he was great for 90 mins against Newcastle (granted he had a reason to be) and he was great for 90 mins against Man City too. And as everyone said, he was the best player on the field against Villa until he got a concussion.

I didn't mean to imply he needs to do everything right if that's what you thought I meant. Although I think his mistake rate is pretty high. I'd rather see that--trying to make things happen than conservative and no mistakes provided the aggressive mistake maker isn't doing it in dangerous spots.
It's more that he seems to drift out of games for long periods. I think only strikers are allowed to do that provided when they drift back in they almost always score. And I don't get that sense with Davids or Tainio or Carrick. Mistakes or not, I always feel they're in the game for 90. I think Jenus does show periods of playing really well and like someone said, he's pretty good at trailing the play and arriving at the box at the right time. I'm not saying he doesn't warrant starting...just I'd like to see a good 90 instead of a good 45 or a good 60. In the Villa game, I think Keane, Carrick and Tainio were better, although I do wish Jenus had been on the field late to take some free kicks without a doubt. I guess I can't disagree about the Newcastle game, he did seem engaged for all of that one. If the Sunderland game was on in the US, I missed it.

That all said, I'm quite aware of the potential for misconceptions created by TV. They will tend to focus on who has the ball and spend time with close ups. It's quite conceivable to have someone working hard defensively and off-the-ball and miss it because your only seeing what's on TV.

[KMJvet]

This sounds like bad news for us in terms of the player (sadly, the took the Dutch League our of our TV offerings so I haven't seen him play) but I think smart buying and looking for good deals has been important to the success, such as not having to sell Robinson or King to Keane to pay for other players. So, I think this might be very good news.
If the work permit thing (which for the life of me I don't really get) has changed, I think Spurs should reconsider Bobby Convey. Now that he's actually playing with Reading, he's doing very well and he wouldn't cost much nor whine and he can play R or L, D or M.

[PoshSpur]

Hamburg signed him then eh? If they don't make the Champions League, then they can also kiss good-bye the signings they have.

If it is as reported that De Jong has signed for them and will be earning approx 50,000 Euro's per week, then that will put them in the 'biggest salary givers' in the Bundesliga.

[mofo4life]

3 million € per year

[tapper]

3 million € per year
Correct me if my math is bad (it normally is)...but that's more than 50K per week.

Sad we didn't get him...happy we didn't pay a ridiculous amount to get him. Bring me Gamst!!!

[mofo4life]

57692 € per week

[jumhed]

This sounds like bad news for us in terms of the player (sadly, the took the Dutch League our of our TV offerings so I haven't seen him play) but I think smart buying and looking for good deals has been important to the success, such as not having to sell Robinson or King to Keane to pay for other players. So, I think this might be very good news.
If the work permit thing (which for the life of me I don't really get) has changed, I think Spurs should reconsider Bobby Convey. Now that he's actually playing with Reading, he's doing very well and he wouldn't cost much nor whine and he can play R or L, D or M.

Convey is doing great for Reading. When they get relegated, maybe we can pick him up cheap. Either that or he'll go to Westaahhhhm. They like lightweight , gifted players. Charlton like dull players with no invention.

[jonam]

Correct me if my math is bad (it normally is)...but that's more than 50K per week.


Yed, but I guess the local boys here are talking about GBP (equals app. 1.5 Euro).

[jonam]

A thing that concerns me is that Dortmund must have come closer to his demands. They'll be back in financial purgatory in no time if that's true.

If they pay him that much (35K), then Stalteri can kiss his job goodbye. That's a virtual promise to start, because you don't pay someone that much to sit on the bench.



Rumours are that we offered 2 Mio a year. Is something about 40k Euro a week or 25k GBP a week. And no, we are not back to old strength but are in a process of rebuilding the club.

[DigitalTron]

If the work permit thing (which for the life of me I don't really get) has changed, I think Spurs should reconsider Bobby Convey. Now that he's actually playing with Reading, he's doing very well and he wouldn't cost much nor whine and he can play R or L, D or M.

Very true. Except that with Convey helping in the attack this season Reading has surged way beyond expectations and are a virtual cinch to be promoted to the Premiership now, which means they'll definitely want to hold onto their best players ... such as Convey. But, if they go back down the season after next, we might be able to pilage him from them then, although it'll cost us a good sight more than we paid for Routledge.

I've said for a long time that Convey would be a great fit for Spurs. While the makeup of the team has changed dramatically since then, oddly enough, he's still a great fit. He has boundless energy and creates a lot from the left. He has good pace and is very good at getting off a cross while marked. He's great at hitting the seams and making insightful runs. He plays wonderful one-touch soccer when he has the teammates to do so ... and IMHO, we've got a good amount of those now (Lennon, Davids, Keane, Carrick, Jenas, Tanio, Lee, etc.) so we'd really benefit from a player like him on the left. He's also willing to track back and now plays decent (though not great) defense, so he could play as a wing-back if needed. In a pinch, he could fill in as a left back ... but that's not really his strength.

IMHO, he's significantly better in attack than any fullback we have now, and a better left winger than anyone we have also. I think he fits perfectly for what Spurs need. But as far as getting him ... forget it, Reading isn't selling until summer 2007 at the very earliest. :( By then who knows what Spurs needs will be, but I'd imagine Davids and Carrick are going to be automatic starters when healthy, so likely Davids will be nominally listed as our left-midfielder, and I definitely want both Davids and Carrick in there. As far as the other two midfield positions go, we've got Lennon, Routledge, Tanio and Jenas fighting for those spots, so I while we do lack a left winger, I'm not sure how lavishly we need to spend to find one just yet. Good to see Convey doing well though, especially after being denied a chance to show his skill most of last season.

-Digital

[sendorange]

With all due respect, the club needs a better player than that for the left wing. Andy Reid looked highly impressive in the Championship, yet has been a total flop.

If they sign someone, it is clear from the words on FTL and COYS that the clubs patience over signing a player for a left is down to their targets being from the top shelf. Ribery is still apparently target no 1.

[sendorange]

I didn't mean to imply he needs to do everything right if that's what you thought I meant. Although I think his mistake rate is pretty high. I'd rather see that--trying to make things happen than conservative and no mistakes provided the aggressive mistake maker isn't doing it in dangerous spots.
It's more that he seems to drift out of games for long periods. I think only strikers are allowed to do that provided when they drift back in they almost always score. And I don't get that sense with Davids or Tainio or Carrick. Mistakes or not, I always feel they're in the game for 90. I think Jenus does show periods of playing really well and like someone said, he's pretty good at trailing the play and arriving at the box at the right time. I'm not saying he doesn't warrant starting...just I'd like to see a good 90 instead of a good 45 or a good 60. In the Villa game, I think Keane, Carrick and Tainio were better, although I do wish Jenus had been on the field late to take some free kicks without a doubt. I guess I can't disagree about the Newcastle game, he did seem engaged for all of that one. If the Sunderland game was on in the US, I missed it.

That all said, I'm quite aware of the potential for misconceptions created by TV. They will tend to focus on who has the ball and spend time with close ups. It's quite conceivable to have someone working hard defensively and off-the-ball and miss it because your only seeing what's on TV.
You are not right imo about his mistake ratio, he has one of the lowest rates of turnovers in the team. Davids is about the worst offender at this, although in fairness to him he's playing centrally and expected to drive things on, so that must play a part.

You are right about him fading in and out of games at times, but part of the reason for that is the fact he's been playing so often out on the right side, where he is more dependent on receiving the ball from the rest of the team than if he was playing centrally.

His consistency and aggression on the ball are the areas he needs to work on and improve though, needs to take teams on more. Although the bottom line is that if he had those areas nailed down, he'd be practicaly unstoppable against most Prem clubs and the best player we have. A bit too high demand for someone signed less than 6 months ago after 2 difficult years at a crap club.

[DigitalTron]

With all due respect, the club needs a better player than that for the left wing. Andy Reid looked highly impressive in the Championship, yet has been a total flop.

If they sign someone, it is clear from the words on FTL and COYS that the clubs patience over signing a player for a left is down to their targets being from the top shelf. Ribery is still apparently target no 1.

Ribery is soft, moody, and just plain lazy on occasion. I realize he's skilled, but honestly, I doubt he'll be very impressive in the Premiership where a physical tackle is expected. I don't know what the scuttlebut on other websites is, but count me as one who is unimpressed with Ribery. Sneijder (sp?) on the other hand, that's someone I would welcome if he wouldn't mind playing as a left winger.

I'm also still open to trying other configurations, such as a box midfield with Davids and Carrick in front of the back line and having 2 attacking midfielders such as Lennon and Routledge nominally listed as wingers but with the freedom to get forward and move into the middle. I'll be surprised if Ribery is a hit. If he were Brazilian or Argentinian everyone would be saying he is too soft, but for some reason he's the latest sensation in everyone's minds. If Ribery is Target #1, who is Target #2?

As for Andy Reid, I recall other posters talking about how he was the answer ... I was the one who was skeptical. I'm not all that surprised how Reid has (or hasn't) worked out because he never really was a winger, he was a creative central midfielder ... and it's much easier to rack up statistics from that position than from the wing. You also see the ball a lot more. Comparing Championship achievements is one thing ... but predicting Premiership performance is another matter entirely. I never predicted great things for Reid ... and I'm not surprised (although I am disappointed) that he hasn't really found his feet as a left winger in the Premiership.

On the other hand, when Convey moved to the Championship I explained that it wasn't the ideal league for his style, it's extremely physical and plays a lot of route 1 soccer, which de-emphasizes his strengths. I predicted that eventually he'd do well, but we wouldn't really see what he was capable of until he played in the Premiership or the Dutch league, or somewhere else that played more one-touch passing and kept the ball on the ground and quickly moved it upfield for a cross or a shot. The Championship really isn't that league at all. The fact that Convey has shined there is a good thing, but I expect he's going to open far more eyes when he reaches the Premiership.

I believe that Convey is a far better player than Reid, and that in the Premiership we will all see that next season ... when Reid move on and takes the reins of a lower escheleon club's offense and Convey impresses a lot of people for the newly promoted Reading.

-Digital