sorry, so you seem to berate Levy for not paying Carrick, Berba, Modric and Bale more to keep them around, but then go on and say when this was done for Lloris, Kane, Son and Dele it ruined the morale of the rest of the team.
I believe Levy sacked Martin Jol because he didn't agree with the sale of Berbatov having reluctantly gone along with the sale of Michael Carrick. This is on the record from Jol himself.
Levy was complicit in these sales.
By the time Ramos had arrived Levy had sacked George Graham before an FA Cup semi final with Woolwich, Glenn Hoddle in October 03 and Santini in October 04. Santini was sacked after a 9 month search for him as manager and David Pleat had been the caretaker.
By October 07, when Jol was sacked, as far as I was concerned Levy and ENIC were worse than Sugar. They had written off 4 out of the 8 seasons, from March 2001 until October 2007, that I had paid for two season tickets, by sacking managers. ENIC had appointed 3 of these managers.
Martin Jol was the first Spurs manager to have actually made serious progress, in respect of building a credible team, since Venables 92 / 93 team.
I concluded that ENIC didn't give a fuck about Jol or the Spurs season ticket holders and members whose subscription money they had co-opted for their 'project'. They used a season ticket waiting list as a stick to beat season ticket holders with, so they complied with increased prices, and The Supporters Trust as a device to bring onside any potential dissenting voices and to quell any potential unrest before it gained momentum. The Trust endorsed and went along with all of ENIC's penny pinching.
This was the main reason I gave up my two Paxton Road season tickets in block 19 row 2.
I have seen nothing since then to persuade me I was wrong about them.
What should he have done? Levy should have sold the club to Abramovich.
At the time neither Carrick, Berba, Modric or Bale were signing an improved contract to keep them about, they had their eye on bugger things so we had to dig deep and get the best deal we could, and reinvest.
That is your opinion. That opinion is not one I share. Selling your best players sets a precedent. It informs other clubs that you are willing to sell. Selling Carrick just encouraged United to come back for Berbatov. That is how I saw it then and it is how I see it now.
Only now are we able to compete with the top six on keeping our best players, and even then it's not guaranteed, either to keep them around, or prove to be a wise investment (see Le Celso, and Tanguy).
I have no idea what the answer is, the Brentford game was awful, i'm not sure if Conte is happy, if Poch is waiting in the wings so giving Levy a safety blanket. Part of my thinks Patrici is now in charge of transfers, so if he has the budget why is all this falling at the feet of Levy.
Do I want a oligarch, sheik, or an American owner coming in with all that BS...? No not really. Do I want this tight ENIC tenure to end, sometimes yes. I'm probably too trusting, but working in sports marketing, advertising and branding, a lot of what they're doing from a commercial POV makes sense and will reward THFC. I do have a sinking feeling Conte will be off in the summe
r and the merry-go-round will start again, along with Son, Kane and Lloris leaving.
Levy has overseen the breaking up of Poch's team and everything else that has happened, since Dembele left Spurs in January 2019, is on Levy and ENIC.
Levy and ENIC have to back this manager. He was their choice.
So was Jose.
ENIC should either fund Conte for the players he needs or put the club up for sale and do the right thing by the supporters for once.
ENIC's ownership of Spurs is reaching it's conclusion.
Their business model brought them moderate success in the mid to late noughties but football is continually evolving and they are looking increasingly like yesterday's men.
Their methods don't work any more.
