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Groundhog Day - a lesson unlearned

February 1st 2012, I awoke with a strange feeling. Spurs were sitting nicely in the Champions League places and had a great chance of actually pushing for the title.

Deadline day had just passed though and I felt strangely deflated. For some bizarre reason I still can't fathom we had lost a good striker in Pavlyucheko, and had sent out players on loan who were at the very least good back up in Corluka, Pienaar and Kranjcar. We replaced the quality striker with an injury-prone Saha and bought in another centre back in Nelsen, even though we already had four at the club. The squad looked bare and later in the season injuries to key players such as Bale and King would see us just about hang on to fourth - and we know how that turned out….

Fast forward twelve months and I actually feel worse. As if trying to be cruel, Spurs are in almost exactly the same situation. A new manager has been made to work minor miracles with already a threadbare squad, and lost his captain, most influential player and most creative force in the summer. They were replaced with good, but not great, options in Vertonghen and Dembele. The chairman then took it upon himself to argue for TWO WEEKS over £250,000 in the winter window before finally agreeing to stump up a whopping £1.75 million for the Germany U-21 captain Lewis Holtby. (However, he had had no qualms in the summer about splashing £13million on two very similar players in Dempsey and Sigurddson.)

In 2012, the collapse was almost instantaneous after the window shut. Some blame Mr Redknapp and the England job, and no doubt that played a part, but part of me always believes that the players are affected by what they perceive in the boardroom. They want to see what they do on the pitch being underwritten by commitment from both the management team and the board. Last season both of these let the players down. Lack of fresh blood, a failure to rotate a tired team, and an abandonment of duty, saw the players flounder. How uplifting would it have been for them today to see a Negredo walk through the door. Or even someone who wanted to come to Spurs like Hooper?

We know they love deadline day, they all tweet about it enough! This year we have seen, in my view, a superb effort from the management. But Mr Levy has let EVERYBODY down. I think he firmly believes that because over the last three and a half seasons we have averaged fourth, that is where we will stay. Who cares that Everton and Liverpool have spent and likewise improved massively? Who cares that Arsenal always end well? Who cares that with a little help we could surpass ourselves and end up 3rd? Let's just fob off the fans with a made-up bid for a striker that doesn't want to come, just like last year.

I hope I'm wrong, but I can just see history repeating. AVB has certainly got his work cut out, with just 20 senior players and 5 I would consider back-up. Just 14 of senior players have played more than 20 times for the club. An inury to BAE or Dembele, let alone Ade or Defoe, and I really believe we will struggle. We all know that AVB was tripped up massively by Chelsea players, but in my mind this didn't change him from the great manager I knew him to be, and it obviously didn't sway Levy's mind when he recruited him either. But history may repeat itself here. If AVB was to get us CL football, or I would argue even a 5th place finish, he has surpassed what many of us thought possible. Who is to say a bigger better club won't come knocking? Too late to back your man then, Mr Levy... However, AVB has been hamstrung so far this season, and look where we are in the league? If we slip, I won't blame him at all. He has proved himself, as have the players time and time again. No, if we slip, the blame will lie firmly at Mr Levy's door. COYS.

Written by Sebthespur

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Writer: Sebthespur

Date:Friday February 1 2013

Time: 10:07AM

Your Comments

Stopped reading after "lost a good sticker in pavlyuchenko"

spurspanther

Yea just like last window we've lost a "good midfieder" in Jenas!

Slurms McKenzie

I don't see the big issue concerning Spurs and not spending on deadline. Could you have done with a striker? Of course, but fact is, looking at the sides competing for 4th, Spurs only strengthened their favouritism for 4th, why? Because you added a talented player in Holtby (trust me, seen a lot of him since he is a self confessed Everton fan), whereas sides like Everton added nothing to the squad (which we needed to do given the size of our squad).

Rob-EFC

Hey-Ho. At least we've passed the relegation target of 40 points.

spurboy61

agree with spurspanther, I barely even wanted to read after such a ludicrous statement... cry us river Seb

Mix26

Sebthespur. I agree wiverything you say. The club is moving in the wrong direction at the time when some sensible inverstment would have meant us moving in the right direction.

jonathan01

Only good part of the day odemwingie doing a harry style interview from his car window. Wonder how bad he felt on the drive back haha

gibbothfc

complete hogwash jonathon01 we have a fantastic YOUNG talented team with the potential to win the league in the near future. We sold Jenarse and loaned out two talented players to pl teams. We sit 4th and are in a great position to move forward.How on earth have we moved in the wrong direction?

Mix26

Shall we start writing the headlines for the July transfer window? "Spurs linked with anybody who's ever scored a goal. Daniel Levy says 'nothing' but starts a rumour that we are looking at the most expensive and unattainable players in the world" ITK rumours state tat we are in talks about signing Van Persie, Rooney and Ronaldo, all of who are secret Spurs fans and can't wait to play for us. PS. It was my birthday yesterday and I've got a stinking hangover. Not helped by the (lack of) transfer news today. Still, after 50 years of being a Spurs supporter.....

spurboy61

Now i have to put my tail between my legs and sell of big stock of negreda's and damio's i bought in mass in hope of making a profit in fifa 13 ultimate team once they joined the premier league ! just another annoyance to this window

South L/Derry Spurs

Levy has the long term vision in mind, and you have to respect that, all we need is an on form Adebayor to return from Africa and all the haters will go quiet. We Levy has made some amazing signings recently, Lloris, Dembele, Vertonghen, Holtby, Adebayor. We also have Kaboul on the verge of a return. Honestly just glad the players don't give up as easy as a disturbing number of our fan base, it's pathetic. COYS

superlukamodric

If AVB is happy with the team then I back him to bring the results. It's no surprise most of the silly children calling AVB a joke when he was hired are eating humble pie now and at the end of the season I believe that pie will be even bigger!

Mix26

Thanks jonathan01. I couldn't believe it when I wrote down the squad and saw we only have 20 senior players. (Fryers, Carrol, Livermore and Bentley back up). And for those Pav doubters, I would love him now. He scored in every cup game he ever played in, bar one!

Sebthespur

Mix26, the pie will feed the whole of Tottenham, it's part of the regeneration plans!

superlukamodric

superlukamodric, I am not a doubter either, certainly not in AVB or the team. I also agree that 1-11 we have one of the best teams in the league. I thought that last year. But loss of form and injuries (ie Sandro, Bale, Ade, Defoe) in the last year have seen us suffer. Are we just hoping this doesn't happen again? Levy must have more body parts crossed than even the best yoga master...

Sebthespur

Seb u mock urself when u glorify Pav. We never doubted Pav we always knew he was sheit and was sold because he was sheit, he was also sold to a sheit team where he is still sheit...

Mix26

if the right players are not available then Im pleased we dont just buy for the sake of it. Yes we all got caught up on the "we need a striker" bandwagon, myself included, but we have the same amount as chelsea and as liverpool yet nobody says they have a stirker crisis do they? I rather Levy succeed or fail on his own decisions rather than splashing £20m + wages on an unproven striker that NONE of us know how he would do just to pacify the fans until the next window when they would demand yet another big money signing. We arent chelsea, we cant afford to get these things wrong and our fans need to understand this.

jimmy-yid

Looking forward to Wentworths response :)

thenuge

I think ppl need to realise what a good position we are in. Lets start with Levy. For those who say he doesn't care about the club is complete rubbish because since he's been here we have improved vastly. No one can deny that. Those who say he hasn't spent are talking rubbish as well. He has. On good players as well. Yes, I was disappointed we didn't buy a striker. But I would've been more disappointed had we bought an overpriced striker who AVB doesn't really want. If the right striker isn't available at the right price, then wait till summer. That's the way proper football clubs are run. Throwing money at a problem does not solve it. We have a fantastic squad, barring the strikers although I have a feeling we will be getting a good Ade back. Oh an we have a fantastic manager. If we stick with this long term plan which I am now sure we will, I really believe that in a few years team, finishing fourth will be seen as a disappointment

BrooksySpurs

Levy should have sorted the striking problem during the summer, starting a league campaign with 2 recognized strikers and expecting to get 4th is crazy especially when 1 is African, to me Defoe is back up at best. I think we have enough cover in the right areas, we're never going to be Man city who can afford 22 world class players. I'm glad to see some of the youngsters go out on loan and be rid of Jenas and Gomes off the books.

coys1717

I think we are in a far better position than last year. Firstly we have gotten rid of JJ, secondly a lot of our promising youngsters have been loaned out to get more experience and lastly because we have AVB instead of the wheeler dealer at QPR. Our club now has a future that is being built without throwing money around. Yes we could have bought Negredo, Hooper, Ba ....name who you like but if AVB doesn't want them because they won't fit into his scheme then that's all it would be. Damiou was apparently bid for (source SSN) but why would DL pay over his assessment of value? He's been bitten before, even on tried and established english players (Bent, Bentley, etc) and wasted huge amounts of money. AVB said from the start of the window that he was happy with the squad and didn't want to buy another striker. He obviously expects Defoe, Ade and Dempsey to be regular scorers and for the Bale, Lennon, Siggy, Holtby and defenders to chip in too. Until AVBs had the full season with the players and has managed to indoctrinate them to his way of playing I'm not surprised we didn't do much business this January. I believe it is a project and he/Levi will only buy young players looking to the future for when we eventually start building the new stadium.

longtimespur

I am not glorifying Pav! He has a better record per minute than Defoe though...

Sebthespur

An excellent article written in an apparently calm and collected manner, a lot calmer and more collected than I was last night, and still am this morning. The most annoying and frustrating thing, is this pattern that is emerging, of making alleged bids for top players on the last day of the window only to fail. Last summer it was Moutinho, this window Damiao. In the case of Damiao, the reason it couldn't get done is reported as down to a) The club didn't want to sell him in this window, and, b) The player didn't want to come. I think it would be reasonable to expect that to be known by the 2nd January and to use the remaining 29 days of the window to move on, and seek a suitable signing elsewhere. One has to suspect that these "attempts" are simply for the fans benefit, there being no serious attempt to get the player concerned, and unfortunately many are gullible enough to believe the excuses that are trolled out. Given our current position, one injury to either Defoe, or Adebayor, away from a crisis, if as is patently obvious, Levy was unwilling or under orders from Bahamas Joe, not to spend, then why could we have not got a 3rd striker in on loan until the summer, to try and cement 4th place and a CL qualification. To risk the season in the way that he has speaks volumes for the ambition he has or more accurately hasn't got for THFC. I agree that as you say, if we fail, AVB and the players will be blameless, they are being asked to operate carrying a 7lb handicap, with key players sold an not replaced, and the 4 years old problem of lack of fire power not addressed, and by and large they have coped well, although already we have dropped some 8-10 points in drawn games that would probably been won with a competent finisher, given the shots on target stats. There will only be one man to blame, and I hope if that day comes, he is shown by the fans in no uncertain terms that they are not happy. This is the second season running when the season has been risked by lack of January investment. Last season HR was conveniently around to blame, this year the culprit is obvious, one Daniel Levy.

Frank

longtimespur very good comment that makes me see things a little differently...

Sebthespur

CONFUSION? Yesterday Levy received a phone call, the caller asked him ''Are you interested in a MP3 Player'' Levy's reply was ''what position does he play and how much are you asking for him'' Read more: http://www.spurs.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7514441#ixzz2JdxijuSV

spu 4 life

Incidently I think you will find that messrs Corluka, Kranjcar, Piennar were in fact sold, not loaned out.

Frank

And then I read Frank and I agree with that too...this is why I love this site...

Sebthespur

Good post longtimespur

Madaboutspurs

I agree, very frustrating, one push from Levy to get a forward (before deadline day) would have given us confidence to secure 4th and even push for 3rd. Now we just have to hope AVB can work with what he has. Holtby had a fantastic 20 mins against Norwich so hopefully he may be able to play the num 10 role.

coyscoys

Chuckle @ Mix26
Saying that Pav has a better record than Defoe is like saying pish smells better than sheit. It still doesn't make it worth sniffing!

darkenvai

Defoe, Ade (when he is back) Lennon and Dempsey. These 4 players need to get their ***** together! The onus is now squarely on their shoulders to produce more goals. That imo is the reality of the situation. These 4 in particular have to produce when in matters most. Siggy also really needs to make the most of some his opportunities. Other than that, happy to see Jenas move on, hoping some of the loans becoming permanent moves.

thenuge

To quote the article "lesson learnt", the lesson to learn, as many in business, and industry, particularly if innovation or development is needed, is to never trust and try to ignore "bean counters" they impede progress, their main problem is that accountancy by nature relies on historical rather than futuristic thinking, and they are naturally over cautious, particularly where investment for the future with a minimal risk is concerned, just the situation we have at THFC.

Frank

We missed one, any half decent Striker would have put Defoe back on his toes and stopped him from coming complacent yet again!! When we have no striker on the bench do you honestly expect Defoe to bust a gut after 6o-70 mins? We probably would have been better getting in Saha this wiindow rather then last years. How desperate does that sound?? The squad is now loaded with defenders, Midfielder s, but no one who can get us game changing goals in the tight games. One Goal a game is not enough for us to get the required results, even now when we have finally started to shore up our leaky defence!! COYS

WestStandEnclosure

I do not agree with some of your opinions in this article, but can understand your fear for the season ahead. How you manage that is down to you! Football is a funny old game, and we are up there in the mix with about 5-6 other teams (none that active this window) for those top spots. So do you feel better to get that all off your chest? Ok, let me hear you say: COME ON YOU SPURS

SpursOne2

I'm all for the idea of AVB not settling for players that he doesn't fancy, or who don't fit into his preferred set up, but the idea that we couldn't find anyone in the world that does, for a price that we are prepared to pay, and within the time allotted to us, beggars belief. Definitely a missed opportunity. Fortunately, in most other regards we are doing very well and, IMNSHO, will still get fourth, will stuff who we meet in the qualifiers, and will be playing CL football next year. If we had got even a half-decent striker, though, I reckon we'd've had a good chance at EL too. Shame.

darkenvai

see the Levy spin brigade is out in force (good to see so many positive new faces...hmmm)....trying to deny we actually bid, that we didn't actually want anyone or Inter were never going to sell (hogwash)...and how anyone is still blaming Arry for our transfers or lack of whilst he was here is beyond me....the pattern of our transfers hasn't changed and thats because it was Levy then and Levy now...

shedboy2

Much now depends on Defoe finding another hot streak, or Ade returning from the ACN pumped up and firing. It could go either way with either of them. Demps and Bale will always chip in, but those two are the ones we need on song. This window has been, like every other, a tale of dashed hopes and frustration. Not sure we'll ever know if we were anywhere near to signing Leandro, it all seemed like newspaper BS to be honest with nothing particularly solid sounding, the only possible grain of truth being Internacionale's chairman saying they would sell at a high enough price, which is pretty bloody obvious really.

Yorkspur

I do accept that on the whole, our policy is to sign young players and to develop them and I think AVB is the perfect manager for that role. I am just concerned that our last minute transfer dealings and Levy's eye for an apparent bargain have left our squad depleted and causes us to move away from that policy (hence the signings of Dempsey and Adebayor). Great debate though

jonathan01

We do have to consider the clubs long term development and also that of bringing through our best youngsters. Wasnt one of the reasons we dumped Harry and appointed AVB because we wanted/needed to improve our development from academy to first team. keep buying experienced players and you freeze out the kids and stop long term development as you wont attract the better players. As a club it is obvious that we can never compete with the games richest and biggest, so our best and perhaps only long term chance is to develop from the youth ranks. if this takes five years to truly establish, then that is perhaps what we have to do and as fans accept.

oxfordspur

Well, exactly what I expected. We didn’t sign a striker, let’s just put it behind us and move on, cheer the lads on at WBA and see what happens. There’s nothing we can do. One thing I ask, please don’t say we didn’t need a striker, because we did. Don’t try to pass this window off as a success it wasn’t, far from it. What I have just read has made my blood boil, we turned down a £10m+ bid from reading for Siggurdson. We paid £7.5m in the summer and he has been one of our worst players. Just what the hell is happening. I don’t want to hear “give him a chance etc” he has been abysmal. Like I say, im gonna forget it and move on, because that’s what we fans do. But im never in a million years gonna say im happy with how we have again failed to add to a squad in need of quality. COYS FODL

hudderspur

I'm annoyed that we didn't sign a striker but some people are being a bit ott. Like people have stated we have a very good squad! I believe we will still be in with a shout of 4th. It's not all doom and gloom. Also Ba was available for 7.5m so there were players out there we could of tried for

spurspanther

I’m quite happy with the squad and players we have brought in over summer/Jan. We have even placed a few talented youngsters in a position to play regular football else ware for the rest of the season. And JJ has freed up another spot of the bill and list (best of luck mate) ready for summer. With exception to VDV who i miss and feel we could have used at the START of the season, it a decent looking squad. I am excited at seeing more of Holtby now though. I don't want a repeat of last year in terms of performances, but we have a different squad, manager and setup from last term. Looking forward to the West Brom game and do not expect us to lie down for that one!

SpursOne2

One point that annoy me is when people say we have the same number of strikers as Chelsea, Arse etc. Except that doesn't actually make sense as we are (arguably) the only team that play 442, so to have only 2 strikers in the squad when you play 442 seems suicide to me.

mattgazza

Jonathon01, agreed with pretty much all of that - to think that Moutinho would likely be a Spurs player now, had we just started the ball rolling 24 hours earlier, is a real sickener. But I suppose we should have listened to AVB, all the way through he was saying we wouldn't be making any major signings, and sure enough, we didn't. On the plus side we did get Holtby for a very small fee, which could turn out to be the deal of the year.

Yorkspur

Holtby is a No.10. so we will probably go back to 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1, hence no new striker, as 3 frist team forwards would be too many for team who only play one.

Tactically Challenge

BTW, the biggest loser in the transfer window was poor Tony fernandes. Redknapp is an utter disgrace for letting him spend that sort of money on very average players. If thats how he apprached DL then no wonder he is cautious. I can see QPR suffering very badly in the long run. Harry should be ashamed of himself.

hudderspur

and may i also say how glad i am that the window is now closed, i can finally stop checking the newsnow site every ten minutes and get on with my life!

Yorkspur

Tactically, whilt your correct with moving formations now, if you look at Spurs teams, we ever play well unless we play 442. When we play 433welose Bale and Lennon who are our most effective players. It's no coincidence that our best sequence of results this season is when we went to 442

mattgazza

hudderspur-not if he saves them which i think he will,levy should have backed harry,samba,remy,hoillet were all wanted by the vitalspur community,if you dont believe me just take a peep at the archives

ghulamville

talented youngsters? what are we a training academy for Real and Manu?...our first proirity has to be the league, the first team, trying to win...but no our priorty is training kids and property development....there used to be a football club here.

shedboy2

does not buying a striker also indicate that our recently playing 4-4-2 was a very short term option and as TC says we will see our reverting back towards 4-2-3-1 or similar?

oxfordspur

yep TC- Defoe and dempsey are ideal for that formation...Defoe holds th ball so well and brings others into play, whilst Dempsey using his vast experience in that position and electric turn of pace can bury any chances....would have been so stupid to buy another striker...Ade can come and rescue us if he feels like it...

shedboy2

Reading made 3 attempts to buy Sigi from us the last one being 10 mil ,tempting in the summer ,but the squad is to thin to sell now .

Edinburgh Spur

The only thing I disagree with Frank about is that if DeFoe or Adebayor get injured we will have a crisis. Given their form at the moment, an injury to either will not make any difference. To say we have a great young squad is true for every position except strikers. I just hope that Holtby will be able to create and finish a load of chances but that is an unfair expectation for the lad this season. AVB has his work cut out to finish top 4. I think he has done well so far and I assume he has a plan based upon no strikers. I hope it works. As for Levy, he is nothing if not consistent.

Harry-Kari

ox- no not buying a striker indicates we're skint....

shedboy2

hudderspur – It’s a Spurs thread so sorry…. but do you realize how much money that club has mate? Did you also realise the club re-shaped their wage bill and transfer policy prior to Harry joining? Samba for example was in talks WAY before he joined, so want even his target. Mark Hughes started this signing players like Ji-Sung Park, Robert Green, Junior Hoilett, Ryan Nelsen, Andrew Johnson on just as high wages (added to who they already bought). The wages were already going through he roof before last summer. Harry’s sole job is to keep them up…..and they have provided him some players to do that. Lets face it, the only way QPR were going to get those players was by chucking money their way...and trust, they have enough of it (enough to blow our wage structure out of the water). It’s very easy to point the finger at Harry though right? The club know this is a risk and not self-sustainable but they have taken it before getting their new man to lead them. Its on them right? The same way it would be on Levy not AVBs had he spunked 50mil this window. Cheers.

SpursOne2

lol @darkenvai

Mix26

I figure 'd just paste my post from another thread onto here. As it's just as, if not more applicable to this article!!! I'm trying to keep a calm and level head about this. I expected nothing, and that's what we got. I refused to get carried away with the ITK's and SSN propaganda, and so it was with a marginal sense of relief that I welcomed 11p.m last night. Despite it extinguishing the tiny glimmer of hope I had that we would be surprised with our dream striker arriving. It didn't, we dust ourselves off, and we move on. The first thing I'd say is I am increasingly dismayed at the amount of people on here berating each other. Specifically those who accuse those of you (US!!) of lacking support for our club when we express anger and frustration at our apparent inability or unwillingness to go the extra mile to strengthen our team and squad in the one area when it is desperately needed and has been for far too long. There seems to be a division forming which harks back to the pro-Harry/anti-Harry days, simply substitute Harry with Enic/Levy/Lewis. If people on here are angry, it's borne out of love and ambition for OUR club. And without wishing to sound like a total hippy, we're all in this together. Debate all you want, it's what the forum's here for after all. But name-calling and abuse just makes me (and presumably a lot of other people) either skip pages or turn off the page altogether. I said at the start of this season that I thought we'd finish 6th, and that anything over and above would be a bonus in AVB's first season. And I have to remember that, despite our current position giving me a stronger sense of optimism. I would also point out that any transfer window which sees the departure from our squad and wage bill of Jermain Jenas can NOT be considered an abject failure. Come on you beautiful Spurs!!! Read more: http://www.spurs.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7514441#yoursay#ixzz2Je7zSNFu

LilyWhiteHart

....give some credit to Levy. He tried to sell Bentley and Jenas to QPR but not even Harry would take Bentley. Speaks volume...@Frank"why could we have not got a 3rd striker in on loan until the summer". Exactly my thoughts. To spend in Jan is always a big gamble but a loan to cover for Defoe would make sense.

dannylane

Those mocking Pav: I'd sooner have him than Defoe or Ade.

Tottenham Hotcore

Seeing that smug face of Levy up there, I wish I could reach into my Ipad and give him a couple of slaps.

Madaboutspurs

well said frank, same old windows.pity there not glass i would be abe to hit it with a brick and shout goal as it does not happen to often following these stone throwers.

bazdog

It happened before. It will happen again. Our meltdown and collapse that is. Why? Simply because nothing has changed. Why would it?

Moscovite

Nothing has changed?... Hmmm

SpursOne2

Have a good day chaps....had enough of this bollox..for now. See you for the game on Sunday. Chin up! 3 points please. COYS.

SpursOne2

I remember Pavlyuchenko playing with the youngsters under Mr Redknapp during a Europa league match and i thought Pav? Lets see you stand out here and i believe that was the managers idea for Pavs 'last chance saloon'.....he did nothing in the game......

Jocka101

Nothing has changed in a sense how we approach transfer windows. And nothing has changed with a striker situation either. Hope it's clearer now.

Moscovite

Ghulamvilel – Yeah if it saves them then well done, but then what? Some of these guys are on 4.5 year contracts at 60k-100k per week. Can the chairman just keep shelling out money hand over fist? What about the FFP rules? How are QPR going to make that kind of revenue? Its not my club so im not really that bothered, just seems TF has been taking for a ride that’s all. Maybe Levy should have backed harry more, well at all really

spursone2 – Yeah agreed It was happening before Harry went to QPR but I remember when he took over HR said that the previous mangers had pulled TF pants down and it wasn’t right, just looks to me like harry has seen his pants down and stuck it in!! I mean sticking 2 keepers on the bench then highlighting it to everyone was a joke. Apparently they ahd about 8 reserves / Academy players who could have sat on the bench but harry wanted to make a point. Anyway, like you sy this is a spurs thread so sorry guys.

hudderspur

I know it may sound cliche but what/how MU would do without RVP/Rooney or Liverpool without Suarez? The question is: where is our Suarez? We don't have any. So why our expectations should change all of a sudden? We are doomed to come full circle yet again. Because if you hit your head against a concrete wall you shouldn't expect it to collapse, it's your head and we all know it and we've been there before. So nothing to discuss really.

Moscovite

hudd-FFP doesn't apply to QPR...

shedboy2

Chelsea and Liverpool both have strikers on loan...Lukaku and Carroll. They chose to buy Ba and Sturridge rather than re-call, they addressed their striker issues. We however admitted we needed a striker (by submitting a bid) but were not prepared to pay the price for the striker we wanted...

shedboy2

RIP our season.

Chelmspur

PS what happened to the moutinho money? I guess that was just a load of smoke blown squarely up our arses...

shedboy2

Hudderspur, the FFP rules only really apply to teams playing in, or expecting to play in, European competition, unless our FA choose to supplement it with a system of their own (before this bloody government stick there noses in, and feck it all up, as they have everything else) then clubs not in Europe will not be affected, so QPR have nothing to worry about on that score.

Frank

will you exchange bale for rvb/roo/suarez?

SpursWho

when tony fernandez saves qpr the monies will continue,they are backed by a consortium of billionaires,qpr will become a force in epl in a couple of years.

ghulamville

Levy may have to avoid White Hart Lane by the end of the season.You can't keep treating Spurs as your personal fiefdom.Only Abramovic can treat fans with contempt because he puts his money where his mouth is. We are not children Levy and some of us can see through you.

Greavesaboveall

Does anyone know how much the new world class training academy cost from buying the land to completion?

Jocka101

Does anyone know how much the new world class training academy cost from buying the land to completion?

Jocka101

sorry folks for doubling up there

Jocka101

I like you all , hoped for that elusive pimpernel striker ! But i am not angry or blaming Daniel Levy . I have watched over the last 10 years , and if anything , i can understand the clubs frustration in not finding the right person to lead the club forward . We have had enough managers in that time as to unsettle any club , and some of them very strange at that!! We have endured a very patchy past 40 years , and really should be happy that we have had some sort of stability in recent years . With players such as Holtby wanting to come (because of the manager/head coach?) and players like Bale staying and signing the new contract(even if it is to see if we reach the CL) , but in all we have a group of players that are really quite good and getting better , and starting to see AVB's vision . I might sound soft in my view , but i am trying to tell it as i feel it . I really do have the confidence in our club and team(including coaches/physio's/manager) , and we should remember that what we write on here and other blog's /shouting at the players while playing , can be taken to heart by some players / managers and can be a shot to the morale/confidence of the strongest of people ! So i will not be slating anyone today (even if i did want that striker :-(( ) . What i will be doing is giving my backing/cheering/screaming the BEST FOOTBALL TEAM IN THE WORLD , i'll keep buying my shirts and cups and other stuff that helps (in the small way that it does ) us buy the young talented players for the future of our club(even if that does mean selling them at over inflated prices to everyone else later) . We all love our club in our own way (and hate i suppose lol) , so get behind it and forget about the transfer window and pretend it dont exist for the next 5 months ....in AVB and Levy we must trust.... BUT IN SPURS WE LOVE .....

jamesspur1

Pav would be scoring every game if he was still here... Harry just did not want to play him.. and Pav was not motivated to prove Harry wrong..i.e. Pav said "the manager wont let me start games, and laughing at me?" ... I have said many times on here over the years.. I witnessed from Upper East Stand...Pav was always in position for the pass from which he can score.. and he did score some brilliant goals which Crouch & Defoe could only dream about... he was our top striker / scorer per mins. played, and would be happy playing for AVB.

Block D Spurs

4 MONTHS

jamesspur1

A lesson unlearned? Depends on what the lesson is. I don’t believe there is any desire on the board to invest big sums on players to obtain CL football. Over recent seasons the club’s net spend has reduced and will, in my opinion, continue to decline. This window indicates lessons learned; make unrealistic speculative bids on deadline day for players like Damiao ( or previously Ageuro or Moutinho) in a PR exercise to convince a proportion of supporters that the club is prepared to spend big and to distract enough from what is really going on at the club. The priority for the board is the stadium. They hope we get lucky and get CL football and will publicly be ambitious but privately there is no desire to push the boat out for CL football.

gyromancered

Excellent post LilyWhiteHart, as one of those regularly subject to the vilification and name calling, and suggestion to "go an support Arsenal" simply for having, and arguing, an opinion contrary to that of others, and one particularly small minded and abusive individual, I appreciate and very much agree that debate, and disagreement is healthy, as is irony, and barbed humour and satire, but name calling and vilification is an immature response and suggests the absence of a tangable counter argument, just as the use of foul language is a sign of a limited vocabulary.

Frank

Great post jamesspur..... cut me in half and you will read SPURS written circularly.........

Jocka101

The way Levy runs Spurs can't lead to great successes. He neglects essential rules on how to run properly and successfully, from the point of winning silverware, business associated with a football club. like spotting and buying proper players in time and doing your transfers according a well organised plan. The major problem of Spurs on achieving successes on the field and winning silverware isn't primary financial but it has rather to do with the insufficiency, the big ego and the inadequate football knowledge of Levy. His inadequate football knowledge prevents him from acting properly and his big ego doesn't let him organise effectively the club and hire the appropriate staff to carry out successfully the job. Having such (permanent) organisation staffed with the right persons, Spurs would be able to spot in time affordable players who would strengthen and improve their squad and address eventually shortcomings. Also the club would be able to offload in time the deadwood. His big ego is also the reason that he will never hire a manager with a strong personality and ego. He always try to find a “yes man” who, in order to safeguard his salary or/and working at the club, would be prompt to lie to the fans and the press and support his way of doing business at Spurs.

Ioan X

thanks Jocka101 , was from the innerself ... my kids have been drip fed as soon as born lol....

jamesspur1

Pav was the best of a bad bunch, that's the best that can be said of him. But just like Crouch and Defoe his best wasn't good enough.

darkenvai

Good lad jamesspur if you cut me in half you would read Spurs in a circular motion too

Jocka101

here we go again with the great Spurs urban myth, we didn't get third because we didn't buy players, if its repeated often enough people will believe it. We didn't get third because we fell apart, we should have got there without breaking sweat. If the players aren't mentally stronger than that we never will succeed.

jod

Cheers Frank. My post wasn't aimed at any one person or group of people, but the same repetitve mud-slinging just seems pointless to me y'know? We're all on here because we have a life-long love affair with our club, and at heart we're all armchair managers/chairmen who believe we know damn well what's best for all things Tottenham. And as fans we all carry the hope that our opinions matter and should be heard. My own affair stretches into decades, so I'm well accustomed to days much darker than those we face currently. My sense of optimism stems from a few factors. Mainly, that we have a bright, enthusiastic, intelligent young manager who quickly (more quickly than I'd anticipated) seems to have found his feet and also got the squad playing to his style and more importantly has them on his side. Crunch time will come in the summer. When he's no longer a newcomer, will have a full season under his belt to gain a full working knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses, and more importantly will have every right to expect his transfer requests accepted and acted upon. If this doesn't happen, then it may well be the case that those on here who doubt Enics motives will be proven right. It may also be the time that he questions whether or not he wants to work in such an environment. And that to me would be a real shame, as I believe AVB can (given time) prove to be the smartest acquisition in any capacity that we've made in many a long year. I hope, rather than expect, that we will finish in the top four this year. At the start of the season, I honestly didn't think that was a possibility. And despite my own personal feelings regarding our transfer activity (or lack thereof), it would seem there is one good thing to come from it. That we are in a solid, possibly even very healthy financial position. Meaning that I'll get to support my beloved club for as long as I live and breathe. And I'll be doing that regardless of whether they're in a Champs League final, or a Johnstons Paint Trophy final. Come on you beautiful Spurs!!!

LilyWhiteHart

Pav would be scoring every game?? The guy was a donkey!

spurspanther

I know the vast majority of Spurs´ fans must be harbouring feelings that come from perplexity to sheer anger. I don´t even know where I find myself this morning. Besides, I also think a decent (not necessarily a star) striker signing would be helpful. However, I won´t chase easy answers for not a single Spurs signing yesterday. I mean, Daniel Levy is a hell of an astute business man to make childish mistakes like trying to sign Leandro Damião only in the final moments of the window. No, it cannot be. Either this "Damião Thing" was just a piece of PR fireworks or he has a different long term master plan. In the beggining of AVB´s reign, lots of posters here stated that maybe we should not expect big things to happen this season as it probably would be a time for transition. Maybe they were right. Maybe Daniel Levy is giving AVB time to shape this Spurs side accordingly to what he wants, by testing players who were already at WHL and also new faces. I´ve just read that THFC refused 3 bids for Siggurdson. Doesn´t this ring any bells ?? We are always saying that failing to get CL football this season means key players leaving. After Modric and VdV departures, who are those key players ?? Apart from Lloris, Vertonghen and Holtby, who had just arrived and signed long term contracts, we are left with Bale only who, imho, has already made his head on leaving Tottenham next summer regarless of CL qualifying. If Bale leaves for 50+ million, the club will have more than enough money to bring Damião plus 2 or 3 decent reinforcements after releasing lots of players AVB deemed not good enough for his plans. Maybe, just maybe, for DL and AVB, this is a season to clean the house and get a real, competitive start next summer.

AlexSpur

I don't know about Groundhog DAY, but it's been Groundhog WEEK with pelebro's posts!

Spuds-U-Like

Knock Knock "Who's there?" "Peter Odemwingie."

Tottenham Hotcore

10m for gylfi....could have put that towards a striker...

shedboy2

Frank, I find it great that Spurs have such intelligent and ambitious with the club fans like you.

Ioan X

Ox, we can't compete only with the ten or fifteen biggest clubs of the world, but we are in a better financial situation than a few hundreds other clubs. Spurs would never book big successes if their only long term chance was to develop from the youth ranks. Organising an adequate and effective scouting system, staffed with the right persons is the safest, fastest and, finally, the only way for a club like Spurs to reach the top and achieve successes on the field. Developing from the youth ranks should be used as an additional option to such scouting system.

Ioan X

Jod, though you are basically right, I think adding an effective striker would have helped to win at least one of the games in which we have failed to do that last season and finish third.

Ioan X

We signed more players in January than all of our nearest competitors apart from Liverpool. One could argue Arsenal need a central defender as much as we need a forward, they did not buy. So we are ahead of Arsenal and we improved equally. Yes we needed a forward, we all know that. I have heard that Siggy was subject to two sizable bids, personally I would have taken their arms off and kept Townsend who to me is a much more valuable asset to us in terms of what we have and dont have as cover AND as a pacey serious threat going forward. Siggy is only cover for Dempsey IMO and Dempsey is sheit so if Siggy is worse than Demspeyhow can he be better than Townsend???? YES i and we all did want a forward even on loan, we didnt get one but the Townsend and Siggy situation is the real disappointment...Lord help us if Bale gets injured and we need Siggy or Demspey to replace him....FARCICAL..On balance we should have done more and I would predict we will not now finish top 4 and the window will have impacted on that to a degree in a negative way.

tophobunty

LilyWhiteHart, there are a lot of clubs in all divisions which have as their only target to be “in a solid, possibly even very healthy financial position”. But for a club as big as Spurs, it makes sense only if it goes together with winning also a silverware from time to time or/and regular participation to the CL.

Ioan X

still it's only a game....11 grown men kicking a ball about...bit silly really...as long we have kept all our money for a nice shiny stadium to sit in it doesn't matter which 11 men kick the ball...we'll all still have a jolly nice day out..won't we?

shedboy2

Point taken Ioan, and I'm certainly not a bean counter or someone who would rather admire an impressive bank balance than an impressive starting eleven. My own point is that I get joy and pleasure from supporting my club. Would I rather they were successful in all competitions? Yes, of course I would. But having supported Spurs for as long as I have I vivdly remember years and years where we weren't even close to being competetive. Whereas now we are. You're right, we are a big club. But an impartial observer would say that has more to do with history and traditions than recent on the field acheivements. To me, and to us, Spurs are the biggest, the best, the be all and end all. It doesn't necessarily follow that other teams players, managers, and chairmen share that opinion does it? I'm tempering my own frustrations at the January transfer window with cautious optimism that we could end up having a very good season indeed, followed by a VERY productive summer where our manager can truly stamp his seal on our squad and team. In Levy and Enic I'm undecided, in AVB I trust. Come on you beautiful Spurs!!!

LilyWhiteHart

Just heard Harry Kane has been recalled!!!

Ossie

Ossie we could win the league now.......

tophobunty

From Tottenham Hotspur official website: "....Harry Kane returns to us following his recall from a loan spell at Norwich City...". Those are words by AVB giving his appraisal of this trasfer window.

AlexSpur

This probably means the Defoe injury is worse than we have all been led to believe. At my ripe old age and weight distribution I rate myself as a better player than Kane.

tophobunty

If Defoe is seriously injured, maybe we´ll see a combo of Holtby playing behind Dempsey next sunday with Kane on ht bench. It doesn´t look very promissing. On the other hand, Holtby plus Adebayor might work even better than VdV plus Ade. Trouble is next Togo opponent is Burkina Faso, a very weak side...

AlexSpur

I think its far from groundhog day. its quite possible that we may of made one of the best signings of the season in Holtby especially when you consider the minimal cost of the deal. I understand some fans frustration but I cant understand certain fans need to be so over crytical. I'm sure our current manager has a rigid list of players that are very particular and strict to the system he wants to operate at spurs now and for the long term and thankfully Levy seems to be taking notice. AVB would not want to waste money and wages on a striker that we would then be probably trying to sell again in the summer in order to create funds for the a striker he actually wants. IMO panic buys and buying players for the sake of an extra body to fill the squad over the last few years is what has halted our potential progress. I was happy last night that my opinion of our manager was reaffirmed in that we didn’t end up with a last minute panic purchase of an average forward such as Hooper . If we haven’t been able to get the players AVB wanted within this window then I’m happy to wait. Due to the redknapp/Levy partnership we have possibly missed out on some of the players we would all like to see at Spurs due to having an inflated squad and therefore a lot of time and money wasted paying for players that don’t play and trying to sell them on at the next window. This is one of the underlying reasons that contributed to the general feeling that redknapp had taken us as far as he could. We could all think of 4 or 5 realistic potential buys that would massively improve us but you would have to be incredibly naive to believe that it was that simple to make it happen. For now I’m genuinely confident that AVB has the intelligence and the respect to get Levy to buy the right players when possible and more importantly not buy the wrong players for the good of Spurs and hopefully for the good of the project and long term that AVB constantly refers to.

Adie13

Sebthespur, Brilliant article!

pelebro

Our CL hope. Last year it was Louis Saha, this year - Harry Kane. We regressed where it virtually wasn't thinkable to regress. How far backwards can we possibly go? This is all quickly becoming a farce.

Moscovite

Enic want it both ways. They don't want to invest in a new stadium, because it will limit the quality of the team, and they don't want to invest in the team because it will hold back the clubs stadium plans... It called tight as a ducks arse catch 22... This cycle of frustration, disappointment, underachievement will continue until Joe Lewis finds a bidder to buy up the club. Only problem with this, is that the first potential bidders will approach Levy who will wind them up, and they will look elsewhere, just like when the Russian tried to buy us from Sugar... Sugar told him to F off and kept the club in the 'Enic mafia'... Chelsea are now the champions of Europe and we are stuck with owners who have the worst trophy per season percentage of any THFC owners in over half a century... Of course the Enic fan club mob will tell us how Levy has improved the clubs league position since Sugar, but what good is that, if Levy has only reached the Champions League once in 13 seasons and has never reached an FA Cup final... ENIC OUT!!!

pelebro

Mr Levy or a Russian owner in charge?..........L for Levy or R for Russian everyone...? Big fat L for me......no danger. Well done Lord Sugar!!

Jocka101

Visualise the old cockerel sitting on top of the golden football for a few moments... Can you picture it? Yeah there it is, the old romantic official THFC logo. Now scroll up to the top of this page, and take a good look at the new THFC logo... Take a good look at what are great club has become... "We want our Tottenham back!"

pelebro

Jocka101, yes thank you for no new stadium and an empty trophy cabinet Lord Sugar...

pelebro

the nuge....didn't want to disappoint you.Glad there are those on here doing my Pav (good????) descriptions for me.Verts and Dembele are top players and Holtby looked superb when he came on against Norwich.I'm gutted that we didn't sign a striker so we'll have to put up with hotshot Defoe and the moody Ade.Just hope Bale keeps on scoring and Lennon learns how to have a shot instead of passing sideways. Think AVB is doing a good job,love Freund's celebrations,e've offloaded Jenas plus a few others.Not the best transfer window (boring) but onwards and hopefully upwards.

wentworth

He didn't sell to a Russian but i suppose being worth an estimated £800 million he can't smell a rat when it appears....

Jocka101

Jocka101, So you don't want a Russian owner. Fair enough mate! He's a nasty piece of work just like Levy, only with lot's of silverware. But would you like a new owner who is a winner, who will actually win trophy's, and will build that new stadium for those 35,000 Spurs fans on the THFC season ticket waiting list. Go on, any nationality you want! Your pick... Still want L for Loser Levy???

pelebro

Jocka101, Which rat are you talking about? Lewis, Levy, or Abromovich?

pelebro

I believe our club to be safe while Levy is at the helm and doing things quite sensibly imo..... glad you feel the same way about Abramovich and the blue noses pelebro. They can always sell the trophies for scrap metal when the Russian pulls the plug to ease the oblivion...

Jocka101

Pelebro's playing his favourite record again. Someone break his needle please.

Spuds-U-Like

ENIC OUT, they bought more players in the January window than Arsenal, Everton, Man U, Man City and Chelsea. ENIC OUT.While we are at it can we give them all prison sentences for not making us as great as we were in the 10 years before they came along. ENIC OUT. i want to join the campaign, who is the leader of this campaign?

tophobunty

pelebro if it was not for lord sugar there might not be a THFC, check your facts mate. sugar saved spurs from going under. doh.

topspur53

topho- you are ha ha

topspur53

Tophobunty, at last we agree on something, mind you Arsenal did sign a world class Left Back, and Chelsea signed Demba Ba, a striker we should have pursued, and who scores regularly. My worry is a resurgent Liverpool that may sail past us, now that they have Sturridge to help out Suarez, and Coutinho a class MFer. But we shall see, although the risk we are now running was totally unnecessary, even a loan deal would have sufficed for now.

Frank

Whatever happened to players that we have previously apparently been after, doumbia, Rossi, forlan etc every single one of them I would have been delighted with at this club but it seems that loss of form, injuries or age has caught up with them an they are no longer good enough to play for our great club

gibbothfc

topspur53 writes, "pelebro if it was not for lord sugar there might not be a THFC, check your facts mate. sugar saved spurs from going under. doh." Sugar saved Spurs form going under? Sorry to inform you that Sugar got our club on the cheap because Shcolar the former THFC got into personal financial difficulties and decided to sale. The clubs coach at the time Terry Venables became aware of the situation and tried to buy up the club, but did not have the money. So went to his mate Sugar to raise the cash, and a deal was done. Sugar quickly shafted Tel and got THFC on the cheap. The problem back then, when Scholar sold up, was that the club was not put on the open market, and sold on to the highest and most suitable bidder... It was an inside job! The theme continued when Sugar sold the club to his mates Lewis and Levy. Sugar never saved our club, he got it on the cheap by shafting Venables the very man who got him in on the deal! Sugar walked away having made 75 million profit out of our club. I League Cup and Danny boy Levy in return... 22 years on from the Sugar buy out, the club have won just 2 League Cups, only made the CL on one occasion and have not reached a single FA Cup final in the entire Sugar/Levy era... ENIC OUT!!!

pelebro

As for Scholar, I never like the guy after what he did to Burkinshaw. Started buying players just just like Danny Boy, without his managers approval. Burkinshaw walked and we lost that great team of the early 1980's. Scholar like Sugar and Levy was a nasty piece of work, but at least he brought the club a EUFA Cup and the clubs last FA Cup 22 long sugar/Levy years ago... Enic Out!

pelebro

Pelebro - I think you are the one who needs to check thier facts mate, Sugar DID save the club because noone else was going to buy that level of debt FACT. Sugar shafted Venables, sure he did thats why Sugar won the court case. Some people on here really need to get real, you cut your cloth accordingly and that is exactly what Levy, Enic & AVB are doing. Yes it would have been good to get a Striker but we didn't so we move on,support the club and IF we dont get CL then all the anti spurs, anti Levy enic so called fans can have a good old moan

Iggspur

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