The Daily ITK Discussion Thread 20th July 2019

[Indisguise]

It doesn’t work like that

I know that. However, we are not bottom feeders are we? We're not earning £3 or £4 million a year from shirt sponsorship like Sheffield or Norwich. We're earning £320 million from our shirt sponsorship over a period of 8 years. We're paying back £400 million for stadium costs over the same period. Of course the accounts won't show a direct connection but it's not difficult to work it out that one stream of income alone pretty much covers stadium costs for several years. Team costs are more than covered by other very lucrative streams of income and because the Club is run so well.

And if anyone thinks I'm having a pop at Levy by essentially saying that the Club is extremely well run and very profitable then they're wrong. He's the best thing that has happened to THFC over the last 20 years. He just needs to pull his finger out and do the deals faster because clubs with vastly less income leave him for dust.

 

[buttons]

So from Graham Roberts info it sounds like we’ve put the brakes on Lo Celso (or something else has gone wrong). Assume the Dybala situation has thrown a spanner in the works?

Have to say Dybala does feel like one we’ll chase, miss out on and then end up being left short, again.

 

[SwedishSpurs]

Would you be happy with signing no one else and just working with what we have got now? As you believe it’s served us so well in the past?
Serious question

Nope, that’s why I said it’s not ALL about signing new players. Of course you have to strengthen the squad when needed. Should have been clearer with that in my first post. I think my point was just that you can make the team better by improve current players as well, but yes you need to improve it by signing players as well.

 

[Klinsmannesque]

I guess it all depends on what Poch put on his list to Santa if Dybala was top of his list he might be have been told that if they can get that in then he won't be able to get some of the other toys he wanted.

Dybala wouldn’t have been on any list I don’t think, and that’s the point of this whole situation. A player like that all of a sudden becomes possibly attainable, so to steal a Levy favourite ‘it shifts the goalposts’ and it’s only right given the appropriate amount of attention.

 

[King of the Lane]

Unless GLC is now on hold and potentially off if we can get Dybala in and keep Eriksen? Might explain the revisiting transfer budgets and GLC not signing like all thought he would.

 

[0-Tibsy-0]

I understand those that say we can’t go into meltdown yet, as there is a chunk of the window yet and we don’t know what will happen.

On the other hand; while we have improved a weakness in central midfield which is great, we have also weakened our depth up front and our defence will be weakened too and especially at full back we are likely to be poorer when that was already seen as one of our negatives last year. I am not saying Llorente was a world beater, but he was important at times. And Trippier wasn’t a favourite but he was Pochs first choice. If Rose goes (still likely according to ITK) then Sessegnon doesn’t improve us.

So the ITK regarding delays on previous thought ‘certainties’ and the lack of ITK on improving certain areas is concerning at this stage of the window. No meltdowns from me yet - but I’m also not completely optimistic on improving our squad sufficiently.

 

[Trix]

some rare itk from grahamroberts on ftl as well: I don’t know what happened but a very trusted contact said Lo celso would be arriving this week. I rarely get info from the source, but when I do it’s 100% correct. Very weird goings on.

It's not weird, the terms changed last minute, and not from our end.

 

[Jonboy]

The problem with clubs with less income buying quicker than ourselves is that we are now targeting elite players competing with elite clubs
It’s a totally different ball game to the likes of who Everton and say Leicester are targeting
It’s the food chain my friend
We are now one of the big sharks yet maybe the smallest big shark
????

 

[Jonboy]

Nope, that’s why I said it’s not ALL about signing new players. Of course you have to strengthen the squad when needed. Should have been clearer with that in my first post. I think my point was just that you can make the team better by improve current players as well, but yes you need to improve it by signing players as well.

Agreed, but you can only live by your means
Unless your Madrid, city or PSG

 

[jolegend]

It's not weird, the terms changed last minute, and not from our end.

Well that’s annoying.

 

[SSC]

It’s going to be a crazy two weeks by the sounds of things, not just for us but the whole market. Somethings got to give, may be Bale going to China, then the domino effect can occur. I wonder if we are also stalling slightly with GLC is as tier 1/2 players are emerging as possibilities. Either way with a Pogba, Neymar, Fernandes, Eriksen etc all potentially eager to move, lots of tier 2/3 players may need to make way which is where Levy can do his magic. Hopefully Hercs balls aren’t taking critical damage on this either way!

 

[Jonboy]

Well that’s annoying.

Let’s hope it’s just as annoying for GLC and he shows it

 

[0-Tibsy-0]

It's not weird, the terms changed last minute, and not from our end.

Ah - we’ve been Levy-ed, in reverse.

 

[Guntz]

It's not weird, the terms changed last minute, and not from our end.

Levy does the same so can’t be annoyed at Betis for that.

Hopefully we can still find an agreement because they’ll need to sell eventually.

 

[wrd]

I think we will be fine to call their bluff based on the business they're doing plus their manager said he wish he could keep both (fekir and lo celso) and contextually it was as if he was resigned to losing Lo Celso

 

[pablo73]

Do I hear the familiar creaking of goalposts being moved?

 

[King of Otters]

Yeah he means last week, which ties in with what Herc and Trix heard.

Oh well, I’m sure it’ll be done next week. ??

Sounds like we’re entering “goalposts were moved at the last minute” territory.

 

[Col_M]

Some of you are like my wife and not in a sexy way.

Wife “Did you hear how she said “Nice Blouse”?”
Me: Yes
W: what a bitch
M. What? She liked your blouse
W No, she thinks I’m a slut
M. O kayyyyyyy.

 

[sausage]

All of this sounds pretty standard to me - we have potentially covered a few options, and maybe some have become more feasible/preferable than others. If there was no contingency for "if" Eriksen left, people would complain... and (for example) for us, that depends on Real, which depends on Pogba, which depends on whether Juve sell Dybala, which depends on Lukaku, which might depend on Icardi or something and so on. GLC seemed to depend on Fekir, and maybe Betis managed to do that in a way that makes their position stronger than we had expected. The merry-go-round is in full effect.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Levy does the same so can’t be annoyed at Betis for that.

Hopefully we can still find an agreement because they’ll need to sell eventually.

I can’t say I know about how transfer deals work but it is a strange concept to perhaps have something almost agreed or verbally agreed or whatever, the price the payment terms and length and add-ons etc and then for these to be changed last minute, doesn’t strike me as good fair negotiating really. Negotiating is all about ‘compromise’ to a point at which both parties are happy enough to meet, if that has been agreed and then the goalposts are moved last minute, invariably that will piss the other side off and they are then not at that mutual meeting point and would just pull out. Suppose it depends exactly what terms have changed and how much the goalposts have been moved, if it’s doable for us we may weigh it up stall a bit come back with another counter off, accept it or move away. I get the back and forth for sure that’s all part of high level negotiation but last minute goalposts changes doesn’t really make much sense unless the selling club never had any intention to sell in the first place and/or that mutual middle ground from their perspective was not yet met which ITK and sources had suggested it had been and just paperwork left.Squeaky bum time.