Report: van Gaal said NO to Spurs

Tottenham seem set yet again to miss out on a prized target. If paying for Willian's flight, accommodation and meal deal at Subway only for Chelsea to swipe him from under their noses wasn't enough, Tottenham's fledgling attempt to attract genuine raw talent to the lane looks likely to continue. Until the sacking of David Moyes was confirmed by United today, Spurs looked odds on favourites to secure the services of the quirky Dutchman.

Now the bookies have Van Gaal as the odds on favourite to take up the reigns in the red half of Manchester, with reports suggesting the United board held talks him ten days prior to Moyes' departure.

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Although Tottenham fans can have little to complain about should Van Gaal choose to take up an offer at England's biggest club, the bitter taste of what could have been will remain in the air at White Hart Lane. Tim Sherwood's successor has a seriously difficult task ahead of him. Getting the best out of highly priced, under performing talents as well as conjuring up an entirely new identity for the lilywhites is a feet that most successful managers would be tentative to approach.

Van Gaal has admitted his desire to manage a top English team once his time with the Dutch team is up. Having won titles in Spain, Holland and Germany, currently managing one of the favourites to win the World Cup, his interest in a job that the one Tottenham are currently offering seems hard to fathom. Tottenham should to everything in their power to land their man despite this.

Whether providing him the financial capacity to facilitate a summer spending spree or show intent by offering him a competitive salary, capturing the Dutchman would send out a message to other clubs and those within the club that their commitment to challenge England's elite is not a futile one.

Whether or not Levy will see this as a shrewd piece of business, I would remain sceptical. The chairman must see that things aren't working by now. £100 million blown on Bale must hurt. His decisions would be welcomed far more readily by the Tottenham faithful should economics for once not trump that of the focus on mounting a genuine bid for success.

 

No point mourning a manager we never had. Van gaal looks on the way to utd and they appear a better fit for him, I doubt he ever considered WHL as a serious option, he likes an easier challenge such as barcelona, bayern, and ajax in their respectively less challenging leagues. Who do spurs go for ? Pochetino maybe, I like magath at fulham but im sure levy will find totally the wrong guy !

 

Could see this coming a mile off, there is something so poisonous about our club which is festering and growing. Why isnt any of our buisness conducted behind closed doors every manager, player or move we make it is plastered everywhere before anything is confirmed giving the heads up to everyone else.
Due to us being a globally recognised selling club now we cannot get a settled team or manager. Players do not come to Spurs for anything other than a quick pay rise and stepping stone to bigger things, this breeds no loyalty or club interest at heart at all. Players use us as a bargaining chip to get moves and pay rises and we lap it up. Now managers are doing it also.
It is disgusting what the clubs being turned into Levy is pimping Spurs and is quite happy for everyone to have a go on us. No one in their right mind would want to manage for the silent dictator, not a top manager anyway because they can see the poison that is Levy and his ridiculous way of running a football club.

 

Good riddance! LVG was NEVER my 1st, or 2nd, choice to become Spurs manager. I just think his ABRASIVE, CONFRONTATIONAL and PIG-HEADED approach would cause arguably as many problems as Tim Sherwoods, in the Spurs dressing room.

Look, I’m all for strong management but I’m not sure that a man who drops his trousers to bare his testicles, to make a point, is REALLY the man to unite a fractured/fragile Spurs dressing room.

Whilst there is no questioning LVG’s record, if you dig a little deeper his successes seem to be relatively short-lived, and usually end with the Dutchman leaving a trail of bitterness and bad-feeling in his wake.

Mauricio Pochettino on the other hand ticks most , if not all, of the boxes as far as I am concerned. He:

-Knows the EPL.

-Has proven he can build/develop a team that plays attractive, high-tempo and effective football.

-Has shown that he can improve players, helping to maximise their potential.

-Is used to working with a DOF.

-Enjoys working and developing young players.

-And last but certainly NOT least, has a CLEAR philosophy which could become the hallmark of spurs for years to come.

People keep on questioning the fact that the Argentine has yet to win any thing, yet. But what had Brendan Rogers ever won (bar the Championship play-offs) and yet we stand on the brink of him lifting the EPL title. And Martinez is another who is relatively inexperienced when it comes to winning things, but he is currently in the process of masterminding a Everton CL qualification charge.

The point is, given the right circumstances and environment, potential is realised. Something tells me that WHL could very turn out to be that place for Pochettino.

 

Levy stalling again, our summer signings will be last minute too, Spurs will probably get going by next October.

 

Whoever gets the job will still have to work with Blofeld. Levy is the poison running through our veins and until an antidote is found, THFC is going nowhere.

 

Pochettino? What has he achieved here: 8th place? OK if that's where we want spurs to finish next season. Worse than now? Another Ramos who struggles with our lingo. Besides that two of Saints best players will almost certainly go to the Red Mancs!! Let's face it the best managers are in jobs and unlikely to take on the shambles at WHL. Watch when our rivals snap up Eriksen too!!

 

We had the chance to get Martinez and Rodgers. Levy didn't bother. Why? Because he couldn't care less about the football team.

 

I think it is fair to say our club is in a mess. I agree with everything the previous contributor says in
terms of players using us as a springboard to other clubs. I think that Sherwood is aware that Eriksen
would be willing right now to move to a club who have qualified for the CL if that team came knocking on Spurs door! No loyalty whatsoever these foreign players unless perhaps they are being paid £100k plus
per week. From media reports on LVG it appears to me he has been using his so called interest in
Spurs to open doors in the PL at other clubs. Perhaps the Manchester United job although I am not so sure
that appointment is a done deal. I know one thing we need a good strong manager who will stand up to
Levy and not let a Director of football call the shots in buying players- after Baldinis dreadful efforts with
the Bale money I hope there will be a re-think on bringing in new players.

 

Judging by the nature of some of the comments left on here, and other forums, the ONLY poison seeping through the club at the moment is coming directly from the terraces...

If you wish to see Spurs as some sort of sinking ship...fair enough. But realise that is a CHOICE that YOU are making, and a reality that YOU are creating!!!!

 

No levy is the poison and all those that blindly follow him, we are viewed by everyone now as a stepping stone club and this is down to the sell out Levy!
Poor buys, poor managers, poor ethos. The club is disjointed and in a mess, lloris is next out the door jan, sandro then eriksen and youl clap and tell us all its part of the long term plan. Wake up!

 

Here, here! LEVY has stabilised the club financially as I have said on many occasions, but the notion that levy is on the brink of turning us into a title challenging team is utter nonsense.
With all the paperwork and approvals that are still needed for the new stadium, we won't be in it by 2017 and anyone who thinks we will needs one hell of a reality check. The new stadium gets mentioned every time levy wants to deflect any negative attention away from himself. Levy has one interest and one interest only and that is himself. If anyone truly believes that levy cares about the football club, I really do wonder what on earth they are seeing.
Levy and ENIC are about investment in themselves, not the football club. No one is making that up, the facts are pretty plain to see.

 

Every single Spurs fan commenting here seems to have a different opinion, then claims the club has gone toxic. Really, nothing much has changed; a lot of people didn't want Harry nor AVB. If you know your football you will know it doesn't matter in advance what you think of a manager, it only matters what happens on the pitch. I happen to think Sherwood is doing a reasonably good job, I'm especially pleased that young players like Kane and Bentaleb have had a chance. It is very important that we discover gems within the club. Although I like Sherwood I understand the need for a more experienced guy with a good international network. But there are no guarantees. From Moyes to DeBoer via Pochetinno and Van Gaal, there is no possible way of predicting right now who'd be good for Spurs. Take Tony Pulis, we'll never know how he'd set us up; he's an intelligent man, he wouldn't try to make us like Stoke or Palace because we have better attacking players. Yet we all wouldn't want him because we think he's lower league - in truth we have no idea what he'd be like. People now slagging off TS might one day look back and say, 'he was OK actually, should have kept him'.

 

In hindsight they look great choices; but did they look great choices at the time? I wanted Martinez but many Spurs fans thought: 'Wigan.... nah'

 

Fair point but I would have taken him for sure. You make a good point about Tim to be fair. As much as spurs fans don't like him, his record isn't that bad and although he may not be considered the right man for the job, he could have done a lot worse.
I still however stand by the fact that levy is not about the club and is all about the PLC.

 

Lloris, Sandro or Vertonghen would NEVER of been ours to lose, if Levy had not developed/promoted the club, in the way he has.
Neither would Bale, Modric, Berbatov or Van Der Vaart (etc) for that matter. If Levy hadn't done such a fantastic job in running Spurs, the club would NEVER of been in a position to attract the calibre of player it is, currently, able to.

Levy has helped the club claim back it's status both at home, and abroad, and has helped make Spurs European regulars....something ,which 10 years ago we ALL would have happily taken.
I have NEVER, ONCE, said the chairman hasn't made mistakes- but show me a chairman that hasn't, and I will show you a fool!!!

I can assure you that PLENTY of fans, of different EPL sides, would love to have a chairman as AMBITIOUS, SHREWD and COMMITTED as Daniel Levy.

Listen, I am well aware that MOST people in society crave to 'fit in', and are happy to jump on the next/closest bandwagon to do so...After all, sheep will be sheep. So I am NOT expecting any thing resembling sense from anyone I come in contact with on these forums...(although I did was pleasantly surprised by one the other day.)

Anyway, I digress... bitch, whine, complain and bitch some more, we all know the ONLY effect it will have is on yourselves...

I would suggest though if you REALLY want to HELP the club you all purport to support, then try promoting a sense of optimistism, so when those who read these forums head off to WHL on a Saturday, they bring with them the kind of energy that is going to UPLIFT the players, not SUFFOCATE them.

My message to those who read this forums and wish to truly SUPPORT their club is simple: BE MINDFUL, OF THE MINDLESS!!!

ps does anyone know where that RIDICULOUS petition to get Levy out has ended up...I'll give you one guess...it rhymes with 'tin of sin'!

 

Ramos you have not a clue, you make out that selling all our best players is a positive thing and should be celebrated. We are a globally reconised feeder/stepping stone club which brings no loyalty or long term ambition to Spurs. You might think this is wonderful but a true Spurs fan would want more respect shown for the club, how can we ever be successful keep having the class and heart ripped out of the side every year?

 

In regard to the petition, when that was done, suddenly all the points in it were addressed or should I say talked about in the statement released on the official website. Every single point in the petition was replied to with a positive spin. The petition talked about the lack of information on the stadium and three days after the petition, surprise surprise and we are moving in 2017, which is highly unlikely. Levy has promoted spurs as a club to come and improve, win Bugger all and then move on. Levy failed to back his own clubs fans over the
Yiddo nonsense and has been responsible for sullying the atmosphere at the lane.
The only commitment levy has is to himself and possibly to his media friends who help to massage his ego.

 

Ramos your right without levy tottenham would have not got all those players,I bet in regards to directors of clubs he would be a superstar compared with most directors.

 

Felon 82- You say that I don't have a clue, but it is you that keeps on writing NONSENSE! Levy has made 'bad buys'??? Well, my last message proves that isn't strictly TRUE, is it? Add those names to the 7 high-quality internationals we were ALL raving about at the beginning of the campaign, and your claims regarding 'bad buys' become even more RIDICULOUS!

Bad managers- Well Jacques Santini , as manager of Lyon from 2000-2002 was winner of French League Cup in 2001, and in 2002 he won the French Championship.
He was also chosen as "The best French coach " on 2002 by France Football and World's The Best National Coach of the Year on 2003 by International Federation of Football History & Statistics. If you look at Santini's win % for France while in charge of the national team, it was a very IMPRESSIVE 78%, winning 22 out 28 matches and ONLY losing 2.

Martin Jol undoubtedly helped move the club on at the time, and Juande Ramos was one of the hottest young properties in WORLD football, when Levy pinched him from a club who had just qualified for the CL. Winning the UEFA cups (2), the UEFA Super Cup (beating Barca 3-0 in the final), a Copa Del Rey and the Spainish Super Cup, over the course of two seasons, Ramos also led Saville to a 3rd place finish in la Liga.
Hardly, sounds like a 'BAD' CV, or manager to me, Mr Felon 82.

And while his time at Spurs didn't go as many of us would have liked or anticipated, we should remember that he was the LAST manager to bring ANY silverware to this GREAT club of ours, with that OUTSTANDING display, on the big stage, against a VERY talented Chelsea team.

I won't talk too much about 'Arry, because the FACTS are we secured two 4th place finishes under the man, and AVB led us to our highest points tally in EPL history.

So while it has not always gone terribly well for Levy in the hiring and firing stakes, the idea that he, or I for that matter, 'don't have a clue' is about as LUDICROUS as your posts, on this article.

I'm not sure what you mean buy 'bad ethos' but I can ONLY assume your talking about Levy's handling and vision of/for the club. Well, lets look at it. Buying predominately young British talent, with some foreign exceptions (Giovani, Levy sought to make Spurs competitive in the EPL again whilst living within the clubs means. The fact that he thought these players would also possess a resale value should the club choose/need to sell was also a VERY shrewd move by a man who was charged with upholding the clubs best interests both on, and off, the field.

As time went on, and Spurs became a bigger attraction to a wider market of player, this policy changed slightly, and we began to see emerging young foreign talent join the club (i.e Modric, Zokora, Berbatov, BAE, Mido and Pav). Spurs were developing a new identity (although the EXPENSIVE captures of Bent, Hutton and Bentley showed Spurs were still prepared to buy British), and doing it relatively quickly...WITHOUT the help of Russian or Arab billions, Tottenham were becoming a force again.

Now this didn't ALWAYS translate into results on the field, but what signing the calibre of players Levy was acquiring was doing, was, UNDOUBTEDLY, raising the clubs profile across Europe, with Spurs being seen, now, as a club FULL of ambition.

As time passed, European football became a permanent part of the fixture list, at WHL, with CL qualification becoming a REALISTIC possibility, and Levy sought to further improve the squad by bringing in ESTABLISHED International players (i.e. Van Der Vaart, Vertonghen, Lloris, Chiriches etc)

So here we are, on the back of a disappointing, yet NOT disastrous season, with the prospects of an exciting summer of RESHAPING and REFINING ahead. Levy will, no doubt, be looking to do what he has ALWAYS done at WHL, and that is get who he deems to be the BEST person to help move the club forward... and given the progress the club has made, both on, and off the field. I think we would be wise to show a little faith in the guy.

Plans for a new stadium being developed, a BEAUTIFUL state-of-the-art training complex already built, a squad brimming with potential, and a club that is WIDELY regarded as one of the EPLs finest, things are REALLY not as 'bad' as SOME clueless sections of the Spurs support would have you believe.

Yes players have left, but those players did EVERYTHING they possibly could to do so, CLEARLY showing their hearts were not in it. And Levy, after having his hand forced, did what most chairmen in his position would do, sold and got the BEST possible deal for the club.

He even made Modric stay a extra season after the Croatian went on strike (twice). And if memory serves me correctly, ONLY sold Luka to a club outside of the EPL, when Chelsea offered FAR more money the year before!!! Putting to bed ANY lazy, boring and predictable idea that Levy is simply in it for the money....

The fact is while Spurs continue to play in a 36,000 capacity staduim, and without the lure of regular CL football, the club WILL continue to have to fight to keep hold of it's best players.

We are NOT top of the food-chain right now, and it about time A FEW of YOU woke up, and realised that!!!

Even United, Liverpool, Dortmund and Arsenal sell, when Real, Bayern and Barca come calling.... Why should Spurs be any different, at the moment???

But one thing Spurs DO have is a chairman who's AMBITION, to make this club great again, means he will do everything REALISTICALLY possible to ensure Tottenham Hotspur can continue to progress, develop and thrive in the short, and long, term, despite any/all the inevitable hiccups we are presented with along the way. The journey to greatness is NEVER easy, but, with PERSEVERANCE, OPTIMISM and FAITH, you will be sure to find out that it is always a route worth taking!!!!