Match Day Thread General matchday thread.

[Gessa]

I’ve already said on our board we’re basically a Kane transfer away from basically being a bottom half side like West Ham.

There’s about 5 players genuinely worth keeping out of about 30 players when including senior ones out on loan. Scary how bad we’ve fallen off.

I think that's going to be your problem, you need 5 or 6 quality signings and that's not really plausible in one transfer window.

 

[Diego]

It’s how they got their money though. The other sides spend but have spent years building up their income. City and Newcastle got taken over and instantly became rich.

Doesn't really matter how you get your money (ethics ignored), it's how you spend it. As has been shown, the two teams (at the moment) that are richer than God have spent less than many other teams so not really an excuse for their positions.
I tend to lean more to the manager and player selection/use for where they are.

 

[Welshie]

This is only semi-true in our regard. It would be perfectly possible for a new owner to come in and spend the amounts we have without investing into the club externally - we had around 70m in the accounts already (pre-buyout) and due to a few ways Ashley ran the club we had a lot of possibility of raising revenues in the ways most clubs do that he never used (unlike most clubs we used money from the previous season rather than the prospective season for transfers, meaning at any time we could have changed to borrowing against guaranteed future earnings like, as far as I am aware, pretty much every other club does). Add in other factors like we were still getting money from previous sales (as we almost always sold in installments so even players like Perez were still bringing in money) but had nothing outstanding on purchases (we always bought all up front) and the reality is that £200 million over the 2 seasons actually could have come entirely from the clubs generated income and money already in house.

I'm certain it wasn't as they'll not want to have burnt through it all so will have invested. The key difference isn't what we have spent it's that we're probably going to spend more but rest assured anyone could have bought the club and spent the numbers we've spent so far without investing any of their own money. It would be madness to have actually done it all from in-house money though as we'd have gone from a club with good reserves and lots of future proofing to one on the edge.

As for not having spent years building up our income that's exactly one of the major issues the fanbase had with Ashley, he had zero interest in it. Money was syphoned from the club through sponsorship and merchandise deals with generated no money for the club whatsoever.

ye, what he said

 

[GodAlmighty]

ye, what he said

agreed but Haslam hasn't pointed out to the uneducated that Mike Ashley was a ****, is a **** and always will be a ****.

 

[Welshie]

Doesn't really matter how you get your money (ethics ignored), it's how you spend it. As has been shown, the two teams (at the moment) that are richer than God have spent less than many other teams so not really an excuse for their positions.
I tend to lean more to the manager and player selection/use for where they are.

We finished 12th under Bruce, it wasn't out the world that a bit of ****ing investment and a manager who had us train 5 days a week instead of 3, would bring in a bit of success.

 

[brb]

ye, what he said

 

[haslam]

Doesn't really matter how you get your money (ethics ignored), it's how you spend it. As has been shown, the two teams (at the moment) that are richer than God have spent less than many other teams so not really an excuse for their positions.
I tend to lean more to the manager and player selection/use for where they are.

I look at our purchases since we were taken over and I'd argue every single one of them was a good buy (excluding Gordon just yet, who does seemed overpriced but needs more time for a conclusion in fairness). Main thing for us though is Howe - Murphy, Longstaff, Schar were all loaned out or sidelined under Bruce and Almiron and Joelinton were poor; those players are now the core of our team and unrecognisable. Money didn't do that, Howe and his coaches did (and the players themselves in fairness).

Emery has done something similar at Villa (making Gerrard look a tit in the process) but I'd argue the players at Villa were rated more highly previously.

 

[Welshie]

agreed but Haslam hasn't pointed out to the uneducated that Mike Ashley was a ****, is a **** and always will be a ****.

I remember a story from Joey Barton, Derek Llambias once said to him "you can have your pay rise, but only if you bet on us finishing a certain position, then you can get the payrise, wanna bet?"

Like, not a contracted like pay rise depending on league position, a personal bet between the two on the sly.

That was Newcastle United under Ashley.

 

[Dier Hard]

Thing is a good manager with a good work ethos will find a way to bring players you think are **** back to their best. I thought there was no hope for about 23 of our 25 man squad 18 months ago. With only Wilson and ASM worth keeping. Now if a decent offer came in for those 2 I'd wish them well.

You’ve had quite a turnaround in personnel though with some sound recruitment.

Pope, Burn, Botman, Tripps and Isak have all been sound signings. 5 new starting players in about 18 months will help raise the games of others around them if they were initially good players being held back.

We on the other hand have largely brought in dross like Richarlison to a squad that was already in need of being refreshed and improved.

There are a few decent players here though, a progressive manager with a few good signings can definitely change the mood but I ain’t too hopeful at the moment, our board don’t seem to have a clue what they’re doing.

 

[GodAlmighty]

My favourite bit over all this.......and this is a fact that's a peach and goes like this.

Daniel Levy approached the Saudi Arabian PIF and proposed to sell them a %stake in Spurs for £2bn.

At this meeting he was informed that PIF couldn't do this as they were way down the line in purchasing an unnamed PL club for a fraction of the price.

Levy **** his pants, went white, dug around, found out who it was and was the main protagonist in stopping said takeover.

And now....... We have some (not all) Spurs fans crying about sports washing, ethics and fairness constantly whilst some Liverpool and some Man Utd fans do the same.

Then when the slightest chance of these same types buying their clubs occurs they twerk their arses like Beyonce at a belly dancing competition to let the world see the truth

 

[GodAlmighty]

You’ve had quite a turnaround in personnel though with some sound recruitment.

Pope, Burn, Botman, Tripps and Isak have all been sound signings. 5 new starting players in about 18 months will help raise the games of others around them if they were initially good players being held back.

We on the other hand have largely brought in dross like Richarlison to a squad that was already in need of being refreshed and improved.

There are a few decent players here though, a progressive manager with a few good signings can definitely change the mood but I ain’t too hopeful at the moment, our board don’t seem to have a clue what they’re doing.

Get what your saying but only Burn, Tripps and (Bruno who needs mentioned) came in the first window with Targett and Wood. We hit champions league form second half of last season. With Tripps missing the majority of it.

 

[Dier Hard]

I think that's going to be your problem, you need 5 or 6 quality signings and that's not really plausible in one transfer window.

5 or 6 quality signings would be amazing but realistically if we got a good GK, CB and CAM and somehow kept Kane whilst adding an attack minded manager then I’d fancy us to get back into the top six, maybe even top four. But with the decisions our board keep making and our track record in the last five or so years with signings, that feels like a massive ****ing long shot.

 

[Welshie]

My favourite bit over all this.......and this is a fact that's a peach and goes like this.

Daniel Levy approached the Saudi Arabian PIF and proposed to sell them a %stake in Spurs for £2bn.

At this meeting he was informed that PIF couldn't do this as they were way down the line in purchasing an unnamed PL club for a fraction of the price.

Levy **** his pants, went white, dug around, found out who it was and was the main protagonist in stopping said takeover.

And now....... We have some (not all) Spurs fans crying about sports washing, ethics and fairness constantly whilst some Liverpool and some Man Utd fans do the same.

Then when the slightest chance of these same types buying their clubs occurs they twerk their arses like Beyonce at a belly dancing competition to let the world see the truth

Personally know multiple Pool fans who were absolutely buzzing when linked to that oil firm buying them.

Now Qatari slave owners are about to buy Man U

 

[GodAlmighty]

5 or 6 quality signings would be amazing but realistically if we got a good GK, CB and CAM and somehow kept Kane whilst adding an attack minded manager then I’d fancy us to get back into the top six, maybe even top four. But with the decisions our board keep making and our track record in the last five or so years with signings, that feels like a massive ****ing long shot.

I just get the feeling they've come in, bought the club, raised its pedigree, and done everything they could to improve the infrastructure with the exact plan of flipping it at a huge profit.

The problem with that is they've done so much off the field it leaves little room for further investment other than on it, and the money they are asking for is ridiculous as a result.

 

[Diego]

Personally know multiple Pool fans who were absolutely buzzing when linked to that oil firm buying them.

Now Qatari slave owners are about to buy Man U

And pretty much every one of us will be delighted if they do after the Glazers.

TBH i don't think many people care where the money comes from regarding their own team as long as it's made accessible to the manager. Ethics are great when you can use them against someone else

 

[GodAlmighty]

5 or 6 quality signings would be amazing but realistically if we got a good GK, CB and CAM and somehow kept Kane whilst adding an attack minded manager then I’d fancy us to get back into the top six, maybe even top four. But with the decisions our board keep making and our track record in the last five or so years with signings, that feels like a massive ****ing long shot.

I think you will sign Maddison, possibly Tielemans too. A CB shouldn't be too hard to find. You still have the spine of a really good team, Kane, Son, Kulesevski, Bentancur, Romero, Emerson Royal( )

 

[haslam]

5 or 6 quality signings would be amazing but realistically if we got a good GK, CB and CAM and somehow kept Kane whilst adding an attack minded manager then I’d fancy us to get back into the top six, maybe even top four. But with the decisions our board keep making and our track record in the last five or so years with signings, that feels like a massive ****ing long shot.

I like some of your midfield (Bissouma, Bentancur and Hjoberg) and forwards (Son, Kane and Kulusevski and even Richarlison if used right). It's your back-line that looked dodgy whenever I saw you and agree a GK and CB could change the feel of the team but your full-backs don't seem overly popular with your fans either (didn't you buy Djed Spense, isn't he meant to be good). Feels like there's been more misses than hits with purchases in the last couple of years but I reckon 3 players and a manager capable of getting the most out of the ones you have would be enough for a top 4 push again (something which was sustained for most of the season) especially as I see us and Arsenal both being negatively affected by midweek games. I think with the exception of City the top 8 are almost entirely unpredictable next season (Man Utd are the only other club I'd expect to get top 4).

 

[Dier Hard]

I just get the feeling they've come in, bought the club, raised its pedigree, and done everything they could to improve the infrastructure with the exact plan of flipping it at a huge profit.

The problem with that is they've done so much off the field it leaves little room for further investment other than on it, and the money they are asking for is ridiculous as a result.

Spending ain’t even the issue for us, we’ve been spending **** loads of dough, it’s just going on completely the wrong players. Lo Celso, Ndombele, Sanchez, Sessegnon and Richarlison - right there is about £250m thrown down the drain. There’s no plan at the club and without a plan and vision it don’t matter how much you spend, Chelsea have shown that under the yank too.

You compare us right now to a club like Brighton, who are spending pennies but have a clear plan and footballing vision with a manager that fits that vision and it’s chalk and cheese.

 

[GodAlmighty]

Spending ain’t even the issue for us, we’ve been spending **** loads of dough, it’s just going on completely the wrong players. Lo Celso, Ndombele, Sanchez, Sessegnon and Richarlison - right there is about £250m thrown down the drain. There’s no plan at the club and without a plan and vision it don’t matter how much you spend, Chelsea have shown that under the yank too.

You compare us right now to a club like Brighton, who are spending pennies but have a clear plan and footballing vision with a manager that fits that vision and it’s chalk and cheese.

So realistically you've answered your own question on whats needed first. A hell of a good DOF with a clear plan and vision for the next 5 - 10 years. Then you get the manager, then you get the players.

 

[Diego]

I just get the feeling they've come in, bought the club, raised its pedigree, and done everything they could to improve the infrastructure with the exact plan of flipping it at a huge profit.

The problem with that is they've done so much off the field it leaves little room for further investment other than on it, and the money they are asking for is ridiculous as a result.

It's the off field stuff that sticks in my mind, if someone buys the club will they also own the hotels etc or will all that stay with ENIC.
Where does ENIC end and Spurs begin? will a new owner really want to pay for a ground that cost twice as much as it needed to because of a sliding pitch and a cheese room