New Striker or New Stadium?

[Spurs7891]

Maybe Redknapp was sacked because Levy wanted a coach that could get more from the players and work on improving their game, become more of a team and less a collection of talented individuals?

There's no major flaw in Levy's plans for the club, even if it doesn't match the (unrealistic) expectations of some of the fans. There's a limit to what is realistically achievable.

The alternatives are to either get a sugar daddy owner (which most of us seem to be opposed to) or gamble with our long term financial safety. Be glad our owner actually reinvest the money we bring in, unlike some other clubs.

But what if we don't qualify for CL this season and end up finishing 5th or 6th ? Will Levy blame it on AVB and replace him ? I think AVB has done exceptionally well considering the lack of quality players in the squad now.

 

[Jordinho]

But what if we don't qualify for CL this season and end up finishing 5th or 6th ? Will Levy blame it on AVB and replace him ? I think AVB has done exceptionally well considering the lack of quality players in the squad now.

That's for the board and AVB to know and us to speculate on. I see no reason why AVB should be blamed or sacked if we finish 5th. I think Levy is at least somewhat aware of what can be expected from our current squad.

 

[Joesh]

The only problem with the stadium is that going by Arsenals financially sound policy. it will impact on players we sign. There is a massive cost to pay off which even with their ticket prices being the highest in the league along with CL revenue for all these years to help has impacted their first team. I am not sure how we can even replicate their model as we are in no way a guaranteed CL money.

The stadium needs to be done obviously but even when its done straight away our current players will expect more money along with new signings which along with repayments wont leave us paying out 30m+ on players regularly.

I dont think there is an easy answer here.

 

[DHSF]

ive had a look around and actually apart from Damaio i cannot see a striker in the 20 mill plus bracket who we could attract and/or was actually worth the expense/risk

Lewandowski?.....seems he is on his way to Utd
Llorente.....gone to Juve
Cavani.....yeah right
Falcao...in yer dreams

seriously, there is a dearth of top strikers out there. The pool is getting smaller and smaller

edit....maybe Higuain, but wow we would be lucky to a) pay for him, b) get him before other top teams throw their hat in the ring

See thats the issue why do we need to call a striker who we need as £20m+ striker. The value isnt of concern in terms of determining if a player is of high quality (although there is a correlation for sure).

I want us to bring in a striker who can finish and in turn help us to be consistent and turn those losses into draws and those draws into wins - if thats for a fiver? fudgein great. If its for 20m then its a risk but I would expect masses of homework to have been done.

 

[Spursalot]

The only problem with the stadium is that going by Arsenals financially sound policy. it will impact on players we sign. There is a massive cost to pay off which even with their ticket prices being the highest in the league along with CL revenue for all these years to help has impacted their first team. I am not sure how we can even replicate their model as we are in no way a guaranteed CL money.

The stadium needs to be done obviously but even when its done straight away our current players will expect more money along with new signings which along with repayments wont leave us paying out 30m+ on players regularly.

I dont think there is an easy answer here.

Arsenal got completely and utterly fudged over on their sponsorship deals when they made their stadium. They severely undervalued them and as such have struggled to cope with the cost of it.

Thats not something i can see happening with Levy.

 

[indianspur]

Arsenal got completely and utterly fudged over on their sponsorship deals when they made their stadium. They severely undervalued them and as such have struggled to cope with the cost of it.

Thats not something i can see happening with Levy.

maybe so but Levy is facing different problems now. Sponsorship is not so easy to obtain, banks are wary to lend, costs associated with huge building projects have risen.

I think Arse were very lucky to build when they did, to have the Highbury land to make money from, CL football every season, they were still winning big trophies until the actually moved into the new ground.

Have Arse struggled to cope with the cost of it? i disagree. Right now apparently they are sitting on a huge cash surplus of over 50 or 60 mill that Wenger simply refuses to spend. Quite soon the stadium will be paid for and they will then have even bigger profits to spend season upon season. The cnuts have simply stolen a march on us no matter if they messed up on those particular stadium sponsorship deals

 

[NaijaSpurs]

it is time to address our real priorities for this season.

For me it is vital we qualify for the CL. If we dont the ramifications are severe - financial loss, player departures and less likely to sign quality players.

The stadium can wait until we are CL regulars. Without qualifying we risk going on a downward spira.

NOW is the time to invest in top quality players. The stadium can wait.

On what basis do you think the two are mutually exclusive?

Next season the team that finishes bottom of the league will earn more money than the eventual champions will win this season. On that basis we should have been able to cough up money for a top striker last summer. Lets face it once the television money comes into play inflationary pricing will come into play

 

[Jurgen the German]

Striker first, stadium next.

But I feel we need more than just a striker

This.

The stadium is its on way, whereas I have no idea where or when the next striker we buy will come from.

 

[jimmyb]

He always mentioned how 'we are currently meeting our season objectives' - upon winning his Award last month, being 3rd/4th on the log, etc.

Again - I would be surprised if he was given a lower objective than Redknapp last season with a squad which has improved in certain aspects (not all of course). The failed Moutinho bid also indicated (whether it was real or not) quite a strong intent, as was the arrrival of Lloris and Vertonghen - these are proven CL units who want to compete at the very top

An objective isn't the same thing as an expectation.

 

[jimmyb]

Would you not agree a 'large' inverstment now (top player) could yield even 'larger' returns (continuous CL particiaption) in the long run?

Absolutely not.

Continuous CL participation would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve given that we operate at such a huge financial disadvantage to the other clubs competing for CL spots.

We might qualify from time to time, operating at such a disadvantage, but we are depending on so much going right for us and so much going wrong for at least a couple of the other clubs. And that's no way to ensure consistency.

 

[jimmyb]

Not unless you provide the right tools in order to make that a continous participation, season after season. Do you think Levy is not planning to have us as a regular participant? Reminds of that old argument in OMTs

- rest players in CL games so we have them fit for the fight for 4th in order to qualify for the CL and rest players in CL games so we have them fit for the fight for 4th in order to qualify for the CL

As for your last paragraph - my only response is - perhaps you have quoted the wrong post? Because I have never suggested any of those questions you seem to be asking - in fact, the contrary

It's all very well suggesting that the club furnishes the manager with the right tools to achieve continuous CL participation. But that doesn't take into account the fact that the other top clubs will be doing the same. And they will be doing so with far greater resources. So despite our best efforts, the chances are that we will still fail to achieve our objectives more often than not.

 

[jimmyb]

Stadium i can understand but if these "world class training facilities" is what's stopping us from spending cash on players we need then i'd rather we didn't have it.

They aren't, as far as I'm aware. At least, not to a massive degree. Along with the purchase of property for the NDP, a large proportion of our current debt is attributable to expenditure on the new training ground. Our borrowing is costing us in the region of £3 million per annum, iirc. That's the amount that we cannot spend per annum on transfers.

 

[jimmyb]

Its a catch 22...

Its what comes first - success on the pitch or possessing a state of the art 60k capacity stadium? There are risks on both counts and its all about which one poses a lesser risk or one that we are prepared to accept.

I agree that with the stadium and larger capacity brings a recurring revenue stream but it wont bring in a significantly larger one if we are meddling around in mid table. In an ideal world fans will come in to support the team regardless but lets be honest this isnt an ideal world and without success we will have the same attendance as we do now which means the benefits of a larger capacity stadium is not being realised. a white elephant so to speak.

However if we are not successful on th epitch in the immediate future then you cant really build year on year as players we have we will not be able to hold on to the likes of Lloris, Bale etc. Do you think these players will wait for three to five years for us to build a stadium? I very much doubt it.

Besides I dont think its a matter of a new striker or new stadium thats like saying you want a new car or new home - its always going to be the home that is the priority BUT you can always buy a medium priced car which gets you from A to B and there are some bargains out there.

It's really not a catch 22 situation, mate.

It's not easy, certainly. But there is no good reason why Spurs can't continue to invest sensibly in the squad while also building the new stadium. Levy isn't a fool. He doesn't want to build a new stadium and have it half empty because he's failed to invest in the squad and the team has subsequently dropped like a stone into mid table or worse.

The stadium financing will be ring fenced. And investment in players (both transfer fees and wages) will continue according to the same prudent principles and with the same, patient aim of long term improvement.

 

[jimmyb]

Dempsey and Sigurdsson (plus the noises of Hopper!) - Sig clearly with the possibility of a great re-sale - vintage DL move. Take the first 2 away, add 3-4m and bring in Willian for argument's sake - a player who would add exponentially more than either of them and possible be the difference int he run in when the real quality makes the difference in most top teams.

As fo the finances - if are supposedly unable to afford much - tell me, how come Moutinho was virtually as good as done just months ago?

Maybe Moutinho is ungettable now but we are biding our time in order get him in the summer? In which case, we can't blow the Moutinho money now on a different player.

 

[jimmyb]

The only problem with the stadium is that going by Arsenals financially sound policy. it will impact on players we sign. There is a massive cost to pay off which even with their ticket prices being the highest in the league along with CL revenue for all these years to help has impacted their first team. I am not sure how we can even replicate their model as we are in no way a guaranteed CL money.

The stadium needs to be done obviously but even when its done straight away our current players will expect more money along with new signings which along with repayments wont leave us paying out 30m+ on players regularly.

I dont think there is an easy answer here.

Don't forget Arsenal's wage bill.

It may appear as if they aren't spending much on players but their wage bill has skyrocketed since moving to the Emirates. That's something they weren't able to do when they still at Highbury.

Despite all the talk of paying off the debt for the Emirates restricting Arsenal, they are still much better off financially now than they would have been had they still been at a 38K capacity Highbury.

 

[jimmyb]

costs associated with huge building projects have risen

Quite the opposite. Not only is now the best time in many a year to undertake a big construction project in terms of construction costs, it's also the best time in many a year to borrow.

If we can start work on our new stadium within the year, we will bring it in for less than it cost Arsenal to build the Emirates and quite possibly with an even higher spec.

 

[Modric THFC]

In the midst of this Arsenal look set to sign David Villa for fudge all (14m) on not much wages more than what bale is on.

 

[Pirate55]

How much does one conservatively estimate that missing out on CL football has cost the club over the past two years? Is it £20, £30 or £40m?

I read somewhere it is worth £20m to qualify. If we miss out again due to lack of investment in January that would be £60m we have foregone.

Not to invest in a player that can potentially make the difference between qualification and not qualifying (like I am convinced a quality striker signing last January would have made) is a huge mistake in my opinion.

 

[billyiddo]

If it was as simple as buying player X and guaranteeing yourself Champions League qualification then everyone would be doing it

 

[Spursalot]

How much does one conservatively estimate that missing out on CL football has cost the club over the past two years? Is it £20, £30 or £40m?

I read somewhere it is worth £20m to qualify. If we miss out again due to lack of investment in January that would be £60m we have foregone.

Not to invest in a player that can potentially make the difference between qualification and not qualifying (like I am convinced a quality striker signing last January would have made) is a huge mistake in my opinion.

How much would it cost the club if we spent 20-30m and still failed to make the CL?


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