Levy is running a business which includes a football team. In 1982 Spurs became a public company from then it ceased to be a football club and became a business. It's a business that has grown to be in the top ten in world in it's field. It's a shame in so many ways and as I have said many times I do regret being a supporter of a pro club in the days of the Premier League which is just about money. It's the Roman games all over again just with less Christians being killed. Many fans do not seem to get the fact that they are supporting a big business first. Levy owns 30% of this business the only way he will go is to sell his interest. Then once again you open the can of worms. I simply hope to watch some decent football and see Spurs win some games but I am under no illusions as to what lies behind the glitter.
To Spurlock et al. You seem to assume that everyone who disagrees with you is therefore part of the same camp, and have attached the name "Levystas", regardless of their particular opinion about Levy. Should I therefore group everyone who disagrees with me as "Oblivionistas" since you are all clearly interested in financial oblivion? What do you mean you are not? That is irrelevant when we are name calling.
Levy can be just a shareholder. Joe Lewis owns over double Levy's shareholding and draws no wage and has no executive function at the club. Levy is sackable as chairman and the swell of people who are coming round to that opinion is significant. If Harry Kane departs and we go into the new season with Fonseca as manager and Levy still in place as chairman, it's not going to be pretty. This potential appointment will be the final straw for an awful lot of people. Levy will have to go eventually. We all do. If he genuinely cares for the future of the football club, he would go now...but go, he will.
I am not a complete Levy apologist, but still believe that he has done as much good as he has bad, and would put these questions out there to those who talk about '30 years of misery' and 'its all Levys fault'. Is it Levys fault that our record transfers have all been awful - Sanchez makes Anthony Gardner look like prime Desailly, Ndombele and Sissoko would have struggled to get in Gerry Francis side and Lo Celso is another Lamela two very strong tough Argentinians what is the chance of getting that are 2 that are made of glass. These were the coaches choices to spend the money on so he cannot really be blamed for them not being the success we were hoping for. It was widely reported that it was our manager that chose Ndombele and Lo Celso over Bruno, he also didn't want Tielemans or Riccardo, but they have been proved to be better than the players we spent similar amounts of money on - again that is down to the manager. Did Levy pick Sonny at left wing back in an FA Cup Semi Final? Did Levy pick a half fit Kane and Winks for the Champions league final thus dropping the semi-final hat-trick here in the process? We all bemoan the lack of Silverware but our inability to get across the line cannot all be directed at 1 man, the players have to take some responsibility for not winning some of the big matches.
I'm not saying that Levy hasn't done good or even great things. I thank him for the stadium and training facilities and sorting out the club's commercial activities. His single mindedness/bloody mindedness/ determination (call it what you choose) has brought in something that many of us (me included) never thought would happen. I'd happily call it The Daniel Levy stadium in his honour...until we find a sponsor. He has also been successful in raising us from mid-table mediocrity to a club that could just win something...however, this is where my problems start with him. Much of what he has done and could do best is completed. He's really not a football man and he's also not a big picture man. He's a micro manager who is grieved awful sore by parting with 6d over his income of £20, on anything that isn't land, construction or a golf course. Getting us back to being a club that could really compete for meaningful honours is neither his priority nor his forte...and that is not acceptable, given that he wishes to prioritise NFL and housing development over trying to be a winning club again. He's done enough in the last few years to earn the sack several times over and his presence on the transfer panel is a significant reason why we keep buying mediocrity. Until he goes, I will continue to object to his chairmanship of the club...because he's currently unaccountable and is holding us back.
I dont see that as ‘name calling’, Vim...I’m describing a certain mindset amongst the fan base...it needs a general term, I can’t name individuals because there’s too many fans who think the sun shines out of Levy’s arse and can see no wrong in his methods. Name calling is calling someone a ‘knobhed’ and ‘Levysta’ is a nice mild term imo. Read my sig Vim, it’s for you and others who have one stick and are beating folk to death with it. It’s not only about spending money, it’s about the man calling the shots lacking the brain capacity to do the right things with the money. No one is denying that Levy loves to waste money.
Two obvious questions get thrown up by this claim - and there's a reason I say "claim", given this guy is with TuttoMercato i.) How long have we been in discussions with Paratici, given the numerous people saying Paratici has put Fonseca's name forward? ii.) So let me get this straight: we were already in talks with Fonseca, but then quickly changed tac to see if we could nab Conte when he became available?
I won't comment on whether he is ambitious or not. I will answer the above with Negative answers of the man (these are not necessarily true, just a reasoning behind why someone would do it) 1. Finest Stadium/Finest training grounds - this increases the asset of the club so when they sale it, it is worth more. The other alternative is that it will increase the finances of the club so you can compete at a higher level. You could look at this as positive (more revenue, more finances for later transfer spend i.e. a long term plan) or you can view this as a sneaky way of enriching themselves (rather than taking money out of the club as dividends, they have used the clubs money to increase the value of the club so ultimately when they sale, the club is worth more) 2. Securing Kane on a new contract - this a no brainer. If you don't give him a new contract, he will eventually be able to walk away for free. Keeping him on a contract will mean you secure his transfer value. Also there would be a mutiny from fans as well. The last thing is Kane is a model pro so you don't need to worry about him slacking off from a new long contract. 3. True, he did employ the most successful manager. This was an ambitious move
Has Paratici actually joined yet? He seems to be recruiting our manager, but I haven't seen anything to actually say he is under contract?
There's a possibility he may not get officially announced but by all accounts it sounds like he's been working for us since Monday. Or knowing the club, they'll announce him once the new manager is also announced. But I'd say/ guess he's pretty much 100% under contract right now.
And now...Context The reason Fonseca wore a Zorro outfit at a press conference is because he said that, when Shakhtar were drawn in a CL group with The Sheikh Mansour Team, Napoli and Feyenoord, he'd dress as Zorro if they reached the knockout stages He then wore it after a 2-1 win over the Mansourites sealed their place in the round of 16
Romano claims (there's that word again...) he'll be announced on Monday, but if we're in talks with Fonseca he's already working for us Clarity is such a good thing...
There's only one person doing any recruiting...and it's not some bloke who's not even on the payroll yet. Paratici may have been asked if he knew of someone who wouldn't turn us down and wouldn't make a fuss when all our best players **** off and suggested Fonseca, but there's zero chance that Daniel's not the puppet master here. Paratici and Fonseca are just the latest puppets.
You do know why we are buying a golf course? It's to build a state of the art training complex for our women's team and a new girls' academy. I doubt that will pay back a penny in increasing the club's value but it is definitely a good thing.
