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I would sell Van der Vaart for £15m would you?

2 min read
by The Fighting Cock
I expect to get plenty of negative rep for this but I’ll say it all the same. It’s a good conversation starter if nothing else. If in the summer we could sell Rafa for £15m I’d do it. This isn’t based on us actively going into the market trying to sell him and I don’t […]

I expect to get plenty of negative rep for this but I’ll say it all the same. It’s a good conversation starter if nothing else.

If in the summer we could sell Rafa for £15m I’d do it. This isn’t based on us actively going into the market trying to sell him and I don’t expect for one second anyone to inquire about him (ask yourself why) but let’s just say hypothetically speaking someone did and there was a £15m offer on the table would you sell?

By that time he’ll be 29 (and a half), have 2 years left on his contract and who knows how many more injury problems. He’s shown us a lot of things in this 18 months at the club, not least some of the sexiest football I’ve seen at WHL in years but I’m starting to see why Real Madrid didn’t want him and more importantly I’m starting to wonder if as a team we’ve started to outgrow him.

Just like we did with Palacios before him (not comparing the two, just the situation) has this team now gone from relying on a player to them being almost surplus to requirements in a short space of time because of a vast improvement?

What made me think this was last night as I was watching Sky and they mentioned they had news of a worrying spurs injury. I instantly worried about Bale, then Modric, then Parker, then Adebayor. Before I could get there, they said it was vdV and I simply thought, “oh well, not as bad as I thought”. This time last year he was first on the team sheet and without him we thought we were doomed. This year there could be arguments put forward that Friedel, King, Kaboul, Walker, Benny, Lennon, Parker, Modric, Bale and Adebayor are ALL more important to the club at the moment whether that’s because of form in the case of some or lack of cover as is the case with others.

I’m not going to go into what sort of signal it would give off to other players if we sold him because personally I don’t believe he’s in the same league as Modric but I do agree it would probably not look great unless we’d already bought in some quality replacements that would mean everyone could see the writing on the wall for vdV, but lets say we got £15m for him. That pays for most of the Remy deal to be completed and means we can still use the £25m or so we’ve got available for a replacement, another striker or improvements in other areas.

Anyway, neg rep away.

From @drwinston001 on the forum.

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17 Comments

  1. zer0logy
    01/02/2012 @ 6:43 pm

    I understand this point of view,he is still class, but I get what you are saying, if there was a younger version of him that could manage 90 mins,

    when the Kaka rumours started up AGAIN, there was a lot of people saying how he’s shit and not good enough for us, some thing I thought I’d never hear spurs fans saying, and they didn’t say it last year, when it was rumoured, but then I doubt you would have posted this last,year but there is a growing feeling of

    not good enough for Real Madrid, Not good enough for us,

  2. virginiaspur
    01/02/2012 @ 8:09 pm

    Love Rafa. Understand where you’re coming from but I’d turn it down for two good reasons. #1: I think we could get more for him than 15mil in the summer, and #2: He fucking loves playing for Spurs.

    He’s not holding us back, he’s just not propping us up anymore. It’s incredibly difficult to find an attacking player of his caliber that, A: wants to play for spurs and, B: that isn’t on 100+ k per week. Injuries are holding him back, but he’s still a class player that fits in well with the team.

    A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Or, I guess we could spend 20 million on Tevez and break our wage cap for another class player in a similar role. Not bashful about offering my opinion on who i’d prefer there!

    • Tim McGrath
      01/02/2012 @ 10:37 pm

      :vdvcry:

    • wise on e
      31/03/2012 @ 4:33 am

      U living in the past, we need to move ahead

  3. YiddenAgenda
    02/02/2012 @ 12:57 pm

    Surely a younger replacement for Brad and Ledley would prioritise this? Can’t see any sense to it at all. He has fitness/injury problems no doubt, but besides Luka, he’s the most technically gifted player at the club.
    As a Spurs fans I’ve always cherished these types of players, not look to move them on or ever say we’ve “outgrown” them.
    This is a slippery slope to plastic fandom.
    I want gifted players with his passion at WHL. Not mercenaries. #TottenhamUltras #COYS

  4. Chris
    02/02/2012 @ 9:30 pm

    Van Der Vaart is a great player, but with Spurs on great form and likely to finish higher than Arsenal and Chelsea there is a chance we could attract another player to fit this position who is younger and less prone to injuries. I don’t want to throw names in the hat but Spurs have been linked with various creative players from Brazil and Eden Hazard of Lille who would fit into the slot Van Der Vaart would leave if Harry can pull off a great coup.

    I think Van Der Vaarts a great player but unlike Bale, Modric and King is replaceable if we can find someone of top quality.

    Like others have said, more importantly we need to find a quality replacement for Brad Friedel who at 40 may not be around next season and maybe another quality striker if we can’t get Adebayor as there have been stumbling blocks regarding his so called £170,000 a week wage.

  5. Ricky Barnard
    03/02/2012 @ 10:44 am

    Sorry Chris but I disagree with your blog.

    What I feel his brought to the side is that big game mentality which any top club needs. The example of that being the goals his scored in the NLD plus at Liverpool last season to grab 5th. His performances at times drives our team forward plus his a player who can pick the side up when we are struggling to get any rhythm or momentum in our play going forward.

    He knows where the net is, the stats prove that over the last two seasons. He makes goals, keeps the ball well, switches play, can find a pass. I don’t understand how any side would not want a play like this in their side. Mentally as well his attitude in matches is top notch.

    His another of many in our best eleven now that would walk into any Premier League side and yes every now and then he pulls up with calf issues but they are not threatening to him not playing a good part in our season like King’s knee issues where we play the waiting game on him being fit game to game.

    He was slightly a red herring in our side last year in that we brought him in to play behind the striker but didn’t have a striker who could lead the line very well but his input was immense. Now we have Adeybayor (who needs to up his game at present) and Saha who can do that job it fits nicely into how we play.

    Also and more importantly to the side his versatile in how we can line up. He can play behind the striker yet should we have lack of width he can play as an advanced winger with Bale like at Norwich this season. Should it not work you can always sub him for Defoe and go with two up top. Every top team needs options in formations and styles of play which he like others gives us.

    I don’t like the way his compared to Modric. Both are huge to our side but play totally different positions and provide so many different attributes to the team so seeing who is bigger for the team is unfair in my eyes.

    But as for all the examples above, for me his that world class player everybody needs in their team to be a top four side/compete for honours.

    • Rolie#11
      03/02/2012 @ 8:05 pm

      Great comment, Richard. Chris’ blog feels like one of those bullshit articles newspapers write when they’ve had a slow day. No one in their right mind would argue that Rafa is not in the same league as Modric because as you mentioned, they are tottally different players bringing so many different attributes to the team.

    • wise on e
      31/03/2012 @ 4:40 am

      As far as im concerned the best player so far for spurs is defoe,despite being on the bench he puts in almost same commitment as parker,he is the leading goal poacher and doesnt grumble like some will if left on the bench,the arsenal loss was due to the fact that harry didnt bring defoe in even when we were 2 goals up, a move mourhino i believe would make to maintain pressure , at 2 -0. Up all spurs player felt surely we ve won ,except for wenger and harry but harry did nothing and the 2 goals lead was lost, loss to man u harry left defoe on the bench for too long, our 4goal win over liverpool shows what defoe can do, and permit me to add that maybe racial discrimination might be one reason defoe is left on the bench, i dont know why any coach will cont to bench his high scorer, against bolton , i read fans were. Virtually calling for defoe b4 harry brought him in, if i were defoe i would leave spurs for regular playing time, defoe is highly unappreciated for his contributions , and i blame harry for burying his head inside some players ass,

  6. soralex
    03/02/2012 @ 1:51 pm

    No way! Rafa has heart. You can’t replace that. Spurs legend in the making.

  7. BillNYCoys
    03/02/2012 @ 3:16 pm

    Selling off loyal players who have been stalwart performers because we think we have grown too big for them is what other squads do. We are nowhere near good enough to take players of Rafa’s quality who enjoy playing for Spurs without making eyes at Man U (Carrick, Berba). Even if he is no longer in our first 11 next season he is a great player to have around who loves the shirt. Lets not start taking players like this for granted just because we have our best squad in decades.

  8. Luke
    03/02/2012 @ 6:11 pm

    What a shame for an excellent site and podcast that they have given a voice to one of the most repugnant Spurs tweeters, nay human beings, I have ever come across.

    • drwinston001
      09/03/2012 @ 1:53 pm

      wow, I never saw this. It actually makes me tear up that I in some way have managed to upset someone I’ve never met so much. Love that. Stupid cunt.

      PS, Luke is a fucking stupid name. Your parents tossers too?

  9. Rolie#11
    03/02/2012 @ 7:58 pm

    Horrible post. The arguments is always that Rafa has no pace & is injury prone but no one ever makes the point that it is no coincidence that Spurs seemed to ascend to another lever when Rafa came in. Not only does he score goals in big games but he brings class, heart and name recognition, which like it or not influences great players to want to come to the Lane.

  10. Andy
    17/02/2012 @ 10:27 am

    I agree with almost every post above, from a business perspective selling an injury prone 30 year old for 15 or 20mil makes sense. As with many players similar to Rafa, his creative nature sometimes makes it hard to fit him into a starting 11 without the team losing shape. But when a situation like that crops up its up to Redknapp to make a decision that benifits the team rather than playing our most talented 11 players out of position.

    Rafa is technically one of our best players, (probably our best) his passing ability and vision unlocks defenses in a way that no other spurs player can do. The fact is he’s a world class player who is at the heart of almost every spurs move. The way we pass and move the ball when Rafa and Modric are in form is phenomenal. He drops in two midfield and plays in the pocket behind the striker causing problems for defenders and making him very hard to mark.

    One thing that has impressed me in the last few games is the fluidity and movement spurs attack with. Our midfield and strikers are very interchangable, a little like barca. Although i think Bale drifts inside to often, this adds another dimension and versatility to the spurs attack. Aswell as the electric pace down each wing we can now pass through teams that come to the lane and stick 11 men behind the ball. The fluidity of our movement and technical ability of our attackers helps us create chances and score goals against teams that set up purely to defend for 90 minutes. Rafa is a big part of this.

    Above all, and the main reason why I love Rafa is his passion, he loves playing for spurs. He puts in 100% effort, for 90 minutes, every game. The fans love him and he loves the fans. We are becoming a huge club and we need to keep our values, I think I speak for 99% of spurs fans when I say I would hate to sell Rafa. He’s a loyal, hard-working and passionate aswell as worldclass.

  11. yiddoscum
    27/03/2012 @ 10:04 pm

    VDV is a cunt, mind you so is Adebayor

  12. hoddle
    31/05/2012 @ 12:43 pm

    I think you pose a good argument, strictly from a business point of view and if playing football manager you sell him all day long. But unlike footie manager there are too many negative effects which you can not put a value on. Look at the recent J.V transfer saga, a ajax captain that wants to join a club largely because vdv plays there. Sometimes as a club the image of a player is worth more than the price on their heads.
    I want to see spurs sign a quality centre back which when all are fit would enable us to play a more fluid game. We need a new ledley King anyone know anyone?

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