Tottenham Takeover Talk

[sparx100]

That's the stark reality - If we don't get new owners soon we're out of the top4-equation for the foreseeable future. For as long as we're under the yoke of ENIC and Levy, we will only see the top teams disappear over the horizon while we're left behind.

I think the challenge is that we are a much more expensive acquisition than most teams.

 

[SirHarryHotspur]

I’m off work at the moment because of depression, really glad I came into read this thread

The good news is that there is no takeover talk for Tottenham and Levy will be here for the foreseeable , does that cheer you up.

 

[McArchibald]

That's just not true. For starters, a change of ownership guarantees absolutely nothing.

It guarantees that something will change - at the moment we're on a road to absolutely nowhere.
And if someone invests 2-3 bn to acquire us - you can bet their aim is to get us fighting for trophies and make the club grow - why else would they make such an investment?

One thing's for sure: With Levy and ENIC at the helm we 're bound for more of the same stagnation, underinvestment, ineptitude and ridicule. That's the last thing any Spurs fan should want.

 

[Nebby]

It guarantees that something will change - at the moment we're on a road to absolutely nowhere.
And if someone invests 2-3 bn to acquire us - you can bet their aim is to get us fighting for trophies and make the club grow - why else would they make such an investment?

One thing's for sure: With Levy and ENIC at the helm we 're bound for more of the same stagnation, underinvestment, ineptitude and ridicule. That's the last any Spurs fan should want.

It guarantees no such thing. And your notion that on field success would be the primary driver for any new owner is far from certain too (more like wishful thinking). Ownership of the club - and an ability to sports-wash a sullied reputation- would be all that’s wanted for some. Would you be happy then?

 

[McArchibald]

It guarantees no such thing. And your notion that on field success would be the primary driver for any new owner is far from certain too (more like wishful thinking). Ownership of the club - and an ability to sports-wash a sullied reputation- would be all that’s wanted for some. Would you be happy then?

Nobody who has the wealth to own a Premier League football club is squeaky clean. Take our present owner Joe Lewis. Is he Persil? More like a spiv who's chanced his way into the big time with more than his share of dodgy dealings. And he runs THFC not as a football club but a a profiteering racket. So defending the present ownership and wanting them to stay out of fear of sports-washing comes with a degree of hypocrisy all its own.
I as a fan don't care who sits in the directors box, so long as money flows into the club with the sole aim of producing trophies and attractive football. And the idea that someone is going to spend the amount it takes to acquire us without any plan or ambition to take us places afterwards is just plain ludicrous. That will never happen. If they wanted to do that there are plenty of other clubs that require a lot less outlay. Anyone who'd buy us would want to take us to the big time.
It's ENIC who are taking us nowhere - that's why they need to go.

 

[Andeaux]

Nobody who has the wealth to own a Premier League football club is squeaky clean. Take our present owner Joe Lewis. Is he Persil? More like a spiv who's chanced his way into the big time with more than his share of dodgy dealings. And he runs THFC not as a football club but a a profiteering racket. So defending the present ownership and wanting them to stay out of fear of sports-washing comes with a degree of hypocrisy all its own.

Honestly so tired of this argument. There are levels of bad. Dodgy dealings, sure, not great, but let's not even act like it's close to a literal nation which commits genuine human rights violations on a daily basis. It's not hypocritical to understand the nuance between bad, very bad, and downright shameful. I agree that anyone thinking any billionaire is squeaky clean is naïve, but using whataboutism and acting like good is good and bad is bad is just ignorant. It's like saying murder and theft are equally wrong because they're both crimes.

 

[Russ1201]

I’m off work at the moment because of depression, really glad I came into read this thread

Could be worse, you could be reading match reports
Hope, you get better soon.

 

[Nebby]

Nobody who has the wealth to own a Premier League football club is squeaky clean. Take our present owner Joe Lewis. Is he Persil? More like a spiv who's chanced his way into the big time with more than his share of dodgy dealings. And he runs THFC not as a football club but a a profiteering racket. So defending the present ownership and wanting them to stay out of fear of sports-washing comes with a degree of hypocrisy all its own.
I as a fan don't care who sits in the directors box, so long as money flows into the club with the sole aim of producing trophies and attractive football. And the idea that someone is going to spend the amount it takes to acquire us without any plan or ambition to take us places afterwards is just plain ludicrous. That will never happen. If they wanted to do that there are plenty of other clubs that require a lot less outlay. Anyone who'd buy us would want to take us to the big time.
It's ENIC who are taking us nowhere - that's why they need to go.

Every business is run to make a profit, so if that’s your benchmark for having a pop at Joe Lewis it’s a pretty poor one. But back to the question at hand, would you happy swapping ENIC for, say, some new sports-washing owner if the trophy cabinet continues to remain bare?

 

[jay2040]

It guarantees no such thing. And your notion that on field success would be the primary driver for any new owner is far from certain too (more like wishful thinking). Ownership of the club - and an ability to sports-wash a sullied reputation- would be all that’s wanted for some. Would you be happy then?

Wash a sullied reputation? - sounds like something out of a dickens novel.
They are two independent things. I would be happy with such am investment though it would not change any opinion I have of a country.

 

[TC18]

My major problem with ENIC is they prioritise the business before the football. They show zero desire to want to win a trophy and it trickles down to how we perform. We don’t take any of the cups seriously, the conference league for example, we should have aimed to win that. We are capable of winning the Carling cup, and push for the FA cup.

Instead we sack a manager before a final and consistently prioritise the league over any other competition.

To me, it’s so simple what our identity should be. We are never really going to compete with the state run clubs and that’s understandable. So why are we not putting all effort into finding the next up and coming stars, the best coaching and scouting staff and prioritising the cups. They don’t even attempt to create any identity, just flit between coaches and players we either don’t need or don’t fit the system.

ENIC always want the top 4 trophy, but then don’t even invest that money properly into the squad. Last season we were told we would have £150m investment. Well what happened to the normal budget for players? The additional Champions league and event’s revenue? And they didn’t even go on to spend the full £100m, so another season goes by without being competitive, and honestly, what did we buy with it?

Everything about our football club is is geared towards making the maximum amount of money but the football side is left as if someone steps back and says “that’ll do”.

 

[newbie]

My major problem with ENIC is they prioritise the business before the football. They show zero desire to want to win a trophy and it trickles down to how we perform. We don’t take any of the cups seriously, the conference league for example, we should have aimed to win that. We are capable of winning the Carling cup, and push for the FA cup.

Instead we sack a manager before a final and consistently prioritise the league over any other competition.

To me, it’s so simple what our identity should be. We are never really going to compete with the state run clubs and that’s understandable. So why are we not putting all effort into finding the next up and coming stars, the best coaching and scouting staff and prioritising the cups. They don’t even attempt to create any identity, just flit between coaches and players we either don’t need or don’t fit the system.

ENIC always want the top 4 trophy, but then don’t even invest that money properly into the squad. Last season we were told we would have £150m investment. Well what happened to the normal budget for players? The additional Champions league and event’s revenue? And they didn’t even go on to spend the full £100m, so another season goes by without being competitive, and honestly, what did we buy with it?

Everything about our football club is is geared towards making the maximum amount of money but the football side is left as if someone steps back and says “that’ll do”.

Funny thing is
If it was not for not learning from mistakes, no plan, shit recruiting, dragging everything out, using the transfer window to sell season tickets, they would have covered up the the fact they don’t care about winning!

Yes, they are set up to make money, but really if Eric want to make money on the football side rather than just the the commercial side, We would be far more savvy in the transfer market, and will operate like Dortmund or Brentford, discovering young talent, selling players quickly for profit with a good scouting network, which fills gaps. look at Brentford, they’ve already filled the goalie position before Raya is sold. Brighton fill players manager, seamlessly.

we seem to make everything so painful, no plan no direction no ethos so, although commercially, we make Loadsamoney! The footballing decisions are schoolboy we make so many mistakes and that has set us back. we are profit driven, but also we are some kind of limbo where to save face we can’t sell our best players and reinvest, so we end up with a Badly balance squad Because we don’t sell on players, quick enough and replace well. There’s no planning, or structure, the Brightons and Brentford model really have come home to show us up.


We started a model by buying good young players, but there was no foresight into squad planning. I don’t understand why we moved away from buying Good young players and adding value to them and selling on for a big profit! instead, we’ve bought too many Jack Clarks and Joe Rondons and for big money way, too much dross.

We have Gone from a clear strategy which was a bit gung ho but kind of worked to a strategy which is gung ho and signing Completely wrong type of player on to much money transfers and wages so we can’t get rid,

 

[SpursForever71]

lets face facts, i want ENIC\Levy out as much as anyone, but it isnt going to happen anytime soon. May as wel close this thread to be honest?

 

[Karol]

lets face facts, i want ENIC\Levy out as much as anyone, but it isnt going to happen anytime soon. May as wel close this thread to be honest?

Any takeover news, articles or related takeover news, ie Qatari bid for Utd not a done deal, as being reported now wouldn't have a dedicated thread if this thread was closed

Other nonrelated threads would then be used for 'takeover' posts

Far better to keep this thread open ensuring less off topic stuff elsewhere

 

[Gb160]

Any takeover news, articles or related takeover news, ie Qatari bid for Utd not a done deal, as being reported now wouldn't have a dedicated thread if this thread was closed

Other nonrelated threads would then be used for 'takeover' posts

Far better to keep this thread open ensuring less off topic stuff elsewhere

It's just something people say when they're frustrated about a subject.

 

[For the love of Spurs]

My major problem with ENIC is they prioritise the business before the football. They show zero desire to want to win a trophy and it trickles down to how we perform. We don’t take any of the cups seriously, the conference league for example, we should have aimed to win that. We are capable of winning the Carling cup, and push for the FA cup.

Instead we sack a manager before a final and consistently prioritise the league over any other competition.

To me, it’s so simple what our identity should be. We are never really going to compete with the state run clubs and that’s understandable. So why are we not putting all effort into finding the next up and coming stars, the best coaching and scouting staff and prioritising the cups. They don’t even attempt to create any identity, just flit between coaches and players we either don’t need or don’t fit the system.

ENIC always want the top 4 trophy, but then don’t even invest that money properly into the squad. Last season we were told we would have £150m investment. Well what happened to the normal budget for players? The additional Champions league and event’s revenue? And they didn’t even go on to spend the full £100m, so another season goes by without being competitive, and honestly, what did we buy with it?

Everything about our football club is is geared towards making the maximum amount of money but the football side is left as if someone steps back and says “that’ll do”.

It’s because they are not football people they are business people running a football club. Our board is mostly accountants and the like hence why we are so good off the pitch and so poor on it.

They don’t even understand that an identity is cheaper and will save money which is remarkable. If you have a certain way of playing you can recruit only for that but as we change styles so often much of the squad often needs changing, constant endless half done rebuilds.

I don’t see Levy as some evil villain just someone who is very good at certain things and very bad at others, he is a 10/10 over here and a 1/10 over there but struggles to delegate his weaker areas to others hence the mess. It’s all fixable but does a Leopard change his spots.

 

[Nebby]

Wash a sullied reputation? - sounds like something out of a dickens novel.
They are two independent things. I would be happy with such am investment though it would not change any opinion I have of a country.

There are times when I could look up at Levy in the director's box and feel angry, disappointed and maybe even embarrassed. My fear if we sell out to some nation state that's only using the club for sports-washing purposes, is that I could end up looking up at the people running the club and feeling downright ashamed.

 

[spursfan77]

There are times when I could look up at Levy in the director's box and feel angry, disappointed and maybe even embarrassed. My fear if we sell out to some nation state that's only using the club for sports-washing purposes, is that I could end up looking up at the people running the club and feeling downright ashamed.

I doubt they’d ever turn up to watch us, so you wouldn’t have to worry about that too much!

 

[brasil_spur]

Honestly so tired of this argument. There are levels of bad. Dodgy dealings, sure, not great, but let's not even act like it's close to a literal nation which commits genuine human rights violations on a daily basis. It's not hypocritical to understand the nuance between bad, very bad, and downright shameful. I agree that anyone thinking any billionaire is squeaky clean is naïve, but using whataboutism and acting like good is good and bad is bad is just ignorant. It's like saying murder and theft are equally wrong because they're both crimes.

Been through this before but if you're referring to Qatar then they are nowhere near as bad as this and rank higher in human rights records than many western countries. If you're talking about Saudi Arabia then that's a fair point. But you can't just throw all sports washing into one pot.

Also Joe Lewis is more than dodgy dealings, he helped caused misery, poverty and despair for millions of Brits by effectively betting on the downfall of the UK economy.

I'm not taking a side on this one, but there's far more nuance here than you're making out.

 

[fecka]

Been through this before but if you're referring to Qatar then they are nowhere near as bad as this and rank higher in human rights records than many western countries. If you're talking about Saudi Arabia then that's a fair point. But you can't just throw all sports washing into one pot.

Also Joe Lewis is more than dodgy dealings, he helped caused misery, poverty and despair for millions of Brits by effectively betting on the downfall of the UK economy.

I'm not taking a side on this one, but there's far more nuance here than you're making out.

As someone who's worked and lived in Qatar, the UAE, and many Western countries I know for a fact that they are extremely bad. Just in recent history Qatar literally treated Asian working migrants as disposable assets with deaths in the thousands just to get some positive PR from the World Cup. And that's only what was reported. It's a country filled with blatant racism, sexism, and extremely harsh anti-LGBTQ laws. Not to mention the persecution of those who dare criticize the leadership.

Joe Lewis is a major douche, likely a manipulative narcissist, and many other things, but that's still a far cry from the likes of the Qatari and Saudi leadership.

As a side note, what baffles me the most is the absolute certainty of some posters that new ownership would focus on sporting achievements. The ownership stake of clubs across the world by nation-states like PIF, QSI, and coalitions like the one led by Todd Boehly is literally less than a handful while most clubs globally are owned either by fans or businessmen. And I know very few businessmen who don't invest to make money down the line, either by taking dividends or by increasing the value and selling on.
At the stage where the club is, the latter is very unlikely so there's likely a significant chance that new ownership would be the likes who are interested in our property development, and other assets, as well as how to further them.
There are absolutely no guarantees we'll get any oil tycoon as owners and no guarantees that said tycoon, if we get one, don't do a Malaga and dump all assets at the first sign of trouble.

 

[brasil_spur]

As someone who's worked and lived in Qatar, the UAE, and many Western countries I know for a fact that they are extremely bad. Just in recent history Qatar literally treated Asian working migrants as disposable assets with deaths in the thousands just to get some positive PR from the World Cup. And that's only what was reported. It's a country filled with blatant racism, sexism, and extremely harsh anti-LGBTQ laws. Not to mention the persecution of those who dare criticize the leadership.

Joe Lewis is a major douche, likely a manipulative narcissist, and many other things, but that's still a far cry from the likes of the Qatari and Saudi leadership.

I take it you've not worked in Saudi though. And this is my point.

This link provides a lot more nuance on this than your post tries to - https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/human_rights_rule_law_index/

Saudi ranks at 22.

Ethiopia, who sponsor Arsenal's shirt, rank at 17. Where's the uproar about accepting sponsorship money for sports washing there?

Qatar ranks at 88, UAE at 60. Brazil (36), Turkey (28) and India (46) all rank worse than those two nations and yet there would be no uproar if there was investment from those nations and they are all seen as Western / Western compatible.

Yes they have some hard laws, but then the USA is filled with racism, sexism and now has harsh anti-abortion laws. There's shades of grey all over the place, but the reality is that a lot of countries that we deem as "ok" are pretty shitty in reality.

You can't lump Saudi and Qatar into the same bucket, there's a wide gap between the two of them.

And in terms of Asian workers dying in the thousands, i'm sure 50%+ of the people reading this right now are doing so an iphone / ipad that was manufactured by exploited Asian workers, from whom many hundreds/thousands of which are now dead. It's very easy to point a finger at a regime who do bad things (and we should point fingers) but then we also need to look at what we are helping to perpetuate daily as well.