Ah, transfer windows? Don’t you just love them? There I was, like many Spurs fans, biting my nails as the clock ticked towards 11:00pm on January 31st 2013. We’re going to sign someone! Yes! It has been foretold. The “In The Knows” have told us so! 95% chance! The Damaio deal is off, no it’s […]
#LEVYout?
Ah, transfer windows? Don’t you just love them? There I was, like many Spurs fans, biting my nails as the clock ticked towards 11:00pm on January 31st 2013. We’re going to sign someone! Yes! It has been foretold. The “In The Knows” have told us so! 95% chance! The Damaio deal is off, no it’s on, no it’s off, but wait, it’s definitely on!!!! Negredo too!! At least forty five back up plans if it doesn’t come to pass!
Sound familiar? It should. Anyone who has followed Tottenham Hotspur through any number of transfer windows will know the story. Big plans, as relayed to us by supposed contacts within the game, get us all excited and they, more often than not, cease to be. Well, we’re Spurs fans. We can handle the anticipation, only to be disappointed in the end? That’s what anyone who follows the club knows, right?
Well, sometimes after transfer windows I do wonder about some expectations, especially since the Champions League run. Many fans now seem to think we should be recruiting the very best players. We don’t have money like Man City, and that means it’s very difficult to get our top targets. Willian anyone? So many fans thought he was easy to get, yet he goes to Anzhi for £35m!
What all this inevitably creates is a division among fans the day after a transfer window shuts. One camp screams for the head of our Chairman Daniel Levy. The other are staunch apologists. On the forums, on Twitter, in pubs, the debate rages as it does twice every year.
[linequote]I read comments like ‘use the Modric money’, but it’s really not that simple. Income from a player sale is not put in a special pot only for transfers.[/linequote]
The general theme of the apologists is that Levy is the world’s greatest businessman and chairman and so any downside can be ignored. In the contrasting camp Levy is the devil for not buying superstars every window and securing us the Champions League.
To be honest, I’m not sure either camp actually takes a proper look at what takes place. First of all, a transfer is complex and the better the target the harder it will get to agree a deal. Secondly, we cannot compete with the top clubs on wages, and often even the transfer fee is out of our reach. I read comments like “use the Modric money”, but it’s really not that simple. Income from a player sale is not put in a special pot only for transfers.
Notwithstanding, there is a reoccurring theme during these transfers. Big noises about signings. Info leaked to the press. Big promises and rumours floating around, only for nothing to happen and for the same holes in the squad to be left empty. The managers have changed, but the one constant is Daniel Levy and ENIC. Levy is famous for his hard negatiotians and the rumours are often that deals have broken down because he leaves things until the last minute and deals collapse over relatively small details.
[linequote]Many fans now seem to think we should be recruiting the very best players.[/linequote]
When it comes to Levy it isn’t really a yes or no debate. It’s more about the pros and cons. Levy does have questions to answer in my view. The sun does not shine out of his backside. His ruthless sacking of managers because he either doesn’t like them or they don’t meet his targets does not sit well with his approach to transfers. If you sell THFC to a manager you must back them, not bring in players of your own choice choice and then expect big success.
But, at the same time, football is not just short term, it is also about the future. Do we want to sit in the shadow of that lot down the road forever? People have short memories. Scholar almost destroyed us, Sugar saved us, but Levy & Co have put the wheels in motion for the future. A brand new training centre and a huge new stadium on the way? These are not to be take lightly.
Levy may have his deficiencies in the transfer market, but he is also still pushing us forward in a way unseen at most other clubs.
Levy has made some serious mistakes, and we should not be afraid to hold him accountable. The apologists need to accept that. But, at the same time, short of a trillion pound investment, could we do any better than Levy? I’m not so sure we can. Sometimes it’s better the devil you know.
[author name=”Smoked Salmon” avatar=”https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2182273663/565114_689825377_742792189_n.jpg” twitter=”barryweir” tag=”SmokedSalmon[/linequote]
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26 Comments
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01/02/2013 @ 1:37 pm
Lets be frank, Levy has been great for us. We have a squad where most players are worth 12m +, new stadium (although would have hated him if we had gone OP), new training complex. Also took a massive risk with AVB that seems to be paying off.
It’s a million miles away from, where we were. Im almost surprised we dont have a song for him.
01/02/2013 @ 1:51 pm
spot on, such a relief to hear some realistic spurs fans. There is some hope after all !!
01/02/2013 @ 3:47 pm
Yes i understand that but we have to get that Champions League spot and with the striker situation well what have we got to work with Dempsey no surely we could have got someone if only on loan i can see Everton catching us simply because of Levy i think it was so important for us what premier league side can only put out one striker my feelings go out for Defoe rant over.
01/02/2013 @ 1:44 pm
Levy has been a wonderful owner. He has dragged the club up from the mid-table wilderness to be a club challenging for the top 4 every year. He has been support of every managers transfer targets and pulled off some amazing transfer coups of his own. If we had only signed Holtby at 10.50pm yesterday then everybody would be rejoicing and bigging him up.
We are very lucky to have him and i think we need to be thankful he has been with us so long.
01/02/2013 @ 2:50 pm
Glad to see not ALL Spurs supporters are mindless buffoons, who have lost any real sense of perspective!
‘Levy Out’ is an EMBARRASSING headline for a so-called Spurs supporter to write considering where we were before he arrived, to where we find ourselves now.
The club will CONTINUE grow under Levy guidance. Of this, I am sure.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT_ THE FUTURE IS LILY WHITE!!!!
01/02/2013 @ 8:14 pm
You’re a little bit stupid aren’t you? The title carries a question mark, and the article advocates that Levy remains.
Please learn to read before posting this trite three times over.
01/02/2013 @ 1:44 pm
there’s been one constant during the time that Spurs’ average finishing position in the league has been getting higher and higher – Levy.
he’s the perfect chairman for our club; we punch above our weight in the transfer market and in revenues – considering the size of our stadium, and only the 1 appearance in the champs league.
we wanted holtby, we got holtby. we wanted fryars, we got fryars (via a clever piece of business). and we wanted damiao, but damiao seems not to want to come to spurs. accept that.
did anyone want gary hooper? i didn’t. he wouldn’t have incrementally improved us.
we have 2 players for every position, we only need to ride out the next few weeks with dempsey and defoe up front (not exactly rubbish options!) before adebayor is back.
we did incredible business in the summer getting adebayor on lower wages, dembele is a revelation, vertonghen absolute class!
I could go on
01/02/2013 @ 2:47 pm
Well said, my friend! As long as Levy is at the helm, the club will CONTINUE to grow!
‘Levy Out’ is an EMBARRASSING headline for a so-called Spurs supporter to write considering where we were before he arrived, to where we find ourselves now.
If you want to read more of my thoughts, find my post at the bottom of this page.
01/02/2013 @ 1:49 pm
Then who would you get in? Since levy we have made profits. Got in the champions lge and have played our best football for years! Got a world class GK (Lloris) and Winger (Bale) along with other players like Lennon / Sandro etc etc…
In my eyes, Levy is the man!!!
So what if he didn’t want to pay over the odds for a striker that has no garnette to score more goals then Torres.
He’s just signed Holtby, should we question that?
The man is pushing through to get use a New Stadium that is as World Class as the training ground he got use! If we are in a better postion then Asenal when they got there’s and we get ours then he is a genius! Asenal where pretty much pot broke, once they got there’s! Where not pot broke now we have our New Training ground, so I can only assume that we will not be in Asenals postion when we get our New stadium.
Patients my friend God didn’t build Earth in a day!
01/02/2013 @ 2:44 pm
Completely agree, my friend! Too many short-sighted, pessimists being consumed by their own fears, claiming to want what’s best for the club!
‘Levy Out’ is an EMBARRASSING headline for a so-called Spurs supporter to write considering where we were before he arrived, to where we find ourselves now.
If you want to read more of my thoughts, find my post at the bottom of this page.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT_ THE FUTURE IS LILY WHITE!!!!
01/02/2013 @ 1:52 pm
Spurs fans are used to disappointment especially when it comes to the transfer window. Personally I wouldn’t want to replace Daniel Levy as our chairman but I would replace him when it comes to the selling and buying of players. I am not sure who guides him or tells him which players to go after but it doesn’t really matter because the end result is pretty poor. Too many fringe players where wages are paid to like Jenas, Gomez, Bentley and even Huddlestone. Huddlestone has gone backwards. He slows the game down and his passing has gone to pot. He definitely isn’t the player he once was. I also don’t understand our persistent looking for midfield players and defenders but never a striker as we have needed some quality up front now since Berbatov left but all we seem to get is either stop gaps or mediochracy. You cannot tell me that since 2008 we have not had the money to buy a really good striker. After all Levy supposedly bid £38 million for Aguero. Overall I am quite happy with Spurs but just not the transfer windows as long as there is no slump in the second half of the season. I do think though we have lost our top four spot due to lack of investment.
01/02/2013 @ 1:54 pm
TWO POINTS CAN NEVER NEVER AGREE WITH Scholar was and always will be a tottenham fan and
had new ideas for sponsorship,like corporate boxes etc ,and most all selling the brand TOTTENHAM
SUGAR WAS AN ARSE that hated the supporters called animals,morons and done everthing on a whim ,Venables,Graham,
the two pillars !!!!!!!!!!!!! then most of all walked away from Tottenham with a large amount of shares which he still has and 20m and quite a significant debt for us almost the same as when he brought it 10yrs later!!!
But agree with u on levy ,but do question some motives sometimes and think they are trying to sell the club
01/02/2013 @ 2:11 pm
Great, balanced article,argued in a rational way. An exception to the many infantile, knee jerk Levy out articles by some who think it’s so simple. Many of those negative posters on other sites want Levy’s head. One cretin stated that both Levy and AVB would lose their positions if we signed nobody yesterday and even told us to mark his words (obviously a guarantee!!!). Wonder which stone he has crawled back under today. I notice those wanting Levy out have not managed to suggest ONE realistic buyer. Thanks again for adding to the restoration of sanity.
01/02/2013 @ 2:28 pm
There are ONLY 15 or so games left in the EPL. Surely two strikers, plus Dempsey who CAN perform a poacher-type role upfront, IS more than enough to secure the CL place we all desire.
Arsenal had ONE striker last season (Van persie, who was hardly renowned for being injury free in the past) and STILL finished above us despite being 13 points behind!
So I’m not sure why there is so much doom and gloom surrounding us all of a sudden, especially considering what we have done so far this season with the same amount of players (bar Sandro).
We have just completely dominated the champions elect at WHL the other week, currently sit 4 points off third and just signed one of the brightest creative prospects in Europe!!!
Despite what some seem to think, running a club with 36,000 stadium capacity, without CL income and a yet remaining EXTREMELY competitive is NOT easy.
Panic buys last night would have been a HUGE mistake as most Arsenal supporters would testify, as it LOWERS the standard in quality, while leaving your club with a HIGHER wage bill!
The club is CALM and UPBEAT, so maybe some of you doom mongers should learn to do the same, instead of managing somehow to portray an image of a club in crisis.
So, your disappointed, I understand, but GET OVER IT!!!
Whats done is done, and we would be a whole lot better for rallying around our squad/team/chairmen instead of allowing a FEAR-BASED NEGATIVITY to engulf the club we love and potentialLY ruin our season.
THIS IS A TIME FOR UNITY, DEFIANCE AND SUPPORT- NOT DIVISION, DISSENT OR UPROAR!!!
People overcome the odds everyday, and I can assure you that they don’t do it by WHINING, COMPLAINING or GIVING UP when things get a little tough.
All I’m reading is Levy did this, Levy’s done that. Well, I think we can ALL agree that our GREAT club has become unrecognisable, in terms of stature, reputation and ambition since Levy took over!
We are without question a club on the up, and its about time a few of you remember that!!!!
HOLD YOUR FAITH AND KEEP YOUR NERVE!!!!!!!!!!
01/02/2013 @ 3:02 pm
I like your logic,but let me correct u first, we not any other club. This is THFC we talking about. Yes people will criticize Levy & the board around every corner,but sometimes enough is just enough. I do hope D.L. reads this,because for me as a Spurs fan we would like to see improvements @ the club.
I made a comment this morning to another fan,that D.L. must tell his scouts & AVB. to look for potential with quality to bring to the club,not big name stars with stupendous wage demands & agents laughing all the way to the bank.We got enough stars @ our club(Bale,Lennon,Defoe,Vertoghen,Kaboul,Daws,Scotty,Dembele,Llores if he can only work on those crosses) So for me, get potentially young guys with quality to join them and that will be enough going forward.We did that in the past with great success( Luka , Berbetov, Pavlychenko, and made them Superstars) so why all of a sudden a change.
Sir AF. & AW has done this and are still doing it with great success,and where do we see them(TOP OF THE PILE ALL THE TIME)
So please Mr Levy go back to basics and put us where we belong ON TOPPPPPPPPP.
01/02/2013 @ 3:53 pm
Holtyby?
01/02/2013 @ 4:36 pm
Still waiting to see EXACTLY where you corrected me. Basically you have just regurgitated the same old nonsense spewing from the mouths of a number of other Spurs fans.
WE HAVE JUST SIGNED ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST CREATIVE PROPECTS IN EUROPE, IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN!!!
Which renders your point on scouting null and void.
My friend, I think it is essential that you think before stating to be in a position to:
a. Correct me.
or
b. Criticise Levy for his handling of the finance/scouting policy.
That being said, I agree that scouting for (young) potential superstars IS the way forward. This is why I believe Levy was keen to sign Damiao at a REASONABLE price.
Tell me, when you mentioned ‘improvements’ you would like to see at the club, what exactly were you referring to? The fact we have just built, BY ALL ACCOUNTS, an amazing new training ground or that we are in the process of erecting a new state-of -the-art stadium.
01/02/2013 @ 3:09 pm
From what I read Villas boas asked Levy to get Damiao or stick with what we’ve got, Damiao deal could not be done so we’ve stuck with what we’ve got and called Kane back, At least we didn’t panic and get another Rasiac. So in the end Levy backed his manager and done what was asked of him,get in players Vilas boas wants or no-one, No second rate instead ofs.
01/02/2013 @ 7:15 pm
Levy is a little genius, despite a few bumps in the road, the club is getting stronger. When the new stadium is finished we will be at the forefront of European football- not just English football. Be patient. FFP will push Cheatski and Man City into retreat, and Liverpool will never rise back to their glorious heights without a completely new stadium- and they’re not getting one! As for one comment about Scholar, lets not forget that we were 12 hours away from going bust, and if Sugar hadn’t stood his ground, we would have been bought by Robert Maxwell- RIP Tottenham Hotspur. The key misjudgement by Scholar was buying Hummel, and presumably the due diligence couldn’t have been very thorough.
01/02/2013 @ 7:35 pm
all you so called spurs fan how far up Levys backside are you Yes he has done a great job at the club but yes i agree time for him to go how have man utd always been in the top two because they buy the players they need not a load of midfielders and no strikers top four finish for use forget it
01/02/2013 @ 8:18 pm
Who’s going to buy the club? Someone out there has to be willing to bid for it.
02/02/2013 @ 2:38 am
At least all use so called spurs fans accept what we have and back our team! If we finish fourth then where see!
01/02/2013 @ 8:59 pm
No he hasn’t. We are a club who now expect top 4 instead of a mid table club. Not putting the club in danger by stupidly gambling is not a mistake, quite the opposite. The business is doing well, the team are doing well. Things are rosy.
All you so called Spurs fans calling for his head, prefer us to do a Leeds or a Portsmouth would you. Idiots.
02/02/2013 @ 12:04 am
Completely agree. Some supporters have LOST ALL PERSPECTIVE. We’ve NEVER had it so good in the EPL, and its about time a few mindless fans realise that.
The problem with success is that it can sometimes cause SHORT-TERM MEMORIES AND GREED!!!
We’ve gone from being a laughing stock to an emerging force and now some people seem to think that we SHOULD be winning the league.
People need to remember that we have JUST (recently) caught up with our rivals, which is testament to the work Levy is doing, and that what we are trying to achieve now, is what some of those teams achieved with OVERSEAS SUGAR-DADDIES with limitless resources.
Sometimes people only appreciate a good thing when they eventually
lose it….like you said, just ask any Leeds/ Portsmouth supporter.
02/02/2013 @ 12:18 am
You know, everyone claims we need reinforcement up front, but really the only major clubs with more than 2 out and out strikers are the Manchesters. Chelsea only have Torres and Ba, Arse only have Giroud and Walcott, Everton only have Jelavic and Mirallas, and Liverpool only have Suarez and Sturridge. Provided one of Ade or Defoe get back in form (which both are easily capable of doing) we should be fine this season
05/02/2013 @ 8:12 am
We should be grateful to levy in the same way you should be grateful to be anally raped by six men instead of 12.
The bloke is a cunt.