Think you've hit a number of nails on the head there Boss. The Arsenal game was a reminder that we're perhaps not as good as what we thought we were... (YET!). Though losing to Arsenal by a single goal from a defensive area isn't bad going overall. Top 4 is where we "need" to be as like you say, it's what Harry was sacked for. It's been no secret our football under AVB has been less attractive though at times I think it has been more effective, admittedly a lot of the time we relied on Bale's heroics to win the game but we've seen a lot more grit and a higher work rate than what we usually saw under previous squads. What we have now is a team/ squad of players, many with immense talent and on paper, I'd say better than any squad we've had under AVB/ Harry/ Ramos/ Jol. When you look at Lloris, Kaboul, Vertonghen and Sandro, all of who have been with us at least a season, these guys are good enough to play for any top team in Europe in my opinion. With that core, we've now added 2 of the worlds best young talents in Lamela and Eriksen, a finisher of the highest pedigree in Soldado, a Brazilian engine in Paulinho, a Sandro-esque French international in Capoue and another off of Belgium's growing talent line - Chadli. Yes, of course there's going be a bedding in period, hopefully it won't take too long but if these players can reach their potential then I think any team in the world would struggle to beat us. AVB has a massive task to ensure he gets the best out of these guys, unlike last year, he's had the true backing of the board now and it seems he's managed to bring in a lot of players "on his list he gave Levy" which he mentioned in an interview. The pressure is really on now to achieve a minimum of 4th place, this season more so than ever I'd say, I do believe this team can achieve it but only time will tell on that.
You can't hide behind the budget excuse forever though. The gap between your budget and the top four in this league is nowhere near the gap between Dortmund and Bayern. The players you've brought in have come with the ambition of playing Champions League football and winning things, as have Liverpool's signings. Playing the budget card won't be enough to satisfy the likes of Suarez, Sakho, Lamela, Paulinho et al. You've got a very good squad of players that (on paper) can compete with most sides in Europe.
They're is a pretty bloody big difference though. Lets use NET spend as that is the figure that actually means something: City: ~£90m Chelsea: ~£60m Arsenal: ~£35m Man Utd: ~£30m Spurs: ~£10m What about wages? I bet we have a much lower wage budget than all of those by some margin.
It's not an 'excuse' its a reason. If our squad gels and we stop giving away silly points to weaker clubs then we would likely finish top 4. Then our budget will increase and we should be able to stay there. That's AVB's goal obviously but I won't be too critical if he didn't achieve it.
Not to me it doesn't...to me, it's the fact that we have spent £100m+ on new players and that is how I will judge the season. I won't look at it that we only spent £10m net...but that may just be me.
Not to the players. And that's what it all comes down to. P.S Not disagreeing with you just looking at it from a players perspective.
"But we are talking about budgets, NET is the figure that matters there." Gross transfer totals are a general value placed on the abilities of the players bought. Net totals are a measure of the business management of your club. ROI is a measure of the improvement for your net spend. So if Spurs still don't get a CL slot for zero net spend, then the ROI is poor. From the gross spending viewpoint, the ROI would be even worse (the on paper increase in talent has underperformed) .
Arsenal have spent a net of 30 million (we really mgged off Roma), a bit less if you factor in the loan payments we received for all the players we loaned out. Not sure about your figure for spurs either, thought you spent close to 110 million? Anyway, you probably know better. But if you look at it like that, surely you have to consider the wages of the players? Bringing in 7? Internationals will have added at least 350k a week (probably a lot more) to your wage budget, while the likes of us have trimmed around 200k off it. Regardless, that isn't the teal point here, the fact is that you really screwed real Madrid, in such a way that will never come about again, and that if your 110 mill spend doesn't amount to anything, it will be a complete and utter failure, as you'll never have as good an opportunity as this to finally bridge the gap (although I still believe one season of the spuds finishing ahead does not mean the gap is closed) Plus, how in the name of holy hell will you pay all these wages without champions league football, a big stadium, or the massive sponsorship that comes with being perceived as an elite club?
How can you expect an increase in ROI for a net spend of zero? I don't understand this stuff but that makes no sense. If you have spent zero net then surely you expect your return to be the same or worse unless your competitors have a negative net?
£110 isn't a million miles off being correct. But we shipped out about £25m worth of players before Bale. So if anything our net is less than the £10m i quoted I don't know the exact figures but i don't think ours has increased. The players we brought in were on relatively low wages. I thought soldado was on £45k/w in Spain. Chiriches is now on about £15k/w i think. We lost some of our biggest earners in Bentley, Gallas and Bale.
I think it was a case of a) throwing away 3rd which resulted in us leaving ourselves open for Chelsea to win CL and jump in over us - which they did b) England fiasco and c) I think Levy wanted AVB. Levy mentioned AVB was brought in to go to "the next level" so AVB finishing 5th is not meeting the targets.
"How can you expect an increase in ROI for a net spend of zero?" If a manufacturer via its dealings bought in new equipment that manufactures cheaper or faster than before, but the net cost of that new equipment is zero, then you get ROI for a net spend of zero. Substitute player for equipment, and you have the football equivalent.
In terms of net spending we haven't spent a penny, in fact we're about £2m in profit after the sales of Bale, Dempsey, Hudd, Parker and Caulker. As for wages you're not the only ones that have trimmed yours, with the exception of Soldado and maybe Paulinho, no one will be earning over £70k out of the new lads. Chiriches is reportedly on £19k, with Lamela on £66k and none of Capoue, Chadli or Eriksen will earn more than Lamela. Taking into account that Bale - £90k, Bentley - £60k, Gallas - £60k, Caulker - £25k, Hudd - £35k-£40k, Dempsey - £55k and Parker - £60k are all off the wage bill, there's a good chance that we're probably paying less in wages. As for how we pay these without CL money or a big stadium. A) We're a well run club. B) Levy gets fantastic sponsorship deals. C) Europa League does pay out a bit, admittedly pennies compared to CL but it all counts. D) We always have a packed house at WHL in the league and even in Europe and Cups we're at about 85%-90% capacity (more if it's games against the likes of Inter/ Lyon etc). E) Up until the last year or two, we've had a strict wage cap in which only Bale and Adebayor (and now Soldado and possibly Paulinho) have broken. F) In most transfer windows, like this one, we tend to end up with a profit after dealings so that money could be used to help cover wages if we've gone over budget on them - which I doubt would happen anyway to be honest. And finally, there's no team in the Prem called "Spuds"
that boils down to how well run we are though. Eg, sell one player above value and attempt to buy in for the same price with more success. The problem is that only works in a level playing field. If all the clubs had a clone of Levy and Baldini but the top 4 have bigger transfer and wage budgets then you can't expect to get an increase in ROI based on a net spend of zero. Similarly if all the clubs had an identical budget but were run differently then you could expect a higher ROI with a net spend of zero.
Spurm : If THFC was in the business of "making" PL points, the players were equipment, and GD / goals conceded are measures of productivity and waste in the PL points making process, then with this new sexy equipment purchased this summer for zero net spend : How many extra PL points were made this year compared to last.
