- Dec 22, 2003
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The only thing worth debating is how he goes about doing it...
I think Levy is primarily and above all a businessman. I don’t think he’s terribly concerned about what supporters think of him... He will stick to whatever he sees as the plan. He is not an opportunist, except in the small details, occasionally. They are not integral to how he approaches big decisions...
I believe he is taking the very long view.. it’s his idea of wise long term management, and he probably looks back at where on we were when he took over and feels vindicated.
He’s not the type of person who’s affected by the taunts of the opposition, the media and our own fans...
...he believes he’s taking the harder route to better things.
But is it as good as it gets? He won’t believe so.
I’m convinced, from 1st hand experience, that he’s astute enough to know that the more successful the team, the higher the value of the company.
If I’m right, if he believes that he’s right, if he believes that the reason he’s unpopular is because he’s taking a longer view that absolutely requires more patience than most fans are prepared to willingly bear, then he will not believe that selling to someone who simply sees the value of TV revenues and bricks and mortar assets is the best use of ENIC’s assets. He will believe that he has a better insight into the future potential of the club than anyone else has.
And so he should. I just hope he’s right.
It seems as though you know a lot more about Levy than I do, how he thinks, how he feels, what his motivations and plans are. I don't have the benefit of that insight and can only judge him on his actions.
It gets thrown out in his defence a lot that he has seen us improve from when he took over. That's entirely fair. We were a dumpster fire when he arrived and he's not only put that fire out, but he's turned the dumpster into a shiny new stadium (with lots of other improvements). Was he the only man who could have done that? We'll never know. But what is much less is certain are a) his intentions (and by association his motivations for doing it) and b) whether he is capable of the necessary actions to take it further. As far as I'm concerned both of those are very much open to debate.
Perhaps his ego hampers us when it comes to current transfer dealings, or his approach has burnt too many bridges. Perhaps we don't have the money for various reasons. Perhaps he doesn't want to invest in players where he doesn't see the value - which leads to questioning whether he should be the one to make those decisions. Maybe he does think and feel and believe in the manner you describe, but maybe he doesn't. Maybe, just maybe, he has found himself out of his depth and is struggling with the pressures and scrutiny that his decisions have brought and would jump at the chance to leave the spotlight if the opportunity appeared.
At the moment there are plenty of reasons to question him - most of which are of his own making.