Daniel Levy - Former Chairman

[ricky2tricky4city]

Post of the season so far…

....back handed compliment

We're only 4 weeks in

 

[Grays_1890]

....back handed compliment

We're only 4 weeks in

Get me in the England squad though......Andy Johnson me

 

[Muttley]

I mean from the starting point that Levy took over, I would not have imagined us in the CL, let alone running to the final. I think it’s exceptional that we managed it while building the infrastructure at the same time.

I get it, but I guess my point was that some of us have had to re-program our thoughts on UEFA comps more times than just ENIC and Levy joining Spurs. The changes to the UEFA comps have been astounding over time. I wouldn't have imagined us in the CL because there wasn't one. It was the European Cup and only league winners were in it. Our club loved and won the cup winners cup and always had a chance to be in the UEFA cup. You could always dream of winning them even if you doubted that you could win the league and go into the European Cup. It wasn't possible to do what Pool did and win the CL as a platform to go onto winning the PL the season after. It had to be the other way round.

My memory fades but I think you're only actually talking about a point in time where Utd, Pool, Arse and Chelsea were locked in to the CL. Once you were in the CL monies kept you in. That's when it was hard to believe any other team could break into that closed shop. Neutral fans hate City but in some ways it was the Sheikh's money, not us, that broke the traditional top 4. Pool went into free fall for a few years and we finished above them for about 5 years running. Arsenal dropped out eventually and Chelsea lost their stability under Abramovic especially when Jose was abusing club doctors publicly. Nowadays, Saudi Sportswashing Machine are joining the big 6 to make it a big 7 and of course we now get the 5th league place.

All through this time, Levy just kept his head and followed his plan of record. He was buying up land, developing the training ground and getting ready for the stadium build. That's why I mostly believed to be fair. I still pinch myself that we ended up in a CL final in 2019, when we had such a great team in 2016/17.

 

[braineclipse]

I get it, but I guess my point was that some of us have had to re-program our thoughts on UEFA comps more times than just ENIC and Levy joining Spurs. The changes to the UEFA comps have been astounding over time. I wouldn't have imagined us in the CL because there wasn't one. It was the European Cup and only league winners were in it. Our club loved and won the cup winners cup and always had a chance to be in the UEFA cup. You could always dream of winning them even if you doubted that you could win the league and go into the European Cup. It wasn't possible to do what Pool did and win the CL as a platform to go onto winning the PL the season after. It had to be the other way round.

My memory fades but I think you're only actually talking about a point in time where Utd, Pool, Arse and Chelsea were locked in to the CL. Once you were in the CL monies kept you in. That's when it was hard to believe any other team could break into that closed shop. Neutral fans hate City but in some ways it was the Sheikh's money, not us, that broke the traditional top 4. Pool went into free fall for a few years and we finished above them for about 5 years running. Arsenal dropped out eventually and Chelsea lost their stability under Abramovic especially when Jose was abusing club doctors publicly. Nowadays, Saudi Sportswashing Machine are joining the big 6 to make it a big 7 and of course we now get the 5th league place.

All through this time, Levy just kept his head and followed his plan of record. He was buying up land, developing the training ground and getting ready for the stadium build. That's why I mostly believed to be fair. I still pinch myself that we ended up in a CL final in 2019, when we had such a great team in 2016/17.

Think the lads on the pod were spot on when they say we're the only team to break into that "top 4" with any consistency without huge outside investment in the team or nearly bankrupting ourselves in the process.

The "top 4" isn't as locked in as it once looked, it's more in flux and there's more teams closer to that level. But getting consistent CL is no easier now than it was then. And to me at least if we want to maximise our chances of trophies that's the level we need to be aiming at first.

 

[Bishop]

So that nuance, looking at other things in addition to trophies is valid for players, coaches and managers, but not chairmen in your opinion?

I wasn't talking about the chairman. I was talking about the club as an institution.

The chairman is NOT the club. It was here before Levy and it's still here after Levy.

 

[braineclipse]

I wasn't talking about the chairman. I was talking about the club as an institution.

The chairman is NOT the club. It was here before Levy and it's still here after Levy.

OK. I thought when you quoted what I said about Levy in the Levy thread the point you were making was related to the conversation about Levy.

 

[Bishop]

OK. I thought when you quoted what I said about Levy in the Levy thread the point you were making was related to the conversation about Levy.

I did specifically say the club, and not the chairman. I was responding generically to the talk of what success for a football team actually is.

If we are talking about the chairman and success or not, I'd place it similarly to the coaches or managers. Some good moments and progression with limited success. For me success would be tangible results on the pitch, competitions won first, achievements next and progression curves after that. We've done alright under him, recovered our position after the horrible 90s. There was progression until there wasn't, but my issues with Levy have always been to do with decision making and strategy. Too often we've not pushed on team wise when the opportunities presented themselves. Too often with jumped from one football identity to another and those are the things I have issue with. Even financial strategy itself doesn't bother me as such, I'm happy going for young and unproven players, but there's a way to do it and we have rarely followed cogently.

 

[Muttley]

Think the lads on the pod were spot on when they say we're the only team to break into that "top 4" with any consistency without huge outside investment in the team or nearly bankrupting ourselves in the process.

The "top 4" isn't as locked in as it once looked, it's more in flux and there's more teams closer to that level. But getting consistent CL is no easier now than it was then. And to me at least if we want to maximise our chances of trophies that's the level we need to be aiming at first.

Agree, I've always encouraged Spurs fans to look at what happened at other clubs when we've been fortunate enough to get into the CL. Most of the time, something about the other top 5 clubs has been very sub-optimal.

Great example is in 09/10 when Crouchy's goal against City got us 4th place. City with their new owners were on the up-and-up and won the league within 2 seasons. That season Pool were 7th, their lowest finish in 11 years and the end of the Rafa years. So out of a new top 6, 2 of the teams left the door open. We took advantage.

Another great example is Jose losing the changing room with the club doctor business. They finished on 50 points that season. They won it with 93 points the following season under Conte.

I think it is even more competitive now. There are no guarantees but what I would encourage us to get the defence tight and achieve 70 points or more. If you don't do that, you're not even in the race.