Open letter from the Chairman, Daniel Levy - Part 2

[Geez]

Source: Official Site

And so back to looking ahead and to redress our current position.

Firstly, in Harry, we have secured the services of an excellent Manager of proven Premiership quality. Harry will be working with a squad of quality internationals. We must not forget that this team, without the benefit of three additional players at the time (Pavlyuchenko, Corluka, Campbell), gave a more than creditable performance against the current League leaders. I have spoken to the senior players in recent days and I know the players share our frustration and I know they will dig deep to produce the performances we know they are capable of - they have our full support - and support for the team is absolutely critical at this time.

We have all been subjected to much criticism - myself, the Board, coaching staff and players - having now made what I considered to be necessary, sweeping changes to our football management team, we must re-assert ourselves, regain our focus, and answer our critics in the best way possible - by winning games again.

Secondly, we must prepare ourselves to take advantage of the January transfer window. Harry's experience of the UK and international transfer market will be of critical importance and I shall be looking to Harry for clarity on our priorities. As Chairman, and as previously in our former structure, I must, ultimately, rely on the knowledge and judgement of my technical staff to give me a clear football-based view and recommendation on our transfer targets.

I can assure you that everyone here, from the Board to our most junior staff member, shares the frustration and disappointment of the season so far, but I can also assure you that all of us in every area of the Club are doing what we can to help the players to produce the level of performance and the consistent good results our fans expect and all of us crave.

We have achieved too much over the last seven years - three successive qualifications for Europe, a League Cup win, Training Centre planning permission - and still more to announce - to allow this to be overtaken and thrown away overnight. We have suffered a set back and we have taken strong action.

I have received numerous e-mails and letters from supporters offering advice and suggestions on how the Club should be run and what we should and should not do. I do appreciate the time people take to write to me and when the e-mails or letters are constructive and not abusive, I can assure you that I read as many as I can. And I do take notice of your views.
Indeed, I have been heartened by the fact that the over-riding response from our supporters has been one of determination to get behind the team. Too often in difficult times supporters can forget that their support is needed even more than ever. The team will tell you how much of a difference it can make to them on the pitch. White Hart Lane needs to once again become the fortress it was, not so very long ago. With your tremendous support it can.

Finally, I know I am sometimes criticised for appearing too business-focused, too uncommunicative, or simply for not being emotional enough when it concerns our team. The majority of our fans know that it's simply not my way to seek a high profile. I do not crave publicity, neither do I believe it is necessary to do my job. I would prefer our team to make the headlines, for the right reasons. We now have a manager who is a great communicator to players, fans and the media alike and I shall also, personally, look to keep you all informed and your questions answered as we progress through the season.

Your support has never been more important - and we are grateful to so many of you for the messages of support and encouragement the Club has received during this difficult period. Now's the time for all of us to pull together and to get behind Harry and the team.

Yours, Daniel

[Satnin]

Having just read Mr Levy's letter to the fans, at last the club may have it's identity back. Keith Birkenshaw was right, there did used to be a football club over there. Now's the time to get it back. For so long managers have been 'fed' players by the sporting directors. We nearly got it right with Frankie but since then we seem to be trying to breed success with so called big time players. If what is believed then Harry will be responsible for choosing the players and asking Danny boy for the cash. This can only be good. ( Harry just confirmed this on Talk sport just now) Only reservation is that Harry doesn't pay for em with a brown envelope on a park bench in Enfield under the cover of night. Know what I mean Harry?

COYS:grin:

[ossibissa]

Now I have to admit, messing up is one thing, but bein this honest about it mite just be enuff to put me on the road to forgiving this lot for the grief I have to endure every day bein the only spurs fan in my office. that took some balls and must have choked to type and release

[sheringmann]

Now....lets sing our hearts out!!!

[antlesh]

Dont think he typed it I think he may have a sec that did it for him!! I wonder if she will get the sack to? :P

[ricardo_archibald]

Come on you spurs !!!!

[Rizza]

I first heard about all of this when i switched on talksport this morning so apologies if my reaction to all this is a bit delayed:

OH
MY
GOD!

[southlondonyiddo]

Doesn't he ramble on. At no point did he apologise and say he'd personally made any mistakes. Great politician who you know is lying as soon as he opens his mouth.

He should get on well with Harry, 2 peas in a pod.

[KingSpur]

Well done Daniel.
What other chairman would pen a letter like that. He shares our pain, hes a fan.

Now come on lads and lets get 3 points today

[dayid]

Quality letter...

I am telling you now boys - Harry will show you what a clueless & useless manager Ramos was. I am sooooooooo glad he has gone

Ramos was the problem and I have been saying it since the 4th league game, which is when you could see that he'd lost the dressing room.

I have no doubt that Harry will show us that we did buy some quality players in the summer and i have no doubt that he will take us to mid table...we might even win a cup!!

Bentley, Bent, Modric, Dawson, Jenas - we will see how good these lot really can be now (I am looking forward to seeing Jenas develop more than anyone and to see if he really can be the box to box, Stevie G type player we all see glimpses of)

Can't wait for Jermain Defoe to come back!!

COYS

[parj]

for all the Levy haters, £175million in 3 years....... it was not sugarrolled by some oil tycoon, but a chairman who has run the club the way a club should be run. we are not talking about the good ol' days when transfer fees were only a few million, its now over £10million..... decisions need to be made and he has made them and there have been plenty of mistakes and successes. if he didnt balance the books then we'd be doing a Leeds. if he didnt invest we'd be saying he's not worried about the club. he cant win, but compared to other chairmen who actually have to balance the books to buy players, he's one of the finest

[Freddie]

Alot of people have been getting on his back, but I seem to recall the majority of Spurs fans agreeing with almost every decision he's made. I've admired him for most of the things he did (apart from the manner in which Jol departed), and he always comes across as a good chairman, businessman and a football man. He's given plenty of funds to our managers/sporting directors, it's not his fault if we have no defensive midfielder! Fair play to him.
However, how is 'Arry going to operate with not one defensive midfielder when he played with 17 at Pompey? We're screwed!

[whatsappnin]

Doesn't he ramble on. At no point did he apologise and say he'd personally made any mistakes. Great politician who you know is lying as soon as he opens his mouth.

He should get on well with Harry, 2 peas in a pod.

oh please!

your depressed, see a doctor

[asher]

Fair play to Levy, he didn't needed to do this and it shows he does care and he does want to make us fans happy. You can't argue on how he runs the club, financial stability yet still backing all our recent mgrs in the transfer market. Well done Daniel.

[BringBack_leGin]

I am satisfied with this. It is honest and, while not blaming himself (anybody who understands anything about business knows that the man in charge just cannot do that) he does admit that mistakes have been made.

Levy has made a swift and determined decision and I hope his boldness reaps rewards. At the same time, I feel sorry for Ramos. I hope he gets a top job in Spain and has every success, he gave me my greatest moments as a Spurs fan since Ginola left and I shall never forget them. It is a crying shame the way things worked out with him, and ultimately he will be remembered as a failure, but whenever I look at my Cup final ticket stub pinned on my bedroom wall, I will think of him, just like whenever I remember the two fifth place finishes, I will remember Jol in tandem with it.

This has been a heartbreaking saga, but in Redknapp we have a manager who, whatever you think of him as a person, is a proven premier league manager who builds exciting teams with a good blend of youth an experience. He saps every last bit of talent our of his players, be it a young Joe Cole, an old Paulo Di Canio, or a written off David James and Sol C***bell. He is shrewd with his signings, he is a great motivator and he is passionate. I hope that we have not left this too late.

Now let's roar today at the lane!

[ikan]

We should have done this long time ago .... sacking Commoli and removing the position of DOF from the board. Waiting to see who will be the assistant manager. Won't be too worried about Harry's age .. I believe he still have at least 5 years in him. I hope he will be doing his own transfers during the January Transfer Market and lastly ... Harry give chances to youngster and he is willing to take a gamble in the youngs one ... something which our previous managers are reluctant to do. I hope we will be able to see more of O'Hara and Huddlestone. Time for Bent to be supplied .... the British way!

[supertedley]

Whatever you think of him, you've got to admire him.

COYS:clap:

[lis spur]

pride usually comes before a fall ,fortunately it came before a stumble ,having the balls too admit that you rely on other peoples judgement is a start .so a british coach at last and a pragmitist hopefully we win the right to play football first and entertain second.
coys

[Coyboy]

Interesting read. I am glad Ramos has gone and, while unfortunate because he has done excellent work, Comolli had to go. I just hope we carry on our strategy of signing good young talent. As long as Inglethorpe is there, I think and hope we will. All the summer bullshit with RK and DB which would have been almost impossible to manage successfully but when you look at our squad with two proven strikers (Bent and Pav) and then look at our performances and our league position. Ramos had to go, that was a no brainer.

As for Rednapp, I think it is the right decision in the circumstances. Sitting bottom of the table, we can no longer look to bring in up and coming coaches who can take us to the top four. We couldn't risk bringing in Deschamps or Blanc or any good European coach because Santini and Ramos are part of that group and failed.

We need motivation, confidence, grit, determination, clarity and good football. Rednapp brings these. If you want to make a team of the talented English players he has nutured, it is truly astounding; Ferdinand, Lampard, Cole, Defoe, Carrick and he has got the best out of players at the twilight of their careers like Campbell, James and difficult characters like Di Canio and Kanoute and techinically limited players like Benjani. It will be interesting to see now who works with Rednapp as it may highlight the future.

Sheringham?

[DOX]

Source: Official Site

And so back to looking ahead and to redress our current position.

Firstly, in Harry, we have secured the services of an excellent Manager of proven Premiership quality. Harry will be working with a squad of quality internationals. We must not forget that this team, without the benefit of three additional players at the time (Pavlyuchenko, Corluka, Campbell), gave a more than creditable performance against the current League leaders. I have spoken to the senior players in recent days and I know the players share our frustration and I know they will dig deep to produce the performances we know they are capable of - they have our full support - and support for the team is absolutely critical at this time.

We have all been subjected to much criticism - myself, the Board, coaching staff and players - having now made what I considered to be necessary, sweeping changes to our football management team, we must re-assert ourselves, regain our focus, and answer our critics in the best way possible - by winning games again.

Secondly, we must prepare ourselves to take advantage of the January transfer window. Harry's experience of the UK and international transfer market will be of critical importance and I shall be looking to Harry for clarity on our priorities. As Chairman, and as previously in our former structure, I must, ultimately, rely on the knowledge and judgement of my technical staff to give me a clear football-based view and recommendation on our transfer targets.

I can assure you that everyone here, from the Board to our most junior staff member, shares the frustration and disappointment of the season so far, but I can also assure you that all of us in every area of the Club are doing what we can to help the players to produce the level of performance and the consistent good results our fans expect and all of us crave.

We have achieved too much over the last seven years - three successive qualifications for Europe, a League Cup win, Training Centre planning permission - and still more to announce - to allow this to be overtaken and thrown away overnight. We have suffered a set back and we have taken strong action.

I have received numerous e-mails and letters from supporters offering advice and suggestions on how the Club should be run and what we should and should not do. I do appreciate the time people take to write to me and when the e-mails or letters are constructive and not abusive, I can assure you that I read as many as I can. And I do take notice of your views.
Indeed, I have been heartened by the fact that the over-riding response from our supporters has been one of determination to get behind the team. Too often in difficult times supporters can forget that their support is needed even more than ever. The team will tell you how much of a difference it can make to them on the pitch. White Hart Lane needs to once again become the fortress it was, not so very long ago. With your tremendous support it can.

Finally, I know I am sometimes criticised for appearing too business-focused, too uncommunicative, or simply for not being emotional enough when it concerns our team. The majority of our fans know that it's simply not my way to seek a high profile. I do not crave publicity, neither do I believe it is necessary to do my job. I would prefer our team to make the headlines, for the right reasons. We now have a manager who is a great communicator to players, fans and the media alike and I shall also, personally, look to keep you all informed and your questions answered as we progress through the season.

Your support has never been more important - and we are grateful to so many of you for the messages of support and encouragement the Club has received during this difficult period. Now's the time for all of us to pull together and to get behind Harry and the team.

Up yours, Daniel

Whatever you say, sire!

[sak11]

i think we are all happy that finally something has been done as things were spiralling out of control. we have in redknapp a real motivator, and as my best mate who is a spammer reminds me - almost always got west ham to finish above us while he was manager there despite the difference in spending power. he is english and has experience of the premier league and will provide the stability we need right now rather than another european coach with no english taking time to bed down etc. in th elong term i can already see levy thinking about geting in mourinho once he leaves inter but thats for discussion at another time! this is our team and we need to support them through thick and thin.

with regards to levy and his letter - this guy should run for US president. thats all i have to say about him.

come on harry, get us going and try and save our season... and please bring jamie with you as your no.2 (!!) :whistle:

[oshaun]

Arry isn't necessarily a better manager than Ramos but when you are in a slide you need a sharp jolt to revive you. This clear-out and appointment will wake everyone up. His motivation skills will be much needed as well, especially with some of our underperforming stars. Good move Levy, it was decisive and he gave Ramos a good go before doing this.

[StokeSpur]

Lets hope you have learned your lesson Levy and its not too late!!

Arry has got to work with the same players until he can bring in every ones old unwanted players... what a fuck up.

this line says it all about Levy for me... "The timing of the actual transfer of Dimitar was completely immaterial and unconnected to our bringing in a replacement for him"

Good job he did hold out for every penny from berba coz he'l be spending it on Arry's, Ramos's, Gus's and Comolli's compensation packages and contract deals.

Theres a bitter taste in my mouth this morning!

[wills]

hmm...

I think levy has apologised and given a rally call in 1 letter. there seems to be thinly disguised dig at our DoF. I commend his honesty, and I think he regrets sacking Martin Jol. I'm sure when Ramos joined Levy was clear in saying that he was Commoli's appointment and that if it didn't work then Commoli would carry the can. With all this in mind how could he mess up so much? Obviously he wasn't up to the job.

I'll be leaving for the game in a couple of hours and instead hiding my scarf/colours, i will be wearing them proud! COYS

[2bearis2do]

Thank God no more Commoli.
Thank God that DoF role is now obsolete.
Thank God no more dour Ramos
Thank God despite all his mistakes Levy had the balls to pull the plug.
As for Arry. Best man for the job at the moment.
COYS!

[Firekid]

Anyone else think he should of ended his letter with COYS instead of yours daniel.

[dontcallme]

I think it's great that DL has replied to our concerns in a full, mature way. When DL started we were consistently in the bottom half with the occasional relegation battle. We had over the hill players and a couple of quality players keeping us going but there was no long term plan and I remember me and my Spurs fan mates missing the days of Ginola and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel.

DL has worked tirelessly hard in changing all of this. First he bought in a fan favourite with a good record (Hoddle) and supported him without breaking the bank (frustrating but necessary) and realised that once again nothing was progressing and once again found ourselves in a relegation fight.

He researched and went over our problems with a fine tooth comb and changed our entire structure, at the beginning to great success. FA, Santini and Jol were appointed and by spending minimal money we bought talented young players and Naybet and Davids to give us leadership and steel. We made great strides forward and then Arnesen stitched us up.

As this new system had changed our fortunes DL decided to go ahead with this structure. Arsenal have consistently bought excellent players for very cheap and getting their chief scout seemed like a very wise decision. I remember many on this board being happy with the Comolli appointment.

Unfortunately Jol and Comolli didn't have the same vision as each other and after a 2nd successive 5th place finish instead of changing our buying policy to small but positive changes to the first team we bought Bent, Kaboul and Bale. In the space of 2 seasons we'd gone from a big club going nowhere to the hope of a new club hitting the top four. Progression that big in such a short period of time is hard to deal with and mistakes were bound to be made.

Jol went after a very poor start and it was decided that Comolli should be in charge of the new head coach appointment. We had built a good reputation for ourselves so appointing a top European coach who had just won two successive UEFA Cups and who Chelsea had considered as a replacement for the Special One seemed like a great idea. Many on here hated Jols treatment but were happy with Ramos' appointment. The only ones criticising Ramos' appointment are those that complain about everything.

Looking back at the decisions Levy has had to make I can;t really fault him for anything other than not having hindsight. He is the chairman I want in charge of my club and I've no doubt he will continue to make tough decisions, make mistakes as well as good decisions and we will prosper again.

[GetSpurredOn]

Source: Official Site

We have achieved too much over the last seven years - three successive qualifications for Europe, a League Cup win, Training Centre planning permission - and still more to announce - to allow this to be overtaken and thrown away overnight. We have suffered a set back and we have taken strong action.



????
This is the bit that interests me most.

[coatescombover]

This season was starting to look like a Shakespearean tragedy. Hopefully with 'Arry it'll be a bit more like Eastenders.

[InJolWeTrust]

We are a laughing stock once again. My non-Spurs supporting mates cannot believe it. How on earth is this progress? What a waste of a year.

If Levy has learnt one thing through the past couple of years, then hopefully it is that you must do everything you can to support the manager...give him complete power over the team, give him the players he wants, give the players what they are worth if they are critical to the team, don't sell those players just because you can get bundles of cash for them, don't strengthen your rivals unless you can truly help it. I hope more than anything that he has changed, but we'll have to wait and see.

One of the most tragic sights in football is seeing a manager chronically undermined by the structure he is working within. We've had over a year of it and got rid of two managers in that time. This has to stop.

Levy does write some pretty good letters, but the fact he needs to write them shows how screwed everything is. I wish I could believe everything he has written this time...only time will tell.

[Boony]

I am overjoyed with this outcome, and am pretty mystified by some of the negative comments about Arry. We have been in the top 5 two years on the trot "thats it", we are not a top 4 side, and not even a top 5 side, we've only done it twice, so to say that Arry is a step down is a beyond me. It all went wrong once we took the english bias out of the team and replaced it with a continental which doesnt work in the Prem. Arry has done wonders with his clubs, with ahrdly ANY money. Portmouth are in financial decline and had to sell to balance the books this year. No-one has ever seen Arry with money, so dont judge him until he`s tried.

I beleive Ramos overcomplicated matters ! It will be nice to have English football, roots and straight forward premiership football. Arry knows it better than anyone, I cant wait

FCOYS !!!!!!!!

[kelloggs]

????
This is the bit that interests me most.

Ground redevelopments

[mawspurs]

Now....lets sing our hearts out!!!

To the tune of the old Sham 69 song

Come on
come on
Hurry up Harry come on
We're going to stay up.

[gaganelov]

From this letter I understand that we should blame in order of guilt:
1. Berbatov
2.Keane
3. Man Utd
4. The Bad Weather
5. The International financial crisis
...
100. Levy

[mawspurs]

I think it's clear from reading this that the club monitor sites such as this one. Levy seems to have gone out of his way to answer some of the criticisms that have been aimed at him and his running of the club.

While sad it don't work out with Ramos I am very happy with Harry's appointment. He has the ability to turn things around, he is a motivator who can get the best out of the squad until we can fill in any gaps in January. I am surprised that some fans on here are criticising the appointment. Harry has always done well at the clubs he has been at, narrowly missed out on being made England manager and he now has the chance to manage at a big club for the first time in his career. He knows how to build a balanced team, something we have been missing for years even under BMJ and he has control of transfers to do that. He has the experience to buy well and build the squad we need to push on once the turnaround is completed. I can't believe I am having to defend him already and we haven't kicked a ball yet under his leadership.

[UncleBuck]

It's all well and good bringing a new manager in BUT he can only work with the tools he is given, in this case the current playing squad. I am really struggling to see what more Harry can get out of them and where the goals are going to come from, Mr Redknapp is not Paul Daniels!

Do not be surprised if we end up with Crouch and Defoe come January as he rates them two so highly!

Well, the majority got our wish in Commolli getting the chop, I wonder what he'll report back to Wenger:razz:

[billnick]

From this letter I understand that we should blame in order of guilt:
1. Berbatov
2.Keane
3. Man Utd
4. The Bad Weather
5. The International financial crisis
...
100. Levy


You really are getting tiresome

[gaganelov]

Do not be surprised if we end up with Crouch and Defoe come January as he rates them two so highly!



Not a bad idea. I like them both and JD is one of us. He didn;t want to leave.

[Rizza]

anyone think beckham on loan could be harry's first signing?

[gaganelov]

You really are getting tiresome

Let's lick Levy's ass then.

[The Original Yiddster]

anyone think beckham on loan could be harry's first signing?

no

[Coyboy]

For those worrying that Rednapp isn't right because he has only managed smaller teams and squeezed the best out of them, he coached five or six current England internationals. And isn't that a manager's job anyway to get the best out of his team at which Ramos failed. Look at Ramos' past teams, the nearest he got to a big team was Barcelona B. Jol was manager of very small Dutch clubs and the list goes on. What chance did we have of getting Lippi or Mourinho? Under the circumstances this is a very shrewd decision. No doubt Levy knew of Pompey's money problems. And it was probably the least gamble of all Levy's choices of coaches, the only other who had managed in this league was Hoddle with a decidedly average record at Chelsea and Soton. Santini, Jol and Ramos had no experience here and for Santini and Ramos it showed. That Jol played here was probably important.

I am so glad we now have a manager who can make sense in English. Watching Ramos' interview in Football Focus yesterday was embarrassing and farcical.

[adwanhussein]

can't fault Levy for trying to lift Spurs to the top four in the premiership and hence the Ramos revolution and the dismantling of the team. and can't fault Levy now for trying to avoid relegation ;a laughable thing in the terminology of most Spurs ,but a very painful and possible thing now.That only happen to other teams and not to the mighty Spurs.Have to admire the man for going all the way -at a time of global economic crunch -to make sure that Spurs will spare no effort to be a big club and attain success.

[Coyboy]

Let's lick Levy's ass then.

Mate just leave it. The more you post about Levy the more laughable it gets. He is not going anywhere soon and your posts won't change that. You have become a bit of a laughing stock on here when I am sure you have more to offer about our present predicament than 'Levy out'.

[Azrael]

Doesn't he ramble on. At no point did he apologise and say he'd personally made any mistakes. Great politician who you know is lying as soon as he opens his mouth.

He should get on well with Harry, 2 peas in a pod.
I'm not so sure about that.


Quite simply, we failed because we were not as decisive or as successful in identifying or replacing the two strikers as early as we should have been. Perhaps these insights will help once and for all to de-bunk the myths that have been perpetuated around these transfers.


This to me seems like a clear admission of what we've all been saying since the window closed....and that's that the club failed miserably to get in Keane/Berbatov replacements. Levy clearly isn't one to admit his mistakes so to get this much out of him is quite a lot in my view.

[gaganelov]

Coyboy, you are wrong. The pressure gave some results. I know that Lewis is not going to kick him out now(he has bigger problems), but we should cont. to pressure Levy. Obviously he gets reports about fen's mood. May be the nexy step should be to pressure the board and the stackholders to lower Levy's bonuses. We should't give Levy a free ride.
BTW...I am happy with Harry.
COYS

[Stono]

I would just like to take the time to say hello to Daniel Levy, as he clearly reads SC on a regular basis (or pays someone to read it for him). :)

[S17PUR]

Coyboy, you are wrong. The pressure gave some results. I know that Lewis is not going to kick him out now(he has bigger problems), but we should cont. to pressure Levy. Obviously he gets reports about fen's mood. May be the nexy step should be to pressure the board and the stackholders to lower Levy's bonuses. We should't give Levy a free ride.
BTW...I am happy with Harry.
COYS

When you say 'we' its as if you are talking on behalf of all Spurs fans. Please don't.

[gaganelov]

When you say 'we' its as if you are talking on behalf of all Spurs fans. Please don't.
I talk as a fan who doesn't like the two pointer:(can i say that in English?)
Of course, there are "fans" who mayby like it and are ready to lick Levy's ass for bringing us there. Just a year and a few months ago I was so happy. We were not the greatest team in the world, but we were good, exiting and we needed to build on. Levy destroyed all.
Now...hope Harry will bring stability, but Levy shouldn't meddle again. And we, the real fans should not allow him to destroy us further.

[trevo]

I wonder what sort of open armed reception Sol will get if he brings him back?:rofl::rofl:

[bigspurs]

If we go on to win a third of our remaining games and draw another third, we will probably stay up! Fair?

[bigspurs]

I talk as a fan who doesn't like the two pointer:(can i say that in English?)
Of course, there are "fans" who mayby like it and are ready to lick Levy's ass for bringing us there. Just a year and a few months ago I was so happy. We were not the greatest team in the world, but we were good, exiting and we needed to build on. Levy destroyed all.
Now...hope Harry will bring stability, but Levy shouldn't meddle again. And we, the real fans should not allow him to destroy us further.

Give it a rest pal. :duh:

[spursinhk]

Is he taking Defoe, Sean Davis and Parmaort back?

[PartyBoy]

The last time Harry left Portsmoutn he got his team relegated and when he returned, despite keeping them up and winning the cup, he has not been able to create any sort of force, lok at his European record for example. So I am now asking you all to get behind me in support of action to remove Redknapp.

HARRY OUT.

[kernowspur]

A good letter but I can't help feeling it is also Levy offering a few excuses. He must take responibility for the way the club, not the team, has been managed over the 7 years he has been Chairman. How many managers? How many players bought and sold? No stability, no consistency. As I wrote last night, if as Levy says the paramount aim is success on the pitch, in any other business his position would be untenable. Just because he is a fan he should not be fireproof.

[Paxtonite]

This is a clever move by the chairman and in one fell swoop he has difused the whole situation and avoided the hard time he was going to get today.

I appreciate his honesty and being one of those people that emailed him recently (not abusively i should add) he seems at least to have addressed all the areas that we have as a group been discussing on these forums.

OK he has acknowledged the errors, but the proof of the pudding is whether we have actually learned anything at all as a club. Time will tell. Levy would do well to accept too that he is the man in charge and whatever the reasons for these mistakes, the buck ought to stop with him.

For now i am willing to give both him and Redknapp time off the back of that letter. He didn't have to tell us all of that but he did and i respect that. So let us see what happens. But we have to be clear, there is no further room for screwing up.

[jolsnogross]

The way a letter from Levy gives most on here a warm fuzzy feeling inside, as though he was speaking into their souls, is embarrassing beyond belief. This letter could be boiled down, in an 'Arry-esque fashion, to a couple of lines - the DoF system was crap, especially since I hired someone whose CV was barely competitive for the tea lady role, and it took me a while to realize that only good, knowledgable, football people can bring continuity and success.

Quoting some clown earlier:
Levy has done nothing wrong, it's the people he hired who let him down and created this mess

Levy's number one job is to identify and hire the right people ffs, so this sort of mess we've been witnessing is very much something he has done wrong.

Most of this letter is waffle, and most disappointing of all is the harping on again about Keane and Berbatov.


Quoting Levy not too long ago:
I am happy for anyone to judge this club by who we sell and who we don't


He was right back then and there was a lack of leadership regarding the retention of our strike force, and not only does it reflect badly that we sold them, it's a terrible indictment of Levy that we sold them to Liverpool and Man U.

And the only success in the 7 years that Levy likes to rabbit on about is down to Jol. The rest has been plodding along from one shambles to another.

Still, I'm glad Comolli is gone, I'm glad Ramos is gone, and we can draw a line under things and move on. Harry wouldn't be my 1st choice, but in this 1st half against Bolton, we've had more bright moments going forward than in the rest of the season so far. We're still as shaky at the back as ever. Ramos was brutal. Good luck Harry.

[theoldguy]

Like so many teams our ownership is not made up of football knowledgeable people or even of a deeply interested local owner. That being said I believe that Daniel Levy has continually shown a dedication to Spurs needs as he has seen them. Naturally he has made mistakes but has reacted by dismissing the weak links he has perceived including Martin Jol despite his popularity with many Spurs fans. With this latest radical surgery I believe he has reacted early enough to retain our position in the Premiership which may have been suspect had those dismissed remained in charge. I commend you Mr. Levy and I believe Harry Redknapp is the man to move us forward particularly since he will have the dominant say in whom we sign (ultimate "say" staying with the guy who has the cheque book). I had believed that our players are good enough to move us into the top half of the table but that belief is strengthened by appointment of the motivator we need. COYS!

[chasndave]

I was woken up at 1.30am this morning by a pissed mate ....we've seacked everyone and harry redknap is mgr.......what who when where.

I slept on it ...too much to take in but I woke up smiling ...there no better man motivated in the country if he can't do it then no one can.
it's funny but we've gone back wards to go forwards...we maybe got above our station ...2 top 5 finishes but we tried to change it too soon..

Harry is the perferct man for the job

I love spurs ..lets consolidate this season and go for it next season

COYS

MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY!!!!

[saintlyspur]

they blame comolli for the jol/ramos saga but as i remember it kemsley had a big say in it

[Makkaveli101]

At the end of the day, and I hope people read my post. We've got a chairman that so blatantly obviously has people that reads these sites and goes back to him with feedback.

Whether topics have been "Commoli out" or "Levy only cares about money" etc.

At least he addresses us. A lot of chairman wouldn't bother. He fucked up with Jol, but to admit that could be business suicide if 'Arry doesn't work out.

I do think think we got a good bloke in charge, he's quids in, he could walk away from this club a multi-multi millionaire. He obviously loves the club.

Why else take the shit and carry on?!

We won today, and its time for us all to get together and blast the roof off of WHL! Let's show the Premiership what we're about!!!

Respect to Levy for having the balls to do this. I do respect it. He's basically addressed all our concerns since September. Fair play to him.

Davidsmatzdorf.....you been M.I.A for the last few weeks...You've always got a sensible head on you....I'd love to hear your opinions on hows things have panned out???!!!

[miles_64]

anyone think beckham on loan could be harry's first signing?

No - Arry already compared Bentley to Beckham. Don't think we need two of them...

[sxboy]

Fair play to Levy, he didn't needed to do this and it shows he does care and he does want to make us fans happy. You can't argue on how he runs the club, financial stability yet still backing all our recent mgrs in the transfer market. Well done Daniel.

I am quite happy with what Levy has to say and the changes he has made.

However he / the club DID need to release a letter like this. It is reassuring.

Although there is a lot of spin involved great PR work.

[AndyLov]

they blame comolli for the jol/ramos saga but as i remember it kemsley had a big say in it

It was Kelmsey who met Ramos in Saville and behind the talk in Christmas 2006 which started to undermine him. It's to Levy's credit he got rid of him long before Jol got sacked. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
I might be naive but I don't think Levy would have sacked Jol if results had recovered.

[Seanson]

Very impressed with Levy. Seriously questioned whether he had a clue, but the man has shown the balls of steel needed to sort out the problem. He has effectively admitted that mistakes were made and that the DOF system has done more damage than good over the last few years. The timing has been brilliant. Had he waited another two weeks we would have been as good as relegated, and out of one or two cups. Harry has proven that he is a winner. He's a bit of a rogue trader but he knows his football. We were fools to lose Keane but getting Defoe back will at least fill Keane's goal scoring boots if not his leadership and morale boosting boots. I wouldn't underestimate the force of a rebound from all the shite results and look to see a huge effort to win but I would happily settle for a draw at the emirates.

Well done Levy. The Force is with us.

[Seanson]

It was Kelmsey who met Ramos in Saville and behind the talk in Christmas 2006 which started to undermine him. It's to Levy's credit he got rid of him long before Jol got sacked. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
I might be naive but I don't think Levy would have sacked Jol if results had recovered. You were obviously spared the sight of Kemsley laughing into the ear of Levy with Spurs losing to Getafe and the crowd singing in support of Martin Jol having found out that Jol was about to be fired. Thankfully Levy has gotten rid of the cancerous influence of Kemsley and Comolli. Back to football. Come on you Spurs. And oh yeah, thanks Ramos for the League Cup, even if it wasn't your team. :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

[SouthLondonSpur]

Thanks Levy, sounds like about as humbling as we're going to get.

[simonwong]

Daniel Levy....

You are truly a Spursman, "...to dare is to do..." spirit is in your blood. Making so many grave and brave decisions concerning our beloved THFC.

Shouts of "Audere-est-facere" from us both from Kuala Lumpur to you.

Cheers,
Simon and Alvin.

[striebs]

I agree with replacing Ramos with Redknapp but there are a few issues which need to be addressed .

1) Levy = Gordon Brown . Trying to revive his popularity by claiming applause for sorting out a cock up which was in a large part of his own making .

2) Squad Quality . The letter is on one hand alluding to Commoli's incompetence and on the other hyping our squad .... I wish Levy would make up his mind .

Levy's letter overhypes the current squad which is unhelpful and a perpetuation of the "top 4 squad" myth which got us into this mess .

3) Why did it take Levy so long to realise that Comolli was just another management consultant bullshitter who couldn't walk the walk ?

[Spanish-Spur]

Something had to happen. I have been a spurs fan all my life and this season has been too much to take. The side changing every game, players playing out of position, priority given to uefa cup. Players not knowing what they were supposed to be doing.
I was very very happy when we appointed Ramos, but is has not happened. He did not seem to be able to get his message across to the players.
In Harry we now have a manager who knows how to get his message across and bring a real team spirit to the club.
I cant wait for the game against the gooners, and it was only 48 hours ago I really couldnt be bothered about watching us, now there is a bouyant feeling and a positive approach, even Ledley has played 2 games in a row !!

So Mr Levy, yes something had to happen, it may cost a lot, but its nothing compared to be relegated or losing so many fans. Congratulations, we have our spurs back, and thank-you for acting positivley and quickly.

COYS !!! the only way is up.