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Chairman's message

i just hope Levy is honest with AVB.....if we cannot compete for 20 mill plus players, then tell AVB what we can go for, back AVB in getting these players in before pre season, and then let the manager get on with it

We will never know what they talk about behind the scenes, all we will see is ludicrous reports in papers about players we supposedly want. Just because some journo writes that AVB wants players X, Y and Z and nobody else and they all cost more than £20 million, it doesn't mean it's even remotely true or that AVB and Levy aren't in complete agreement about transfer activities.
 
I really liked Levy's message and I'm really optimistic for the future of the club.

I said the same thing about Bale in the thread about him and I think the same about AVB. He was gracious yesterday but he looked genuinely tinkled off with failure. He is not harping on about the record points total and using it to bemoan how unlucky we are, he's saying that it shows how competitive the league is and next season we need to do better. I think we have done well, but AVB is a winner. This is a guy that sets high standards for himself.

I think he understands how the club needs to be run, and he backs Levy's strategy. But I don't think he will stick around too long to be honest because he will see that with his reputation restored he could go anywhere he wants. He's done an extremely good job but I don't get the impression he wants to be fighting at such a financial disadvantage compared to the other top clubs for so long.

If we back him to the extent that he can make us title challengers, brilliant. I think he will stay a good few years. If we scrape through the next couple of windows he won't be happy and won't extent his contract. I just hope if we can get Baldini in that AVB eventually leaving won't hurt us too much when it happens.
 
I really liked Levy's message and I'm really optimistic for the future of the club.

I said the same thing about Bale in the thread about him and I think the same about AVB. He was gracious yesterday but he looked genuinely tinkled off with failure. He is not harping on about the record points total and using it to bemoan how unlucky we are, he's saying that it shows how competitive the league is and next season we need to do better. I think we have done well, but AVB is a winner. This is a guy that sets high standards for himself.

I think he understands how the club needs to be run, and he backs Levy's strategy. But I don't think he will stick around too long to be honest because he will see that with his reputation restored he could go anywhere he wants. He's done an extremely good job but I don't get the impression he wants to be fighting at such a financial disadvantage compared to the other top clubs for so long.

If we back him to the extent that he can make us title challengers, brilliant. I think he will stay a good few years. If we scrape through the next couple of windows he won't be happy and won't extent his contract. I just hope if we can get Baldini in that AVB eventually leaving won't hurt us too much when it happens.

yeah AVB is ambitious and if he sees things not moving forward he will look to jump ship

over to you Danny boy
 
His language kind of worried me a bit yesterday. Before it was all 'The chairman is a person of great football understanding' but yesterday he was using his media time to pressure the board into spending. I kind of thought if they were so much singing from the same hymn sheet that it wouldn't be necessary to apply that pressure, because he would know what the strategy was anyway.

I think for sure if we had gotten Moutinho at the start of the season we would have left Arsenal for dust. AVB probably knows that too, and while he is probably fine about it because he understands the constraints of the club and knows he did a good job, and Levy knows it too, he won't be satisfied without achievement for too long.
 
Dear Supporter,

We started this season with a new Head Coach and several young players looking to make the step up to the First Team, aware that this was a season where we would need to rebuild, reshape and take time to allow Mauricio to assess his squad and instill his training and playing philosophy.

This is never a quick process yet by mid-season we were seeing some outstanding performances, not least of which in our London derby matches. The number of match winning points we took late in games showed a new mentality and spirit that was testament to the hard work of Mauricio and his staff on the training pitch.

We have continued to challenge in the top six and reached the League Cup Final where we saw our young team put in a spirited performance against a side that would go on to win the League.

Today sees us play our 56th game - one of our busiest seasons for a long time. This has meant that we have been able to give playing time to young players coming through the ranks – and we have certainly seen exciting new talent for the future emerge.

The lift in performance mid-season, however, raised all our expectations, such that we have been disappointed by our more recent results.

Going forward, we have restructured the footballing side of the Club to ensure our sporting philosophy is adhered to – we need to ensure that we have a balance of experienced and home grown players, playing attacking, entertaining football our fans love to watch. Perhaps we had lost our way a little bit in this respect, so this will be our guiding principle as we embark on the summer transfer window.

We are all eager to be challenging at a higher level. Whilst the popular view may be to spend money in excess of earnings or find a philanthropic investor to fund transfers, those scenarios are simply not possible under the new world of Financial Fair Play rules whereby clubs can only spend revenues generated through operations.

That said, this summer we shall look to make changes to support Mauricio’s plans for next season.

In respect of driving higher revenues in order to enable greater investment in players, it is clearly evident that we need a ‘game changer’ to lift this Club to the next level - namely an increased capacity stadium.

Currently we are competing for Champions League qualification whilst driving revenue in the smallest stadium of the top six clubs in the Premier League. The new stadium is, therefore, critical.

Our challenge is to deliver the stadium scheme in a viable manner.

The Public Inquiry and subsequent Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process has cost us considerable money and time delay. I know you are impatient for its delivery - as are we all – and our objective remains to deliver the new scheme for the start of the 2018-19 season. The scheme, will not, however, be without its challenges along the way.

As announced previously, a more effective, timely build programme can take place when the Club moves away from the Lane for a period of one season.

We are currently undertaking due diligence and holding discussions on alternative stadium options. Consideration needs to be given to several factors, including planning, policing, transport and the impact it may have on the Team itself. Clearly all possible options have pros and cons and we are aware that we shall not be able to find one which will please all. It is, however, a short-term, interim arrangement so that we can ultimately deliver a fantastic new stadium in Tottenham for the long-term future success of the Club. We shall also, at the appropriate time, be sending supporters a survey about their matchday activities, in order to better inform decisions for the season away.

At the top of this page you can see an aerial shot taken earlier this week. It shows clearly the beginning of the boundary of the new North Stand as well as the buildings that were subject to the CPO.

An exciting time - although we are constantly reminded just what a huge and complex scheme it is with legal, planning, financial, property, transport, relocation and regeneration issues.

We know that our North London neighbours experienced delays and setbacks during the delivery of their stadium and their challenges were far less than ours with no site constraints and with significant enabling development.

We have already delivered developments that contribute to the uplift of the local area. These include Brook House, a residential scheme in partnership with Newlon Housing Trust, which has 23 floors of shared ownership housing along with a new primary school. We have also completed Phase 1 of the Northumberland Development Project, Lilywhite House, the T-shaped building which can be seen to the north of the stadium site. It comprises a major new Sainsbury’s, the Tottenham University Technical College, officially opened by Lord Sugar in March and our new Club offices that we moved into in February.

We are currently in the process of activating time-lapse cameras to keep you up-to-date as this progresses. We shall be making planning applications for updated elements and running this in parallel with the works continuing on the ground.

It will be our home for many, many years to come so we are determined to deliver it as the best stadium in Europe. I would therefore ask for your continued support as we work to do this. A further announcement will be made during the summer.

On a more immediate note, Brad Friedel retires at the end of the season to embark on his new career in media. I should like to thank Brad and wish him well and am delighted that he will be our Club Ambassador in the States.

We were pleased to hear the news that Jimmy Greaves is recovering from the stroke he suffered a few weeks ago and we wish him well.

Sadly, two members of our Double-winning side passed away this year, Ron Henry and Dave Mackay. If ever we need reminding of winning mentality, leadership and true gentlemen then we need look no further than the individuals from that squad.

Your support has, as ever, been fantastic throughout the season and on all our travels. I wish you and your families a healthy and happy summer and I look forward to welcoming you back for the 2015-16 season.

Yours,

Daniel
 
so we are determined to deliver it as the best stadium in Europe

A quick show of hands, does anyone believe that? A genuine question. Is Daniel Levy fully intending on delivering to THFC THE best stadium in Europe? Is he aware of the full implications of that?

Nice mention for Mr Greaves, and Mr Henry and Mr Mackay
 
A quick show of hands, does anyone believe that? A genuine question. Is Daniel Levy fully intending on delivering to THFC THE best stadium in Europe? Is he aware of the full implications of that?

Nice mention for Mr Greaves, and Mr Henry and Mr Mackay

I don't think he has carelessly chosen those words. I have real hope that the quality will be surprising to very many.
Consider when the new WHL will open. And of the stadiums in Europe that are currentlyamong the best, how old are they?
If there truly is an NFL tie-in, we could be the beneficiaries of something stunning.
 
We are all eager to be challenging at a higher level. Whilst the popular view may be to spend money in excess of earnings or find a philanthropic investor to fund transfers, those scenarios are simply not possible under the new world of Financial Fair Play rules whereby clubs can only spend revenues generated through operations.

Well, at least he recognizes the 'popular' sentiment :p. Sadly doesn't prevent the same sort of lying which rubbed me up the wrong way in the first place, mind: UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations, Edition 2010, Article 61, notion of acceptable deviation -

'The acceptable deviation is EUR 5 million. However it can exceed this level up to the following amounts only if such excess is entirely covered by contributions from equity participants and/or related parties: a) EUR 45 million for the monitoring period assessed in the licence seasons 2013/14 and 2014/15; b) EUR 30 million for the monitoring period assessed in the licence seasons 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18; c) a lower amount as decided in due course by the UEFA Executive Committee for the monitoring periods assessed in the following years. 3 Contributions from equity participants and/or related parties (as specified in Annex X D) are taken into consideration when determining the acceptable deviation if they have occurred and been recognised: a) in the financial statements for one of the reporting periods T, T-1 or T-2; or b) in the accounting records up to 31 December of the year of the reporting period T. The onus is on the licensee to demonstrate the substance of the transaction, which must have been completed in all respects and without any condition attached. An intention or commitment from owners to make a contribution is not sufficient for such a contribution to be taken into consideration.'

(
http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/uefaorg/Clublicensing/01/50/09/12/1500912_DOWNLOAD.pdf )

I could quite easily cite the Premier League's own FFP regulations, which are far, far more lax than UEFA's, but that would be labouring the point, which remains that ENIC use all sorts of excuses to avoid stating the bald facts: for the foreseeable future, we have no on-pitch ambitions whatsoever, and the interests of the club and the interests of ENIC will continue to diverge rapidly whenever the prospect of the club needing even a cent of their money to challenge for trophies or CL places comes into view. ENIC have no interest in the club being anything but self-sufficient, and never will. Trophies don't matter, backing their managers isn't important to them, and the only thing that matters to ENIC is building their expected profits on the club's own money. Those are the bland facts, and their snivelling attempts at half-assed excuses ('oh, we want to be philanthropic owners, but we can't because FFP!') only serve to highlight their duplicity.

That said, this summer we shall look to make changes to support Mauricio’s plans for next season.

Mmhmm. I'll give Danny the benefit of the doubt, and wait and see, although our chairman's abysmal track record in these matters leaves me shaking my head at my own naivety on this.


We shall be making planning applications for updated elements and running this in parallel with the works continuing on the ground.

It will be our home for many, many years to come so we are determined to deliver it as the best stadium in Europe. I would therefore ask for your continued support as we work to do this. A further announcement will be made during the summer.

Largely subjective estimation, much like our training ground is apparently the 'best in Europe' despite it producing no noticeable uptick in our performances and despite the reports about its gross underutilization that popped up in the summer (Levy being too stingy about hiring specialists to staff it, if I recall correctly). Is it going to be the best because it will be the largest in Europe? (unlikely, since that'll require 100,000 plus seats) Because it wil have the best amenities/corporate boxes? The best atmosphere? The best sliding pitch that accomodates an NFL team? Difficult to determine, imo.

We were pleased to hear the news that Jimmy Greaves is recovering from the stroke he suffered a few weeks ago and we wish him well.

Sadly, two members of our Double-winning side passed away this year, Ron Henry and Dave Mackay. If ever we need reminding of winning mentality, leadership and true gentlemen then we need look no further than the individuals from that squad.

Nice touch, and I genuinely appreciate that it's there.
 
I think we're extremely lucky to have him at the club - I think the temptation to step outside our limits would have been too much for some.

Exactly .. I like Dubai but really over the last 5 years we have spent 400M in fees and wages, the next two clubs above us have spent over 800M, and the 3 above have spent 1B+

In other words - all the speculation about if we had bought x or y 20/25/30M player is nothing but flimflam .. in all likelihood would have made zero difference, best case might have been one additional year in CL, likely with normal service resumed the following season.
 
It's pretty much the same message we get every year but can't fault him at all for that, nothing's really changed or will change untill the stadium move and even after that it's going to take a few years to get the ball rolling.

He's not perfect but he's a good chairman and I think the best suited to a club of our level.
 
In the last 20 years the league and FA cup have only been won by 5 teams (expect for Wigan & Portsmouth). These teams have had more cash than us either through sugar daddies and or long term qualification to the CL. ENIC policy in selecting managers has been hit and miss but the club has improved under their Stewardship. I cannot see how they can improve our immediate status without qualifying for the CL on a regular basis and as in our current situation we can only recruit players who are not wanted by teams playing in the CL, which any fair minded person would see make the task difficult. Many people do not like the present manager but I think it would be impossible to name a realistic replacement who would be prepared to take the job and be acceptable to 60% of those who want change. I can't see any better choice than ENIC to run the club.
 
nothing there about retaining our best players?
I'd rather he didn't, what's the point? Bar at one or two select clubs in the world every player has its price and nobody knows what's round the corner so why bother saying it? He has the clubs best intentions at heart and that's good enough for me....
 
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