milo
Jack L. Jones
Absolutely. Our best chance of being competitive is to be a lot better at the things that don't cost money (or at least cost less) and right now we are.
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ENIC
- Thread starter mattls
- Start date
Absolutely. Our best chance of being competitive is to be a lot better at the things that don't cost money (or at least cost less) and right now we are.
Gazza
Nick Barmby
At the moment it all seems too good ... Has Levy finally got lucky with Poch?
With our manager willing to bed in young players and our training ground facilities, Levy can make fewer expensive additions to a core of spurs youth ...
Not only are our players young, they are talented. It seems as though other potentially class youngsters in the world would play for us, than more fashionable clubs. The carrot of genuinely getting a fair crack at the whip if you are good enough should be great for us. Players that are greedy for money etc have a different mind set and will never be settled in our team. However if young level headed players with ability like Dier, Alli, Mason, kane etc again we would stand a better chance of holding onto the player for a little longer.
All in all Levys biggest challenge would be if Poch keeps this up and someone comes knocking. He has played for PSG etc
With our manager willing to bed in young players and our training ground facilities, Levy can make fewer expensive additions to a core of spurs youth ...
Not only are our players young, they are talented. It seems as though other potentially class youngsters in the world would play for us, than more fashionable clubs. The carrot of genuinely getting a fair crack at the whip if you are good enough should be great for us. Players that are greedy for money etc have a different mind set and will never be settled in our team. However if young level headed players with ability like Dier, Alli, Mason, kane etc again we would stand a better chance of holding onto the player for a little longer.
All in all Levys biggest challenge would be if Poch keeps this up and someone comes knocking. He has played for PSG etc
Lemonade Money
Steffen Freund
We should really have a song about Levy so he knows how appreciated he is.
Gazza
Nick Barmby
I wouldnt sing his full praises just yet ... dont agree with his transfer strategy, but like ive said before, would not chose any other chairman in the league. Imagine Levy backed with money? I think he would make millions.
milo
Jack L. Jones
I'm not sure that there is scope to make much more whilst we have the current stadium. We do not lack owners with money and they bought the club as an investment. So I am sure that, if they thought that there were bigger returns to be made, if they invested more, they would consider it.
parklane1
Vic Buckingham
Not sure he would want that as he does not seem to want the limelight, all I know is that ( imo) he is the best chairman in the Lge and I am glad we have him.
milo
Jack L. Jones
Chelsea offered £25m but Levy refused to do business with them
thfcsteff
Terry Dyson
I think it's very important to remind ourselves that Levy wanted this sort of set-up a decade-plus ago, and thought (quite reasonably) that with Jol and Arnesen, he had it. Chavs stole Arnesen, Levy's heart was broken (Arnesen was a great talker - I met him few times, believe me, he could convince you that black was white) and he tried desperately to emulate the scenario with Commoli but sadly didn't quite work out/gel for some time. Then he got caught needing a quick fix with Harry, the quick-fix became a bind as Harry took great advantage of current talent (no slight on that, he did it) but critical, Harry then failed to (a) build on it with youth, (b) he started taking his eye off the ball and (c) thought he could dictate to the club how it was going to be (duffers in on big deals, short-term, etc)...AVB apparently gave the greatest presentation ever, thus in he went, and you would argue that once again, Levy tried very hard to match the systems on and off the pitch (Baldini and AVB apparently being from the same notebook)...alas, AVB turned out to be, hmmmm, 'unique' as a personality, thus came the decision. Poch. Who we couldn't get mid-season (remember, AVB basically downed tools mid-season and went into edge mentality). Enter Sherwood, who far from stepping up and helping, decided to bend Levy over a barrel for an 18 month contract. Levy gambled, figuring that perhaps he would not end up with the 'Arry scenario and he was, thankfully, right. Bye bye Captain Bellend, it was nice knowing you not.
The Poch move was thus always what Levy had hoped for, and finally, a decade-plus later, he had the man and system he had always wanted. I think it is no accident. Levy is very hard, uncompromising but very fair. Poch is hard, knows what he wants. No trumpers in that luncheon! I think they are congruent and I think that if we remember the last decade, we can see why. Both have always ben suited to each other.
I have't felt this confident about our long-term (LONG-TERM) prospects for close to 30 years. The chairman deserves a little more praise and analysis in the long vision.
Solvent, competitive, great facilities, young young squad, tremendous manager and coaching staff and a new stadium coming in the next 36 months. It speaks for itself.
The Poch move was thus always what Levy had hoped for, and finally, a decade-plus later, he had the man and system he had always wanted. I think it is no accident. Levy is very hard, uncompromising but very fair. Poch is hard, knows what he wants. No trumpers in that luncheon! I think they are congruent and I think that if we remember the last decade, we can see why. Both have always ben suited to each other.
I have't felt this confident about our long-term (LONG-TERM) prospects for close to 30 years. The chairman deserves a little more praise and analysis in the long vision.
Solvent, competitive, great facilities, young young squad, tremendous manager and coaching staff and a new stadium coming in the next 36 months. It speaks for itself.
Agree with a lot of that. I'd love to know what the annual operating costs for the academy are and therefore how much of that has been covered by sales. I'd imagine that once Townsend and Carroll have been sold we're somewhere around break-even so the ex academy players in the first team are essentially free!
Bedfordspurs
Martin Peters
I had a chat with a gooner lad I play football with and I said to him two things stood out for me on sunday... Route one football and (the biggy for me) no Englishman in their starting 11!!!
His comment was that English players cost a premium so I naturally reeled of wed oaid £4m for Alli
He said that was a one off an and lucky so my repost was Rose as a £1m, walked around £4m, Dier £5m and Alli £4m (the number may not be 100%). Their all English and combined fees cost less than a third of what the rumoured transfer offer was for John Stones and all are better (and stones cost Everton £2m)
The logic in investing in youth has multiple benefits and arguably minimal risk as everything will have a value. The development model pays for itself with players like Townsend (when he is sold) and Livermore so makes business sense there but it also creates a bond between the younger players and fans as these "developed" players become one on our own
His comment was that English players cost a premium so I naturally reeled of wed oaid £4m for Alli
He said that was a one off an and lucky so my repost was Rose as a £1m, walked around £4m, Dier £5m and Alli £4m (the number may not be 100%). Their all English and combined fees cost less than a third of what the rumoured transfer offer was for John Stones and all are better (and stones cost Everton £2m)
The logic in investing in youth has multiple benefits and arguably minimal risk as everything will have a value. The development model pays for itself with players like Townsend (when he is sold) and Livermore so makes business sense there but it also creates a bond between the younger players and fans as these "developed" players become one on our own
Bedfordspurs
Martin Peters
Will be a reasonable time before that's the case because of the costs to build the training centre, but it's a long term payback and is already delivering a higher drop of players
Lemonade Money
Steffen Freund
We wouldn't choose any other chairman in the league,
Not any other chairman in the league,
Don't want any other chairman in the league,
Not any other in the league.
I look forward to seeing the mood in this thread on 1st Feb 2016
If people stopped telling themselves it's now or never and building up expectations, maybe we wouldn't see the usual meltdowns. Looking around at other clubs, you see the fans of Arsenal, United, Liverpool, West Ham, Everton (basically everyone) saying they just need one or two top players in January and they'll be right up there. Where are these players going to come from? Nobody wants to sell, especially proven quality.
Lemonade Money
Steffen Freund
I agree, but it made me laugh as this should have been a quote from 'Arry (just add a top to top players).
braineclipse
Willie Hall
Well summed up and brilliantly put Steff!
Highlights the chaotic nature of running a football club with players and staff getting poached, decisions with limited information for huge money and unpredictable outcomes often hinging on individual moments in individual games.
Levy has put us in a much stronger situation overall. Stadium being built, training ground finishes, fantastic youth academy and now a first team to match all that. I won't deny that it's been a bumpy ride at times, but there's been gradual progress and our results have been better than expected based on our financial situation.
Let's also not forget into the chaos of football the two clubs that have essentially been doped financially since Levy took over. Imagine our results if not for the Chelsea and City cash injections... If you compare that to where we were before Levy took over (7th was our best PL finish) and even the straight out results would look tremendous. People obviously compare us to Arsenal under Wenger. But if Wenger and Arsenal had faced competition from two oil-financed billionaire side projects before and during their new stadium build I think they would have struggled a lot more than they did, and might also not have been as capable of financing a project like that as quickly (less CL participation).
High standards for "full praises" when being the best around isn't even enough.
braineclipse
Willie Hall
Agreed. Also if it's the case that 5-6 clubs all just lack that 1-2 players it seems a bit naive to expect your own club to be able financially to just make those signings and everyone else to not be able to. As long as you're a fan of one of the clubs with real world financial restrictions.
What we need in January is more of Levy's transfer strategy. If the right signing for the right price comes along then make the move. Levy has shown a willingness to do that in the past. But we're not going into January with the hopes that the transfer window will make our season, luckily.
braineclipse
Willie Hall
It seems you would agree that there are no one better around? I can't think of anyone better in the PL era at least...
That puts him at a level deserving a lot of praise. If expectations are even marginally realistic then surely being the best around is about as good as it gets?
In my opinion the only way Levy looks bad is if compared to or some utopian version of a chairman that doesn't actually exist in the real world. That, in my opinion, is not a fair comparison.
parklane1
Vic Buckingham
Good point, fans of all clubs usually go on about needing one or two top players ( its what they do especially when its not their money they are spending), considering that we can not compete for players that the financially doped clubs can Levy over the years has done a great job. Once we get into the new stadium things will change but until then we have/should continue the way we are.