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Im not sure thats fair at all

So Levy knew Redknapp was the man to make us challengers? Not in a million years.

He was a stop the rot guy to keep us up whilst we look for the next foreign manager of the week from Italy or some such.
If Harry's 1st full season team had a proper, Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League vintage mid table finish, we would have been asking for massive investment or baying for blood.

11 years Daniel Levy has been with us. Jol wasn't his first choice, Redknapp was his only choice - they have been his most successful managers by some distance in the league.
 
given that - unless you have massive buying or pulling power, most of the best managers are stuck in jobs they are hardly likely to abandon, the process of selecting managers is down to picking recent failures (why else would they be out of work?), the perennially unsuccessful (Harry) or young up and comers

So you have to go with who you believe to be worth a shout.

To pull Harry out of a job, and pay the compensation, and considering his less than trophy strewn past, I'd say that Harry was anything but a stop gap, or a bridge to the next foreign coach. I think it was a thought out and planned move, based on his obvious managerial talents and an eye for a player, and doubly so, given his court case.

I don't think the choice was forced on him at all, to intimate that is to do Levy some discredit.

IMV
 
given that - unless you have massive buying or pulling power, most of the best managers are stuck in jobs they are hardly likely to abandon, the process of selecting managers is down to picking recent failures (why else would they be out of work?), the perennially unsuccessful (Harry) or young up and comers

So you have to go with who you believe to be worth a shout.

To pull Harry out of a job, and pay the compensation, and considering his less than trophy strewn past, I'd say that Harry was anything but a stop gap, or a bridge to the next foreign coach. I think it was a thought out and planned move, based on his obvious managerial talents and an eye for a player, and doubly so, given his court case.

I don't think the choice was forced on him at all, to intimate that is to do Levy some discredit.

IMV

I recall Levy saying he had wanted Harry in for years when he signed as well
 
I am formulating a composed response to argue my view. Please bare with me as I open this can of whoop ass.

If you don't agree its fine as I will put imo at the end ala totman, go eat my sunday dinner and apply for a job at HMRC.
 
I am formulating a composed response to argue my view. Please bare with me as I open this can of whoop ass.

If you don't agree its fine as I will put imo at the end ala totman, go eat my sunday dinner and apply for a job at HMRC.

Calm down.

I'm off to get my pitch fork
 
I once went onto KUMB, in the hope of finding out what the big issue was with wet spam fans and their obsessive hatred of Spurs.
It was like looking into the eyes of madness. I was never rude, didn't take the tinkle, just tried to talk.

Prior to going on there, I never really had a problem with them, but after that - fudge em, if the crumbs of KUMB are an example of their fan base. What a bunch of departed throwbacks KUMB posters are. I've never met a Wet Spam fan in real life that I ever had behave like that, so I doubt they are truly representative

For some people the football division is just too great to overcome and people are obviously so sad that they think that its some kind of metaphor for their lives, rather than a sport to enjoy and be passionate about.

But lets face it, we have some clams on here that say the most stupendously cretinous things about opposing fans, lumping them all into a bracket based either on a WUM that spins by here, or someone they know at work etc. I have even seen one poster on here declare all goons to be morally bankrupt for supporting a club that perpetuated the shenanigans they did back in the 30s to stay up.

So my advice is to stay away, unless you are prepared to be saintly in your approach to revealing your allegiance, because you can guarantee you will be subjected to abuse, and you will read the most obscenely stupid things said about every aspect of the club, its players and supporters.

Unfortunately KUMB is pretty much representative of West Ham fans in general I would say, my opinion of course but its difficult to think anything else after spending any time with someone who supports West Ham.
 
given that - unless you have massive buying or pulling power, most of the best managers are stuck in jobs they are hardly likely to abandon, the process of selecting managers is down to picking recent failures (why else would they be out of work?), the perennially unsuccessful (Harry) or young up and comers

So you have to go with who you believe to be worth a shout.

To pull Harry out of a job, and pay the compensation, and considering his less than trophy strewn past, I'd say that Harry was anything but a stop gap, or a bridge to the next foreign coach. I think it was a thought out and planned move, based on his obvious managerial talents and an eye for a player, and doubly so, given his court case.

I don't think the choice was forced on him at all, to intimate that is to do Levy some discredit.

IMV

Without picking apart your post piece by piece and trying to stay on my point (Luck instead of judgement)

Remember back to that time, the situation we were in. We had just spent massive money on new players, had one of the highest paid coaches in the league, we had gone to great lengths and suffered massive scrutiny to get him (Under a DOF's advice) and we were bottom of the league and adrift from safety having taken 2 points from 24.
We needed a change of any kind, players were coming out against him in the media and the team were awful to watch.

Getting Harry was not a pre conceived idea to get Champions League football and there is no reason to suggest such, it was a desperate move to keep us up and anything else was a bonus. What a bonus it has turned out to be.

I am not stating that every success by every club was pre conceived, I stated that doing it the old fashioned way (building a team carefully over time) can be done but we were lucky to do it, things with Harry just kept getting better.

Daniel Levy hasn't got the experience and knowledge of world football to get a Wenger ala David Dein. Mr Levy, for all his positive traits, has made a lot questionable decisions during his tenure (albeit with the benefit of hindsight from my pov) and Harry was not a decision he would have chose under normal, mid table mediocrity, standards.

I'll be astonished nayimfromthehalfwayline if Levy did say I wanted Harry some years ago... I would like to see that interview.

All IMO, disclaimer, please read the small print and my shovel is at the ready.
 
We had just spent massive money on new players, had one of the highest paid coaches in the league, we had gone to great lengths and suffered massive scrutiny to get him (Under a DOF's advice) and we were bottom of the league and adrift from safety having taken 2 points from 24.
To do away with the DoF system, which we had reaped many benefits over a substantial period of time, showed how much Levy trusted Redknapp.

Plus... I should have got Harry earlier.
 
Levy wanted Harry for some time. On the advice of Commolli they got Ramos. When that failed the outcome was inevitable.

Commolli did make some good signings for the long term while he was here, but overall he wasn't the right person for the job. That should not be taken as 'the DoF system is brick'. It's still up to the chairman/owner how much say a DoF should have and it's a joint effort whoever is 'in charge'. That first January window was obviously all Redknapp's targets, but as we've progressed Levy has taken more charge of transfers with a more long term view on our signings.

Levy, who confirmed Redknapp will be given full control of transfers at Tottenham, sacked Juande Ramos after the club's horrendous start to the season.

"At this stage, where Tottenham are, we need a fighter – someone that has inspiration," Levy said.

"I've often had various conversations with Harry down the years, he's almost got here and now he is here.

"I'm a Spurs fan and it's a sickening feeling to see Spurs where they are, we want to be back up where we belong."

Damian Comolli, Tottenham's widely-criticised sporting director, has been dismissed along with Ramos. And Levy admits the appointment of Redknapp will see Tottenham return to a more traditional management structure.

"It is essential that we go into the January transfer window with absolute confidence in the advice being offered to the board," Levy added.

"Following a meeting of the directors and a full review of our football management structure Damien will not be directly replaced.

"In Harry, we are also accepting with his appointment that now is the right time for us to move back to a more traditional style of football management at our club."


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/tottenham-hotspur/3263388/Tottenham-chairman-Daniel-Levy-says-Harry-Redknapp-is-a-fighter-who-can-avoid-the-drop-Football.html

DANIEL LEVY has one big regret as Spurs chairman — not making Harry Redknapp the boss 18 months ago.

Tottenham supremo Levy confirmed the North Londoners wanted SunSport's 'Arry but could not get him and appointed the disastrous Juande Ramos.

Redknapp let slip this week that Spurs approached him in the summer of 2007 after a shocking run of results had put Martin Jol's job on the line.

The Dutchman turned things around at White Hart Lane and got a stay of execution but was booted out last October after the team's poor start to the season.

Once again Redknapp was in the frame but he refused to leave Portsmouth and Spurs went for Ramos.

But the Spaniard was sacked on Saturday night after the worst start in Spurs' 126-year history.

And Redknapp has proved an instant hit at the Lane with a 2-0 win against Bolton on Sunday and a sensational 4-4 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday.

Gaffer Levy said: "I can't give details but I'm sorry that, for whatever reason, we didn't appoint Harry then.

"It would be unfair of me to give details on the historical discussions with Harry.


"Perhaps we wouldn't be in this position if we had.

"I hope he can be a top-four manager but he has never managed a top-four club so you are never going to know until, hopefully, we get there.

"We have confidence Harry has every chance to get us there.

"We went for what we considered to be the best manager but other people may disagree."

Levy gave a stark account of the disintegration within the Spurs dressing-room under Ramos.

He admitted appointing Ramos proved a huge mistake as the players lost faith in his methods and the club found itself bottom of the Premier League despite a multi-million outlay last summer.


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1876435.ece
 
Okay okay. I must have missed that when it was published and didn't google it before posting. GHod you guys are like a pack of wolves.

That quote is very vague and convenient that he said it after the fact. Why did Harry not come then? Was it because Levy wanted to keep the DOF or was it the court case?

Does that one quote make up for all the transition we have had since Levy took over. Can a loyal Spurs fan not try to look over our history with an objective eye?

I like Daniel Levy and would argue that he has been making up for the rot/lack of investment during Sugar's reign but its all opinions and I feel getting Harry and our current position was stumbled upon as was BMJ's success.

Totman, you have an ally in your crusade of going against the tide. Hitler was a good man really. Can you all take a break and calm down.

IMO
 
To do away with the DoF system, which we had reaped many benefits over a substantial period of time, showed how much Levy trusted Redknapp.

It reaped benefits from the point of player trading and young English talent, tho for every Lennon there is a Bostock, For every Modric there is a Bentley. He didn't have much of a choice but to do away with it, all the fans were screaming for the same thing, it was not a masterstroke by Levy.
 
We've slowly and steadily improved our squad since 2004. We've had two DoFs and now their responsibilities have been split up and given to others. The key is that we've been thinking long term most of the time, no rebuilding the squad every 2 years.
 
Umm.... RE the original thread point. I post a fair bit on Blue moon, I guess the underlying reasons for that is some of my family are City fans so I've always followed them in one way or another, added to the history between the clubs as well as the fact that these football forums are a good way of staying awake if I'm starting work at 6 in the morning as I can't get to sleep before that.

You won't last ten minutes if you go all guns blazing on another teams forum, but if you have links with the club you are posting about and provide an alternative point of view in discussions then you'll be welcomed to any forum.

My question to Africanspurs is do you post on redcafe? Don't look there often but there is someone of the same username over there with a brickload of posts.
 
Okay okay. I must have missed that when it was published and didn't google it before posting. GHod you guys are like a pack of wolves.

That quote is very vague and convenient that he said it after the fact. Why did Harry not come then? Was it because Levy wanted to keep the DOF or was it the court case?

Does that one quote make up for all the transition we have had since Levy took over. Can a loyal Spurs fan not try to look over our history with an objective eye?

I like Daniel Levy and would argue that he has been making up for the rot/lack of investment during Sugar's reign but its all opinions and I feel getting Harry and our current position was stumbled upon as was BMJ's success.

Totman, you have an ally in your crusade of going against the tide. Hitler was a good man really. Can you all take a break and calm down.

IMO


I tend to think Levy has learned from each 'mistake' as he has gone along.

I agree that being bottom of the league, radically changing the management team and bringing Redknapp in wasnt a preconceived plan, but I still dont think it was luck that it worked out as it did.

As stated, Levy wanted Harry for some time, and he paid a lot of money to get him in - clearly he rated him as a longer term prospect as opposed to a short term fire fighter.

He has then backed him in the market and helped him build this team we enjoy today.
 
I tend to think Levy has learned from each 'mistake' as he has gone along.

I agree that being bottom of the league, radically changing the management team and bringing Redknapp in wasnt a preconceived plan, but I still dont think it was luck that it worked out as it did.

As stated, Levy wanted Harry for some time, and he paid a lot of money to get him in - clearly he rated him as a longer term prospect as opposed to a short term fire fighter.

He has then backed him in the market and helped him build this team we enjoy today.

I will sheathe my water pistol and take some from column A some from column B.

On reflection of that quote, I believe Levy did rate him and perhaps did see our long term plans achievable with Harry previously, but it only eventually came about with a huge slice of luck which no-one at the club foresaw (The Ramos Saga, amazing how a situation so bad leads to the holy grail).

edit: luck is the wrong word to use, I am just saying it wasn't planned; the squad we ended up with and Harry as manager.

OT: All other club forums suck, apart from a Crystal Palace forum I post on
 
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It reaped benefits from the point of player trading and young English talent, tho for every Lennon there is a Bostock, For every Modric there is a Bentley. He didn't have much of a choice but to do away with it, all the fans were screaming for the same thing, it was not a masterstroke by Levy.
Who's saying it was? We cannot expect Levy to be achieving great triumphs every time he makes a decision but rather, the correct decisions with the club's best interests at heart.

The DoF system was a significant part of Levy's blueprint to get us back where we once stood. To rip-up all that hard work and expense for Harry simply shows his intent - that his appointment was long term and within the squad's original remit to become a regular top 4 club.
 
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