ENIC

[Raziel]

You see, this is the problem with most criticisms of Levy. Valid criticisms and observations get lost in a sea of, quite frankly what can only be described as a load of horse-sh*t where mythical statements based on pure fantasy become fact.

The criticism that Levy failed to land AVB's top targets is ridiculous.

All of them were frankly pie in the sky targets that we nevertheless attempted to pursue to the fullest of our ability.

AVB himself released some kind of statement at the end of summer window 2012 praising Levy for his attempts to sign Moutinho. While some might read this as club propaganda you have to remember that if AVB didn't think Levy went over and above in attempts to sign this guy he could have just said nothing on the subject.

Oscar, Willian and Villa were all reportedly close before other clubs in more prestigious or advantageous positions intervened.

If anyone really thinks we had a chance of buying Hulk given his fee and wages then I will have a draw of whatever pipe you've been smoking sir as I coukd sure do with an injection of blind optimism.

Levy's role in AVB's failure at Spurs has in my view more to do with s failure on both Levy and AVB's part to realise what Spurs needed immediately post-Redknapp and that AVB was not the man with the experience or skill to carry out a top-to-bottom rebuild utilising unproven talent and youth players and that what he needed was a stable club with a quality playing squad who he could work the extra 10% out of on the training pitch.

Clearly, somewhere between pitching of the job description by Levy and the board and the selling of the suitability for the job by AVB, and the resulting expectations on both fronts something fell down. My guess was that everyone involved was not smelling of roses.

^^^

 

[parklane1]

We couldn't give AVB what he wanted as a lot of the players he wanted = Oscar, Moutinho, Hulk, Willian, Villa etc were out of the realistic bracket of targets we could buy. They were either too expensive or the competition for their signature was too strong from clubs in a superior and more attractive position. We didn't not back AVB we gave him as much as we could as a club. He was just at the wrong club

Indeed.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

You see, this is the problem with most criticisms of Levy. Valid criticisms and observations get lost in a sea of, quite frankly what can only be described as a load of horse-sh*t where mythical statements based on pure fantasy become fact.

The criticism that Levy failed to land AVB's top targets is ridiculous.

All of them were frankly pie in the sky targets that we nevertheless attempted to pursue to the fullest of our ability.

AVB himself released some kind of statement at the end of summer window 2012 praising Levy for his attempts to sign Moutinho. While some might read this as club propaganda you have to remember that if AVB didn't think Levy went over and above in attempts to sign this guy he could have just said nothing on the subject.

Oscar, Willian and Villa were all reportedly close before other clubs in more prestigious or advantageous positions intervened.

If anyone really thinks we had a chance of buying Hulk given his fee and wages then I will have a draw of whatever pipe you've been smoking sir as I coukd sure do with an injection of blind optimism.

Levy's role in AVB's failure at Spurs has in my view more to do with s failure on both Levy and AVB's part to realise what Spurs needed immediately post-Redknapp and that AVB was not the man with the experience or skill to carry out a top-to-bottom rebuild utilising unproven talent and youth players and that what he needed was a stable club with a quality playing squad who he could work the extra 10% out of on the training pitch.

Clearly, somewhere between pitching of the job description by Levy and the board and the selling of the suitability for the job by AVB, and the resulting expectations on both fronts something fell down. My guess was that everyone involved was not smelling of roses.

Agreed, there seemed a clear difference between the expectations of using youth players vs the bigger signings we would go after. Something fell down in the hiring process somewhere along the line.

It seems a lot clearer with Poch now, he's willing to promote from within a lot quicker. I wonder if one of the things he said in his interview though was that he cannot be expected to both deliver top 4 and bring in youth all in a season or 2, hence him getting a longer term contract and the club noticeably reducing expectations this year.

In a way I can sympathise with AVB in that he was probably asked to get, and agreed to, top 4 as a target. Only reconciling that with the objective of bringing through youth isn't exactly clear. It's understandable he would ask for proven quality if he thinks he will be judged on a top 4 finish.

 

[WestBerkshire]

We couldn't give AVB what he wanted as a lot of the players he wanted = Oscar, Moutinho, Hulk, Willian, Villa etc were out of the realistic bracket of targets we could buy. They were either too expensive or the competition for their signature was too strong from clubs in a superior and more attractive position. We didn't not back AVB we gave him as much as we could as a club. He was just at the wrong club

Utter rubbish

 

[Notmegov]

Utter rubbish

No its correct.

 

[SteveAWOL]

Spot on NWND =D>

Zenit is just the right sort of club for AVB as their oil billionaire owner allows them to splash the cash just like Abramovic at Chav$ski, in fact Zenit have been spending more annually on player wages than the Chavs!

BBC Sport - Russian Premier League team budgets (2012)

• Zenit St Petersburg (£184m) [compared to Chelsea on £171m and Spurs on £90m]
• Anzhi (£116m)
• Rubin Kazan (£93.45m)
• Dinamo Moscow (£80.5m)
• Lokomotiv Moscow (£75m)
• Spartak Moscow (£67m)
• CSKA Moscow (£58m)

Biggest spenders in world football between 2005 and 2014 | Purely Football

9) Zenit St Petersburg: In ninth spot is Zenit who are undoubtedly Russia’s highest spending side, with a net spend of £217.8million. Owned by mega rich Alexander Dyukov, chairman of huge gas company Gazprom, the Russian side have spent a fortune in the last few years as they looked to mount a serious tilt at the biggest competitions in Europe. Dyukov sanctioned the £47million transfer of Brazilian forward Hulk from Porto, the £32.5million move for Benfica midfielder Axel Witsel in 2012 and gave Emirates Marketing Project £13million to secure the services of Spanish midfielder Javi Garcia this summer. Despite this, Zenit have only won three Russian titles and a UEFA Cup in the last decade, something they will look to improve on with former Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas in charge.

 

[jimmyb]

Utter rubbish

Oh, well that ends the discussion, then.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insight.

 

[WestBerkshire]

Well avb clearly wanted moutinho. We 'missed the deadline' why didn't we just fax the paper work over the following day then and have him join us on January 1st?? Nah we instead posted a profit on transfers. Following summer avb made it perfectly clear those players were not his choice.

 

[braineclipse]

Well avb clearly wanted moutinho. We 'missed the deadline' why didn't we just fax the paper work over the following day then and have him join us on January 1st?? Nah we instead posted a profit on transfers. Following summer avb made it perfectly clear those players were not his choice.

Utter rubbish.

 

[Jordinho]

Porto didn't want to sell, why else would they fudge up the 3rd paperwork?

 

[jimmyb]

Well avb clearly wanted moutinho. We 'missed the deadline' why didn't we just fax the paper work over the following day then and have him join us on January 1st?? Nah we instead posted a profit on transfers. Following summer avb made it perfectly clear those players were not his choice.

We missed the deadline because Porto / third party interests backed out of the deal at the last minute. It's easy to say that we should have signed him for January instead but who knows what new demands they were making?

Some of last summer's signings were AVB's choice. Some weren't. But that's partly his fault, if reports are to be believed. He had a habit of handing Spurs a list of players that he wanted but would provide little or nothing by way of a plan B. And since most of his first choices were challenging, to say the least, the lack of a plan B was problematic.

 

[jimmyb]

Utter rubbish.

:lol:

 

[parklane1]

Utter rubbish.

Here, here

 

[WestBerkshire]

how come we are yet to spend the fabled 'moutinho money' ??

 

[jimmyb]

how come we are yet to spend the fabled 'moutinho money' ??

What do you mean? You are aware that the club has reinvested every penny it has earned? There isn't any spare cash tucked away somewhere.

We've made a small surplus on player trading over the past 3-4 years but we've also spent £60m on a new training centre and £100m on property purchases, planning and site preparation for the new stadium. All while remaining debt free - as we need to be if we are to secure the best possible terms for stadium finance.

That's an outstanding position to be in given the massive, long term investment in the club's infrastructure. What more do you expect?

 

[NWND]

how come we are yet to spend the fabled 'moutinho money' ??

There is no fabled 'moutinho money'.

Real world of football isn't necessarily anything like computer games like FM. The makers of FM know this, but to make the game too like real football, would not make it enjoyable.

Levy didn't go to AVB "oh Andre, I've got £40m burning a hole in my pocket this summer, go spend it".

AVB and the committee were asked to identify targets.

One of which is Moutinho. When the club is looking to buy Moutinho, it has to obtain financing vehicles to fund the purchase, pretty much like buying a house. You approach your bank to get an 'agreement to lend in principle' and are given an 'in theory' maximum and minimum figure with varying terms, interest rates etc. YOu then proceed to negotiate the purchase and following agreement with the seller, you then reapproach the bank for a formal agreement to lend against the actual agreement and property being purchased.

If the sale and purchase falls through, you don't have a pot of money lying around somewhere waiting to be spent up.

 

[parklane1]

What do you mean? You are aware that the club has reinvested every penny it has earned? There isn't any spare cash tucked away somewhere.

We've made a small surplus on player trading over the past 3-4 years but we've also spent £60m on a new training centre and £100m on property purchases, planning and site preparation for the new stadium. All while remaining debt free - as we need to be if we are to secure the best possible terms for stadium finance.

That's an outstanding position to be in given the massive, long term investment in the club's infrastructure. What more do you expect?

I don't know how to use the like button k:

 

[Modric THFC]

Well avb clearly wanted moutinho. We 'missed the deadline' why didn't we just fax the paper work over the following day then and have him join us on January 1st?? Nah we instead posted a profit on transfers. Following summer avb made it perfectly clear those players were not his choice.

Porto didn't want to sell, why else would they fudge up the 3rd paperwork?

He didn't go because of Jorge Mendes his agent and no doubt third party owner.
Mendes found out he was gonna made more from the deal to send 4 of his 'clients' Moutinho, Falcao, James Rodriques and Calvahao to Monaco than any deal with us.
The only clubs Mendes seems to deal with are United, City wherever club Mourinho is at, Real and Monaco. He uses Athletico and the three big Portugese clubs as a shop window to park his clients.
Expect Moutinho to go to United next.

Thread on Mendes here http://www.glory-glory.co.uk/showthread.php/6871-Third-Party-Ownership

Great long form article on Mendes by David Conn http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/22/-sp-jorge-mendes-agent-third-party-ownership-players

 

[Heda SPURSCZ]

Baldini on the brink & Levy's reduced role: Inside the Tottenham restructure
The chairman intends to take a less involved role in the club's football operations and transfer business after repeated mistakes which have hampered the club's growth.
SPECIAL REPORT
By Greg Stobart

A significant restructuring is underway at Tottenham in which chairman Daniel Levy intends to take a less involved role in the club's transfer business.

An internal review after Spurs' disappointing start to the season resulted in a decision to restructure the football side of the club, with Levy telling confidants that he will take a step back and focus on financing and delivering the planned new 56,000-seater stadium . . . . .

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2014/12/17/7136212/-

 

[Jordinho]

Another piece of thinly veiled digs at Levy and Baldini by Stobart. He really is quite bitter about something.