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Levy Quote

DogsOfWar

Well-Known Member
Jan 12, 2005
2,292
3,603
Levy is quite right, there was no cause and effect of us looking for a replacement for Jol.

Beforehand we had played 2, lost them both and not scored so it couldn't have been any worse.
The simple fact is that the board made an unpopular decision but have since been proved right, why can't some people accept this?
 

joey55

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2005
9,675
3,090
Levy is quite right, there was no cause and effect of us looking for a replacement for Jol.

Beforehand we had played 2, lost them both and not scored so it couldn't have been any worse.
The simple fact is that the board made an unpopular decision but have since been proved right, why can't some people accept this?

They get proved right or wrong in 18 months time when we are either in the top 4 or out of it. You don't forget the previous 2 seasons on the back of 2 defeats. We had proven to be the 5th best side in the Prem for two years running and when Leds was fit the 4th best and the following season the 3rd best. To improve on that is going to be very difficult. It is also important during the next 18 months to keep an eye on what is happening at Seville.
 

joey55

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2005
9,675
3,090
Kendall I believe Southlondon used to have a picture of Levy in his profile pic too .

A few of us have wised up and can see Levy for what he is and the ungracious way he behaves .

Maybe you'll disassociate yourself from him in time .

I'd say i was perhaps Levy's bgigest supporter (or certainly one of his biggest fans) on the forum for a long time and made many threads highlighting the good work he has done and what I saw as his key strengths. I couldn't care less about the ungracious way he behaves. However, I am no longer in support of his chairmanship as I no longer believe the best interests of ENIC (Levys primary interest) and Tottenham are necessarily the same. I respect Levy as a businessman and from this point of view understand the decsions he has made, but I firmly believe that they haven't been in the best interests of the club. The goal posts have changed in the last few years, with the introduction of 4 CL places, Abramovich and the significant TV deal and growth of the Prem in foreign markets. These changes have meant that the soundest financial decisons for ENIC, are not those that best serve the teams needs.
 

DFF

YOLO, Daniel
May 17, 2005
14,225
6,090
Bloody hell. I should be selling boxes of Kleenex outside WHL next home game by the looks of things...
 

SpurSince57

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2006
45,213
8,229
If they undercut the branded Spurs ones on sale inside you'd better watch out for Daniel's Droogs.
 

SpursManChris

Well-Known Member
May 15, 2007
5,347
2,458
All this "Levy quote" business, is this in relation to the 5Live interview he did? If so, wasn't there something in the interview about Ramos having no intentions of buying any new players in Jan becuase he believe he can make the team gel????
 

DFF

YOLO, Daniel
May 17, 2005
14,225
6,090
If they undercut the branded Spurs ones on sale inside you'd better watch out for Daniel's Droogs.

Yarbles, Daniel's have nothing on my own bezoomy droogies. Cut price Kleenex for the masses it is.
 

southlondonyiddo

My eyes have seen some of the glory..
Nov 8, 2004
12,599
15,012
Kendall I believe Southlondon used to have a picture of Levy in his profile pic too .

A few of us have wised up and can see Levy for what he is and the ungracious way he behaves .

Maybe you'll disassociate yourself from him in time .

Indeed you are correct Sir.

............are you stalking me:eek:mg:
 

Spursking

Well-Known Member
May 16, 2004
5,431
2,457
I have nothing against Levy. I think he has done a great job, and he did what he had to do when Jol was sacked. This is business, and nothing else.

Levy has done so much for this club, and I am so pleased to have him at Tottenham, and it is good to know that he has been a lifelong Spurs fan, and do really want to do the best for this Club.
 

DogsOfWar

Well-Known Member
Jan 12, 2005
2,292
3,603
They get proved right or wrong in 18 months time when we are either in the top 4 or out of it. You don't forget the previous 2 seasons on the back of 2 defeats. We had proven to be the 5th best side in the Prem for two years running and when Leds was fit the 4th best and the following season the 3rd best. To improve on that is going to be very difficult. It is also important during the next 18 months to keep an eye on what is happening at Seville.

But you could also point to other trends. 2 seasons ago fifth with 64 points, last season fifth with 60 points, this season we looked as though we were going to struggle to get 60 so you could argue we were getting worse.

The problem is this gives us a chicken and the egg situation. Was the team of two seasons ago that was built by Arnesen/Pleat better and the Comolli signings have made us worse. Or has Jol's poor management of a good side meant it has started to underperform despite strengthening it?

This leaves Levy with two choices, sack the DOF and replace half the playing staff or sack the manager.
Even if he wasn't sure, sacking the manager is by far the easiest option.

As for when to judge Ramos he is in exactly the same position as when Jol joined. This year will be a freebie as long as he finishes top half.
Then next year he will be expected to improve on that finish the same as Jol was and if he doesn't then Commolli will get a taste of his own medicine.

Any business, and that includes football, is dependant on continuous improvement which is why we have seen the club driven so far forward under Levy.
 

MattyP

Advises to have a beer & sleep with prostitutes
May 14, 2007
14,041
2,980
He refused to accept responsibility on behalf of the board for the botched attempt to woo Ramos. "I absolutely don't accept that there is a cause-and-effect link between rumours of a replacement for Martin and performance on the pitch," said Levy.

The more comments I read from Levy the more I dislike him now.
Personally I'm quite happy to have a chairman who says something publicly maybe once or twice a season rather than the Alan Sugar, Eggert Magnusson, Peter Ridsdale type characters who seem to get intoxicated by the fame of being a football club chairman and actively court the press.

I don't always agree with what he does or what he says, but thats football. I may have my suspicions as to his motives, but thats business.

In the main, he seems to be trying to get the club in the right direction, and let the football, or at least the footballing people, do the talking.
 

SpurSince57

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2006
45,213
8,229
I actually think the squad of two seasons ago was a more coherent unit, and let's not forget that the signings we brought in cost not much more than £10m—and most of that went on Jenas. Losing Carrick was a blow, and Zokora still has a long way to go to prove to me he's an adequate replacement; Chimbonda, at least for about two-thirds of the season, was an improvement on Salty, but BAE simply wasn't as good as Lee; as a footballer, Berbatov was a big improvement on Mido, but in terms of goals scored and assists made there was very little difference; Murphy just didn't fit in and disappeared, Ghaly showed flashes of being a top-class midfielder but was mostly fantastically frustrating; Davids faded. We also had a shedload of injuries, whereas in 2005-2006 we were remarkably free of them. Nevertheless, after a shit start and a major hiccup in the New Year we equalled our best-ever points haul over the last twelve games—achieved in 1951. We also managed three excellent cup runs, ended by three of the best sides in Europe.

My position in this has always been that if Jol was perceived as being not good enough in August, he wasn't good enough in May. I really don't think this started with our defeats in the first two games, because I really don't want to believe that our board is as knee-jerk in its response to a couple of setbacks as the most idiotic SC members. And did they really spend £40m over the summer (actually, they didn't, we still owe a fair chunk of that) and suddenly think, 'Er, hold on, is Jol good enough?' No. Sorry. I don't buy it. I think the approaches to Ramos started long before the meeting in the Alfonso XIII.

And then we had Kemsley's ludicrous explanation and the briefing against Jol via ITKs and the rags, and obvious counter-briefing by Jol, or someone close to him. Was fourth a target, or not? Did we make Ramos an offer? Just what was going on? It's all very well for some people to blame everything on the media, but if the media is being fed stories by sources within the club that falls a little flat.

Sorry, but for Levy to claim this didn't have an effect on Jol and the players beggars belief. He might at least have the grace to admit it played a significant part. After all, this is the bloke who fired Graham two weeks before a cup semi-final, who failed to fire Hoddle when there was more than ample cause to do so and instead gave him £13m to waste, largely, and then fired him six games into the next season. Who presided over the Trapattoni and Fruitini farces, and now this one. Who's already fingered Comolli as the fall guy if Ramos doesn't succeed.

Under ENIC we've seen ticket prices rise by almost 40%; we (or rather those of us who shell out the hard-earned) are ripped off for shit merchandise; we've seen the club run little more than a scam over tickets for the Hapoel game. Yes, it's a business. It's a PLC, and the profits go into shareholders' dividends rather than into improving the team.

I'm very pleased we got Ramos, the only one of the managers whose names were being bandied about who I thought might be an improvement on Jol, but the way it was done leaves a very sour taste in the mouth. And I do hope he's got his kevlar vest. It might come in handy.
 

hybridsoldier

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2004
5,892
1,185
levy has done great things at the club, sugar saved our asses from doing a leeds before leeds, and levy hs built on that

the club made record profit over the last financial year, as well as 2 5th place places and the board has invested VAST money on players while keeping a susainable wage structure in place

well done Daniel Levy, keep it up!
 

SpurSince57

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2006
45,213
8,229
Around £12m of that profit came from cup runs, I think. Another £10m was from the sponsorship increase. There was another £7m in TV money. Wage costs went up slightly, but fell 13% in terms of turnover.

Money owed to trade creditors went up from £3.8m to £15.4m. PLC borrowings almost doubled (£24m-£45m). Cash held decreased by £6m. Net debt rose to over £17m.

Still, the shareholders get their pay-off!

And next season, ticket prices will rise again, and that shirt that probably cost about a quid to make will set you back £50.

Yes, keep it up, by all means!
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Same here. I've got the games against Derby, Everton, Newcastle, Utd, Arse, Blacburn (last season), Charlton (last season), Reading (last season) Blackburn (last season) all on my hard drive, and if you want i'll put the closing stages on any of these games (if I can cut the clips, depedning on the file type) up on youtube. This will totally blow the theory of our players being unfit out of the water, especially if you compare the work they are doing to those of opposition players, which we rarely do. On Sunday there was actually a great shot of Carlton Cole leant over gasping for breath just after the half time break. Had that happened to one of our players under Jol there would have been hell to play, but with oppostion player we just don't notice it and fail to be comnparative.


But it's not just being able to run at the start and finish, or in pockets of minutes, it's about being able to maintain a level of effectiveness over 90 as the best sides do. I still think we can't judge the true effects of Ramos yet but it's not just as simple as posting the last ten minutes of games and saying "there you go we were still running at 90" as often we took a fucking big breather in the middle.

More importantly it's also about changing our tempo and pressing off the ball continuously throughout 90 mins. Defending as team. And improving our movement off the ball as well. This does require a certain level of physical and mental conditioning as well as instruction that was definately lacking at times I believe. I think we may have already seen a tiny bit of this in evidence but as I said in the other thread though, it's hard to know whether it's genuinly coaching or just "new manager" syndrome.
 

joey55

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2005
9,675
3,090
levy has done great things at the club, sugar saved our asses from doing a leeds before leeds, and levy hs built on that

the club made record profit over the last financial year, as well as 2 5th place places and the board has invested VAST money on players while keeping a susainable wage structure in place

well done Daniel Levy, keep it up!

Sorry but this is a very naive statement. The board has not invested VAST money on players. The board did a very controversial prefferance share deal, when they essentially stole a large chunk of the club. Since then they've embarked on a strict transfer strategy by which they are essentially moving cash generated from operating profit to balance sheet assests. This ensures their investment in the club will not be at risk. I'm sick of people praising Levy for record profits. I assure that money will not be spent on assets (players) that are likley to significantly depreciate in value. It will only be spent to add value to the club and ENIC are the one's that will benefit form that. I think the balance sheet value of our squad actually increased by £6 million this year. Hence there was little or no chance of us getting the players we needed in the summer.

Levy has done great things for the club as long as they are in the financial interests of his primary concern (ENIC). We are now at a stage in our development where the best interest of ENIC and the best interests of the team are no longer necessarily the same. The people who really should be congratulating Levy are his fellow shareholders in ENIC. We should thank him for the work he did between Jan 2003 and August 2005. Since then, things haven't gone as well as they should.
 
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