Daniel Levy - Chairman

[Favour]

An upgrade on Walker at half the price
A proven backup striker
A centre back that that enables us to play Dier in midfield instead of at the back
And a young defender for the future

Sure I would have liked a pacy attacker but Levy has improved our squad without breaking the bank which is important considering our new stadium

Pretty much sums up how I feel about the window. Think it's been pretty good.

 

[diego_maradona]

He WAS identified early, but he wanted to go to Juventus. In the end they wouldn't pay the asking price and he chose another southern European club.

All the players we have signed and tried to sign will have been considered before the window even opened. After that it's a matter of timing as we can't afford to go all in.

Just look at Chelsea, Arsenal and City. They have a lot more money than us, why didn't they have everything sorted long ago?

The idea that we can't afford to go in doesn't quite add up to me.
Accept that we are not in for the very cream of the crop but we should be able to compete with Dortmund and Monaco. Our turnover generally will exceed that of our rivals, yet spend on transfers generally remains low. We clearly have the money when push comes to shove, look at Davinson Sánchez.
Levy and Poch have said it's a deliberate tactic to enter late. It's just one I strongly disagree with. I cannot pretend I know the ins and outs but players like Tielemans, Toljan, Balde are all players I would think we seriously looked at. I think if we identify them early and move for them early we can get these deals done. Ultimately if you prioritise football ahead of business it's something you would make a priority

 

[alekaras]

If we have stuck to a ratio of 50:50 wages to revenue under levys tenure, i would expect this to be the same at the minimum in the new stadium.

Anyone want to hazard a guess what this means for us wages wise?

As our turnover grows I think the percentage of wages can increase. If your operating expenses excluding salaries are say £50 million and your turnover is £100 million then you have to stick to 50/50 to break even. But if your turnover increased to £300 million, then you can afford a higher ratio of wages. Yes, your operating expenses excluding salaries will be higher most probably, but unless they increase by 200% (unlikely) then you can afford to pay 60% or more in wages. Of course we have to factor in the stadium, which will hamper this for a few years, but after that I can see a gradual rise in wages/turnover.

 

[Jurgen the German]

We've signed some very good players this window but quite honestly it is a blatant case of business over football. This strategy is one which is not prioritising football, but instead business.

The proper way to conduct yourselves during a transfer window if you're trying to be a big club is to identify your targets, and get them and give them a proper preseason so they hit the ground running. This late show in the market is amateurish, and incredibly risky.

We are so close to winning a title. A couple of well scouted good deals could tip the scales in our favour.

An example is missing out on Keita Balde. This guy could have been identified from the offset and done early. No reason we should not be competing with the likes of Monaco and Dortmund for players given our turnover is massive compared to theirs

Very good post.

The idea that we have no choice but to leave it late doesn't add up to me. I've seen people argue that they expect our signings to come good in the second half of the season "when it really counts". Surely all 38 games count? Including the first few games before the window closes when it would be ideal to get a settled squad. I take comfort in knowing that eventually, the powers that be will change the rules so that the window closes before the start of the season, then we won't be having this conversation anymore.

Could have done with another attacking player but on the whole a very productive window and some great business done by Levy, just wished we could have done some business earlier.

I'm sure there will be some superfans who only find the negative in this post and don't bother to actually read it properly but hey ho.

 

[alekaras]

After 17 years surely it is fair to look at the trophy cabinet. We are a club with huge potential and a rich history. Some talk as if he has taken over a 3rd rate club and turned them into a force.

Football wise ( not sure what else matters myself) he is the least successful chairman we have ever had.

If I was an Arsenal or Chelsea fan I would have loved his reign.

One LC in 17 years is pretty terrible for a club like ours.

Would anyone settle for that in the next 17 years? He has succeeded most of all in lowering expectations.

And I am not saying he is terrible, but I do think he is an impediment to our success.

Mostly because he does not take a holistic approach to transfer

It is too much about the deal. And I am not saying we should break the bank. But we should get the managers first choice, when they are within our range.

That has not happened. Hence the familiar last
Minute hijack and scramble.

CQ has made no difference - a brilliant manager has made no difference.

Can you imagine our chances atm if we had Poch and a more supportive chairman and a less chaotic transfer policy?

We may not have won much in his 17-year reign, but he has put us in a position to win trophies in the years to come and do so on a consistent basis. And not just a one-off LC or FA cup, but the league title itself. I would rather we have a team that is a title contender year in and year out than one that stumbles on a FA cup thanks to a lucky draw or a once-in-a-lifetime performance in a couple of one-off games.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

The idea that we can't afford to go in doesn't quite add up to me.
Accept that we are not in for the very cream of the crop but we should be able to compete with Dortmund and Monaco. Our turnover generally will exceed that of our rivals, yet spend on transfers generally remains low. We clearly have the money when push comes to shove, look at Davinson Sánchez.
Levy and Poch have said it's a deliberate tactic to enter late. It's just one I strongly disagree with. I cannot pretend I know the ins and outs but players like Tielemans, Toljan, Balde are all players I would think we seriously looked at. I think if we identify them early and move for them early we can get these deals done. Ultimately if you prioritise football ahead of business it's something you would make a priority

Bolded - is where I think you are wrong.

Rivals as in "comparible sized clubs", yes. THey are generally to their leagues what we are traditionally to ours, with a similar 'footbprint', I dont disagree.

However, this year, last year, our rivals have without doubt been Chelsea, City, Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool... All clubs that have budgets that swamp ours such is the degree we are punching above our weight. And, IMO, all clubs that wouldnt hesitate to drive bidding up on a player we want and then take him from us just to dingdong us around.

We HAVE to let them get their spending done, let them inflate the market, and wait for it all to normalise again. Its the best choice if we want to get the best players we can at the end of the day.

Is that how we WANT to do it? My assumption, but absolutely not. Who would? I have no doubt the club would love to have deals set and ready to sign for the moment the window opens. We very simply cant at this point.

When we can, Im sure we will. Ross Barkley on Jan 1st? I wouldnt bet against it.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Bolded - is where I think you are wrong.

Rivals as in "comparible sized clubs", yes. THey are generally to their leagues what we are traditionally to ours, with a similar 'footbprint', I dont disagree.

However, this year, last year, our rivals have without doubt been Chelsea, City, Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool... All clubs that have budgets that swamp ours such is the degree we are punching above our weight. And, IMO, all clubs that wouldnt hesitate to drive bidding up on a player we want and then take him from us just to dingdong us around.

We HAVE to let them get their spending done, let them inflate the market, and wait for it all to normalise again. Its the best choice if we want to get the best players we can at the end of the day.

Is that how we WANT to do it? My assumption, but absolutely not. Who would? I have no doubt the club would love to have deals set and ready to sign for the moment the window opens. We very simply cant at this point.

When we can, Im sure we will. Ross Barkley on Jan 1st? I wouldnt bet against it.

How do you explain the likes of Everton and West Ham doing business earlier than we do? Much earlier in fact. I accept we are bigger clubs than both and have higher aspirations but if you apply your theory to all clubs then surely they would have to wait until we do our business and so on?

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

They arent rivals. We arent interested in messing with them and we clearly werent interested in the same players.

 

[diego_maradona]

Bolded - is where I think you are wrong.

Rivals as in "comparible sized clubs", yes. THey are generally to their leagues what we are traditionally to ours, with a similar 'footbprint', I dont disagree.

However, this year, last year, our rivals have without doubt been Chelsea, City, Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool... All clubs that have budgets that swamp ours such is the degree we are punching above our weight. And, IMO, all clubs that wouldnt hesitate to drive bidding up on a player we want and then take him from us just to dingdong us around.

We HAVE to let them get their spending done, let them inflate the market, and wait for it all to normalise again. Its the best choice if we want to get the best players we can at the end of the day.

Is that how we WANT to do it? My assumption, but absolutely not. Who would? I have no doubt the club would love to have deals set and ready to sign for the moment the window opens. We very simply cant at this point.

When we can, Im sure we will. Ross Barkley on Jan 1st? I wouldnt bet against it.

It's not cut and dry in the way I am saying it. But even waiting for them to inflate the market... how does that make sense? Pre-Neymar deals were a much better time to buy.
Do we really save in the long run? And if so by how much?

And is it really the way we want to operate? To wait to be offered players at a great price rather than identifying our first choice? I'm not saying go for Mbappe or the like. But the players that Dortmund and Monaco go for should be within our remit imo.

The idea that we simply can't isn't strictly true. We are prioritising business ahead of football. It's simple there's no doubting that. We don't have to bankrupt ourselves but look at attainable targets and pay the going market rate for them Also take some mitigated risk. We all laughed at City buying fullbacks for £150m, yet I would argue in 12 months time, that will look like good business. A lot of people would argue with the way the market is inflating, now is the time to spend to get value.

 

[Baleforce]

it's easy to do business early if you are prepared to overpay for average players, which is fine if the average players are better than what you already have

right now we don't really have a PL rival in the transfer market, we can't match the fees from manchester or chelsea, we can't match the wages of arsenal or liverpool and we don't want the players going to everton, swansea or palace, maybe Dortmund and Monaco do have similar structures, but they both established CL sides, Monaco also have an advantage with their location

we're at the stage where we shop in boutiques, but we still need to check the price tag

 

[r-u-s-x]

Any player who improves us improves 5 richer clubs - we identify and go in early and the selling club holds off and phones around asking for more money- they can pay more in wages too so they sign the player. It happened with Lemar as soon as it looked like we may have a chance Arsenal came in with a bigger offer (July?).

Waiting until later in the window when other clubs have done their business and/or selling club doesn't have as long to wait it out gives us a little bit more of a chance to sign our preferred players. We are dealing with teams that can blow us out of the water financially so have to do things a little different / take risks just to compete.

 

[parklane1]

Levy has delivered a very good window

Yes he has.

How on earth has he harmed us this summer?

The truth is he has not, but you know as well as i do that there will always be some who want more.

.

I'm sure there will be some superfans who only find the negative in this post and don't bother to actually read it properly but hey ho.

There is no such thing as " superfans" mate and you are just stirring the pot by saying that. What we have is (1) some fans who are happy that a club in our position ( ie not finacially doped Chelski, City or with mega money Utd) are where we are and showing as much progress as we are, (2) a few fans who no matter what we do its never enough and can not wait to slag of the board, (3) and then you get the worst bunch who think running a club in the real world is as simple as sitting in their armchairs playing football manager ( or similar kids games) and can not understand that its not.

Now i am not saying you are in any of them, only you know which of the above relates to you or not.

 

[Jurgen the German]

@parklane1 I would add 4) Happy with the position the club is in and the direction it is going in but feel we could do certain things differently or adjust the way we operate at times and don't accept everything the club puts out as gospel or fact and question things that need questioning.

 

[parklane1]

@parklane1 I would add 4) Happy with the position the club is in and the direction it is going in but feel we could do certain things differently or adjust the way we operate at times and don't accept everything the club puts out as gospel or fact and question things that need questioning.

Most of that comes under number 2.

 

[r-u-s-x]

As our turnover grows I think the percentage of wages can increase. If your operating expenses excluding salaries are say £50 million and your turnover is £100 million then you have to stick to 50/50 to break even. But if your turnover increased to £300 million, then you can afford a higher ratio of wages. Yes, your operating expenses excluding salaries will be higher most probably, but unless they increase by 200% (unlikely) then you can afford to pay 60% or more in wages. Of course we have to factor in the stadium, which will hamper this for a few years, but after that I can see a gradual rise in wages/turnover.

It does seem that 55% seems to be the sweet spot with it though - yes you can go higher but it appears that this is the desired level (looking at well run clubs that have higher turnover).

 

[r-u-s-x]

How do you explain the likes of Everton and West Ham doing business earlier than we do? Much earlier in fact. I accept we are bigger clubs than both and have higher aspirations but if you apply your theory to all clubs then surely they would have to wait until we do our business and so on?

I agree we could have easily competed with Everton and Westham for the players they got in, did you want any of them?

 

[Jurgen the German]

Most of that comes under number 2.

Not really. One says people moan because nothing is ever good enough. The other states people are happy with the overall direction but would like to see do some things differently and not blindly accept everything the club puts out without questioning it.

 

[Jurgen the German]

I agree we could have easily competed with Everton and Westham for the players they got in, did you want any of them?

No but that's not the point. We are in a unique position in that we have to wait until United, Emirates Marketing Project etc spend their money before we can buy players, but everyone else above and below us can do their business as early as they like? That seems to be what some posters are getting at.

 

[parklane1]

(2) a few fans who no matter what we do its never enough and can not wait to slag of the board

Not really. One says people moan because nothing is ever good enough. The other states people are happy with the overall direction but would like to see do some things differently and not blindly accept everything the club puts out without questioning it.

Disagree, read two again. But the point is you had a slight dig at some fans by using the phrase " superfans" and that my friend is just has bad as me calling you a moaning minnie ( not that i would).

 

[elltrev]

Bolded - is where I think you are wrong.

Rivals as in "comparible sized clubs", yes. THey are generally to their leagues what we are traditionally to ours, with a similar 'footbprint', I dont disagree.

However, this year, last year, our rivals have without doubt been Chelsea, City, Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool... All clubs that have budgets that swamp ours such is the degree we are punching above our weight. And, IMO, all clubs that wouldnt hesitate to drive bidding up on a player we want and then take him from us just to dingdong us around.

We HAVE to let them get their spending done, let them inflate the market, and wait for it all to normalise again. Its the best choice if we want to get the best players we can at the end of the day.

Is that how we WANT to do it? My assumption, but absolutely not. Who would? I have no doubt the club would love to have deals set and ready to sign for the moment the window opens. We very simply cant at this point.

When we can, Im sure we will. Ross Barkley on Jan 1st? I wouldnt bet against it.

I can see this argument, but I'm also not 100% sure it's true.

If we'd tried to wrap up the Aurier signing 2 or 3 weeks earlier, would it have made any difference in terms of our rivals? Emirates Marketing Project had already bought their full-backs, and no other rival bought a right back between then and now.

On the flip side, Chelsea were also interested in Llorente despite us waiting until the last day, but he chose to come to us and the fee was relatively low.

So your theory makes sense in theory, but in practice I'm not sure it's true - at least not for the players we've ended up signing.

I agree that our signings come fairly late because a lot of our targets would prefer to join our rivals. But then I think there's a further delay because once a player has decided he really wants to come to us, over any of our rivals, Levy has more negotiating power at the end of the window as clubs more often than not don't want an unhappy player on their hands.