And in other thoughts....I cannot remember a game when our players got nutmegged so often. Although, to be fair to the team, I think that most were Porro
It’s probably a more deep rooted sign that the manager knows he’s ballsing up and so is essentially deflecting to the easiest target. Werner was diabolical last night, he often always is but Ange is probably looking for someone to take the heat off of his own shoulders. Hopefully this forces a cancellation of his loan though because someone will need to make way for future additions to go into the EL squad (if we’re still in it!) and he’s the best candidate. Should never have signed him the first time, signing him twice is exactly why this club doesn’t get taken seriously.
If what you're saying is true, Levy needs to be much more open and transparent about the situation. He is notoriously private and rarely holds interviews or comments of any sort. But if it is the case that the stadium will essentially prevent us from competing with the biggest clubs in the PL for the foreseeable future, he has to come clean about that and in very simple language such that the average fan will understand and at least have an informed choice to make. Right now, he has snookered himself. Fans see the stadium, see the plethora of commercial and investment projects happening all around the stadium, see the eye watering ticket prices, see our annual revenue setting new records every year, and they draw a very understandable conclusion: we must have loads of cash, why aren't we spending it? This then piles pressure onto Levy, whose track record in decision making doesn't help him in the slightest. He needs to come clean and openly state that we should not expect success any time in the near future unless we chance upon a miracle worker as manager, because we simply cannot afford success.
It stinks, imo. Especially when you could point at literally any of our senior players and slam their performances of late. The reaction on social media has been telling, most fans are angry with Ange for his comments and questioning if he's forgotten that he was the one who signed the player not once, but twice.
Brilliant idea...make a public announcement of how much our budget is! But most of our competitors probably know already and so should any fan who can do simple addition. The stadium has got us about three quarters of the way to being fully competitive with our five bigger domestic rivals. It has massively increased our spending but there is still more to be done. In a vote 99% of fans would want us to spend more but the vast majority of those also want to pay less for their tickets. No-one apparently sees any contradiction in this. It is often stated as a fact that Levy is a poor decision maker but no evidence is ever supplied that this is true. He, alongside every person on the planet gets a lot of decisions wrong. But he is literally the only Chairman in the PL who has taken a mid table club into multiple champions league appearances without spending dodgy money. I think he therefore must have made fewer mistakes than any other Chairman.
More than Ange is revealing himself to be a problem, the appointment of coaches to suit the club's budget and methodology (if there is one) is a ****ING DISASTER. We've replaced Mourinho and Conte, who required specific types of players, to fit 'their system of play' that we didn't have and wouldn't stump up the money to buy...with another manager who requires...guess what? Yes, we’ve appointed another 'inflexible system' manager, who requires specific types of players. We still don't have the finances or dynamism to recruit sufficient numbers of appropriately skilled and experienced players... ...and things are turning to rat **** again in the prescribed manner during the 2nd season, in the run up to the Christmas festivities. Is there any point in sacking the bloke, paying him a tuckerbag full of swag, to do the same thing again with a new chump in the '18 Month Club' ...? I didn't express a preference for Conte's replacement. I didn't think that it would make the slightest difference to our problems. It seems that was right. I wish I'd been wrong. I wish that our coach and signings in the summer were perfectly aligned...but they aren't. Our problems in midfield have not improved on the back of signing Archie Gray or Lucas Bergvall. Neither have played any significant role there. Investing a good deal of money and 2 squad places in players the coach has little confidence in is not a luxury this club can afford. No matter how good they may be down the track. Bergvall should be out on loan. Gray should be getting minutes in midfield, but due to our perennially wonky squad, he's more likely to replace Forster or Solanke under Ange. So, back him...sack him...it's all the same. "Plus ca change...mes petits pois!"
I don't get this negativity. Assuming I am right and we have the sixth best squad the performances are entirely consistent with that given we have a risk taking coach. We are still well placed to get top 8 in the Europa and have knocked Man City out of a domestic cup. This despite some bad injuries. It's just normal.
Broadly I agree with you on the overall view but you ask about negativity. Sadly the negativity is now coming from Ange. At this stage he should be there saying this is not good enough and this is what needs to be done. Instead he is looking down, is sounding down, and now he comes out and blames players. Standing on the touchline pulling negative faces is not good management. The team needs to look to the manager for solutions not blame. I don't want this continuing replacement of managers it's futile but whats happening here? Is Levy saying to Ange keep going we will back you? It doesn't look like it. We have seen this before and we know where it ends.
What we should be seeing. Levy with an arm around Ange telling us that this project is ongoing we need more players to complete it and Ange and I are going to find them and turn this around. What we are seeing. A disillusioned Ange looking down in the mouth and Levy skulking in the stands looking miserable. This can not be the way to manage a huge business.
If Ange is sacked a new chump with have a squad with players bought by Pochettino, JM, Nuno, Conte and Ange...maybe this should tell the club why we are struggling with an unbalanced squad
Not really true, though Poch players: Son, Davies Ubermench players: Reguilon Nuno players: Romero, Sarr Conte players: Kulusevski, Bentancur, Udogie, Porro, Spence, Forster, Richarlison, Bissouma Ange: Vicario, van der Ven, Maddison, Solanke, Johnson, Dragusin, Odobert, Gray, Bergvall And when you take into account Paratici had Conte in mind when he signed Romero and Sarr anyway, and Reguilon has been told to do one since the summer, that effectively means Son and Davies are the only players in the squad who can be attributed to any manager we've had prior to 2022 Compare that to Man Utd's squad, then you see what a patchwork quilt really looks like Ferguson: Evans van Gaal: Shaw, Rashford The Ubermensch: Lindelof, Dalot Solskjaer: Fernandes, Maguire, Diallo, Heaton ten Hag: Mainoo, Zirkzee, Hojlund, de Ligt, Eriksen, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Garnacho, Antony, Onana, Ugurte, Martinez, Mount
His press conference from this morning is interesting, Ange sounds like he’s had enough with some of the players and also telling reporters that some of their questions aren’t things he wants to answer. Also said no time for excuses and that it’s a challenge he’s up for and if anyone isn’t then they shouldn’t be at Spurs. Definitely feeling the pressure but I kind of like he’s said all that. That said, results are king and he needs one on Sunday.
Didn’t he say a couple of days ago responding to Romero’s comments that he doesn’t publicly criticise players? And then 2 days later comments on Werner? I really don’t like managers publicly criticising players. Does nothing for morale.
He kinda of explained that too. Said it was different to Romero but basically said if Werner doesn’t like that then it’s his problem.
Also sounds like he's confirmed that in his opinion it isn't his job to motivate the players. We've suspected this about him for a long time but this appears to confirm it. He's about as far removed from a Poch type manager as possible. Imo he's used to managing squads of players who are simply grateful to play football. He isn't used to the pomp and ceremony of the PL that brings in its wake insufferable prima donnas. Sadly that is the state of the modern game and he has to realise that a player earning £100k+ a week needs different ways of motivation.
