Greg Stobart - Inside Tottenham's transfer window

[milo]

Greg Stobart is always worth reading and he does seem to know what is going on, so I thought this warranted its own thread

http://www.goal.com/en-ie/news/3921...-in-sandro-out-schneiderlin-inside-tottenhams

 

[Nigeyman]

Good read that, interesting about Lennon refusing to go to qpr if true.

Considering we have a young squad with potential for improvement our coach is likely to be our most crucial signing. He will certainly need time and was a great appointment in terms of trying to bring out the best in those we signed last summer, I think we will regret not signing another striking option this summer though!, more could and should have been done.

 

[DublinSpur]

Meanwhile others are suggesting that the transfer window was seen as a bit of a disaster by Pochettino, that "cracks" have already begun to appear between him and Levy. And that Baldini's job is under serious threat.

... the head coach is believed to be less than happy with the club’s summer business.”

There appears to be cracks between the Spurs hierarchy and Pochettino over the worth of attacking midfielders such as Aaron Lennon, Nacer Chadli and Andros Townsend.

Whilst Dave Kidd also claims that Pochettino is not happy with his striker options, currently Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane.

Basically all of the worst pronouncements of the anti-Levy crew.

Personally I intend to remain firmly optimistic until something a bit more concrete than some internet blog post suggests otherwise. The law of averages says that in amongst all these false dawns is a real one. So why not this time?

 

[milo]

Meanwhile others are suggesting that the transfer window was seen as a bit of a disaster by Pochettino, that "cracks" have already begun to appear between him and Levy. And that Baldini's job is under serious threat.



Basically all of the worst pronouncements of the anti-Levy crew.

Personally I intend to remain firmly optimistic until something a bit more concrete than some internet blog post suggests otherwise. The law of averages says that in amongst all these false dawns is a real one. So why not this time?

I'd be more prepared to believe Stobart than the Sunday People

 

[Maltese Falcon]

Meanwhile others are suggesting that the transfer window was seen as a bit of a disaster by Pochettino, that "cracks" have already begun to appear between him and Levy. And that Baldini's job is under serious threat.

What a load of rubbish. At his end of year letter, Levy made it clear that there will be no major turnovers. That has very clear connotations... namely you do not sell the players you just bought 9 months before - especially your marquis 28 mill striker.

And he has kept his word; every transfer was obviously targeted at a known weak spot. I am positive that we had no intention of buying Wellbeck permanently this year but a loan was a no-risk opportunity that even Levy could not refuse - of all the times Giroud had to get injured he chose now; same thing with Remy and Torres going.

I am sure that this was made clear to Poch and he accepted it - so much so that he has been saying it all summer. So to say that cracks have started to appear when Levy has done nothing more than he explicitly promised to do is frankly tabloid BS - usual redtop rabble rousing....

 

[NWND]

I'd be more prepared to believe Stobart than the Sunday People

I know it's ITK, but pretty much every Spurs 'ITK' out there said not to expect much transfer activity this summer as Pochettino was very happy with the squad and was willing to wait a window or two to get the players he really wanted (Schneiderlin & Rodriguez) if they weren't available this time around.

 

[glorygloryeze]

I really wonder whether the Sandro sale was really just to do with his history of injuries or that 'Poch simply doesn't fancy him'.

IIRC these rumours of 'Poch not fancying Sandro' were going on at such an early stage, and before Poch would realistically have been able to assess him and the squad (and we were always told Poch needed time to do that).

I wonder if the spat Sandro had with Sherwood near the end of last season is the real reason he's being sold. With the way Levy seems to keep a tight ship in terms of payoffs to sacked managers and the like, I wonder if He/The Board took a dim view of Sandro using social media to directly challenge the manager. If you think about it I'm sure it was the first time it happened and perhaps Levy/The Board want to make a statement by making sure players know that those kind of antics will simply not be tolerated.

 

[Superhudd]

I really wonder whether the Sandro sale was really just to do with his history of injuries or that 'Poch simply doesn't fancy him'.

IIRC these rumours of 'Poch not fancying Sandro' were going on at such an early stage, and before Poch would realistically have been able to assess him and the squad (and we were always told Poch needed time to do that).

I wonder if the spat Sandro had with Sherwood near the end of last season is the real reason he's being sold. With the way Levy seems to keep a tight ship in terms of payoffs to sacked managers and the like, I wonder if He/The Board took a dim view of Sandro using social media to directly challenge the manager. If you think about it I'm sure it was the first time it happened and perhaps Levy/The Board want to make a statement by making sure players know that those kind of antics will simply not be tolerated.

I think this too, his mystery virus just before flying to the US was odd too.

Ultimately its a big fcuk you to the fans that have him as a favourite player IMO, At the time a lot of people agreed that what Sandro did wasn't that bad. Saying was it..Yes I am fit to play.

 

[Spur of the moment]

I know it's ITK, but pretty much every Spurs 'ITK' out there said not to expect much transfer activity this summer as Pochettino was very happy with the squad and was willing to wait a window or two to get the players he really wanted (Schneiderlin & Rodriguez) if they weren't available this time around.

Presumably this was nothing more than window dressing - what you'd expect him to say to damp down speculation, get the media off his back and lower expectations all round in order to give him some breathing space.

Besides wasn't he also quoted as saying he needed to sell before he could buy? Which is pretty much what has happened. Finally the bit about Schneiderling and Rodriguez could still be true

 

[Maltese Falcon]

Ultimately its a big fcuk you to the fans that have him as a favourite player IMO, At the time a lot of people agreed that what Sandro did wasn't that bad. Saying was it..Yes I am fit to play.

If you want to have any influence on the running of the club... buy shares

Until then it's the club's directors who will make ALL the transfer decisions. It's only their opinion that matters whether what Sandro did was bad or not - not mine, not yours, not anyone else's.

 

[sc25]

If you want to have any influence on the running of the club... buy shares

Until then it's the club's directors who will make ALL the transfer decisions. It's only their opinion that matters whether what Sandro did was bad or not - not mine, not yours, not anyone else's.

You forgot Poch. He had no say in Sandro's departure? There was no dialogue between Poch and the 'directors'? What if Poch, who wasn't playing him much, didn't want him? Is that an f-you by Poch to the fans? How come when we sign somebody its a 'nice signing by Poch'? Are we cherry picking his responsibilities and what he's accountable for (assuming we even know).

 

[Jordinho]

You forgot Poch. He had no say in Sandro's departure? There was no dialogue between Poch and the 'directors'? What if Poch, who wasn't playing him much, didn't want him? Is that an f-you by Poch to the fans? How come when we sign somebody its a 'nice signing by Poch'? Are we cherry picking his responsibilities and what he's accountable for (assuming we even know).

It's always been like that. For some reason all signing must be attributed to one single individual. If he's not an instant success the DoF is always an easy target. Good signings are all down to the manager (unless you have a dislike of him, then nothing he does is good enough).

Generally, if our transfers don't match up with a fan's wishes, Levy will get most of the blame for meddling or not backing his manager.

 

[Raziel]

It's always been like that. For some reason all signing must be attributed to one single individual. If he's not an instant success the DoF is always an easy target. Good signings are all down to the manager (unless you have a dislike of him, then nothing he does is good enough).

Generally, if our transfers don't match up with a fan's wishes, Levy will get most of the blame for meddling or not backing his manager.

All true, and unfortunately is just becoming tiresome now ...

 

[metalgear]

All true, and unfortunately is just becoming tiresome now ...

but the question hasn't been answered yet, has it?

if poch, baldini and levy is the committee that decides players in and out, it will be interesting to know how they manage the decision process. do all three have equal say in everything regarding transfers ? or does poch defines objectively the standards and attributes of the team and baldini responsible for improving those stats?

one thing for sure is that we've brought in players that seem ill suited to both avb and poch, and have a lot of value in stock that we aren't able to move on. there is also this facet of player trading - holtby, caulker, fryers - where it seems profit has always been the motive.

stambouli, fazio, dier and davies look like good additions - and maybe the committee is getting better at working together.

but we were late to get Schneiderlin, and looks like we were really interested in Wellbeck, which implies an unfilled striker position, not something that a coach would want.

 

[milo]

but the question hasn't been answered yet, has it?

if poch, baldini and levy is the committee that decides players in and out, it will be interesting to know how they manage the decision process. do all three have equal say in everything regarding transfers ? or does poch defines objectively the standards and attributes of the team and baldini responsible for improving those stats?

one thing for sure is that we've brought in players that seem ill suited to both avb and poch, and have a lot of value in stock that we aren't able to move on. there is also this facet of player trading - holtby, caulker, fryers - where it seems profit has always been the motive.

stambouli, fazio, dier and davies look like good additions - and maybe the committee is getting better at working together.

but we were late to get Schneiderlin, and looks like we were really interested in Wellbeck, which implies an unfilled striker position, not something that a coach would want.

Not moving earlier on Schneiderlin was definitely a mistake but maybe Poch wanted to have a look at the squad before bringing anyone in.

We were meant to be only interested in bringing in Welbeck on loan which suggest that he was only thought of as a stopgap. We are always going to miss out to a richer club offering a permanent deal in those circumstances.

I'm not sure that either of these illustrates the committee not working together.

 

[NWND]

but the question hasn't been answered yet, has it?

if poch, baldini and levy is the committee that decides players in and out, it will be interesting to know how they manage the decision process. do all three have equal say in everything regarding transfers ? or does poch defines objectively the standards and attributes of the team and baldini responsible for improving those stats?

one thing for sure is that we've brought in players that seem ill suited to both avb and poch, and have a lot of value in stock that we aren't able to move on. there is also this facet of player trading - holtby, caulker, fryers - where it seems profit has always been the motive.

stambouli, fazio, dier and davies look like good additions - and maybe the committee is getting better at working together.

but we were late to get Schneiderlin, and looks like we were really interested in Wellbeck, which implies an unfilled striker position, not something that a coach would want.

We haven't brought in any players that are ill suited to Poch while Poch was here though, have we?

As you state, all of this summer's additions look like solid, if unspecatular, signings.

There were a lot of rumours around that Levy/Baldini found AVB difficult to work with in regards to transfers. There were also rumours in this regard with Redknapp.

Hopefully as you suggest the committee is more harmonious as it seems Poch is just generally a more relaxed, easy-going personality in general.

It's also annoying when people talk about not backing the manager. I don't see any evidence that Levy hasn't backed whoever was in charge. The players we're in for definately change depending on the style of manager in charge.

You look at Redknapp and the sort of players we signed under him there was a definate shift from the previous Regime under Ramos, who was different again than under Jol and fast-forward through AVB and then now with Pochettino.

The managers are given what they want. Fans just jump on one-or-two high profile transfers that fell through as proof that Levy doesn't give the managers what they want. The truth is he'll try for the 'A-list' targets, but often we're faced with either impossible competition (i.e. Chelsea with Oscar & Willian) or just transfers that are far too complicated and expensive (Moutinho, Damiao, Mussachio).

Every club loses out on targets. I've yet to see evidence that managers aren't backed to the best of the club's ability.

 

[metalgear]

incomings seems much improved lately (not first choice, but still respectable) but outgoings far from desired IMO. thing is if we had sold better we could have bought better. and now we're sitting on dead inventory that will just seem to depreciate even further.

if incomings by committee means that sometimes poch has to settle for 2nd choice, would you think the same for outgoings i.e. that perhaps poch's needs on the pitch may have been overshadowed by some profit/revenue targets ?

 

[sc25]

The managers are given what they want. Fans just jump on one-or-two high profile transfers that fell through as proof that Levy doesn't give the managers what they want.

I tend to agree. If Levy doesn't back managers, why would Poch come here? Maybe Poch didn't know til he came? Nah, I don't believe that. The grapevine in footy is big. No manager is going to get every player he wants, especially here. But that shouldn't be a disaster for Poch who didn't exactly have a huge war chest at Soton.

Schneiderlin has taken on a life of its own and seems to be indicative of Poch getting the shaft and/or a dysfunctional setup. There may be hundred and one reasons he didn't come here, many of which we don't know, and some were likely beyond our control. It all seemed a bit too perfect for me anyway and things rarely go according to plan like that in footy. Who really knows how he would have performed here anyway. Maybe we dodged one. His attitude and continued public comments are also increasing cause for concern, IMO. He was (perhaps) a target, it didn't work out (as many others don't either), and we move on. It wasn't really symbolic to me.

 

[NWND]

I tend to agree. If Levy doesn't back managers, why would Poch come here? Maybe Poch didn't know til he came? Nah, I don't believe that. The grapevine in footy is big. No manager is going to get every player he wants, especially here. But that shouldn't be a disaster for Poch who didn't exactly have a huge war chest at Soton.

Schneiderlin has taken on a life of its own and seems to be indicative of Poch getting the shaft and/or a dysfunctional setup. There may be hundred and one reasons he didn't come here, many of which we don't know, and some were likely beyond our control. It all seemed a bit too perfect for me anyway and things rarely go according to plan like that in footy. Who really knows how he would have performed here anyway. Maybe we dodged one. His attitude and continued public comments are also increasing cause for concern, IMO. He was (perhaps) a target, it didn't work out (as many others don't either), and we move on. It wasn't really symbolic to me.

It seems fairly clear to me why Schneiderlin didn't come here and even Schneiderlin has said what happened publically (going back to your concern re: his public comments). Schneiderlin himself has said it was all pretty much agreed he'd go to Spurs, but when Chambers got sold to Arsenal, it seems that Southampton weren't expecting the massive sh**-storm not only from their fans, but also from their new manager Koeman, who posted the pic on twitter of their empty training ground. Reading a few Saints forums, there were rumours that Koeman gave the club an ulitimatum that he'd walk if any more first-team players were sold.

In this context, Southampton were backed into a corner and pulled the plug, which resulted in Schneiderlin throwing a massive paddy and still to this day he is still chelping on about it (saying recently to the French media while on international duty that Southampton treated him like cattle).

Ultimately, Southampton felt that politically they could not afford to sell Schneiderlin or Rodriguez in the window just gone.

 

[Shelfie]

I think we should have got another striker in, preferably Welbeck, and another defender, Lescott would have been one option.

So far, I think the signings we did make are good ones. Top 4 looks to be out of our reach again, but it's a trophy I want, and I doubt if we have the squad to deliver that, especially as we'll be trying to stay competitive and at least hit the top 6 in the Lge again.