Ok. So to close this off... if it was the true bid, how do you feel about it?
Spurs 2018/19
- Thread starter Adisa
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Ive already said - I honestly couldnt give a toss what an opening bid was - what matters is if a deal was done and what the final bid was.
We've not been turned around because Levy is a cnut during transfer negotiations. He's been fantastic in some areas but his infuriatingly stubborn, one eyed approach to transfers has often left us sprawling at the last minute to secure a player (Sissoko) or losing a player at the last second to eek out every last penny, thus leaving us with no time to replace them. I'm not denying what Levy has done for the club, I'm denying that the way he handles transfers has 'served us well', because it's consistently backfired for us over the last few years.
You take the good with the bad with Levy - we know how he does business and sometimes it works really well and sometimes it doesnt - I'd still rather have him here doing his thing than somebody else. If Grealish comes then fine I'll get behind him and hope he does well - if he doesnt come I honestly couldn't care less AS LONG AS WE DO SIGN A CENTRAL MIDFIELDER. If we get nobody then I'll be first in the meltdown queue.
We've not been turned around because Levy is a cnut during transfer negotiations. He's been fantastic in some areas but his infuriatingly stubborn, one eyed approach to transfers has often left us sprawling at the last minute to secure a player (Sissoko) or losing a player at the last second to eek out every last penny, thus leaving us with no time to replace them. I'm not denying what Levy has done for the club, I'm denying that the way he handles transfers has 'served us well', because it's consistently backfired for us over the last few years.
You reckon Lucas Torreira would have joined Spurs instead of Arsenal if Spurs came knocking?
I never denied this. I just refuted the idea that the way he does business in the transfer market has served us well. I'm not 'Levy out', I'm perfectly aware it could be a hell of a lot worse and we could have a cowboy running the club attempting to asset strip. I just don't worship the ground Levy walks on like some, and don't think he's a genius negotiator.
No idea mate
Also, just signing a central midfielder should be the absolute fecking minimum expected. It's still been a joke of a window if our only business is to sign Jack pissing Grealish.
I think it has served us just fine generally and has ensured the safe running of the club and enabled us to build a new stadium, etc. - we are moving forward as a club and part of the reason we are able to invest in a secure way is how Levy does business. Do I sometimes wish we would just do a Liverpool and overpay on players just to ensure we get them? Sometimes I do sure - I'm a football fan and I love seeing my team signing players. I'm also a realist and have to accept Levy does things his way.
Which ones did he unearth last season then? I can’t remember a single one that shined for them other than Kane, Eriksen, Son and Vertonghen. Sanchez? He was like 42M and hardly a world beater. Aurier was rubbish, Moura never made a difference and so on and so forth. Even Alli failed to live up to his former reputation, which he frankly doesn’t have anymore. Poch has first and foremost veen very, very lucky with the players he inherited - and without Eriksen and Kane they would be nowhere near the team they are.
It isnt over yet - I'll join you with the pitchforks tomorrow at 5pm if needs be.
Tbf he joined in January having rarely played for PSG and has looked sharp in preseason. He may well come good and at least deserves some leeway right now.
Aurier, Moura and Llorente were all deadline day signings (Moura in January).
I wouldn't say any of them have done particularly well. Neither are pushing for a starting spot in the team.
Wasn't Son preferred upfront to Llorente when Kane was injured?
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
Double digits in goals and assists and still only 22.
@balaks - Leaving a line under the above.
What transfer deals do you attribute as a success for Levy?
Not just purely in a sense of purchasing for £X and the value not being greater than £X. There is no question that Spurs make some great signings and sales but to assume that some mysterious Levy-Factor is behind all of them is disingenuous.
Berbatov, Carrick, Modric, Bale : These players went for a value that several teams would have paid. Taking all of them to the wire probably gave him an ego stroke but I don't think he secured a huge amount of cash by acting how he did.
Similarly for the purchases of Alli, Eriksen, Son etc. He's not getting into hugely complex bidding wars and coming out on top. The scouting is obscenely good. But the prices paid didn't undercut anyone else. There's no mastery of negotiation tactics on show.
What transfer deals do you attribute as a success for Levy?
Not just purely in a sense of purchasing for £X and the value not being greater than £X. There is no question that Spurs make some great signings and sales but to assume that some mysterious Levy-Factor is behind all of them is disingenuous.
Berbatov, Carrick, Modric, Bale : These players went for a value that several teams would have paid. Taking all of them to the wire probably gave him an ego stroke but I don't think he secured a huge amount of cash by acting how he did.
Similarly for the purchases of Alli, Eriksen, Son etc. He's not getting into hugely complex bidding wars and coming out on top. The scouting is obscenely good. But the prices paid didn't undercut anyone else. There's no mastery of negotiation tactics on show.
I'll never understand why Kane prefers to spend his years at Tottenham. He should sign for Man Utd, or go to Madrid.
Tottenham are nothing more than a decent platform to sign for a TOP TOP ELITE club.
Tottenham are nothing more than a decent platform to sign for a TOP TOP ELITE club.
I think Moura has done well and will be pushing for a starting spot. I'm actually really excited about him this season. Llorente hasn't worked out, and neither has Aurier although the former was mostly added for depth which and not for a huge price.
Alli we got ahead of Liverpool who were desperate for him - Eriksen at the time was one of the top young talents in Europe - most recently Davinson Sanchez was one of the most highly rated young defenders in world football. We clearly are able to sign players that other teams would have a big interest in. Whether we can compete if another big club comes in and makes a counter offer - again I think we can apart from the mega bucks clubs (City, Utd, etc.) though it's not always about money - we can offer things that clubs with bigger squads maybe can't.
So this is the next one whose live he'll swear on ?
I've never seen any examples of Levy being some master negotiator.
He's derided for being a pain in the arse to deal with. Which a boon for Spurs.
Yet anyone that wanted to leave, has gone. Anyone you wanted to sign, you've paid market rate for. Anyone that wanted a new contract has either got one, or left.
He's heralded as a genius by Spurs fans but the reality is far removed from that when it comes to transfers.
I don't seek to paint everything black. I'll give him lots of credit for backing his manager for good bets. But that's it.
He's holding your manager back right now. Pochettino could do better with this squad, if he could add to it in a timely manner. Levys modus operandi was adequate for the previous stage of Spurs growth. It's not effective to see Spurs win anything going forward.
Ok first thing - I have never said I think he is a genius - secondly I have never said that he is a master negotiator. I've said that we all know how he does business and that sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesnt. Thats it.
Water births freak me out, but very happy for the pair of them.
Just a thought, but maybe he's happy? Family settled, good wage, adored by fans, playing under a manager he gets on with, scores a ton of goals, London etc ..
Not everybody is ultra ambitious to the cost of loyalty, family etc. Some players have genuine attachments to a club and are content with life.
So much waffle about Levy signing a big superstar to pave the way into the new stadium this season and they can't even get Grealish over the line, it's astounding how he doesn't realize how short of depth they actually are. Bodes well for us despite a poor window for ourselves.
I feel time has run out to sign Alderweireld, they haven't signed anyone as a backup and at the rate they take to make a signing I don't think anything will happen by tomorrow. Last ditch Martial bid might be an attempt to save face tomorrow, 'oh look we tried'. They were promptly told to do one when they came for him earlier.
I feel time has run out to sign Alderweireld, they haven't signed anyone as a backup and at the rate they take to make a signing I don't think anything will happen by tomorrow. Last ditch Martial bid might be an attempt to save face tomorrow, 'oh look we tried'. They were promptly told to do one when they came for him earlier.
Also he's 25. Maybe he's willing to give Spurs another 2-3 years and if at that point they still can't compete for major titles he'll look to move. You can have different ambitions and goals at different points of your career.
I agree. Posters are laughing but this is terrible news for us.
There's no way they'll sell Toby while bringing nobody in.
Their ineptitude has fecked our ineptitude over.
Yeah, exactly. People bemoan how the sport is full of mercenaries them criticise when a player genuinely shows a bit of loyalty to a club? He's got plenty of time to go chasing trophies, I think you're right and he's willing to give us a couple of years more to see where we're at.
We can all be inept together
Now linked with Joao Mario. Yikes, this really isn't panning out well for either of us.
@Lmarco brought up a good point in the twitter thread that Spurs are already at the non-homegrown limit (17). They're actually even worse in that Davinson Sanchez needs to be registered next season so that is 18 names for 17 spots. If they sign another non-homegrown player they need to offload two to register Sanchez and the new player. Guess that is why they've been going for Grealish as there are 3 homegrown spaces to fill (not that they've been trying hard for him).
Bit of a shitshow with a day left.
Levy the master negotiator at work.
Heh, I can just imagine him going around the hospital to pose with new mothers, claiming them all as his own.
Nah, grats to the family. Hope they do well.
What you think doesn’t really matter though? Villa are a proud club, their fans are having a shitty time - the club knows you don’t sell the best (English) player anywhere for change. There’s no automatic price cut because you find yourself in the Championship, and there are numerous examples of crazy fees bandied about for young players with high potential.
What he is worth doesn’t matter, they don’t need the money and know they can’t replace him - 25M in this situation is not only an insult, it’s something Villa will remember when Spurs come knocking about for the next big thing should he find hinself at Villa Park.
Surprising, considering they promote few academy players.
You would be a better football team if not for Levy. The only reason you finish top four is because of Pochetinno and the development of Harry Kane. Levy has overseen that, of course, however you have no right being in the top four and that's a credit to the coaching Pochetinno has done with what he has available. It's a backhanded compliment of sorts, but it's all in spite of Levy's transfer bollocks. Has been for years, even when he gets this bizarre reputation for being some sort of shrewd operator in the market.
We've not been turned around because Levy is a cnut during transfer negotiations. He's been fantastic in some areas but his infuriatingly stubborn, one eyed approach to transfers has often left us sprawling at the last minute to secure a player (Sissoko) or losing a player at the last second to eek out every last penny, thus leaving us with no time to replace them. I'm not denying what Levy has done for the club, I'm denying that the way he handles transfers has 'served us well', because it's consistently backfired for us over the last few years.
Hope the cnuts get relegated tbh
Yeah that’s crazy, I think it was @vadimivich that was talking about the “association trained” players for Europe and they sounds as though they’re fecked for both comps as well. I can’t believe the situation with grealish. could have easily wrapped that up early doors.
He's crap in the transfer market. Constantly undermining the team in favour of making a few extra quid on deadline day, completely ignoring the managers requests all window. Our last summer transfer window was an absolute joke too, with only Sanchez being a hit and for a hefty price paid too. You're correct that there's a big surrounding Levy, that being that he's a genius in the transfer market and has built this team, when it's simply not true. I also agree that Pochettino is the only reason we're getting top four, he got an extra level out of pretty much all of our players and has them playing as a unit. The reason they want to stay (imo) is because they love playing under him, he's very popular with his squad and if he was to leave I do think we'd face an exodus. He's the most important person at the club yet has been treated horribly this window.
Levy always puts his own ego ahead of what is best for the team. He always wants a hard negotiation, to get a bargain, to try and do absolutely everything on the cheap. It was fine when we were building from a mid-table level, but now we're top four regulars you can't keep up the same negotiating tactics. We've had a ton of flops in recent years, Sissoko being the greatest of all, a Daniel Levy deadline day special. It's not the first time he's done this, under Redknapp when we looked up for a title charge we had a completely disappointing window too, he's got history. It looks like Pochettino is going to have to work with what he has, I think he will lean heavily on a few youth players, which is a dangerous strategy for a team who can't afford to be inconsistent if we want to make top four. I also wouldn't blame Poch if even if we finished top four, he turns round and says I don't think this club can get to the next level due to its strategy in the transfer market. He'd be totally fair to do so after the way he's been treated by Levy this summer.
Been a complete mess from start to finish. I imagine we'll sign someone on deadline day but it won't be nearly enough, it will be rushed, expectations will be huge, and they will probably need time to start working with the team. We're once again looking at a season of being totally reliant on an ageing, injury prone Dembele in midfield, total reliance on a 22 year old CB with Toby either out the door or not really wanting to play, and Lamela/Sissoko regularly being relied upon as difference makers. It's not good enough, it isn't what the fans expected at the start of the season, and it is not what Pochettino asked for.
Don't say that. People will start saying it's a very difficult deal to do, how the market is a mess, and poor ol' us just aren't capable of doing business. Levy is doing his best.
.. by submitting borderline offensive offers for players which are likely to antagonize the club you're dealing with, and are an utter waste of time when we needed early signings.