Would love to get Hoddle in as Academy head honcho. Ramsey to stay. Medical staff to disappear and be discovered 500 yrs in the future in unmarked graves.
About time we had some nepotism at WHL: Teddy Sheringham and Nick Barmby didn't trust us with their offspring, whilst the Livermore and Nicholson that came through our ranks are unrelated. However, I'm slightly worried by his passing resemblance to Bray Wyatt...
Yeah it's crazy actually isn't it; Torres, Aguero, Falcao, Costa... Compared to Pavlyuchenko, Bent, Crouch, Loldado.
Unfair SoS Berbatov, Modric, Bale. is not bad either we just needed to keep them. BARCA banned from buying players for a year? Can't see that lasting an appeal.
It's interesting that ban, does that mean Halilovic can't join them now? Marc Andre ter-Stergen supposedly had a pre-agreed deal with them too, are these affected by the ban now or are they allowed to join as they were done before the Summer window?
Liverpool fans would say we already do that with theirs, so why not add a few more to the list to follow and then outbid?
Looks like they can't join, pending the appeal. Ter-Stegen's not happy and insists that he's still going.
But SoS this is the crux of the matter and you've taken my sentiments completely out of context as you've failed to acknowledge the point that Levy "will disregard all of a said managers targets and buy cheap instead". How many times have we read that targets were put in front of Levy only to be disregarded on: a) Age b) Wages c) Transfer fee d) Sell on value The whole Joao Moutinho saga pretty much ticks all those boxes above. He was too old, demanded too much pay, was just a tad too expensive which meant we finally lost out and his sell on value would be lousy. If a player doesn't tick at least three of these boxes in a positive light, Levy won't buy. So when I say "tight wad" that is the context of my argument so don't twist my words please! Several managers have passed through our great club only to be sacked and later come out saying that they had a list of targets that were never considered or bought. Ok, so I am pragmatic enough to realise that every manager can't have everything he wants but I'm pretty certain that of the seven signings we made this summer, most came from Baldini's black book, not AVBs. So for me, that's not backing your man. You may as well just put anyone in charge if they have no influence or input on transfer targets. Getting Ancelloti or LVG is pointless if they can't build a team in their image so listing all these players he spotted and blooded could be a mute point if the club fails to allow him to influence the clubs development like elsewhere and sticks with Baldini's vision.
A lot of the targets Levy tends to disregard though are players generally out of our price range or those that what deem us not good enough to join. I remember Ramos saying he wanted Villa and Eto'o, this was when both were in their prime. Harry wanted Mata and Cazorla but realistically would either have joined us? I'm not so sure. AVB wanted Hulk, again way out of our price range. Using Moutinho is a poor example though Flaspur. Porto kept upping their demands, it had nothing to do with his age/ sell on value/ wages/ initial transfer fee. Porto supposedly wanted £18m, after negotiations and back tracking we thought we had agreed a £20m fee and then Porto decided they wanted even more on top of that, if Levy's a tight wad for saying "no more" then good on him. What needs to be understood with the signings and AVB though is that AVB wanted a DoF. It wasn't thrust upon him and we all know that DoFs like having a huge say in transfer dealings, I'd like to think though that a DoF always at least consults with a manager when chasing a target (along with the ones the manager has asked for). In fairness to Baldini, the players we signed in the Summer were superb signings, whether they all his choices are just partly, all are internationals and all were the star players of their former clubs with rising reputations and so even if some may have been brought in that AVB didn't ask for himself, he can surely have no major complaints with having to work with such a talented crop of players. Unfortunately a lot of the new guys haven't reached the levels expected (yet?) but it was a very exciting Summer for Spurs even with the loss of Bale. AVB was a head coach lets not forget, so to me that signals his technical role is/ was to simply train the players he had at his disposal. I apologise if you think I was twisting your words, that wasn't my intention but while Levy can be at fault for some things, I personally think being a tight wad, both in your context and mine is a bit harsh to say.
There were also complications about "ownership" of Moutinho AFAIK (though nowhere near the comedy level of Dameow) . That aside, Levy apparently did eff the deal up a bit. Which allegedly was one reason why Baldini was hired (to prevent further episodes like that) .
What's made me laugh with Damiao is that Internacional wanted something like £25m-£30m for him when we were chasing him in the Summer and then about 6 months later he joins Santos for a fee around £10m. Either Inter don't like Levy or Santos have an unbelievable negotiator.
"Either Inter don't like Levy or Santos have an unbelievable negotiator." Levy was literally right on the money with this one. The terms Spurs offered were right for the finances we have and the risk being taken. We are not Chelsky, who will spend 20m odd for Oscar etc without even blinking. There was also the suggestion that Internacional felt Spurs had done them good and proper on Sandro, and they were trying to redress some perceived imbalance via Dameow. Anyway, part of Baldinis' job is apparently to keep all the player/club negotiating smooth. And Levy to get involved once it comes down to talking hard cash.
That would make sense. £8m for Sandro is an absolute steal, even if he has been plagued with injuries for the past 18 months. A fit Sandro is a £25m player in my eyes, aren't many better DM's in the game.
Trouble is he couldn't have wished for an easier start. I'm guessing the £5billion attack you have will surely start paying off soon though, so yes the only way is up for you.
