Graham Roberts Interview
- Thread starter Billy The Spur
- Start date
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SC - Bit late for good evening, more like night night! anyway, thats good to hear they already know each other. 
I think the news of possible Arab investment at whatever level will horrify and anger a vast majority of followers.
Selling your soul to the enemy etc.
I know quite a lot of supporters from the Jewish community that will be mightily peed off.
Selling your soul to the enemy etc.
I know quite a lot of supporters from the Jewish community that will be mightily peed off.
Spurlock I see where you are coming from, but they may accept it as a way of doing business,but they still won't like it.
Me, I'm ambivalent about it if it benefits the club so be it as long as the club retains it's basic structure.
Me, I'm ambivalent about it if it benefits the club so be it as long as the club retains it's basic structure.
Let's wait and see whether it's true first. It's seems likely to be the case, but getting investment is a good thing, as long as its genuine investment. Flaspur is right and it will explain a few things. If this money coming is is part of a structured business plan (which is almost certain to be the case with levy) then I see this as only a good thing for the club.
It's also great timing, with Chelsea and city spending massively, united seeming not to, and Newcastle improving.
Looking forward to more details on this. If its true, it's very exciting IMO.
It's also great timing, with Chelsea and city spending massively, united seeming not to, and Newcastle improving.
Looking forward to more details on this. If its true, it's very exciting IMO.
To compete today at the highest level a club needs generous investors.
We have had Jewish leaders for many years (Sugar, Levy) and have won
nothing of any merit. The club has been run as a business first, not a love or passion
as a supporter feels. Time moves on , if the Jewish community wants Spurs to
remain "their club" they have had many years to invest, people like Phillip Green could have
stepped forward to keep this tradition moving onwards.
The club also has an equal Greek Cypriot support but this has not come as a focus of the
culture of the club.
The club has looked that it has been primed for a sale. New ground , constant push for champs league etc.
Lewis is only in it as a business man (fair enough) for a large profit . I am not a business man , but a
fan who wants the glory glory nights, and if this investment changes the ethos of the club ,so be it.
I have no allegiance to any community just to my club.
We have had Jewish leaders for many years (Sugar, Levy) and have won
nothing of any merit. The club has been run as a business first, not a love or passion
as a supporter feels. Time moves on , if the Jewish community wants Spurs to
remain "their club" they have had many years to invest, people like Phillip Green could have
stepped forward to keep this tradition moving onwards.
The club also has an equal Greek Cypriot support but this has not come as a focus of the
culture of the club.
The club has looked that it has been primed for a sale. New ground , constant push for champs league etc.
Lewis is only in it as a business man (fair enough) for a large profit . I am not a business man , but a
fan who wants the glory glory nights, and if this investment changes the ethos of the club ,so be it.
I have no allegiance to any community just to my club.
Sydney, I have been a supporter for more years than I care to admit and I too want the best for the club.
Throughout this forum we have been quick to pillor the clubs run by mega rich Russians and the like, are we now saying that we will accept "the dirty money " for investment sake because it's the only way.
If this alleged investment is just as it says that is fine,but if it becomes another Man City will we still embrace it?
Throughout this forum we have been quick to pillor the clubs run by mega rich Russians and the like, are we now saying that we will accept "the dirty money " for investment sake because it's the only way.
If this alleged investment is just as it says that is fine,but if it becomes another Man City will we still embrace it?
I'm not jewish, but i'm still unsure on investment.
I'm quite proud at how the club is run, and the fact we are able to compete while being run responsibly and with a small stadium.
While i would enjoy the success, if it came, from investment i think a part of me would feel it was a bit hollow.
What i would really like to do is win something like Utd did in the 90s, by bringing through a number of youth players who actually WANT to play for the club and who the fans can relate to better.
Alas, i think those days are probably gone
I'm quite proud at how the club is run, and the fact we are able to compete while being run responsibly and with a small stadium.
While i would enjoy the success, if it came, from investment i think a part of me would feel it was a bit hollow.
What i would really like to do is win something like Utd did in the 90s, by bringing through a number of youth players who actually WANT to play for the club and who the fans can relate to better.
Alas, i think those days are probably gone
Spurfectionist,I was going to mention that every time we are linked with a top player so are all the other top teams which pees me off no end so maybe bringing up youngsters who want to play and are full of running would be a good idea. For me buying all these expensive players is just keeping up with the Joneses.
Perryman, Spurfectionist.
Football sold it's soul to the devil many years ago.
As long as the investment was not evil money ( as Roman) , I would
gladly except it . Victory if that ever happened may seem a little hollow
but the world has changed. Never will organic clubs rise and dominate
such as Derby and Forest did in the 70's. The path has been shut by the
big boys. I am not looking for mega money like City, Chavski but I would
like to retain our best players , pay the wages, and be competive in
the transfer market.
Football sold it's soul to the devil many years ago.
As long as the investment was not evil money ( as Roman) , I would
gladly except it . Victory if that ever happened may seem a little hollow
but the world has changed. Never will organic clubs rise and dominate
such as Derby and Forest did in the 70's. The path has been shut by the
big boys. I am not looking for mega money like City, Chavski but I would
like to retain our best players , pay the wages, and be competive in
the transfer market.
It depends on the investment spurfect. There's absolutely nothing wrong with a business looking for investment in order to grow. Investment doesn't necessarily mean take over. As long as the financials are in place show a clear road map and projections, this is something that is very common, and will also continue to show how our club is growing in the correct way. - A well structured business.
however, if it's a takeover where money will be spent on anything and everything regardless of profits (and general business sense), then it's something I am completely opposed to.
The more I see this unfolding, the more trust I have in Levy.
I think there is a strong agenda of developing homegrown, young players, hence Sherwood being promoted from the youth team to DOF. (If that rumour is true.)
At the same time though, it's important that we remain competitive during the transition through new training ground to new stadium, hence us actually investing in the likes of Vertonghen, Lloris, Adebayor, Damiao, Sigurdsson, Mountiho, Sahin. (If those rumours are true.)
If investment is coming in and Levy remains at the helm, he'll make sure that we are still shrewd with it, and that the club remains well run.
I have no such hollow feeling. The future looks bright, as long as AVB can actually manage the team in the way that he's capable of, rather than the poor, immature display of the Chelsea appointment.
I think there is a strong agenda of developing homegrown, young players, hence Sherwood being promoted from the youth team to DOF. (If that rumour is true.)
At the same time though, it's important that we remain competitive during the transition through new training ground to new stadium, hence us actually investing in the likes of Vertonghen, Lloris, Adebayor, Damiao, Sigurdsson, Mountiho, Sahin. (If those rumours are true.)
If investment is coming in and Levy remains at the helm, he'll make sure that we are still shrewd with it, and that the club remains well run.
I have no such hollow feeling. The future looks bright, as long as AVB can actually manage the team in the way that he's capable of, rather than the poor, immature display of the Chelsea appointment.
Thor/Roo/Sidney - All good points.
Thor - yeah, the constant linking of unattainable players is ridiculous. It's always been like that as far as i can tell. It happens to other clubs, but we are the worst for it. Why does it happen to us more than anyone else?
Roo - yeah, thats what i was talking about, i just put it badly. I don't mind financial backing if done right. I just don't want a Sheikh coming in and throwing money around. There would always be that "if he leaves then we're screwed" feeling.
Sidney - sold its soul is the right phrase. Its a shame in a way. However, i don't think those days are done. Barca have a lot of home grown players. Admittedly they throw a lot of money around also, but they do show that it can be done.
The players that are being bought for silly money have to come from somewhere. There is no reason they can't come from Spurs with the right setup. It'll just take a lot of time.
Thor - yeah, the constant linking of unattainable players is ridiculous. It's always been like that as far as i can tell. It happens to other clubs, but we are the worst for it. Why does it happen to us more than anyone else?
Roo - yeah, thats what i was talking about, i just put it badly. I don't mind financial backing if done right. I just don't want a Sheikh coming in and throwing money around. There would always be that "if he leaves then we're screwed" feeling.
Sidney - sold its soul is the right phrase. Its a shame in a way. However, i don't think those days are done. Barca have a lot of home grown players. Admittedly they throw a lot of money around also, but they do show that it can be done.
The players that are being bought for silly money have to come from somewhere. There is no reason they can't come from Spurs with the right setup. It'll just take a lot of time.
We can all agree that investment in the club is good if done for the right reasons and as everyone's said we seem to get linked with every player that breaths.
I would really like the new boss to show faith in our home grown youngsters,because if he gives them a chance we might not need to spend megabucks on overpriced & greedy players.
I would really like the new boss to show faith in our home grown youngsters,because if he gives them a chance we might not need to spend megabucks on overpriced & greedy players.
Problem is that there isn't many quality home grown players coming through in England/Wales anymore. For all we know, a kid with Messi like talent is going to waste sitting on his PC, and I know for a fact a lot of boys I grew up with who had bags of potential went into the Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Drugs scene, which reduces the pool further. British football is in a ****mire in terms of youth, and nothing these Olympic promise keepers are saying/doing is making any difference.
The fact this is true surely means there is a bigger opportunity. If Spurs, or whoever, developed a top-notch youth setup and found these players at an early age then they could be nurtured into quality players and steered away from "white lightning in the park". Its not as if British kids are born with less talent than Spanish kids, its just the nurturing.
If teams want to tap into that then its the teams that need to invest, not the government/olympic people. It would be cheaper than buying £20m players every year.
The Qatar Investment Authority is not just 'Some Sheikh' they are the Qarari sovereign wealh fund. They look at ways of investing Qatar's oil and gas surplus in order that Qatar with have a long term income once the oil and the gas runs out, they are certainly not a bunch of criminal oiliarchs laundering their ill gotten gains. They chose their investments very carefully. They are in it for the long haul.
They purchased a 70% share of Paris St Germain in 2011 and have funded €108M of transfers since. They are the biggest shareholders in Sainsburys, they own Harrods Group, Miramax films and have a property portfolio that includes a majority share in Canary Wharf Group. They have major banking interests including a 6% share in Credit Suisse. They own Credit Suisse's London HQ.
They have looked at buying into Man U, Everton, Loserpool and Villa in the past but chose not to for reasons only known to them. If they buy into Spurs then they, like the the new manager should get our full support. It's rumoured that they have about £60 billion to invest worldwide. Credit Suisse Stadium anyone?
They purchased a 70% share of Paris St Germain in 2011 and have funded €108M of transfers since. They are the biggest shareholders in Sainsburys, they own Harrods Group, Miramax films and have a property portfolio that includes a majority share in Canary Wharf Group. They have major banking interests including a 6% share in Credit Suisse. They own Credit Suisse's London HQ.
They have looked at buying into Man U, Everton, Loserpool and Villa in the past but chose not to for reasons only known to them. If they buy into Spurs then they, like the the new manager should get our full support. It's rumoured that they have about £60 billion to invest worldwide. Credit Suisse Stadium anyone?
British football and the system is riddled with red tape and being exclusive to certain places in the country...i wont go into it as there are obvious predjudices strongly apparent and it exhausts me having this conversation with peers as it is frustrating....and this country will never ever produce a Messi in an England shirt..never...yet i in my years of playing Park football i have seen may players of sublime skill that maybe with some fine tweeking and not the total destruction of their free spirit..with it being replaced by 'ere son on my ed'...could emulate at least Messi's left boot if not the rest of him..but it gets bashed out of him by the English coaches if they do get their hands on him....
plus for me the bottom line is for this country to be such a cosmopolitan society yet only has blacks and white players reaching the top is disgusting and for me is an obvious agenda as ive seen players from other ethnicities with sublime skill..even down to college level they were ignored even though better.
this is why i can never support England...since it is very cliquey in the grand scheme of things..then it may aswell be cliquey with it's support recruitment.
if the parents of Xavi,Iniesta,Silva,Messi ever turned up with their sons to a trial..they would get dismissed based on their size..cos they dont look like they are a bunch of hoofers or extremely fast.
i recall the story a few years back of a 13v year old english lad who kept on getting rejections here due to his size so his father uprooted and went to Brazil where his lad got a pro contract from a club....so this arrogant set up rejected him but in the country of the 5 times winners of the WC..his skill factor was appreciated.
Never will England brush shoulders with Brazil etc on the pitch when it comes to skill..not with such an attitude.
and i always find it weird how alot of these ****s went to the same schools when they were growing up....you'd think a country with so much money and organisation(potentially) would spread it's wings within its own country..yet we all love to buy the North Africans from North Africa and the odd Oriental player..yet those in this country never get a sniff.