Sentiment has left the building
Spurs News 24/7Sandro gone. It's surreal.
Okay, maybe it shouldn't be and I'm allowing my love for him and the potential he always cameoed cloud my footballing judgement but still, seeing him in a QPR shirt and chatting with Harry Redknapp just didn't seem to follow the script I've been holding against my chest all these years.
When we signed him there was a suggestion (as part of Daniel Levy's buy young and sell for mass profit) he'd one day move to Italy. A far more successful destination for Brazilians. His transition to first team football was slow but he made it with a slow brooding drive of focus and determination that had him sat between the defence and midfield like a brick wall that even Godzilla would struggle to get past.
There was a period of time when Scott Parker kept him benched but his performance at the San Siro was majestic, the pinnacle of his time at Spurs and a display we expected from him time and time again in the aftermath of that particular Champions League adventure. A fully fit Sandro deserved to be called The Beast. He was absolutely brilliant. When fully fit. Which wasn't often enough. The Brittle was a name more apt for his troubled times.
A couple of awful injuries have meant we've lost the version of Sandro that looked to be a world beater. I mean no disrespect to QPR but for him to be touted around during the summer (continental clubs were interested in him, mostly from Serie A) and to then end up with Harry for a measly £10M (the years left on Spurs contract permitting) just seems wrong.
We've decided to sell him.
We've decided not to see if he can recover and regain his past form - and avoid more stagnation due to lack of fitness.
In addition to this we might have sold him partly to do with his distribution and comfort on the ball not being up to the composed quick thinking nature that Pochettino demands. But considering what we know he's capable of, it's a massive sacrifice (for both the coach and Levy's profit margin) to not wish to hold onto him and see what he can achieve when fighting fit and fighting to improve his game.
But he's still been sold.
Not loaned out to test his physicality.
We sold him.
It's like we know. Maybe the player knows and has accepted his fate away from White Hart Lane. Maybe he has lost something. If he's brittle, £10M is still a lot for a club to fork out for him. He's obviously passed the medical yet it remains a very fatalistic decision from us. We simply don't deem him good enough and there's no second or third chance.
Yes, he has played 80 odd games in four years. And yes his personality was infectious and probably masked the lack of game time. And to be brutally honest even if he was brilliant when fit, it was rare to see him for long periods of time in our midfield and his absence hurt the structure of the side. Unlike Ledley King, because of Sandro's style, having him as a part-time performer doesn't suit our new philosophy and it proves that Pochettino is prioritising Spurs above any given individual. Comparing him to King is obviously unfair but the sentiment here is not too dissimilar. King was world class but ever so fragile much like the dart playing guitar strumming boy from Brazil.
So the team as a whole has to be the focus and for the midfield to shape up we have to have some consistency. He could not offer it to us. I hope this is the reason. I want him to do really well even if that comes back to bite us but the more time I spend thinking about this the more I think he'll break down again soon.
The beast was made of glass and I've cut my hands picking up the pieces.
Good luck Sandro. In another life time in another universe it all worked out for you at Tottenham.
