I remember reading about the Bambino Curse,a,then a baseball expression. Babe Ruth left Boston for New York after WW1,I believe. Boston couldn't win the World Series until pretty much recently and New York Yankees went on to be the pot hunters of baseball. Are we suffering the Double Curse I wonder?
I've read about thst and so many times thought we are cursed too...but I don't want people to blame the Weed so I stay quiet.
The reason that Poch can't have a war chest is that it isn't allowed by FFP. Investing in a stadium and training facilities is allowed. As far as I can see we've spent every penny we are allowed except in the last two windows. There may have been a temporary cash shortage because of the big loans on the stadium but that can be sorted out by refinancing as soon as it is open. I'm sure if Poch wanted Tielemans we could have got him.
I'm not convinced that we cant spend 100 million(eg) taking into consideration the money coming into the game...looks like we are the only club who actually suffer from FFP or give a **** about it. Those below us can spend, those above us do spend. Plus I am honestly not convinced, that a man(Joe) who can spend 90 million on a painting yet can't understand that one of his ventures(Spurs) by its very nature requires constant improvements and won't subsidise that for us so that we can come on leaps and bounds on the pitch, is the right man to run a football club. If an owner's bathroom wall takes precedent over Spurs...then I want him gone. He doesn't understand football. Our best players are getting older and itchier, PS.
If the talk has something to it, Joachim Andersen would be the Toby replacement and/or long-term Verts replacement (possibly both, considering we also have Foyth in situ) As I mentioned in the RLFM thread, if the right player became available we could do worse than looking to upgrade on the wings too, what with Lamela having a well established cycle of all-action/injured/indifferent every season while Lucas has been off the boil for a couple of months, but it's not an immediate issue like CM and RB are so not one we need to be rushing to address (although, given Ryan Sessegnon is stalling on a new contract, this could be addressed sooner than we thought)
Too late now (UEFA FFP will not allow it) . The time was before that. He could have injected 50m odd in during the Arry/AVB era, as an interest free loan, to fund transfer/wage stuff for those special somebodies. And with the CL money + new WHL built sooner, perhaps actually been repaid by the club (unlike Cbelsky) . Then again, you may not have had Pochettino as a manager.
I'm pretty happy with Dave and Foyth as our long-term options at RCB but we have needed proper cover at LCB since Wimmer left (another area we've pathologically failed to address as far, far too many of our defensive blunders have come from right-footed CB's playing in Jan's position - Toby getting skinned by Pedro the most recent example), and need it even more so with Jan now very much the wrong side of 30. A proper DM will give the younger CB's the cover they need to develop and grow with confidence that they can take a few risks and get away with it. Right now Foyth and Dave are routinely being made to look their age because the back line in general is under relentless pressure due to Sissoko-Winks being excellent at carrying water but not very good at putting out fires. I think LB is still 'just' about good enough to rely on for another year and my feeling is we will do just that as no-one will be swooping for Rose that he wouldn't need to Google and Davies has shown last season that he is capable of much more than he has shown this season. RB on the other hand is a shambles and I am glad you now finally see Trippier for the one-trick pony he is. I am also happy to allow Winks and Skipp to grow into the CM role as I don't think - other than Rabiot on a free - there are many creative players out there we can afford, especially if we are not offering CL football. I see little to no evidence that your mate Grealish is a significant upgrade on Winks or Skipp (+2 years) but if we can get him on the cheap, I'm all for it. So big money on a RB, DM, AM and LCB...we're talking close to £200m with incomings unlikely to be much above £120m. I cannot see Levy sanctioning a net spend of £80m so we'll need to be very smart and very quick in this window (which we never are). The Eriksen deal will seemingly have to involve a player swap to be a success as his is the most expensive position in need of replacement. Your other mate Isco perhaps? As for DM, one name I haven't heard many mention on here is Palace captain Luka Milivojevic. It's gone largely unnoticed that with him shielding their defence they have kept the 5th most clean sheets this season (only 1 fewer than us), he strikes me as a proper captain, excellent penalty taker and has a wicked long range shot on him. Plenty of PL experience and at 27 is hitting his peak now. And most importantly IIRC he goes into the last year of his contract this summer. IMHO he ticks more boxes than anyone we have a realistic chance of signing.
To blame fans is weird. I go to games to have a good time with my girls and mates and hopefully see us win. I will not boo or jeer and do not rant like those Arsenal TV nutters or the man utd fan on the prem board. The idea that we are in any way to blame is absurd. I get I am very cautious compared to others...I bet Bolton, Coventry, Notts County and Ipswich fans had wished their owners had behaved responsibly instead of taking mad gambles. This week all 4 have been in the news for serious financial difficulties. I have done the list several times. Leeds, Sheffield United, Bolton, Wednesday, Charlton, Villa, Wimbledon, Coventry, Barnsley, Portsmouth, Wigan, Nottingham Forest, Middlesborough, Ipswich, Notts County, Swindon, Bradford, Sunderland, Blackpool, Luton, Southampton, Leicester, Norwich, West Brom, Derby, Birmingham, Hull, Swansea, Palace, Stoke, Blackburn QPR and Reading. Only Luton and Notts County were not in the premier league out of the 32 clubs listed. Only Palace, Leicester and Southampton recovered and all three only spend what they can afford. Leeds and Wednesday have taken over 20 years to nearly recover...both were far better than us at the time. All but Sheffield United , Bradford, Barnsley, Swindon, Blackpool and Notts County were not Premier league regulars. The club decided that the players that were affordable (transfer and wages wise) were not good enough...rightly or wrongly and were not prepared to spend what they could not afford. I support spending what we can afford as I would like to continue having a team to support into my old age. It's cool to disagree with my view but pointlessly irrelevant to blame people like me for the fact we have not won a title or a trophy.
Maybe you under estimate how everything feeds each other Colin. You're looking at it from a fans day out experience...I'm looking at it from improving our first XI. Why do managers always say things like 'we need the fans to make a difference' that's because how fans drive the team is important and has consequences. Everything feeds off each other and to me it feels like the manager has bigger ambitions than some of our fans. I might be chief pessimist but I am convinced that Poch would take us to the promised land with some backing however even he seems a bit bemused. I'm afraid I'm not going to believe that we can go the same way as the club's in the 90's. The whole financial infrastructure of football at the top end has changed. We are worth north of a Billion...no one is playing with that kind of money to blow it all. Says a lot that some of us have spent a year justifying Levy's no spending in the last 2 windows with a heap of crap excuses e.g no one available that's good enough, laughable stuff. If Levy said the sky is green and the grass is blue...half of us would be at the opticians instead of uttering anything against Levy. P.s I envy you for being a ST holder!
Sheffield United, Bolton, Charlton, Villa, Wimbledon, Coventry, Portsmouth, Wigan, Middlesborough, Ipswich, Notts County, Sunderland, Blackpool, Southampton, Leicester, West Brom, Derby, Birmingham, Hull, Swansea, Palace, Stoke, Blackburn QPR and Reading were all from 2000 onwards not the 1990s. Bolton, Villa, Portsmouth, Wigan, Sunderland, Birmingham, Hull, Swansea, West Brom, Blackpool Stoke, QPR and Blackburn were all in the past 10 years....that's 13 teams. Charlton, Southampton, Derby, Leicester and Palace were all in the past 15 years. Dismissing the massive risks of financial mismanagement led to 18 clubs monumentally screwing up...and I'd rather we avoid that trap. As for bring a season ticket holder...not guilty. Couldn't afford one for all of us but at the moment can afford to get to a lot of games ... getting them in while I can...never know what's around the corner.
<BBC> "I am so, so, so disappointed," said Pochettino, who sat in the stands. "I am a little bit worried about this change from the first half to the second half - it's only one thing, it's mental. "It's about complacency, it's about arrogance in a bad way. You can use the first half as an example of [positive] arrogance, playing with intention, focus, concentration - we matched them in everything and we were much better. "And in the second half it's the arrogance in a bad way. We need to blame all of us, the club." </BBC>
Dave and Foyth long term are potentially a formidable partnership but both aren’t at the level of Jan and Toby, Dave isn’t too far away, though Foyth needs to grow a lot more, he’s great with the ball but very naive defensively. I defended Tripps last season because he was really good. This season however he’s been an utter liability and there are now too many emerging RBs that are already better. Aurier can just go back to Paris for all I care. LB is only a slight concern but a concern nonetheless. Davies is a great backup and was superb last season but hasn’t replicated that form, though the real problem lies with Rose in that he is too unreliable with his fitness, if that remains, we need to seek a more reliable option. Winks is nowhere near a first XI calibre midfielder, a squad option at best, the water carrier is often what he’s labelled with yet a top four side doesn’t need a water carrier, it needs someone who’ll throw the water up field to keep the attackers fresh. Skipp is still miles away from asserting himself in the squad, a great talent but that’s all he is for the moment. Grealish may not be the best around but he’d fit the style of midfielder we need far more than Winks and Skipp. He’s a creative force that only thinks about driving forward, he’s Dembele-lite so to speak. Dier is miles better than Milivojevic. Though I’d have no beef if he joined as we can do with some reliable backup, replacing Wanyama Isco for Eriksen is the best deal we can get if we can’t convince Eriksen to stay which seems likely.
He’s correct. Now he needs to fix it. And sort the way he’s setting the team up and reacting to opposition changes as well.
Have I not been saying it's all in the head, for years? That's why I think our fans need to change their thinking. Let Levy know that we are not just grateful for a new stadium and plan to hang off that coat tail for the next decade. Let our ambition filter through the club...right now Levy owns our limits and dreams it seems.
I doubt Levy gets more than 60% of decisions right. That's much better than most chairmen. Poch seems to do much better than that.
Are you saying these players are good enough to win the big 2 but it's a mental problem? Their mental blocks come from being put up **** creek without a paddle and being told to save themselves and save the day. That's unfair...I could have agreed it was just the players n management a few years ago but not now...now he's made it as clear as day that the squad is flat....over to you Levy
