2025/26 pre-season

[Muttley]

I think selling our players is always hard because they are paid so well
I agree we have quality gaps but the whole discussion earlier was we had holes in the squad and that’s harder than is always an opinion piece rather than factual
We need to shift the brick
It’s that simple but so hard

We have to address the full cycle to be fair. We are very guilty of not listening to that common sense voice in our heads when we buy players we shouldn't. We are also guilty of prolonging our agony with contract extensions in a few cases. I did a quick analysis the other day. Pool are buying at a rate of between 2-5 per year. We are more in the 7-10 range since the infamous 2019 summer window. Then we wonder why our squads get bloated with so much deadwood. Add to that your point about the salary expectations of these players as they look elsewhere.

This quantity over quality strategy is getting us nowhere in my opinion.

 

[SpurMeUp]

Wow, that is some statement, based on the diddly squat you know about what Ange did behind closed doors, and the square root of zero you know about the future!

Based on observation over years. Welcome to counter and suggest how Ange did bring on players. There’s plenty of info on how Frank and his team work.

 

[metalgear]

This quantity over quality strategy is getting us nowhere in my opinion.

Its about financial power and somehow we still are not competitive with the new stadium and multiple revenue streams.
time for owner change - levy must see it now and sell it to the board and enic. just hanging on and waiting to realise his share isn't going to make fans happy.

 

[thfcsteff]

The big difference from Ange to Frank is the focus on detail. I hope we don’t completely lose the focus on passings and attacking. But first and foremost we’ll have some pragmatism and focus on all the details from Frank. With Ange we didn’t work on any of the small stuff it seemed. Throw ins weren’t contested. Our shape was crude. And our press wasn’t sophisticated - a school yard press isn’t an exaggeration. If left attackers unable to play after the first quarter of the game. Ange needed marathon runners for forwards.

Frank will start with defensive solidity and build on that foundation. I really really hope he retains a strong focus on our passing game, and moving the ball quickly. I think we did improve as a passing side under Ange. Just none of the nuance and detail was there from him. He wasn’t hands on, Frank is.

You can’t be lamenting that school yard press and lack of sophistication can you? It left us broken.

The list my Tottenham laments is far longer than last season LOL.

In order for that to even be a thing we need to get him a couple of passers. Until then, we will be a defensive, speedy break based watch.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Its about financial power and somehow we still are not competitive with the new stadium and multiple revenue streams.
time for owner change - levy must see it now and sell it to the board and enic. just hanging on and waiting to realise his share isn't going to make fans happy.

They would sell in a heart beat
Issue is there hasn’t been a credible buyer willing to pay what they want

 

[Bedfordspurs]

We have to address the full cycle to be fair. We are very guilty of not listening to that common sense voice in our heads when we buy players we shouldn't. We are also guilty of prolonging our agony with contract extensions in a few cases. I did a quick analysis the other day. Pool are buying at a rate of between 2-5 per year. We are more in the 7-10 range since the infamous 2019 summer window. Then we wonder why our squads get bloated with so much deadwood. Add to that your point about the salary expectations of these players as they look elsewhere.

This quantity over quality strategy is getting us nowhere in my opinion.

It’s not a strategy
It’s a need
We had to do that over the last few years because we had (and still had) huge issues around HG and club trained players
It’s quite toxic how that happened
We also had our super stars at the wrong age profile
Now we can add that quality whilst we hope the quantity blossoms

 

[braineclipse]

It’s not a strategy
It’s a need
We had to do that over the last few years because we had (and still had) huge issues around HG and club trained players
It’s quite toxic how that happened
We also had our super stars at the wrong age profile
Now we can add that quality whilst we hope the quantity blossoms

Fully agreed.

We've also pretty much replaced the entire squad since Paratici first stepped in the door. We still have some players most people would want us to sell, but not the quantity of players that weren't good enough or suited enough that we used to have.

Impossible to know for sure, but I doubt a strategy focused heavier on quality over quantity would have worked better.

Years of signing poorly, not successfully developing academy players, a long pause in signing top young talents left our squad in a real mess. We're in a much stronger position now, but still obviously with work left to be done. Finally at the point where quality over quantity seems like a good and viable option.

 

[markysimmo]

We apparently earn't £10m for the two games in Asia, no wonder Levy is so keen for us to go

 

[Glenda's Legs]

We apparently earn't £10m for the two games in Asia, no wonder Levy is so keen for us to go

That’s 2 Super Cup wins!

 

[SubZero]

Its about financial power and somehow we still are not competitive with the new stadium and multiple revenue streams.
time for owner change - levy must see it now and sell it to the board and enic. just hanging on and waiting to realise his share isn't going to make fans happy.

I seriously believe, maybe wrongly so but still, that Levy is a real fan. Well, as much of a fan as a financial director can allow himself to be. I cannot remember a single match without the cameras zooming in on his attendance. Even if I'd like to see us spend top dollar for top players, we simply do not have the same pulling power as Liverpool and Real Madrid so we can't pick and choose like several others, but with a fan base still demanding success. The amount of young talents growing up with the dream of playing for Tottingham Hotspurs is probably not the same as those dreaming of dorning the Barca and Man Utd shirt (even if the latter number is probably on the decline by now).

So to even getting in contention of signing, and not a courteous and at best signed letter, the potentially best we have to throw money at them without knowing if they'll become a success or not. We are tier 2 no matter how we look at it, and can only snatch players from tier 2 and below, losing them to tier 1 once they become really successful. And look at those clubs throwing money at duds ending up with a hatful of them, particularly at Old Trafford. They can become a real problem. So in a way I'm personally quite relieved we don't have that approach, and Levy has stated that if the right player becomes available, there will be funds to realize it. Make of it what you will, but I believe him in that.

 

[K.D.D.D.D.Soc]

I seriously believe, maybe wrongly so but still, that Levy is a real fan. Well, as much of a fan as a financial director can allow himself to be. I cannot remember a single match without the cameras zooming in on his attendance. Even if I'd like to see us spend top dollar for top players, we simply do not have the same pulling power as Liverpool and Real Madrid so we can't pick and choose like several others, but with a fan base still demanding success. The amount of young talents growing up with the dream of playing for Tottingham Hotspurs is probably not the same as those dreaming of dorning the Barca and Man Utd shirt (even if the latter number is probably on the decline by now).

So to even getting in contention of signing, and not a courteous and at best signed letter, the potentially best we have to throw money at them without knowing if they'll become a success or not. We are tier 2 no matter how we look at it, and can only snatch players from tier 2 and below, losing them to tier 1 once they become really successful. And look at those clubs throwing money at duds ending up with a hatful of them, particularly at Old Trafford. They can become a real problem. So in a way I'm personally quite relieved we don't have that approach, and Levy has stated that if the right player becomes available, there will be funds to realize it. Make of it what you will, but I believe him in that.

A lot of our fans can't see the reality of the football world. Although we would pay to play for this club the vast majority of professional players would rather join an other club due to various circumstances, I never buy into the childish idea we shouldn't sign a player due to who he supported as a kid or that an rational player wouldn't sign for that reason.