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Walking the walk

3 min read
by Vass Koni
Vass has something he needs to say to Kyle Walker, something that's been bothering him since the fullback left for money/ambition/trophies/personal reasons.

It’s like an itch I want to scratch.  But Kyle Walker’s transfer to Manchester City has bothered me far more than it should have. It’s not that we have sold to a rival, although that hasn’t helped. It happens. Players are sold to the clubs that offer the most money and given Tottenham’s status currently then most of “those kinds of teams” are going to be classed as rivals.

We have sold players before to big teams. Players that I thought the world of. Berbatov, Modric, Bale……. But these guys were “galacticos” and they were sold to two of the biggest clubs in the world. They moved to a stage befitting of their talent because as much as it hurts, Spurs weren’t able to provide a setting befitting of those talents at that time.

I know we had Bale at White Hart Lane for six years and Modric for four. Any team would seemingly be fortunate to keep any player for that length of time these days. What’s that? Testimonials? Yeah, no longer needed, no longer justified. Players move on. Nothing to see here.

[linequote]The disappointment for me about Walker is that with respect to him, he isn’t a galactico. He’s Kyle bloody Walker[/linequote]

The disappointment for me about Walker is that with respect to him, he isn’t a galactico. He’s Kyle bloody Walker. And he hasn’t left a club that is beneath his talent level. Most of all he left the very environment that turned him from a moderately talented full back susceptible to the odd brain fart, into one of the most consistent players of the team. Remember his “Tottenham ’til I die, me” moment on the plane from Eric Dier’s social media feed last season? He was content and this was all down to Mauricio Pochettino.

It is clear that subsequently something wasn’t right between the two. Walker has since cited that he wanted to play for a great manager like Pep Guardiola and that’s why he left. A definite dig at Pochettino. On the other hand Pochettino has reportedly said something along the lines of Walker having already played his best football. Touché.

Money talks. We know it does. And Manchester City backed by Qatar has plenty of it. But it bothers me that he chose NOW; in this environment; with the team primed for good things dare I say it. He never left a bad situation. He chose to leave the best situation of his career and at a time when Spurs were in their best situation for many years and on the cusp.

[linequote]It bothers me that he chose NOW; in this environment; with the team primed for good things[/linequote]

I know it sounds naïve and a bit romantic. And judging from the absence of new signings so far this summer I know many of you will doubt whether we are on the cusp of anything, but nevertheless it’s a bloody pain.

For the first time in a very long time we have had a transfer window where none of our stars are linked with moves away. That is significant. Many players are tied to longer term contracts – for what they are worth. The camp seems unified and happy, which cannot be understated as a driver to possible success. Everyone that is bar Walker.

If you are a Game of Thrones fan you will know about White Walkers coming south from the north. This particular Walker wanted to go the other way and be closer to home we are told. I don’t buy it but c’est la vie.

So yes Kyle Walker. You have bothered me. And whilst other fans will wish you well and thank you for your service, I personally feel somewhat let down. We met you too soon out there in Nashville. You celebrated a City goal a bit too eagerly for my liking too. So now you are gone you’re gonna have to walk that walk. And I’m sure that life will be fine at Tottenham Hotspur without you.

Until next time.

Itch scratched.

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

Vass Koni

2 Comments

  1. Steve
    04/08/2017 @ 7:21 pm

    I don’t believe he instigated the move at all. Like you said he was happy. My theory is that he had one contracts worth of football left in him at the highest level. Tottenham were offered silly money and then Poch trialled his replacements early to see if they could cope. Not only did they cope they exceeded what the team with him in it achieved.
    Upon accepting the offer then Man City can talk to the player who was probably told they needed to sell and therefore no longer in Spurs plans.
    Then it’s easy to turn a players head for being offere more money per week than most people see in 10 years.
    I don’t blame anyone for this except the greed of billionaire playboys.
    While millions of children starve £52 million is spent one person who’s pace make up for his lapses

  2. Les
    02/09/2017 @ 3:45 pm

    Abu Dhabi money not Qatari.

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