So a year and a half after sacking Harry, who got us 4th, 5th, 4th with some brilliant football, in order to "push on" we're here. I wonder if the criteria that people judge prospective new managers on will include "relationships with the media", "gentlemanly conduct in contract negotiations" and "absolute necessity to continue title-winning form for an entire season - not just long enough to get us our equal-best finish in the history of the EPL". Or might the criteria have more to do with past achievements, quality of football played, overall league finishes etc. A large part of me is just angry that we're in such a stupid position almost entirely of our own making and many people thought it was a good idea. It's quite likely that we're gonna be back in the pre-Jol days of being justified in celebrating any European football through league position for the foreseeable. And it really was so easy to avoid. Of course the new man could come in and perform miracles. But that's what he'd need - miracles. A hell of a lot of our current players would have to suddenly and startlingly improve for us to start looking like a team that will finish above three of Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd and Everton. Two years ago we weren't hoping for miracles but we've gone backwards at an alarming rate over the last couple of seasons. Our best manager for decades was sacked. ALL our best players have left plus many of the capable ones. I would love to have had Caulker or BAE or Hudd around recently. (**** I wouldn't have minded Pav on the bench at times. And I hated Pav). Three of our better current players are at QPR/mystery injury-land. The new signings are mostly not good enough (if ANY precedent about success ratios hold out) and the ones that are good enough are (understandably) struggling to adapt. With this many changes even the old players have a huge adaptation. Basically it's a mess and when you decide to sack a manager that had done what Harry had done so you can have a roll of the goddamn dice to see if it comes up sixes then this is, I'm afraid, what you get most of the time. How any SPURS fan cannot see that is beyond me.
I share your frustrations Lenny and for me, the first thing we need to do is sack off the Europa if we're serious about getting into the CL again. This season, if we do fail to get CL football, I hope we're far enough behind that we fail to get Europa too. The blend of having to qualify for the CL whilst dealing with a Europa campaign is proving a very difficult task for us, and has also led to other teams struggling when trying to do the same. It's no coincidence for me that part of the reason Liverpool and Newcastle are both having a decent season, is down to the fact that they aren't juggling a Europa campaign. But like u say, it's a miracle worker who needs to be applying for this job.
Agree about the lack of Euro football. In a way I was hoping for EITHER AVB's team to suddenly perform miracles OR he limps on and we finish 7th/8th/9th. At least with a mid-table finish we'd be rid of AVB and the new man would have players that have been together for a year at least (i.e. we know which ones we need to sell next summer) and a Euro-free season, just as Harry did when we finished 4th.
I see where your coming from. The other concern for me is who we'll be saying goodbye to at the end of the season if we don't get CL football. - more disruption.... Again! But despite the fact that we could be doing better, we're still in the hunt. Get out of the Europa and make the league finish take 100% priority.
One good thing about being **** - I can't actually see Real Madrid sniffing round any of our players next summer. You won't have to worry about that.
If Danny boy gets a good offer for those 2 , he is the man that just can't say no. Compared to our top creative players that have been ripped out of the team this would be far less destructive. You're both right, complete insanity in the appointment and the strategy of the way forward. A miracle is what is expected now from a manager under the control of our tyrannical Sultan, But then maybe possible as Daniel thinks he can walk on water.
I've been hesitant to question Levy previously because I remember what a mess we were in before ENIC took over. But with the 6th biggest wage bill (normally) we've finished higher than that six times and lower than that six times. So that's a par, really. OK - the last few years have been more consistent but that was obviously due to fluking upon a very good manager who came at just the point where we had some very, very good players. Both those factors were very quickly got rid of! I wonder how much people's approval of Levy simply comes down to him being a load better than Alan Sugar - a man who now the whole world has good reason to see is a total dickhead? Cos I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I ever approved of Levy. So over the course of their ownership we've finished below where we "should" as often as we've finished above it. In that time every single one of Levy's appointments have been failures. Hoddle, Santini, Ramos, AVB. The only two successes were Jol, who was not Levy's first choice and Harry, who some other director had wanted for years and, under the duress of 2 points from 8 games, Levy finally appointed. But it took a crisis. So appointment-wise it's basically very bad. 2 "successes" who were forced on him. 5 failures (that includes Pleat - but he had the job for a good while and we were crap for that while). The only definite positive thing you can say is that he gets top money when he flogs our best players. Well that's great and everything but... Oh - and yes Spurs do seem a relatively sensibly-run club. So some credit there. But running a club in such a way that you're not putting that club in danger of being wound up should not give you too much credit, even in the current climate.
I don't think this is a fluke: Levy had a long-term plan so not much happened in his first five years but we've now been performing better than we should expect in six seasons out of seven. The major part of the plan is actually the one that fans seem to disapprove of most: essentially its to buy a lot of good young players at reasonable prices and then sell any that we get offered well over the odds for. This creates resources to reinvest into the team which is why we've got the 4th most expensive squad despite only having the sixth highest budget. As for the manager hiring issues: it is a mess but that is par for the course really. No-one knows how to select a good manager and no-one knows how to tell when they've actually got one. So managers get sacked much too often based on short-term results which are much more likely to be driven by chance than anything the manager has actually done.
Huw Jenkins seems to have it pretty nailed down. His managers just slot right in without too much disruption.
Power I think this thread is for those who can only criticize our team no matter what. Maybe we should have our own thread and support Spurs and back our team.
Swansea chairman, right? yeah - look at the list: - Kenny Jackett, who got them a promotion, then a play-off final whilst winning a couple of cups and has done well since leaving. - Martinez, who got them in the second tier for the first time in ages, playing decent football and then he got poached by Wigan, and we all know where he's gone from there. - Sousa got them their highest league position for 27 years but was then poached. -Brendan Rogers gets them promoted to the EPL playing attractive football where they surprise everyone. Rogers is nicked by Liverpool. - Laudrup is also now getting them to play above themselves, and bringing in good players on a tight budget. They continue to over-acheive. That list is not the highlights - it's the last 5 managers! Notice a pattern here by the way - good appointments don't end in sackings but in your manager being coveted (Remind you of anyone?). But seriously - that is an incredible recent success rate when there's been so much enforced change of management.
This thread's for whoever - including these people you mention. I will always back Spurs which is why I am a bit pissed off that we find ourselves in this stupid position AGAIN. If "backing your team" means, to you, not criticizing the obvious insanity that the last year and a half have been then I guess I'm not "backing my team". Still I'm glad AVB's gone - is that backing my team or not?
The thing that's really helped Swansea is that each manager that's come in, especially post-Martinez, has used a very similar style of football. They don't have to make massive changes to the squad, everyone's already on the same wavelength and there's not too much disruption. It's a very sensible way of doing things, especially as the game that they play is easy on the eye and appreciated by fans.
There being one example in the PL of five successive good managers is completely consistent with no-one knowing how to do it and the answer being random. If you've got a 50-50 chance of getting a good manager than about 1/32 of the time you will get five in a row. There is a also a bias in selection as clubs in the PL must have a higher chance of having a 'good' manager (as managers with bad performance get sacked so some of those clubs have been relegated). However I bet there is at least one PL team with 5 'bad managers' in a row too.
I'm not glad AVB's gone but I will support Levy and the new manager and try to understand why they do the things they do. I will also refrain from calling any member of our club an idiot or clueless (although Ade and BAE are stretching my patience)
Pleased you are glad we have just got rid of our most successful manger. I have not enjoyed the last few weeks but then I didn't enjoy losing a 10 point gap. Remember how Harry refused to rotate and players were knackered at the end of the season? And for the record I want to win the the Europa cup. Our squad is big enough and good enough. I am not saying AVB did not make mistakes ; of course he did. High line against Aguero and then repeating the error against Suarez; letting BAE go has caused us all the injuries to our defence etc but I can't say I told you so because I was pleased at his appointment because I trust the board and Levy. Easier with Swansea as they have less expectations. All that success was on the way up, let's see what happens when they are on their way down.
Yep bang on. I believe he picks a manager who fits in to the way he wants his club to play. Then the next one slips right in as its evolution not revolution.
