Bargain Hunt

So while writing this the only action we've seen this window is to sell a first teamer.

From Poch we've had-
"we're a bit behind"

"we are calm we trust the squad"

And now-
"we need players to put pressure on Kane, Alli...."

With 10 days until we kick off Away to Newcastle for what could be a pivotal season for us how have we improved?

Pre season football is about getting fit but the way Man City tore us apart was alarming. Alarming from 2 perspectives firstly how leggy and disjointed we looked and secondly and more importantly how improved City looked.

With altering sound bites coming from the club this window is becoming once again 1 in a long line of successive windows that smacks of a complete lack of organisation, identification, pursuit, execution...... dressed up as some sort of Master plan.

Mitchell identified cheaper targets and was successful with it but mysteriously had to go. I wonder why ???

Poch on the other hand does not have a great success buy record and Levy over bearing the whole thing just doesn't fill me with hope or confidence.

As time ticks by we're heading ever closer to the Bargain Hunt (Levy time as some like to call it) the played out routine from the 'master negotiator'

Other clubs buy with the intention of improving/winning, with Levy in charge we buy with the intention of squeezing a few pennies here and there or to make money from in future. It's so anti success!

If Barkley is the main target it's hardly a secret and as time ticks on its now a gamble with many factors, pressure is mounting for signings, Everton know we have money from Walker sale and have spent a lot this summer, other clubs ie Chavs/UTD/City/Scum could tactically swoop and steal him for what would be relative peanuts to them offering higher wages etc, and if we do sign Barkley after no pre season and currently injured is that it? That's what we've waited for?
Panic buys stem from this sort of gamble falling through and this is creeping up on us.

We were not good enough in the CL last year and were exposed badly, we have another campaign to deal with plus ensuring we at minimum keep our top 4 status and to date to ensure this happens we've sold Walker and done nothing.

There has been a complete lack of strategy thus far that is clearly evident, which simply is not good enough!

Daniel and his Bargain Hunt had better start producing some gems pretty soon, I just cannot believe the lack of ambition from finishing second, quite clearly that's more than enough for the board and a number of fans many of whom wouldn't be in the least irked if we went backwards which just shows the exact mind set ingrained in the Club that nearly is enough and we should be thankful because we're not Leeds/Portsmouth/QPR and we've improved since the 90s compared to Villa and Newcastle.

That's the Achievement after 16 years!

 

We will not spend and never will with Levy in charge
Look at our spending over Hugo £12mill Walker £3mill Toby £12mill Jan £10mill Rose free etc etc etc

 

I wouldn’t go as far as defining myself as fervently anti-Levy, nor would I see myself as an ENIC enthusiast but there are two issues I take with our approach to player incomings (apart from the lack thereof).

I understand complex transfers — especially with us operating on a tight budget — can take weeks to conclude and finalise, however the earlier a player is brought in, the earlier they can acclimatise with our style of play. I remember Mousa Dembele saying it took him almost 18 months to fully understand his role within Pochettino’s tactics. If Barkley comes in, he’ll need a good six months to integrate, and a full pre-season would’ve allowed him to do so on the training ground without the added pressure of matches. Another big if, but if Sissoko was brought in earlier than 1 Sept, I feel he may have had a bigger impact than the **** he served up (or didn’t serve up) last season.

I know Levy has to look after our best interests financially, but how can he continually expect to demand top whack for our players: Walker £54m; Wimmer (apparently wants) £20m; Bentaleb 17m etc. Yet he offers derogatory bids for other clubs’ players we chase. Sooner or later, club with refuse to even do business with him.

 

Absolutely agree.

Levy is a corporate man .. brilliant with financial models and spreadsheets ... but not a football man..

Investment in infrastructure is great. Investment in squad .. essential !

Who was the last manager he backed in the transfer market.

Sissoko was a panic buy to appease the fans.

No strategy appears to be in place and panic starting to set in once more...

We serious risk losing our top players and the manager which would surely be the final straw with Levy in charge as the fans could not forgive this happening.

Back the manager now! !

What is the point of having a world class stadium and facilities without a world class team to compliment it.

Very worrying times ahead if quality signings not brought in.

No more panic buys or second rate alternatives...... time to step up.

 

I actually think we are already seeing the signs of this in the markets.
Levys warped sense of business is that he should be done favours by other clubs while he does his upmost to shaft everyone else.
Sooner or later you find clubs don't want to do business with you anymore.

 

I used to feel sorry for supporters of once-great clubs which had lost their status, generally as a result of the abolition of the maximum wage in 1961. Preston, Huddersfield, the Lancashire 'B' clubs, formerly top flight giants, but now occasional PL bit players at best. Then there were the perennial 'sleeping giants', the likes of Sunderland, the Sheffield clubs, Wolves, Newcastle, who ought to have been able to compete near the top on the basis of their support and history, but couldn't quite manage it. And Spurs? Do we belong with Villa and Everton, as many of our supporters seem to believe, the ones that constantly harp on about the 1990s, and how much better things are under ENIC? If we're 'over-achieving' (stupid expression!) and should be sixth or worse, then we're inevitably doomed to revert to the mean, except that football isn't played on spreadsheets, and Leicester proved that miracles can and sometimes do happen, if opportunities are recognised and grasped. Never did a club have a less appropriate motto than 'audere est facere' under the bean-counting Levy - the only 'project' that matters to him and his boss is readying the club for sale, and at least the end is in sight - presumably the 'offers invited' signs will be up on the day the Joe Lewis Memorial Stadium opens for business (business, not football).

 

This is by far the most important transfer window i can remember in the clubs history.

We are on the verge of something truly special or back to the also rans.

Levy must back the manager this time and ensure we win a trophy by adding quality signings with a strong bench and inject pace into the team the two missing ingredients to winning the league.

 

Well, From what I've seen of LFC already I'm gonna take the 12/1 for premiership title. And like it or not, We sure as hell ain't gonna win it with the same team as last season - minus one !!;; Fifth is more realistic I reckon .

 

I am afraid, the damage is already done. Under Poch, if my memory serves me right, not a single late signing has made any contribution in their 1st season. I also think there was an element of over confidence with Poch saying he was 'calm' and players echoing his opinion, only to being shown by City (a PL team) how far behind we are regarding fitness and depth of squad. I can somewhat understand players feeling comfortable with the TW as their positions are unlikely to be threatened/challenged.

Each time we either qualified for Europe and lately 3rd, 2nd in PL, folks always say we should be able to attract quality players. But they forget quality costs money and we don't do that! What the frig have the scouts been paid for if not to identify what Poch's philosophy needs? Yes, the cost of quality players has become ludicrous, but why should that come as a surprise? When was there ever deflation in the player market? IMO, just political excuses by Poch and Levy and very poor planning. But hey, our shining stadium is coming along nicely!

Too many factors are against us this time round to even consider consolidating a top-4 finish. IMO we will most likely sign a couple of 10 to 15 mill players who will require a season to adapt. I predict a 5th place finish.

Bet there won't be any delay in Levy signing his bonus cheque, with a small raise thrown in.

 

Hah, had a thought... Seeing what Neymar is likely to fetch might get dollar signs spinning in Daniel's eyes. If we don't make top 4, Kane and Dele should cover the stadium cost!... :0)

 

My goodness, let's calm down a bit...the season hasn't started. I do agree with most of the points, we've looked lackadaisical throughout this preseason, even though we were missing Waynama against City. For one, rather that have the Sissoko panic buys...I'd rather have none. Since we have a set first team so to speak, lots of the players who come in won't have that pressure to produce right away. Truthfully we don't need too much, backup RB, winger with pace who can stretch the field - compete with GK.

I am up for Barkley so long as he doesn't cost an arm and a leg, no more than 25 mil. Unfortunately though, football is a business, 800 mil in stadium loan or so is a hefty price...Levy will always be concerned by it; like it or not. If only we could find a way to nudge Kovacic from Madrid, this kid will make a world of a difference within our squad.

 

.I am sorry, but getting the "planning" part is hard for me. What is that you want exactly? To identify the target player early and go after him no matter the cost? That is what City does. Or United. Poch plans differently. He doesn't need to improve Spurs as much as Pep or Jose do. Did Chelski bought a half a squad? No and neither will Spurs. Because we were and still are the best two clubs in EPL. Do we need starters? No, we need bench depth. To go out and buy bench extension is not a very sexy business. It is much easy to get fan and pundit support by going out and getting a superstar. Any starter that is equal to what we have must be a star, BTW. It is very tricky to establish depth, while maintaining wage structure. Poch has never built a team with long bench being a first XI manager in his career. He is learning. It is not the money and not so much Levy. It is lack of players suitable for Spurs bench, Poch is trying to identify, so they would be no worse than those who could come to that bench from the academy. It is a difficult task, so be patient and let him do it. We don't want another Sissoco, do we?

 

Watched them in Orlando. Pretty good. Saw them in New Jersey. Bad. Saw them in Nashville. Ugly. Sounds like a rehash of a spaghetti western.

What will Saturday bring? Will the real Spurs please stand up and be counted?

 

God help us if HK or DA, MD get injured and long lay off like Rose!!

 

Doesn't the Chelsea city man utd method bring trophies tho ... read the article again.

 

Steady on! Firstly show me a well run business that does not rely on 'planning'. That and managing finances are the two most fundamental criteria of success. Further, for one, I have never suggested buying THE target player at whatever the cost and fully agree that we need to address the depth issue, though a 1st team ready signing would help immensely. The other point I would contest is, NO, we are not and should not pay the top dollar (under current financial constraints) for the ONLY player identified. I would like to think a good scout would give you a handful of targets. I would also suggest that the scouts are aware of the going player prices and it's in their remit to identify players in our talent + price bracket. So, I find it hard to digest that the so called depth players can not be scouted in our price range. The players that have so far been bought/sold by the high profile PL clubs were not our 'depth' players, hence no interest from us. We failed to sign Pau for a few million and if Levy wants 17 mill for our 'squad' player (Wimmer), then he ought to be prepared to pay the going price for a 'squad' player himself.

Like I said in the previous post, 10 - 15 mill signings is what we should expect. Desperation will see us spending north of 20 mill. IMO, we are about to hit desperation mode.

 

We must be the only club that says we have 1 top striker what do we need another 1 for?
Must be terrible to have all those options to choose from when facing tricky/stubborn/cup/important games.

Yes we have financial restraints but the world of football is huge and the points made earlier regarding scouts with remits is spot on.

We all know you can build a good side with limited resources were already doing it. Not all top players or next level players are 50 + mil they can be found with good scouting.

Currently though we look like we haven't got a clue about what we are buying and it's all a certain criteria needs to be filled with the most important thing being cheap/squeezing or making money not looking at what we actually need to kick on with any conviction or planning.

As time ticks on what the 'strategy' turns into is 'we've not bought anyone our main targets (if we even have any) we've not pursued with any real intent or not met asking/wage prices so what have we got left?

That's why most of our transfer windows are disappointing and leave most sane Spurs fans feeling disappointed/underwhelmed.

 

Where has this obsession come from of buying squad players or depth players??? Do we need to beef up the squad?? Of course. But, let's just imagine let's just dream of a scenario where we sign someone who has the quality to disperse someone like Eriksen or vertongen for example and they actually became the squaddie. Oh to dream eh? It happened with wanyama over dier only 12 month ago and our league position and starting 11 improved.

 

I agree with you. We would all love to see improvements over our 1st teamers. The Wanyama example is an excellent one. I will bet a few quid that the likes of Wanyama won't come at the bargain price we paid for him at the time. The market has gone silly and as soon as teams from abroad know the player is scouted by a PL side, the price goes up by 5 mill, similarly, within the PL or English league, a seller sees Spurs interested, an seeing what we are selling our players for, price goes up another 5 - 10 mill. So, I am afraid I can't see Levy or Poch paying top dollar. Of course there is always a chance that in our price range we may uncover another Dele, or that Poch can turn a bargain basement lad in to another Harry Kane.

I would say the general consensus amongst Spurs fans is that we won't be able to afford a direct replacement for our current 1st teamers and that we should be looking to improve the squad depth. Morata allegedly didn't want to join us as he didn't want to play 2nd fiddle to Harry. We'll never know if Morata would've hit the ground running and displaced Harry to bench.

Personally, I'd say with Poch's strict philosophy, where each of our starter has been drilled in to the exact requirement over 2-3 years, it would be difficult to displace any of them. Depth is not just about having 'squaddies', but also providing in-game tactical options. We also have 4 comps to contend with, so plenty of opps for all. COYS!

 

Well, I believe when Poch says "we have a different philosophy" he means different from those clubs. I like what Felon 82 has to say, but he totally, as well as you, discounts "different philosophy" part. I wouldn't mind similar philosophy, I am just a regular supporter and do like new toys acquired and acquired early, but I am not ready to disparage Poch and his new philosophy. Not yet.