Have you read about Levy's conversation with Eriksen?
The chairman says during the meeting: "I said to Jose, and I just want to make this clear now, from Tottenham's viewpoint I've always been consistent here, we don't want you to go."
"From a financial viewpoint, I've always said to you whatever another club is offering we'd do exactly the same, so there can be no doubt in your mind that your reason for leaving isn't a financial one."
It was stupid Poch that would not hear of him being sold. Man, you was ahead of the curve, my brother.
Poch flew out to Copenhagen in 2018 to try and persuade Eriksen to stay.
Poch 2018
Harry Kane and Dele Alli have already signed long-term extensions at Tottenham, and Mauricio Pochettino would like Christian Eriksen to follow suit.
www.espn.co.uk
"We're not worried -- in football I'm never worried --
but I prefer that he's going to sign the new contract and spend a long time with Tottenham. It will be fantastic.
"Christian is a very good player. When he was signed he was a prospect, a very good player at Ajax but still young, and Tottenham provided a very good platform to develop his quality.
"Eriksen and Tottenham, and Tottenham and Eriksen, was a very good mix -- good for Tottenham, good for Christian Eriksen. That's why I hope Christian continues to develop his career here with Tottenham."
Poch 2019
Mauricio Pochettino said Christian Eriksen is “so open” to talking with Tottenham Hotspur over a new contract as speculation intensifies over the midfielder’s future at the club.
www.telegraph.co.uk
"Christian is a special person. We are all special, different. We need to understand that. The timing for him or for the club to be agreeing something is maybe different to another player.
I hope and I wish that Christian can be with us in the future."
And there are plenty more.
From what we actually know and have read from all sides, doesn't it go something like...Levy was trying to either get a player that his manager valued very highly and would rather have stayed - and said so publicly - to either sign a new contract - and was prepared to offer him an extremely good contract to do that - or was prepared to sell him as long as that player was refusing that contract offer?
Surely they are the only two options open to him?
If someone proves to that Levy had a decent offer for Eriksen at any stage and it was a club that Erisken would have gone to, and Levy knocked it back, then I'll happily slaughter him. I don't want us to get stuck with valuable players running contracts down, and I'm not someone who gets bent out of shape about players leaving - and wanting to leave - either.
I don't think Poch would or could prevent Levy from selling him, and I don't think Levy was refusing to sell him either, I think none of the clubs that Eriksen was hoping for came in, so he decided to sit tight, (as has also come out of this doc, Eriksen refused to discuss anything) run his contract down and hope that made him more appealing to desired clubs, as it got closer he realised (or hsi agent was telling him) none of his choices (RM/Barca) were interested, things were souring with Spurs, and he eventually agreed to go to Inter as no one better was showing any interest.
I have repeated many times, IMO, regardless of what Poch thought or said, ultimately the buck stops with Levy with regards to players being allowed to run contracts down. But it's not black and white, if Levy is open to selling but gets no offers except from clubs like ManU and the player knocks them back, there's not much he can do, if he's also got a manager that rates that player very highly (and I have never hid my liking for the player either so can understand why) and wants that player to stay and he's happy to sell or offer a new contract, then it's hardly trying to actively fuck the manager either is it?
As for the ahead of the curve bollocks, I wanted us to be upgrading long before 2018, including yours and todd's (and Poch's) golden boy Dembele - long before he was packed off to the glue factory, and would have gladly taken ManU's 60m for Dier and Alli, is there any doubt that Poch was keen to keep these guys hanging about - I mean he even writes about it in his book, after Dier told Poch about ManU's interest in him:
"He told me about United’s interest since last summer and I explained the situation to him clearly. ‘Look, you aren’t leaving because you signed a five-year deal with us in August. You’re among the highest-paid players at Tottenham at the age of 22. You’re important to us and you could become the best centre-back in the Premier League.’"
Were Dembele, Dier, Alli Levy refusing to sell, or Pochettino not wanting his perceived favourites being sold?
Same with the fucking deadwood. Poch was asked about using KWP as back up and he said no, he's not ready and went and signed Aurier, and by then he was clearly a major part of acquiring some of that deadwood that ended up on high PL money for fees that are hard to recover outside the top 6.
Could Levy have done a better job at shifting some deadwood, maybe - but no one has actually posted much evidence of that, could Poch be culpable in the accruing of some of that deadwood, yes definitely - I've posted you the actual statement about how it worked once Mitchell fucked off. Hitchen and Poch drew up a list, Levy said what was financially doable and tried to do it. was Poch always open to selling his best./percieved best players, no he clearly wasn't, he's said as much, and what manager is ? I don't hate him for that, just using it as an example of the compromises and mitigation that Levy faces.
In terms of how this squad has formed and deteriorated I was calling for a rebuild long before 2018, and you fucking know that. All I've ever said is I don't think the reasons we've failed to do it are all at Levy's door.
In terms of what Poch did with the squad he had, I fucking loved it for a couple of years, was a bit meh about it for a couple of years and fucking hated it for a year and a half, and that's regardless of the fuck up we - Levy et al - made of servicing it.
Airfixx
posted a few weeks ago that Covid would have a major impact on every teams transfer dealings this summer.
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