Ex-Manager watch: Antonio Conte

[chrisd2k]

Sell on Value of:

Ndombele
Lo Celso
Winks
Rodon

Total: √FuckAll


Better strategy: Buy to win, not sell.

Also - note to Board - if you stop changing managers every 8 months, then you don't have to keep paying multiple managers simultaneously, and you don't have to keep swapping out players to fit new managers.

Shouldnt be swapping players regardless now we have a DOF. Thats the whole point and is used on the continent, who have very high manager turnovers. Those players above were bought before we re-introduced this system so shouldnt be used as a noose around the current regimes neck.

Not that I want the manager to change but it shouldnt matter regardless. Remember Conte has a family and may actually have other non football reasons to not extend.

 

[jimbo]

He may not be the only one who could do it for us. But show me a similar example of a club who have managed to go from Intertoto hopefuls to expected top 4 finishers, while creating among the best training ground and stadium facilities in the world, and not bankrupting the club.

We've had this conversation millions of times, and I'm sure a few thousand more before Levy is replaced, but I'm of the opinion that 'better the devil you know/the grass isn't always greener'.

If there were many examples of chairman/owners in the Prem who had had a similar track record, then fine, it would seem easy to replace him and ENIC with someone that would satisfy us. But I don't see that outside of the oligarchs. So I wouldn't be surprised if when we DO get a new owner, the ENIC out brigade will be just as unhappy.

I can't give you an example of a club exactly like Spurs who have done exactly what Spurs have done, obviously - each club is unique. I do think there are good examples of well-run clubs across Europe though, and some in the Premier League. I think the approach FSG took to Liverpool was better than the ENIC approach, and I don't think Liverpool will be going bankrupt any time soon. It also seems that Arsenal have finally hit upon an owner who has the will to take them back to the top table. It remains to be seen what Boelhy will do with Chelsea, but I suspect it will work out well for them as everything always does. If only our world-beating infrastructure translated to a world-beating team then the dissent towards Levy's 20+ year stewardship would be less. As a wise man once said: "you have an amazing house, but you need to put in the furniture." I do think that no other chairman in world football commands as much fandom from some as Levy, and I do find that a little bit odd if I'm honest - it's almost impossible to criticise him in the eyes of some, and he's most certainly not perfect because nobody is.

I think, as @Timberwolf alludes to in his post, that we have to separate the business Levy from the football Levy. Business Levy has done good work - and that's where his expertise lie, though I don't think it's unreasonable to question the cost-benefit of elements of the stadium build, such as the elaborate pitch set-up and NFL tunnel. Only time will tell if these are good business decisions with a strong ROI or something of a white elephant.

There is also a big difference between wanting Levy to stop having any involvement in the football side and wanting ENIC out. It seems to me that Vivienne Lewis might offer an opportunity for success under ENIC. She's very much an unknown quantity in terms of what her aims, style and approach might be. But while you subscribe to a 'better the devil you know/the grass isn't always greener' philosophy I prefer 'to dare is to do/risk it for a biscuit'.

 

[Wig]

Levy won't spend until Conte signs; Conte won't sign until he sees what Levy is willing to spend. Impasse.

Isn't this the exact same conversation we were having before the summer transfer window? We made a lot of signings in the summer yet Conte didn't sign a renewal after, and here we are again saying how crucial it is for Levy to spend again in the next window.

I'm not saying I mind by the way - I'm happy that Levy is bent over the barrel having to back Conte every window!

 

[Timberwolf]

So the DoF, who’s job it is to build a network of agents, scouts and connections gets “lucky” when a good deal is struck due to a previous connection built?

Doesn’t much sound like “luck”, instead I’d argue it sounds like a strong network.

“Luck” is rolling a double 6.

The biggest deal of that entire window was Juve signing Vlahovic. Not Madrid, not Bayern, not Inter, not City....but Juve. The one club we happened to have amazing connections with. Do you think we planned that when we brought in their former DOF?

It was pure chance that Juve of all the big spending clubs happened to need tons of cash to finance a massive 90m deal precisely when we needed players. The second most expensive January transfer of all time, I believe.

Like sure, bringing in a DOF with contacts isn't lucky - that's smart planning. But the series of events that window which led to us signing those 2 certainly had a big element of luck to it. We rolled at least one 6 there.

 

[Tucker]

I love how Trix made a post about there being positive noises and to keep our fingers crossed but everyone’s still doom posting as if Conte already has his belongings in a cardboard box ready to fuck off.

 

[easley91]

I love how Trix made a post about there being positive noises and to keep our fingers crossed but everyone’s still doom posting as if Conte already has his belongings in a cardboard box ready to fuck off.

Spurs "fans" feed off the negativity. They don't care about anything even remotely positive.

 

[Wick3d]

Spurs "fans" feed off the negativity. They don't care about anything even remotely positive.

I think you've described modern society in general. Just look at the 24/7 news cycle.

 

[easley91]

I think you've described modern society in general. Just look at the 24/7 news cycle.

Well yes, it is current society definitely. But see how many of our fans jumped on the negative ITK and news (on social media as well as here), while seemingly nobody cares when things may have taken a positive turn re Trix.

The modern day Tottenham "fan" has a negative mentality and we as a fanbase need to change along with the club. ANYTHING slightly negative is jumped on and is worst case scenario immediately causing mass hysteria and panic.

 

[jurgen11]

I love how Trix made a post about there being positive noises and to keep our fingers crossed but everyone’s still doom posting as if Conte already has his belongings in a cardboard box ready to fuck off.

Bad news sells

 

[For the love of Spurs]

Well yes, it is current society definitely. But see how many of our fans jumped on the negative ITK and news (on social media as well as here), while seemingly nobody cares when things may have taken a positive turn re Trix.

The modern day Tottenham "fan" has a negative mentality and we as a fanbase need to change along with the club. ANYTHING slightly negative is jumped on and is worst case scenario immediately causing mass hysteria and panic.

That’s because we are a cursed club. Whether it be a transfer falling through or falling short in a title race or Cup final, the constant falling short creates the fanbase. Take Liverpool, their fans think if a sh*t is in Anfield it’s a work of art, that no matter how bad they are they will come through and win.

Tottenham and Liverpool fans are opposite of one another and it’s breed from the history, particularly recent history, Chelsea fans as well like Liverpool tend to think they will come through, we assume the worst because the worst tends to happen.

Want to change the mentality, win a league title and do it with balls. The Tottenham fanbase reflects the club. The club needs to change and the fans will eventually follow.

 

[kendoddsdadsdogsdead]

“Big signings” - this sums up the problem perfectly. We don’t need “big signings”. We need the “right signings”.

Bigger isn’t always better. A far more diligent scouting/recruitment process would yield a better turn over of player when being compared to “transfer fee”.

Sounds nice and it’s very easy to say but the reality is transfer fee/wages and the amount has been shown to have a direct correlation with success, especially in the premier league. To think were going to buck that trend is fanciful. I can understand the thinking as it’s more comforting for us knowing ENIC haven’t and aren’t going that way. Doesn’t mean it’s true.

Big singings don’t have to mean transfer fee. It could mean someone coming towards the back end of their contract and offering big wages with a modest fee, just like the right signing could mean wracking down a £100m in a transfer fee, they’re both just terms you can use. The fact is we have to up our spending to truly compete, it doesn’t mean you have to do it badly though and if your recruitments good it’s good. If you get it right on big value signings that’s what generally makes the difference in the crucial moments.

Big signings or if you like big spending doesn’t guarantee success but only signing for value gets you were we are. Competing near the top without threatening to get over the line consistently

 

[Dakes]

Buying to sell is a feeder club mentality. Everything outside of our trophy cabinet says we're no longer such a club to hope to land gems and profit from them. The time has come for the next step. A club as ours with everything we have can only grow substantially by starting to fill the trophy cabinet. That's how clubs become massive. We're big, but we're not massive.

Time to take that leap. Conte is 100% the type of manager to take us there.

(No, West Ham aren't massive)

 

[easley91]

That’s because we are a cursed club. Whether it be a transfer falling through or falling short in a title race or Cup final, the constant falling short creates the fanbase. Take Liverpool, their fans think if a sh*t is in Anfield it’s a work of art, that no matter how bad they are they will come through and win.

Tottenham and Liverpool fans are opposite of one another and it’s breed from the history, particularly recent history, Chelsea fans as well like Liverpool tend to think they will come through, we assume the worst because the worst tends to happen.

Want to change the mentality, win a league title and do it with balls. The Tottenham fanbase reflects the club. The club needs to change and the fans will eventually follow.

Maybe we should stop booing at half-time then and actually support the players when we're not even doing that badly all things considered? We're in a much better position now than we were last season. Any slight hint of negativity and some of you go nuts (and it's not even officially from the club either so things may turn out better than you initially think).

Anyways this is the Conte thread and that's another topic for discussion entirely,

 

[allatsea]

Buying to sell is a feeder club mentality. Everything outside of our trophy cabinet says we're no longer such a club to hope to land gems and profit from them. The time has come for the next step. A club as ours with everything we have can only grow substantially by starting to fill the trophy cabinet. That's how clubs become massive. We're big, but we're not massive.

Time to take that leap. Conte is 100% the type of manager to take us there.

(No, West Ham aren't massive)

Feeder club mentality must include Chelsea then. Because that is how they operate to stay within FFP.

 

[Timberwolf]

Buying to sell is a feeder club mentality. Everything outside of our trophy cabinet says we're no longer such a club to hope to land gems and profit from them. The time has come for the next step. A club as ours with everything we have can only grow substantially by starting to fill the trophy cabinet. That's how clubs become massive. We're big, but we're not massive.

Time to take that leap. Conte is 100% the type of manager to take us there.

(No, West Ham aren't massive)

The tricky thing is the timing of it all. And this ties in to my biggest criticism of Levy: his complete inability to recognise opportunity cost on the pitch.

You're right - we've now finally taken a step up as a club and the stadium has elevated us to somewhere within the bracket of "Super Club" in every way except trophies. For shame, we were part of the infamous Super League, we are one of the 10 richest clubs in the world, we pay mega wages to world class managers and we've recently played in a Champions League final. We're nowhere near Madrid, United, Barca or Bayern, but we're on the rung below that and are in the same general conversation.

The problem is, we've achieved this status at precisely the same time as multiple other clubs...and most of them are in our very league. City have bought the Prem, Newcastle are in the process of buying the Prem, Liverpool won the lottery with the Coutinho sale and brought in a world class manager, Arsenal and Chelsea have American owners throwing money at them every single window and United are finally resurgent after years of being shit.

In terms of growth off the pitch, that's fine - we've just done our thing and it's worked great. But on the pitch, timing is EVERYTHING.

Under both Redknapp and Poch we had a number of world class players and excellent squads that needed investment to give them a genuine shot at glory. Those were the crucial windows to push on and really go for it as the league was weaker and we were strong. Our motto is "To Dare is to Do" and in those vital moments we did the square root of fuck all - quite literally under Poch over 2 nothing windows, and practically the same when we brought in Nelsen and Saha on loan when we were in a title race under Redknapp. Obviously the stadium played a big part in that and we had to tighten our belts somewhat, but I refuse to believe that Levy couldn't have invested more in those periods, or taken a calculated risk that wouldn't have damaged the club long term.

Now the league is more stacked than it's ever been and we have no way of even guaranteeing CL football sustainably. It's going to be very very tough to win much even if we invest heavily and have top managers, simply due to the level of competition.

 

[For the love of Spurs]

Maybe we should stop booing at half-time then and actually support the players when we're not even doing that badly all things considered? We're in a much better position now than we were last season. Any slight hint of negativity and some of you go nuts (and it's not even officially from the club either so things may turn out better than you initially think).

Anyways this is the Conte thread and that's another topic for discussion entirely,

Booing players and expecting the worst are quite different things, booing is counter-productive and not something that is going to help the team. And your right we can leave this here as it’s the Conte thread.

 

[dudu]

I love how Trix made a post about there being positive noises and to keep our fingers crossed but everyone’s still doom posting as if Conte already has his belongings in a cardboard box ready to fuck off.

People are addicted to the drama and love a villian to hate and say mean things about.

Cue a weird rating from @[email protected]

 

[-Afri-Coy-]

trix, can you just go and slap him on his bald head until he sees sense? thanks from all at SC.

I doubt he would stop at just a head slap tbf

 

[Gilzeanking]

Maybe we should stop booing at half-time then and actually support the players when we're not even doing that badly all things considered? We're in a much better position now than we were last season. Any slight hint of negativity and some of you go nuts (and it's not even officially from the club either so things may turn out better than you initially think).

I think we should be careful putting too much into Xmas league positions. The season before last, we were top.

 

[RJR1949]

I wonder if Levy is not trying to manufacture a crisis that leads to Joe/Vivienne Lewis buying him out.

Levy’s stake in Spurs is worth at least £500m, perhaps more. This must represent a very high proportion of his net worth.

Levy is 60 and must be thinking about how he can realise the value he has created in Spurs in order to finance his retirement and make his children very wealthy.

At present Levy can only realise the value of his Spurs investment if Joe Lewis agrees to sell but Lewis’ motivation is very different to Levy’s: his investment in Spurs is very valuable but it’s only part of his much larger assets, his children are taken care of and he is under no pressure to sell.

So just maybe a breakdown in relations and a fundamental disagreement as to the club’s direction with Vivienne Silvertown (nee Lewis) could lead to the Lewis’ deciding to buy Levy out.