Twitter thinks there's a queue of Middle Eastern and Americans crying out to be allowed to buy us and turn us into Peak Barca on the pitch and Peak Chelsea on the balance sheet
Ok...a few red flags to look out for: No matter how much Levy messes up, he is beyond criticism Random posts pandering for Poch whenever the Spurs hotseat is discussed. You haven't seen neither?
They don’t see how narrow their vision is. They genuinely believe Levy is the best chairman ever and the emotional Poch is the next Bill Nic
I have never read here that Levy is the best chairman ever, he is one of the best we have had for sure, and across all clubs the list of worse chairman is a very very long list. As for Poch since Bill Nick he is one of the best 3 managers we have had and that's in nearly 50 years. You can argue what place in the top 3 that he occupies, and because we didn't actually win anything he would have to behind Burkinshaw in my opinion, but after that I am not sure anyone trophies or not has done a better job.
depends on what you think makes a chairman good or bad I guess I don’t think the bar is very high if you just compare him to Alan Sugar and Irving Scholar. I like to compare him to owners that have some kind of clue when it comes to the football team. I’d say Liverpool’s owners are better in that they recognised key areas needed fixing, backed their man and the rest is history. We had that window of opportunity but we blew it because there was no real focus from the top. Levy decided to lose his wallet at the most pivotal time in our recent history, for me that is unforgivable and I’m not simple enough to just vent my frustration at his latest puppet instead of focusing on him. He doesn’t back his managers properly therefore he is probably one of the worst things at our Football club. I’ve heard nothing but excuses since we left the Lane as to why we can’t do this or that. On top of that when he spend money, he wastes it. He moved us out of WHL at the worst possible time, all these plus many more stupid decisions to the detriment of the football. I don’t care that he built us a big new stadium, we only got that because property is solid investment, nowt to do with football. When it comes to football, his decisions are bang average at best. I get zero kicks out of winning non football battles with my counterparts based on Levy’s non football activities. When I was a kid I enjoyed the glory…now I have to talk about this bald **** like his non football money making schemes should be important to me. He needs to remember he is a custodian and so do some of the fans. Bald **** Levy and ENIC do not define Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for me. I don’t care where we were when he came, we are here and if he can’t move us onto the next step then he needs to pass that baton on, we are not his play thing.
I think Levy comes in for a hell of a lot criticism, both on here and in general, so not sure I agree with the statements that he essentially has some blind loyalty from the fan base. I think the only difference with some is that people are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and people aren’t with regards to his position. I won’t lie that my support for him has massively declined in the last few years; ticket prices have increased, debacle with furlough and ESL, terrible footballing decisions (not solely on him, managers have to take some blame too) which have culminated in some truly dreadful stuff to watch… He’s really messed it up of late and I don’t think that can really be denied. On the basis though that in his 20 years I’d say he’s been good for 15 of them I’m willing to not quite yet jump on the “Levy Out” train. That said, I wouldn’t shed many tears now if he were relieved of his duties/ Spurs were taken over. As for Poch, as more or less TCM said I don’t think there can much debate about how Poch has been one of our best managers. Rowe, Nicholson and Burkinshaw are immediately the top 3 in our history I’d say, based on what they achieved for this club, outside of them, it’s hard to say Poch doesn’t come in at number four, I think ‘Arry is another that deserves respect too and completes the top five, both didn’t win anything with Spurs but we enjoyed some phenomenal football under them, saw great players and had some very good moments. That doesn’t mean people want Poch back right now though, I certainly don’t, I don’t want him returning whilst we still have many of the players that essentially got him the sack and he himself needs to improve tactically too and that’ll hopefully come with more experience at PSG.
I agree with a lot of what you say, and with DH too, I am someone who was far more pro Levy 3 or 4 years ago and the stagnation, decline in recent seasons needs to be addressed and I know longer have the belief that Levy is going to fulfil those requirements. But I will also say that if a neutral person was compiling a list of football chairman from the last 25 years in order of general competence Levy would be nearer the top than the bottom, there have been better for sure but there have been much worse.
On the idea that we are waiting for a national manager to become available, what about Deschamp? He will be under a lot of pressure, Zidane would be an ideal candidate to take over France. His odds on Skybet have come down to 20/1 from 40/1 over night.
It's a difficult one...not a bad record at club level but he's been out of that game for almost a decade. Meanwhile he has an embarrassment of riches at intl level and many are arguing that despite winning the world cup, their loss last night and to Portugal in 2016's final means he has actually underachieved with the best french team in a generation. I've also got the feeling it'll be someone after the tournament, which means the new manager will only join the club with a few weeks to go until the new season. It also means we'll be appointing someone without any real track record of success at club level and certainly not in the PL, unless Italy get thrashed by Belgium and Mancini steps down or gets the sack but can't see either happening.
First up, I don't expect anyone to agree with me. I write on here to air my opinions. I don't expect that I'm right on all occasions and am very capable of admitting when I'm not - I live with 3 women, I've had years of practice. Nor am I that bothered when people hold diametrically opposing views, as I am very much a believer in "Vive la difference!" If we were all the same life would be unbearably tedious and I'd have to compete with you lot for all of the stuff that makes my life such a joy. Secondly, I was a big fan of our 'Dear Leader' until the last 3 or 4 years. In my opinion, ENIC/Levy have achieved their aims of returning the club to where it was pre-Sugar. However, they've no idea what to do now and zero intention of investing the effort and finances to push us on a level. We'd be so much better off with some new blood to put some fresh impetus into a tired looking football set up. For me, it's time to thank Levy for his efforts and the incredible (if overpriced) stadium and get in someone else. If he was hit by a bus and died, we'd replace him and move on. If we bring in a Chairman who understands that the art of great managing is to give good, experienced people their head to be creative, I fully believe that we'd do better than having Levy micro-managing everything, particularly sporting issues. This is just my opinion but genuinely and fiercely held for that. Levy OUT! COYS!
No one thinks this (I hope). As far as Levy is concerned, the job has to be done by someone and if that person is reckless and lacking basic financial skills then we are truly ****ed. I can't sign up to Levy out per se, but if there is another candidate with Levy's financial acumen and a proven track record of managing a football club, then replace him. The role is absolutely pivotal to our future and cannot just go to someone risking all without a plan.
Some people have said Deschamps to PSG, Zidane to France and Poch to Spurs. Can’t see that happening though.
I've gone from a strong supporter of Levy to a pessimist who thinks what comes next is likely to be worse. Levy's biggest problem is Levy. "Spurs DNA" seem to be empty words for him, when they are actually the likeliest recipe for success. Spurs should look to Borussia Dortmund (and, perhaps, to Atletico Madrid) to see that a definable style is an important part of the recipe for becoming a more successful club. If you don't have as much money as the clubs you're competing with, you have to compensate by being more focused and effective. Consistently trying to build the same kind of team is the best way of doing that. If Spurs want to rise, they simply can't afford a scattershot approach to hiring managers, because changing styles produces too much deadwood. Not to say deadwood won't develop under any circumstances, just that it can and should be minimized by always trying to build the same kind of team. A consistent style, at least when it is attacking, also builds fans' loyalty, appreciation and numbers.
I don’t want Poch back. Although if it’s a choice of him or most of the names mentioned then I’d choose him over them.
It's too soon whilst Levy's still interfering. The chances of success are too slim....but the same applied to Conte and all the rest of the myriad potential chumps Next season is likely to be very tough...VERY.
This paragraph resonated with me and made me stop and think. As much as I pile in on players who I perceive to be crap, I still struggle to accept the fact that so many players who once looked destined for greatness or at least well-above-averageness now look like they'd be at home in the Championship. More belief-defying still is the fact that this happened in an astonishingly short space of time and pretty much simultaneously. This touches on a point PS regularly makes which is a belief that elite level players are much of a muchness and should be able to adapt to pretty much any system or formation as long as their general role remains the same. I've never fully accepted that argument but now the point you made has opened my eyes as to why I don't accept it. I also don't fully accept Spurlock's argument that this group of players have failed under 3 different managers therefore they are the problem. Again, your point explains why I don't fully accept this. In the period from 2017 to 2021, we went from having a finely-tuned side with a delicately balanced approach which almost fully suited its personnel and application. From the moment of Wanyama and Dembele's decline, that balance was thrown off and we started deploying players in positions that may have been familiar to them but with roles which simply didn't suit them. Leaving our CM at the mercy of a Winks-Sissoko pivot for the best part of a year was the beginning of the end for this group. It wasn't just that they aren't nearly as good as Wanyama/Dembele, it was that they were being asked to perform the same role as them too. A weaker midfield meant a greater workload for the defence and suddenly a system that encouraged its FBs to bomb forward fluctuated between suicidal and ultra-cautious. And so not only did the CMs not look fit for purpose, the FBs did too. Then came an aborted attempt at a rebuild with a totally redefined midfield (HBIC's "bastard diamond") which made poor use of the tools available, somehow provided even less support for the defence whil also managing to neuter our attack through lack of supply. Now our CMs, FBs and AMs look like deadwood. Into this mess steps a man whose tactical philosophy is the polar opposite of everything this group of players have known for up to 5 years and, surprise surprise, only new arrivals (Hojbjerg) and the truly world class (Kane, Son) look good in their new job roles while the rest is a confused mess. Now our CBs, CMs, FBs and AMs look like deadwood. And so on and so forth. Should the players shoulder a huge chunk of blame for the decline? Absolutely and especially for a lack of heart and effort for so long. But the 'club' has created this problem at a macro level. Firstly by essentially forcing Poch to change his whole system over 2 years by backing him too little too late, and then compounding this by insanely appointing a manager who we all said from day 1 would get nothing out of 90% of the squad - and so it was. We have lacked direction since the day we moved out of WHL. Simple as that. And the buck for that ultimately stops on Daniel Levy's desk.
The thing with Atleti is, while they're held up as a team we should strive to be, the fact is that Simeone is hardly an attack-minded coach It also has to be said that Dortmund's recipe is quite simple: buy low, sell high - which is why I'm always wary of being linked with any Dortmund player because that means they've identified a player who is expendable when they're actually looking to sign a bunch of players with the proceeds (i.e. Mkhitaryan to man Utd, Pulisic to Chelsea, Dembele to Barca), and it's the "sell high" part that is guaranteed to get the kneejerk brigade kicking off because apparently selling a player for £50m+ to buy two or three elsewhere isn't amBisHuS This is why I find it baffling when people holding up Leicester as a team to aspire to even though they seem to conveniently forget that involved £75m for Maguire £60m for Mahrez £40m for Chilwell (in a depressed transfer market) £32m for Kante Funny how raking in the best part in £200m in transfer fees lets a team rebuild, isn't it? And that's the thing, do people want us to keep the team together or do they want us to improve the team? That's why I've been all for cutting out losses on Ndombele this summer because if we jettison him and Sanchez that's likely at least £60m in the transfer kitty which is enough for Tomiyasu, Sabitzer, Aouar and still have some left over even before moving on the likes of Aurier, Sissoko etc
Together with RWAEB you have highlighted our situation, i would only demur on how much the players are at fault for this. Rightly you lay most of the blame where it should be, with Levy. He chose the managers and controlled the finances and player intake, in some cases he and his committee have decided on which players. Committees always compromise through peer pressure or simply wanting to remain on the committee. When selecting players you need an overall vision and clear decisions otherwise you end up with unsuitable players who simply don't fit 'the plan' whatever that is. In other words you need a manager with very clear lines of responsibility. Did Conte walk away because of the lack of this? Is having a football director a step forward or another layer of obscuration? If it means taking away player decisions from the Levy committee than it will be good but if the committee still plays a part then IMO it will just complicate matters further and we will have yet more 3 humped camels. The players being pro can only do what the manager lets them do and that's why I get frustrated when you see teams like England, Belgium and Portugal with abundant talent being stifled by over cautious managers. For that reason I don't blame the players, perhaps with exception of Ndombele who I single out rightly or wrongly as a lazy bastard.
