Mauricio Pochettino - Sacked

[Jordinho]

most likely. we were interested in these two before Baldini came in. I imagine the other two were Chadli and Eriksen?

I always thought Chadli was targeted as a backup for Bale. When Bale left it was all 'who is this guy? For that fee he must be ****'.

 

[billyiddo]

Exactly. Some deluded Spurs fans STILL think Wenger is a dummy despite all the success he has brought them.

I would have loved to watch the calibre of the players he has brought to their club performing at the Lane week in week out. To say otherwise, shows a complete lack of footballing intelligence relegated to partisan nitpicking.

But the point was they still have the same problems building their squad as we do - can you not see that?? They have 5 defenders and no defensive midfielders in their squad - why is that seeings as Wengers the sole man in charge and doesn't have a DoF interfering?? I mean you're the one holding their way of doing things as the answer but they are doing no better than us really in the aspects that you're complaining about

 

[DHSF]

They have a higher ceiling than us through, sadly, being a bigger club - but make no mistake they suffer from the same problems that we do in terms of squad balance and that's with the holy grail of one man over seeing everything.

DoF / one man it's a stupid thing to get hung up on because there is no set route to success. People want a spacegoat and for our fanbase it's the evil DoF undermiming everyone in his wake - seemingly on a mission to tear the club apart from within

Someone has to be held accountable. If the Manager isnt holding onto the reigns in terms of transfers and he isnt being successful then how can he be held accountable? Lets be honest if Poch isnt successful he will be giving the old heave-ho

There is something fundamentally wrong at the top when it comes to transfers and unfortunately that has meant we have a bunch of players who are a) overrated or b) not what the Manager needs in terms of implementing his tactics. As mentioned before, I dont think a DoF is redundant per se but the positions focus and role should be on ensuring we as a club are well equipped in footballing matters over things like structure of the academy, scouting network or even carry out negotiations of player transfers. I dont think a DoF should be having a say in buying players - that ought to be left to Poch in this case. My view though.

 

[Jordinho]

DubaiSpur =D>

I seem to remember the club stating "we shall not look to a summer of major upheaval, but rather to strengthen in key positions" and now we're in the middle our worst start to a season since 2008/09 with a squad still as flummoxing as last season, still unable to find a settled starting XI and with no fight.

Our current squad on paper is pretty impressive, when looking at our transfers of last year purely in context they were impressive, bar Soldado (who already was one), they all were rising stars....and maybe there in lies the problem. The last time we bought a world class player was Van der Vaart, that was the only time we bought a player and any trepidations for the season seemed to disappear, just hasn't happened since.

In all our system works but only to a certain point, as seen in the past (2008) when done on mass it falls apart with terrible consequences for the immediate season.

As my next door neighbour said to me once "If you have strong reserves then you have a weak 1st team", he maybe 82 but he has a very good point and for me it sums up Tottenham Hotspur right now....or at least is the tip of the iceberg.

We did target our weakest areas.

Our PL side don't see many changes from week to week. Injuries aside, today's team was Poch's first choice.

 

[Hemant]

Levy decides what's unrealistic and what isn't. Levy decides whether or not to low-ball clubs with ludicrously low offers that **** off chairmen (Aulas at Lyon complained bitterly about this) and potentially end transfers before they even get off the ground. Levy's the one who tries to fob fans off with stupidly transparent stunts like throwing around imaginary 30 million pound bids for strikers on deadline day. Levy's the one who sold our best player for more than 80 million pounds and then somehow succeeded in missing out on most of AVB's primary targets. Levy's the one who hires managers with talk of 'ambition' and 'backing' before offering them cheap bargain buys on deadline day (provided of course that they've kept quiet like good little managers and watched the eternal primary objective of a profitable window come into view). Levy's the one who coldly demands of managers that they play the players he wants them to play (because he couldn't stomach selling them for less than their value just to comply with the manager's wishes), and sacks them when they inevitably bristle at the cheek of it all. And together, Levy and Lewis are the ones who decided that Tottenham Hotspur Football Club wasn't worth a penny of their own money and was best used to make a massive profit on the purchase price without a single cent going into it to keep it competitive at times when it could have done with the infusions, when the clubs all around it were spending money to secure positions that eventually yielded returns sufficient to justify those investments.

Levy sets the second-highest ticket prices in the league. Fans expect value for that money, not being told to shut up and appreciate the sub-par fare being served up with their own cash (which will ultimately be used to net the owners a fat profit without any investment on their part). Tell me, when looked at from that angle, does it seem strange to you that the club's got such a miasma hovering around it?

You want realistic expectations, lower the prices to a level that allows for people to feel that they're getting what they're paying for. The commercialization of football brings about situations like these, and while ENIC have cleverly avoided fan discontent at the policies used to run the club (via the appointment of a succession of disposable targetmen in the DoF and head coach positions, to be disposed of when the fans inevitably look in their direction first), sooner or later people will realise that they're not getting what they're paying for, and that the club they once thought was theirs is now pencilled in as 'profitable venture - zero investment or financial commitment required' in ENIC's portfolio, while they themselves are being asked to pay ludicrously high ticket prices for the privilege of watching the manager glumly trying to make a collection of bargain buys, inherited 'value' players and second-choices work while the players he really wanted are prancing away at some other club because.....the ticket prices weren't high enough to pay for them.

And then they go home and are told that they have unrealistic expectations, that they are fools for wanting immediate success and that they should just accept that we as a club are where we should be: with another profit made in the transfer window, the second lowest net spend over five seasons, the second highest ticket prices in the league, and a team that's just gone down 2-1 to Saudi Sportswashing Machine at home without so much as a whimper.


I want Poch to stay. I won't judge him until I feel he has the players he wants and the players he needs to implement his philosophy. I cannot say the same for our owners. And I can't blame the fans at the Lane or on the internet for feeling angry at the situation our club is in.

Hear! Hear!

 

[Jordinho]

Someone has to be held accountable. If the Manager isnt holding onto the reigns in terms of transfers and he isnt being successful then how can he be held accountable? Lets be honest if Poch isnt successful he will be giving the old heave-ho

There is something fundamentally wrong at the top when it comes to transfers and unfortunately that has meant we have a bunch of players who are a) overrated or b) not what the Manager needs in terms of implementing his tactics. As mentioned before, I dont think a DoF is redundant per se but the positions focus and role should be on ensuring we as a club are well equipped in footballing matters over things like structure of the academy, scouting network or even carry out negotiations of player transfers. I dont think a DoF should be having a say in buying players - that ought to be left to Poch in this case. My view though.

You don't know any of this though, it just suits the agenda of a DoF being bad. What if they were in fact all chosen by the head coach and he's just really **** at it? No doubt the DoF would get the blame again for going along with these targets.

 

[Hemant]

He isn't exactly succeeding any longer and he walked into a ready made title challenging team, only needing a couple of additions. Now he's taken them back to where they were, but he's unable to see the glaring holes in his squad.

I suppose we should blame the man who appointed the abysmal AVB, hey?

 

[Jurgen the German]

You don't know any of this though, it just suits the agenda of a DoF being bad. What if they were in fact all chosen by the head coach and he's just really **** at it? No doubt the DoF would get the blame again for going along with these targets.

Isn't that the problem? No one really knows what's going on. Why is there all of this cloak and dagger stuff? It seems from the outside looking in that the manager does not get always get the final say on transfer targets. Sorry if you like the DoF system, but some of us think that the manager not having a say in players being thrust upon him is a little stupid.

As for the last sentence, absolutely not. If the players are signed on the manager's request, it is the manager who should deal with the aftermath.

 

[metalgear]

I suppose we should blame the man who appointed the abysmal AVB, hey?

Abysmal avb wasn't, and yes accountability for the string of mangers we had is needed to ensure we don't repeat the same mistakes.

 

[Pirate55]

But the point was they still have the same problems building their squad as we do - can you not see that?? They have 5 defenders and no defensive midfielders in their squad - why is that seeings as Wengers the sole man in charge and doesn't have a DoF interfering?? I mean you're the one holding their way of doing things as the answer but they are doing no better than us really in the aspects that you're complaining about

You are pulling my chain, right? They do have defensive midfielders. Flamini, Arteta, Wiltshire and Ramsey can all play there. Agreed that they havent found another Viera or Petit. However, they have been decimated by defensive injuries this season and are still miles better than us defensively. They will be in the top four come the end of the season despite these impediments. Unfortunately.

To not acknowledge the quality of their squad compared to ours is just ridiculous. How many of our players would get into their first team?

 

[metalgear]

You are pulling my chain, right? They do have defensive midfielders. Flamini, Arteta, Wiltshire and Ramsey can all play there. Agreed that they havent found another Viera or Petit. However, they have been decimated by defensive injuries this season and are still miles better than us defensively. They will be in the top four come the end of the season despite these impediments. Unfortunately.

To not acknowledge the quality of their squad compared to ours is just ridiculous. How many of our players would get into their first team?

Arsenal still looks more balanced and purposeful with a decimated team compared to us now with a few injuries. Just calling it as it is. They play better football for the neutrals out there.

 

[Pirate55]

Someone has to be held accountable. If the Manager isnt holding onto the reigns in terms of transfers and he isnt being successful then how can he be held accountable? Lets be honest if Poch isnt successful he will be giving the old heave-ho

There is something fundamentally wrong at the top when it comes to transfers and unfortunately that has meant we have a bunch of players who are a) overrated or b) not what the Manager needs in terms of implementing his tactics. As mentioned before, I dont think a DoF is redundant per se but the positions focus and role should be on ensuring we as a club are well equipped in footballing matters over things like structure of the academy, scouting network or even carry out negotiations of player transfers. I dont think a DoF should be having a say in buying players - that ought to be left to Poch in this case. My view though.

=D>

 

[Jordinho]

Isn't that the problem? No one really knows what's going on. Why is there all of this cloak and dagger stuff? It seems from the outside looking in that the manager does not get always get the final say on transfer targets. Sorry if you like the DoF system, but some of us think that the manager not having a say in players being thrust upon him is a little stupid.

As for the last sentence, absolutely not. If the players are signed on the manager's request, it is the manager who should deal with the aftermath.

It's just not in the club's interest to keep us informed about every little detail. You're all assuming because it fits with what you're already thinking.

Another way of looking at it is that it's possibly better to tie up funds in players than leave it in the bank for the taxman to take. We want to avoid making profits and we want to sign up talent that hopefully can make some money off later. Not every signing is made with a clear intention of being a first teamer. We're obviously not operating at the level of Chelsea though.

 

[Jordinho]

Arsenal still looks more balanced and purposeful with a decimated team compared to us now with a few injuries. Just calling it as it is. They play better football for the neutrals out there.

And they get slated week in, week out by their own fans for poor tactics, no goal threat and sloppy defending.

 

[Jurgen the German]

It's just not in the club's interest to keep us informed about every little detail. You're all assuming because it fits with what you're already thinking.

Another way of looking at it is that it's possibly better to tie up funds in players than leave it in the bank for the taxman to take. We want to avoid making profits and we want to sign up talent that hopefully can make some money off later. Not every signing is made with a clear intention of being a first teamer. We're obviously not operating at the level of Chelsea though.

So why does every manager/yes man employed by Spurs always give a non descript answer when they are asked the signings are his and his alone?

 

[glorygloryeze]

You are pulling my chain, right? They do have defensive midfielders. Flamini, Arteta, Wiltshire and Ramsey can all play there. Agreed that they havent found another Viera or Petit. However, they have been decimated by defensive injuries this season and are still miles better than us defensively. They will be in the top four come the end of the season despite these impediments. Unfortunately.

To not acknowledge the quality of their squad compared to ours is just ridiculous. How many of our players would get into their first team?

Find me any Arsenal fan that think any of Flamini, Arteta, Ramsay or Wheelchair are decent DMs :lol:

When all their defenders are fit, the have six (6) senior defenders. This is a team that has had 14 consecutive years of CL money and pay more wages than Chelsea now.
Their squad is actually quite poor given all that expenditure; they have more ACMs than necessary and if we were similarly imbalanced as an establish CL team I'm sure we'd be calling for someone's head.

In terms of who from our team would get into theirs? According to Gooners I know: Capoue (instead of all their DMs), Vertonghen (alongside Koscielny; they think Mertersacker is big liability long-term), Soldado (they said that he's make Ozil look begter than Giroud does) and Eriksen (instead of Wheelchair or even Cazorla).

 

[glorygloryeze]

And they get slated week in, week out by their own fans for poor tactics, no goal threat and sloppy defending.

Exactly

 

[metalgear]

This is the main flaw in the DoF strategy. Players are to remain and bring stability when the Manager moves or is sacked.
But if the strategy/tactics the Manager was trying to instill failed, hence he got the chop, then the new Manager is entitled to change the tactics/ strategy, right?
But the players were brought in to play the old way, now the dilemma is that "old DoFs have to learn new tricks" or be sold and surely new players to suit have to be recruited.
So how does the DoF bring stability?

The dof is a proven set up in some clubs, and doesn't work in others.

I think it fares better with bigger clubs with bigger budgets, where the coach usually gets the profile he wants.

In smaller clubs with budget buy as a precondition, it feels like compromises are accepted based on value, and the possibility of an investment.

In any case in the dof structure it has to be a shared responsibility. But in the best clubs the chairman has a pretty strong voice; levy has been absolutely silent and has left the coach to manage the media which is quite unfair in my view.

 

[glorygloryeze]

The dof is a proven set up in some clubs, and doesn't work in others.

I think it fares better with bigger clubs with bigger budgets, where the coach usually gets the profile he wants.

In smaller clubs with budget buy as a precondition, it feels like compromises are accepted based on value, and the possibility of an investment.

In any case in the dof structure it has to be a shared responsibility. But in the best clubs the chairman has a pretty strong voice; levy has been absolutely silent and has left the coach to manage the media which is quite unfair in my view.

Levy is open to some criticism in my view, but how exactly is Levy to do anything different in this sense?
Please elaborate what you mean by this: Should Levy be the one coming out to give the post-match interview for MOTD??

 

[spurs' magna carter]

We did target our weakest areas.

Our PL side don't see many changes from week to week. Injuries aside, today's team was Poch's first choice.

But not all, a striker.

Not long ago I would've defended Levy to the hills, recently though I've struggled to defend him. Who knows, maybe with his experiance of being in these situations he can help resolve this in January but if he does a Randy Lerner (pull the plug on spending) or faffs about again come this January window then he needs to bring down ticket prices, new stadium or not, before leaving.

There's a lot that can be said about Levy's achievements in putting this club back to the bare mimimum that is expected of it, but the 2nd most expensive tickets in the League/World for this? I guess you can defend him on a lot but not that, never in a million years.

Levy still has my backing, still think he has at least one more rabbit in the hat but he can't escape criticism. Once the decision on Archway's appeal is made at the High Court (hopefully in our favour) then, with Poch's first January window under his belt, we'll have a better idea of where we're going.