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Daniel Levy's Transfer Policy Revealed

Re: The We8Campbell Memorial ITK Thread

It was for Moutinho, i'll dig out links later

Wasn't the extension for our loan of Harry Kane to Norwich? Or at least that's what Norwich said.

If we were genuinely that close to Moutinho, why are we so far away from him now? He hasn't even made a single comment in the press like last time - in fact, he's looked pretty damn happy at Porto all winter. More relevantly, where is the money for a 22m+ transfer going to come from, bearing in mind that our wages have increased since the last time we were known to be big hitters in the market, and that we have a stadium and shiny new training center to pay for (considering Lewis is about as sugardaddy as I am)? (Just for a rough estimate - does anyone have the wage bill starting this season?) If we genuinely have a grand warchest of funds, why have we become so obsessed with favorable contract situations (Pienaar, Saha, Nelsen, Holtby, Dempsey and Dembele's buyout clauses, Ade's wrangling, and now Diame, Son, and Hooper)? Maybe Levy doesn't want to give money to Redknapp, but it's our transfer committee that's been making most of our signings in the last four years and we always knew HR was only a temporary thing, so if the funds are there, why not buy the young prospects for the future anyways?

Though I do think that the new TV deal means that if there was ever a time to spend, it's now (and that's why this window is so difficult - all the agents are advising their players to wait for the summer when the market inflates).

Personally, I think Levy has done a very, very good job of getting us so close to the top tier when you look at what we are competing against financially. It was not very long ago at all that we couldn't even dream of the likes of Modric or VDV or Lloris playing for us, or out-competing Liverpool and sometimes even Arse for a signature. It is possible, I think, to fund a Moutinho and/or Willian if we stop buying so many squad players, since their wages and fees accumulate to a rather sizable total, but it is not at all easy to get rid of the likes of Hudd, Jenas, Bentley, Gomes et al - contracts go both ways! So I don't want to say that Levy is some sort of shady asshole of a chairman out to pull the wool over the eyes of poor AVB, because he works with some seriously constrained circumstances that AVB ought to have understood well beforehand. But I do believe, very roughly, JJetset's version of events re: Moutinho, bearing in mind that every ITK's sources have their own bias, because he does have a very good track record and because it fits with my own understanding of our financial situation and the "real" backroom dealings of large businesses, which never match the public reports.
 
Re: The We8Campbell Memorial ITK Thread

Completel agree and have been saying this for months. I dont believe there is the slightest chance that we will be paying £20m for someone this window. I said at the start that i thought we would spend £5m - £10m max and still think thats right

Reason is simply - we're still trying to finance a new stadium. When lenders lend money, particuarly to businesses which are volatile and not particularly credit-worthy such as foobtall clubs, the last thing they want to see is the club being anything but prudent with their cash. And whilst fans will always say 'you need to buy decent players to get CL football to get more cash etc etc' thats not how lenders will look at it. Until the stadium is fully financed, I really do not see our transfer policy changing - expect it to be like this for a good whle yet

You've been banging this drum for a while, mate, but I'm not sure that I entirely agree with you.

I'm sure that there's some truth in what you say but I think that there is another contributing factor. I also believe that Spurs would sanction the signing of a £20m + player if they felt that that represented value and the likelihood of significant team improvement.

As to why we appear to be spending less in the transfer market now, it has much to do with the fact that our wage bill is considerably higher than it was even two or three years ago. That's because, over the past few seasons, our priority has been to keep the top players that we do have rather than to buy further top players. That generally means offering significant wage rises. We shouldn't forget, either, that Spurs are still paying for players they bought up to five years ago (in the accounts at least, as a consequence of amortisation). Hence the £1.6 million loss (before interest and tax) from operating profits of £23 million, despite quite possibly making a net profit on the players actually bought and sold during the financial year.

As to financing the stadium, I don't believe that potential lenders will look at or block individual signings - even those in excess of £20 million. They will look at the accounts as a whole in order to assess what kind of a risk THFC would represent as a debtor. They will look at the club's recent financial history. They will look at its future revenue forecasts. They will look at the management. And I am fairly certain that they would conclude that Tottenham are not run by imprudent or irresponsible people. Quite the opposite, in fact.

So I would expect them to trust Spurs to invest in the team to the extent that Levy et al deem appropriate.
 
Re: The We8Campbell Memorial ITK Thread

Well the fact avb came out on day after window shut on official site saying how he's greatful levy tried to sign moutinho. Let's be honest he didn't want to part with the money and it was for show. If levy genuinely genuinely wanted to sign moutinho he wouldn't of opened negotiations on deadline day. We're skint I can deal with that.

What makes you think that negotiations were opened on deadline day?

I find it extraordinary that so many Spurs fans so frequently get hot under the collar about stories or notions that have no basis in known fact.
 
Re: The We8Campbell Memorial ITK Thread

I don't believe at all that we genuinely tried very hard for Moutinho. Dembele plays in his favored position and we'd just sprung his contract, while we've never paid over 16.5m for a player and have had to finance a number of wage increases for new contracts over the summer. From what JJ has said, my best guess is that AVB threw a bit of a tantrum since he was probably promised we'd at least try hard for Moutinho, so Levy had to at least appear to try to go for him at the last minute. How sincere this attempt was is up to you; I'll note that we've never even looked close to signing Mouts this window. Nor Willian, nor Leandro.

Personally, I believe we really do have very little fat to burn, considering the massive wage bills we're competing against will be pressuring us too, by exploding the meaning of 'fair market value' (hell, even Everton are struggling TERRIBLY with wages). The very latest figures are not out but you have to consider that wages have outpaced revenue growth in recent years, so we have less to work with than before, and there are a lot of extra costs - signing on bonuses, agent fees, "signing-out" bonuses (you have to negotiate some fee with the outgoing players since they're entitled to the remainder of their contract), etc. that are not captured in reported transfer fees alone. Indeed we had one of the highest "agent fee" bills under Redknapp, perhaps unsurprisingly.

Hence our Nelson/Saha/Pienaar/'other random geriatrics with favourable contract situations' January windows.

skyfarer - I greatly enjoy your tactical posts and player evaluations.

But there are a number of things that strike a false note in the first paragraph of your post above:

we've never paid over 16.5m for a player

Irrelevant. We had never paid over £11 million for a player until we signed Darren Bent for £16.5 million in summer 2007. It is inevitable that we will, at some point, pay in excess of £20 million for a player. And sooner rather than later is my guess. The proliferation of billionaire owned clubs in addition to the ever growing TV revenues for Premier League clubs make it certain that wage and transfer inflation will continue for the foreseeable future.

From what JJ has said, my best guess is that AVB threw a bit of a tantrum since he was probably promised we'd at least try hard for Moutinho

Basing an argument on information supplied by itk's is, at best, lacking in credibility.

I'll note that we've never even looked close to signing Mouts this window. Nor Willian, nor Leandro.

Why would any of us have any clue as to what is or isn't happening with any of those deals? But even if you're correct, it doesn't mean that we won't sign those players (or others at a similar level) in the summer.
 
Re: The We8Campbell Memorial ITK Thread

Oh yeah and Hazard who a couple of months ago said that if Chelsea hadn't won the CL then he'd be playing for Spurs right now. He could well be lying but lets just assume he's not for the sake of the argument. Would he really be playing for Spurs? Was Levy really going to put up £32m for him? I see it as artificial interest with Levy just pandering to the fans. I'd rather he just made it clear that we have little to work with rather than putting our name out there with big players when we have no intention/chance of signing them.

Levy isn't really the type to pander to fans or to talk big or to make grand (but empty) gestures. He's no Simon Jordan.

Is there any truth in any of the bids that you're moaning about? Or was it all just press talk? Who knows? Not you, anyway. So banging on about it serves no purpose other than, possibly, to satisfy your own need to let off steam about your notion of having been pandered to.

I suspect - and let me stress that this is only opinion - if we did make any of these failed bids, that they would have been genuine. But only on Levy's terms which, as we know, are frequently not terms to which the other parties can agree. Seems to me to be a far more likely explanation. Levy is not a frivolous man.
 
Re: The We8Campbell Memorial ITK Thread

Levy isn't really the type to pander to fans or to talk big or to make grand (but empty) gestures. He's no Simon Jordan.

Is there any truth in any of the bids that you're moaning about? Or was it all just press talk? Who knows? Not you, anyway. So banging on about it serves no purpose other than, possibly, to satisfy your own need to let off steam about your notion of having been pandered to.

I suspect - and let me stress that this is only opinion - if we did make any of these failed bids, that they would have been genuine. But only on Levy's terms which, as we know, are frequently not terms to which the other parties can agree. Seems to me to be a far more likely explanation. Levy is not a frivolous man.

yep
imo Spurs are always in for top players, but simply dont bid nowhere enough. Fair enough, no harm in trying
 
Re: The We8Campbell Memorial ITK Thread

Wasn't the extension for our loan of Harry Kane to Norwich? Or at least that's what Norwich said.

If we were genuinely that close to Moutinho, why are we so far away from him now? He hasn't even made a single comment in the press like last time - in fact, he's looked pretty damn happy at Porto all winter. More relevantly, where is the money for a 22m+ transfer going to come from, bearing in mind that our wages have increased since the last time we were known to be big hitters in the market, and that we have a stadium and shiny new training center to pay for (considering Lewis is about as sugardaddy as I am)? (Just for a rough estimate - does anyone have the wage bill starting this season?) If we genuinely have a grand warchest of funds, why have we become so obsessed with favorable contract situations (Pienaar, Saha, Nelsen, Holtby, Dempsey and Dembele's buyout clauses, Ade's wrangling, and now Diame, Son, and Hooper)? Maybe Levy doesn't want to give money to Redknapp, but it's our transfer committee that's been making most of our signings in the last four years and we always knew HR was only a temporary thing, so if the funds are there, why not buy the young prospects for the future anyways?

Though I do think that the new TV deal means that if there was ever a time to spend, it's now (and that's why this window is so difficult - all the agents are advising their players to wait for the summer when the market inflates).

Personally, I think Levy has done a very, very good job of getting us so close to the top tier when you look at what we are competing against financially. It was not very long ago at all that we couldn't even dream of the likes of Modric or VDV or Lloris playing for us, or out-competing Liverpool and sometimes even Arse for a signature. It is possible, I think, to fund a Moutinho and/or Willian if we stop buying so many squad players, since their wages and fees accumulate to a rather sizable total, but it is not at all easy to get rid of the likes of Hudd, Jenas, Bentley, Gomes et al - contracts go both ways! So I don't want to say that Levy is some sort of shady asshole of a chairman out to pull the wool over the eyes of poor AVB, because he works with some seriously constrained circumstances that AVB ought to have understood well beforehand. But I do believe, very roughly, JJetset's version of events re: Moutinho, bearing in mind that every ITK's sources have their own bias, because he does have a very good track record and because it fits with my own understanding of our financial situation and the "real" backroom dealings of large businesses, which never match the public reports.

This is the piece that I was referring to

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...d-out-on-Portos-Joao-Moutinho-by-minutes.html
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

I have just seen 2 joke AVB out threads, but with what we know about Levy, he doesn't like major mistakes and will hold it against him. I have a feeling 4th is what will be required now to remove levys finger from the trigger. 5th will see him tout the job around and see who we can get, anything lower and I just can't imagine Levy not reacting.

And I don't think there will be any daft "it's a project" consideration. Levy came to Spurs and talked about a 5 year plan. The first 5 years saw about 5 different managers.

How can Levy expect 4th when he doesn't give the managers the cash to get it? 2 seasons in a row he's just sitting there and watching us struggle with injuries and not done a single thing about it.
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

How can Levy expect 4th when he doesn't give the managers the cash to get it? 2 seasons in a row he's just sitting there and watching us struggle with injuries and not done a single ithing about it.

Yep so true but do you think it will change I can't see it ?
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

Yep so true but do you think it will change I can't see it ?

He'll make 5 more bids of 50k-100k before agreeing a deal for Holtby if we're lucky. As for a striker he'll wait to see what will be thrown our way and act if he can get a big discount. It's shocking that he's doing this to us again.
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

The annoying thing about the Holtby negotiation is that had he started, we might well have won. The extra £500k or whatever we are argueing about would have been more than recouped in the next round grrrr!
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

The annoying thing about the Holtby negotiation is that had he started, we might well have won. The extra £500k or whatever we are argueing about would have been more than recouped in the next round grrrr!

Throwing a new player into that kind of niggling championship quality away game, its more likely he would have been castigated as brick and a failure. We need a striker more than Holtby. Put the half a mil towards a forward.
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

Only Spurs could have signed a player on January 3rd and still be trying to sign him on January 27th.
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

It is bizarre to have this tactic that is faulty on almost every level. That even the sole argument of saving money is useless when weighed against the cost to the manager who is trying to put a team together especially during the summer when players cant even get a preseason in.

Someone needs to tell Levy for every VDV there is a Frazier Campbell or a Saha...
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

People seem to have trouble understanding that it is not only the purchase amount that determines whether it is worth the price to acquire the player. We have with our revenue, a salary cap that must be followed, we can not have too many players who earn 70-90 a week. So many players we dream of falls not on price but on their wage demands, thinks that even supporters should be able to see the whole picture unless you are 14 and think that money comes out of the machine on the wall when you need them.
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

It is bizarre to have this tactic that is faulty on almost every level. That even the sole argument of saving money is useless when weighed against the cost to the manager who is trying to put a team together especially during the summer when players cant even get a preseason in.

Someone needs to tell Levy for every VDV there is a Frazier Campbell or a Saha...

The transfer tactic that has brought us to where we are now and has seen us sign some outstanding players in recent years is "faulty on every level"?

Saving money that can then later be used on other players is useless?
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

How can Levy expect 4th when he doesn't give the managers the cash to get it? 2 seasons in a row he's just sitting there and watching us struggle with injuries and not done a single thing about it.

Did you read the latest financial report in the FFP thread?

We made a solid operating profit last financial year, but after football trading we were down a bit over £4m.

It's not like money is being taken out of the club.
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

What is "football trading"? Player buys and sales?

In 11/12 we signed £8m worth of players and sold £35m :-k
 
Re: Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

Did you read the latest financial report in the FFP thread?

We made a solid operating profit last financial year, but after football trading we were down a bit over £4m.

It's not like money is being taken out of the club.

I don't read any of that stuff.

I see us achieve 13th place in the richest clubs in the world list, i see us paying low wages in comparison to our rivals, i see us selling players for big cash, and i see us make a 22m bid for a player on transfer dealing day and naturally think there's money to spend.
 
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