At the end of the day it was a bit of a stroll for Spurs as they hit six of the best past South China in Hong Kong. It was however very much of a Chinese takeaway as the opposition didn’t really carry much threat and very little defence against an efficient Tottenham team. It would however have given comfort to manager Villas-Boas and watching Spurs’ fans to have it confirmed that Jermaine Defoe remains a predator of some menace and efficiency.
Sad to say however that the even after the game, much of the focus remained on the future of Gareth Bale, and the on-going will he / won’t he transfer saga with Real Madrid. Again, speculation in the newspapers over the weekend were about a supposed £81million bid about to be launched by the Spanish club, and that Spurs were involved in talks with the player about a new contract reportedly taking his pay to some £150,000 per week. Truth be told, no-one outside of the two clubs really now when the truth will actually be told. One of those reports, both or neither, may be true, but the certainty is that the speculation cannot be of benefit to Tottenham and their manager as he seeks to build on the progress of the past season.
Spurs have declared, and reiterated on a number of occasions, that there is no price at which they would deal, but it seems that Madrid are keen to test that resolve, and if reports recently that Bale has declared a desire to move on, it may be a battle not worth fighting to retain the Welshman. No player can be bigger than the club, and it if Bale is destined to leave, for all concerned, it’s best if it were concluded sooner rather than later. For Villas-Boas, having money to reinvest in the squad at the tail end of the window, when only damaged goods are left on the shelf, will be of little value.
It’s becoming a real and regular feature of the transfer window that ‘big’ transfers have a course to run. Witness also Rooney and Suarez in the window. Whilst fans are always up for a bit of speculation about who their club may be signing, by the end of the window, it’s all just a bit stale and boring. Tottenham fans and Villas-Boas may just be beginning to feel that way.
Source: DSG
