...anyone else get the feeling that Levy is undoing everything that Redknapp was trying to put in place? Remember what Harry said about Nelson? "'E's a good boy ta 'ave arahnd the dressin' room!" Well, not according to Levy, he's not, old son. And that's "Mr Levy" to you. I am beginning to think that it wasn't so much our sudden and dramatic dip in form that did for Harold, but the fact that he was gradually taking the club in a direction that Levy (and those behind him) did not like. I'm still thinking that the likes of Caulker, GDS, Naughton, and Rose are going to find themselves more involved in the club than they were under Redknapp. That wouldn't be such a bad thing, as far as I am concerned.
Yes definitely, with regards to the squad it's a great move in my opinion. Caulker's proved that he's a prem player, not so sure about the others though. Rose could still go either way and Naughton hardly made waves at Norwich. I'm surprised Gomes is being kept on - we never looked confident with him between the sticks. Unless he's had some kind of revelation a return to the days of conceding soft goals would be a huge step backwards.
Nelsen out, Caulker and Vertonghen* come in - that sounds like an improvement to me. Gomes is out of contract, so unless he gets offered a new one it's unlikely he'll be playing - and equally unlikely we can use him in a cash + player trade (for example, cash + Gomes for Lloris) Naughton did pretty well at Norwich, from what the Norwich fans were saying. He was solid and reliable which, whilst not attributes that will set the world alight, are needed.
I'm not sure whether the likes of Saha and Nelsen were brought in last January because Redknapp wanted them or because Levy didn't want a manager on the way out spending any money. Perhaps he didn't want to overspend in a tricky transfer window, especially when the manager didn't rotate the squad, anyway? I think that Rose could do with a season on loan as a left-back, possibly in the Championship. Perhaps he could join Harry Kane at Millwall for a year, as he seemed to grow into his role well and Townsend did well there in the previous season, plus they wouldn't be far away? Caulker and Naughton should be brought into the squad and given a chance to stake a claim for a place. Europa League football would be the next step in their natural progression and I think they'd approach the whole thing with the right attitude. I expect Dos Santos to leave, but alienating Gomes last season was a mistake, for me, as he may as well have been out on loan. He's a confidence player, so a new coach might get him back to his best and even iron out some of his weaker aspects.
So why did Levy agree to bring them in, in the first place. You make it sound like Harry had a free run with signings when we all know that isn't the case.
Maybe Levy is already working with the new man and is doing his work for him because he is eager to get on with prep for the upcoming season..and if that is the case then the new man has got his head screwed on..and our team/squad already has a freshness to it.
i am trying to be optimistic because i believe that whatever it is that is going on..Levy is not doing it to screw us over. What is the Spurs way you refer to?
being as organised as to get in targets prior to the manager being officially appointed. Our transfers usually consist of the papers linking every player under the sun, our manager referring to them as 'triffic'*, having bids turned down, having players sign for rivals and finally a mad-dash rush on deadline day to bring in our 4th/5th choice targets * last 4 years only
Sign 56 players and hope one comes good. Seriously, I can't imagine how difficult it must have been on Championship manager during those years....
aaah yes that Spurs way.....well i think Levy seems to be behaving like he's on a bit of a mission here and has realised with Redknapp's reign that something actually will have to be done to give ourselves the best chance of moving up a few notches.