ENIC

[Finney Is Back]

I say this as someone who absolutely loathes them - it's a fair statement, honest about how far they've fallen short and identifying the areas they want to fix.

But - words are worthless. They have let this institution crumble to the point of being moments from disaster. Unless this summer sees de Zerbi emerge at the end of it with a completely transformed squad and a backroom staff that can stem the ridiculous incompetence we have seen, across the medical, scouting and academy teams...then it will all have been just more hot air.

I know many on here disagree with me but I think the first step was getting rid of Levy and his cronies in the exec team. We can now press ahead with getting a proper professional structure in place and gearing everything up to making THFC the most successful football club possible on the pitch as opposed to just as 'valuable an asset' as possible.

Of course only time will tell whether the owners and new set of execs will make things any better but I'm happy to at least give them a few years to show that (or not). The oil tanker will take a bit of time to turn.

 

[Finney Is Back]

Also, sorry, reflecting on this and can I just say - '[...]the qualities that make Spurs distinct, our football, our ambition, the connection between the team and its supporters, had been allowed to fade. Football success had not been driving our decisions.'

Levy is gone. You had January to show you were making decisions with 'footballing success' in mind.

Those decisions apparently being to sell a winger, only for the other to immediately fall injured, and then close the window having signed a single midfielder with a net spend of 15m because 'it was important not to panic'.

Lord knows I've said my piece on Daniel Levy and how much he hamstrung us. But stop using him as an excuse for your own brick decisions. Trusting Lange and Vinai, Messrs. Dumb and Dumber. Keeping Frank well past his expiration date. Signing one player in January. These were, and are, your calls. Not Levy's.

The manager didn't want the winger. I'm happy for the DoF to listen to the manager and make transfer decisions accordingly.

I would've liked to have seen us make a couple more signings in January. However, we only really ended up in the position we did because we kept Frank for too long and then made a really bad decision in replacing him with Tudor. Had we brought in a decent manager (like De Zerbi) in mid Jan then I'm sure we would've been comfortable in mid-table and even pushing for Europe. I suspect Lange will pay for this with his job (he'll either stay and basically just be head of recruiting young players or will be ousted IMO).

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

How do we know nobody spoke to the players?

True, we don’t. I just cannot believe that the players though would have said anything to the effect of ‘we’re about to turn the corner, give Mr Frank time.’

 

[billyiddo]

Just a reminder that Lange was promoted to DoF by Vinai and they both together oversaw the recruitment process for the new manager in the summer.

 

[MartyFunkhouser]

Just a reminder that Lange was promoted to DoF by Vinai and they both together oversaw the recruitment process for the new manager in the summer.

28 point plan or whatever it was.

Same ownership as last 26 years, so let's see if the leopard will change its spots

 

[Gazza]

Just a reminder that Lange was promoted to DoF by Vinai and they both together oversaw the recruitment process for the new manager in the summer.

Fair enough, but I’m willing to give them a chance with some foresight. It was extraordinary circumstances and thrown in the deep end. Hopefully they can leverage this season and get that mob to change their transfer strategy moving forward. But I won’t hold my breath.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

I actually think differently to you here. I think Vinai, as CEO, was taking advice from his DoF, Lange. This actually makes me optimistic for the future. Otherwise you get ridiculous situations like we've had before where we've spent big money sacking really good managers like Redknapp and Pochettino because the chief exec thinks he actually has a clue about football.

I agree with you that Lange isn't a good enough DoF. However, I expect that will be put right this summer and Vinai will go out and appoint a really good DoF and then he will trust that DoF with his football decisions, as he should IMO.

I hear you. For me, the first point there is connected to the second, and the overall situation. I do think it is good that Vinai trusted his most senior football person. But the problem stems from that most senior football person being Lange.

So it’s an issue of all of them being put in this position because the change was enacted too quickly, without a transition period. By losing Levy we also lost Paratici, and we just needed someone to be there saying ‘it’s all well and good to want to offer patience, but this team is heading so far in the wrong direction and showing no signs of turning it around, we need to act.’

In everything I’ve read about Leeds surviving they all acknowledge that Farke was close to the brink but that the players never stopped playing for him. So they gave him just enough time to make the changes that turned it around for them. I find it hard to believe that anyone in the club thought that Frank was genuinely close to turning it around if they saw what was actually happening on the pitch. It smacked off inexperienced decision making, using theory as the crutch rather than acknowledging the reality on the ground.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

Just a reminder that Lange was promoted to DoF by Vinai and they both together oversaw the recruitment process for the new manager in the summer.

The fact that all the noise coming out suggests that we have been interviewing for a proper DoF and that Lange at best is going to he joint with this new hire or demoted, is a positive for me. I think Lange being in such a senior position was a consequence of unexpectedly losing Paratici, which was a consequence of unexpectedly firing Levy.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

28 point plan or whatever it was.

Same ownership as last 26 years, so let's see if the leopard will change its spots

With signings like Gallagher and trying for Semenyo I do think they are going to operate differently in the transfer market, and actually did last summer. They made a pigs ear of MGW and Eze (probably not helped by Levy operating by his principles in amongst the Lewis kids trying to do something different and in the end the whole thing just being a mess).

But yeah, I believe they are going to do the right things by loosening the wage structure and eventually it will bear fruit. But they need to get the football decisions right. Appointing RDZ was the first one that actually managed to get completely right and here’s hoping we’re now on a much better path.

 

[harr1984]

I think it's fair to reserve judgement until the summer window in terms of signings to be honest. People keep going on about that January window, who on earth was we going to attract that could actually add value? It's a difficult enough window at the best of times, let alone when we are near the bottom. We tried for Semenyo but stood no chance against City. All we would have ended up with would have been more Connor Gallagher types who we are then stuck with and can't get rid of.

You might not agree with it, but I can see the logic behind not just spending on more deadwood for numbers and was a gamble that paid off. If they don't deliver in the summer then they are very much open to big criticism...,,

 

[billyiddo]

The fact that all the noise coming out suggests that we have been interviewing for a proper DoF and that Lange at best is going to he joint with this new hire or demoted, is a positive for me. I think Lange being in such a senior position was a consequence of unexpectedly losing Paratici, which was a consequence of unexpectedly firing Levy.

Lange was promoted to DoF before Paratichi left, which no doubt pushed him out the door.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

Lange was promoted to DoF before Paratichi left which no doubt pushed him out the door.

With the idea that both were on the same level in the org chart though right? I remember them doing the joint video together announcing it.

I think it’s one thing to promote him knowing Paratici is there to cover for his weaknesses. It’s another if they promoted him with the intention that he would be the sole football director.

I do agree that promoting him may have played a part in Paratici being more willing to leave, although I suspect the main thing for him was Levy leaving.

 

[Glenda's Legs]

They've written that is if they weren't in charge in January.

They’ve written it as if they penned it after yesterday’s game. As if they didn’t have 2 versions ready to go.

 

[Gazza]

They've written that is if they weren't in charge in January.

And what do you suspect we should have done in January? Apart from City no one really had a great window. I get the late timing of sacking Thomas and appointing Tudor. However in saying that for balance RDZ wasn’t apparently wanting the job until we flashed the gash.

 

[billyiddo]

With the idea that both were on the same level in the org chart though right? I remember them doing the joint video together announcing it.

I think it’s one thing to promote him knowing Paratici is there to cover for his weaknesses. It’s another if they promoted him with the intention that he would be the sole football director.

I do agree that promoting him may have played a part in Paratici being more willing to leave, alright I suspect the main thing for him was Levy leaving.

On the same level sure but it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to Paratici and I suspect in reality it was a case that Paratici was Levys man and the club simply wanted to move in another direction and this was a move to facilitate that

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

And what do you suspect we should have done in January? Apart from City no one really had a great window. I get the late timing of sacking Thomas and appointing Tudor. However in saying that for balance RDZ wasn’t apparently wanting the job until we flashed the gash.

Yeah, I agree with this actually. If other teams had amazing windows then I’d find it more easy to criticise. But January is genuinely tough.

We shouldn’t have sold Brennan though. With our injury issues not being fixed (even in terms of the people that we have hired to oversee the fixing of this not being in post yet or very recent) I think it was a needless, self inflicted wound to sell our top goal scorer. And trusting Frank’s decision on that is as bad as not sacking him.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

On the same level sure but it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to Paratici and I suspect in reality it was a case that Paratici was Levys man and the club simply wanted to move in another direction and this was a move to facilitate that

Totally. So then I go back to being happier at least with the idea that we’ve seemingly been interviewing others over the last few months to get someone else in. They don’t think that Lange should be the sole DoF.

 

[billyiddo]

Totally. So then I go back to being happier at least with the idea that we’ve seemingly been interviewing others over the last few months to get someone else in. They don’t think that Lange should be the sole DoF.

Well my point was that they probably promoted him with the intention of him having the full role knowing Paratichi would likely take the first job offer that came his way after having his role here halved.


I'd imagine Lange will be Vinai's first fall-guy and given the boot in the summer.

 

[Gazza]

Yeah, I agree with this actually. If other teams had amazing windows then I’d find it more easy to criticise. But January is genuinely tough.

We shouldn’t have sold Brennan though. With our injury issues not being fixed (even in terms of the people that we have hired to oversee the fixing of this not being in post yet or very recent) I think it was a needless, self inflicted wound to sell our top goal scorer. And trusting Frank’s decision on that is as bad as not sacking him.

I think BJ situation was a hindsight mistake but getting rid of Thomas when it was far too late in the day was an obvious error. It also didn’t help with the disaster of our injury list thereafter .

I guess the point is that we shouldn’t have to get that desperate in January, as we all know it’s a shocking waste of time. We should have all of our ducks in a row in the summer, and if needed pull the trigger in January having done our due diligence from September with forward planning should we had found ourselves challenging or in deep water.

Our transfer recruitment policy is so so sub par, it’s like we we react when we can’t get our unrealistic personnel or roll the dice at the last minute in a punt. None of this supports the foundations of good management, backing the manager or being productive for the team.

 

[MartyFunkhouser]

And what do you suspect we should have done in January? Apart from City no one really had a great window. I get the late timing of sacking Thomas and appointing Tudor. However in saying that for balance RDZ wasn’t apparently wanting the job until we flashed the gash.

Not sell a RW who was a 15+ goal contributor the season before and not strengthen an already weak attack line (even before the injury to Kudus)

That was ridiculous then and still is despite escaping by the skin of teeth.

I like Gallagher but a CM we did not need

I will give them the summer to prove me wrong, but I am far from convinced and I dont swallow the new owners gymnastics others have