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All Change

Shirtfront

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2005
1,247
406
I blame myself. I came on here 4 hours before my "24 hour" rule expired, so I should have expected to see the "everyone out" brigade in full flight.

Here's a thought: we sold our best player for £18m in the summer (ironically, to the team that just beat us 4 nil at home). Perhaps our midfield is not as well equipped as last season?

Here's another one: Until this week we have been playing in four competitions (including two midweek matches with extra time and a further replayed match), compared to one last season. Perhaps our team is a bit jaded compared to last season?

And another: Our captain is out with a long term injury again. Do you remember what our form was like last season when he got injured? Earlier this season?

And a final one: maybe we need to improve a bit more gradually and this tough long season, with significant changes in personell, is proving that we are not quite ready yet? Maybe with some patience the same people in charge last season, when we did so well, will take us to a level where we can take on a season like this more succesfully?

And one question: which of the top four clubs got there by "freshening things up" when things went badly?
 

Rob

The Boss
Admin
Jun 8, 2003
28,014
65,116
Another article you've written recently Rob, that i'm not sure about! "From top down there is something wrong with the club" ? I'm sorry, but thats just pure rubbish. Yes, we want to know where we are going with the ground situation and yes, the ticket office could be in a better state but since Levy had taken over the club are financially in a very sound state, he has brought in a young Manager who was courted by United and backed him to the hilt in the transfer market, He has laid plans for a new state of the art training facility which unfortuantely is now on hold and just, if not more imprortantly, is a Spurs fan through and through who wants the Club to be back up where it belongs again. Making silly comments like, the club from top down there is something wrong is just folly ! On the pitch we are going through a bad spell, thats very clear but i dont think a bad run of results means we overhall the whole club, do you ?

Fair enough. This is all just about opinions and I was just putting some points out there for debate. I would be very glad to be wrong and see us go on to finish 5th and win the UEFA cup ;-)

However, there are serious issues with the club which are ignored or still haven't been addressed and which do suggest that the club is being run poorly.

Ticket Office/Ticket Pricing/Autopay

Failed planning applications for training ground at a huge expense.

Failure to address the stadium issues.

Poor quality/availability of club merchandise, especially the replica shirts.

You say how Jol has been "backed to the hilt" but the fact is that Comolli and Levy do our buying. I may just be listening to too many rumours but Jol is reported to not be happy at all with the players at his disposal and has no say at all on their replacements.

Maybe if we weren't so bad on the pitch we wouldn't be talking so much about the stuff off the pitch but it has drawn more attention to it.
 

spursbhoy67

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2006
1,316
1,475
A couple of quick comments.

Hughton is a huge asset to our coaching staff and if he were to be kicked out or leave then I guarantee he would walk into a new job tomorrow. His qualifications alone would assure him of that.

The deal we have with Puma is a unique one in football right now. The reason the strip is not on general sale is that Spurs did the contract that way. The reason being that we generate more income from internet and club sales. That money goes right back into the club and does not line the pockets off JJB or Puma. We cut out the middle man for the better of Tottenham Hotspur.

I think Jol needs time but he also needs to show us that he has a cutting edge. I think some players are comfortable at the moment and we need to see an extreme reaction from him a la Fergie, or dare I say it Wenger.
 

Rob

The Boss
Admin
Jun 8, 2003
28,014
65,116
The deal we have with Puma is a unique one in football right now. The reason the strip is not on general sale is that Spurs did the contract that way.

It was my understanding that WE had no new stock available to sell as no more was being produced. Along with the shocking quality of the kit, peeling badges, etc that suggests it's a bit of a mess.
 

JoeT

Well-Known Member
Jun 7, 2005
3,813
935
Agree with all your four points 'shirtfront'.We are missing Carrick (he was our 'general' out there), therefore our midfield looks lost at times; playing in all four competitions has left us jaded and maybe tired (our crazy up and down halves of football suggest we sometimes suffer from fatigue ); Ledley's injury is a HUGE loss for us (the biggest part of our current problems i.m.o.); and finally yes, we must have patience and stay the course.
Our young guys need us behind them NOW, more than at any time in the past two years!
 

ridouche

Member
Jan 13, 2006
177
0
"What does he write on that pad every game??" poems about how much he loves spurs and his wife.
 

ridouche

Member
Jan 13, 2006
177
0
Rob, Levy wanted to personaly write to you but you know him, he is too busy tripling his wages.


Interim report 2004
"
In October last year we reported a total player spend of £37.5m since 1 July 2003. This has now increased to £46.5m for the period from 1 July 2003 to date, with £10m being receivable from player sales in the same period. This additional commitment has been possible because of the stable financial position of the Club and has enabled a significant investment in young talent as we strive for continuity and to continually improve the Club at all levels now and for the future."

Interim report 2005
"The season began well with regard to league performance. We ended the calendar year in fourth position in the FA Premier League, having never dropped out of the top half of the table and having only lost three games in 20 Premier League outings. This is a positive reflection on the hard work and enthusiasm of the whole team at the Club. Having been through a period of upheaval across all areas of the Club over the past couple of years, we are looking to consolidate the team’s position and ensure we retain the appropriate mix of talent to further the team’s progress and to encourage players to come through the system and push for first team places. In an effort to achieve greater consistency, the number of changes made to the squad during the recent January transfer window was limited."

Anual report 2006
"The Club’s re-entry to European competition marks a milestone that we have all been working towards
for the last five years. We have set about determinedly​

investing in the playing squad and in developing
a comprehensive scouting network. We have also
substantially restructured our coaching resources.
This continual process of improvement is designed
to achieve our objective of finding and developing
the best future talent for the Club. Whilst these many
changes have inevitably led to disruption across a
number of areas of the footballing side of the business,
I believe that we are now in a solid position to consolidate
and build for the future."

As for my opinion, :shake: , to all the people that say let's change again, becuase foundation is the key to a solide building, stability will allow growth then changing management is a simple task.​
 

ridouche

Member
Jan 13, 2006
177
0
I forgot to add a message to anyone out there who says we have not "invested significantly". Stop arguing in the future for the sake of it and make intelligent comment please!!

Annual report 2006

"The 2005/06 season resulted in the Club achieving the key
milestone of preliminary qualification for the UEFA Cup
competition and finishing fifth in the FA Premier League.
We have invested significantly in the team, the Clubs
infrastructure and into our community projects."
 

MidnightCaller

Life Long Spurs Supporter
Oct 22, 2006
378
6
Spurs youngsters historically have never been good enough to make the step up to the first team and have often been sold to the Norwich's of this world (no disrespect). I can't see who in the reserves is ready to come through but of course we have bought youngsters like Defendi and Taarbrat so maybe we will see them soon. I'm not convinced this is the answer though, much like getting rid of Jol isn't the answer.

Here's a thought though. What has been the one constant at the club since the Gross days? Answer Chris Hughton. Now i know he is a WHL legend and i have nothing against the guy. I quite like the fact that we have a true spur on our coaching staff. But there may be something in it. What does he write on that pad every game??

Hold on a minute, this this the same reserves who won the premiership reserve league last season under Clive Allen, and guess what not doing too bad this season as well, beating the likes of Arsenal last Monday 3-0, and only lost one match in 18 months.
 

ravo

SC Supporter
Jun 4, 2004
4,787
2,885
I blame myself. I came on here 4 hours before my "24 hour" rule expired, so I should have expected to see the "everyone out" brigade in full flight.
Here's a thought: we sold our best player for £18m in the summer (ironically, to the team that just beat us 4 nil at home). Perhaps our midfield is not as well equipped as last season?

Here's another one: Until this week we have been playing in four competitions (including two midweek matches with extra time and a further replayed match), compared to one last season. Perhaps our team is a bit jaded compared to last season?

And another: Our captain is out with a long term injury again. Do you remember what our form was like last season when he got injured? Earlier this season?

And a final one: maybe we need to improve a bit more gradually and this tough long season, with significant changes in personell, is proving that we are not quite ready yet? Maybe with some patience the same people in charge last season, when we did so well, will take us to a level where we can take on a season like this more succesfully?

And one question: which of the top four clubs got there by "freshening things up" when things went badly?


Superb mate. Being in Australia, I get to read these in the morning at work, many hours after they are posted - hence have my own enforced ruling.

Totally agree with all your points. :clap:

In terms of Zokora, BAE and other players settling in to the Prem, just look at the likes of Drogba, Essien, Vidic and Evra, but to name a few. They all had tough first seasons. Look at them now.

Drogba is banging them in for fun. Vidic didn't have a great season last year (remember that howler against us?), but he has come good. IMO he had a blinder against us on Sunday (getting himself a goal in the process). The same can be said for many others.

Also, Alex Furgonson took years (some are saying 20) to really get his squad to click. Jol has been given two (only one off-season).

There is obviously a big hole from where Carrick left us last year. He was a superb player for us, and we miss him, there is no doubting that. However, he wanted to go and we got 18m for him. Not bad really. However, we do need a replacement for him. Thudd isn't quite there yet.

We also have one of the youngest (if not the youngest) squads in the Prem. Without a skipper on the park, it can be difficult for the younger lads without the big game experience.

We can get there. A couple of good buys in the summer (central midfield, central defence, left wing) and we can hopefully solidify the squad. One issue we will face is keeping the current team together. That is where good management and team morale come in to play.

COYS
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
Failed planning applications for training ground at a huge expense.

I'll only pick up this one point, because it's the one I know something about. That kind of thing happens to every developer and isn't a valid criticism of the club. They and their consultants did what they had to do, indeed all they could do, which was to get the council's officers to recommend approval. The councillors threw it out, for purely political, NIMBY-related reasons.

One can never be sure with a planning appeal, but a considerable majority of appeals against planning refusals are successful, in cases where councillors have overturned officers' recommendations for approval.

Even if the appeal is refused, it will probably be on limited grounds, which in turn will enable the club to make a revised application that addresses the Planning Inspector's grounds for refusal and is thus virtually impossible for the council to reject.

This is the (completely bonkers) way that development is done in this country. Everywhere. And at a vast waste of public and private money and at the cost of years of avoidable delay.
 

db1

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2004
1,119
697
It was my understanding that WE had no new stock available to sell as no more was being produced. Along with the shocking quality of the kit, peeling badges, etc that suggests it's a bit of a mess.

Exactly. The idea spurs get more money by only selling in house is ludicrous. what about the thousands of sales missed from supporters who can't afford the trip to WHL too often but want the shirt?? Plus the fact the online store only holds quantity 2 of the small size??
 
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