This was too good to pass up on.
From Football Rumours but judge not lest thee be… err… a wig and gavel owner. Is it true? Certainly sounds plausible. There was a tale of the Liverpool boy Babel in a helicopter doing the rounds as that window was gearing up to close.
As I recall it, Babel denied the whole thing and as ever the tale was compounded by the addition of Cartoon Cole being hurled into the mixer.
Anyway, here’s what there is…
20 Jan 2011 10:46:48
Posting in here. Comes from the same source that told me about Purslow joining a couple of weeks before he did and also of the H&G takeover before it happened. Everytime he has told me something it’s been spot on.
How Spurs got Van Der Vaart.
When VDV#s transfer to Bayern fell through – he was offered to Liverpool first for £8m. We didn’t have the money but Purslow and Hodgson decided to off load anyone they could. West Ham (of all clubs) offered £8m for Babel. We accepted and put him “in that helicopter”. Real Madrid accepted our bid.
In the meantime – Daniel Levy got wind of the transfer and offered Liverpool more money for Babel. Babel & Agent were more than happy to go and we accepted the higher bid.
Helicopter heads to Tottenham. Babel lands and is kept waiting for 3 hours for a medical – gets ____ off and leaves.
We don’t have time to get any money together and Tottenham call VDV’s agent and offer to buy him.
Rest as they say, is history.
Please don’t re-post all over the place.
Ooops.
1st?
And foremost!
Finally got a shot at First Post and the network screwed up, aaaarrgghhh!!!! I then knew how it must feel for Crouch each week failing to score from just 1 yard!
Please be assured I am neither grinning gormlessly, dragging my fingers down my face or looking to the heavens for undelivered solace.
In short, Levy tied up the only asset that Liverpool had that could bring them any money and then slipped in and bought Rafa. That’s gold, the old two card trick. Worked like a dream
My thoughts exactly. If Babel is the answer, what the hell is the question? Levy can see that.
So glad he’s our chairman and not someone else’s :sideways:
Exactly my thoughts.
We didn’t have money? How much we spend for Konchesky+Poulsen? How much we got for selling Masherano+Riera+Yossi?
You can’t blame anyone else if you are too slow to react.
or can’t write engrlish
Did it occur to anyone if the story is true, a ploy by Levy to destroy the deal between Madrid and Liverpool on the last few hours of transfer window and “steal” VDV right under their noise ? Perhaps the offer to buy Babal was just to buy time in delaying the transfer of VDV to Liverpool and forcing it to collaspe . haha.. Clever man Daniel Levy
personally speaking i would have thought that what everyones deduction would be.
Levy is a genius. A lot of the time I’m not bothered by lot of the jibber jabber in football these days but i really hope this is true!
I remember the whole helicopter-babelgate of that day & was thinking what were Spurs doing. If only we knew then….
Superb piece of work!