![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() While the peddling of idle transfer speculation is part of my job spec, it is one I remain ambivalent towards, having no real interest in which footballer might sign for what club until we’ve had the “Here we go!” from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the ink has dried on their contract and we’ve seen the photo of them beaming alongside their new manager while posing with the club shirt. And all for the benefit of audiences who treat each new dollop of tittle-tattle and tell-all with healthy scepticism despite really wanting to believe it is true. “Write what you know” has long been a sage bit of wisdom passed on to aspiring authors, but the mushroom clouds of rumours, counter-rumours, fan dissatisfaction and frenzied media speculation which plume over our biannual transfer windows increasingly seem to be generated by armies of journalists, broadcasters and In The Know fans often writing or talking about what they not only don’t know, but can’t possibly know. As somebody who is regularly tasked with writing the early morning Rumour Mill for this newspaper’s website, it would be a gross dereliction of journalistic duty if I did not claim responsibility for at least a few metaphorical gallons’ worth. The torrents of bullshit which permeate and pollute each transfer window are now at such levels they rival the amount of effluent British water companies were recently discovered to dump into our coastal seas. Of course it behoves us to note there is no guarantee that the reported details of this potential summer mega-swap deal were even remotely true, and even if their bona fides stood up to scrutiny, the byzantine contract negotiations required for a deal involving so many box-office footballers, their representatives and a club chairman renowned for playing hardball would almost certainly have ended in tears. What must Daniel Levy make of it all? Photograph: Robin Jones/Getty Images In the six months since publication, three of the four City players rumoured to be part of the job lot the club was prepared to sacrifice have scored more top-flight goals than the striker Tottenham fought so hard to keep in the summer. Often unable to do right for doing wrong in the market, even when Spurs appear to have gotten one over on Premier League rivals their victories end up feeling pyrrhic.Ī penny for the thoughts of their chairman Daniel Levy if he ever surveys news stories from last July reporting that Manchester City were prepared to offer Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva in exchange for Harry Kane. No strangers to transfer window disappointment, Spurs have little choice but to move on, and all associated with the club will hope to speed up the healing process by trying to “move on” several players who were once the subject of high-profile bids the club did successfully manage to get over the proverbial transfer line. On this occasion, I know the player just wants to go to Liverpool.” Going on to explain that this was no ordinary gazumping, that Liverpool’s interest in the player had been long term and they had not decided to out-bid Tottenham just to torment Conte for the hell of it, Bridge handed down his verdict. “I need to say this because I know that’s the case. Tottenham found their winner against the run of play from the penalty spot when Noah Cooper brought down Mikey Moore and Donley smashed home to notch his second of the game.“Just on this player in particular, Spurs were prepared to match the fee and match everything which Liverpool are going to pay,” Bridge solemnly intoned. The momentum shifted in our favour and we drew level thanks to an unbelievable strike by Kamara, who found the top corner to net his third goal in the last two games. We started the second half with a high level of urgency and pulled a goal back within five minutes of the restart - Osman Kamara heading home from a corner. However, the hosts scored again just before the break when Jamie Donley rose highest in the box to head his side into a commanding half-time lead. But, it was the home side who made the brighter start and took the lead when Rio Kyerematen converted from close range after four minutes.ĭespite the early setback, we settled into the game and got into a lot of good positions in the final third but we failed to create any meaningful chances. We suffered a narrow defeat in an action-packed north London derby on Saturday morning.Īs is usually the case in derby games, it was a feisty and tenacious start with a few hard tackles made by both sets of players. ![]()
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