AVB explains Damiao Failure.

Defoe, Dempsey, Hudd and Lennon mugged AVB into thinking they could score/create. When their usual soft spice boy dip in form came around it was too late. Gotta learn the hard way AVB. As soon as you put your faith in the vapid nightclub brigade, you will lose your job.

well ok, it isn`t the mistake from AVB. So AVB in and give him a chance!

Nice sensible club management. We want Tottenham to be around for years to come, and no point taking crazy risks for the CL dream, ask Leeds fans. We have been progressing steadily for 8 years now, and will continue to progress at our own steady rate. Spurs are on the way up, and not signing a striker in January 2013 isn't going to completely de-rail 8 years of advancement. Anyway, with Holtby we will probably go back to playing 1 striker so we won't actually be that short.

TC- we were on the way up, reached the CL, re-gained top4....it remains to be seen where we go from here. No new money in two years doesn't lead me to believe we're still on the way up....a 450m debt is a huge gamble we're far more likely to do a Valencia than a Leeds...how many years til we pay it off?

From the little I have seen of Damiao he didn't look all that special anyway. However we should have had several alternatives to pursue and I think everyone is a little anxious as to what will happen the rest of this season. Can't help feeling this another wasted season as Levy consistently fails to fill the major hole in our squad with quality.

Fear thee not, we've got Harry Kane back!

As to what our summer targets could be, there might be some very interesting strikers coming available if for example Aston Villa get relegated, and Newcastle is in danger too.

I believe AVB was made a scapegoat in this situation. Levy is pulling strings from behind the scenes. I didn't hold my breath about this particular transfer (as his price does seem a bit inflated to me) but our inability to bring in a quality forward for 4 years now genuinely strikes (no pun intended) me. Is it some sort of a joke that went too far? It's like people saying Wenger won't spend and then he refuses to spend just to irritate them.

BigC +1

bigc+2

There's no perhaps about it, it absolutely doesn't explain the lack of a Plan B. If Inter and/or Damiao were trying to wring too much out of us, then fair enough backing out makes sense. But Damiao is far from being the only decent young striker around, and the apparent lack of any fall back option worries me.

BiC, sure, or Willian and Leadro have been part of the grand design and both were priced out of what we were willing to pay. Neither selling club was motivted by anything but money. I don't take AVB to be a parrot or a puppet. He seems a very grounded, thoughtful man. He has a plan. He will revise the plan and move on to other targets. COYS

we could have sold Gylfi for 10m got his 75k pw off the books....added 10m from the 13-17m we apparently offered and got a striker for net 10m without increasing the wages.... Gylfi must be doing things in training we don't see on the pitch...

On Bentley, I read today that his contract runs until 2014 not 2013 as it has been generally assumed on here. Also read that QPR did want to sign him but weren't prepared to pay the fee Levy was asking. Levy apparently isn't letting Bentley go without recouping some of the £15m he paid.

Dark, perhaps he didn't want a Plan B guy. Hooper could have been had. Son could have been had. Altidore could have been had. Loads of players could have been had. Not many of any real quality that were going to supplnat Defoe and Adebayor. He spoke of Hooper. While being respectful, he certainly did not seem to be interested in him on any level. AVB is fairly direct and measured in his comments. Plan B might well have been that we save it for later and go with Defoe, Adebayor, Dempsey, Kane and introduce Holtby in behind whoever is firing. He did say before the window he did not expect there to be any signings. I take Holtby, Fryers and extending Pritchard to be good work. COYS

AVB says " I assume we have other targets and it will be interesting to see who they are". His he not allowed to choose his own transfer targets. . So Levy really does pick the players that spurs go after and AVB gets no say in it . Thats the way that statement comes across

Peter, seriously, are you like an ENIC PR merchant... I respect your comments and do not wish to come across in any other way, but there is this un-ending blind allegiance. It's like Levy could burm your house down and you'd still say he's a great guy. I just do not get it. Too much bias in one direction. You make so much sense that you don't make any sense. Have you been found out, agent BallB?

Cape Town Spurs, we are Spurs fans. We are eternal optimists

and before you all think I am mad, Peter is exactly the type of commentator that PR companies hire and place up on sites such as this to sway opinion. Trust me. I know this business. Peter?

Moscovite, the partnership is like the one between Dan Gallagher and Alex Forrest (bonus point for anyone who can name the film)

"if Defoe, Dempsey and Adebayor were all scoring" Yeah, there is a Russian saying: "If a granny had a dick she would have been a grandpa".

Peter - that's the impression that I get. There hasn't been any talk of, well, we were in for some others and that didn't come off either etc. Although, as has been noted, AVB is somewhat more reticent in this regard than his predecessor. The thing is, while the market opens up somewhat in the summer, it will still be essentially the same pool of players (minus Damiao and Willian) that he'll be fishing in, and we won't get the benefit of the new signing for the rest of this campaign. As for the addition of Holtby and Fryers, brilliant stuff. Holtby in particular could prove to be the making of the second half of our season.

CapeTownSpurs, while it absurd to be on the payroll of ENIC from Mississauga, Ontario, I'd love to do it. If there is a position out there, I would gladly accept it. I would indicate that I was so employed however. I have no financial interest in the club whatsoever. I buy the merchandise, I watch the games. Have done so since the early 70's. I see an owner in ENIC that has moved us from mid-table mediocrity to being on the cusp of CL and in the conversation every year. I also see a club that has gone from a valuation of about 100M to over half a billion (with a B) in a decade or so. I wanted the stadium years ago. That said, I am glad we didn't because I was able to go to WHL twice in August. I do know, however that businesses worth 100M usually do not get funding for 400M projects. A 564M business though has little issue getting money for a 450M project so long as they can show their finances are in order. There will be players available in the summer. Alderweirald (I'd make it Howedes instead), a young keeper, an up top lone striker, another DMF and wing options would all be sweet, but then some might come from within. Pritchard is apparently not far off. The striker (or 2) will have to be bought. They will have to be players that AVB wants though. Bent and Odemwingie were available if we just wanted a striker for striker's sake. COYS

I would hate to see how some of the Levy haters balance the books for their own personal finances.

Ox you mention not being drawn into an auction by greedy clubs, surely they don,t come any greedier than Levy

Peter the answer to my first question was- Yes, the club answered it by making a bid for a striker. IF my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle...big word that little IF...If only Dempsey were a striker and had pace, If only Defoe could hold the ball and link play, If only Ade were here! If only he can be bothered....If only we had a plan B, If only we'd built the stadium 10years ago, If only we were not skint because of it now etc...

I personally love the way we are doing business now. A great couple of young buys and a load of deadwood off the books. What's not to like. We have Defoe, Ade and Dempsey who have been good enough for a 4th place finish thus far. I don't doubt that they will be gradually replaced as and when the right forwards come available at the right price and the right time. We are doing things sensibly and with a plan. What do people expect us to do? Throw £50m (including wages) at an unproven Damiao and hope we qualify for the CL 2 years running just to pay for one player!? Or bring in short-term fixes like Saha or Heskey who bring nothing but a drain on the wages to the table? Its coming together and remarkably we are still 4th and in the UEFA Cup. The only big disappointment for me was losing to Leeds, we really should still be gunning for the FA Cup but its gone now so i have to move on!

Peter from Ontario, your answer is why I love & respect you, it is also why I question your heritage. So many stats, facts, figures...

Dark, I believe it will be worse in the summer. If Guardiola is targeting Suarez and Falcao prices will be ratcheted right up. Chelsea will again be buying. City no doubt too. RM probably too. Italian clubs seem to be spending freely again. All that said, it should not affect us. Ifwe get CL, options will be there from the get go. If not, it will be the same old. We need to be looking at the next Berbatov. Perhaps a player like Aspas. Or an Arnautovic. Or a RVN type like Castaignos. I wish we had signed Son and Belhanda. We didn't. We spend more than we sell in virtually every year. Our wages are getting more an more competitive. It's a process. I suspect that Plan B guys were not pursued because we already have them. Unlike Harry, AVB chose not to add to the Plan B roster. COYS

I have a message for you all from pelebro.."enic out enic out enic out, I want to marry Frank"

I would rather we make white hart lane bigger. We bought up all the land around the ground, surely it would be a lot cheaper and quicker to up the capacity to what we want than build a new ground, and that way it will still be called white hart lane . You said it yourself peterbulb you wanted to visit the lane

Cape Town - there is no denying that Levy have brought us into the top five zone, brought first taste of cl football, more exciting football, training ground plus stadium to come, even brought a trophy... Don't you remember us being mostly bottom half in the ten years before Levy? I have not even mentioned the state of the finances. Just because we do not sign a striker, you want to disregard all that? I am not saying that he hasn't made mistakes... But the guy has done a fine job. Balance the good with the bad...he comes out well ontop.

On a separate note, I see that Sandro has been included in the Premier League squad list. Do you think this is simply because there was plenty of room and it couldn't hurt to put him there, or, inshallah, that there is the whisper of a chance that he could be back before the end of the season? I also see that Bentley is there. I, for one, am looking forward to further demonstrations of his tricksy tricks :-D

I think it more likely , that Reading offered no more than £6mill' for siggurdsen. Than the £10 mill' quoted. I don't think Mr.levy would have turned £10 mill' down...he be not that daft.

Peterb - the wages are at a maintainable level. There is no point in reducing the wage bill THAT much. We need Parker, because Sandro's injury record is poor. Besides, we spent money on Parker that we won't get back. So the earlier you shed him, the less value he was. That would be counter intuitive. Bentley will be ending his mega deal soon, and I am sure that we have budgetted accordingly. Dawson does not want to go, and is more than handy to have around. We do not have enough captain types. Gomes is temporarily off the books...

Peter. Chelsea may have unlimited funds but they met the valuation for Oscar, it was done and dusted. If we can't meet the Dimao valuation and are unwilling to pay him 75k per week, then we have no business being involved in the first place. DL must have known his valuation way before the last day of the window. I don't really care about Dimao that much, but I don't like DL spinning the fans a yarn like he does. It's insulting and is difficult to understand why he does it when nobody really believes it anymore.

peterballb, Bentley was supposed to be the new Beckham. Maybe now is actually like the current Beckham (minus the box office status). Slow but can deliver a good ball.

you guys make me smile... imagine the disagreements we could have if we spent 4 hours together in the same bar.. actually don't! night all

Peterballb, i am certain that AVB will want to revert to his preferred 4-3-3 as soon as he has the players of the requisite pace and intelligence to work that system. Holtby is a perfect example of someone who has the intelligence and skill to play to a plan on the pitch. Think AVB is being pragmatic just now with the players available and of course not wanting to change too much of Harry's work too soon. It early early days - I don't believe we've seen anything yet of where we are really going.

Siggy over Townsend all day long. Siggy just needs to relax he seems to be trying TOO hard to impress. He has the talent. I can see him really coming good in years 2 and 3 and beyond. I'd put this season down to settling into a big club. You sometimes need at least a season to bed in. Look at Bale and Modric!!

Fair enough happy we are not going to be robbed. This deal has been speculation for too long now and it is about time we let go. Only concern for me was if we were in for him then that shows AVB feels we need a striker so what happened to plan B? Did we have one or not? Nothing we can do now except get behind the current squad and keep our fingers crossed. As for Kane not convinced but I guess he is still young. Obika can't say he is up to it. Time is not on his side now and I guess we may as well have Kane in the squad as a freeby than Obika who would take up a place. Lets just hope Ade comes back on form, Defoe finds the goal again and Dempsey keeps scoring.

82spursdebut, on Ceballos, I'll agree with you. Probably the best"ball" talent in the team (Gio was up there too). Issue with him will be size. Pritchard wants the ball all the time. I understand McEvoy is very similar to Bale. Walker is terrible on free kicks and corners. Hudd is miles better. Sigurdsson is too, he is jus rarelyon the pich. Ekotto, might be the best but seems disinterested. BAE is also our best crosser of the ball. He just doesn't get up there often enough to do so. If he overlapped with Bale, they could be deadly. We saw Naughton starting to gel with Lennon just before he was removed the other day. It is like Walker has no idea what Lennon is doing. Livermore looked dominant with the U-21's. It doesn't mean much until you do it at the top. For me Townsend is ok. Nothing better. I still think AVB will sub on Dempsey or Sigurdsson before considering Townsend which is why he is off on loan. COYS

Peter, Yes DL never stated that we were going in for Dimao this window, AVB actually said that we wouldn't bid for another striker. We did on the last day however go in for Dimao, don't know what our bid was, but it wasn't enough. Dimao was being touted around at 20M+ last season, so why does DL think he is going to get him for less. Waste of time at best. No plan B, but by the bid AVB and DL actually admitted that we need an extra striker, which we do. I thought that the whole point of our relationship with Inter was so that we could do Sandro type deals and get first refusal on their up and coming talent without having to spend a fortune on TF fees. Once Dimao goes above 20M, we may as well move on, what is the point in making a bid of what we think he is worth at the 11th hour when they know that they don't have to sell him this window?

im a PR..ick guy lol

Moscovite and shedboy2, you are spot on. Things are more than obvious. No plan B and not a proper scouting system. That's the way Levy runs business at Spurs. That's why he has reached his limits with the club. In order to move to the next level, Spurs need to establish an adequate scouting system staffed with the proper persons and do business in time and according a well organised plan which would include also a plan B and C. That's the way all serious and successful clubs do business. For a big and popular club like Spurs, keeping a solid and healthy financial position makes sense and can be regarded as success only if it goes together with winning also a silverware from time to time or/and regular participation to the CL. AVB is the kind of person who avoids to be involved in conflict situations. He wouldn't risk a confrontation with Levy and get fired again. It would be very bad for his carrier. Levy knows this and can pull the strings the way he wants. AVB is obliged to find excuses towards the fans and the press for the insufficient methods that Levy follows.

Ioan x....i pretty much agree with your words on AVB. Not forgetting that AVB..is very young, for a manager. The negative, in me, may think that that is why Mr.levy appointed AVB. But let's not go there.....avb, so far, 75 /100.

I think AVB is in danger of strapping on the suicide belt by explaining the failures of our chairman, facing the critics instead of him, taking the rap for Levy, he must be very careful in the use of the word "we", then falling short as a result of Levy's rather than his own actions or lack of, and suddenly he is out. He should remember that Levy is almost as good at sacking managers, as he is at counting beans, it is the only bit of administering a football club, that he seems to understand. AVB needs to remember that he is manager no 8 and counting during Fagin's reign.

Frank, how is this any different than Harry or Jol? Levy does not speak about these matters and nor should he. Jol made it quite clear when players were bought he didn't want (Comolli, not Levy). If the numbers are beyond our valuation (as AVB states) there endeth the pursuit. I'm sure we dropped out of the Willian chase after it got over 20M, much as we did on the Oscar chase. Not overpaying is not a bad thing. It is proper business. You do it every day as do I. Whether a tomatoe or a house, there is always a price where it is no longer worth it even if the guy down the street will pay more. There is a sucker born every minute. It doesn't need to be us, does it? Because Fernadez has decided to spend close to 50M net in transfers this year does not make it necessarily a smart thing to do. His money. I don't generally gamble 10% of my fortune, but hey, that's me. And that doesn't include wages. COYS

Peterbalb, bigger men than Levy (no direct comment on his diminutive stature intended), have been driven out, by fan's angry reaction to their activities, or lack of, that damages the club on the pitch. If we suffer our now customary end of season slump, the goals dry up, and we lose out on Europe, the fans should know who to blame and should do so vehemently. The average fan is neither aware of, or greatly interested in, the value of the football club, it is nothing to do with him, and he gets nothing out of it. All he is interested in is seeing his club competing with their rivals, winning some, and losing some, but competing. What he can't or won't accept, is that he sees a lack of ambition on the part of his club, having got to a certain level, and enjoyed successful CL football (at the time the best ever performance by a debutante), and then not to be forced backwards, but to actually volunteer to regress due to a total lack of ambition, and will, to go forward. Football fans, rather than shareholders can't and in the longer term won't accept that.

ovm....goalposts and corner flags !...lol....couldn't resist. Actually, i love Spiderllorisman....2 arms / 2 legs....= 4.....strange spider !!...lol

so lets see......We fans havent asked Levy to spend so much money that he exposes the finances of the club to a greater debt yet its not unreasonable to say that Levy had the money in August 2012 to buy João Santos Moutinho only to so call miss him by the time it takes a transfer window to close and now in January 2o13 Leandro Damiao deal goes down because at £13m we could afford him but by the time that Agents got involved he was £16.6m and rising.......so here we are in a trading loss of £4.5m but the money in the Bank on deposit has to be £13m + for a striker because we never used the money we had for Moutinho! AVB is Levy's "Project" so Holtby and Fryers are the sum toal of Levy's ambition for this club? so Fernandez spends £50m because he loves his club and wants them to stay up and Levy loves his club but not enough to get a decent striker......! Really? Since he became chairman in 2001, Levy has gone through eight managers and AVB is his ninth. This indicates a chairman who lacks a coherent vision for the club. Out of eight managers Levy couldn’t find one manager that meets his desires or aspirations. If Levy wasn’t a close friend or assistant of Joe Lewis, I think he would have been fired years ago, just as any other ordinary chairman of a company. How do you expect a coach to develop a team or a take a team to a new direction if isn’t given the players? How does AVB get success for the club if the sum total of talent bought in amounts to Siggurdson Dempsey and Dembele and two back door deals that includes pulling one over Manure and waiting for a player to be out of contract and waiting for them to arrive on a freebie only to reluctantly hand over £1.5m cos he had to...where please is Levy's ambition in that?

i need to watch the 2nd half...apparantly, it gets more entertaining.

I for one am chuffed to bits with the AVB comments. What it says to me is that AVB is the one judging and valuing players (not Levy) and he knows where he will let his chairman go to in spending the money. He is taking ownership for HIS player budget and he isn't going to weaken his position as manager by putting all his eggs in one basket on an overvalued player. AVB is a smart man. He knows you don't need 25 registered player, another 5 out on loan and another couple kicking their heals doing nothing. That is a recipe for long term mediocrity.

My guess is that when Harry is driving back to Bournemouth each day, phoning TalkSport for a chat and talking at Bond, AVB will be sitting in his office until after dark working. He will have his own player database with valuations, he will have assessments on every member of his own playing squad and he will know for every single player what tactics they lend themselves best to. It's what most of us would call being a manager and taking responsibility. The previous idiot was simply a coach who turned up, trained the lads and got back in his car and went home. He had no understanding of how the club was run and had no interest either and regularly had sly digs at Levy via the media.

This transfer window was sub optimal. We didn't get a striker but AVB is playing the long game. He offloaded Cuducini and Jenas and made a dent in the wage bill. He brought in Holtby and Fryers, the latter based on a strategy he started 6 months ago. He got his youngsters out on loan playing football and therefore closer to 1st team action. He also sent out a vote of confidence to his current players by not panicking and changing for the sake of change. They now need to repay him with that loyalty and performance.

Frank, you are spot on, mate. Levy thinks in terms of a real estate agent and not of an ambitious owner of a football club. Being ambitious doesn't mean to ruin or bankrupt a club. But it does mean working in a serious and well organise way. It's not by luck that Spurs is the only club in the world which though it was always between the fifteen richest clubs during the last decades, it's the only one that didn't won a major domestic or international title or trophy.

Frank, all well and good, and if I wished to put on my 1970's early 80's glasses, could agree with you. fact is we have been mediocre for a long time. A good cup run here or there, but very little to write home abiout. Since ENIC took over they have overseen the move from mid-table, to competing in that next group with Villa and Everton to being on the cusp of CL and in the discussion every year. Here's what Clivethvillan has posted today about the Lerner area

Oh dear Lionheart mate, i admire your stance on defending Randy or trying too,but sorry all this ''Randy did this'' n ''Randy did that'' has been wearing thiner and thiner for the past 7 years dude, this is the third relelgation battle we have been in the last three years, but hey its all O'Neils fault i keep hearing PMSL, Cos Poor old Randy Lerner had no say in what O'Neil ws spending did he?? I mean O'Neil FORCED Randy to spend money and wages didn't he? It is not the OWNER'S job to run a football club and ensure the financie's are SUSTAINABLE for the immediate future?? ;} clivethevillan

MON because the owner has no say. Reality is that some owners let their managers talk them in to stuff that is not in the best interests of the club. I like that AVB andLevy seem to be operating from an understanding. There are targets that have vluations. If they can be gotten, great. If not, on to the next one. Under no circumstances buy for the sake of buying.

As for lack of ambition, perhaps your definition is different than ENIC's. It certainly is to mine. I think wanting to be in Europe every year shows ambition. I also think that realism must come in to play. Can we expect to be in the CL when 5 of the 6 other clubs we are competing with all hav vast riches beoyond ours? We can hope and we can try to do things better. What we can't afford is to have too many mistakes the likes of Bentley that cause you to not be able to invest in players and salary. Whether anyone likes it or not, he, Keane, Jenas and others cost us by sitting. They get their wages and w not leave unless someone gives them what they are due. Bring in Leandro, pay him more than Defoe and or Dempsey and ten have him flop. Not only wasted wages but inflationary to boot. I think you should appreciate that we are well run. That we are punching above our financial weight. Stadium, CL all helps. But didn't Leeds and Newcastle have that? It can all go away just with a few poor gambles. Levy does not gamble. I am happy for that. We will live to fight this year and the year after. COYS

oyvehmaria, changing managers only sets you back in a system where there is a DOF and where players are continually bought and developed. Inter win a title on average every year. Do you know what else they do, on average every year? Fire a manager. Mourinho went there, coached the lads there and won. It is the job of the coach to do that. It's why I like a DOF system, because then the DOF would say, we need a striker and get the best one that they could. Coach gets input, budget still comes from above, but there is a striker in place. It's not the system we have so we have to accept that AVB and Levy are particular. RM go through a lot of managers too. Since the PL was created we have as many trophies as anyone not named United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. Up til last year, even City had not fared better than us. As to back 4 in front of Lloris, given ijuris etc, it would be Naughton, Dawson, Vertonghen and BAE. Yes some guys are coming back. Gallas is now back. Kaboul will be soon. Yes we have rotated as needed to cover for injuries, but our defence has been solid since Lloris came in. Only 4 teams have conceded fewer. We are playing pretty well. 7W, 1L, 4D in the last 12 was not smoke and mirrors. Even on the scoring front, only 5 teams have scored more. We can still do better. Not playing Caulker on the right would be a good start. Less Walker another step forward. bAE and Parker hitting stride and we'll be one of the more solid teams out there. The Liverpool Arsenal game didn't make me think we were inferior. If Chelsea lost Cech they'd be dead in the water. United are leaky. City are probably the most solid. All of the top 7 clubs have issues. If Adebayor and Defoe get scoring, our issue is pretty much resolved. COYS

OyVeh Maria, why does that matter? he is not the owner of the team. Tavistock and Levy are as they own most of ENIC. Joe Lewis does not invest in the club. If you wish to buy it from him, he'll welcome offers north of 750M GBP and then that owner can do with their money as they choose. Lewis is a businessman. One of his businesses owns Spurs. He is not a Spurs fan (to my knowledge). He no doubt likes that his little investment continues to grow. It's Spurs that are the Matisse or the Picasso, not the players. They are the paint or the brush. His concern is end product (not that I know what e thinks, just what I presume). United and Liverpool have riches because they were in the world's eye for decades and continue to reap those riches. We were not. Well we were in the 70's but then lost it. Chelsea and City have Monopoly money, for now and then down it will come. Arsenal have built wisely and within budget. We will do the same. Day late and a dollar short? Perhaps. But we missed the wave and now must get on with it. CL would be a step, but the stadium is the next big step. We will, now and then, have to operate within our revenues. And is that not the proper way of doing it? COYS

peterbalb - in my opinion we've had a set back, mostly because of the mess Harry left the squad in. The summer window was 13 out and 6 in just to get us back to 25 plus guys like Rose, Khumalo, Dawkins, Obika out on loan. In effect AVB walked into a club where after a major cull he still had 29 players. Then the next window comes along and we manage to shift 2 but buy 2 so he's made no headway there. He also knows we've posted a £4m loss because of it and HIS football budget is being wasted on pointless salaries left by the previous regime. He will now have to go into his 3rd transfer window just to get us even somewhere near back to the 25 whilst a 1/3 of the financial year passes by as the close season. He has already identified 6 or 7 guys that have also turned 21 and will need to be registered if he thinks they can contribute. Life is not easy for AVB but I reckon if he fails at Spurs and leaves he will leave the squad in a very healthy state as he's clearly thoughtful about what he sanctions. I also think that Levy finally gets it and is helping to stop the revolving door of mediocrity syndrome we've been stuck in. We shall see but whilst I can whinge with the rest of us fans about no great striker joining for years, I see the bigger picture. AVB has to operate 2 out, 1 in for a while yet to get us lean and ready to be really competitive.

OyVeh Maria, contrary to hat you just said, Mourinho really did not change te sqas aroun at RM or at Inter. He won by coaching talented players that were already there. There is nothing out there suggesting that AVB did not have say on players. His interview today seemed pretty honest and forthright. He did not want to sell Siggy. He thinks we have the players. Etc. If you haven't watched it, have a go. If all you can afford is the Dodge Caravan off lease, it really makes no sense to lament the fact you can't afford the Volvo XC90. Our situation is akin to Arsenal's and Everton's. Three clubs that live within their means and compete. I can't expect more, though I always live in hope. COYS

.....yep the club is the Matisse, not the players on the pitch, just the land they play on...and so the beat goes on.....its not just the fans I feel sorry for it's AVB...im off to bed, gotta be up at 5:00 a.m. got a job down at Bristol to do before I travel up and stay at some at some skanky hotel in Castle Bromwich before I go to the match COYS to everyone

Spot on Muttley. This is a marathon not a sprint.

I have no doubt that if our targets were available within our valuation range and players willing to come on terms acceptable to us, we would have stumped the cash. 55M for Moutinho, Willian and Leandro, and it would have been done. 80M, which is what it would have cost at a minimum, is ridiculous. So we didn't gamble. I wish we had gotten Son and Belhanda. Both were available. That we didn't really go after them tells me that AVB didn't want them. His prerogative. I would have, but I am a fan and I don't have to worry about how buying Son chages AVB's plan. He does and it's why he will be extended or fired. COYS

Whilst I do agree with Muttley and Peterballb in Levy/AVB 'building the future' we can't let ourselves be like Arsenal who although are profitable, haven't been successful for almost a decade now.

Peterballb, I don't think you can argue with the fact that we should have bought a striker in this January's transfer window. Ade has not been performing this season (albeit playing in new position) and Defoe as you keep saying is a '1 in 9' man. Our scouts must have identified someone who is/will be better than what we have now right?

MrSpurs, the fact I don't like him does not make Defoe not a striker. He's apparently fit and along withDempsey means we have two guys who last year combined for 28 goals. This season they have 15 goals and 6 assists in the PL between them. They are off the pace but not far. Not ideal, but they are what we have

topspur53, I don't mean to bore. I explain my position, which happens to differ from some on here. I respect Frank. He talks sense. I just disagree with his conclusion. COYS

pb- yes i should not be so harsh mate, but the way levy carries out transfer windows is making spurs a laughing stock imo.people say we outgrew harry, i feel we have outgrown ENIC.it wont stop me following tottenham,as long as i live thou.

* dad's knee

peterballb.... Aaaaargh, I just give up with you mate, you're obviously an intelligent guy who has a whole raft of stats on your internet favourites pages. You articulate those stats extremely eloquently, to an extent that almost suggests an OCD problem within your psyche.
Just to prove you can, why not write a post from the heart as opposed to your usual copy and paste jobs. Much like there comes a time when a player or manager has gone as far as his abilities will take them, Levy and ENIC have also gone well past their sell by date. They were the right people at the right time, 12 years ago and who knows. If they had delivered the stadium within their first 8 years (not too much to ask seeing as how they prioritised it from the off) maybe they would still be welcome. They have proven themselves more than capable of running a business but they have not improved us massively. What they have done is achieve a league position commensurate with our fanbase and market position, exactly what any decent businessmen should have been able to do with all the money that snowballed into the game during their tenure. Where they have failed abysmally is in the area that they don't understand and that is how to take something from it's rightful position and challenging those further up the food chain. Preferring instead to feed the sharks our best players rather than turn us into a shark as well. Every time the opportunity to take the next step has presented itself, our esteemed owners have bottled it and taken the cash instead. They have even had the audacity to use us as a vehicle for another Tavistock Company (Autonomy) and try to sell it to us as an ingenious sponsorship coup. Turning us into a tax break for another of their interests, funny how they sold Autonomy for a massive sum after we'd been touting their wares. Even funnier although not surprising was the news the the buyers of Autonomy complained that they'd been sold a dud once they looked at the books. Mud sticks and they've now stuck some on us as well in their quest for the £ note.
Support our owners all you want, but as far as I'm concerned they're shysters who'll leave us up the creek without a canoe, let alone a paddle. At least old Father time will catch up with Joe Lewis sooner rather than later.

Oh and I personally don't think we ever had a chance with Damiao, if he was really interested in us, he'd have been here at least a year ago. He wasn't interested because Levy has no idea how to sell our club to world class players. Sure, he can save a quid or two by doing a deal and alienating one chairman after another, he's awesome at that. He can also attract young players who are looking to use us as a springboard to an ambitious club.
We need to have, must have, a respected football man as our figurehead. Not a Land economist, wonder how much of the cash they get from selling the old Spurs Lodge to some property developer THFC will get to see. Sod all is my guess, another £100 million to vanish into the ENIC/Levy black hole.

Phucking glorified estate agent for a chairman. Yeah that's how a football club should be run!

Hope not the office fax machine, we need that.

As for as Damiao, I should be the happiest Spurs knowing we didnt get him. 20m for a player who didtnt score a goal or do a assists in 655 minutes in Brazillian league ??? Scored well against average Olympic sides . Even a 13m is too much. Fact is he was good in 2010. His 2011 & 2012 form were woeful. Happy we didnt take him and be laughed at PL.

If one thinks that a certain player's contract is worth some particular priced, then why would one pay a much greater amount for it? If you think a house is worth 350,000, why would you pay 550,000? Would you buy it at a price you think is way to high?

Serves us right for having one target If we'd bid £13m on January 1st to be rebuffed and told to cough up £20m, we could have moved on. We need a director of football in, because our activity in the transfer market has gone to rats**t since Levy took over. Comolli wasn't perfect but at least he scouted and didn't spend over the odds on foreign talent. It was only English players he couldn't judge properly, as we've seen at Spurs and Liverpool!

Levy needs to start feeling pressure from the fans....he's not used to people criticising him, most people bow and scrape...maybe a few 'get your wallet out' taunts to start...

syd good points there mate

shedboy - really bad analogy. When did the Brazilians ever put a price tag on Damaio and when did we ever only offer 45% of that value. Stop exaggerating. The only person that did put a value on Damaio was AVB based on his understanding of the capabilities of the player and the value to his squad.

Let's remember that Levy can't value players, he will always rely on advice from others. He's had some really bad advice in the last few years from Harry. As an example Levy took advice from Harry on Pienaar. He was told his price was cheap BUT there would be a sizeable signing on fee and he would need £75k a week. Look where that got Levy as he watched Harry then ostracise the player, loan the player out and eventually sell him. That was probably £5-8m of bad advice from a selfish man who had no care for our club. AVB is hopefully different. He treats our budget as his budget and takes responsibility. No doubt he wants better players, especially up front but he's not gonna let his chairman be held to ransom in the market and it's rapidly becoming that his word is final. Surely as fans we have to see that as positive that finally our manager, chairman etc are working as one close knit team.

I will state again though that I'm not condoning us not getting a striker. The groundwork for that should have been done in Nov / Dec just like Ba and Sturridge was. Transfer deadline day should be for selling and loaning, not buying. We don't need lesser players who appear as bargains, we're a top 4 club.

sydqcb5- so you are saying our scouts are crap....good at least we know where the club need to improve. I stillthink we need a striker but I hope Holtby can provide and score in the number 10 role....I just wonder why we bought Dempsey and Gylfi who both already play that position? but then again you've answered that one already...are scouts are crap....doesn't fill me with confidence for the summer window!

Our very own striker scouting report, from vital norwich; Harry Kane, who was on a season long loan, has returned to Spurs. The official line is that Spurs were unable to add attacking options in the transfer window and have opted to recall him. City boss Hughton confirmed the return: 'Spurs have recalled Harry Kane from his loan with us. 'He was unlucky with the injury. We would have liked to keep him, but wish him well. With Kane putting in a very poor display against Luton in the Cup, and hardly setting the world alight whilst he was here, it makes you wonder whether Hughton simply thinks Kane was not good enough. In slightly better news, Chris Martin may return after the weekend. He was due to be on loan for the rest of the season, but with Swindon Town now under a transfer embargo, the loan cannot be extended. Read more: http://www.norwich.vitalfootball.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=307544#ixzz2JjQIK9Kh

Peterbalb in two of your recent posts I have to totally agree with you. Firstly a DOF, not a frustrated Land Management Graduate with a rampant ego, who thinks he knows better and will do better at everybody else's job as well as his own, if he would stick to what he is allegedly good at, counting beans, and hire somebody with a knowledge and understanding of football so that together with the coach, to identify, source, negotiate for, and sign players, within a realistic budget, using informants, and contacts built up over a career in the game, rather than pi$$ing off everybody who he deals with, we would no doubt find the gems, the reasonably priced players that add to the team, and have a sell on value later. In short Levy get out of the fecking way, do your job, and let somebody who knows what they are doing, look after transfers, everybody, even ironically you, will benefit from this approach. Also Peterbalb you summed up what lots of us have said for years, that we suffer and are penalized by virtue of being owned by a guy with no interest in football, or THFC, except a purely financial one, we might just as well be a Sainsbury's supermarket (we will be soon) for all he cares, success on the pitch is immaterial, as long as success at the bank is assured. This is why from him, and his lap dog yes man, there is no sign of ambition to succeed on the pitch, only at the bank, this will never change during the ENIC tenure, but Bahamas Joe wont live forever, after all he is 80+, what will happen when he pops his clogs, interesting.

peterballb Agreed with you on this window has been good work. AVB has said from the very start there would be NO signings this January so why should we not believe him. I reckon he was told before he signed that, that was the score but if he lived up to expectations and or exceeded them he would get his transfer money in the summer. AVB is no fool, so just we wait and see. IF nothing happens in the Summer then it is down to LEVY not AVB because who is it that controls the purse strings, AVB or Levy. If AVB wants a player he can't get him without Levy releasing the funds, it's as simple as that so no blame can be apportioned to AVB for our signing "failures".