Quotes

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AVB -

"The only thing I can say about the stories is I am not going to comment because everybody has speculated a lot. There are some different stories, some which are not true, with people inventing without knowledge of what is going on.

The only thing I can tell you is the player is under the treatment of the medical department for this pain in the foot which is disturbing him.

He has been called up for his national team [for a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland], our medical department is going to be in contact with the Wales medical department to make sure they have everything available in terms of giving information on how the player has been doing in these last weeks.

Regarding the speculation, I don't want to extend myself further than I have told you.

If we manage to recover the player, but obviously he is far, far off fitness regarding what the others have done. It is three weeks since he played for Tottenham so I wouldn't expect him to play for us.

It has not affected us in any shape or form. We have continued our preparation.

What we have to recognise is five weeks gone by since (we started) buying and selling, but we haven't been able to train with all the team together because Paulinho and Soldado only arrived last week.

There will be more players to arrive and more players to leave. At the moment we are a team in prospect.

We still have lots of things to do. The last week in the transfer window can be surprising.

I can't tell you we have stopped in the transfer market because we haven't, this means players coming in and players going out.

We will continue to re-strengthen ourselves, but what we have at the moment is a very strong squad either way, one that puts us in a good position to get the three points at Palace."

Do we really need ITK's to claim to know what's going on behind the scenes when it's quite obvious to us already? One week Andre Villas-Boas dismisses the rumours, the next, there's ambiguity and vagueness - never a definitive claim. Now you might say the reason for this is because we don't comment on rumours. But then we would also not comment on any given transfer deal (in or out) until it's done - so that would also apply to the Bale saga, right? And if other's involved can tell little white lies to strengthen their agenda, why should we be exuded from such tactics?

I stand by what I said weeks back. Real Madrid have bid. It wasn't accepted. They haven't gone away because they still want to sign the player. Spurs won't deal with them until they agree to our terms. Is that not the case with the majority of protracted transfers when a club is willing to listen to any offers?

Bale won't publicly say anything for reasons that don't need explaining. The same reasons Spurs still wont comment. See, regardless of what gets printed in the papers, not a lot has happened behind the scenes. Just a game of patience. All three parties waiting for something to push this towards a conclusion once and for all. Based on the fact that it's obvious Madrid would not be able to offer the bulk of the money up front, this deal is now snoozing its way to the transfer window deadline.

It's a mess, personally speaking. It's a mess because I think Bale could do with another season in the Prem. It's a mess because I think if Bale is as good as I think he is and as good as he believes he is, the opportunity to go to Madrid isn't a 'once in a life time only this summer' opportunity. It will come around again. In fact I implore him to consider how short the attention spans are at that club. Be it managerial appointments and players that come and go faster than you can wave a white handkerchief.

Give it another season in the Prem, really solidify your talent and then move - is what I would say to him. But why listen to someone that's biased?

Make no mistake about it, all this b*llsh*t that the media fanfare and hype is agent driven and therefore the root of evil is ridiculous. You honestly expect a football agent not to facilitate a move if his client wants it? If his client didn't, then we'd know about it and there'd by no saga.

Ironically, the move that everyone wants to happen (aside from us, the supporters) , won't if Madrid can't make Daniel Levy smile. Sorry, my naivety doesn't stretch to the point where I can see us rejecting a deal that would see us pocket £80M or so up front. Madrid still appear to be all mouth with nothing to back it up. They must be struggling to find third party financial support with this deal. However, don't dismiss it all yet. Because every day there is still no official statement of clarity from any of the parities involved means its another day where something might break in favour of the transfer happening.

I'm so over this, it's almost done me a favour, with this saga lasting as long as it has. Won't hurt half as much now if it does happen. Hope it doesn't. I want Gareth Bale to show the form he displayed post-Xmas last season from start to finish this season. At Tottenham. 

Best thing about AVB's quotes is the fact we look to remain active in the transfer market regardless of Bale.

Left back. Centre back. Attacking midfielder. Forward. 

Add the above to what we have already and we have a squad. More so than the already strong set of players we have currently.

Regarding Bale and Wales. Cue meltdown if he plays for them. If he does, can only be a cameo (based on what we're being told) and a consequence of his 'return' towards full match fitness. Meltdown still hogging the calender.