But it doesn't always work like that, hence the panic exposed in the willingness to splash £30m on Sissoko last season. The longer Tottenham leave it, the more desperate they get, and the selling teams know that.
I see your point of course, but surely you would rather have a settled squad and give the new players adequate time to integrate with the new team during preseason?
On the flip side, there may be other clubs that will bid for the likes of Barkley, Aurier etc. on deadline day and their prices will increase and Spurs risk the possibility of missing out.
Anyway I see the logic behind your strateg, I just think it's too risky for my liking.
Fair enough if you can save £10-15m, especially if you're a club as heavily leveraged as Spurs with their stadium. However as a manager I can imagine hating having Levy as your chairman. Especially as he is also the quickest to sack them quickly once results turn sour.
You can just see the situation. Either Spurs start slowly or a key attacker get an injury and are out for 2-3 months with no one to come in and replace them. Levy ends up getting a bargain in last minute, but he isn't integrated with the team so has a poor start and with confidence on the floor ends up having a poor season. The manager gets the blame and is evens to be the next PL manager out of a job. The club end up paying far more in lost prize money and the managers severance pay than getting the players signed in July for several £m extra.
The same situation as occurred with Berbatov. Levy squeezes £5m extra out of the buying club but with no time to secure a replacement they get 2 points from their opening 8 games and the manager is unemployed.
@GlastonSpur
Hand on heart how many of the players do you think don't care as much about a bigger salary because they love the club and believe in the project? If that's truly the case then my respect for the club increases drastically, I love the notion that there are guys willing to make less then they could for footballing reasons.
Not many, but some. Harry Kane is one of them. A couple of weeks ago he said: "Football for me isn’t about money. I’m at Tottenham because I love this club and I see it going in the right direction.”
In the case of Barkley, it's Everton who will get the more desperate ... because if they don't sell him now he can sign for another club on a free in the winter window.
Clearly Spurs aren't desperate to sign Barkley or else we'd have paid up for him weeks ago - it's a signing that we'd like, but our world doesn't collapse if we don't.
Barkley is just one example, and he's hardly a player Spurs need to add to their squad. Even then, I don't think Spurs will end up saving much if they leave it to the last minute to sign him. Everton dropping the valuation from £50m to £35m, which they supposedly have done, is only a recognition that no one in their right mind was ever going to pay that for him.
It's not the same situation at all. Berbatov was an outgoing player. Barkley would be an incoming player, so the question of "no time to secure a replacement" doesn't arise in the first place.
The end result is the same though: a negative effect on the team due to the chairman trying to save a few £m.
As I said fair play to him and Spurs are heavily leveraged so every penny counts. The bit I dislike however is that Levy will be the first to throw the manager under the bus if he has an awful start to the season.
Considering you've received £65m this Summer and you've got a manager who seems to be working wonders with the squad, as a chairman the last thing I'd be thinking is how to be penny smart but pound foolish. Within reason he should be getting the players Poch wants at the schedule he wants them.
Let's be honest Levy is dreadful at choosing managers (Poch wasn't even his first choice) so if Poch ends up quitting or failing because of these tactics Spurs could be cycling through another half dozen poor managers whilst trying to pay for a stadium.
I don't see that signing Barkley sometime in the next 3 weeks - if it happens - rather than signing him 3 weeks ago (say) will have any negative effect on the team. He had surgery on his groin 3 weeks ago and so wouldn't in any case have been involved in our pre-season training and early season games. And so it wouldn't have made sense for Spurs to bid an extra £15m (or more) for him simply to get him in sooner rather than later.
I also strongly doubt that Levy will sack Pochettino even if we have an awful start to the season. And if we do have an awful start it will have nothing to do with not signing Barkley and little to do with not signing any other players ... because bar the departure of Walker we have the same squad that finished 2nd last season.
So many posters on here are obsessed with the signing of new players. But the blunt truth regarding Spurs is that there almost no-one we could sign for a reasonable amount of money who would be an improvement on any position in our first XI. We could do with improving squad depth and competition for places in 2 or 3 areas. But that's all we need and we still have 3 weeks in which to do it.
So many posters on here are obsessed with the signing of new players.
The fact is if Trippiers injury is/was serious you go into the season with no senior right back. That's also the case for Spurs in a few other positions (striker, AM, Winger etc). That could easily cost you points, which could have an effect on morale and end up turning a potentially good season into a mediocre one.
Pochettino will have had a few targets and he'd have wanted them to get accustomed to his style and his tactics. If you don't think he'll be incredibly frustrated with Levy at this point I think you're being naive.
Agreed. Sort of hoping Spurs don't really add to the squad and goes on and does well. To contradict the seemingly popular opinion that a club/ big club not buying is a club/ big club in decline.
The fact is if Trippiers injury is/was serious you go into the season with no senior right back. That's also the case for Spurs in a few other positions (striker, AM, Winger etc). That could easily cost you points, which could have an effect on morale and end up turning a potentially good season into a mediocre one.
Pochettino will have had a few targets and he'd have wanted them to get accustomed to his style and his tactics. If you don't think he'll be incredibly frustrated with Levy at this point I think you're being naive.
Why would he be frustrated with Levy? I've already explained why signing Barkley early would have made no difference to Pochettino. And there is zero evidence to suggest that Levy has in any way interfered with or blocked the signing of any other target that Pochettino may want.
Your point about Trippier is valid, but we have 3 weeks to address it and in any case Dier can play as RB if needed. The other points aren't especially valid: if Kane gets injured we can play Son in his stead; if one of our AMs gets injured we have Lamela to take their place; and we don't really play with wingers as such.
It's easy to play "what if" games with almost any squad concerning injuries ....
The fact is if Trippiers injury is/was serious you go into the season with no senior right back. That's also the case for Spurs in a few other positions (striker, AM, Winger etc). That could easily cost you points, which could have an effect on morale and end up turning a potentially good season into a mediocre one.
Again I'm not talking about Barkley specifically; Pochettino might not even be interested in him. He'll be frustrated with Levy because he'd have liked the right back position (and a couple of others) to be covered before the start of the season. He won't have wanted one injury to lead to him going into the season playing either a youth team player or a player who is more effective elsewhere playing at RB.
He'd have wanted someone already integrated into the squad and up to speed with his philosophy and tactics to be pushing Trippier for a starting position as he'll be aware competition is a good thing; and if something did happen to Trippier his replacement wouldn't either a) weaken another position; or b) significantly weaken the first XI.
My point is literally that you don't have 3 weeks to address it. By not signing someone in July and allowing them a pre-season with his new teammates and manager, the chairman has already somewhat failed. Anyone purchased in the next week is more likely to have a slow start, more likely to struggle to adapt to what Pochettino wants of them and therefore more likely to have a mediocre season.
In terms of attackers you have five first team options for 3 positions in Kane, Alli, Lamela, Erikson & Son. Two of those players are injured for the first few games of the season which leaves 3 players for 3 positions. Any more knocks and you're starting with the calibre of player that most of the teams you're competing with wouldn't even have room for in their squad - the likes of Janssen.
For a squad that was painfully light anyway the failure to secure a couple of players by the first game of the season due to penny-pinching, after receiving a huge £50m fee for Walker is poor however you spin it.
Probably been said a hundred times, but they'll struggle this season with no home games. Actually think we'll finish above them.
Guarantee this won't be an issue. People talk it up but once Chelsea match is done on the opening day the only tricky home fixture they have till January is Liverpool. That's more than enough time and matches to get them used to playing at Wembley before kicking on to some tougher fixtures. I'd agree with you had they faced more of the top 8 in the first third of the season but they don't.
I also think we've not improved all that much so although we'll do better points wise I still expect Spurs to finish above us. We still look pretty ordinary and labored in the final third imo.
I think it will be a pretty big issue. West Ham's home form clearly suffered as a result of having to get used to a new stadium. Spurs struggled at Wembley last season. Obviously, a variety of factors are at play, but not playing at White Hart Lane, the pitch they are used to, is a substantial disadvantage. That, coupled with their inactivity in the transfer market, does not bode well for the season ahead.
West Ham are fecking shit though.
Not to mention Spurs have already played a good number of games at Wembley last year so it's not a comparable scenario.
Yes, and they struggled hugely. White Hart Lane is the second smallest pitch in the league. Wembley will be the biggest. A bigger pitch does not marry well with a high-pressing style.
Again, I don't know why you keep focusing on Levy when there is no evidence - and you have not provided any evidence - that he has in any way interfered with or blocked the signing of any target that Pochettino may want or engaged in any "penny pinching" to Pochettino's detriment. Mere assertion on your part does not represent such evidence.
Pochettino will have the major input as to which new players he wants, within any budget constraints set by Levy. Once a target-player has been identified/agreed, Levy's role is simply to negotiate a deal if he can.
Five first team options for 3 positions is fine, and nor is it an especially big deal if two of them are not available for the first few games. As for Janssen, your judgement of him is premature IMO. He only turned 23 a few weeks ago and this will be only his 2nd season in the Prem. He scored a fine goal against Roma in pre-season, showing that he is not without talent.
As I said before, we can all play "what if" games with most clubs. For instance, what if Lukuka gets injured for a long period? Who is going to score a lot of goals for United in his absence?
No one is saying Levy has "blocked" anything. He'll have been given a list of targets and his job will have been to get them over the line. So far he's sold a few players but has been unable to get any players in prior to your pre-season tour which for any manager would be ideal. Every manager would want time to work with new players before a new season, but especially a manger with a paper thin squad to start with.
Levy has already somewhat failed on his job to negotiate signings identified by Pochettino and others; as any signings now made won't be accustomed to what Pochettino requires and is therefore unlikely to hit the ground running.
If you feel your attacking options are great then fair enough. Most United fans are concerned going into the season with 6 options in Mata, Martial, Rashford, Mkhitaryan, Lukaku and Lingard.
If Lukaku gets injured for a long time then Martial or Rashford will play up front who've both at various points proven they can score goals in the Premier League (although naturally inconsistently due to their age).
If you can't see that firstly your squad is very thin, secondly that any manager would want signings to be made in time for pre-season integration and thirdly that Levy's failure in this regard could be detrimental to Spurs' season; then im afraid you're being either naive or intentionally ignorant.
Also if it isn't penny-pinching that has caused the lack of signings then it can only be a gross lack of preparation. Everyone at the club knew Walker was leaving so either the club aren't willing to pay what is required to replace him or they don't know who they want to replace him.
As a fan I'd prefer penny-pinching than blatant mismanagement.
There are at least two other alternative (and obvious) possibilities: either 1) Spurs haven't been able to get their first choice for reasons not to do with money and so have moved onto another target; or 2) the club will get their first choice replacement, but save an amount of money by waiting (rather than going earlier in the window) that more than counter-balances the disadvantage of that player missing pre-season.
You seem to think that pre-season training is the end-all and be-all. But it isn't ... especially not if, by waiting, Spurs get all of their first-choice targets rather than just some of them, or else if, again by waiting, they save enough money to buy X+1 additional players rather than just X.
None of us know what's happening behind the scenes, but you have jumped to conclusions regardless.
None of us know what's happening behind the scenes, but you have jumped to conclusions regardless.
You do know that Spurs are permitted to change the size of the pitch to any they want so long as it remains regulation ?Yes, and they struggled hugely. White Hart Lane is the second smallest pitch in the league. Wembley will be the biggest. A bigger pitch does not marry well with a high-pressing style.
It will still be larger than WHL, but slightly smaller than the Wembley pitch of last year.You do know that Spurs are permitted to change the size of the pitch to any they want so long as it remains regulation ?
Actually this doesn't make any sense to me other than penny-pinching. You don't get players on deadline day, or close to it, that other clubs want to keep and are part of their plans for the season, in fact it rises steeply........... or 2) the club will get their first choice replacement, but save an amount of money by waiting (rather than going earlier in the window) that more than counter-balances the disadvantage of that player missing pre-season.
Thanks. So nothing in it then. There are other factors, familiarity for example that may affect them early on but I expect within a couple of months they will have adjusted.It will still be larger than WHL, but slightly smaller than the Wembley pitch of last year.
WHL: 105 x 67
Wembley (16/17): 105 x 69
Wembley (17/18): 105 x 68
Actually this doesn't make any sense to me other than penny-pinching. You don't get players on deadline day, or close to it, that other clubs want to keep and are part of their plans for the season, in fact it rises steeply.
However that's the complete opposite for unwanted personnel, let's take say Markovic at Liverpool as an example, if we want £20m for him now come deadline day we'd like accept a much reduced figure to take salary, cost of having him at the club etc. into account. However that is a player we've been willing to sell all Summer and for the buying club it would be far better to get him early and integrate him into training, tactics and the team, it's contrary to performance enhancement and indeed is penny pinching to wait.
Your scenario 1) doesn't explain why you haven't moved on to your second or third choice targets by mid-August. If the player is unavailable for reasons other than money (a scenario that I don't believe exists anyway), then Levy should have moved on to the next target. He's had months to get his ducks in a row.
Scenario 2 I accept. However it's equally frustrating for the fans I'd imagine. In the current climate I'd say he'd have to be saving £15-20m each on a couple of players to justify a) the risk of another club swooping in and trumping you; or b) the risk of a failure to integrate.
None of us know exactly what's going on behind the scenes but let's be honest. Your manager won't be happy going into the season with £65m more in the bank, but being the only team who hasn't improved their squad.
Exactly. More you are closer to deadline, more the price will be as the selling club won't have proper time to sign replacement and they knows buying club are desperate anyways. Get the business done as early as possible and concentrate on preparation.
There's a strange 'cult-like' thought process around a lot of Spuds fans regarding Levy and the business they do (or, in the case of this window - don't do).
They're starting to sound genuinely delusional, which is ironic as that was previously attributed to Arse fans - Spuds biggest rival! What's that saying again... 'he who fights monsters risks becoming one', basically saying that you will become the enemy that you're fixated upon the most.
Are there any Spurs fans who are actually capable of being honest and somewhat objective and can admit that this window, thus far is a real let down and a concern for a club supposedly 'moving in the right direction'?
