I think AVB has done well ( I am no fan) considering his hands have been tied. The team at best is Fighting for a Europa place and is not top 4 quality, just being honest. To be in this position so far is credit to him but unfortunately it looks like we will slip up but not implode. As our rival's constantly taint us with the tag bottlers there is some truth . Even deep down it is unlikely we will win the Europa Cup with Chelsea still in it. A) impotent strikers ( never remedied year on ) B) Selling quality , replacing with down grades .(creative element wiped out over one summer) C) Owners that will never go that little further .(even that they are multi billionaires) Hats off to AVB (since he got none of the quality players he wanted) . What else could we expect, turning water into wine. No manager could be expected to do any better. Even if we scrape into the top 4 it's a false dawn as there is no chance of us staying there with such a prudent owners. The new stadium is our last hope. A bit like 1 million Holtby being the new VDV or Dembele the neo Modric. A bit of a joke in how long it has been taken to start to build . With this regime we will be in years of austerity paying it off. In reality we can't ask or expect any better as year on we do not compete on all fronts with our rivals, and for all the waffle have no intention to change this.
Sidney, Best summary of things at Spurs I have seen. On the money front, what makes me laugh is that Joe Lewis has made his legend on one of the biggest gambles in financial history. And yet ENIC cannot find it within to cough up the 30m odd that would buy the striker that could secure Spurs future (and maybe the alleged 500m payback he is looking for when he sells Spurs) .
What is it with these money people.Do they support the club or not?Are they fans or not? I wished I had the money.I'd buy the club and support it till I kicked......I'm sure a lot of you would,too!!!!!
I would agree with all of that nearly word for word. Only thing I'd change is when you say we're not "top 4 quality". I don't think there's any such thing. If you finish in the top four you're top 4 quality. Those clubs who populate the CL are not some breed apart - we saw that when we gave some big teams in it a beating and even this year we've beaten many regular CL teams both domestically and in Europe. To get top 4 you just have to finish above one of either Chelsea or Arsenal this season. That's still doable because Arsenal are not all that and Chelsea are in a Benitez-shaped mess this year (again). For all the reservations (to put it mildly) that I had about AVB, and even bearing in mind how our results have papered over the cracks of some poor performances I do not think that Harry or anyone else would have been likely to get us better results or league position given the gutting of the team that happened in the summer and the previous transfer window. You simply can't remove the creative engine-room of a team, further reduce the striking options and expect things to improve on last year. Bale didn't turn up today and look what happened: nothing. Should we be surprised? Was anyone expecting Parker to pull the strings in midfield and thread balls through to our striker(s)? Anyone actually think that Siggy is at the level (yet) where he can be a key creative influence? Or Dembele? Hands up who has been dying to see BAE on the left wing... Two freakish runs of form have defined our season - that of Defoe for the first part of the season and that of Bale for the recent patch. The defence has actually looked pretty good I must say. But our creativity and attacking verve has been severely hamstrung this year. Right now the main thing I want is to see Tom Carroll get some more game time, even though that is probably a bad idea practically. I just want to see someone who is keen to impress, enjoys being on the ball, makes space for himself and can influence the game for us in the middle. Always a bad sign when you're trusting everything to optimism over a relatively untried youth prospect...
You could say the term top4 in the respect we used to mean....is finished. City will bounce back whether its a new regime or not, so you could say top2 and the rest is up for grabs. I'd add to lenny's post that our MF has not looked the same since Sandro's injury, he found our creative players quicker, there's no drive without him, Parker waits and fanny's around till they're marked!
In ENIC's case, at least, the answer is most definitely No! They are in this for one reason, and one reason only - financial gain.
I know Lewis is a recluse, but I'm not aware he's set foot in WHL for years, if at all, despite being in London in 2011 to buy a pub company, and last year in April, parking his yacht on the Thames while seeking to buy dock land.
"In ENIC's case, at least, the answer is most definitely No! They are in this for one reason, and one reason only - financial gain." I do not think that is Levys' sole motivation for Spurs. Similarly I think Joe has made it clear to Levy that not a single penny is to be injected into the club by ENIC. Spurs generate their finances as a "going concern" or not at all.
I've said this before, but ENIC are a business and why do people go into business, to make money so ENIC are no different to any other business, yet its in their interests for Tottenham to be a success, as if we wasn't, it would be counter productive to their targets/aims. Only Lewis, Levy and the suits truly know what their aim is, but from what we know Lewis is an extremely rich man and buying a football club to make money does seem an odd decision, as essentially football clubs aren't purchased to make money as its a long haul to make any real profit on your investment, yet ENIC have been in this for the long hual, so clearly they view the end gain as a positive one. However, maybe there are other aspects, business opportunities linked through the club, and ENIC's aim is to keep us operating near to a profit and if we obtain champions league football each year and invest at our current rate, then ENIC will have a club which makes profit, a talented squad worth millions and a club which is attractive to sell, and if they do sell, will make a huge profit on their initial outlay. What they class as success, may not be what we as fans class as success, and I share the frustrations at their lack of investment, especially when Levy makes a big drama of wanting to keep Modric & Berba, but these players are sold, they aren't replaced. However there are positives of their ownership and if they do sell to a rich "play boy" who wants to splash the cash, then financially, we will be in a great position to move forward, yet its a shame they don't share a passion to invest their own money and help us move onto the next level as they have the resources and over the years we have been close to having a great squad, if only the owners would have a different outlook.
Let's hope to God they don't send us the way of Glasgow Rangers and Pompey in their money pursuits!!!!! I guess this is the same in many professional sports.The fans support the club and the owners support themselves!!!!
Yes, they had a few clubs on their books and I believe they sold all their shares to put all their efforts into us. Edit, the clubs where Rangers F.C., SK Slavia Prague, AEK Athens F.C., Vicenza Calcio and FC Basel
"yet ENIC have been in this for the long hual, so clearly they view the end gain as a positive one." This is probably the key point. That when you're as loaded as Joe Lewis, your pension does not depend on what happens at Spurs. And the roller-coaster of the past 3 seasons may not bat an eyelid for him. However, even from a commercial viewpoint, you sense there is a window of opportunity just about open for Spurs. And if ENIC fall to climb thru, then no matter how patient he is, the chance for Spurs to get entrenched as a CL incumbent may be gone for quite some time. Investing in Spurs is not another "Black Wednesday" for him. Getting NEW STRIKER etc for the potential ROI it will give him, is no different to any firm investing in new equipment to reap a big ROI somewhere down the line.
Good points. All the issues we as fans have, are just that, our issues, why should Lewis be concerned about us not having NEW STRIKER, do you think he asks for updates from Levy on performances, or awaits updates on how Holtby is doing? Its all about the end gain for Lewis and he has the perfect sidekick in Levy, who he knows he can trust 100% to help him achieve whatever his aims are.
"do you think he asks for updates from Levy on performances, or awaits updates on how Holtby is doing?" You would hope he would be asking questions like whether Spurs have achieved/maintained some revenue baseline targets he has etc. And if not, why not. "Its all about the end gain for Lewis and he has the perfect sidekick in Levy, who he knows he can trust 100% to help him achieve whatever his aims are." Levy owns nearly 30% share in ENIC. Quite a bit more than a "sidekick" methinks.
I never realised he had a 30% share. Makes his involvement and the way he "helps" run the club, even more interesting! Edit, from research online, got this "In 2003 Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy, who controlled 52% of ENIC shares, formed Kondar Ltd to buy out the remaining shareholders. A cash offer of £40m was made to take the company back into private ownership.[4] Following the buyout, Lewis and Levy controlled 71% and 29% respectively of shares in ENIC, which was delisted from AIM and renamed ENIC Group."
"Makes his involvement and the way he "helps" run the club, even more interesting!" As an ENIC shareholder, obviously he must sing from the corporate hymn sheet. As a Spurs supporter, I am hoping he has been wanting to beat Joe Lewis to a pulp every day between March and June for the past 2-3 years.
