New Striker or New Stadium?

[Kingdawson]

We lost money in the last financial report and people want us to gamble more on CL qualification - maybe some of you should remember where that team we played yesterday were 10+ years ago and what has happened in the years since and what started the downward spiral for them

Gamble more? when have we ever gambled in the first place?

People are forgetting one of the main issues. If we don't qualify for champions league it means our best player will more than likely leave. Gareth Bale's staying with us is more then likely based on champions league qualification so you would think/hope that means Levy would spring into action and try and do something to give us that extra push we need to qualify. Last season Levy just stood there and did fudge all when it was pretty clear Modric's stay with us was dependant on us proving to him we're ambitious and qualifying for the CL. Redknapp said we need a striker and a CB ....Levy gives him Nelsen and Saha (it was clear Redknapp wanted Samba and Remy). Even one of them would have probably been enough to achieve 3rd but no...Levy doesn't do comprimise and hands him to OAP's on loan. We then fail our target and modric says bye bye.

A lot of people said (and still say) levy didn't give redknapp the £££££ because he knew reknapp was leaving but look now? Levy doesn't give AVB the car either....he's fine with selling player after player but when it comes to buying he does brick like this...

 

[Kingdawson]

Gareth bale leaving will probably set us back 2 or 3 years. Doesn't levy get this? or maybe he's reliant on the bale cash to fund the stadium? i don't know anymore.

 

[milo]

Gamble more? when have we ever gambled in the first place?

People are forgetting one of the main issues. If we don't qualify for champions league it means our best player will more than likely leave. Gareth Bale's staying with us is more then likely based on champions league qualification so you would think/hope that means Levy would spring into action and try and do something to give us that extra push we need to qualify. Last season Levy just stood there and did fudge all when it was pretty clear Modric's stay with us was dependant on us proving to him we're ambitious and qualifying for the CL. Redknapp said we need a striker and a CB ....Levy gives him Nelsen and Saha (it was clear Redknapp wanted Samba and Remy). Even one of them would have probably been enough to achieve 3rd but no...Levy doesn't do comprimise and hands him to OAP's on loan. We then fail our target and modric says bye bye.

A lot of people said (and still say) levy didn't give redknapp the £££££ because he knew reknapp was leaving but look now? Levy doesn't give AVB the car either....he's fine with selling player after player but when it comes to buying he does brick like this...

Arsenal qualifying for the Champions League didn't stop RVP wanting to leave and there are no guarantees that it would stop Bale either and we have no way of knowing whether Modric would have stayed for another season if we had qualified last year either.

Despite what players say, the motivation for moving to the big clubs is big wages and not medals. We just cannot compete with the top clubs when it comes to salaries and all of the time that this is the case we will lose players to richer clubs, Champions League football or not.

 

[Kingdawson]

Arsenal qualifying for the Champions League didn't stop RVP wanting to leave and there are no guarantees that it would stop Bale either and we have no way of knowing whether Modric would have stayed for another season if we had qualified last year either.

Despite what players say, the motivation for moving to the big clubs is big wages and not medals. We just cannot compete with the top clubs when it comes to salaries and all of the time that this is the case we will lose players to richer clubs, Champions League football or not.

Well Bale signed an improved contract just lasts summer so i very much doubt Levy would be willing to sell him should we achieve CL football. You don't think they spoke about it when negiotiating his contract? We're gonna lose bale eventually..everyone knows that...but CL football would prolong his stay.

Tbh i find Levy's actions very weird now and there's a pattern with the things he's doing.

09/10 season we qualify for CL football which is the perfect opportunity to strengthen = Levy was content with signing nobody the whole summer until he luckily got a call confirming VDV's availability.

11/12 Jan window...3rd place and manager says he needs a CB and Striker to sustain the challenge for 3rd and even more = Manager identifies Samba and remy and Levy gets sAHA AND nelson in the last minute.

12/13 jan window .... we're 4th and need a couple of signings to sustain the challenge for cl = Levy waits there and does nothing again (so far). He's so petty he's negotiating for a few hundred thousand on a player we bloody own.



Everytime we overachieve it seems Levy is reluctant to do anything. It's very weird to me.

 

[Jordinho]

Maybe it's because we ARE overachieving, even if just slightly, and there's a limit to how much more we can do?

Samba is not of the required level. Why spend £10 million on him to be backup when you can get Nelsen for free? That's £10 million we wouldn't be able to spend elsewhere. No Lloris or Vertonghen. And then there's Samba's wage demands.

 

[milo]

Well Bale signed an improved contract just lasts summer so i very much doubt Levy would be willing to sell him should we achieve CL football. You don't think they spoke about it when negiotiating his contract? We're gonna lose bale eventually..everyone knows that...but CL football would prolong his stay.

Tbh i find Levy's actions very weird now and there's a pattern with the things he's doing.

09/10 season we qualify for CL football which is the perfect opportunity to strengthen = Levy was content with signing nobody the whole summer until he luckily got a call confirming VDV's availability.

11/12 Jan window...3rd place and manager says he needs a CB and Striker to sustain the challenge for 3rd and even more = Manager identifies Samba and remy and Levy gets sAHA AND nelson in the last minute.

12/13 jan window .... we're 4th and need a couple of signings to sustain the challenge for cl = Levy waits there and does nothing again (so far). He's so petty he's negotiating for a few hundred thousand on a player we bloody own.



Everytime we overachieve it seems Levy is reluctant to do anything. It's very weird to me.

I think that the way that Levy operates is very easy to explain. He is not prepared to jeopardize the long term interests of the club for short term gain. We cannot afford the wages of the players on the next level up.

 

[ArcspacE]

I think that the way that Levy operates is very easy to explain.

Indeed - young players with massive potential and opportunity for profit - check

That has been our ethos pretty much since day one - and little seem to change over the years

 

[ArcspacE]

He is not prepared to jeopardize the long term interests of the club for short term gain.

What do you consider 'short term gain' out of interest?

Qualifying for the CL and raking in an extra £50m+ minimum in revenue regarded as short term gain?

Finishing in the CL spots and keeping our best players for at least another season also seen as short term gain?


How are we expected to challenge for the CL spots if he's unwilling to provide the right tools for the job? You can't with the Tour on a tricycle, so he either needs to drop his season expectations or back the manager up, imv.

 

[Jordinho]

What do you consider 'short term gain' out of interest?

Qualifying for the CL and raking in an extra £50m+ minimum in revenue regarded as short term gain?

Finishing in the CL spots and keeping our best players for at least another season also seen as short term gain?


How are we expected to challenge for the CL spots if he's unwilling to provide the right tools for the job? You can't with the Tour on a tricycle, so he either needs to drop his season expectations or back the manager up, imv.

Do you know what those expectations are and how do you KNOW he's not backing the manager to the full extent as it is?

 

[ArcspacE]

CL spot - as has been hinted by AVB on numerous occasions so far this season. In fact, I'd be surprised on anything less, seeing that (in Levy's mind) we've spent 60m in the summer

 

[Jordinho]

CL spot - as has been hinted by AVB on numerous occasions so far this season. In fact, I'd be surprised on anything less, seeing that (in Levy's mind) we've spent 60m in the summer

That's what we want and are aiming for, but it isn't necessarily what is expected.

 

[ArcspacE]

He always mentioned how 'we are currently meeting our season objectives' - upon winning his Award last month, being 3rd/4th on the log, etc.

Again - I would be surprised if he was given a lower objective than Redknapp last season with a squad which has improved in certain aspects (not all of course). The failed Moutinho bid also indicated (whether it was real or not) quite a strong intent, as was the arrrival of Lloris and Vertonghen - these are proven CL units who want to compete at the very top

 

[milo]

What do you consider 'short term gain' out of interest?

Qualifying for the CL and raking in an extra £50m+ minimum in revenue regarded as short term gain?

Finishing in the CL spots and keeping our best players for at least another season also seen as short term gain?


How are we expected to challenge for the CL spots if he's unwilling to provide the right tools for the job? You can't with the Tour on a tricycle, so he either needs to drop his season expectations or back the manager up, imv.

I think that the long term interest that Levy has in mind is maximising the return on ENIC's investment.

 

[Jordinho]

I think that the long term interest that Levy has in mind is maximising the return on ENIC's investment.

And the best way of doing that is being successful. You can make good money on player sales (like the business models of Saudi Sportswashing Machine and Udinese to name two), but there's no indication of that being the plan.

 

[diego_maradona]

Why do you think we are not pulling the trigger with someone like Leandro who the club is clearly interested in. Asking price still too high? I completely understand that the long term strategy is to ensure sustained success but IF the money was there for Moutinho then we are clearly prioritising that position above a striker.

 

[Jordinho]

Why do you think we are not pulling the trigger with someone like Leandro who the club is clearly interested in. Asking price still too high? I completely understand that the long term strategy is to ensure sustained success but IF the money was there for Moutinho then we are clearly prioritising that position above a striker.

The fee they want is clearly too high. The gist of the ITK seem to be them constantly moving the goal posts. Then there's 3rd parties and image rights. I'm also doubtful if the player is really interested in a move right now. That WC in Brazil will be mighty tempting.

 

[ArcspacE]

I think that the long term interest that Levy has in mind is maximising the return on ENIC's investment.

Would you not agree a 'large' inverstment now (top player) could yield even 'larger' returns (continuous CL particiaption) in the long run?

 

[ArcspacE]

And the best way of doing that is being successful. You can make good money on player sales (like the business models of Saudi Sportswashing Machine and Udinese to name two), but there's no indication of that being the plan.

Sadly - I don't see us being 'succesful' with the current crop of players - at least not a sustainable, continous level (and that is of course dependant on what is considered 'successful'

 

[Jordinho]

Sadly - I don't see us being 'succesful' with the current crop of players - at least not a sustainable, continous level (and that is of course dependant on what is considered 'successful'

I disagree, I think our current squad is very good, just one or two players short of surpassing the one from our CL exploits. But, I accept we have to wait for those players to become attainable. Apart from City and Chelsea, the other teams seem to have dropped somewhat in quality (squad wise) over the last 2-3 seasons. I don't think this United squad is as good as some previous ones, but they have invested heavily in younger players. Their fans still spend every transfer window ranting about not getting a top quality midfielder though.

 

[Spursalot]

What do you consider 'short term gain' out of interest?

Qualifying for the CL and raking in an extra £50m+ minimum in revenue regarded as short term gain?

Finishing in the CL spots and keeping our best players for at least another season also seen as short term gain?


How are we expected to challenge for the CL spots if he's unwilling to provide the right tools for the job? You can't with the Tour on a tricycle, so he either needs to drop his season expectations or back the manager up, imv.

Short term gain is anything that we won't definitely receive on a consistent basis.


Therefore the money from champions league football is short term gain.


And if we finish in the CL spots and Bale still wants to leave? Then what?

drop his expectations? We finished fourth last year and have not significantly weakened the team, last year the expectation was what? Fourth? Some even thought we should finish third. So why would that be any different now?