The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - 26th June 2017

[Jospur]

I fully expect to get a lot or red ink for this, especially from the BSoDL.......

I couldn't care less if we sign Lemar or Sessegnon or whoever. The bottom line of it is ambition, that's what people should be worried about, not failing to sign to relative nobodies......its not all to do with wages.

We'll only get by for so long doing it how we're doing it. Fantastic job Munchkin, well done Pochettino, but we carry on like this and it WILL come out on top............At some point Levy has to either put up or shut up because Pochettino isn't stupid and neither are the players. I'm not talking about signing young talent because that isn't going to impress anyone, if Levy (the club) doesn't send the message that we are ambitious, the manager and players will pick up on it and before you know it, the club will be like a scene from the Titanic, with everyone scrambling to get a lifeboat. They'll only wait so long. IMO we've got a season before the brownstuff hits the fan......If we don't win anything this coming season and Levy plays his usual game, it's going to be highly likely (IMO) that we are fucked.

Proper fucked.

BUT there's a LOOOONG way to go in the window yet. So i'm putting the rubber knife back in its box and slipping the noose under the mattress until the window closes.

I think that the Sissoko deal was a desperation move and it obviously did not work out. But I remember thinking at the time (although I had doubts about the player) that the transfer was essentially a message that the Club was indeed willing to spend the big bucks. It was a move that was needed for both players and fans - its just a shame that the player in question was the wrong one.

We've all heard about "lessons have been learned" (didn't Lloris just use this phrase?) but I'm hoping that this year the lessons of leaving it too late really have been learned. We need to fill that 'big need' (whatever it is the coaching staff have determined) sooner, rather than later.

 

[Spurs' Pipe Dreams]

I fully expect to get a lot or red ink for this, especially from the BSoDL.......

I couldn't care less if we sign Lemar or Sessegnon or whoever. The bottom line of it is ambition, that's what people should be worried about, not failing to sign to relative nobodies......its not all to do with wages.

We'll only get by for so long doing it how we're doing it. Fantastic job Munchkin, well done Pochettino, but we carry on like this and it WILL come out on top............At some point Levy has to either put up or shut up because Pochettino isn't stupid and neither are the players. I'm not talking about signing young talent because that isn't going to impress anyone, if Levy (the club) doesn't send the message that we are ambitious, the manager and players will pick up on it and before you know it, the club will be like a scene from the Titanic, with everyone scrambling to get a lifeboat. They'll only wait so long. IMO we've got a season before the brownstuff hits the fan......If we don't win anything this coming season and Levy plays his usual game, it's going to be highly likely (IMO) that we are fucked.

Proper fucked.

BUT there's a LOOOONG way to go in the window yet. So i'm putting the rubber knife back in its box and slipping the noose under the mattress until the window closes.

I'd give it at least one season in the new stadium before people start bugging out. Once that is finished and the extra revenue, NFL money, plus bigger prestige etc, if big signings and/or more importantly bumper contracts that pay the going rate don't appear, then yeah I think you're right. Staying in the CL for the next few years is also vital......

 

[StevePil]

Dont worry everyone, we look like signing another kid from ligue 1!!!

We clearly learnt from last Summer, didn't we..... there is still 2 months left but we never seem to learn, unfortunately we need to fall out of Europe to give Levy the kick up the arse that he either needs to back the managers or move on, we have cash you can see it in the financial statements released... if we cant even sign a kid from Fulham, I give up.

 

[Jospur]

Depends what's happening with Shaw...

He's still there. And there don't appear to be any rumours about him moving at this time. Even if Rojo is injured he's still part of the set-up. And Rojo has played both centre-back and left back for United...

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Unless things change, I don't see it being the star signings, or lack there of, that could sink us. Although I do feel there is a increased demand amongst the fans and maybe even the players for one. But the wage structure. It's very impressive what we have achieved paying what we have, but if we do actually manage to win the PL one has to think that pretty much every player will be after a pay rise to match that of the other top 5 teams. Even if we don't win it but finish top four again it feels like it's only a matter of time before our players start looking at other teams and their wage structures. The squad is young and so thankfully don't seem too concerned at the moment, but I can't see this lasting, especially for our star players. It's all well and good constantly giving our players new contracts with slightly higher wages but everyone at the club will know what the salary cap is and I'm sure it's far lower then other teams who clearly seem to over spend.

at the end of the day, this is not a hobby it's a profession and a short one at that. As much as it would be nice to believe these kids love the club and would play for Spurs regardless of money, it's not realistic in the slightest. We have been getting better season by season, but I'm just not the romantic I used to be, I just can't see Levy's approach working for much longer.

Although saying that, with Spurs, who knows what tomorrow could bring....

(New contract for Sissoko no doubt ........ )

 

[Jamturk]

As I have previously stated, as long as Poch is happy I don't care what happens in this transfer window.

Players come and go, a top manager is the key to success.

 

[midoNdefoe]

I fully expect to get a lot or red ink for this, especially from the BSoDL.......

I couldn't care less if we sign Lemar or Sessegnon or whoever. The bottom line of it is ambition, that's what people should be worried about, not failing to sign to relative nobodies......its not all to do with wages.

We'll only get by for so long doing it how we're doing it. Fantastic job Munchkin, well done Pochettino, but we carry on like this and it WILL come out on top............At some point Levy has to either put up or shut up because Pochettino isn't stupid and neither are the players. I'm not talking about signing young talent because that isn't going to impress anyone, if Levy (the club) doesn't send the message that we are ambitious, the manager and players will pick up on it and before you know it, the club will be like a scene from the Titanic, with everyone scrambling to get a lifeboat. They'll only wait so long. IMO we've got a season before the brownstuff hits the fan......If we don't win anything this coming season and Levy plays his usual game, it's going to be highly likely (IMO) that we are fucked.

Proper fucked.

BUT there's a LOOOONG way to go in the window yet. So i'm putting the rubber knife back in its box and slipping the noose under the mattress until the window closes.

But what is that statement? What form of statement are people clambering for?

I agree that it cant remain as it is infinitely, but, is a big-name signing going to change the landscape of the club if we dont win anything or drop out of the top4 next season? I think it will pretty much be the same - if we dont win things and it feels like we have peaked, things will unravel slightly...
You could argue that has already happened slightly with Walker (reportedly) deciding he wants a new challenge. Would that have been different if we won the FA cup?

I get the impression that the wage bill swells with each season that we improve, else why would the players be signing up? You wouldn't sign a new contract with a time-extension and stay on the same pay...

 

[thebenjamin]

It's all very well saying 'we don't need much' but you can bet your life our current players are watching our transfer activity very closely to see if this is a club that genuinely has ambitions to kick on from this point and win big trophies, or are we happy just being up there and hoping this team wins something.

Worrying thing for me is that we've never been more attractive as a club. Best manager in the league, great side, best training ground, best stadium coming... and we're still failing to land our targets. However well we've done this far, this does imply there's something not quite right with our strategy.

 

[Sum Monsterism]

I thought even that was in doubt at one point, but we can always rely on Levy to buy Caerphilly...

I just got it. Four hours and ten minutes later.

 

[King of the Lane]

This is no different to the last summer window or the one before that. We didn't get the early targets and the doom and gloom set in(exactly the same narrative every window). This is the reason we don't put all our eggs in one basket and have numerous targets to go for. Worth remembering we have improved year on year despite not getting the early targets, before we all commit harikari.

Thats all well and good but lets be honest if we had got some of those targets we may have won something instead of finishing 2nd place and trophyless. Each time we look like we can really kick on we are let down in the transfer window. Im not trying to be negative but lessons havent been learnt and will not by the looks of things

 

[samspurs92]

We seemed to have had the same wage and transfer budgets for the last ten years but the rest of the footballing world have moved way, way past us.

 

[dondo]

Depends what's happening with Shaw...

And are blind and rojo lefts backs?
Certainly not of top quality

 

[robertgoulet]

I fully expect to get a lot or red ink for this, especially from the BSoDL.......

I couldn't care less if we sign Lemar or Sessegnon or whoever. The bottom line of it is ambition, that's what people should be worried about, not failing to sign to relative nobodies......its not all to do with wages.

We'll only get by for so long doing it how we're doing it. Fantastic job Munchkin, well done Pochettino, but we carry on like this and it WILL come out on top............At some point Levy has to either put up or shut up because Pochettino isn't stupid and neither are the players. I'm not talking about signing young talent because that isn't going to impress anyone, if Levy (the club) doesn't send the message that we are ambitious, the manager and players will pick up on it and before you know it, the club will be like a scene from the Titanic, with everyone scrambling to get a lifeboat. They'll only wait so long. IMO we've got a season before the brownstuff hits the fan......If we don't win anything this coming season and Levy plays his usual game, it's going to be highly likely (IMO) that we are fucked.

Proper fucked.

BUT there's a LOOOONG way to go in the window yet. So i'm putting the rubber knife back in its box and slipping the noose under the mattress until the window closes.

Fully agree w/ A&C here. A couple of additional things:
- Losing players over a few million in fees/wages is becoming less acceptable with all of the money flowing around the PL. Losing out on a player b/c you are 4M apart (example) in fees was an acceptable excuse a few years ago, but not so much any more. That 4M is a much smaller % of the income pie now. DL may have to do some re calibrating or it will get to the point where he's playing a completely different game than everyone else. If you want that player, pay the extra 4M, it is nominal in this age of the PL.

- Teams that sit tight while everyone else improves are teams that eventually get passed by. I'd hope that DL understands this. I'm certain MP does.

All that said, we are really early in the window, so I'm not too fussed.

 

[dondo]

We seemed to have had the same wage and transfer budgets for the last ten years but the rest of the footballing world have moved way, way past us.

Moved way past us in paying massive overinflated transfer fees and wages, not in actually building a team

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

This is no different to the last summer window or the one before that. We didn't get the early targets and the doom and gloom set in(exactly the same narrative every window).

And we failed to win a – not even one small – trophy over two seasons in which we undoubtedly in my mind would have won trophy/ies with a little bit more transfer savvy dealings.

 

[robertgoulet]

I'd give it at least one season in the new stadium before people start bugging out. Once that is finished and the extra revenue, NFL money, plus bigger prestige etc, if big signings and/or more importantly bumper contracts that pay the going rate don't appear, then yeah I think you're right. Staying in the CL for the next few years is also vital......

I'd argue that it's important for a club to try and maintain current standing, borrowing against future earnings of the new stadium, so that they aren't playing catch-up again. It's easier to maintain than it is to regain.

 

[Jospur]

Thats all well and good but lets be honest if we had got some of those targets we may have won something instead of finishing 2nd place and trophyless. Each time we look like we can really kick on we are let down in the transfer window. Im not trying to be negative but lessons havent been learned and will not by the looks of things

Second place (even if trophy-less) is a fabulous achievement. And much of this has to be down to the right decisions being made by the Club - Daniel Levy in particular. We really need to give credit where credit is due.

Having said that - let's hope that the Chairman goes out and supports the coach with the 'key' player he wants. And waiting around now may not be the smartest move...

 

[PhezTHFC]

As I have previously stated, as long as Poch is happy I don't care what happens in this transfer window.

Players come and go, a top manager is the key to success.

Yes this is correct but the SQUAD needs to be improved every year and I think what most worry about isn't the leaving of the players as such its missing out on top targets which is so disheartening and it kind if becomes a trend that's all

 

[Hot Spur]

This is no different to the last summer window or the one before that. We didn't get the early targets and the doom and gloom set in(exactly the same narrative every window). This is the reason we don't put all our eggs in one basket and have numerous targets to go for. Worth remembering we have improved year on year despite not getting the early targets, before we all commit harikari.

Yes but why didn't we get the early targets? No doubt various reasons but also no doubt wages would be one of those reasons. As I said, Levy is going to have to get real, and soon. If he wants to stay at the top with the big clubs, it's not going to happen paying small club wages. We will fail to get more and more first choice targets as well as losing our current best players. Top players want to be paid the going rate and win trophies, spurs are doing neither !! The players won't stick around long unless at least one of those things changes.

 

[PolishYid4ever]

I believe this is a great point which should be repeated often.

If I you're a hot property you won't sign the first contract shoved in front of you, but see what offers come in and negotiations will continue accordingly.

It's not as simple as many think it is.

Yeah, but... If you are hot property then you want to sign contract with 'Property Agents' or 'Funeral Services'?