Only pointing by saying he has a different policy, not in a bad way. But yes, I would say it was down to Harry. Because for him, to sign improvements means they have to be absolutely nailed on, proven quality in order to bring them in. 'I tried to sign Balotelli', 'I asked the chairman 'Can you get me Carlos Tevez?' he never considered singing anyone that could fit into a particular style of play and go for the 'value signing' because he had no set style of play. Not necessarily a bad thing, he just adapted to each player when they played. But that meant it would be harder to make improvements because why would he sign unproven guy from Germany or Scotland when he already has Defoe? It wouldn't actually be a step up in his mind.
agreed with this in general. but i would have still liked to have seen him back properly. there is no way he ONLY went for the unattainable. he must have had other guys in mind that were gettable
But if we have a system where he knows what he wants, he can maybe find someone with the attributes, rather than the record. Why was there no back up for Lennon? No need, we have Niko, who's a triffic player. No matter that we look most dangerous when we break and attack with pace and get teams on the back foot, we had to completely alter our style of play.
you forget the wonky? the season we got 4th? playing a wide playmaker worked well then dont forget. and i believe niko is fully versed in that role. we actually dont have just one style of play. two stikers, VDV's formation and a wonky. all in our arsenal. but i agree, we should have had a lennon back up
You talk of risk, and say Everton have to take more risks than us, but equally, we have to take more risks than people with better finances than us. If we don't, then we will always be waiting around the same level below them, until our own finances get on the same level. But that means we will keep not making improvements until they are absolutely guaranteed. We didn't buy any strikers because there was no obvious, sure-fire improvement available for a price we can afford. But I'm absolutely certain we will sign strikers/wing forwards under AVB and they won't all be 15M+ plus players. It can be done. But if we don't have a system of play, we simply judge improvements by tier of quality. So Defoe is proven Premier League quality, but we'd need someone proven CL quality to improve on him...without finances that isn't happening unless a seriously good deal presents itself. Or we have a system, we sign the right players, and we should be good. And there is value to be found because the players with the attributes we need will be out there, but maybe they aren't being used in a way that we would use them right now, and that's where we can make them perform better. Wenger's early signings are a great example.
you see , i AGREE with all this. we were looking for those that would provide the most guarantee at the most affordable..or "tottenham willingly affordable" price. it wasnt good cause we just either got priced out through transfer or wages..or the money was not made available. but you are right, in order to catch those above us, we have to risk more .....in relation to those we are trying to aspire to. so yes i agree with this. my only thing is that for me its a gamble, and the level of certainty with people saying we'll just identify what we need , but a couple of players then we are as good as anyone out there...how do you know for sure that these players are doing to fit into the puzzle perfectly?
It doesn't mean that every signing that is brought in for 'the system' will be a sure-fire success, but we will at least be aiming towards it. Things like mentality, injuries, ability to settle into the culture and style of the league will all be important.
AGreed with this
But if we are looking for specific attributes, we will definitely be able to make more value signings, and that seems to be exactly what Levy was looking for.
we may make more value signings, true but by no means does it mean that it translates into success here. the premiership is THE great leveller IMO.
I get the feeling you are annoyed Harry is gone and aren't really happy with AVB,
this couldnt be further from the truth. i will say that i dont think there was a logical and enough tangible reasons to get rid of harry but i dont feel like how you just described
but really I don't know how it can be argued that there aren't value signings to be made out there.
based on your definition of a 'value signing'? there most certainly are. but you're not sitting here saying that the liklehood of success is high simply because AVB identified it and then BAM, success is very high. these value signings are riskier gambles than the ones we would normally chase after IMO
cause thats how most clubs operate, but not most clubs that operate in our arena, not for the first team.
Harry's way was ok - if we have the finances of a top 6 club, he will buy players of a top 6 quality and put us in the top 6. But if we want to go further, we need to take some 'risks'. Swansea have the finances of a Championship club, but got to safe mid-table. We need to do the higher table equivalent. Not easy but there is value there.
agree with this, but i think harry's way was more than okay. it was actually a success. this is the guy that bought parker when everyone was twiddling their thumbs and parker is a top 4 player when employed in the right system.....just like you are talking about the players for AVB system
thats actually another thing, i trusted harry to make the right purchases......i havent developed that kind of trust with AVB yet despite his high footballing ACADEMIC accolade
