Transfer Rumours transfer thread fact and fiction

Seeing Levy on this amazon documentary, I can see why Spurs struggle with getting players in. Far too involved with certain things. Needs to stop micromanaging and leave some things to experts. Clearly he’s not an expert when it comes to transfers in.

 

Define transfer expert please

 

Hopefully the reorganisation that happened earlier in the summer goes some way to keeping Levy focused on what he’s best at and leaving the minutiae of running the club day to day to others.

 

Someone who produced or purchased decades of Letraset stuff ??

 

A man of letters?

 

I think as Hudd said, the new management structure will hopefully allow certain individuals to focus on different aspects so that Levy isn’t trying to do all the major things himself. In an ideal world Levy drums up the business - because I genuinely believe there’s no one better in football for that - and then the likes of Hitchin is given greater authority to work with a set budget and get Jose’s transfers done more efficiently.

 

Probably a (good) director of football.

Some are obviously hit and miss but the likes of Luis Campos, Monchi and Michael Zorc have all developed reputations of somewhat being transfer gurus.

 

Funny how everyone else doesn’t struggle to get a transfer over the line like we do

It’s harder for us because of Levy...I’d love to break it all down to you but I know you’ve been watching his transfer antics like I have over the years and paying careful heed to the comments of other owners who he has tried to do business with. Our own ex manager(Ramos) was on record not long back saying the bloke kept on going back on his promises etc etc...there’s plenty examples.

Did you see our arse dragging over getting Wilson? Not really bothered wether we got him or not but the arse dragging is hard to miss. Some other club wanted him and got him not much fuss.

but for us it’s really hard and complex

You reckon the James deal to Everton was more complex than any of our ****ty deals on offer for a bog standard domestic target?

Hmmmm...it’s difficult because of Levy

 

https://www.transferexpert.com/

 

I have no doubt that Levy causes issues. FWIW we can all point out examples and debate them - Wilson has a poor injury record for example, which might have put us off, and the opportunity to start for a PL team with one of his best teammates also joining could well have swayed him vs spending a lot of time on the bench. Grealish is another example that is often touted, which I won’t rehash, but Levy undoubtedly played his part in that transfer not happening, far more so than he would have done with Wilson, if we looked at him seriously.

James going to Everton was probably less complex in a way because he’s going in as a guaranteed starter under a manager he’s worked with before. The main frustration for us all is a backup striker and recruiting quality there is way more difficult than getting a starting player who is guaranteed minutes. It’s not the club we’re buying from that we have to convince, that’s the easy part. It’s the players we’re buying.

Again, FWIW I think we’ve done good business in good time so far this window. The delay on a striker may well be down to Levy but it might also be down to numerous other factors. Finding the right player can be hard enough, though I’m sure we have a list, and after that you can pay the right fee but there are a host of other factors that come into play. I think the money is there to make one transfer in the realms of spend that have seen Callum Wilson and Ollie Watkins move this summer but I can also see why we didn’t get either of them.

I’m as frustrated as anyone here but I also don’t think it’s all Levy’s fault.

 

They were examples...since they are the latest names...like I said I’m not bothered wether we got them or not

He’s been doing it for years

So he didn’t mess up the Grealish deal due him trying to be Del Boy again? or was their something else in that too? There’s so many examples where he has skimped and we have suffered. Shouldn’t own a football club if you’re not up for pushing the boat out now n again when an opportunity arises. Mate, this guy ****ed up our biggest years for success when he decided it was a good time to go 4 windows without spending. He’s had his playtime with us...time to go

Problem is people will defend him blindly because that’s the narrative. Same set of people that were kissing Eriksen’s arse when he wasn’t interested and the other s were being told they are short sighted and forget what he has done for us...like that alone merited a start(another Example of the sickening blindness infesting the fan base)

 

I won’t dwell on Grealish but yes, I think Levy could have committed earlier to matching the asking price and got us the player. That’s on him.

I don’t think there’s too many on here who defend him blindly. Certainly myself I’ll criticise Levy or Jose when they get things wrong just as I did Poch, and I’ll praise them when they get it right. Did he ruin our best years? The lack of investment certainly bit hard, though there’s some uncertainty as to whether Poch veto’d signings or if Levy just didn’t get deals in place for the right players. Probably a bit of both.

We’ve come a long way under Levy and ENIC and I think they deserve recognition for what they’ve done. On the other side we’ve also failed to get over the line when it comes to winning trophies and Levy’s attitude to transfers has certainly stuffed us at times.

I don’t think he’s the Messiah or the Devil tbh. He’s steered us through a difficult time as a club and I think only us and City have finished top 6 every season for the last 10 years. That’s an achievement considering the resources of the clubs around us. But we haven’t won trophies and Levy is far from perfect and has played a part in our on-pitch failures as much as he’s played his part in the successes off it. I don’t see it as black and white. If you think that makes me an apologist then that’s fine, I can’t change your opinion and that’s your right. I’m happy to hold him to account but I think that especially when it comes to transfers it’s a really complex situation that isn’t always down to Levy being a tight bastard.

 

Certainly a massive contributing factor in his way of dealing with transfers. No one said always but more than enough to have put a dent in our on pitch successes when it matters. I heard the other day when Ollie Watkins was half way down Birmingham that we had “failed with a late bid”.

That made me chuckle...that will be enough to convince most that he tried


Hey Hudd, you remember when he replaced the magician Berbatov with Frasier Campbell? if one of his apologists could break that thinking down for me it would be great...12 years later and I still don’t know how he joined them dots.

 

On Watkins, worth noting that some reports say we never even put a bid in. Ultimately with transfers it’s hard to know who to believe. Same with Wilson.

I don’t think I’m the one you want to answer the Berba question mate so I’ll leave that. Like I said though, I don’t think Levy is perfect, and we should rightly call him out when he drops a bollock.

 

I do think that you are gilding the lily here - Berbatov had virtually gone on strike to force a move to United Campbell came to us on loan as part of the deal, not as a straight replacement but as an option and seeing though the deal was completed at midnight on deadline day someone was surely better than no one.

 

This is where I'm at with Levy too.

I tend to criticise and praise him as and when there's things to praise/ criticise, as I try doing for everyone else at the club. The guy isn't perfect but then he's not terrible either. I think if you actually compare him with the other 19 chairmen in the Premier League, he's almost certainly within the top five, possibly top three. That doesn't mean he can't improve or even be improved on but I'd say there is a higher chance we could be worse off.

In our certain situation, it's also tough to say who could do better than Levy at Tottenham. Worth remembering that Lewis is the owner and so Levy works for/ under him. If say for instance Levy worked under Sheikh Mansour, things could be a lot different, equally it could be a lot different if he worked under Mike Ashley. It's not as easy as it is with players to say who could definitely (or likely) be better than Levy/ Lewis at Tottenham.

 

That's a bit rich from one Turd to another

 

Hitchen doesn’t fill me with confidence from what I’ve seen of him either though

 

Haha yeah he does come across as one of the most dreariest of people about but in fairness to him what he said is actually echoed by most clubs. January window is generally quite unpopular due to it being a rush and players going for a lot more than they would in the summer. Nonetheless we (or he lol) need to take advantage of it whether we like it or not. More Bergwijn type of signings would be most welcome lol.

 

Someone also said on Twitter the other day that Hitchen looks like Darth Vader without the mask and it’s so true