I’d say Poch’s fault, after the first couple years he barely gave young players a chance, only player that properly broke through after Kane and co was Winks… Spursy. It’s similar under Conte though now, Spence ain’t getting a look-in, Sarr and Gil only getting minutes because others are injured and he’s supposedly refusing to loan young players out even though they ain’t getting proper minutes here so we’ll probably see more talent go in the not so distant future. Madueke and Edwards though, that's about £65m-£70m worth of talent that our academy produced that our first team didn’t take advantage of. Almost criminal.
You can add KWP. Just because he didn't go abroad , doesn't mean he doesn't count to our youngsters being shipped out under Poch. But, look who we bought in in their place ( or better - don't look !) And now it isn't just Spence. It's White and Devine .
The fact that we're repeating past mistakes, under Conte, suggests that Levy's significantly to blame as well. There's no plan, we just react to events and blow with the wind.
Isn't that how all football clubs operate UNTIL, you have a manager who last some years. The nearest we came recently was Pochettino but that all fell apart when we reached the CL final. I wonder if Poch just did not have the experience to cope with the opportunity he had at Spurs. It appears to me that the mission on first arriving in management at any given club changes if you stay any length of time. The first requirement is to make an impact and improve the teams performance and usually start rebuilding the squad. If you achieve success at that, the requirement changes to building a long term legacy. Which includes knowing when to replace successful players with new ones. Klopp is at the second stage now at Liverpool whether he can adjust remains to be seen. Very few can and that's why IMO why we have very few long term managers in football.
I wouldn't put too much blame on Levy for managers being too stubborn to utilise promising young players, especially when a number of senior players have consistently failed to deliver, Spurs' bread and butter has often come from producing and/ or developing promising players and even though managers like Conte and Jose aren't known for developing youth I think when you manage a club like us it should be somewhat of a requirement, even if the managers themselves have requirements of their own for a few big name additions to fulfil their purposes. I think in recent games both Gil and Sarr have proven Conte wrong over his stubbornness to play them, though it's only come from injuries that they've actually been able to do so, which is why Spence hasn't had the same fortune as I think he too would further prove Conte wrong. I've said many times this season but Conte has been massively underwhelming, to the point where I think he's held us back more than anyone else, Levy included. Has a chance today to begin making amends...
No...and that's the point. Clubs like Brentford and Brighton have a plan that exists, irrespective of the coach...but even then, they recruit coaches who will fit the club's methodology. We're pretending to be a big club...and it ain't working. If Conte's not backed and he leaves, will Levy recruit a coach who plays 5 at the back? I have no idea...about the same as Levy.
He doesn't do this...and we knew it when we recruited him. Don't buy a cat and complain when it won't bark or chase sticks.
Their owners, through their senior employees. Newcastle nicked Dan Ashworth last year, from Brighton. Smart move.
Even outside of developing young players, his tactics and squad management have been woeful though, he's been pretty well backed since joining as anyone adding Kulusevski, Bentancur, Perisic, Bissouma and Lenglet to a squad already containing Lloris, Romero, Hojbjerg, Son and Kane should be able to achieve better results and performances than what he's been getting. He's being outshone by Eddie Howe so far, whilst I'd also say as is the case with De Zerbi, Silva and Frank considering where they are with the squads they have. We can rightfully bemoan Levy for seemingly not allocating the funds for Paratici to go and pay Porro's release which would theoretically help Conte's system but there's little excuse for how poor we've been playing this season with the squad we have and there's only really one person to blame for that.
I'm as disappointed this season as anyone. Conte's underachieving...but sacking him and bringing in another chump, who will fail, doesn't improve our situation. We need a plan...and someone who will stick to it....which is where I came in.
There's no guarantee they'll fail. Squad management and tactics have been the primary factor in us under performing so far, it's been the difference between being currently in 5th to potentially in 3rd or even 2nd. Plans more or less go out the window when a manager sorely fails to utilise his squad effectively.
...and we keep appointing managers who do exactly that....and buying players that managers won't use. Conte made it really clear that he didn't want Spence and that he wasn't going to be considered a first team option. We bought him...and Conte hasn't picked him for the first team...just as he's not picking other youngsters. It's not what he does. We all knew this when Conte was appointed...and Mourinho. I didn't want them because of it. The problem is that we're not learning the lessons of our mistakes...that's on Levy.
Skriniar Watch Gazzetta dello Sport say that Milan Skriniar is rebuffing Inter's last-ditch offers of a contract, making him a free agent at the end of the season Wow, Skriniar and Zaniolo in the space of 24 hours. Anyone know what Stewart Downing is doing...?
Any manager should always utilise all players at their disposal whether they asked for them or not, there’s no logic to not giving Spence chances when the other two he keeps picking are awful most weeks, he clearly doesn’t want them either hence the insistence on Porro so why persist with them and not give Spence a fair crack in the meantime? It’s as if he’s afraid of being proven wrong, because Gil and Sarr so far have shown they should’ve had more chances despite his stupid comments to the press about not being ready or not being strong enough and there’s a possibility Spence would do the same. He asked for Richarlison and got him for £60m yet he’s largely been **** outside of his injuries, so it’s not just the players he didn’t want that he’s failing to get much from.
I don't disagree with you...but I'm not Conte. He wants the players he wants...because he wants them...because he's Antonio Conte. Appointing him and buying players that he won't play (and he won't unless there is no alternative) is pointless... ...in which case, appointing him was probably a waste of time...and money. Unfortunately, Conte's not changing. Rightly, he probably thinks that falling in line with one signing will result in a load more. He's probably right...but none of this helps the fans, the club or the players in question. We will continue to fall short of our potential until the club is run efficiently from the top....and Levy isn't the man to do this.
I think we do have a plan, or at least Paratici seems to have a solid handle on one. Under his tenure, we've already brought in five highly-rated youngsters (Gil, Sarr, Udogie, Spence and Kulusevski) and have pursued other more experienced options where there is a good deal to be found (Lenglet, Bentancur, Bissouma, Romero). As DH has said, the transfers clearly made by Conte have been a mixed bag. Perisic has been decent as an individual but 100% hasn't improved us as a team, while Richarlison has been a total flop. Very similar to his track record at Chelsea where aside from Kante, Rudiger and Alonso, his recruitment was horrendously bad. To my mind, the 'plan' as of 18 months ago was for Levy to take a long overdue step back from micro-managing footballing affairs and instead place them in the hands of someone who 'gets' the club and how we need to operate to compete with teams we can't really afford to compete with. That is the tried and tested strategy above that has served us well in the past: invest in and develop young talent, and grab a deal if and when it can be grabbed. I have no idea what was said to Conte in his interview, nor what Paratici said to Levy about Conte, not what Conte himself said about Conte, but he is currently the single biggest spanner in the works right now. Everything else makes sense apart from asking a manager like him to implement a plan like that.
Marco Barzaghi claims we've cooled our interest in Porro and that Dumfries' agent is due in London for talks. I think Dumfries will possibly cost more than Porro, so if the club thinks they'll be saving on a plan B they might be in for a shock.
