The Mauricio Pochettino thread

[nicdic]

I was under then impression that we do have money to spend and also that the Grealish deal was due to Levy screwing around trying to get a better deal? He took so long that new owners came in and decided not to sell him

Of course we have money to spend, but most reports have pointed to 1) Grealish being a slightly opportunistic deal, and 2) it not being a priority signing.

So are you saying we should spend whatever necessary to get him, just because WE NEED SIGNINGS!!!111!?

 

[WalkerboyUK]

I wonder what the repercussions would be if a club ended up with players that it physically couldn't register in any competition. Has that ever happened? Apart from youngsters, I mean.

The only real repercussions would be financial. No different to when a manager freezes out a player completely and makes them train with the academy. You just end up paying the players wage for no reason whatsoever. You also have a very unhappy player on your books, though some may be happy to take £30-50k per week just to train.

 

[dagraham]

To be honest, what can Poch say? If he states we will sign a certain amount of players and we come up short, the fanbase will go berserk. But if he states ”zero” and we sign two players, people will se that as an victory.

Personally speaking, that all depends on who those players are and who we end up selling.

 

[pablo73]

Of course we have money to spend, but most reports have pointed to 1) Grealish being a slightly opportunistic deal, and 2) it not being a priority signing.

So are you saying we should spend whatever necessary to get him, just because WE NEED SIGNINGS!!!111!?

Herc has said more than once that Grealish was Poch's number one target in that position and Trix has just said that there was a long window to get him at a reasonable price but we delayed and delayed. If that is the case I really don't see how you can argue that we (or Poch at least) didn't want to sign him, it seems pretty clear that Levy was trying to squeeze every last penny out of the deal and then Villa's financial situation changed. Given how difficult the market apparently is you'd think this would have been a relatively easy way to get at least one player that Poch wanted.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

The only real repercussions would be financial. No different to when a manager freezes out a player completely and makes them train with the academy. You just end up paying the players wage for no reason whatsoever. You also have a very unhappy player on your books, though some may be happy to take £30-50k per week just to train.

Not sure it is the same, though. Being eligible to play, but not selected, is different from being fundamentally ineligible. Morally, at least, it's different. I reckon the player would have a decent chance of having his contract anulled, and becoming a free agent. It would be the club's fault, after all, not the player's.

 

[Trix]

100% agree on this. First season I've been following the site over the summer and I get more dubious about the ITK contributions by the day.

I hadn't twigged people were actually sending them money until the last week or so. Thought it was some kind of SC injoke until the penny dropped. One born every minute.

What a moron!!!!

 

[Ekmek]

There were info some time ago shared both from ITK here and by Gards on twitter that we are working on ”a special player” from abroad. If I remember correct it was a cm. I wonder if thats still true.

 

[nicdic]

Herc has said more than once that Grealish was Poch's number one target in that position and Trix has just said that there was a long window to get him at a reasonable price but we delayed and delayed. If that is the case I really don't see how you can argue that we (or Poch at least) didn't want to sign him, it seems pretty clear that Levy was trying to squeeze every last penny out of the deal and then Villa's financial situation changed. Given how difficult the market apparently is you'd think this would have been a relatively easy way to get at least one player that Poch wanted.

If it was an easy deal, and we really wanted him, it'd be done already, or will be done before the window closes.

 

[RJR1949]

Last year I talked with one of the curators at the British Museum. He said that he would hate to work at the National Gallery because to buy anything worth hanging in the walls cost at least £10m whereas he was able to acquire good objects for the collection for very much less.

I guess we’re now in the position that to buy anybody worth putting in the team costs a huge amount.

 

[RichieS]

We have seen over the last 3 seasons that we are a top team but not quite good enough to win the league and all of our rivals have strengthened their teams with between 2-5 players while we have brought in nobody and seem to be getting the "it's a tough market" excuse ready. I'll wait and see but it really is starting to feel like the usual Levy tactic of wait till the last minute to try and get a good deal. I think with that and the way we lost Grealish, Poch would likely entertain offers in a years time since it would be obvious that the promises made mean nothing and the support isn't there. I recall a while back it was said Poch wants to build a dynasty but if the club won't bring in the players needed to raise the level and win the league, he won't be able to do that with us.

Is this the root of the hysteria on here? From the Premier League website:

Chelsea have brought in Jorginho (should strengthen their first XI) and Rob Green (lol).
Manchester City have acquired Mahrez (good player but squad depth for them) and Claudio Gomes (youth player, free).
Manchester United have signed Dalot (who?), Fred (could strengthen their first XI) and Lee Grant (3rd choice 'keeper). Plus Mourinho is moaning like a bitch that none of his targets have been got as yet.

I think what people actually mean when they make statements like the bolded one in your post is "Liverpool have spent loads of money on several players and lots of my friends are Liverpool fans and they're taking the mickey out of me because it's their year". Two thoughts regarding this:
1) We of all fanbases should be aware that the "make lots of high profile signings" approach doesn't always work.
2) Why didn't Liverpool have to fight off competition for any of the players they've signed?

If we sign Zaha (which I believe we will) then Poch will have finally got a player he's wanted for ages (backing!) and our squad will be nicely rounded out. If Wanyama's injury is a recurrence of his previous one then we need a CM, especially given that Winks may also be some way off a return. That's it.

9.5 days, 2 signings, no problem. I, like Poch, am calm.

 

[WalkerboyUK]

Not sure it is the same, though. Being eligible to play, but not selected, is different from being fundamentally ineligible. Morally, at least, it's different. I reckon the player would have a decent chance of having his contract anulled, and becoming a free agent. It would be the club's fault, after all, not the player's.

Club is still going to want money though.
Very rare to get a termination, unless player is in final year of contract.
You're not going to release a player for free when they have 3/4 years left on their contract and could get £15-20 million for them in the following window.

 

[popstar7]

I think what people actually mean when they make statements like the bolded one in your post is "Liverpool have spent loads of money on several players and lots of my friends are Liverpool fans and they're taking the mickey out of me because it's their year"

Absolutely nailed it.

 

[JR1994]

Everton spent £50m on Richarlison. So I’m sure there’s signings to be made if you’re willing to pay well over the odds.

£50m for a player who probably wouldn’t improve us shows how much we’d need to spend.

Think it’s 50m with add ons and bonuses is it not? Stupid as it may sound at least it shows the everton board are trusting a managers judgement whose been at the club 5 mins..

 

[popstar7]

Stupid as it may sound at least it shows the everton board are trusting a managers judgement whose been at the club 5 mins..

And how's that worked out for them recently?

 

[Arthur Hucksake]

I cannot wait to see Sissoko starting more games in the middle. It's going to be great!!!

 

[ToDarrenIsToDo]

So the following players have their contracts expiring in the next 12 months:

Vorm
Vertonghen
Alderweireld
Dembele
Llorente

Christian Eriksen & Janssen will also be going into their last year next summer if extensions aren't announced either, which will most certainly not happen with Janssen.

If the market keeps going how it's going then how the hell do Spurs expect to manage these in Summer 2019 for the combined total of £25m with Toby's release clause kicking in?

I think we could be in a bit of trouble you know. I think when it's come to the crunch and we've needed our Chairman to step up his big club mentality that he got caught in the Stambouli times. We've got a potentially very serious situation on the horizon where we could lose 2 key first team players in Vertonghen and Dembele yet we won't receive a penny for them and with Eriksen, the fact of the matter is his deal still hasn't been announced and until it is, he goes into next summer entering the last year of his contract.

The club need to address these situations as they could be looking at a real financial hit or a squad full of far less talented players because of it. I don't mean to be pessimistic but Trix said about balancing our books etc, I can see a bit of trouble ahead should the club continue to play it safe

 

[seanwhite1961]

Scenario...we go out and buy 3 players costing between 120 and 150 mil on the basis we can recoup most of that on the sales of Toby Dembele and Rose. Window closes hurrah we have been Brave!!!

No bids come in for those players but we get a 150mil bid for Kane with a couple of days left, now what do you think will happen knowing we need to balance the books?

I don't know what the situation is at Pool but what I do know is they are trying to shift a lot of fringe players and as of yet they can't.

Probably because of the sky high fees they're asking, 3 or 4 times what they paid for players who've stood still or gone backwards there.

 

[Trix]

Probably because of the sky high fees they're asking, 3 or 4 times what they paid for players who've stood still or gone backwards there.

Of course mate, but the point is something is going to have to give at some point. Their wage bill was already high prior to this season, so by now it must be astronomical.

 

[dagraham]

100% agree on this. First season I've been following the site over the summer and I get more dubious about the ITK contributions by the day.

I hadn't twigged people were actually sending them money until the last week or so. Thought it was some kind of SC injoke until the penny dropped. One born every minute.

No one is sending ITK’s money. If you think that, you’re the idiot.

There is a hell of a lot more to this site than just the transfer windows and that is what people are choosing to donate to if they do.

 

[michaelden]

I hadn't twigged people were actually sending them money until the last week or so. Thought it was some kind of SC injoke until the penny dropped. One born every minute.

People are sending money to get free information? You jest?