Learning from mistakes and ambition

[Boss]

Exactly Boss, we've been at a crossroads at the end of last season and during this season IMO. Right now, with the players we have, we have the potential to be in and around the top 4 (basically staying in the top 6 and getting CL football every other year or so) but what has been needed is that extra something, the mythical 'extra gear' to really secure the top 4 spot and show ambition to our brightest stars that we are in the top 4 and plan to stay there, not just be there every few years and run others close the rest of the time. Part of that step was bringing in AVB as a different approach and the other part is a real marquee signing and that HAS to be a 'next level' striker to score goals IMO. And if the current club hierarchy cannot deliver this then, if they were in any way emotionally connected to the club, they would surely find a way of providing more funds to ensure that this signing was possible by forfeiting some measure of control to a wealthy investor or whatever they would need to do, I'm not going to pretend to be an expert. But because Spurs is well run as a business this isn't going to happen is it. But the massive issue with this is that if we don't find a way of getting in the player we really need, then our best players will surely leave if we don't secure CL football/win trophies (much less likely obviously without the signing), and we may well then regress to the level we started at, only losing the owners more money. Surely they have to realise at some point that bringing someone in might cause them to make a bit of a loss in the short term but with a few years of CL football revenue they'll have more than made up the loss.

Exactly my views

 

[Spurm]

I'm sure we could spend more with the current system.
Other than a tiny loss this year we make a profit each year, sometimes up to £40m, excluding player sales/buys. The last few years we have tended to make money on player sales/purchases also. How much did we make last summer for example?
Enic/Levy could run the club including player purchases/sales as non-profit and gain their reward in terms of club value. Like someone said, they have made close to £400m already on club value. Progressing the club adds more to its value that what we would spend on transfers (net).
The wild card is the stadium. How much is that hindering our purchases and decisions regarding the team? We just don't know.

And good point boss - if our best players leave they gain a fee in the short term but in the long term the club loses masses of value which will hurt them more.
Its no coincidence that the clubs making the most money are the most successful on the pitch. The success makes the money, not the other way round

 

[Spurf]

Exactly Boss, we've been at a crossroads at the end of last season and during this season IMO. Right now, with the players we have, we have the potential to be in and around the top 4 (basically staying in the top 6 and getting CL football every other year or so) but what has been needed is that extra something, the mythical 'extra gear' to really secure the top 4 spot and show ambition to our brightest stars that we are in the top 4 and plan to stay there, not just be there every few years and run others close the rest of the time. Part of that step was bringing in AVB as a different approach and the other part is a real marquee signing and that HAS to be a 'next level' striker to score goals IMO. And if the current club hierarchy cannot deliver this then, if they were in any way emotionally connected to the club, they would surely find a way of providing more funds to ensure that this signing was possible by forfeiting some measure of control to a wealthy investor or whatever they would need to do, I'm not going to pretend to be an expert. But because Spurs is well run as a business this isn't going to happen is it. But the massive issue with this is that if we don't find a way of getting in the player we really need, then our best players will surely leave if we don't secure CL football/win trophies (much less likely obviously without the signing), and we may well then regress to the level we started at, only losing the owners more money. Surely they have to realise at some point that bringing someone in might cause them to make a bit of a loss in the short term but with a few years of CL football revenue they'll have more than made up the loss.

What you say makes sense and suggests to me that there might be more than one view in the Spurs hierarchy. Imagine for example AVB wanting a striker Levy agreeing but Joe Lewis says no we have already spent. The argument continues so a compromise is reached ok you can go for it but don't spend more than x. It all smacks of a committee to me and would explain why we have no one who can make a bold move. Committee's always produce a compromise that often pleases no one it's just 'safe'.

All of which flies in the face of what I said earlier because a benign dictator always makes more bold decisions.

 

[Blue and White]

I'd love it if Kane could come in and make an impact. It's just what we need, for a start, but it might help to get the likes of Carroll, Smith, Pritchard and Luongo a shot, too.

Except they are like most of our players out on loan.

I want to add my support to Levy (and echo Spurfs comments)

Just read through the thread and alot of the players at other clubs mentioned are playing for clubs below us-doesn't that say something?

The clubs challenging us for top 4 did as much purchasing as we did so we are still in a strong position.

Despite needing that striker for a number of years we have still finished fourth ,twice.

The player I think we should have bought at 10 o'clock last night was Odemwingie- we could have got him on the cheap and he was already local for a medical and he would fit in with his pace.

 

[redwhiteandermblue]

The Moutinho and Damn You! sagas were frustrating. If I leave them aside I think we needed a number 10 more than a number nine this window, and look to have gotten him. I can accept that we aren't the kind of club that can take a 20 mil flyer on an unknown quantity at striker. The thing that bugs me is that we didn't get a good DM, and we could have gotten one for a good price.

Overall I still think Levy is doing a very good job. His ability to make good deals has contributed to the rise of the club over the last few years. As to the idea we needed more this window to get fourth...nah, I don't see it. AVB hasn't had all the support he could hope for, but he's got a very good team that's in fourth now, and just added the element we've missed most, a creative central midfielder.

Can we stay in fourth? We'll see. But I'd blame the team and manager at this point if we don't, not the GM for not coming up with the right extra player.

Still, I do wonder what the hell was going on with the Moutinho and Dam You sagas. They amounted to nothing and infuriated the fans, which amounts to a blunder.

 

[O.Spurcat]

What you say makes sense and suggests to me that there might be more than one view in the Spurs hierarchy. Imagine for example AVB wanting a striker Levy agreeing but Joe Lewis says no we have already spent. The argument continues so a compromise is reached ok you can go for it but don't spend more than x. It all smacks of a committee to me and would explain why we have no one who can make a bold move. Committee's always produce a compromise that often pleases no one it's just 'safe'.

All of which flies in the face of what I said earlier because a benign dictator always makes more bold decisions.

Whilst not having an "acquisitions committee" as such, we do have a number of people at the club having an input into our transfer targets. Because Levy's personal circumstances take him away from England for spells, he relies on advice from the likes of Tim Sherwood, Chris Ramsay, AVB and he does hire David Pleat on a regular basis as a transfer consultant. It is said he also talks to Damian Commolli, although I have no idea how accurate that gossip is.

I am uncertain as to how often this group actually sit down together as a 'committee', but it is plain from those names, there is no person approriate to close the deals if Levy is not around and this may well have been a stumbling block in past deals falling down. Levy likes to act as a Director of Football when he is around, but when he is away, this just doesn't seem to happen.

The other problem is the club does not have a chief scout at the moment and hasn't had one for several months. David Pleat does bring feedback on other players through his thousands of contacts and through his media work, but these other commitments prevent him from doing this role more than on a casual arrangement. In addition to all this, Sherwood and AVB have decided to have a complete review and overhaul of the clubs scouting structure twice since last summer and our scouting network is now operating at 75% fewer scouts than at the end of last season.

So at the top of the ladder, we have experinced enough people having a say in who we go for in the transfer market, yet don't have the facility to pursue the deal to closure if levy is not around, and at the bottom of the ladder, we don't have enough people employed to help them with their job.

 

[Spurf]

Whilst not having an "acquisitions committee" as such, we do have a number of people at the club having an input into our transfer targets. Because Levy's personal circumstances take him away from England for spells, he relies on advice from the likes of Tim Sherwood, Chris Ramsay, AVB and he does hire David Pleat on a regular basis as a transfer consultant. It is said he also talks to Damian Commolli, although I have no idea how accurate that gossip is.

I am uncertain as to how often this group actually sit down together as a 'committee', but it is plain from those names, there is no person approriate to close the deals if Levy is not around and this may well have been a stumbling block in past deals falling down. Levy likes to act as a Director of Football when he is around, but when he is away, this just doesn't seem to happen.

The other problem is the club does not have a chief scout at the moment and hasn't had one for several months. David Pleat does bring feedback on other players through his thousands of contacts and through his media work, but these other commitments prevent him from doing this role more than on a casual arrangement. In addition to all this, Sherwood and AVB have decided to have a complete review and overhaul of the clubs scouting structure twice since last summer and our scouting network is now operating at 75% fewer scouts than at the end of last season.

So at the top of the ladder, we have experinced enough people having a say in who we go for in the transfer market, yet don't have the facility to pursue the deal to closure if levy is not around, and at the bottom of the ladder, we don't have enough people employed to help them with their job.

Great post OS and perhaps gives us some perspective in the problems of signing the right players.