People like Gards and Paul O’Keefe on Twitter who are considered as people with solid knowledge are both under the impression Kane’s almost certainly off in the summer as he currently isn’t interested in renewing his deal (and who can blame him?). If we’re bad now, I dread to think how bad we’ll be when he goes. We’re looking at midtable, possibly lower.
You’d have to reach those finals first. Without Kane, a declining Son and a **** Richarlison, we won’t even score goals, let alone goals in finals.
Diario Record claim we’ve had a €34m bid plus bonuses for Porro…. Rejected. Because Sporting want his €45m release clause - as they’ve said since day one.
I wasn't comparing it to that of Sugar. The facts are that ENIC inherited a completely failing club and have massively improved it. What happened more than 30 years ago is completely irrelevant. If the decisions are as bad as you claim then we would have got worse not better. And the club would have higher profits and be worth more if it had won more trophies. It is completely impossible to improve a club's league position whilst at the same time reducing the chances of winning cups.
In the years we won cups between 1971 and 1991 we were normally about the 5th best by league position but the standard was much more even so if we were in a semi final we should have had a one in five or so chance of winning. Therefore winning seven cups out of 10 semifinals is massively overperforming. Nowadays if we get to a semifinal we almost always meet a much better team twice running. So one win out of 10 semi finals is about the expected outcome, I think. The only solution to winning more trophies is to have a better team. But historically we've never been better than this.
The one somewhat aggravating thing about Conte's approach to transfers, which is reflected in Spence being unpersoned, is that it actively costs more money than it should For an obvious example, Napoli signed Kim Min-jae and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for a combined €28m last summer, and within six months both players would likely cost us at least double that fee each. And that's what's (somewhat) aggravating, because we know that Poch would've likely been looking keenly at them, Jol would've likely been looking keenly at them, Redknapp would likely have taken a punt on the pair of them - and it has to be said I wouldn't be surprised if Villas-Boas or Nuno would have considered them to be useful additions In the past those are the sort of deals we would've been all over, but we've lost our way in that regard - and not just the club either, because there's a section of our fanbase who are against these sorts of deals as well these days, as I remember plenty of kvetching about Kim Min-jae being a "cheap" option at CB from people who apparently don't know that this thing called "value" both exists and can, get this, increase
Matt Law of the Telegraph is now saying similar. Apparently already rejected an offer to extend his deal after he wanted the City move and he’s in no rush to consider a new one yet, likely because it’s uncertain if we’ll get CL next year or win a trophy this year.
I wouldn't begrudge him the move for an instant. It would hurt like hell to see him in a PL rival's shirt, so if (when) he does move, abroad would be just fine. Yes it will hurt but may well be the straw that breaks the camel's back and act as a decisive wake-up call to the executive that they have to stop staggering around between short-term solutions and actually come up with a sensible, sustainable long-term vision for the club. That I feel has been lacking since the day we put hammer to nail in the new stadium build. Almost every major decision Levy has made since our final season at WHL has been atrocious, and all evidence points to the fact that while he took us to the borders of the promised land, be lacks the nous to take us in to enter that hallowed next level occupied by genuinely major clubs. Thus far, every single attempt has been a doomed-to-fail quick fix idea: Mourinho, the Super League, Conte.
If he won't sign a new contract we should be looking at agreeing a deal for Vlahovic or Osimhen now. If we sell Kane in the summer for £100 million, selling clubs will increase the asking price for their players. However, we will sell Kane with a few days of the summer window left and end up with someone like Frazer Campbell on loan.
I think the decision making smacks of short-termism and this has plagued the club for a while, on the footballing side. Levy and ENIC have done an unparalleled job off the pitch in terms of building the club up. After the Sky 4 emerged after the first decade of PL money, we are the only club to have consistently crashed the party without significant outside investment on the pitch. I think people forget that this achievement is somewhat unique. With that said, I think success under Poch came so soon and to such an extent that those at the top of the club have forgotten their vision and maybe even don’t know how to deal with where we are. Part of Levy trying to behave like a big club chairman was hiring Paratici, to professionalise many aspects of the footballing organisation, but this transformation has to go to the very top. A business may well have changed or added to leadership in a more significant way than a football club but that is obviously complicated by Levy’s position at THFC. Levy is clearly good at running a football club and a competent businessman but many people are good at growing business while not being so good at running big ones. As Levy is unlikely to not be chairman as long as ENIC own the club, he needs to appoint more experienced heads around him to help his own transition and, therefore, the club’s. Realistically, that’s what I want to see, along with more autonomy and joined-up thinking for the football side of the business.
If we go looking for a high value striker now, everyone will know that Kane is going and the market will go up instantly. It's a no-win, financially I fear!
Probably, however would like to see us make a move early. Leaving things last minute makes it harder for a selling club to buy a replacement so will add a premium.
For those who fall firmly in the Levy Out camp, does it occur to you that part of the reason Levy has invested so heavily in infrastructure is not just to attract the worlds best coaches and players, but also to make it a more attractive investment for the next set of custodians, thus facilitating him actually being out? If you're buying a house from somebody, would you rather have great furniture with ****ty structure, or excellent structure and not so great furniture? I think those with billions to spend on a club actually value the very characteristics that Levy has put in place. With all the vitriol Levy gets, I imagine he'd be happy to be out, but he doesn't wan't to sell to any old riff raff, and he wants to limit the range of error that a new owner could actually make. I am not a Levy lover, he has made many mistakes and yep the playing side of things is suffering as the squad resembles a hodgepodge mishmash of collective legacy trash from various managers each with different approaches to cater for, but having Conte in right now simply wouldn't have happened without the infrastructure in place to make it a viable option for him. I don't agree that the club is currently a laughing stock. It will become one if Conte gets sacked any time soon though. Conte is known for talking down a teams chances mid season, also creating controversy to take the conversation away from the players, then going on a run towards the end of the season and surprising people. With one or two effective moves in the window, some luck with injuries, we can be right back amongst it playing the same brand of football that got us into the top four last season. Yes, I would feel better if these moves had happened already by now, but I don't buy this idea that there is no intent to back Conte or improve the team. Conte has said it requires patience and work. I don't understand why people expect any manager to work miracles in one and a half seasons.
I think Levy has invested into the infrastructure because its a proven way to add value. Buying players carries a higher degree of risk than a stadium and training facilities. Levy is a notoriously difficult negotiator and will demand top £££ for the club. I heard somewhere that Levy wants to negotiate that he stays at the club in any deal.
getting the Spurs goal scoring record this season getting the PL record and some silverware somewhere else I can’t blame him
I think he’s invested in the infrastructure because that’s the only way he makes us significant amongst the best. rich kid who can’t play football but got the best boots in town ‘all the gear but no idea’ that’s us the worst of the ‘top 6’ If he’s interested in looking like an attractive proposition for potential buyers then having a top team would go a long way to achieve that but the estate agent doesn’t have an atom of football know how in him
