It's a fine line between praising and condemning Daniel Levy for his tenure as chairman at the moment. The right stance is probably somewhere in the middle.
The man has undoubtedly done a fantastic job in creating the infrastructure which is currently in place at Spurs with the training ground and stadium but has been equally incompetent and complacent with the playing side.
Without dwelling too much, Pochettino was the best manager we've had in decades. The style of play suited our club and so did his personality. He had his flaws but what manager in the world doesn't? The most annoying thing about his sacking is the warnings that were shared beforehand.
He constantly banged on about us needing to be brave in our transfer strategy and essentially hinting at needing to rebuild the squad through a new chapter in a project. Levy ran scared and sacked him hiring Mourinho.
Plenty of fans should be ashamed at themselves for wanting Pochettino sacked. Any reasonable person would have known our results would bounce immediately and then the same issues would reside. Now we talk about the squad being terrible and need an overhaul. Mourinho makes odd changes and selections. Everything the previous manager had yet we refused to back him and show loyalty. Pathetic.
Back to Daniel Levy, as impressed as i am with how the club as moved forward the best part of it hasn't been the shiny stadium. It was the football and progress we made on the pitch in recent years before the disaster of a collapse.
Again and again, Levy fails to improve the squad and at the right time.
In 2016/17, we were linked with Sadio Mane who visited our grounds. By all accounts, Levy wasn't happy meeting his wage demands and Liverpool took over. Instead, we brought in N'Koudou and a last minute Sissoko for £30m because we panicked. Still, we finished 2nd and had a brilliant points total.
What did we do for 2017/18? Sell our best full back. Buy an old ST in Llorente as the only cover for Kane and spent a significant amount on a future (not necessarily immediate) prospect in Sanchez. Then Moura down the line (good signing).
Liverpool on the other hand buy Salah, Robertson and VVD.
In 2017/18, we then finish 3rd and Liverpool 4th. So heading into the following 2018/19 season the teams take two very different approaches. At this point i firmly believe Pochettino was starting to get tired of Daniel Levy. Always working within serious constraints and offering players he may not exactly want therefore refuse instead of bringing in and being thought of as 'Pochettino' signings.
AVB confirmed this when he came out and said Daniel offered or brought in players he didn't want and the ones he did (Willian, Oscar, Moutinho etc.) got away.
So, we decide to spend absolutely nothing for 18 months. Liverpool turn to improving their squad even further by purchasng Shaqiri, Alisson, Keita and Fabinho. It was from this point onwards that we just completely collapsed.
A team who punched above their weight getting 2nd and 3rd were left to rot. We continued by selling Dembele and haven't replaced him since. The one summer where we looked to show intent by signing Sessegnon, Ndombele and Lo Celso we sacked the manager before he had the chance to use them properly and rebuild.
Just a plethora of poor decision making. There is no point in developing the infrastructure if we continually fail to capitalise on opportunities. Now, in order for us to get back to our 'peak' we need a combination of luck and serious money. Something he could have avoided by investing at the right time on quality players.
I personally am very disappointed in Daniel Levy. I appreciate the stadium but it means nothing without the football. I hope the recent transfer windows are a window into the future where we actually spend. Still, the recruitment has been abysmal and there seems to be no planning.
Daniel Levy
posted on 2/3/20
comment by Spurtle (U1608)
posted 17 minutes ago
It's already been as good as confirmed by 2 managers how much control Levy has in the signings. AVB blamed him for not getting him the players he wanted, and Poch outed him by saying he is a coach rather than a manager and has little say in goings and comings of the players.
We're not even talking about big money having to be thrown around in the style of Woodward either we're talking about Levy not backing his managers by missing out on easily affordable targets.
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Grealish being the perfect example of Levy`s brinkmanship tactics, we could of had him for a reasonable price, but Levy dragged the deal out by trying to low ball Villa knowing they were desperate for funds at the time. Unfortunately, Villa were then taken over and Levy missed out on a 50m+ asset he could have had for around 25m.
posted on 2/3/20
At least its an all purpose stadium. Maybe the American football will be decent if not the football.
posted on 2/3/20
We could of had Bruno Fernandes, but Levy would not stump up enough to make a deal when we were the only serious bidder. Levy just does not have any real ambition for silverware, and refuses to speculate to accumulate. We had a golden generation and an opportunity to win something, but Levy sat on his arce as usual.
posted on 2/3/20
This is exactly what i'm talking about.
The conversation shifts from 'it's Levy's fault we didn't sign this player' which may well be true, to 'it's Levy's fault we don't win anything' which patently isn't.
The squad good enough for regular top 4 finishes, 2nd in the league, and a CL final, was good enough for a domestic trophy or two. If you're going to put all the responsibility on Levy he deserves all the credit too - let's not forget that signing the 'golden generation' and hiring Poch when he was barely proven at Saints was down to Levy.
posted on 2/3/20
He wanted LVG thou. To be fair i was not sold on Poch at first.
posted on 2/3/20
Still think Levy should step down if Mourinho fails.
posted on 2/3/20
comment by Bales (U22081)
posted 1 hour, 14 minutes ago
This is exactly what i'm talking about.
The conversation shifts from 'it's Levy's fault we didn't sign this player' which may well be true, to 'it's Levy's fault we don't win anything' which patently isn't.
The squad good enough for regular top 4 finishes, 2nd in the league, and a CL final, was good enough for a domestic trophy or two. If you're going to put all the responsibility on Levy he deserves all the credit too - let's not forget that signing the 'golden generation' and hiring Poch when he was barely proven at Saints was down to Levy.
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That's because one thing can lead to another. If you're not showing ambition in the transfer market you're likely not going to win much silverware. True we had a very good first team good enough for consistent top 4 finishes, but we didn't really have the squad depth to challenge for silverware at the same time, and it was usually the insufficient squad depth that was our undoing when we went far in cup competitions.
Obviously you can look to the manager and whether he could have done better. As an example though, look at Liverpool and Klopp. He reached 3 finals and lost each one. He was let down badly in the CL final by the keeper. What does the board then do? Gets a new keeper, strengthens the squad, and now Klopp has won a couple of trophies and will win the PL. He was in the same position as Poch only their board backed him properly while Levy didn't.
Levy has not done enough to ensure success at the club.
posted on 3/3/20
What does the board then do? Gets a new keeper, strengthens the squad, and now Klopp has won a couple of trophies and will win the PL. He was in the same position as Poch only their board backed him properly while Levy didn't.
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You make out as if the Liverpool board coughed up 160m for VVD and Alisson. They sold Coutinho for a record sum and reinvested it. If Barca had gone for Eriksen instead this would be a very different conversation.
posted on 3/3/20
comment by ● Billy The Yidd ● (U3924)
posted 16 hours, 11 minutes ago
comment by Spurtle (U1608)
posted 17 minutes ago
It's already been as good as confirmed by 2 managers how much control Levy has in the signings. AVB blamed him for not getting him the players he wanted, and Poch outed him by saying he is a coach rather than a manager and has little say in goings and comings of the players.
We're not even talking about big money having to be thrown around in the style of Woodward either we're talking about Levy not backing his managers by missing out on easily affordable targets.
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Grealish being the perfect example of Levy`s brinkmanship tactics, we could of had him for a reasonable price, but Levy dragged the deal out by trying to low ball Villa knowing they were desperate for funds at the time. Unfortunately, Villa were then taken over and Levy missed out on a 50m+ asset he could have had for around 25m.
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and this being the perfect example of a fan who poo-poo'd the signing of Grealish as underwhelming etc and yet now after half a decent season on the EPL (villa being relegated BTW) he's being hailed as some top player which Levy let get away. I'd say at least two thirds on here didnt want Grealish when we were linked with him.
As for Fernandes, United have paid £45m with another £25m in add ons in a position which tbh we are not short in. We have Lo Celso, and I am pretty sure that Fernandes will start to find it harder to play his game as the opposition start to figure him out.
posted on 3/3/20
comment by Bales (U22081)
posted 10 hours, 36 minutes ago
What does the board then do? Gets a new keeper, strengthens the squad, and now Klopp has won a couple of trophies and will win the PL. He was in the same position as Poch only their board backed him properly while Levy didn't.
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You make out as if the Liverpool board coughed up 160m for VVD and Alisson. They sold Coutinho for a record sum and reinvested it. If Barca had gone for Eriksen instead this would be a very different conversation.
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They had the money to spend via the Coutinho sale, but let's not kid ourselves, we have had the money to spend too, but we've either not spend enough or not spent it constructively. Liverpool have been more organised than us in general. They've gone about their business smoothly and quickly. It's something that never seems to apply to us.