Or he's just saying it because he can't be arsed to say anything else...? His responses to the press have become a bit bizarre recently but I don't believe most of them...and I don't think he does either.
Isn't that the remit of a DoF these days? I imagine Poch says what type of player he wants, and then it's someone elses job. to get someone that fits the criterion
"I don’t have any information. I am not in charge of that you know. I was so clear in my press conference the day before. I try to manage the squad in the best way possible. "Our players when we get back to pre-season after China like I told you for different reasons if they are there and they are still our players then of course they will be involved. It will be no problem. For different reasons the club takes some decisions and I cannot explain more. It’s not my situation." At the moment I do not have any information from my chairman. I don’t know if it is us or another club. It is not my job. It is the job of my chairman who is trying to build the best possible squad."
It's much the same as Harry Redknapp said, but it was clear the manager was always asked before a player was signed.
I doubt Pochettino and the coaching staff are that hands-off. Not at Arry levels of desired controls, but not meh.
Hopefully Poch and Levy work as a team, poch has a shopping list and Levy tries to get it......or hopefully not like when I go shopping Mrs Conn says get salad fish,and fruit from waitrose I go to Aldi and bring back frozen chips , steak ,icecream and bits for a router that I dont own ......
well, I imagine once they've decided on two or three possible targets he gets to choose which is 1st, 2nd & 3rd choice, and then Levy has the final say as he holds the purse-strings. I guess the only problem from a coach's point of view is if Levy can get the 2nd choice for half the cost of the 1st choice. The art of good management is delegation.
Pondering on this further (BBC HYS is hilarious when you need to clear your head) ... I do not believe Bale has fully gone over to the wage merc dark side. The potential diva aspect (following on from that Defoe interview + N yrs at Madrid as others have said) . I cannot say either way. 1. IMHO Levy could get Bale on far lower wages, but in line with the current squad wage structure ( *** ) . 2. If Bale is committed to either the move or golfing leave, Levy could go to town on Perez with a low transfer fee (take the transfer hit and offset it against the 3 yrs of wages, or watch his transfer value nosedive while he drains your wage bill) . *** Perhaps more if #2 succeeds I do however believe that his agent is the big problem. Could see him pressuring Bale into staying at Madrid to potentially face N months of being treated like sh*t rather than take a serious wage cut to go elsewhere (Bale is worth millions already, how much more does he really want ?? ) .
Early days (if Pochettino truly believes it could work for the squad, and Bale can be morally/professionally redeemed) . Everyone knows as the clock ticks down, Bale is in an ever stronger position. Levy going in last minute as I described would test their resolve. IMHO Madrid are demonstrating classic hubris in not refusing to take an appropriate transfer fee hit to get rid (which as people are saying is why Zidane is mouthing off in a way that in UK worker law would probably be deemed attempted "constructive dismissal" ) . OTOH the righteous in me would love Bale to do a seeing your contract out to the very end equivalent of a "Bosman" .
In truth l'arse is a better bet for fifty-percenters. Easier to walk straight into the team without having to break a sweat and then being able to choose which matches to put in a 'shop window' performance and which matches to go for the easy ride. Ozil is the prime example. Poch would never stand for that.
Suggestions that Fekir to Betis is going to happen. They don't have the bucks to do this without selling someone...
I hate to ever so slightly burst your bubble, but they already have the money for Fekir thanks to Roma paying €23.5m for Pau Lopez a few weeks ago Now the fact they're looking for a player in Lo Celso's position, coupled with them showing an interest in Espanyol striker Borja Iglesias, would certainly imply that they were expecting a significant windfall in the very near future...
Not just the fee to take into account. Lo Celso's on a big wage there (probably their top earner), but Fekir's going to be on more. Shifting Lopez alone isn't going to allow them to afford Fekir's wages, given that there's no EL money coming in. A sale is on the cards...
