I honestly think it wasn't. Him and Sugar saw a massive opportunity there. We'd actually be looking at moving in sometime within the next two years and the infrastructure there is amazing. I completely sympathise with those who wanted to stay, but Levy had very good business reasons for that bid, and as a club it might have helped us towards challenging at the very top.
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It's the only realistic way forward for a club like ours. The only clubs to have seriously challenged the Utd/Woolwich/Pool trilogy of top clubs in the Prem era have been City (money) Chelsea (money) and briefly Blackburn (money) and Toon (money).
There's more to it than simply piling in money it's true, but the piling in of money is the sine qua non, you can't do it on the cheap. No-one has managed to do so in the Prem era, and I can't see anyone doing it that way in the foreseeable. The last 'normal club' to do it 'on the cheap' was Leeds, and that was before the Prem. The days of the Derby and Forests are long gone. It's money, money, money, it's that simple as a starter. Then you have to do other things right as well.
Without a rich owner pumping in serious cash, the sheer power and size of the three heavyweights of English football is too much for any other serious challenge. Yes, the new stadium might be a viable alternative, we'll see on that one. My fear would be that if ENIC are still in charge, they'll just use the extra stadium income as a way to get back any investment they've made in it. Maybe five years down the line we'll become serious players in the wages and transfer dept, maybe ...
Of course people who think it's wrong to 'buy the title' have a very defensible moral view, and I sympathise their POV. But while we continue to be run as a business, then no manager is going to get us to winning the Prem or CL. with the CL you have to go all the way back to Aston Villa in 1982, to find an English club who bucked that trend. And again of course that was way before the Prem era and it was the European Cup. No-one but no-one has bucked the trend from this country in the Prem/CL era. We're not going to be different, IMHO.
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I don't think we have got a great squad. It's weak in depth in the goalkeeper, left back and striker areas. That's not a great squad to me, it's one with serious deficiencies.
We need to buy in all those three areas in January, and IF that upsets Danny Rose, well I'm sorry Danny, but that's life, we'll just have to buy two LBs if you're so upset you put a transfer request in, ditto with the striker and anyone unhappy there.
PS it may be Danny would be happy we got another LB in, but it doesn't seem to be the case from some of his interviews. Perhaps as long as he was kept in the loop he would be happy about it, I don't know.
We need to buy in all those three areas in January, and IF that upsets Danny Rose, well I'm sorry Danny, but that's life, we'll just have to buy two LBs if you're so upset you put a transfer request in, ditto with the striker and anyone unhappy there.
PS it may be Danny would be happy we got another LB in, but it doesn't seem to be the case from some of his interviews. Perhaps as long as he was kept in the loop he would be happy about it, I don't know.
YES HE FUCKING DOES!
Disgusting by him! Sacking AVB is an atrocious decision and although we will probably get a few wins on the trot now because of new manager syndrome after that it will show through how idiotic this decision was!
What was Levy thinking this summer?!? I know, I'll bring in a DOF, back him with the money from GB (not give him complete control though still) however a bad run and he's out! I'd much rather keep AVB and lose Levy.
By the way I'm well aware of what Levy's done for the club over the years and maybe let him continue to be in charge of the clubs finances. He has proven however, time and time again he is not good enough on the footballing side of the deal.
Just get rid of him, Lewis owns significantly more of the club so I'm sure he could do something.
Disgusting by him! Sacking AVB is an atrocious decision and although we will probably get a few wins on the trot now because of new manager syndrome after that it will show through how idiotic this decision was!
What was Levy thinking this summer?!? I know, I'll bring in a DOF, back him with the money from GB (not give him complete control though still) however a bad run and he's out! I'd much rather keep AVB and lose Levy.
By the way I'm well aware of what Levy's done for the club over the years and maybe let him continue to be in charge of the clubs finances. He has proven however, time and time again he is not good enough on the footballing side of the deal.
Just get rid of him, Lewis owns significantly more of the club so I'm sure he could do something.
Levy owns part of the club and his best mate owns the majority. So Levy can basically stay as long as he wants.
Also why rid of Levy? I think he's done a great job. You guys need to get a reality check. For a club who hasn't won the league in over 50 years and has a ground capacity of under 40k - we are punching well above our weight.
Behind Levy. Behind Sherwood, Ramsey and Sir Les. Onwards and upwards - COYS!
Also why rid of Levy? I think he's done a great job. You guys need to get a reality check. For a club who hasn't won the league in over 50 years and has a ground capacity of under 40k - we are punching well above our weight.
Behind Levy. Behind Sherwood, Ramsey and Sir Les. Onwards and upwards - COYS!
We,ll meet you time place
Our squad may lack a number of players for it to be truly great, but yesterday we were thrashed by a team that only had one outstanding player and a few others that i would label as decent. If that team managed to put 5 past us, then we can also improve our game with our current squad as we are obviously underperforming at the moment.
Difficult one. Rewind 13 years and look where we were, you cant say we've not seen progression and this has been driven by Levy and enic.
But... He has embarrassed and made us laughing stock on several occasions alone the way, not least because of his utter incompetence at hiring managers.
I know the real world cant be compared to the football circus world, but if in your work you have the responsibility of hiring for a key position, and you constantly have to fire the person you hired within two years then questions should rightly be asked about your judgment.
The fact the two most successful managers of his reign were forced upon him by situations and circumstances rather than being his own long term choice is a joke.
But... He has embarrassed and made us laughing stock on several occasions alone the way, not least because of his utter incompetence at hiring managers.
I know the real world cant be compared to the football circus world, but if in your work you have the responsibility of hiring for a key position, and you constantly have to fire the person you hired within two years then questions should rightly be asked about your judgment.
The fact the two most successful managers of his reign were forced upon him by situations and circumstances rather than being his own long term choice is a joke.
I would like Levy to shoulder some of the blame for this current SHITuation. I am grateful to Levy for what he has done and there shouldn't be anybody on here who isn't, but I do feel for somebody who is trying to build a business to sell on, he has now made 1 too many blunders. If we were trying to fetch the highest possible price by selling the club on, the best way to do it would be to ensure he is selling a top 4/champions league regular club IMHO. Would I as a potential buyer buy a non top 4 club because of its history? No fucking way in hell. Would I as a potentially new manager want to come in and be the next spurs manager, knowing the trigger happy knee jerk reaction when the first set of bad results start rumbling in? No fucking way. Would I as a player want to come to spurs based on the way things have been handled in this current situation. No fucking way. Would I as a player want to stay should a top 4/champions league team come knocking? No fucking way. Right so where does the blame lie? Unfortunately avb was on a hiding to nothing after bale left. He tried, he failed. Sad really cos I thought things were slowly starting to get a bit better. Had we lost to city 1-0 and pool say 2-0, Do you think avb would have been fired? Cool so avb must also shoulder some blame, which to be fair he did. He took responsibility for the 2 thrashings we received. Levy has done no such thing. We are fast becoming a laughing stock based on the boards decisions (of which Levy is the face), what with our great partnership with madrid, our inability to keep our top players as soon as they start whining, and the inability to back of our "project" as soon as we don't achieve unrealistic/realistic (you decide) goals. Just like we have outgrown players I feel like we have now outgrown Levy/ENIC. We are punching above our level no doubt about it, but we have now plateaued, so either ENIC start investing capital to take us to the next level, instead of bleeding the real supporters dry with crazy ticket prices and atmosphere killing rules, or they fuck off and make way for somebody who will.
AVB's tactics were chronically vulnerable to any direct and aggressive football, and it seems to me that he was naïve, almost thinking that teams wouldn't hit us with some good old fashioned route one stuff, the footballing equivalent of a sharp kick in the bollocks. What's baffling is that he was too stupid to mitigate against it. the lessons were identified, but not learnt.
We got found out by Sam Fucking Allardyce of all people, and since then we've been fair game to all and Sundry.
I think Levy's desire to save money has cost himself money in the long run
2010/2011
we need a striker as neither Dafoe or Crouch are not good enough
Brings in VDV, Sandro, Gallas in the Summer and Pienaar in the Winter
Spurs finish 6 pnts off 4th place scoring 17 less goals.
2011/2012
bring in Adeybayor in the Summer on loan which is perfect since Adeybayor only gets motivated for a few months at a time, but by Winter his form is starting to dip.
Levy Brings in Saha and Nelson in Jan. Spurs finish one point from 3rd place and another champs league appearance.
2012/2013
Levy risks only having two strikers in Dafoe and Adeybayor. This immediately looks like a disaster. A proper center forward is need in Jan to secure champs league football. Lewis Holtby is only player signed. QPR sign Loic Remy for 8 million pounds. Spurs finish one point behind Woolwich for last champs league spot.
I don't think its too crazy to think that not spending 8 million for Remy, for example, cost Levy 25+ million in champs league money this season. (Plus cup sponsor for shirt would have probably paid more)
2010/2011
we need a striker as neither Dafoe or Crouch are not good enough
Brings in VDV, Sandro, Gallas in the Summer and Pienaar in the Winter
Spurs finish 6 pnts off 4th place scoring 17 less goals.
2011/2012
bring in Adeybayor in the Summer on loan which is perfect since Adeybayor only gets motivated for a few months at a time, but by Winter his form is starting to dip.
Levy Brings in Saha and Nelson in Jan. Spurs finish one point from 3rd place and another champs league appearance.
2012/2013
Levy risks only having two strikers in Dafoe and Adeybayor. This immediately looks like a disaster. A proper center forward is need in Jan to secure champs league football. Lewis Holtby is only player signed. QPR sign Loic Remy for 8 million pounds. Spurs finish one point behind Woolwich for last champs league spot.
I don't think its too crazy to think that not spending 8 million for Remy, for example, cost Levy 25+ million in champs league money this season. (Plus cup sponsor for shirt would have probably paid more)
I agree with all of that, but we've said that for that last three appointments. Levy should just let Baldini handle this one, and keep the fuck out of it.
As I said in another post, It will either be very very good and propel us to the real big time, or a complete catastrophe resulting in WHL being left a firery smouldering wreck.
Risk/Reward?
Yep we are underperforming, but their squad also has Sturridge and Gerrard, both missing, while on the pitch/bench they had a top keeper in Mignolet, a midfielder in Henderson who looked better than any of of our current mids yesterday, defenders in Skrtl Agger that look/have looked better than our defenders. To me overall Pool have a better squad than us, mainly because of their strikers.
Our squad is way off being truly great, it's not even in the same chapter let alone on the same page - at most it's the sixth best squad in the country, and that's pushing it. We have weaknesses in so many key areas - goalkeeper,, defence, strikers, maybe midfield is the only area where we don't have an obvious weakness, and even there some people might say we lack in creativity
Whilst it is true that we probbaly need someone to come in for Brad, Gomes is not a totally useless clown.
Left back maybe, but Soldado is an accomplished player who wasn't getting the service. Plus we have Adebayor. A man who is capable of 30 goals a season and who was good enough for City and Real Madrid to take. Was he really to blame for last year, because the strikers this year didn't bring home the bacon either.
Not going to happen.[/quote][/quote]
Can it be said that Levy has not tried to find such a person? Arnesen, Commili, Baldini?
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Well Gomes isn't rated at Spurs, so unless a new manager changes things we can't count him ATM.
Soldado is a flop in the Prem, he may not be in the long run, we don't know. But ATM he's a flop as are Defoe and Ade. We have easily the worst strike force amongst the 'big clubs' and arguably it is amongst the six worst in the Prem.
I agree we probably won't buy in all three areas I mentioned, hence another reason why we won't get top 4, and a trophy is much more wish than expectation.