Is the club/board ok?

  • The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...

    Get involved!

Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports

Agree - Alderweireld in particular played a fair bit of the match as right back.

Dier wasn't the problem yesterday... Bentaleb thinking he can pass like Hoddle was!!

Agree - if you give the ball away when your full backs are charging over the halfway line and your centre backs have big gaps between them then suddenly everyone is scrambling like mad.

I am 100 per cent certain Nabil will work it out though, he is going to be an important player for us for at least 5 years IMO.
 
We've consistently finished between 6th and 4th for the last I don't know how many years.

Every financial report that is carried out on the league shows that we are over achieving because whether we like it or not money is king now.

We have built a state of the art training facility which is starting to bear some fruit with the young players we are bringing through.

We have finally agreed the construction of the second biggest stadium in the league.

Big picture - I think we are doing ok all things considered.
 
When your revenue and wage bill is 6th highest in the league, how much do people expect Levy to do?
He's not going to put millions into the club like Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour,
Simple fact, financially we can't compete with Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Woolwich and Liverpool at the current moment.

Which is a shame... but what is worse, is that barring the odd anomaly (us sometimes) you've probably, almost certainly named this season's Top 5 (and next season's, and the season after...)

It's tragic that we'll never see clubs like Forest, Derby, Ipswich challenge for the title again in our lifetime... a maverick manager and a good core of eager, young, talented players was enough once upon a time... now the best they can hope for is coming into the Premier League, staying for a bit, maybe 'hitting the heights' of Top Spot on the first day (do they give trophies for that yet?) and then take their 'rightful' place way down in the pecking order of Financially backed clubs...
Even when Blackburn won it, they were accused of 'Buying the title' with Jack's money... and even that was small-change compared to what's invested to 'guarantee success' now!
 
Which is a shame... but what is worse, is that barring the odd anomaly (us sometimes) you've probably, almost certainly named this season's Top 5 (and next season's, and the season after...)

It's tragic that we'll never see clubs like Forest, Derby, Ipswich challenge for the title again in our lifetime... a maverick manager and a good core of eager, young, talented players was enough once upon a time... now the best they can hope for is coming into the Premier League, staying for a bit, maybe 'hitting the heights' of Top Spot on the first day (do they give trophies for that yet?) and then take their 'rightful' place way down in the pecking order of Financially backed clubs...
Even when Blackburn won it, they were accused of 'Buying the title' with Jack's money... and even that was small-change compared to what's invested to 'guarantee success' now!
The closest club to achieving anything similar like that would be Southampton,
To come from league 1 to the top half of the Premier League is a great achievement,
However they will never be able to challenge for the league title and even champions league is just a small hope
 
Why is top 4 suddenly so far off, I think as someone else on this forum previously pointed out, you reverse the result at OT last season and we were joint 4th. We managed it twice under Redknapp without an Arab Prince and Liverpool came second and should have won the title and did it without a Russian gangster.

Our team this season as shown yesterday with more pace and guile would almost certainly have won. Our defence is now player for player easily one of the best in the league, we have some really classy players like Kane and Eriksen but we are missing a few vital ingredients for a complete team to have a realistic chance of top 4.

Just because we have the 6th highest wages bill doesn't automatically mean finish around 6th, QPR had a large wage bill and got relegated.

Under Redknapp we had a few class players (Bale, Modric, King), some stability, a system that fitted what we had at the time and in the end we should have really finished 3rd in Redknapps final season.

its horrible to say but Woolwich's stable tactics mean they have a very good chance of top 4 every season. They have a good squad at the moment but it was only a few seasons ago that player for player some newspapers had us as stronger than them.

My point is it's not simply money that has prevented a top 4 challenge. We have a great set of young players, let's keep them together, BUY a striker, winger etc, and keep the manager for a good while. Let's not have constant transition for a few seasons, remember it only takes one of Woolwich, Man City, Man United and Chelsea to have a bad season and there is room for us but we need to be in a position to capitalise and you can't if your in transistion.
 
The closest club to achieving anything similar like that would be Southampton,
To come from league 1 to the top half of the Premier League is a great achievement,
However they will never be able to challenge for the league title and even champions league is just a small hope

It's ironic that both Southampton and Norwich managed to go from League 1 to the Premier League in consecutive seasons, and yet will never genuinely compete for the title... yet Man City made the same journey... albeit with a Couple of billion extra to help them along the way!
 
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/29/premier-league-finances-club-by-club

When your revenue and wage bill is 6th highest in the league, how much do people expect Levy to do?
He's not going to put millions into the club like Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour,

Simple fact, financially we can't compete with Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea, Woolwich and Liverpool at the current moment.
I understand that. My frustration with Enic is they're spending less than Palace, Stoke, Sunderland etc.
 
The main argument I see is that we have been consistently well compared to our finances, we should be happy with what we are achieving, what if Poch said that he wanted the players only at the end etc.

I am sorry, but if your attitude to life is, we are doing well compared to what we were before, we should be happy about it and not be any more ambitious, then sorry, but you have failed in life.

Yes, compared to the financial clout of the teams above us, we are no way near them, but, what difference does it make. 3 years ago, we finished below Woolwich by how many points? 1 point! In a season we started without having signed Dembele and Dempsey. Eventually they were signed and were starting several games for us, meaning that these are players who should have been signed early. Do you remember how many points we dropped at the start of the season? What about Harry's last season? Signing Saha and Nelsen on a free when we were flying in the league? DO you think Spurs can't afford to sign anyone better?

I respect all people's opinions and am as liberal as it gets. That's why I never try to argue with ENIC apologists ever, but seriously you are turning blind in your admiration of ENIC!!

Please ignore that this is happening at Spurs under ENIC. Let us imagine a team named X in a league ABC. If you heard that they always do not spend money when required on players they desperately need, always delay the signings till the end of the transfer window making the new guys require more bedding time, would you, with sane mind and common sense call it good management?

To those hypothesizing that Poch might have said no to signings, if by mid season this year, if our game squad of 18 doesn't change to what started at OT, I will accept your opinion. But we all know that isn't the case right?
 
I'm not satisfied with the result, but we were by far the better team, aside from one Nabil Bentaleb back pass. United spent ยฃ89 million on their midfield. We had a centreback playing DM. And we shut them down. We didn't have a healthy Lamela, so were stuck with Dembele and Chadli not creating enough. But we were still the better team. The result was not fair to the performance of the team.

There is nothing to panic about on the pitch.
Completely agree, there were a lot of positives to take from this game.
 

I understand that. My frustration with Enic is they're spending less than Palace, Stoke, Sunderland etc.

Fundermentally we are viewed by the likes of Joe Lewis as purely a business. Building a stadium, training facilities etc ups the worth of the club so they are generous with that but transfers are a gamble and cost lots of money.

As businessmen they probably look at the quater and the year profit without taking the long view that if we bring in top players, get top 4 for a season or two and then attract better players we will make even more money by getting CL football, more sponsorship etc. spend money to make money, perhaps they view it as too much of a gamble.

Your right though it would be nice to be able to get one or two top targets who can get us to the next level as it where, basically get the managers top targets even if it costs a bit.
 
Everyone agrees with the back Pochettino sentiment but none of us no what Pochettino wants. For all we know Levy could be offering him Berahino, Austin or Werner and Poch is saying "they're not great, lets wait a few weeks and see if anyone else becomes available."

Pochettino had 5 central midfielders in the squad today that would have done a better job in central midfield than Dier did but Poch picked Dier. None of us would have predicted that a month ago. Its easy to blame Levy but Levy supplied him with Mason, Dembele, Alli, Carroll and Eriksen but Pochettino uses Dier. How can Levy forsee that.

Poch made it clear that he wanted deals & the squad sorted early so we do have an idea of what he wants & Why would a chairman with a degree in economics & land economy be offering a football manager players ? He should listen to what the manager wants & try his hardest to get them. Targeting players should not be a chairman job in my opinion.
 
I am so bored of hearing the "we are spending less than the likes of..." Argument.
Ffs! What other team is building a 450M stadium?!

Don't even begin to say that it can be paid off with sponsorships, naming rights, TV money, etc.
We are not a top name like other clubs, as much as you believe so!

Cut backs have to be made and transfer fees is the obvious one.
 
I am so bored of hearing the "we are spending less than the likes of..." Argument.
Ffs! What other team is building a 450M stadium?!

Don't even begin to say that it can be paid off with sponsorships, naming rights, TV money, etc.
We are not a top name like other clubs, as much as you believe so!

Cut backs have to be made and transfer fees is the obvious one.
Yes, it is obvious, but it didn't help when Levy said the stadium wouldn't impact on transfers. He's not the devil, he's just being too cautious at a time when a little risk in the market might reap rewards. It might not of course, but no one is asking him to spend ยฃ200 million, just go the extra yard with the players we are trying to sign.
 
I am so bored of hearing the "we are spending less than the likes of..." Argument.
Ffs! What other team is building a 450M stadium?!

Don't even begin to say that it can be paid off with sponsorships, naming rights, TV money, etc.
We are not a top name like other clubs, as much as you believe so!

Cut backs have to be made and transfer fees is the obvious one.

Levy talked ( or the board did) of investors to fund the stadium bar the ยฃ40m stage 1 part .. I wish I could be bothered to trawl through the release regarding the build with all its stages & investment plans but it's a Sunday morning so forgive me. This argument gets brought up time & time again regardless of what enic have clearly stated
 
I am so bored of hearing the "we are spending less than the likes of..." Argument.
Ffs! What other team is building a 450M stadium?!

Don't even begin to say that it can be paid off with sponsorships, naming rights, TV money, etc.
We are not a top name like other clubs, as much as you believe so!

Cut backs have to be made and transfer fees is the obvious one.

You don't pay 450 million in one go. You take out a bond or something of the like, and use the additional 15,000 people per game and the large money generated to pay it off over 15-20 years like a mortgage.

That is not including the money we have saved by being the tightest club in the prem over the past 10 years, the massive TV money, the NFL deal, the bigger sponsorship, the naming rights, the fact we have a billionaire owner.

When Arse built their stadium the Prem was far less lucrative financially and they still managed it.

We are tight because we are a bussiness and at the end of it Joe Lewis wants a big score.
 
Yes, it is obvious, but it didn't help when Levy said the stadium wouldn't impact on transfers. He's not the devil, he's just being too cautious at a time when a little risk in the market might reap rewards. It might not of course, but no one is asking him to spend ยฃ200 million, just go the extra yard with the players we are trying to sign.

How do you know we haven't gone that extra yard and offered the money needed to secure the player? Maybe we have but the selling club are waiting until they have a replacement lined up, maybe the selling club don't want to sell before they buy as it will weaken their negotiating position. The whole situation is like house buying, quite often there is a chain and everyone is waiting to do their business at the right moment while hoping no part of the chain falls down. So we have to wait until everyone is happy before things move forward but this depends on how many are in the chain, but ultimately the point is, this is all beyond Levy's control.

To my mind the best way to ensure our business is concluded before the season starts is for the transfer window to close before the season is underway (potentially keeping a 2 week period open for loans).
 
Back
Top Bottom