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Tottenham’s latest move in the Olympic Stadium saga is a sign of the increasing bitterness of proceedings. They have demanded that West Ham can never remove the running track around the pitch. The reasoning is simple enough but not admirable. They believe that West Ham’s promise to keep the running track was a defining selling point of the Hammers bid and that, were they allowed to remove it, they would have a ground capable of competing with Tottenham’s proposed new stadium but at a vastly reduced cost.

Daniel Levy is a terrier and he will not let the Olympic Stadium bid go and rightly so. A man who stubbornly refuses to take a loss on David Bentley must barely be able to sleep at night at the thought of West Ham securing a £600 million stadium for £30 million. Despite Mayor Boris Johnson’s best attempts to placate Levy with an offer of £17 million to kick-start redevelopments in Tottenham, the Spurs chairman is not happy.

Whilst Levy’s latest demand is undeniably mean-spirited, it makes sense. Spurs have already spent £85 million on new stadium projects without touching a brick, and the bitterness at missing out on the Stratford site will only increase as the spending escalates.

For West Ham this latest demand must be painful. Although they have shown no intent to get rid of the track, it would vastly improve their stadium. At times people will be over 200 metres away from the action and the atmosphere will certainly suffer as a result. Of course, right now, West Ham understand that their pledges to protect the Olympic legacy were instrumental in the success of their bid and would not jeopardise proceedings so early on but there must be long term desires to dig it up and bring the game closer to the fans.

Levy has a point. If West Ham manage to find a loophole or Gold and Sullivan sell the club, complete with new publicly funded stadium, off to a billionaire (like Shinawatra did with Manchester City) at staggering personal profits then that running track may well disappear and everyone will have been taken for a ride. This would be a terrible exploitation of public funds and a massive two fingers up to the Olympic legacy.

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It is unlikely that Levy’s demands will be met but there is certainly no harm in safeguarding against some potential profiteering.

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Tottenham Hotspur have already managed to surpass all expectation this season. Many of us predicted they wouldn’t even make it into the group stages of the Champions League, let alone make it through to the quarter-finals. Amazingly, even with this most unlikely assault on European glory, Harry Redknapp’s side are still a force to be reckoned with on the domestic front. Okay, so maybe they haven’t really gone on to compete for Premier League glory like their manager so boldly predicted, but many teams who are faced with the unfamiliarity of European football as well as the league and cups, normally struggle. So what’s next for Redknapp’s men? How can they improve on an already incredible season?

Spurs need to strengthen, because the next step up is going to be the hardest of them all – more of a leap, in fact. Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart, amongst others, are players worthy of winning the Premier League, so now it’s all about building around them. Players like Sandro can make that happen. But the problem ’Arry has, is that to make this next big step, he may have to get rid of a few who have served the club well, but are no longer good enough.

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I’m talking about the likes of Jermaine Jenas and Wilson Palacios. These players, however good they may have been, are only now serving to eat into a wage bill which could be better spent elsewhere. Redknapp has the eye for a star buy, and has proved his ruthlessness in the transfer market with van der Vaart and Steven Pienaar. Now he has to be ruthless towards his own squad. I mean, how long can they continue to pay Ledley King to not train and give 60 minutes every couple of weeks? Spurs need a new Ledley; a consistent leader who will be available more often than not. Just think how valuable Nemanja Vidic is to Manchester United – that is now the target for Spurs.

Redknapp has one of the biggest squads in the Premier League but it may time to trim it down. Have you ever heard the expression ‘less is sometimes more’? Every manager has to compensate for a rigorous season, so obviously getting rid of too many would be suicidal, but it’s time White Hart Lane had more quality over quantity.

It’s going to be harsh on the ones that go, but I’m sure Tottenham fans would rather see success down at the Lane rather than Harry stick by some of his players. He did his level best to keep Niko Kranjcar in the January transfer window, but realistically, how often is he going to play? I think the Croat is a fantastic player for Tottenham now, but should they make it into a permanent fixture of the top four, he’s likely to be even more frozen out than he has already been experiencing – and he’s pretty cold as it is at the moment.

It seems harsh to now ask the players who have got Spurs so far to step aside, but football is very rarely a game of loyalties these days. Redknapp may soon have to recognise that some must go, otherwise they cannot carry on moving forward in the way they are. Football’s a cruel game, Tottenham may have to find that out first hand.

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If you want to join me in telling Harry who he should get rid of in the summer than join me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@joino

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Blackpool manager Ian Holloway has laughed off reports that he was considering walking out on the Premier League new boys.

Holloway was reported to be considering his future at Bloomfield Road just weeks after guiding the Seasiders into the top-flight after failing to agree terms on a new contract.

"Anyone that thinks I would walk out on the club must be mad," he told the Blackpool Gazette.

"For people to think that I would walk out without saying anything and that (chairman) Karl (Oyston) and I would fall out badly is quite ridiculous.

"My intention is to lead Blackpool in the Premier League next season and that's the chairman's intention too.

"It's gone on for a few weeks, but we are pretty close to sorting it out I think. We are still in talks.

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"I hear all sorts of other things about me walking out and I don't know where they come from."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has admitted that the Goodison Park club are losing up to £5 million a year due to the lack of investment, as the search for a new owner continues.

The Merseyside outfit have well documented financial constraints, which limited David Moyes from spending money in the recent transfer window, and forced the £10 million sale of Mikel Arteta to Arsenal.

That said, Kenwright believes that The Toffees fans would rather have him in charge than see the club succumb to huge debt.

“Maybe there’s a downside to having a chairman who is a football fan. We lose £4-5 million a year; that’s a lot of money, that’s a player to David Moyes,” he told BBC Sport.

“I think Evertonians would rather stay with me, with all my drawbacks, if they knew that a potential new owner would saddle the club with debt.”

Kenwright has not hid the fact that Everton need a new owner, but has stated that the club’s finances are stable until that happens.

“Our history is second to none, but until I find the right man, and I will find him, you’re better off with me.

“You don’t get an overdraft unless the bank thinks you can look after yourself, you don’t get millions of pounds unless they rate you. We have a very good relationship with our bankers, and there is a feeling of real respect from them for what we have done.

“It’s a fallacy to say that we have the sword of Damocles hanging over us,” he admitted.

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Everton fans have been frustrated with their team’s lack of transfer activity, especially given the spending at city rivals Liverpool.

By Gareth McKnight

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Juventus veteran Alessandro Del Piero has dismissed reports he is stalling on a new contract in the hope of securing a pay rise.The Juve captain is out of contract in June and yet to agree a new deal with the Turin giants.The 36-year-old forward has been with Juve since 1993 and scored 280 goals in 667 appearances.He insists it would be out of character for him to hold the club ransom and would in fact be willing to agree a new deal for any amount they nominate. “I’ve signed my first blank contract with Juventus,” Del Piero said.”I’ll sign my last one to wear this jersey blank too.””It’s not about money. I’ve earned a lot in my life, though I could have earned more if I’d accepted certain offers.””I spoke with the president (Andrea Agnelli) not about financial matters but my willingness to make myself available for next season,” he added.Del Piero believes he has demonstrated his commitment to the club repeatedly over the past 18 seasons, particularly the year spent in the second division following Juve’s demotion as punishment for a match-fixing scandal. “My passion and my will to win that has been with me from the Viareggio (youth) tournament to the World Cup, not to mention Serie B,” he said.”My ties to the colours and the fans cannot be measured in numbers.”

After failing to win a fourth successive Premier League title or anything else of note at Old Trafford this past season attentions have once again been focused on ownership issues, protests and underperforming stars, is it time that Sir Alex Ferguson oversaw a summer clean up at Manchester United?

David Gill, Manchester United chief executive, had previously told the Green and Gold movement to stop moaning as the club have £95million to spend this summer. However, BBC News recently revealed that the Red Devils’ owners the Glazer family are £1.1billion in debt – £400million that had previously been thought – after borrowing extensively against their shopping mall business, as well as their NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

So, with the ownership issue rumbling on and showing no signing of coming to a happy conclusion for the United fans Sir Alex may opt to sell in order to bring in funds to refresh the squad as they have many saleable assets.

Probably their most saleable asset who they could probably live without is former Tottenham player Dimitar Berbatov. The 29-year-old is a talented and misunderstood player, but it just has not happened for him at Old Trafford. It may be better for all parties concerned to sell the player as another season being labelled as a ‘flop’ would make his stock fall further. His goal scoring record has not been terrible at Manchester United (14 in 43 games in 2008/09 and 12 in 43 games in 2009/10), but it isn’t great and a lot less than the Old Trafford faithful were expecting from a player who cost the club over £30m in transfer fees. It’s rumoured that AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Juventus are interested in the player and it wouldn’t be a bad shout for Tottenham to go back in for him as they search for a front man.

Another Red Devil who could be sold to raise funds is also an ex-Tottenham player Michael Carrick, 28, who has been warming the bench for much of the last Premier League campaign, so it was a surprise for some when he managed to find himself in England’s World Cup squad ahead of Tom Huddlestone, who hasn’t got the experience but is the better player in my opinion.

According to chief exec Gill the midfielder cost the club £14m, which had various clauses attached to it which could have risen to £18.6m…I doubt they will get their money back there.

Manchester United also paid over the odds (reportedly around £17m) for young Brazilian midfielder Anderson. The 22-year-old has become something of a misfit at Old Trafford and perhaps it is time that he was sold on. I don’t doubt that he is a promising young player, but he was bought as an attacking midfielder and has mostly been deployed in a deep role…much in the same way many argue Jon Obi Mikel has been played out of position at Chelsea.

After the Premier League champions have let the likes of Joe Cole (a Red Devil’s target), Michael Ballack and Juliano Belletti go out the door, with Deco and Paulo Ferreira also likely leaving the club they will undoubtedly seek to strengthen their squad, which could make the need for United to have a team shake up a must.

With cash raised from sales it could go some way to pay for their reported targets such as Lassana Diarra, Karim Benzema, Luis Suarez and David Silva. Their need to freshen up the squad is made all the more important as they have many old players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and the very much injury prone players Michael Owen, Owen Hargreaves and Rio Ferdinand.

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To follow me on Twitter click here: ajwilliams1987

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They say ‘never go back, you will only be disappointed’, the odds of replicating former glories are slim and you risk tainting such treasured memories.

Does this famous proverb exist in the world of football? Barely a day goes by without a headline linking a player with a ‘romantic return’ to a former club. During this summer alone we’ve seen Joe Cole linked with a move back to his beloved East London whilst Xabi Alonso’s recent contract stutters at Real Madrid sparked deluded Liverpool fans into life.

The homecoming of Thierry Henry proved that such moves could benefit a club beyond the sentimental value whilst Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to liberate Paul Scholes from his retirement home was labelled “inspired”.

What about those players who aren’t in the twilight of their career? Those unfortunate few who have fallen foul of a high profile transfer or have simply been stifled by their new team’s playing philosophy. With this in mind I have compiled a list of ten players who could prosper by returning to their forming stomping ground.

Click on Jordan Henderson to unveil the 10

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The nature of Raul Meireles’ move from Liverpool to Chelsea still remains unclear, as the player has stated that the club made him hand in a transfer request, and the Anfield outfit claiming he asked to leave of his own accord.

The Portugal international made a last-gasp move to Stamford Bridge on transfer deadline day, which angered some Reds fans, but the midfielder has stated he was forced out of Merseyside.

“All I have to say is that I had one promise at Liverpool which wasn’t fulfilled. Liverpool asked me to hand in a transfer request, so that’s normal. I was aware that Liverpool wanted to sell me in the summer, which was a bit surprising to me,” he stated in a press conference.

Liverpool director of football Damian Comolli has rejected these claims however, and has another outlook on how the move came about.

“I think Raul said it himself with what I’ve seen recently in the press. Basically, he came to see me and said ‘I want to leave, I want to play for another club’,” the executive told the side’s official website.

“Our intention was not to sell him but we were put in a corner a little bit when he put in a transfer request and said he wanted to go and that he didn’t want to play for Liverpool anymore. I think the owners and Kenny (Dalglish) have said it, and we all have the same view. When someone doesn’t want to be here it’s difficult to say ‘you are going to stay’.

“We’ve been through that process in January with Fernando Torres and this felt like the same situation. We’ve done it, we think it was the right thing to do for the club, because it’s very, very difficult to have somebody here who doesn’t want to be here,” he concluded.

Meireles made his Blues debut in a 2-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday, creating one of the goals for Daniel Sturridge, and may prove to be an important man for the London outfit.

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Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has defended Fernando Torres’ decision to join English Premier League rivals Chelsea.

Torres moved from Anfield to Stamford Bridge for a British-transfer record 50 million pounds on January 31, sparking anger among Liverpool supporters.

But Spain keeper Reina maintains his fellow World Cup winner did enough during his time at the club to earn the respect of the fans, regardless of the timing of his departure.

“He decided to leave because he thought it was an opportunity to keep growing as a player and we have to respect that,” Reina told the Liverpool Echo.

“Some of the people are saying he’s being disrespectful with Liverpool, but all that Fernando gave to Liverpool was huge.”

“He grew up as a Liverpool player and Liverpool has also grown as he’s been a player on the team.”

“At the end of the day, it’s daily business, players come and go. It’s the club and supporters who are the most important thing for the club.”

“Fernando was great for us for three-and-a-half seasons, and we wish him all the best.”

“I think he did everything for this club.”

“He maybe didn’t leave at the right time, but it was an opportunity for him and he left ?50m in the bank which was double the price that he was.”

Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher also paid tribute to the contribution of Torres, but believes the transfer – coming after months of speculation and mixed performances – may ultimately have been for the best.

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“I think it was probably better that Fernando moved on if he didn’t 100 percent want to be here or it was going to happen in the summer,” Carragher told Talksport.

“It’s probably better for everyone all round. I think it’s been in the offing since the summer. We always felt that at some stage this season, or maybe the end of the season, this may happen.”

“Whether people agree with how he’s gone, supporters can’t deny he was an absolutely fantastic player for Liverpool.”

Luka Modric’s representatives are set to meet with Real Madrid on Monday, after the player failed to turn up for Tottenham’s tour of the United States, The Telegraph reports.

The diminutive playmaker is eager to leave White Hart Lane after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League for the second season in succession, with the Spanish champions keen to add the midfielder to their ranks.

With the north London club departing England to go on a tour of the United States ahead of the 2012-13 campaign, Modric was nowhere to be seen and it appears that the player has gone AWOL.

Andre Villas-Boas had criticised Modric’s decision, whilst chairman Daniel Levy is thought to be livid at the midfielder’s petulance.

Modric’s agent and advisers will meet with Madrid representatives in Spain on Monday, but Levy is said to be eager to recoup as close to £40 million as possible to allow the star to leave White Hart Lane.

Madrid are said to have offered £27 million plus add-ons for the player, which Tottenham have rejected.

Meanwhile, The Guardian state that Spurs are ready to fine Modric two weeks wages for his absenteeism.

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By Gareth McKnight

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