A serious look at Mauricio Pochettino

[Amadaeus]

The things is (a) not all highly rated players have big egos (Harry Kane is one example); and (b) it's not desirable - in a team sport - to have players with big egos if there are alternative options.

Pochettino specifically prefers players who don't have big egos. Instead he's big on team spirit and team ethos.

Yea, maybe that is one of the many formula of his success. Keeping his players grounded in reality and not make them think they are bigger than the club. Unfortunately at United, I can name almost a full eleven consisting of players that have big egos.

It is rare to come across a very talented player that doesn’t have a big ego and I don’t think Pochettino can overlook those types of players if he wants to achieve greater success at Spurs. Maybe, he can, I m not sure.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

This is why a few wanted him because if he came in there would be no sentiments with him he would just get rid of the players that
A) don't have the ability
B) don't want to run

Yeah I don’t think there is any doubt about that.

Yea, maybe that is one of the many formula of his success. Keeping his players grounded in reality and not make them think they are bigger than the club. Unfortunately at United, I can name almost a full eleven consisting of players that have big egos.

It is rare to come across a very talented player that doesn’t have a big ego and I don’t think Pochettino can overlook those types of players if he wants to achieve greater success at Spurs. Maybe, he can, I m not sure.

Big egos, and big salaries seem to go hand in hand, the horrible side of the game.

 

[Champ]

Yea Pochettino is great at developing players and it shows with what he payed for these players and what their actual value is right now. However, I would like to see him develop players that are already highly rated and have huge egos. He has done well with Aurier, but at a bigger club he would have a team full of players with big egos.



I never said he wasn’t highly rated, just that he wasn’t highly regarded enough for the other top clubs to get him or for Spurs to spend a lot of money on him. If he was, Spurs would not have gotten him. At the time, you could compare Eriksen to Paqueta or Suso right now, who is highly rated, but not a polished player that is attracting a lot of interest from the top club. Also, I never said Eriksen was average, I said Son was average at the time Spurs purchased him.

Pogba was better than Eriksen when we bought him and when Spurs bought Eriksen. Pogba was courted by all the top clubs in Europe, Eriksen wasn’t and shows the gap of talent between the two players then. Pogba is still the better player and if he was in a team that has a good footballing philosophy, there would be no question who is the better player. During the honeymoon period, a lot of the fans was saying Pogba was the best midfielder in the world , that is the type of player we have in Pogba. I don’t think I have seen anyone claim that with Eriksen.

There are a lot of decent goal scorer in the bundesliga and a lot of those players are not highly rated. 12 goals in 43 matches and 17 goals in 42 matches, is nothing to boast about when you have a player like Kevin Volland offering a better return; scoring 13 goals in 28 matches and 14 goals in 30 matches in another season for the same Leverkusen team. So that argument is a non-starter.

What do you think, should United go after Volland or Felix this summer???

Martial was like Felix at the time and he was more highly rated than Son, not because of his appearances or goal scoring capabilities, but because he was highly regarded but professional scouts across Europe. If Martial was playing under Pochettino, he would be even more highly regarded.

I can imagine that conversation, Mitchell saying to Poch: I think we should try buy that Son again, I know he's average but I fancy wasting lots of money on average players. Yeah I know he's got quite a few goals in bundesliga but he's definitely average....
Not quite sure that's how it went really!!
Volland is a very decent player, I'd be happy to have him,
Felix not so much, well not for the money touted.
Your talking about Martial being more highly rated, I think what you mean is his potential is bigger, at the time of buying Martial he was seen as a potential superstar, buying potential rather than a finished product.

 

[Amadaeus]

I can imagine that conversation, Mitchell saying to Poch: I think we should try buy that Son again, I know he's average but I fancy wasting lots of money on average players. Yeah I know he's got quite a few goals in bundesliga but he's definitely average....
Not quite sure that's how it went really!!
Volland is a very decent player, I'd be happy to have him,
Felix not so much, well not for the money touted.
Your talking about Martial being more highly rated, I think what you mean is his potential is bigger, at the time of buying Martial he was seen as a potential superstar, buying potential rather than a finished product.

Or moreso, Pochettino taught he was signing a decent player and knew he could turn him into a top player. That how the conversation would have actually went.

Ok, you rather have Volland than Felix . If you are as good as Pochettino in developing players, he may turn out better than Felix or at a similar level in the future.

When buying potential, there must be an indicator that shows that player will be a top talent. This is what we saw Martial and most manager with the resources that United had would have chosen that path as some decent players often don’t go on to become top talent. If Son was more than decent at that time, he would have commanded a larger fee and attracted more suitor. If you believe in what you are posting, United should definitely sign someone like Volland over Sancho or Felix

On a side note, another great victory for Pochettino. His side showed true grits to score against a team that was parking multiple buses in front of their goal. The mental strength he has put in those Spurs players is worthy of a lot of praise.

 

[Champ]

Or moreso, Pochettino taught he was signing a decent player and knew he could turn him into a top player. That how the conversation would have actually went.

Ok, you rather have Volland than Felix . If you are as good as Pochettino in developing players, he may turn out better than Felix or at a similar level in the future.

When buying potential, there must be an indicator that shows that player will be a top talent. This is what we saw Martial and most manager with the resources that United had would have chosen that path as some decent players often don’t go on to become top talent. If Son was more than decent at that time, he would have commanded a larger fee and attracted more suitor. If you believe in what you are posting, United should definitely sign someone like Volland over Sancho or Felix

On a side note, another great victory for Pochettino. His side showed true grits to score against a team that was parking multiple buses in front of their goal. The mental strength he has put in those Spurs players is worthy of a lot of praise.

Son commanded a huge fee, the most expensive Asian player. £20 plus million I believe, quite a lot for an 'average' player back then!!

Poch didn't have any tactical nous to change things up again tonight, other than throwing Janssen on. Who hasn't really developed at all, along with N'jie, Fazio, Stambouli, Yedlin, Nkoudou, Lopez, Wimmer, Vorm etc etc, just saying....

 

[Nadger]

Son commanded a huge fee, the most expensive Asian player. £20 plus million I believe, quite a lot for an 'average' player back then!!

Poch didn't have any tactical nous to change things up again tonight, other than throwing Janssen on. Who hasn't really developed at all, along with N'jie, Fazio, Stambouli, Yedlin, Nkoudou, Lopez, Wimmer, Vorm etc etc, just saying....

What would you have done?

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Son commanded a huge fee, the most expensive Asian player. £20 plus million I believe, quite a lot for an 'average' player back then!!

Poch didn't have any tactical nous to change things up again tonight, other than throwing Janssen on. Who hasn't really developed at all, along with N'jie, Fazio, Stambouli, Yedlin, Nkoudou, Lopez, Wimmer, Vorm etc etc, just saying....

N'jie was an absolute pile of nothing, Fazio had ability but the Prem was far too fast paced for him because he ran like he was going through treacle, Stambouli was another nothing player, Yedlin far too raw and even now is nothing but pace, Nkoudou isn't even PL level hence not even getting games for Burnley last season, Lopez was a third choice keeper, Wimmer was actually OK but wanted first team football and since leaving has done nothing and Vorm was a back up keeper and that's all.

He's not Jesus. We make a lot of punts on players due to the fact we're unable to sign at the top table, thus we end up with a lot of players who clearly are not top six standard, not under any coach. Janssen hasn't developed because a) injuries and b) he's not good enough at this level, that's the simple fact of his situation. Coaches can improve players to a certain extent but they can't turn water in to wine, it's not possible. The potential has to be there to be unlocked, with some players it just isn't present.

20 million when we signed Son was not that much. It wasn't a nothing fee (big for us) but compared to the money our competitors were throwing about, it was far from a 'huge' buy comparatively.

As for Poch tonight, take a good long look at our bench. It's a whole lot of nothing. Our squad depth is pitiful, combine that with injuries to Kane, Winks, Lamela, Sissoko and probably others I've forgotten about, and you're left with the absolute barebones. There's a reason Janssen is making the bench, do you think that reason is because Pochettino really rates him as a player? Who else does he bring on, an 18 year old Skipp or a central defender? This isn't Manchester City where Sane, Jesus, Mahrez, Silva & co are just waiting to be used.

Facts are Levy has left Pochettino with an absolute bitch of a job due to spending nothing, and Poch has done it superbly thus far. I had my doubts earlier in the season where he seemed to be getting silly in the press and playing the blame game, but overall we keep pushing on despite so many setbacks.

 

[MagicKarpet]

Son commanded a huge fee, the most expensive Asian player. £20 plus million I believe, quite a lot for an 'average' player back then!!

Poch didn't have any tactical nous to change things up again tonight, other than throwing Janssen on. Who hasn't really developed at all, along with N'jie, Fazio, Stambouli, Yedlin, Nkoudou, Lopez, Wimmer, Vorm etc etc, just saying....

I'm fascinated to know what you or any other manager would have done with a bench of:

Sanchez
Janssen
Dier
Foyth
Skipp
Davies.

I find it amazing that people still try and find some sort of desperate angle in a vain attempt to try and knock him, it's actually hilarious

Yes there's going to be some players who aren't going to improve under certain managers believe it or not, some players just aren't good enough, some players don't have the mentality, it's just football.

The question you need to ask yourself is how many of those players you quoted have gone onto bigger and better things or improved under other coaches?

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Son commanded a huge fee, the most expensive Asian player. £20 plus million I believe, quite a lot for an 'average' player back then!!

Poch didn't have any tactical nous to change things up again tonight, other than throwing Janssen on. Who hasn't really developed at all, along with N'jie, Fazio, Stambouli, Yedlin, Nkoudou, Lopez, Wimmer, Vorm etc etc, just saying....

Did you watch the match tonight? There wasn’t a great deal more Poch could have done, Brighton were playing for the point, and despite what some in here may say we had very good chances. Brighton had last ditch challenges, we hit the post and Ryan made a few good saves, also another ref could very easily have given them red card.

 

[Saf94]

How can people look at Poch and not see that the situation he inherited at Spurs is exactly the same one we’ve got now.

Team of misfit, overpaid and underperforming stars. Assembled with no plan and no long term vision. Poch literally turned the ship 180, got rid of the players who didn’t give maximum effort and drilled the team into becoming the most disciplined, hard working and efficient team in the league. He got a team who had got into the CL like twice in the last decade (or 2?) into being consistently among the top teams in the league and all with a pretty small budget. Poch got the most out of guys who weren’t rated or who were talented but underperforming / inconsistent. He turned Eriksen into a world class star, Dembele into one of the best midfielders in the league. Son from medium type player into a genuine superstar, he even got Sissoko to become a box to box beast.

Like Poch literally did everything we are begging for Ole to do, how on earth anyone doesn’t rate him is mind boggling. If people don’t want / think Poch can do a good job then no manager on earth can because Poch literally has the proven track record of revamping an entire football club.

 

[Amadaeus]

Son commanded a huge fee, the most expensive Asian player. £20 plus million I believe, quite a lot for an 'average' player back then!!

Poch didn't have any tactical nous to change things up again tonight, other than throwing Janssen on. Who hasn't really developed at all, along with N'jie, Fazio, Stambouli, Yedlin, Nkoudou, Lopez, Wimmer, Vorm etc etc, just saying....

£25m will get you Thomas Cleverly in this market or more accurately Troy Deeney . That isn’t much and certainly not a price you would pay for a top talent.

You must think Spurs side is comparable to Manchester City with the great Janssen coming of the bench or the best striker in the premier league llorente with an amazing goal scoring record of 1 goals in the premier league this season. Getting a result with what he had was good for his side. Also, no manager can have an 100% record in developing players. Pochettino has done well in developing those that turn into top professionals.

 

[Champ]

N'jie was an absolute pile of nothing, Fazio had ability but the Prem was far too fast paced for him because he ran like he was going through treacle, Stambouli was another nothing player, Yedlin far too raw and even now is nothing but pace, Nkoudou isn't even PL level hence not even getting games for Burnley last season, Lopez was a third choice keeper, Wimmer was actually OK but wanted first team football and since leaving has done nothing and Vorm was a back up keeper and that's all.

He's not Jesus. We make a lot of punts on players due to the fact we're unable to sign at the top table, thus we end up with a lot of players who clearly are not top six standard, not under any coach. Janssen hasn't developed because a) injuries and b) he's not good enough at this level, that's the simple fact of his situation. Coaches can improve players to a certain extent but they can't turn water in to wine, it's not possible. The potential has to be there to be unlocked, with some players it just isn't present.

20 million when we signed Son was not that much. It wasn't a nothing fee (big for us) but compared to the money our competitors were throwing about, it was far from a 'huge' buy comparatively.

As for Poch tonight, take a good long look at our bench. It's a whole lot of nothing. Our squad depth is pitiful, combine that with injuries to Kane, Winks, Lamela, Sissoko and probably others I've forgotten about, and you're left with the absolute barebones. There's a reason Janssen is making the bench, do you think that reason is because Pochettino really rates him as a player? Who else does he bring on, an 18 year old Skipp or a central defender? This isn't Manchester City where Sane, Jesus, Mahrez, Silva & co are just waiting to be used.

Facts are Levy has left Pochettino with an absolute bitch of a job due to spending nothing, and Poch has done it superbly thus far. I had my doubts earlier in the season where he seemed to be getting silly in the press and playing the blame game, but overall we keep pushing on despite so many setbacks.

I would say Poch has you exactly where you should be. The league form is fairly standard, about the same as last season points wise.
Granted there's not much he could have done last night in terms of personnel, but playing essentially the same way hoping to get a breakthrough relied heavily on a moment of magic which is what happened. Why not change shape, why not stop putting crosses in for Llorente when he was being well handled, I have seen that kind of performance from Spurs often, where there doesn't seem to be any plan B, if that was Jose or Moyes that performance would have been questioned heavily.
It was actually £27m for Son, quite a large fee really.
I am merely making a point to Amadaeus exactly that, Poch isn't Jesus, he has quite an average track record at ''developing' players, for every Eriksen there's a Fazio, N'jie, and Nkoudou, average players that stayed average.

 

[balaks]

I would say Poch has you exactly where you should be. The league form is fairly standard, about the same as last season points wise.
Granted there's not much he could have done last night in terms of personnel, but playing essentially the same way hoping to get a breakthrough relied heavily on a moment of magic which is what happened. Why not change shape, why not stop putting crosses in for Llorente when he was being well handled, I have seen that kind of performance from Spurs often, where there doesn't seem to be any plan B, if that was Jose or Moyes that performance would have been questioned heavily.
It was actually £27m for Son, quite a large fee really.
I am merely making a point to Amadaeus exactly that, Poch isn't Jesus, he has quite an average track record at ''developing' players, for every Eriksen there's a Fazio, N'jie, and Nkoudou, average players that stayed average.

For us to be at the same level as last season without spending a penny and all our rivals improving their squads is nothing short of miraculous. Nothing 'fairly standard' about it.

 

[GlastonSpur]

I would say Poch has you exactly where you should be. The league form is fairly standard, about the same as last season points wise ....

Where Poch has kept us in the league is far beyond 'standard' considering:

* We've spent most of the season playing 'home' games at Wembley.
* We've spent nothing for the last 2 transfer windows.
* Our net spend over the last several years is far, far below that of any of our top 4 rivals.
* We've gone further in the CL this season than last.
* We've been hit quite heavily with injuries this season.

 

[Casanova85]

It's hideous, nasty, outrageous that a club with 11 defeats is going to end up 3rd.

 

[Scroto Baggins]

It's hideous, nasty, outrageous that a club with 11 defeats is going to end up 3rd.

It's because of the lack of draws, they may have lost eleven times but they have won 23 times, that is four more wins than us and three more losses. They have drawn once all season, which is bizarre.

 

[Champ]

For us to be at the same level as last season without spending a penny and all our rivals improving their squads is nothing short of miraculous. Nothing 'fairly standard' about it.

Tell me who out of your rivals improved their squad?? United, Arsenal and Chelsea all brought players but who exactly improved?
Chelsea and Arsenal went into the season with new managers, United went into it in disarray.
The simple fact is your squad is the third best in the premiership right now, that's where you are, the champs league campaign elevates your season slightly, if you win it it elevates it dramatically.

 

[Champ]

Where Poch has kept us in the league is far beyond 'standard' considering:

* We've spent most of the season playing 'home' games at Wembley.
* We've spent nothing for the last 2 transfer windows.
* Our net spend over the last several years is far, far below that of any of our top 4 rivals.
* We've gone further in the CL this season than last.
* We've been hit quite heavily with injuries this season.

You spent £110m last season on transfers!! Hardly an insignificant amount, it's only this season you haven't spent.
This whole Net spend argument is complete fluff, Spurs and Poch spent £110m last season on new players, that's money spent. Doesn't matter how much money you get in, that's the cash that spurs spent.
The simple fact is your squad is the third best in the premiership, and that's where you are.
You have the best striker possibly in Europe, one of the best midfielders, two highly rated defenders, more than most and better than Arsenal, Chelsea and us.

 

[GlastonSpur]

You spent £110m last season on transfers!! Hardly an insignificant amount, it's only this season you haven't spent.
This whole Net spend argument is complete fluff, Spurs and Poch spent £110m last season on new players, that's money spent. Doesn't matter how much money you get in, that's the cash that spurs spent.
The simple fact is your squad is the third best in the premiership, and that's where you are.
You have the best striker possibly in Europe, one of the best midfielders, two highly rated defenders, more than most and better than Arsenal, Chelsea and us.

Last season? Are we not talking about this season?

In any case, net spend is far more important than just counting spend on incoming players alone. But even if you wish to argue otherwise, our spending on new players has been far less than any of our top 4 rivals for several years now: to give you just one example, United's spending on Pogba and Fred alone is almost 30% more than the cost of Spurs entire first XI!

And if our squad is the 3rd best in the league, despite the comparative lack of spending, doesn't Pochettino take a lot of the credit for that? After all, he is part of our transfer committee and he is in charge of player coaching.

Moreover, how would our rivals have fared if they had had to play most of their 'home' games away from their home stadium?

 

[balaks]

You spent £110m last season on transfers!! Hardly an insignificant amount, it's only this season you haven't spent.
This whole Net spend argument is complete fluff, Spurs and Poch spent £110m last season on new players, that's money spent. Doesn't matter how much money you get in, that's the cash that spurs spent.
The simple fact is your squad is the third best in the premiership, and that's where you are.
You have the best striker possibly in Europe, one of the best midfielders, two highly rated defenders, more than most and better than Arsenal, Chelsea and us.

The discussion was about this season.

 

[Champ]

The discussion was about this season.

Hence the reason I put 'its only this season you haven't spent', not sure if you read that bit or not. I was responding to the illusion that Spurs haven't spent anything close to their rivals recently, £110m is a hefty amount of money only ten million less than united that season I believe,
United have wasted money, so have Spurs, undoubtedly united spend more overall, but we've had to contend with change of managers which compounds the spending.

 

[Litch]

Levels.....

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Hence the reason I put 'its only this season you haven't spent', not sure if you read that bit or not. I was responding to the illusion that Spurs haven't spent anything close to their rivals recently, £110m is a hefty amount of money only ten million less than united that season I believe,
United have wasted money, so have Spurs, undoubtedly united spend more overall, but we've had to contend with change of managers which compounds the spending.

If you can’t see in recent history United have spent bucket loads more cash than Spurs, both in transfers and wages, I don’t know what to tell you.

 

[Champ]

If you can’t see in recent history United have spent bucket loads more cash than Spurs, both in transfers and wages, I don’t know what to tell you.

If you can't actually read my post fully then I'm not really sure what else to say either!!
I'll reiterate my previous point also, a transfer fee doesn't always fit the quality of player, United have a habit of paying over the odds for mediocre players due to the knowledge that United are wealthy.
I'm sure Spurs will now have this to contend with going forward...

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

If you can't actually read my post fully then I'm not really sure what else to say either!!
I'll reiterate my previous point also, a transfer fee doesn't always fit the quality of player, United have a habit of paying over the odds for mediocre players due to the knowledge that United are wealthy.
I'm sure Spurs will now have this to contend with going forward...

I doubt we would ever pay the amounts United have in either fees or wages. It’s no excuse to say, “we’re rich so we pay more”.

 

[Champ]

I doubt we would ever pay the amounts United have in either fees or wages. It’s no excuse to say, “we’re rich so we pay more”.

Alas, you will, everyone does, City have paid over the odds, Liverpool have paid over the odds, Chelsea too, you will start to pay over the odds as the hardballing by Levy won't cut it in today's market, we saw it with Aston Villa and Grealish, English club's don't need the money like they used too from transfers, they get more from TV rights.
When a club has money that people know about the prices inevitably start to rise.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Alas, you will, everyone does, City have paid over the odds, Liverpool have paid over the odds, Chelsea too, you will start to pay over the odds as the hardballing by Levy won't cut it in today's market, we saw it with Aston Villa and Grealish, English club's don't need the money like they used too from transfers, they get more from TV rights.
When a club has money that people know about the prices inevitably start to rise.

Yeah we say it with Geealish.... we don’t pay stupid prices. Who would you say City payed over the odds for? It’s not really the money paid, it’s rhe quality of the players bought. You have bought a shit load of players who struggle to even get a game.

 

[MagicKarpet]

You spent £110m last season on transfers!! Hardly an insignificant amount, it's only this season you haven't spent.
This whole Net spend argument is complete fluff, Spurs and Poch spent £110m last season on new players, that's money spent. Doesn't matter how much money you get in, that's the cash that spurs spent.
The simple fact is your squad is the third best in the premiership, and that's where you are.
You have the best striker possibly in Europe, one of the best midfielders, two highly rated defenders, more than most and better than Arsenal, Chelsea and us.

I mean if you want to ignore net spending that's up to you although I sense you're only doing that because it doesn't fit with your agenda but Spurs' spend since Pochettino has been manager still doesn't compare to their rivals:

Man City 760m
Chelsea 735.1m
Man Utd 594.5m
Liverpool 583.5m
Everton 400m
Arsenal 385.7m
Spurs £262.8m

 

[Champ]

Yeah we say it with Geealish.... we don’t pay stupid prices. Who would you say City payed over the odds for? It’s not really the money paid, it’s rhe quality of the players bought. You have bought a shit load of players who struggle to even get a game.

Stupid prices Levy was hoping the financial uncertainty surrounding Villa at the time would lead to them selling their prized asset, unfortunately for Spurs they got a windfall and no longer needed to sell, nothing to do with stupid prices!!
Levy bid £30 million at the last minute, but Villa didn't need the cash. Can't believe you don't know this??
United have brought some dross through the years, I do wish we had Spurs scouting network as we wouldn't be in this predicament that we are in!!

 

[Champ]

I mean if you want to ignore net spending that's up to you although I sense you're only doing that because it doesn't fit with your agenda but Spurs' spend since Pochettino has been manager still doesn't compare to their rivals:

Man City 760m
Chelsea 735.1m
Man Utd 594.5m
Liverpool 583.5m
Everton 400m
Arsenal 385.7m
Spurs £262.8m

No agenda, just net spend is a way of saying 'look we haven't spent any money' , when the money has actually been spent, so the club DID spend that money.
The season before Poch came in Spurs had spent £130m, again, a decent amount. So in theory Poch should of had a decent enough squad to begin with and they finished 5th with a points total of 75, have Spurs progressed under Poch, or have other teams declined?

 

[MagicKarpet]

No agenda, just net spend is a way of saying 'look we haven't spent any money' , when the money has actually been spent, so the club DID spend that money.
The season before Poch came in Spurs had spent £130m, again, a decent amount. So in theory Poch should of had a decent enough squad to begin with and they finished 5th with a points total of 75, have Spurs progressed under Poch, or have other teams declined?

Net spend is important because it shows how much the manager is getting out of the squad, Spurs have obviously spent money...no one would suggest otherwise but the narrative that Spurs haven't spent as much money as their rivals is entirely fair, there's an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports it.

Spurs spent £122m on new players because the majority of that was financed through Gareth Bale's sale, that's how net spending works...we wouldn't have spent that much if we hadn't had sold the best player in the league. Also the squad was a complete mess regardless which saw AVB sacked, it was a mish mash of players with no confidence or no direction, theoretically the squad should have been decent but in reality it wasn't.

* BTW Spurs finished 5th on 64 points in 2014/15.

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

Stupid prices Levy was hoping the financial uncertainty surrounding Villa at the time would lead to them selling their prized asset, unfortunately for Spurs they got a windfall and no longer needed to sell, nothing to do with stupid prices!!
Levy bid £30 million at the last minute, but Villa didn't need the cash. Can't believe you don't know this??
United have brought some dross through the years, I do wish we had Spurs scouting network as we wouldn't be in this predicament that we are in!!

Of course I know it, my point was Levy didn’t pay the fee asked. I fail to see your point, Jack is a good player, but not worth what Cilla was asking. There is value in the market you just have to find it.

We were told to pay over the odds for Benteke and Berahinho also and didn’t, bloody good job too.

 

[Champ]

Net spend is important because it shows how much the manager is getting out of the squad, Spurs have obviously spent money...no one would suggest otherwise but the narrative that Spurs haven't spent as much money as their rivals is entirely fair, there's an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports it.

Spurs spent £122m on new players because the majority of that was financed through Gareth Bale's sale, that's how net spending works...we wouldn't have spent that much if we hadn't had sold the best player in the league. Also the squad was a complete mess regardless which saw AVB sacked, it was a mish mash of players with no confidence or no direction, theoretically the squad should have been decent but in reality it wasn't.

* BTW Spurs finished 5th on 64 points in 2014/15.

Doesn't matter how transfers are financed! Spurs spent that money, this is what I don't get with people claiming net spend is the be all and end all. It's not, the money was spent regardless!
The simple fact is Poch has got Spurs right where they should be, other teams have declined (Arsenal and United) Chelsea have yoyo'ed, the only two clubs in the 'top 6' that have improved are Liverpool and City who are the only clubs above spurs right now, and still Spurs haven't won a trophy (yet, the Champions League would certainly change my views on Spurs and Poch as Gods Gift to the premiership!)

 

[balaks]

Alas, you will, everyone does, City have paid over the odds, Liverpool have paid over the odds, Chelsea too, you will start to pay over the odds as the hardballing by Levy won't cut it in today's market, we saw it with Aston Villa and Grealish, English club's don't need the money like they used too from transfers, they get more from TV rights.
When a club has money that people know about the prices inevitably start to rise.

Sorry but I don't buy this - Utd have a choice - if they do not wish to overpay for a player then they simply don't have to - same with wages. The wages and transfer fees may get higher if other clubs are in for a player obviously but not just 'because it's Utd'.

Spurs not buying Grealish was because we had a certain value for that player we were prepared to pay and as Villa wanted more we backed out. That's a good thing if you ask me and a sensible way to run a club.

 

[Champ]

Sorry but I don't buy this - Utd have a choice - if they do not wish to overpay for a player then they simply don't have to - same with wages. The wages and transfer fees may get higher if other clubs are in for a player obviously but not just 'because it's Utd'.

Spurs not buying Grealish was because we had a certain value for that player we were prepared to pay and as Villa wanted more we backed out. That's a good thing if you ask me and a sensible way to run a club.

If you want a certain player then you will eventually have to pay or risk what happened with Spurs this season - you get no one, Grealish would have improved your midfield options no end.
It's no longer a buyers market, the football economics have trickled down to championship level and most clubs no longer need to sell to survive, it's now a sellers market, clubs can impose a huge fee on players knowing they will either get the money or hold onto their prized asset for one more season.
You didn't get Grealish because Levy played a game and lost, Spurs went from a sub £20m value to £30m plus addons at the last minute, so it has nothing to do with refusing to pay over the odds.

 

[balaks]

If you want a certain player then you will eventually have to pay or risk what happened with Spurs this season - you get no one, Grealish would have improved your midfield options no end.
It's no longer a buyers market, the football economics have trickled down to championship level and most clubs no longer need to sell to survive, it's now a sellers market, clubs can impose a huge fee on players knowing they will either get the money or hold onto their prized asset for one more season.
You didn't get Grealish because Levy played a game and lost, Spurs went from a sub £20m value to £30m plus addons at the last minute, so it has nothing to do with refusing to pay over the odds.

We didnt get him because we were not prepared more than we felt he was worth. That's fine by me. Levy plays games when trying to get players of course and is determined to get the best deal which usually means waiting till the last minute - sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't. None of that changes the fact that we had a figure we were not prepared to go above and that was that. Like I said - it's a choice the club make.

Would I have preferred us to have signed somebody last summer even if it meant overpaying? Yes most definitely but I don't run the club and I don't have the balance sheet in front of me.

 

[Champ]

We didnt get him because we were not prepared more than we felt he was worth. That's fine by me. Levy plays games when trying to get players of course and is determined to get the best deal which usually means waiting till the last minute - sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn't. None of that changes the fact that we had a figure we were not prepared to go above and that was that. Like I said - it's a choice the club make.

Would I have preferred us to have signed somebody last summer even if it meant overpaying? Yes most definitely but I don't run the club and I don't have the balance sheet in front of me.

I get your point, but it's pretty clear that Spurs wanted Grealish, there were at least four confirmed bids all of increased nature, the last was literally at the death of the transfer window, all suggesting that Levy was willing to part with the cash but Villa refused.

I could point out several instances whereby Clubs have asked for more money than the player is worth and been paid it, which only highlights my point in the last post even more, there are also plenty of times whereby a player has ended up staying at a club despite repeated bids being placed, which once again reiterates my point, it's a sellers market, the buyers hand is forced.

 

[balaks]

I get your point, but it's pretty clear that Spurs wanted Grealish, there were at least four confirmed bids all of increased nature, the last was literally at the death of the transfer window, all suggesting that Levy was willing to part with the cash but Villa refused.

I could point out several instances whereby Clubs have asked for more money than the player is worth and been paid it, which only highlights my point in the last post even more, there are also plenty of times whereby a player has ended up staying at a club despite repeated bids being placed, which once again reiterates my point, it's a sellers market, the buyers hand is forced.

That may be true but I don't see how it is different for Utd than it is for any club.

 

[ForestRGoinUp]

Just as interesting as our own summer rebuild will be, I think what Levy and Spurs do will play a big part in shaping the league over the next several years.

With that new stadium now, Pochetinno seemingly committed and the possibility they find themselves in a CL final, they do have a major opportunity in front of them. If Levy were to break up that wage structure a bit more to keep Eriksen and they spend on a few reinforcements, Spurs have the chance to separate a bit from us, Chelsea and Arsenal and to put up a real fight with City and Liverpool.

 

[balaks]

Just as interesting as our own summer rebuild will be, I think what Levy and Spurs do will play a big part in shaping the league over the next several years.

With that new stadium now, Pochetinno seemingly committed and the possibility they find themselves in a CL final, they do have a major opportunity in front of them. If Levy were to break up that wage structure a bit more to keep Eriksen and they spend on a few reinforcements, Spurs have the chance to separate a bit from us, Chelsea and Arsenal and to put up a real fight with City and Liverpool.

I think this is going to be a very important summer for us - I expect us to spend big (for us anyway).