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Daniel Levy - Chairman

Aldo said:
I think Levy comes in for some unfair criticism over this.
It wasn't Levy or Spurs who made this public - it was press speculation (or some hack claiming to have seen people meeting in a hotel), which Ramos then confirmed by gobbing off about the dizzying offer he had received.
Spurs make a legitimate bid in private, only for the other party to go public on it - sound familiar?
Once Ramos had said that, then what could Levy do? The way it then had to play out was really unfortunate for Jol, but that was not Levy's fault - other parties had revealed our intentions.
Whether Levy was right to be firing Jol is debatable, but either way, he was doing the right thing in lining up Jol's replacement before dismissing him - there are plenty who would have slaughtered him if he'd fired Jol without a plan. The Getafe fiasco was certainly avoidable, and that was clumsy by Levy for sure - but again it was fuelled by rumour and / or someone leaking it.

Similarly with the Berahino saga.
People talk about Levy meeting his negotiation- match with that tw@t Peace, but there was only one person negotiating, all Peace was doing was saying no...anyone can do that.
That's not negotiation, which is about primarily reaching a satisfactory outcome for yourself (and secondarily a win-win).
What Peace has now done is p1ss off and alienate his biggest asset (and Pulis) and create a rift in the dressing room.
He now has to pay Berahino a sh1t load more money to stay or accept less money for him in January...either way it costs him and his club, the club he had been trying and failing to sell by the way.

Levy has done nothing wrong in my view...he just bid for Berahino, in private, following the rules.

With Ramos, Levy threw money at it to blow them out of the water.
With Berahino he upped his bids gradually, in order to find the optimum price.
Both ways he gets stick.
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Good post Aldo, I can't really write an erudite response since I agree with it, but I'd be interested to see what others have to say about it
 
Aldo said:
I think Levy comes in for some unfair criticism over this.
It wasn't Levy or Spurs who made this public - it was press speculation (or some hack claiming to have seen people meeting in a hotel), which Ramos then confirmed by gobbing off about the dizzying offer he had received.
Spurs make a legitimate bid in private, only for the other party to go public on it - sound familiar?
Once Ramos had said that, then what could Levy do? The way it then had to play out was really unfortunate for Jol, but that was not Levy's fault - other parties had revealed our intentions.
Whether Levy was right to be firing Jol is debatable, but either way, he was doing the right thing in lining up Jol's replacement before dismissing him - there are plenty who would have slaughtered him if he'd fired Jol without a plan. The Getafe fiasco was certainly avoidable, and that was clumsy by Levy for sure - but again it was fuelled by rumour and / or someone leaking it.

Similarly with the Berahino saga.
People talk about Levy meeting his negotiation- match with that tw@t Peace, but there was only one person negotiating, all Peace was doing was saying no...anyone can do that.
That's not negotiation, which is about primarily reaching a satisfactory outcome for yourself (and secondarily a win-win).
What Peace has now done is p1ss off and alienate his biggest asset (and Pulis) and create a rift in the dressing room.
He now has to pay Berahino a sh1t load more money to stay or accept less money for him in January...either way it costs him and his club, the club he had been trying and failing to sell by the way.

Levy has done nothing wrong in my view...he just bid for Berahino, in private, following the rules.

With Ramos, Levy threw money at it to blow them out of the water.
With Berahino he upped his bids gradually, in order to find the optimum price.
Both ways he gets stick.
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I think this is a great post. With regards to Ramos though, I think Levy is not blameless. Absolutely, the way it came out was not totally in his control, but this is why intermediaries are used, so that people are not photographed together, so that deals are not leaked etc...

I absolutely 100% agree with you that if you are deciding to sack a manager, it would be good if you have a replacement in before the speculators in the media drive everyone to insanity. However, I would say that in these negotiations/conversations (whatever you want to call them) there shoud be some confidentiality clauses, and to be honest I couldn't care less if it was Mourinho, SAF or Guardiola, if they "leak" information that puts the club in a weak position, they are effectively showing that they don't care about the club at all. I'd rather do without that type of manager.

My personal opinion is that you must treat people with respect, regardless of whether it is in a business context or non-business. That is how you build a culture and identity of a club. We have principles, we do things in the right way. At least, that is what I would always want the Tottenham Hotspur football club to always be associated with. In this episode, I think we looked like anything but.

I have made my feelings on Levy quite clear and this transfer window. I agree with your point about Berahino. I have ready the last couple of pages with interest and just want to put my two pence worth into the discussion.

Criticism - There is nothing wrong with criticism. It is a discussion and we are on a discussion board. However, I find it increasingly difficult to be able to put forward a point of view, when the only thing that is offered in return is "the transfer dealings should have been concluded sooner". Well, yes, it would be great if they were concluded sooner. We know that. Poch knows that. Anyone in football will know that. So why wouldn't Levy? I get frustrated with the principle that Levy is deliberately delaying deals till the last moment in the hope that he will get a better deal. I have put up numerous times now the times when most of our signings have taken place and it showed that the majority of the time the signings were in place at least 2 weeks before the end of the transfer window.

Then there's the "Levy is tight" argument. That either he is basically deliberately being tight with his money because he wants to keep it for himself or just doesn't like spending money. I ask anyone to please estimate just how much money Spurs have spent in transfers since ENIC and Levy took over and then compare it with other clubs. Then compare our transfer outgoings/sales with other clubs. Then put in the timing of the stadium announcement. You have to look at all of these things together. The facts will show that he is not tight. It will actually show that he has spent a hell of a lot of money on transfers, but has resisted "speculating to accumulate" since the stadium has been announced.

Then of course there is the "we pay the highest ticket prices in the league and so we deserve to be seeing the best players". If anything is sanctimonious, then it is this. Yes we pay one of the highest ticket prices for what we see. What the club has done with that money and the other revenue that it generates is fully put it back into the club. The results of that is one of the best academies in the country, one of the best training facilities in Europe, a team that has consistently finished in the top 6 for however long and the plans for one of the best stadiums in the world. And who says Spurs fans are demanding!

The way I see it is that there is a fundamental difference in opinion between those who think more money should be spent on transfers rather than infrastructure. Either that, or people are suggesting that the club should incur debt (at a "manageable" level) to purchase more players. After all, success will mean more money which can then be used to fund a stadium. Both sides see the desire to have all of the above, it's just the ordering is wrong. Players before stadium. I fundamentally think this is where people are losing their common sense. Foundations need to be strong. If you were to assess the risk in getting the players first rather than stadium then there is not an argument or precedent in the world that I can see that would lead any sane person to choose that approach, particularly if it were their own money. I'm happy to hear these arguments and be proved wrong though. When you incur debt, it has to be paid off. Taking on debt is a way of taking future income now for a cost. So you take it now, you can't take it later.

What this all boils down to though is the desperation for success and being established in the CL and winning trophies. I get that and want the same. There are two clubs that have spent their way into the top 4. Look at just how much they have spent. An increase of the spending on transfers (say 3 £20m players) is not going to close this gap as much or with as much certainty as a new stadium.

Then of course there is the completely irrational statements that are "He's only doing it for himself or the pay off that he will get when he sells the club". What exactly is wrong with that? Are we expecting him to do this out of the goodness of his heart? Just why should he put up with the factual inaccuracies presented in the press, the abuse from supporters and the general stress of it all if were not for a big pay out at the end. He has put his money where his mouth is and is following through with a plan.

Finally, my feeling is that the criticism of Levy is a bit sensationalist. It relies on rumour, press reports and generally conclusions on certain events. In the main, I don't see those conclusions being free from bias. We've spent over £100m already on the stadium (in the last 2-3 years) and we are going to have to spend another £300-400m in the next 3-4 years. Any chairman needs to be assessed on the fundamentals of the club and where was the club when they joined v where the club is now or when the chairman/owners leave. There is no doubt whatsoever that Levy has done an excellent job. He has chosen to go on a long term plan to get us into the CL, and yet the naysayers are doubting the very person that is responsible for getting us from bottom half of the table flirting with relegation to top 6 flirting with top 4. Surely this is a little ungrateful? Surely he has earned the right to a bit of trust from us as fans that doesn't lead a contingent of us criticising his every move. So where there are situations that require the benefit of the doubt, we perhaps give it to him rather than give him the handicap of the doubt and assume that he's an imbecile that couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery or a chairman that is holding back a club that he has brought so far.
 
Good post.Its not anybody's fault that there are 2 clubs with endless funds.We would be Cl regulars if city and chelscum had stayed at their real level.
That said we should have splashed some cash in the Jan window of the CL season and selling Berebtov on the last day of the window was ridiculos
 
jabbathehut said:
Good post.Its not anybody's fault that there are 2 clubs with endless funds.We would be Cl regulars if city and chelscum had stayed at their real level.
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This .. the sad truth of this generation of football.

Cheat$ki would be leeds (collapsed somewhere in the lower leagues), and City would be the yo-yo club they always were, with the odd appearance in the top flight.

Perhaps Bale, Modric & VDV would still be here, we might even after 3-4 years in CL have had the money to be competing for the title ....

I'll go slit my wrist now ..
 
Aldo said:
I think Levy comes in for some unfair criticism over this.
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I do not believe in coincidences and it is no coincidence that practically every window we get "news" of Levy tinkling off a club. WBA this year, Southampton last, Lyon with Lloris, Seville with Fazio, Sporting with Dier, Seville again with Ramos and the list goes on. People will say that Levy is just doing this for the best interest of the club, which I can understand. But why is it always US that get the bad publicity? Hundreds of transfers are done every window but it is consistently US that are held up as untrustworthy and cheapskates. Don't the chairmen of other clubs also look out for their own? So why don't we see the same headlines about them? Even Chelsea came out smelling sweeter in their pursuit of Stones. Why, then, is it always us that get the bad press? Is it possible there is a wholesale Fleet Street agenda against us?

We should have course say "screw them" and erect an "us and them" bunker attitude but would that be useful? If we really want to improve, we need to buy players. And after the Bale money debacle, players from Premier clubs offer a lower risk element. However, if our reputation as untrustworthy transfer partners precedes us, then we should not be surprised to find doors closing shut in our faces...

For all it's worth, I believe that Levy left it late, thinking he held all the cards in the poker game and believing he could bully Peace to accept the move on our terms. But he failed to read both the circumstances as well as his opponent, who just pulled out the royal flush at the very end to win the game. As for Levy walking away, how can you square that circle when we were throwing desperate offer after offer past the eleventh hour? To me, it just confirms that Levy got caught with his pants down!

I do accept that in any transfer you win some and lose some but no amount of sweeteners can disguise the fact that the Berahino affair was a total shambles from start to finish. If posters like Milo think that is OTT, I have no problem; I equally think that some of the posts in this thread belie a groupie mentality, if not extremely condescending.

I just hope that Levy learns a lesson from this farce especially that, in business, the last thing you want is to antagonise the people who you want to deal with. I am not holding my breath, though...
 
milo said:
I disagree with you about @DubaiSpur too. I think that his posts are too often clouded by his anger at where we are as a club and are too subjective as a result.
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Perhaps there's something in that, but it's still somewhat unsteady ground to tread on: someone more ignoble than me could easily counter that by saying that a lot of posters often consider themselves to be objective, but in reality are probably just less invested in the outcome than the more emotional ones.

Of course, I'm well aware that that isn't the case, and that we're all Spurs fans who care for the club: even the chairman-worshipping 'broken record! broken record! broken record!' parrot that is @parklane1 . :D However, you are right in stating that I am angry about where we are as a club: I'll only add that I'm more angry at where we could have been had the right decisions been taken, and that regardless of that I try to at least maintain a semblance of objectivity in my posting behaviour, conceding points where necessary and combating them when I feel they're just wrong.

@Robspur12 : thanks mate, and I agree with a hell of a lot of what you say.
 
i think levy is always sacrificing short term for long term.

the bale money he put in all back into player stock so that we have enough value to wheel and deal till the stadium is complete.

the team now is focused on young players, and a manager who is also young and willing to groom young talent without complaining too much.

a year after the stadium is built and our first season ends with new revenue streams - i believe we are going to see massive changes in terms of player wages and transfer ambition. if not - levy out !
 
Of course, I'm well aware that that isn't the case, and that we're all Spurs fans who care for the club: even the chairman-worshipping 'broken record! broken record! broken record!' parrot that is @parklane1

 Now that did make me laugh DS, you are the most one eyed poster I have come across and you can not even see it. ( maybe because you are always using the " one eye " to slag Levy off because he kicked your cat). :p
 
I just don't get the dislike towards Levy as I find it irrational and based on little fact. By all means criticise someone on fact, or based on sound rational judgment. We are dealing with a man who is incredibly private (judged by the fact that there are very few interviews) and has been very successful for THFC yet people are prepared to believe irrational lies in the press over what they can actually see with their own eyes.

Levy likes a long payment structure - Rebuttal is the countless transfers that we have concluded before the transfer window for non-distressed sales and also the comments from Aulas about how fair our offer for N-Jie is and also the Fulham comments about Dembele.

Levy likes dragging out a transfer to the last moment - Rebuttal is that the majority of our transfers have been concluded in advance of the transfer window deadline;

Levy is a penny pinching so and so - Rebuttal is £20m+ for Soldado, £27m+ for Lamela, £13m for Bentley. Our transfer record is as high as most comparable clubs.

Levy is not ambitious enough or enough of a risk taker - Rebuttal is we have the best training facilities in Europe, one of the best acadamies in the country, and plans for one of the best stadiums in Europe. We have also gone from bottom half club flirting with relegation to top 6 club flirting with CL.

Levy is only in it for his own gain - Maybe, but what's wrong with that. His aim is the same as ours i.e. the most successful THFC there could possibly be.

The guy makes mistakes and by all means critique those ad nauseum but do not believe the brick media, the brick stories and the basic garbage that comes out because all that shows is that we are gullible.
 
I like Levy and think overall he has been a fantastic chairman for the club. However it doesn't mean that I think everything he has done has been perfect.
 
indianspur said:
so, is there anything about the way Levy operates that you dont like?
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Yes, plenty and I've posted as such. I didn't like the way he dealt with Jol's dismissal. I felt the timing of Graham's sacking was not the right time as it was just before the FA cup semi-final if I remember correctly. I didn't like the way that they increased their stakeholding in Spurs as it was by stealth rather than offering the entire shareholding the same deal. I didn't like the way he had bid for the Olympic Stadium site without consulting the fans first, even if it was the right thing to do to prevent West Ham from getting the steal of the century. I would also like him to be more aggressive with the media so that our PR is a lot better.

However, it all comes down to the fact that this club is a MUCH better place for having him here. Those points are nit picking, and for the most part I can see that he has learned from them.
 
Gazzasrightboot said:
I just don't get the dislike towards Levy as I find it irrational and based on little fact. By all means criticise someone on fact, or based on sound rational judgment. We are dealing with a man who is incredibly private (judged by the fact that there are very few interviews) and has been very successful for THFC yet people are prepared to believe irrational lies in the press over what they can actually see with their own eyes.

Levy likes a long payment structure - Rebuttal is the countless transfers that we have concluded before the transfer window for non-distressed sales and also the comments from Aulas about how fair our offer for N-Jie is and also the Fulham comments about Dembele.

Levy likes dragging out a transfer to the last moment - Rebuttal is that the majority of our transfers have been concluded in advance of the transfer window deadline;

Levy is a penny pinching so and so - Rebuttal is £20m+ for Soldado, £27m+ for Lamela, £13m for Bentley. Our transfer record is as high as most comparable clubs.

Levy is not ambitious enough or enough of a risk taker - Rebuttal is we have the best training facilities in Europe, one of the best acadamies in the country, and plans for one of the best stadiums in Europe. We have also gone from bottom half club flirting with relegation to top 6 club flirting with CL.

Levy is only in it for his own gain - Maybe, but what's wrong with that. His aim is the same as ours i.e. the most successful THFC there could possibly be.

The guy makes mistakes and by all means critique those ad nauseum but do not believe the **** media, the **** stories and the basic garbage that comes out because all that shows is that we are gullible.
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What is that old saying? " there is none so blind as those that can not see" although where Levy is concerned its more that some do not want to see.
 
Finney Is Back said:
I like Levy and think overall he has been a fantastic chairman for the club. However it doesn't mean that I think everything he has done has been perfect.
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Of course he makes mistakes I have yet to meet anyone who does not, those who say they never do are liars ( imo). But most of the decisions he makes have helped our club move up from mid-table and with the new ground we have a lot to look forward too.
 
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