Graham's appointment sickened me. The lowest point of my years supporting Spurs. It was obvious that he only really came to us because he saw an opportunity to get back at the ones he loved the most and felt betrayed by. It was Levy's one major miscalculation IMHO. I think Hoddle was an emotional response, but Glenn was also a tactical genius who suffered some horrific luck IMHO; I STILL think he should be England manager today, he would do a tremendous job.
Santini was, as Jimmy said, an appt to make the whole DOF thing more palatable, and Arnesen was considered the future of the club until he fudged off to Chelsea when they flashed their gash. Ramos was, i think, excellent when he first came in, we won the cup, he got experimental and then his personal problems started building in Spain quite rapidly, he lost his focus/took his eye off the ball (sound familiar?) and in the end his position was absolutely untenable (which is why he never kicked up a fuss -it was as much to his benefit to go back and sort his brick out as it was our to turf him)...Harry was a safe option for a quick fix.
I hated Harry before he came to us.
I grew to love him very quickly because, primarily, I am a supporter of my club and as such a hypocrite 99% of the time when it comes to old enemies joining us (Graham was my exception) and I absolutely thrilled to how he moulded us that first full season, his decisions, his priorities, our CL qualification. I further thrilled to what I thought was coming...and then a few little things...and then I'd hear a few other things from good people...and then I saw us lose our mojo in the final third of the season once. Last season, we played some of the best football I can remember, fantastic stuff, controlling games, controlling the pace like a thermostat, brilliant...and then, again, it fell away when he stopped paying attention...
I WANT(ED) to LOVE Harry more than any other manager because he (to me) was a link to the days of Burky and Venners with his colloquialisms, etc. But he has left me with such disappointment in his OWN ability to focus on his job, and his own ability to be accountable, that I no longer TRUST him. Even if an uneasy peace is achieved and he by some miracle sticks around, I personally would find it impossible to FULLY trust his appreciation and desire for us/this job ever again. I'll support him, I am a supporter of my club. But I will never ever trust him.
The one thing nobody ever says about Levy is that actually, deep down, he can be too loyal and not ruthless enough. Take Martin Jol. Despite Martin having gone for two jobs behind Levy's back in the three years prior, when it came to the summer-before-the-sacking-season, the board wanted Jol to be sacked. Levy wanted to give him more time. Despite the board pressure, Levy decided not to sack him that summer, instead hoping he could make it happen. of course, that's a bit naive because once you've smelt a gas leak, chances are unless you turn the tap off the house will blow up. If Levy has had ANY weakness other than his occasional annoying brinksmanship in the market, it is this.
Due to the sad bereavement Levy suffered today, I doubt much will be heard in the next week or so...it's been a very tough time for him. Let's hope it all gets resolved, one way or another, by the middle of June.
