Tired of seeing rules bent to suit them and our irritating transfer policy, Mark Butcher gives his thoughts on our owners.
The crimes and delusion of ENIC FC
It’s a grand old investment company to play for…and it’s a grand old investment company to see…if you’ve seen our Sainsbury’s…it’s enough to make your heart go…whoa whoa whoa whoa.
It’s been an odd and harrowing season. When my Tottenham Turfie was so close to a white line it became addicted to coke, I knew we were in trouble.
Following Spurs has become a baffling and, at times, soul-destroying experience. Never have so many fans felt so alienated from ‘our’ club. Behind the disillusionment are the club’s owners and ENIC’s rap sheet continues to grow. The pitting of fan vs fan for profit courtesy of Stubhub; the invisible new stadium (as real as the infamous season ticket waiting list); the shirking of the ‘Y Word’ defence and sell out of the club’s hardcore supporters; the bukkake style ‘partnership’ with Real Madrid that facilitated a major transfer to Arsenal; the seasonal sale of our world class players and trousering of profit; failing to back supporters over the FA Cup ticket allocation and prices at the Emirates and a telling contribution to the funereal atmosphere at White Hart Lane due to over-zealous stewards and a text facility to grass on your fellow fan.
[fullquote]Following Spurs has become a baffling and, at times, soul-destroying experience.[/fullquote]
The lack of coherent information or explanation as regards decision making within the club has created a culture of distrust. The delisting of the club from the Stock Exchange means nothing has to be explained. ‘Pay up or fuck off’ appears to be the underlying message. Of course, if you are a member of the ‘Somalian Pirate Spurs Supporters Club’ chances are your concerns about the lack of branded bandanas will be addressed in the endless acknowledgement of overseas consumers via social media.
The experience of the fans who attend home matches is somewhat different. You feel like you are being rinsed the moment you enter the stadium. And it’s not just the ticket prices. White Hart Lane is the only ground where I have ever been overcharged for a programme. The toilet taps turn off a few minutes after full-time or shoot a trickle of molten hot water. Presumably run on a meter system. The broken toilet seat in the Paxton End toilets shows greater movement than Stuart Nethercott in his carrot-topped pomp. You can’t bring in a 50p mineral water from our shiny new Sainsbury’s, but one is available in the stadium for £2.20. Touch.
Daniel Levy has become a bizarre Napoleon character and completely unaccountable since ENIC delisted the club from the stock market. A rumoured £750,000 pay rise soon followed. His annual appearance is in the programme notes at the end of the season when dear Danny promises the best players won’t be sold. Several weeks into the new season, the player of the moment is generally sold for a nose-bleeding profit.
Sixth is par for Tottenham. That Tim Sherwood suggests his job is under threat should Spurs not make top four suggests Levy and ENIC live in a fantasy land of Care Bears and unicorns. Tottenham should not realistically compete with Manchester City and Chelsea’s artificial resources or Manchester United and Arsenal’s wage bill, resources, stature and Champions League pedigree. Liverpool are also a bigger club in every respect. Unlike Spurs, the Reds managed to retain a world class player with itchy feet for another, potentially crucial season. The comparative revenue of these six clubs in 2012/13 illustrates the chasm in finances between Spurs and their immediate rivals (1. Man Utd, 423.8 million; 2. Man City 316.2 million; 3. Chelsea 303.4 million; 4. Arsenal 284.3 million; 5. Liverpool 240.6 million; 6. Tottenham 172 million. Total revenue in Euros. Source: Deloitte).
The 2013/14 season transfer spend also shows that Spurs, hemorrhaged of their best player Gareth Bale, should not be realistically expected to compete at the top table. (2013/14 transfer spend: 1) Man City -£92m; 2) Man Utd -£69m; 3) Chelsea -£37.5m; 4) Arsenal -£34m; 5) Liverpool -£21m; 6) Tottenham +£12.5m profit. Source: Daily Telegraph). But some of the Spurs Board bizarrely believed Tottenham might even contend for the title on a shoestring of investment. The club has a net spend of £770,000 over the last five seasons. Reach for the stars, Daniel!
[fullquote]That Tim Sherwood suggests his job is under threat should Spurs not make top four suggests Levy and ENIC live in a fantasy land of Care Bears and unicorns.[/fullquote]
ENIC’s hatchet approach to managers – nine in thirteen years – suggests the buck never stops with them. But they are always happy to bend their own rules if there is a fast buck to be made. ‘Out the tout’ – unless he pays ENIC twice. Perhaps we should be grateful. Stubhub’s parent company eBay actually has the gall to charge sellers three times for the same transaction (listing, transaction fee and a monthly billing). Opposition fans are now clearly seated and clenching fists in the home stands courtesy of the Stubhub agreement, but there is never a safety issue when there is more money to be made. There were even claims this week that the club are blocking fans’ stadium access cards if they don’t sell via the legalized tout Stubhub. Arsenal sources also suggest, perhaps mischievously, that the Spurs Board were happy to have Tottenham fans charged £62 at the Emirates to gain a larger cut of the FA Cup ticket money.
The frustration of many fans is that Spurs were so close to breaking into the cartel on limited resources. But when the chance came to gamble in the January 2011 transfer window, with Spurs’ stock and visibility high due to a scintillating Champions League run, Levy looked the other way and sanctioned the transfers of Steven Pienaar and Bongani Khumalo – clearly with commercial opportunities in South Africa in mind. Prada dreams on a Primark budget. Always hiding behind the tiresome transfer brinkmanship of ‘almost deals’ and a malfunctioning fax machine. Greater transparency from the club could heal a few wounds, but that is unlikely to happen. We are disposable consumers.
The game isn’t about glory any more. Bill Nicholson would probably have lasted a few seasons under Levy and co (‘should have won the title in 1962’or ‘non-communicative with the board’). I look forward to the day where ENIC finally face up to their responsibilities or ride their unicorns off into the sunset.
This is no longer a football club, it’s an investment company. And a grand old one at that.
All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.
94 Comments
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01/02/2014 @ 5:22 pm
Really good article and one that I wholeheartedly agree with. Mr Lewis hides behind Levy and Levy hides behind whatever he can. In ten years we have had managers come and go and when it has looked like we moving are forward, we still sack the manager and go backwards again.
I am sick of Levy getting away with it every time and Spurs fans need to start taking him to task fully and it is time he answered questions. We sold Bale in the summer, bought seven players who are mostly average and now have a new man in charge who could win the league and still will not be there next season because Daniel Levy and ENIC are corrupt and have no interest in THFC.
I will not put my foot back in WHL until ENIC and Daniel Levy are removed. No ambition and no real future. ENIC must go.
05/02/2014 @ 1:17 pm
reading through the comments here is like reading through the great big book of stupid. sorry to single your post out but i can’t seem to comment just on the article.
07/02/2014 @ 10:23 pm
No offence taken – the comments on here are really baffling. I only care about 2 things – Tottenham and Getting levy out.
01/02/2014 @ 5:30 pm
Your moaning is just amazing, and shows you now absolutely nothing about how things work in 2014.
Every single club with self-respect has got a text message line where you can report abusive behaviour in the stands. There is no club in the world that allows you to bring in drinks from outside. Prices for drinks and food at WHL are not higher than at other grounds (or the cinema for that matter). There are very few clubs in the whole world that publicly criticize other clubs for their ticket prices.
Welcome to the 21st century. Like it or not, Spurs are no worse in this respect than any other club in the nation.
01/02/2014 @ 5:35 pm
Food and drink prices are not the issue here….its the sh!t results this £111,000,000 team of fukwits are capable of on a consistent basis!!! Man City all the way for me!! I will not support LOSERS like this mob anymore….had enough of getting the piss taken out of me coz of this useless fakkin sh!t club!!!!
02/02/2014 @ 9:49 pm
Your support will not be missed I think!
01/02/2014 @ 5:42 pm
Plastic bottle drinks are allowed at the Emirates, ‘cos my younger brother who is an unfortunate goon does it every match – so you’re talking shit mate! Also the facilities there piss on on our substandard shit we have to endure week-in week out.
01/02/2014 @ 7:25 pm
The point about the plastic bottles is not the key point of the article, as I hope you noticed.
01/02/2014 @ 5:31 pm
What an article Mark. That sums up the setup at Tottenham without, even one lie. I am sick to death of every game now. Wasted money in the transfer window and wasted appointments of head coaches. I watched todays game on a ‘stream’ and, if Sherwood is really trying to convince that he’s telling the truth, that he didn’t need players in the transfer window, he must think we’re all mugs. He was obviously requested by Levy to say he was offered players by the club but refused.
I’ve never been so frustrated in Spurs in all the years I’ve been going and because there’s absolutely no information from within.
01/02/2014 @ 5:31 pm
Sick of this garbage club!!! 1-1 draw at Hull today and we are supposed to be after a CL place!!!? No Fakkin chance of that happening, and even if we do make p4 this year, I dont think I would even give a 5hit anymore!! Much prefer to watch a team of winners like Man City….I will never spend a fakkin penny buying any Spurs products until that bookkeeper Levy is GONE!!!!! This last 5 years lies squarely on Levy the bookkeeepers head….total fakkin farce with this moron in charge!! Joe Lewis, whoever the fak he is, needs to grow a pair and sack the baldy fukwit as soon as!!!
03/02/2014 @ 4:09 pm
Try Chelsea mate, there closer than City and I’ve got a feeling you’ll fit right in…
01/02/2014 @ 5:33 pm
You’ve absolutely nailed it for me … This season has been the most frustrating since the dark days of Gerry Francis, all self inflicted, sacking the manager mid stream, appointing a caretaker and having to wait till this Summer to see where the next episode in this farce will take us to … this isn’t the first time either, remember Hoddle sacked, Pleat caretaker and during summer Santini hired …
The most successful teams have been where the board and management are pulling in the same direction, sadly this has not been the case for Spurs since before Irving Scholar’s days in the early eighties … funny how stability then was matched by the second most successful period in Spurs’ history …
Still we need to be careful for what we wish for – Sugar was worse however in his tenure we won a league cup … mirroring Levy’s success to date.
The depressing thing is how the fans fall for the stories every time, Harry was devious and not going anywhere, (7th, 4th, 5th and 4th)
AVB was crap (5th place first season (after Modric had gone), lost World Class player (Bale), tried to bed in 7 new arrivals, few of which were his choices and sacked with us in 5th place in a League Cup Quarter Final and qualification to Europa League knock out stages, top of group and unbeaten.
Levy has truly turned us into a laughing stock with Gooners saying Spurs are the Gift that keeps Giving …
01/02/2014 @ 5:41 pm
I wholeheartedly agree. Lewis and Levy are a pair of spivs ripping the heart and soul out of the supporters.
01/02/2014 @ 5:45 pm
Curious. How many of those slagging Levy off now are the same people that were selecting two different sides at the start of the season and saying what great players we’d bought.
By your own admission we shouldn’t be competing for 4th yet you whinge when we’re not, trotting out the same tired line from years ago.
When you argue with your wife do you bring up events from years back too?
01/02/2014 @ 7:23 pm
I don’t whinge, mate. I am a glass half full person when it comes to Spurs’ performances. But the relations between the fans and the club have never been more distant. It needed to be said. If you are happy with the way the club is run that’s fine with me. But equally you have to accept that not everyone agrees.
03/02/2014 @ 12:00 am
No disagreement on that score, I just can’t see the point of bringing up the old chestnut of not buying players in 2011, it’s done, it happened, get over it. Can’t see any reason to rehash it. Mistakes were made and opportunities were missed.
I think our expectations are now so much higher than they were pre Jol, but are they realistic?
In the grand scheme of things 5th/6th is probably our role, barring the occasional Gareth Bale to lift us above that level.
I’m also not convinced that comparing Liverpool to keeping Suarez and Spurs selling Bale is 100% fair. Suarez came with a lot of baggage that not many people wanted. Perhaps a fairer comparison would be Liverpool not selling Suarez to Arsenal and Spurs not selling Modric to Chelsea (domestic rivals).
07/02/2014 @ 10:24 pm
Yes
01/02/2014 @ 5:46 pm
Can’t anyone see that today game is fixed. They are obviously going for a draw because the whole market
is betting a win for Spurs. Why I say so… Soldano got two direct opportunities to shoot at goal and he draws
the ball away. Secondly after Pualinho goal, they totally stop attacking…. They still have 30 minutes to win the
game and Hull was at their mercy prior to the goal. Anyone disagree?
01/02/2014 @ 6:37 pm
….A lot of matches are fixed….by bent referees, betting syndicates involving club chairmen, players and even the FA and FIFA deciding results of games before they are played….we know that…..in the Far East there is more money to be made through gambling every week than the entire gate receipts of every club in the UK…and we know a lot of clubs have “undercover sh!theads” putting bets on for them all over the planet. But 1 thing is for certain, Manchester City are a club full of hard working players who help each other, have the winners mentality, and Im sure nobody is “fixing” any of their achievements at the moment!!! Spurs are being mis-managed every fakkin day by a bookkeeper who knows absolutely phuk-all about football….Lewis(whoever the fuk he is) needs to get rid of this cuzt and get a proper Chief Executive…..Spurs to me now are like a girlfriend that has taken the pi55 once too often, so now the bitch is outta the fukkin door as far as im concerned!!! Citeh all the way!!!!!
01/02/2014 @ 8:56 pm
Mate, i’d happily buy you a season ticket for Man City just to see the back of you. Plastic supporter getting pickedmon by his mates who support teams that win…boohoo…you poor dear
02/02/2014 @ 1:14 am
I wouldnt pay £40 or £50 quid to go and watch this shite because Im not simple in the fukkin head! Why put yourself through the frustration of supporting a bunch of overpaid wankpots who seriously need a fukkin life reality check?!!
01/02/2014 @ 5:47 pm
I agree completely. Levy and Lewis have been trying to con us for years.
They say how much the club spend and then insist on undisclosed fees when selling so that figures can’t be added to the balance.
Not long ago they posted a small loss in a financial quarter (3 Million?) but that was only because they had invested in the training ground (30 Million?) but that was capital investment and increased the value of the club by 35-40 Million.
We have it year in and year out and will never compete without REAL investment and a little risk to their pockets.
No chance of that with the current owners.
01/02/2014 @ 5:48 pm
First of Feb 2011, just 3 years ago we were on the coat tails of the Big 4, just 3 points behind Chelsea with a Double header against AC in the European Cup last 16 on the horizon, 3 years on we are a shambles not knowing our best eleven, playing them out of position, disinterested £26m striker, relying on wether Ade wants to play or not, playing a 19 year old rookie against the PL most potent strike force, a French International who came to us as a competent DM busting to escape because his face does not fit. Yep……we’ve come on a bundle recently, thanks ENIC.
01/02/2014 @ 5:48 pm
levyout,levyout,levyout,levyout,levyout,levyout,levyout,levyout……………we spend 111,000,000 on new players, gooner Arshole Wanker spent next to fuk all, and the goons are p2 in the league….utterly fukkin ludicrous!!! Levy needs to be GONE ASAP!!!!! Even bringing back Berbatoss would have been a half decent signing but again the baldy fukwit fails….nothing but failure….im sick of this nonsense!
02/02/2014 @ 9:55 pm
Then go and sing your praises for another team…you won’t be missed.
02/02/2014 @ 11:55 pm
im not singing the praise of ANY team anymore. I like to watch good football, i dont care whos playing it. Im just not gonna give a fuk whether Spurs win or lose from now on. Simple. #:)
05/02/2014 @ 1:47 pm
I don’t normally reply to these threads, but I have been driven to do so in this instance. It is this exact mentality that Spurs really could do without. I don’t understand why you are getting so worked up if you don’t care for a team, that for some people, courses through their veins. If you don’t want to watch them, don’t watch them! Go and support another club, I’m sure they will be glad of your paper thin support until they then start to perform under your unrealistically high expectations.
04/02/2014 @ 8:32 pm
Arsenal spent £43m on one player, Ozil. Hardly F*** All!!
Arsenal generate another £100m per year in revenue compared with Spurs. It means they can afford to pay Ozil’s very high wages.
You are wasting your time. ENIC (Lewis and Levy) are not leaving unless an oil sheikh offers them enough money to make them want to sell. Try supporting Arsenal, Chelsea or Man City if you are not happy supporting Spurs
01/02/2014 @ 5:52 pm
I forgot to add. Sherwood is crap. Why didn’t he put in fresh legs to kill the game off.
Can’t he see that Bentaleb and Paulinho are getting tired?
Levy is master and Sherwood is his concubine… That is why Sherwood says that he was
given a cheque book to strengthen but he rejected.. What bullshit. All rehearsed and instructed
by the f**k Levy if not you will see the 14th manager …..
01/02/2014 @ 7:42 pm
….and to make things even fukkin worse Sherwood says he is “happy with a point away to Hull”…….what a gobshite….these cuzts dont have a fukkin clue do they!!!
01/02/2014 @ 5:56 pm
Levy must go. If not all those years of Spurs fans trolling day and night for something will die in vain. I swear
because I have seen the last 30 years going down the drain after Steve Archibald era
01/02/2014 @ 6:00 pm
My last words before I go…. I pity all the fans including myself , the players especially those
who think they came into a magnificent club but later found that it is a shit hole.. You know who
I am talking about. Lastly in pity the coaches especially Ferdinand and Freund. They are fantastic
people but left to rot in this farce ….goodnight everyone
01/02/2014 @ 6:30 pm
You say 6th is par for Spurs, and I agree. But of the top clubs only City and Chelsea have financial doping resources. Why should the Spurs owners do likewise. They are looking for the elusive manager who will convert a par 6th into top 4. Should they sell up you coud do a lot worse with new owners, although there is a chance I suppose of a financial doper. The best bet is probably the new stadium if they can garner sufficient naming rights/development income to cover much of the cost.
I do agree though about appalling communication.
Also guess that despite what he says Alan Sugar is a bit miffed at selling Spurs to ENIC for around £25m, when they are now worth around £400m, and probably much more with the new stadium.
07/02/2014 @ 10:27 pm
Joe Lewis has more money than most owners for goodness sake. he is an old fart who know sod all about football.
01/02/2014 @ 6:32 pm
Excellent article and I think more and more people are starting to question levy’s management of the club. I lost all faith in him with the way jol was sacked and whilst there’s always going to be arguments for the financially sound footing were on it wears a bit thin when we have nothing to show for it. I keep telling myself that we will be in a better position to judge come the end of the season but even as an optimist I’m starting to wonder if we can get that top four spot we need to push on both on the field and off it. I haven’t been for a few years for financial reasons even though I always renew my membership and am on the season ticket waiting list but I reckon I’ll be on that for eternity unless we get the new ground built and whilst enic are in charge that may be never! Hope I’m wrong. Tottenham till I die!!!!
01/02/2014 @ 6:33 pm
You shouldn’t delve into finance, you clearly have no clue what you’re talking about. Stick to moaning and speaking in generalizations because if you think Spurs turn a profit and that our revenue is indicative of spending power than you need to Your financial naivety. Net transfer spend and cash inflow/outflow are two different things. Reported fees from the media are just that and that doesn’t suggest how much actual CASH we got and what payment plan we received (many fees are bank differed)
01/02/2014 @ 6:37 pm
*you’re
….. And again. F-ck it, not worth the time.
01/02/2014 @ 7:27 pm
The point as regards revenue is that Spurs are a smaller club and Levy is unrealistic.
01/02/2014 @ 6:34 pm
*your financially naive
phone…..
01/02/2014 @ 6:40 pm
The most accurate description I have read about ENIC’s club oh sorry our club, describes perfectly our frustrations.
01/02/2014 @ 6:40 pm
I first went to WHL in the early fifties and have seen the the good ,the bad and the ugly in the intervening years ,but now ,well the above sums it up,absolutely chaotic,headless chickens dosnt come into it .Please ENIC just f~~k off into the sunset and let us have our club back.
01/02/2014 @ 7:05 pm
Think I’ll buy Spurs and sort things out.
£400m to ENIC.
£200m top up cost on new stadium – assume half of £400m stadium cost covered by naming rights/development profits.
Open new stadium in 2017-18 season.
56,000 capacity and debt free, only Chelsea and Manchester City with the financial dopers would have an advantage over Spurs.
So I would then do a little doping of my own, if needed.
Spurs a realistic bet for the title, the first since 1961.
01/02/2014 @ 7:13 pm
A cock on a ball and we advertise underpants….what a fukkin joke!!!! Levy needs a wig, and his passport so he can fuck right off!!!
02/02/2014 @ 11:53 pm
I REALLY wish if anyone would just “fuck right off” it would be YOU
01/02/2014 @ 7:21 pm
To be fair to Levy in 2011 we could of signed Suarez only for Redknapp to reject him. Otherwise spot on, Levy’s transfer policy has cost the club countless times, in 2006 when we failed to improve the squad and lost fourth place due to lasagna gate, in 2011 as you mentioned, 2012 when we failed to buy Moutinho to replace modric, 2008 as well when Levy left selling Berba to the last minute therefore not giving US enough time to replace him and Keane. He has also dithered over the stadium issue. Correct me if im wrong but when ENIC first took over they pledged to expand the stadium, 13 years on and nothing has happened! The club really need to pull their finger out on building a new stadium if we are to consistently challenge for the title.
01/02/2014 @ 7:47 pm
….from what I can remember Rob we were offered Suarez AND Aguero for £18 million FOR THE PAIR!!!! The baldy fuckwit ummed and ahhhed over it and they were both sold before the fukwit made a move!! I really dont want levy at Spurs a day longer than today…just looking at the clueless cuzt pisses me off!! He has the same stupid, vacant look as that other Ruski immigrant abramobitch!!!
01/02/2014 @ 7:36 pm
Thanks for all the kind comments and other feedback! I love Spurs, and remain largely positive about the current team, but fans have a right to question the current methods of the owners.
07/02/2014 @ 10:31 pm
We all love spurs and we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t have the odd moan but ENIC need to go. Simple as that. Anyone who supports Levy is not a spurs fan. That will offend Levy supporters, but frankly, it is a fact and they only get upset coz they hate the truth. LEVY OUT. ENIC OUT. JOE LEWIS…GO AND PLAY BASKETBALL OR BASEBALL OR WHATEVER WANK U.S SPORT IT IS YOU DO.
01/02/2014 @ 8:01 pm
Spot on. The only thing you failed to mention ia how Levy the cow son hides behind the director of football which was invented at the lane as a buffer from the fans for levy. If it fails let’s all hide behind Baldini. Errr no Daniel we are not that stupid son
01/02/2014 @ 10:11 pm
A deeply troubling & emotional article whose sentiments I share as do more people than I can ever recall. I’ve never felt such a distant disconnect from my Club in the 35+ years of attending. I feel far less excitement, engagement & affinity with THFC than ever before. The mistreatment of fans as cash cows to be bled dry & extorted at every turn whilst muted & ignored by the Club on issues that really matter is extremely difficult to stomach. No doubt. It’s become a very one sided abusive relationship.
However…..
This might be the way football is now. It’s an entertainment business. Important last word. It’s no longer the habitat of the wealthy indulgent benefactor – even Mansour has significant, long term & very deliberate commercial objectives in his extraordinarly lavish support of City. Football is now run exactly as it is – business.
Further..if we consider the tenure of ENIC in an emotion free analysis of how we are performing as a football team, looking only at the facts we can measure, you can make a very different case to the one Mark so eloquently states. It’s not necessarily my own view, just a different one.
They took over a middling, stagnant, former big club that had been treading water for a decade. One that was some way off the top table – in fact it didn’t even know where the restaurant was. A club with an average league finish over the preceding decade of 10th. Also known as nowhere.
A club where the playing staff mostly consisted of average joes, home growns or cheap semi-broken dogs. With the odd sprinkling of stardust making the smell of the shite.
A club that spent badly & ineffectually buying the better clubs unwanteds, often on the cusp of their decline. We were a bit of a joke, a non contender, never a threat to the elite or even mentioned in the same breath. “Silly old Spurs…”
Where are we now in comparison?
1. The most expensively assembled squad in our history
2. Unquestionably the best squad I’ve ever seen at Spurs – eclipsing 81 & 87 in depth & sheer talent. How man Internationals do we own today?
3. 2004-07 the team gained an average of 1.50 points per league game
2008-12 this rose to 1.74
2012-13 this again rose to 1.83
Even now, 2014 it stands at 2.29 (I’ll eat my own head if it stays at that though)
That is incredible. And I’d wager unequalled by any other (non doped) club in the country. It’s illustrates sustained, continuous improvement & upward progression.
4. The last 5 years have seen us finish 3 x 5th & 2 x 4th places. So 5 consecutive years of 5th or higher. This is the 1st time we have ever done that, in our history. That kind of stability is not to be sniffed at or ignored.
5. Regular challengers to the Top 4 or for the Top 4 depending on which journo you read
Yes, it isn’t silverware, yes maybe we could & should have done even better, but as Mark himself states, we are a par 6th club on income, stadium & size. Hence, we & ENIC must be delivering an above par performance. Who else is?
The football landscape has changed forever, it isn’t “a working man’s game” with invisible Chairman & loyal players. This is Skyball & it’s horrible in comparison on many levels. It feels as if it isn’t for me for much longer. But I think some of that pain is perhaps being unfairly & unintentionally directed at those that are actually doing a far far better job than most. They are making some howling gaffs in the process.
01/02/2014 @ 10:29 pm
Think a problem is the ramped up expectations.
Sparkling new 56,000 stadium that will put Spurs among the elite teams.
A hugely complex project, agreed, but why no regular progress reports.
The Spurs board should let us know where this key to Spurs future stands.
02/02/2014 @ 10:02 am
Our growth has come with how popular and how much money has been injected in by Sky and the Premiership product, not because of the performance of ENIC. Its because of ENIC we have not grasped what is sitting before us and gone on to break that top 4.
01/02/2014 @ 10:28 pm
Let’s be realistic here. Levy wants the club to be profitable and successful but not so he can take the credit for spurs winning things but so he can sell the club for some ridiculous amounts of money. Enic are an investment company and invested in our great club so one day they could make a profit on it and for no other reason. As Keith birkinshaw said on leaving. “There used to be a football club there”. We aren’t a business We are tottenham super tottenham and always will be super tottenham from the lane. Not sure that will fit unless we sing it really fast. Ps we all may have
Different opinions on this but I know we all love the club, irrespective of whether we go every week, used to go, go every now and then. Listen on the radio, watch on tv or whatever. We are all tottenham till we die!!!
01/02/2014 @ 11:00 pm
I’m going to disagree with a few points in segments.
“the invisible new stadium (as real as the infamous season ticket waiting list)”
The waiting list is reported by the club and I always find it funny people suggest that because they aren’t hearing things regularly the stadium is a fantasy. You clearly have never been involved in a project of the size of the NDP, the red tape makes things significantly more difficult. If you actually read documents submitted by the club to Haringey or other government bodies its clear it’s going forward, it’s being hindered because WE LITERALLY CAN’T DO ANYTHING.
“We have advised the London Borough of Haringey on a Compulsory Purchase Order to facilitate the regeneration of North Tottenham which will involve the construction of a new football stadium for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and much needed housing. The CPO Inquiry was held in April 2013 and the Secretary of State’s decision is anticipated in early 2014.”
Yet people still claim nothing is happening.
01/02/2014 @ 11:00 pm
“The lack of coherent information or explanation as regards decision making within the club has created a culture of distrust.”
How many club chairman keep fans intimately up to date on the day-to-day operations of the club? That’s the manager’s job and no matter what he says some won’t take his word at face value. When Sherwood said yesterday he’d been offered players immediately people chimed in “I bet he’s being told to say that”. So what’s the point, it’s not like they would believe anything said. How many times have Arsenal kept fans intimately up to date whilst they sold their players?
01/02/2014 @ 11:01 pm
“The delisting of the club from the Stock Exchange means nothing has to be explained. ‘Pay up or fuck off’ appears to be the underlying message.”
It was done to increase liquidity which was reduced by the listing, which mean we missed almost half of our potential days from trading company shares. Our borrowing capacity is effected by use of a equity issue or using our shares as an expansion currency. Our stocks were being undervalued by AIM despite performance. Finally regulatory costs which weren’t a justifiable expense and would be much higher when we started building the stadium phase of the project. You can try to glean underlying messages all you like but that’s the reality.
01/02/2014 @ 11:02 pm
“The 2013/14 season transfer spend also shows that Spurs, hemorrhaged of their best player Gareth Bale, should not be realistically expected to compete at the top table. (2013/14 transfer spend: 1) Man City -£92m; 2) Man Utd -£69m; 3) Chelsea -£37.5m; 4) Arsenal -£34m; 5) Liverpool -£21m; 6) Tottenham +£12.5m profit.”
Net transfer profit doesn’t equate to spending ability, as I mentioned previously. How much actual cash Spurs received is completely is different to the reported net profit. Especially considering most of those are reported fees, fees are often differed and we have other expenditures which fans ignore because some don’t have to do with acquiring players. We’ve spent over £150m on capital projects the past 5 or so years.
01/02/2014 @ 11:03 pm
“Daniel Levy has become a bizarre Napoleon character and completely unaccountable since ENIC delisted the club from the stock market. A rumoured £750,000 pay rise soon followed. ”
I believe that’s partially dividend payout because for being chairman and he owns part of the club, he would benefit in other ways as well. Many seem to not understands what his connection to the club actually is and considers him nothing more than a paid employee.
01/02/2014 @ 11:05 pm
“ENIC’s hatchet approach to managers – nine in thirteen years – suggests the buck never stops with them. But they are always happy to bend their own rules if there is a fast buck to be made. ‘Out the tout’ – unless he pays ENIC twice. Perhaps we should be grateful.”
In reality for a club our size how we’re run is about the most sensible way you can expect; the notion that Levy/Lewis are hording profits have no base. They put just about everything back into the club and fans when they make net spend arguments often leave out other expenditures like capital investments over the past 5 years or so which have cost us at least £150m.
Inside that system there is potential to meet our goals. Problem is the margin is incredibly thin. Here’s the problem with Levy’s biggest drawback (i.e. managers), we’ve have lost sight just how difficult a job that is for a club like ours. Top 4 football is a lofty expectation, many other clubs have similar lofty expectations and most NEVER achieve them.
Just look at clubs around us in “size” though that’s a subjective measurement, how many managers have they had in the same period? Not counting interims City – 8, Chelsea – 11, Aston Villa – 7, Liverpool – 6, Newcastle – 11 and Tottenham – 8 (plus Sherwood). Common theme there is not meeting the clubs current expectations, in some cases lofty and in others bordering on desperate.
What would be ideal for Spurs? A manager who for the resources he’s given can accomplish the boards goal, finish Top 4 consistently until we reach a period where we can push on for titles. How many managers in England have been able to live up to minimum expectations year in and year out, like 2, Ferguson and Wenger, I guess you can count Jose and his bags of money.
Spurs for all intents and purposes typically punch above our weight. Yet our goal from our fans and board is CL football and therein lies the problem, expectations. I’m not criticizing anyone for having a minimum goal of CL football, I mean that’s my minimum as well. Still, that’s very difficult. I’m tempted to call it obsession, it’s our ‘Great White Whale’. That is what causes the reactions which we’ve seen over the years.
Everton have hired two managers in the same space of time Levy has been Chairman. They’ve had good seasons and a load of mediocre seasons. That’s a good example of what I’m talking about. They’ve sold big players, they’ve had stricter budget, still Moyes was able to stay in that job for awhile because they didn’t expect much more of him considering all of the hindrances.
I’m sure Spurs could hire a manager who can help us finish 6th-ish every season and keep him on for years, making the occasional top 4 run. That could be us if we wanted it and we’d be fairly stable. Still I think we need to realize considering the REALITIES of the club and it’s structure, not fantasy. Getting the next Ferguson or Wenger is difficult. There have been several clubs who have failed at this task the past 15 years and will continue to forever more.
My biggest issue with Levy is his record with managers but it’s disingenuous for fans to suggest it’s easy to find a manager who can meet our goals with as thin of a margin we’ve had.
01/02/2014 @ 11:22 pm
Are you on Twitter LookMa?
02/02/2014 @ 9:25 am
LookMa – how would you feel about me creating an edited, full response from yours and SniersMoregut’s replies?
01/02/2014 @ 11:24 pm
Look ma. You give your opinions on questions raised and some makes sense but as with a number of posts on here and other sites the issue I have is some people seem to have a great deal of knowledge of what’s going on at the club and are very detailed in their explanations which leads me to ask the question do you know this is factual or as most people on here is it an opinion which you have. No disrespect as I think these forums bring up many different opinions and everyone is entitled to theirs but some seem almost too knowledgeable and I would rather hear it from our chairman if it is true
01/02/2014 @ 11:38 pm
What do you mean exactly (i.e. which parts)? Obviously much of it is opinion. What I’d like to believe is informed opinion but opinion nonetheless. Still I’m not making any assertions myself, I’m responding to the assertions made by the author.
Things involving the stadium are public information. That quote I posted is via a law firm requisitioned by the club.
http://www.asserson.co.uk/assets/london-planning-brochure.pdf
The counter-argument to the transfer profit/loss is just basic accounting. Fans often mistake reported fees for being actual cash inflow/outflow – when your aware of the actual cash in hand or reserve then you have a better case of claiming the club are hording profits, currently we don’t know.
The stuff about the delisting again is responding to assertions that the motivations behind this are nefarious, to exclude fans from the process and to remove transparency. There are far more reasons that have nothing to do with the club being sneaky for them delisting and it makes sense considering how we plan to fund the stadium.
01/02/2014 @ 11:48 pm
Edit: The law firm was requisitioned by Haringey, not THFC. Though obviously, we would be involved as well.
02/02/2014 @ 12:00 am
Your response is akin to that of a politicians. It uses a lot of words and jargon that are used to try and baffle people. I’m not thick but you say it’s basic accounting. Unless you are from that background no it isn’t!! I’m sorry but the author and many more of us none financially savvy spurs fans are completely hacked off with lack of communication from the club and disillusioned with what is happening regards the stadium or lack of it.
02/02/2014 @ 12:30 am
I’m with you Andy that answer from look a didn’t sound like an answer from a fan but a statistician/politician
It was informative yet totally over my headed I’m not thick either I think.
Levy came in sacked Graham when we were in the semi final of the FA Cup three days later and his scattergun hiring and firing policy is still with us today.
I did get excited about the signings but I see now that baldini bought them with AVB nodding like a dog in the background.
As Danny Kelly rightly says we are like the Marie Celeste of clubs cutting through the water rudderless and aimless.
It is time for change
02/02/2014 @ 1:02 am
Isn’t that the point though? I’ve been a Spurs fan my whole life. Being my field though and making myself aware of some of the issues currently at Spurs like the stadium and finances, I have a different perspective. Much of what people say in regards to Levy and ENIC is misplaced or misinformed, there’s plenty to be frustrated about but I think as fans we need to be fair and look at the whole scope.
02/02/2014 @ 11:45 am
The full scope is that ENIC and Levy do NOT have the best interests of the club at heart. They never had and that is clear to see. Go back and play with your sodding calculator, look at what has been happening on the pitch since Levy came in and then comment on how bloody good Levy and ENIC are. Spurs are treading water and have no ambition. I could care less at about platic bottles, swearing, etc, I care about what happens on the pitch and that the manager is allowed to run the team. AVB didn’t sign the useless gamut of players we got in the summer, levy and baldini did and both should go. It won’t happen though because Levy is married to Joe Lewis’ daughter so get used to continued mediocrity, transition every year and bugger all success. Sir Bill is turning somersaults in his grave. I can hear from here. Sad time, ENIC need to go. We need fresh impetus and quick.
02/02/2014 @ 12:11 am
Thanks for your comments, Look Ma. I have tried to cover the full scope of fan discontent in the article and appreciate your financial insight. My main point about finances related to Board expectation of on-field achievement which does not make sense given the financial muscle of the club (given billionaire Joe Lewis’ choice not to go the Man City or Chelsea route). But should Spurs not have taken the risk in January 2011? Most successful businessmen gamble at some point. Stub hub and the Y-word are among the issues that have tipped me over the edge this season. Points you chose not to address, presumably as you agree.
02/02/2014 @ 8:14 am
Loved the seriousness and critical analysis of Tottenham’s dealings and flaws in this article but my favorite part had to be when you referred to our relationship to Real Madrid as “bukkake style partnership”. I don’t think Shakespeare could described it any better. Bravo sir, Bravo.
02/02/2014 @ 11:39 am
I am amazed at how many people have responded with comments that have nothing at all to do with the article!! Since when did anyone give a flying toss about plastic bottles etc?
Levy and ENIC are an investment company, which is what the I in ENIC stands for. Their ultimate aim is to sell the club for a profit and always has been, in fact they said that at day one. They dont care if we win the league or the subbuteo cup and when Levy says he is a Spurs fan, I almost choke!!
I feel sorry for Tim but he knows what Levy is about and he knows he won’t be there next year. Van Gaal deal is probably already done. We need stability and changing the manager every bloody year is not the answer. Look at Liverpool with Rodgers. They have given him time and it is starting to come together for them now and they also managed to keep a player that wanted to leave because ultimately they told him he was under contract and they wanted him in the team.
Levy does not speak to the fans because he does not care what they think, never has done and never will do. Spurs fan are now, at long last, starting to see through ENIC and it is about time they got out and let someone with the club at its heart take over and move us forward. They have done an okay job, but we are treading water every year and until we have a manager that has full control of the team, full control of signings, nothing will change. Levy comes back to having a director of football and it has never worked for us, never, but he keeps doing it. Whether you liked or loathed AVB, he did not sign the players in the summer, Baldini and Levy did. That is the fact of the matter and until ENIC are gone, none of us will see Spurs have Glory back at the Lane.
The motto of the club is, ‘to dare to do.’ ENIC dare to do naff all.
02/02/2014 @ 12:06 pm
It’s another excellent piece of writing Mark, but I almost think someone has hi-jacked your name. Where do we go now for a fix of POSITIVITY?
02/02/2014 @ 1:01 pm
Ha ha. Thanks Paul. This article needed to be written and is a reflection of the thoughts of so many diehard fans who have told me they are thinking of jacking the game in. I allowed my half full glass to become half empty for the greater good ;-).
02/02/2014 @ 12:12 pm
Every year has been the same cock story. Simply lack of ambition or whatsover. Who to blame? During Load Sugar time, we had no financial muscle but you can see that the team is playing with some form of conviction. We had marvallous superstar like Klinnsman, Ginola and Lineker. Levy and his henchman are now only interested in cashing in whenever a Superstar comes out of the rank Berbatov, Carrick, Modric and Bale just to name the few big names. We have been talking about bigger grounds for how many years I have lost track. Even medicore West Ham beats us to the Olympic stadium. Therefore I rest my case… Utterly disappointed fan for 30 years
02/02/2014 @ 12:12 pm
Every year has been the same cock story. Simply lack of ambition or whatsover. Who to blame? During Load Sugar time, we had no financial muscle but you can see that the team is playing with some form of conviction. We had marvallous superstar like Klinnsman, Ginola and Lineker. Levy and his henchman are now only interested in cashing in whenever a Superstar comes out of the rank Berbatov, Carrick, Modric and Bale just to name the few big names. We have been talking about bigger grounds for how many years I have lost track. Even medicore West Ham beats us to the Olympic stadium.
02/02/2014 @ 12:19 pm
Let’s put things in prospective. I would rather see ourselves sold to someone with the will and ideology to bring us into the same realm as Chelsea and Man City. Yes we need to be prudent and not follow the footsteps of Leeds but we need someone with the financial clod . Maybe we can ask Singapore billionaire Peter Lim to buy . He missed out on Liverpool and Valancia.
02/02/2014 @ 12:26 pm
Previously a private investment trust, English National Investment Company was floated on the London stock exchange in 1997 as ENIC plc and became a holding company for sports, media and leisure businesses. During the football investment boom of the mid to late 1990s it began to acquire shares in football clubs around Europe and bought stakes in Tottenham Hotspur (29,9%), Rangers F.C. (25,1%), SK Slavia Prague (96,7%), AEK Athens F.C. (47%), Vicenza Calcio (99,9%) and FC Basel (50%).[2][3][4]
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.[6] Following the buyout, Lewis and Levy controlled 70.6% and 29.4% respectively of shares in ENIC, which was delisted from AIM and renamed ENIC Group.
Following its purchase of Sugar’s remaining shares in Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, ENIC continued to build up its stake, taking its shareholding to 85%. To fund this investment it disposed of its stakes in other football clubs as well as many of its media and entertainment businesses.
So now their investment has already quadruple or more . It’s about time they should let go and let someone who is really passionate about football run the club. Or we can follow the footsteps of Neil Quinn and Sunderland….
02/02/2014 @ 12:58 pm
Hurrah, The LustDoctor is back and with a zinger. Right on the money I think. Though Enic are likely to sell to people like themselves, maybe worse, if and when they do. TFC podcast this week contained a very interesting chat about the present reality of watching football being the thin end of the wedge and football changing out of all recognition for those of us of a certain age in 20 years or so.
Welcome back Mark you’ve been missed.
02/02/2014 @ 1:03 pm
Many thanks, IKAG. This article has been brewing for some time. If the new stadium is ever built, I expect it to feature a designated ‘silent stand’.
02/02/2014 @ 1:09 pm
Lookma, you can say that the reported net transfer profit is not cash inflow/outflow and that is accurate. However, why is that valid? Fees are often paid over the life of a contract, so if we are receiving fees in this way we are going to be paying for players in this way too. So over time, it is likely to be reflective of our cash flow and cash in hand position, just with a delay. We consistently sell our best players.
At any point Joe Lewis could inject the cash required to fund a big signing and make a step change to the team. That is my view on the cash flow argument. There have been opportunities to speculate to accumulate, the season when we were in the CL and knew we had the an injection of circa £30m from the previous year and could have invested some of that in the squad to maintain CL football. In 11/12 when we ‘spent big’ on Saha and Nelson in January. This summer we didn’t have to sell Bale. We could have sustained a circa -£60m net spend, maybe as much as -£90m had Joe Lewis invested extra money. £60m comes from £30m additional TV revenue & a £30m loss under FFP. +£12.5m -£85m for Bale = -£72.5m net spend. Don’t sign Lamela it’s in the region of a -£40m net spend and one hell of a squad. If Joe Lewis really believed this was the season to establish us as title challengers which was muted, he had to actually invest, not just spend most of the money from selling your best player. By all means scrutinise and question my numbers, it’s all just simple accounting.
In terms of the £150m capital investment, they have made that investment to be able to recoup that spend and more when they sell the club. That £150m investment probably increases the value by circa £200m.
I’m not done with Spurs and ENIC, a lot of these opinions are disappointing if understandable. I will always love the club & the atmosphere at games is toxic and that is unacceptable. Support your team regardless. We only make life worse for the players with the atmosphere that emmenates from the stands.
02/02/2014 @ 1:29 pm
Ditto! At last someone says what most of us are thinking.
Fed up of the high hopes, only for false dawns.
Never was we the piss take club as much as this lot in charge. Every time we are on the up,we are cruelly dropped back down.
They are just a bunch of pr!ck teasers, teasing with high hopes, with no explanation or communication when hopes or expectations are dashed from us.
Talk to us Levy, let us know what is going on, you plank.
02/02/2014 @ 4:51 pm
I would rather not hear anything from that cuzt levy except him telling us that he is LEAVING!!!!
02/02/2014 @ 2:37 pm
Now Sherwood come out and defend Soldado poor showing saying it will come good. How many games does he need to
Come good I wonder? What will happen when Adabayour lose form or interest and even worst gets injured. I just cannot imagine playing only Soldado and Kane. In the first place why did we loan out Obika? That kid has good guts and drive. You saw what he did In one of the reserve match 6 goals he scored! Spurs think tank is either overwhelm or incapable to think properly anymore. It is scary to think of how this season might evolve if something terribly goes wrong…. Nightmarish I say
02/02/2014 @ 5:29 pm
I agree fully with this. In fact, I’d logged on with a view to writing an almost identical piece, so Mark, you have saved me the effort.
In terms of numbers, I’d add just one small point: that Levy’s sacking of AVB cost the club around £4m in his pay-out. Whatever your views on the sacking, that is bad business.
I’ll add two short ethical points too, to compliment Mark’s comprehensive numerical analysis.
1. Whatever your views on relocating the club, the process was handled with little ENIC:Fans communication from Levy, and even less dignity.
2. Following the Tottenham riots, Haringey Council were even more keen for THFC to stay in the heavily deprived area of Tottenham. Knowing this, Levy strong-armed Haringey Council not only into waiving the 50% affordable housing remit on the Northumberland Development, and also into reducing THFC’s financial commitment to the wider development of the area by millions upon millions – despite such commitments being a part of THFC’s original proposals.
(Seemingly) ordering the illegal spying on rival clubs, and taking advantage of social unrest for financial gain is a frankly shameful way to behave. I am not so naive, and understand Football is a business, a shady one at that, but I am ashamed for my club to be represented in this way.
02/02/2014 @ 8:26 pm
Excellent article. Never known such bitterness about ENIC, stadium, Sherwood, StubHub at al.
Trouble is I fear we will nosedive further. Like of Lloris and Vertonghen will be off in the summer. A mercenary like Van Gaal or someone will come in and spunk £100m+ and be off in 2-years.
03/02/2014 @ 7:03 am
Was talking to the Mrs about Spurs last night, don’t think she was listening but I was talking anyway,
At least my older brother had the early 80s to enjoy, lets be honest in the 30 years I’ve been supporting them, we have one decent trophy (the stunning 91 FA run, thanks mainly to Gazza), a couple of poxy league cups and enjoyed watching a couple of decent players, most of who have now been and gone. I was saying to her, There are no other top flight clubs in that time that have enjoyed so little glory, goons, chelsea, utd, pool, city go without saying, well even pool, two champs league finals, one win, uefa cup, a treble, few FA cups etc even though they have never won the league again. Even Everton who you could compare us with have won the league more recently with their awesome 85 side, and the cup in 95 The only club we can be compared against in the disappointment/size of club stakes is villa, but then they have spent a fraction of what we have over the last 30 years. 6 losing semis on the trot and I’ve been to em all, just about sums it up. Agreed I find myself losing interest in top flight modern football and spurs in particular. Things changed for me when I love martin Jol got the sack, for what exactly, santini, ramos, a few more years of transitions…its just nonsense. And while we are on the subject of the ground, agreed the closest we seem to have come to one is the artists impression of the new ground in the program in 1988, around the time they were knocking the glorious shelf down and replacing it with the ledge, sadly, 25 years later, we have been stuck around this mediocre capacity, why did we not just stick a big new stand on like leeds or liverpool? problem solved, until our dreams of a new ground could be fulfilled..
04/02/2014 @ 3:20 pm
“the seasonal sale of our world class players and trousering of profit”. Silly comment. Spurs don’t pay a dividend to shareholders. Any money they made from selling Bale, Modric, etc is kept within the club and used to buy new players and fundthe ever increasing wage bill.
04/02/2014 @ 7:04 pm
Thanks :-). We should definitely keep selling for the greater good.
04/02/2014 @ 4:01 pm
Cheer up guys,I see Franco Baldini looks like he’s off to Inter Milan.After his efforts in January transfer window.he will not be missed What has he done since Sept.2013.at what is he going to do till May.
Levy is the worse custodian of our club I can recall in nearly 60 years of supporting Spurs.The only thing I can say in favour of Levy and the Board is that as a Senior I only pay £380 pound for my Season Ticket.My son who sits next to me pays £1200!! What season tickets will be once the new Stadium is built is anybody’s guess.I suspect Levy will look at it as another gravy train..
04/02/2014 @ 8:41 pm
Scholar was the WORST “custodian”. He very nearly BANKRUPTED the club. But for the sound financial acumen of Sugar and Levy Spurs could have gone the same way as Leeds Utd. I’ve also been a Spurs supporter for over 60 years aqnd you, my friend, have a very POOR memory.
05/02/2014 @ 9:18 am
Hi Mark,
In response to the discussion on the Pod, I am posting the links from which I got my information regarding the dropped housing commitments and infrastructure financing. I see them as reputable sources; the first is a national newspaper, the second a local one.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/oct/30/tottenham-new-stadium-fury-regeneration
http://www.haringeyindependent.co.uk/news/tottenhamhotspurstadiumnews/9530417.Spurs___400m_stadium_agreement_signed_but_schools_and_homes_commitments_dropped/
Wilson
05/02/2014 @ 11:13 am
Thank you, mate. I didn’t doubt your info. Have just tweeted about these sources.
05/02/2014 @ 4:41 pm
depressing reading through some of the comments here, which is what this post is aimed at rather than the article itself.
for the last 8 seasons we’ve consistently punched above our ‘par for the course’ position of 6th – we are DWARFED financially by those above us – so where is the room for improvement? so ENIC up sticks and leave, a new owner comes in and intends to run the club on break even basis – what do we expect these new guys to achieve? why do we think anyone else will have a better chance of making up the 100m+ yearly divide between us and those above? i just don’t get it, who was the last club to consistently be within a point or so of breaking in to the elite for as long as us? Leeds done it for a while as did Newcastle, Villa and Everton – two of those clubs have suffered relegations since and Villa are shot to pieces – all because they didn’t do as good a job as us when it came to replacing the tars who inevitably left for the riches of the champions league.
sometimes i wish ENIC would leave so all you guys will finally appreciate the sterling work they have done over their time here.
LookMa – good posting
14/02/2014 @ 11:17 am
So once ENIC goes who would you want ? Tan ? Alam ? the porno boys from eastend ? Glaziers ? The guy from villa ? Think the better the devil you know….
What a load of tripe – go to the sauna and relax!!!!