Levy - End Of Season Letter

[indianspur]

I'd suggest comparing our league finishes under the last few years under Sugar to our last ten years under Levy and then we can discuss what he has done on the football side.

The gap between us and the clubs above us is financial. They finish above us because their transfer and wage budgets dwarf ours.

1 league cup under Sugar, 1 league cup under ENIC...........Sheringham, Anderton, Klinsmann, Ginola under Sugar versus Berbatov, VDV, Modric and Bale under ENIC :-k

 

[harr1984]

To be fair the league is a hell of a lot stronger/more competitive now than it was in the Sugar days surely? We've pretty much consistently been in the top 6, and with the additional sugar daddies this is no mean feat...

 

[braineclipse]

None really. He's doing a good job in that regard. Which managers should he have never hired though? Santini, Ramos, AVB.

So just the one sacking out of a solid handful you personally think was premature yet you say "I get the feeling he too quickly gets nervous when it isn't going well"?

Strange one for me...

 

[NWND]

THFC Premiership era final league finish pre Levy/ENIC

92/93 8th
93/94 15th
94/95 7th
95/96 8th
96/97 10th
97/98 14th
98/99 11th
99/00 10th
00/01 12th

Levy/ENIC era

01/02 9th
02/03 10th
03/04 14th
04/05 9th
05/06 5th
06/07 5th
07/08 11th
08/09 8th
09/10 4th
10/11 5th
11/12 4th
12/13 5th
13/14 6th

 

[Jurgen the German]

I'd suggest comparing our league finishes under the last few years under Sugar to our last ten years under Levy and then we can discuss what he has done on the football side.

The gap between us and the clubs above us is financial. They finish above us because their transfer and wage budgets dwarf ours.

I wish the people on this board would show some consistency. Not you btw, but everyone said how we should have finished 3rd or even 2nd in 2012, you are being realistic and measured, people weren't this realistic two years ago.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

I'd suggest comparing our league finishes under the last few years under Sugar to our last ten years under Levy and then we can discuss what he has done on the football side.

The gap between us and the clubs above us is financial. They finish above us because their transfer and wage budgets dwarf ours.

Of course, so he's merely doing an average job then, right? He has us at par.

Sugar was poor. Levy is average. I think that's a fair assertion. I don't think Levy should be heralded as great because Sugar was so bad from a football perspective.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

So just the one sacking out of a solid handful you personally think was premature yet you say "I get the feeling he too quickly gets nervous when it isn't going well"?

Strange one for me...

It is strange. I'm not saying I'm logical, right, or anything. I'm an emotional football fan. I get the feeling Levy sometimes loses trust too quickly, but at the same time, he was probably right to can Santini, Jol, Ramos, Redknapp and arguably AVB when he did. But I'm saying that without thinking. Maybe when thinking, I'd say that he shouldn't have hired Santini, Ramos or AVB in the first place. I think Jol was a good choice and so was Redknapp. But it's no use saying 'all managers made sense at the time' because it doesn't matter if it makes sense to us, Levy is paid to make decisions that are better than that. Those managers ultimately failed and he could have prevented it by making a better hire in the first place.

 

[Bullet]

Well I was VERY happy we got Ramos after Sevilla whooped us and AVB after Cheatski nicked him from under our noses...

Hindsight is wonderful

Right now I really want us to get FdB but in a year's time I'll probably be glad to see the back of the little twerp after watching his turgid teams with no structure and no attempts on goal...

 

[braineclipse]

It is strange. I'm not saying I'm logical, right, or anything. I'm an emotional football fan. I get the feeling Levy sometimes loses trust too quickly, but at the same time, he was probably right to can Santini, Jol, Ramos, Redknapp and arguably AVB when he did. But I'm saying that without thinking. Maybe when thinking, I'd say that he shouldn't have hired Santini, Ramos or AVB in the first place. I think Jol was a good choice and so was Redknapp. But it's no use saying 'all managers made sense at the time' because it doesn't matter if it makes sense to us, Levy is paid to make decisions that are better than that. Those managers ultimately failed and he could have prevented it by making a better hire in the first place.

So ignoring the emotional argument...

How often, with our (your) ambitions, would you expect a chairman to get a manager/head coach appointment "right"?

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

Well I was VERY happy we got Ramos after Sevilla whooped us and AVB after Cheatski nicked him from under our noses...

Hindsight is wonderful

Right now I really want us to get FdB but in a year's time I'll probably be glad to see the back of the little twerp after watching his turgid teams with no structure and no attempts on goal...

I agree, I loved jol and felt sorry for him, but the chairman of our football club had a chance to better us so he took it (like you say hindsight is a wonderful thing but at the time Ramos was hot property and at the end of the day he won our last trophy and we whopped our closest rivals in the process).

 

[indianspur]

Of course, so he's merely doing an average job then, right? He has us at par.

Sugar was poor. Levy is average. I think that's a fair assertion. I don't think Levy should be heralded as great because Sugar was so bad from a football perspective.

yeah id go along with this.

 

[billyiddo]

I wish the people on this board would show some consistency. Not you btw, but everyone said how we should have finished 3rd or even 2nd in 2012, you are being realistic and measured, people weren't this realistic two years ago.

You don't think it was a realistic possibility that we could have finished 3rd or 2nd in a season where we were 3rd in February a couple of points off top and 10 points off 4th??

Id like to know what you think is inconsistant about holding that view btw

 

[thfcsteff]

I wish the people on this board would show some consistency. Not you btw, but everyone said how we should have finished 3rd or even 2nd in 2012, you are being realistic and measured, people weren't this realistic two years ago.

Sorry, I'm going to bite…in 2012, and ten points clear in 3rd, with a chance to go thirteen points clear if we'd won at the effeminates…consistency is only worth showing if the elements in question are the same. The gap between us and the clubs that finished in the two places above us had hardly anything to do with finances whatsoever. We've discussed to death the reasons, indeed, I think you even agreed mate!

 

[thfcsteff]

You don't think it was a realistic possibility that we could have finished 3rd or 2nd in a season where we were 3rd in February a couple of points off top and 10 points off 4th??

Id like to know what you think is inconsistant about holding that view btw

I wrote my reply having not see this….oops…sorry Jurgen, wasn't piling in, just didn't see this first.

 

[NWND]

Sorry, I'm going to bite…in 2012, and ten points clear in 3rd, with a chance to go thirteen points clear if we'd won at the effeminates…consistency is only worth showing if the elements in question are the same. The gap between us and the clubs that finished in the two places above us had hardly anything to do with finances whatsoever. We've discussed to death the reasons, indeed, I think you even agreed mate!

Surely by the very idea that the gaps between us and the clubs above have had little to do with finances shows the outstanding and yes, I mean outstanding job Levy has done?

 

[milo]

Of course, so he's merely doing an average job then, right? He has us at par.

Sugar was poor. Levy is average. I think that's a fair assertion. I don't think Levy should be heralded as great because Sugar was so bad from a football perspective.

He has us doing slightly above par. In terms of league finishes this is one of the most sustained successful periods in our club's history.

The next step up is phenomenally difficult because of the gulf in budget between us and Arsenal, Liverpool, United, City and Chelsea. I cannot think of a team who has broken into the top four for more than one season in the Premier League era without matching their spending. Apart from us under Redknapp. Can you?

 

[billyiddo]

Surely by the very idea that the gaps between us and the clubs above have had little to do with finances shows the outstanding and yes, I mean outstanding job Levy has done?

Although our natural ranking is 6th there's every chance through good hard work and careful planning we can't get ourselves in a better position - 11/12 was, IMV, the culmination of several years work - pleat/arnesen/levy/redknapp all provided a great team worthy of fighting it out at the top - in the end we fell short but that isn't a slight on the chairman as he isn't the one in the dugout - he played his part off the field giving those he employed the platform to build the squad etc

 

[milo]

Although our natural ranking is 6th there's every chance through good hard work and careful planning we can't get ourselves in a better position - 11/12 was, IMV, the culmination of several years work - pleat/arnesen/levy/redknapp all provided a great team worthy of fighting it out at the top - in the end we fell short but that isn't a slight on the chairman as he isn't the one in the dugout - he played his part off the field giving those he employed the platform to build the squad etc

You can't under estimate the importance of luck too. How many times have we been denied by something freakish, beyond our control?

 

[BrainOfLevy]

So ignoring the emotional argument...

How often, with our (your) ambitions, would you expect a chairman to get a manager/head coach appointment "right"?

Maybe more than 50%? It's just another statistic that makes him look very average to be honest. You want great? Look at Jenkins at Swansea? Lost a lot of managers but got every appointment right to not hinder their progress. You may say it's easier to achieve what they did rather than what we are trying to do (although it isn't really, they just made it so) but they could have easily slipped back into League 1 or mid table championship had they made a seriously bad hire.

Levy's made 3 good hires and 3 bad ones. Average, not great and not terrible. Certainly not 'all hail the unquestionable king Levy'. I actually think this next hire will be a good one. First time a manager is taking over a quality squad that is poised in the top 6, and doesn't have to be in a fire fighting situation.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Sorry, except AVB, but hopefully Levy is mindful of getting someone who can truly work with Baldini now, rather than the head coach suggesting the DOF as before.