It's very similar to what Klopp's methods are, which delivered trophies for Liverpool. No football club would be sustainable if you don't buy players and we're the first ever club in the history of football since the transfer window was invented to not buy anyone.
Like i said, maybe Levy knows something the rest of every major European country's football world doesn't. Paul Mitchell, former Director at Spurs (now Leipzig):
“My philosophy is that you need, year on year, new voices, new profiles, just to stimulate the group. Just to keep the group competitive. Keep the group’s daily training at its maximum — that competitive stimulation that all great teams have. It doesn’t have to be a whole wave of new players. Two to three to four players every window, of the highest quality, that can try to break into that starting 11. It’s crucial to continue being competitive at the very, very top echelons of the game.”
That is why Mitchell is determined to keep Leipzig refreshed every year. “Any team, irrespective of natural age, needs refreshing and succession planning,” he says. “Just to instigate the competitive element within the squad. Even ourselves last year, we had a phenomenal season under Ralf Rangnick, third in the Bundesliga, cup final against Bayern Munich, (but) we reinvested on players that we believed could actively penetrate the starting 11.”
This will never happen under Levy. If anyone thinks this will, on what evidence have you seen under our board that believes we'll ever put competiveness on the pitch as a priority?
On the evidence of this table that I created! It shows rolling average five year net spend on transfer fees among the 'big six' (i.e. the 18/19 row shows that team's average net spend from 14-19).
It starts roughly from when Levy was appointed (December 2000), and the horizontal line represents roughly when the stadium build was announced (October 2008).
I think it shows pretty clearly that prior to the announcement of the stadium our spend on transfers was competitive - more than Arsenal (presumably due in part to their own stadium build at the time), and comparable to Liverpool and Man Utd (despite them having much higher revenues than us at the time).
Then after the announcement of the stadium, you can clearly see our spending gradually decrease (and Arsenal's increase, after their own period of austerity).
And though it's not included in this table (because the website that I use isn't up to date), this season - the first after which the stadium has been completed - we've spent £160m+ on Ndombele, Lo Celso, Sessegnon, Bergwijn and Clarke.
Interested to hear whether that has any impact on your views!