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Who was the interview held with as well?
That whole passage is couched in exactly the way I'd expect a report to stakeholders to be, when outlining the business strategy.
It's worth remembering that, at the time, we were in a £33K stadium that, whilst not necessarily in disrepair, was aged. We'd just gone through the Sugar years, where if we finished in the top 10 it was an achievement, after suffering the humiliation of almost going pop.
The ONLY road that the club could travel to get back to the top, apart from the billionaire ego trip route, was the road that ENIC took, improvement in increments.
From a Footballing perspective, getting from where we were to where we are, has been relatively successful, they just haven't delivered Silverware in that time. That may be the only measure of success for some people, but trophies aren't the only measure when you're coming from where Scholar and Sugar left us.
What ENIC are finding very difficult now, is that final step to the very top of the pile. That was always going to be the most difficult part of their venture and, whilst they have come close on numerous occasions, it's true that they haven't accepted some risk in getting the right players in to push through that glass ceiling. Mind you, what did Bill Nic say about echoes of glory?
Even so, I'd have to say that they have dropped the ball on a couple of occasions when juuuuust a little more investment could well have pushed us over the line.
I'd rather that than listening to echoes.
Having said that, I hold the managing and playing staff more accountable for those failures. After the heroics in Amsterdam, not turning up against Liverpool in the CL final? Lack of investment never caused that.
Starting an unfit Kane over the forward who scored all 3 goals against Ajax? ENIC never made that decision.
Playing Son at LWB in a cup final v Chelsea when we had a fit LB and Son hasn't a scooby about the role? ENIC never made that decision, and it cost us.
Our capitulation in the title challenge that Leicester won. We had Kane posting hunting Lion GIFs, then we lose 1-0 at home to them, then after absolutely dominating Chelsea for 45 minutes, lose the plot completely and end up preferring to fight them than beat them at their gaff.
We've had plenty of opportunities, but simply haven't taken them. There's some merit in the argument that had we spent big on a couple of players we'd have got over the line there, absolutely, but there's just as much merit in the argument that we were good enough, on paper, to have won that title WITHOUT additional players. How often have we seen on here posters stating that it's a travesty that we won nothing with the squad Poch had? They WERE good enough, they just didn't turn up when it mattered.
This doesn't absolve the board, but neither should the players and management get a free pass, which more than a few on here are eager to give them in their headlong rush to blame everything on ENIC.
Was about to ask can she play LWB when Perisic needs a breather, better her than Sess.
If nothing else she'll look alright in a pair of shorts.
Quite possibly. Many are using it as a stick to beat ENIC with which is absurd. Do they have any awareness ?
He'll recover fine. They remove the gall bladder via keyhole surgery now, I had mine removed about 10 years ago, was back at work 2 days later.
Conte would have been in immense pain though, if the removal is as a result of gall stones. I still remember the pain I was in, I literally thought that I was having a heart attack.
I think you make some good points there, particularly about where ENIC started out.
But I haven't seen many people who criticise the board neglecting to also criticise managers and players.
I just think you gloss over the fact that the board should and could EASILY have invested a lot more into success. Taking a few punts, spent a bit more money.
I'm talking mainly in recent seasons when we've been on the cusp of acheiving something.
I'm with you when it comes to the incremental approach they initially took when they were trying to boost us out of the mire. No question the slow and steady approach dragged us up.
My own ire for their ownership has only come last 3-4 seasons because for me they have had ample opportunity to invest more into the playing staff and haven't.
I think they've taken us to a glass ceiling, the glass being entirely constructed out of their own lack of ambition. They've hit regular top 4 and I honestly believe that's their one and only goal.
Nothing you've said has convinced me otherwise.
It was only a few short days ago that some on here were stating that the lack of additional venue dates, was evidence that the stadium was a White Elephant.
We get these announced, which will put millions into the club coffers, and it's used as a further stick to beat them with.
Having more of these concerts can only be a good thing for the club.
Having better CBs and goalkeeper to start with, would be a good thing for the club.
Let's fast forward to the summer, and wait for more loan and or cut price deals, that leaves us still on the edge looking in.
Let's fast forward to the summer, and wait for more loan and or cut price deals, that leaves us still on the edge looking in.
ENIC's business plan for Spurs is to have an overall Europa League level wage bill; with the possibility of Champions League qualification.
The megadome is a money spinner for ENIC; not THFC.
When the penny finally drops with the majority it will be too late.
These blood suckers have their feet well and truly under the table in N17 now.
They are going nowhere without a huge campaign to remove them.
I'm not really trying to convince anyone of anything other than trying to apply some balance.
Trust me, I'm as unhappy about our lack of good recruitment, over the last few years, as anyone. I just don't shout the same tired old ramble EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Neither did I gloss over the lack of investment at critical times, I made a point of bringing it up in the post.
I just find it tiresome, in the same way i find tabloid journalism tiresome. It's making up spurious claims and citing them as facts. It's cherry picking quotes, taking every Twitter "rumour" as gospel when it's negative about the club, then discounting anything from the same source if it's positive.
No balance to the perspective, just a hate filled diatribe.
I'm on record stating that we need change, and we need it now. At the moment I believe I am seeing change, but I question whether it is fast enough or indeed ambitious enough.
I'm disappointed with this window and feel that we are at another of those pivotal moments. Not for this season, where I think we'll just about manage to maintain some equilibrium, but for the next few. We've got some good young talent in the wings and in the pitch, but we also have our 3 best players of the past decade on their way out in the near future. If we fall off enough then we're back to losing our best players in their prime when the vultures come circling and they want to win trophies.
So the Summer is key for our future, both short and long term. Spend just enough to maintain our current position and I'm then done with ENIC. The pandemic is over, there'll be sufficient evidence of future earnings to enable us to gamble more in the market, hedging against that future profit. We can do it, we have a £400M wiggle room with FFP at the moment, so we can afford to gamble in a way we couldn't before, and we have the right manager in place for that gamble.
I wasn't doing that. I think it's likely that you took my comment out of context; I was gatecrashing an exchange between two other posters.
Anyway, it's all good.
It all likelihood we will be without Conte from the summer, we have 8 loanees to sort that will be back for the new manager to access Levy hoping they'll be like new signings! We have 3-4 loanees to pay for or release, that will be Levy's ambitious spending maxed out, so he'll look for a few more loanees to kick the can forward again. We have major upgrades needed in defence going on a few years now still waiting... Then we have to deal with our best player probably wanting to leave, Son possibly well past his best and probably needing replaced, we are a mess.
Even if we had competent ambitious owners that's a lot of shit to sort this summer. Most of it ENICs own doing, we are a mess. But again it's same story, wait until the next window, key, pivotal, Levys 9 lives last chance etc. Why do/spend today what you can do/spend tomorrow, problem is we never seem to get to that tomorrow with ENIC, the stadium was all a ruse, think most have realized that now...
Yes I agree, even if the Qatar based investors took over it would be a lot of work.
They could probably afford to write off the deadwood etc, and bring in much better quality, but with ENIC still in charge this could take years of more shit.
Look at the effect the Saudis have had at Newcastle, they have not been there long and yet made it to a cup final, the whole club is on an upward trajectory unlike the shit show we have.
And yet many still think, that ENIC are doing it the right way,. I must say I beg to differ.
That's pretty much what I was saying, we need more than "just enough" in the Summer, we will need to spend large, ambitiously and well.
And my honest opinion is that we won't, but I'm willing to, one last time, wait and see. Let's be honest, all the screaming on an internet forum isn't going to shift them before then, so I've really nothing to lose.
But I'm calling it a day with them if we do "just enough," because it won't be.
Agreed
Agreed
I'm not sure Conte wants one.
Udogie is coming in in the summer
Porro instant upgrade on 1st team
Danjuma, who knows but better depth.
We were never going to get a top keeper in January.
With luck , yes.
"Richest clubs" = revenue, not spending power.
Even if you take "richest clubs" as actually meaning something (I don't)we are 6th on the list of "richest" PL clubs.
Therefore 5 other clubs in the PL can spend more than us.
They used to 25-30 years ago, not any more, and certainly not when you compare London-Madrid-Bcn salaries
