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Daniel Levy - Chairman

When evaluating someone's decision making and there isn't a huge sample size I think looking also at what lead them to making that decision is relevant.

To the extent it's down to luck it can't be ascribed to skill or knowledge. That's not to say skill or knowledge isn't also a factor.

Similarly Levy gets credit for Pochettino and imo deservedly so. I really wanted Pochettino at the time, but he wasn't a super obvious pick. But Pochettino being THAT good for us can't just be ascribed to skill or knowledge for Levy. Luck was a factor.

Agreed.

Neither Levy -or some of our fanbase- ever fully appreciated the full scope of that magical convergence of factors. Talent, necessity, management, luck of course, that magical alchemy. What made it so special for me was that we were achieving incredible football and results without financial doping (or any doping for that matter)! It is why losing that CL Final broke my heart so much. Not only would it have been winning THE big one, it would've been showing the world that it can be done 'this' way, that you don't need financial steroids. Football lost as much as we did that day. It is also why I remain incredibly fudging bitter about the 'penalty' that wasn't.

That last season at the Lane was incredible. We deserved to be champions that season IMO. And it will always be impossible for me to not speculate how far we'd have gone with just one or two of those players he really wanted that summer. I freely admit it is the era which made me believe again more than any other and the era which broke my Tottenham heart more than any other (1982 was the other but I was young and we were winning trophies that I was seeing).

While I'm here in full confessional, I will freely admit that I can also never, ever forgive Levy for not only bringing in Mourinho, but bringing him in less than 24 hours after sacking Poch. I knew Mourinho would fail. If he wanted to go 'instant success' route, I'd have tolerated trying an Ancelotti, who might at least have made sense to who we are as a club. Mourinho's vulgar hubristic dingdong nature was counter to all I think of when you say our name. I despise him and his era here, and whether irrational or not, I hold Mourinho partially responsible for what happened to Dele.
 
Levy totally lucked into Pochettino's success. He knows nothing about the game. He's been here 25 years and he still doesn't have a clue. Quite remarkable in itself. It's almost as if his interests lie elsewhere ...
Common denominator for all of our failings and our success off the pitch.
 
It is known that Poch told Levy we should sell Eriksen once it was clear he would not sign a new deal (they had lunch in CPH at which moment Poch realised he was not in, this a concequence of fall-out between Eriksen and Levy). As we know, he wanted Grealish, had Grealish, Daniel looked to shave a little more off a done-deal and we ended up losing him. Remember, too, Poch wanted to sell Toby as he felt he'd lost something. Moussa? Let's face it, that Poch got anything from him is incredible. Remember, he came at the end of that summer window when neither Mane or Winaldjum ended up with us, we lost Mitchell, and Daniel presented Moussa on deadline day.

Poch was definitely in a 'war of attrition' at the end, hindsight makes that clearer to me than it was at the time for sure. The right thing would've been summer departure, the other right thing would've been backing him through at least that season. As we know, covid changed everything. I have pondered how Poch would've done with (essentially) the break and reset? Still, history now and a discussion which will never grow old!

With all of this, you don't win with Levy. When he over-empowers himself and forces his lack of football DNA into the equation, it breeds failure. It always has done whether it is judgment on managers, valuation of players in negotiations or him trying to manage the in player-agent relationship for the club. I've always said this but Levy should stay at Lilywhite House. He should not be at the other facility, the training ground. His lack of football DNA has got in the way of progress on the football ops side.
 
With all of this, you don't win with Levy. When he over-empowers himself and forces his lack of football DNA into the equation, it breeds failure. It always has done whether it is judgment on managers, valuation of players in negotiations or him trying to manage the in player-agent relationship for the club. I've always said this but Levy should stay at Lilywhite House. He should not be at the other facility, the training ground. His lack of football DNA has got in the way of progress on the football ops side.

What is his football DNA count?

How is this measured?

Is there a table published somewhere of chair person FDNA?

If so, who is top?
 
While I'm here in full confessional, I will freely admit that I can also never, ever forgive Levy for not only bringing in Mourinho, but bringing him in less than 24 hours after sacking Poch. I knew Mourinho would fail. If he wanted to go 'instant success' route, I'd have tolerated trying an Ancelotti, who might at least have made sense to who we are as a club. Mourinho's vulgar hubristic dingdong nature was counter to all I think of when you say our name. I despise him and his era here, and whether irrational or not, I hold Mourinho partially responsible for what happened to Dele.

It was all circular with Dele. He had been burnt out by overplaying because we never found suitable squad players in that area to give Dele and Eriksen a rest. They both run marathons in the early days for Poch and it took its tool on them both. So the soft tissue issues started with Dele and he could never get back to his former self. Load on all of the childhood trauma from the family situation that he wasn't addressing in his adulthood.

Then he met the narcissist who just do what narcissists do when they see vulnerability. My guess is that Dele was totally gas-lighted by Jose in their relationship. Dele would have feared ever being one-on-one with Jose. That's the way it works.

Hugo alluded to the player relationships in his book. Can't remember the exact words but he said something like there was a big section of the changing room that Jose had lost.

Jose was a bad appointment and sacked way too late. Football ops under Danny boy.
 
What is his football DNA count?

How is this measured?

Is there a table published somewhere of chair person FDNA?

If so, who is top?

Sheikh Mansaur and John Henry are top in my mind. As leaders, they know they don't have any football DNA so they build their organisation on that premise. They empower others with the nous required. None of us could even name their Chief Football Officers without google. I'm hoping this is the way it will be with Scott Munn as he quietly goes to work and adds that much needed layer of expertise into our club. Such a shame that Trevor Birch never stuck around in 2019.
 
Sheikh Mansaur and John Henry are top in my mind. As leaders, they know they don't have any football DNA so they build their organisation on that premise. They empower others with the nous required. None of us could even name their Chief Football Officers without google. I'm hoping this is the way it will be with Scott Munn as he quietly goes to work and adds that much needed layer of expertise into our club. Such a shame that Trevor Birch never stuck around in 2019.

How do they know they don’t have it?

Is it like Midi-chlorians?
 
Sheikh Mansaur and John Henry are top in my mind. As leaders, they know they don't have any football DNA so they build their organisation on that premise. They empower others with the nous required. None of us could even name their Chief Football Officers without google. I'm hoping this is the way it will be with Scott Munn as he quietly goes to work and adds that much needed layer of expertise into our club. Such a shame that Trevor Birch never stuck around in 2019.
Mansaur?
If spending billions and having your club dragged through every court possible with every pot they've ever won done in dubious circumstances is football dna then you can keep it.
 
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