Doubt Davies moves this summer with 1 season on his contract. The reality is the squad has a lot of needs which will be addressed over the next 3 windows and replacing Davies isn't the most pressing. Could see him move back to Swansea on a free next summer.
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Player Ben Davies
- Thread starter Alex Watson
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Ben Davies explains how key Spurs staff help focus on ending 'desperate' wait
The Tottenham left-back has been speaking about his time under various managers and the structure within the north London clubwww.football.london
Ben Davies reveals how key Tottenham staff are helping squad focus on ending 'desperate' wait
The Tottenham left-back has been speaking about his time under various managers and the structure within the north London club
Alasdair GoldTottenham Hotspur correspondent
Ben Davies admits he really believed Ange Postecoglou's first year at Tottenham was going to end the club's long trophy drought and has spoken about the structure within the club.
- 18:00, 8 JUN 2024
The 31-year-old Welshman can boast - although he won't - that he arrived at Spurs back in 2014 as a trophy winner. He lifted the League Cup at Wembley that year as Swansea City's starting left-back, but Davies has not been able to add to that piece of silverware in his career in his decade in north London.
In a long and insightful YouTube appearance for The Business of Sport, Davies delved into his time at Tottenham and admitted that he thought Postecoglou's work since arriving was going to end that wait for a trophy this year.
"I think the thing that we're always going to have put back at us is lack of trophies and that's far from the want of trying. It's been something that we've been desperate to do for a long time, but it's the biggest thing that we all want at this club. It can be very frustrating for us as players but at the same time you always appreciate that the club has gone through a lot of change," he said.
"We've moved stadium, we spent a couple of years at Wembley. It all felt a bit crazy at the time but I really feel like we've built that foundation now. Things aren't going to happen overnight but we've built that foundation and we have an opportunity in the next couple of years.
"I really thought that this year was our time, but football is an incredibly challenging industry to win. Just spending the biggest money doesn't guarantee you the results. It's about building that team and getting it right. It's probably the hardest thing to do in sport."
The Wales international was also asked about the role of the sporting director within a football club. Over his 10 years at Spurs, Davies has been exposed to plenty of such types within the club as people have come and gone with Johan Lange the current technical director at Tottenham, after moving from Aston Villa last year.
"At Tottenham, it's changed a lot since I first arrived. I'm probably a good person to speak to in that sense in that I've seen it when there was no real link between the board and the players, whereas now we've had sporting directors come in and I think they have really bridged that gap," said the defender.
"It bridges the gap between the players and [club] management at times. It's a difficult one because ultimately I think it's a better structure to have a sporting director in place. They are linked with the business side of sport, with the needs and wants of the ownership and management of the club, and are somewhat related to the players and the playing side.
"When you're a player in a club, your sole interest is to win games. You shouldn't have any other thoughts about the finances of the club, whether they're going to be ok with financial fair play, who's going to be the manager. You should be in your bubble of 'this is our team, this is our manager and coaches and this is where we're going to stay'.
"Having that link gives you an idea as to where you want to go as a club. I think a sporting director can come in and set up processes that are going to be stuck to, whatever manager you have. I've been at clubs, at Spurs and Swansea, where when a manager came in they had sole discretion on transfers and the way we're going to play and that can change manager to manager.
"Having a sporting director in place, a technical director, or head of recruitment, all those job titles can be quite interchangeable, it puts in a place a framework of how we're going to do it as a club. It would probably sound strange in another business that a new manager could come in and change the whole shape of the business."
He added: "From my experience as a player, I haven't had too many dealings with a sporting director. I've obviously had conversations and semi-serious discussions with some of them, but I've never been in those situations where I get to see the actual day to day. As players you're really put in your bubble and when the sporting director really wants to talk to you it tends to not be so good!"
I started listening to this podcast but it was so boring. He’s got the charisma of a tin of paint.
Needs to be sold... and...yeah...that's about it.
He’s a good player / got far more to offer than Swansea
Getting up there though, he'll be 32 by the time he's a free agent next summer. What kind of clubs will be in for the last 2-3 seasons of Davies, and what will he want out of the last stop in his career?
Going home and helping his boyhood club, the club he first broke through at, make it back to the PL might make the most sense for the sunset of his career. More storybook than plodding through a few years at Spam or Fulham.
He would start for at least 10 Premier League teams.
He’s just a very nice guy, true professional, never complains, always works hard, loves the club.
Yep but the podcast is very dull despite him saying some good things.
Yeah. One more year for us, and then a couple of years at another Prem or a European club. Then Swansea.
I thought our recent podcast was anything but dull, especially when they started talking about fingers up bums!
Must have missed that bit so I’ll have to take your word for it!
talking about fingers up bums……sorry I’ve done thumbs up bums……better really as it rhymes.
Apparently he Is a nice guy , so that warrants keeping him according to some. The fact he offers absolutely nothing on the pitch is irrelevant
He did pretty well at CB. And in some games he did well coming on to help see out the game. He's still a good squad player, even if not suited to the LB role now (and we have Udogie and VdV there).
Frontline CBs:
VdV
Romero
Dragusin
Backup:
Davies
Philips
If we sell Emerson, we need to keep Davies. I'd rather we spent money on attacking players than a replacement for Davies.
You offer nothing to this forum, yet here you still are.
I've told you before. Get lost
Nobody says to keep him because he’s a nice guy, just to comment that having a boring podcast is unimportant.
Even Davies for 1 ,more year will help temporalily as regards our home grown quota. I think,however, it’s in Europe he’s not counted as home grown ( not sure). One more year ,a free transfer as thanks for his loyalty.
He is shite. Would any of the teams above us want him ? No... so let's get rid
I think they have worse players in their squads, ex Man City