EDIT: Bear in mind that the supposed collapse of the Gilberto deal wasn’t a vague transfer rumor, it was announced in a statement released by Hertha, which explicitly lashed out at Tottenham’s handling of the deal. But now they’ve managed to sign him? Whaat?

The latest news from the chaos at Spurs is that the Gilberto bid has apparently collapsed after Gilberto’s second medical in London, leaving Hertha furious. This is at least the third time this month that Spurs have left the other party fuming over their behavior during a failed transfer negotiation. They’re playing a mystifying game in North London these days.

Spurs definitely need to strengthen their back line, though whether these two signings will really do that is pretty open to question.

Even more, I do think they need that “cool head” in central midfield. There’s no real focus or consistency to their play due to this, and it hurts them as much at the back as anything.

Still, as long as the Evil Empire don’t buy the team…Things could be worse.

I think it’s still possible that the transfer muddle at Spurs this month suggests some degree of divergence between Comolli and Ramos: the splashy, strategically pointless move for the Brazilian striker, and even more the bungled pursuit of the Overpriced Young English Prospect Stewart Downing, feels like Comolli’s doing to me, even if you can justify the former a bit by saying that they didn’t expect to hold onto Berbatov. On the other hand, the move for full-priced defenders, the interest in Wes Brown, etc., don’t seem much like Comolli’s style, which suggests that Ramos may at least be exercising a greater degree of influence than Levy gave to Jol. [EDIT: Not that that would be shocking in itself.]

I’ll be the first to admit that this is absurdly speculative, though, and based on some fairly weak rumors. So it’s probably best to forget about it, unless it turns out to be true, at which point I’ll be the first to remind you.

I am familiar with the owners of one of Italy’s largest manufacturers of fine eyewear. If that’s what it takes to get Comoli away from the Lane, I’m picking up my mobile now.