So, considering the likes of Higuain and Moutinho are the names being mentioned, what on Earth could Levy do in the middle of March to start laying the ground for a move? We know that we can't just buy anyone; at this stage, our team will only improve with genuinely good players. These players will not come to a non-CL club. Therefore, what exactly would be gained by bigging up our prospects of CL to them (or their agents) in mid-March? After we've just suffered a loss against fudging Fulham?
There is nothing to be gained in distracting ourselves with targets until AFTER we know how this season goes.
The names being mentioned in the press aren't necessarily relevant. There are other players that we could be lining up.
We managed to sign Modric ahead of a host of other clubs, both here and abroad, because we HAD obviously planned, well in advance of the summer, to do so. In fact, we were sufficiently advanced in our planning to have completed the signing nearly a month before the end of the season.
Likewise, it is perfectly obvious that plans to sign Dimitar Berbatov were at an advanced stage long before the end of the 2005-06 season, since the signing was announced only 10 days after the end of the season.
Two of our most successful, all time transfers. Planned well in advance of the end of the season. QED. It also happens to be the case that both signings came from out of the blue - completely unpredicted by press and itk alike.
"Planning" doesn't just mean making contact with players or their clubs. It can mean drawing up a list of first, second and third choice options; determining which positions are a priority; buying young players for the future; scouting; assessing a potential signing's qualities; and, yes, maybe also making contact with other clubs and the players we've targeted.
It would not, as you claim, distract the manager from his job.....for the simple reason that it is an integral element of the manager's job to be on top of such matters. The players have nothing to do with it, so there's no danger that they would be distracted.
Lastly, we don't know what motivates individual players. By all accounts, Moutinho was very keen to sign for Spurs back in the summer and would have done so but for a last minute hitch involving third party ownership. Champions League involvement wasn't an issue for him then. It won't necessarily be an issue for him in the summer. His respect for, and faith in, AVB could prove to be a more powerful incentive. We've signed some great players over the years without being a Champions League club. So we don't need to (and absolutely cannot afford to) wait until the summer before starting to plan for next season.