A week ago supporters were twitching, looking for some vague hint of intent from the club, Pochettino came out and spoke of a calmness that was a little difficult to comprehend largely because every other Premier League side had been busily going about their transfer business, but singularly Spurs had not. Cleary Poch was inter-mating that ‘everything was in hand’.
Unfortunately, we then had Levy’s charm offensive at the NASDAQ event which poo-pooed the market forces and instead revealed that the sane, the sustainable approach (which coincidentally he was pursuing) was to focus on the Academy.
After all, Harry Kane was footballing rocket fuel. A local lad done good of immense dimensions, one almost might say. However this rather smug NASDAQ interview was public relations disaster in two obvious respects.
One, the development work at THFC whilst noble, has not been as successful as it has been painted. In fact the overwhelming majority of its progenies have not enjoyed illustrious careers. Lots of them have have ended up at Hull. The conveyor belt of inexpensive, homegrown talent that Levy alluded to is a figment of his own imagination.
Kane eventually came good after many years and almost as many loan periods. The truth is, it would be easier to argue a case that Kane came good despite the youth system at Tottenham with it’s endless merry go round of coaches and training staff.
Two, hot in the heels of Levy scoffing at the market being ‘unsustainable’ (a market he had been gifted parity in with the payment of £50million for Bonzo) Mauricio wandered in front of some American journalists and said that Levy’s strategy to prefer to sit this window out and rely on the Font Of Youth at EN2 was news to him.
Gladys has shared what I regard as being of concern. Before leaving for the USA, the squad was consulted about their ideas for developing the squad.
The general consensus was that not much was needed, they themselves think they are capable of competing on all fronts.
Poch has treated four or five senior pros with enormous respect, and as a result they wield tremendous power within the dressing room.
Quite why this conversation was held is anyone’s guess. I can’t see any logic to it whatsoever. Footballers are by their very nature immensely keen on self-preservation and self-advancement. To paraphrase, why would Turkeys vote for Christmas? Was it expected that one or two of the lads might step forward and admit that they weren’t quite up to it and should be ‘upgraded’?
Since then of course, the club decided that it would be a good idea to wheel out these contented players in an effort to assure fans that there was nothing to worry about.
Pochettino is extremely frustrated.
Barkley is a player that he and others at Spurs had identified and transfers can become convoluted. However a player that really excited him was Sigurðsson. This is a player Poch had taken time to investigate and now personally champions. Poch believes Siggy exhibits many characteristics that are vital in a player. Poch is an unforgiving judge, he wants both on-pitch intelligence and physical potential. He believes Siggy offers both in spades.
The fact that this deal was a hair’s breadth form being done, to then to be a dead duck was a blow. Swansea City (perfectly within their rights) wanted to maximise the compensation for selling their best player. Instead of engineering a solution, Levy designed himself a discount that derailed the discussions.
Yes, there are weeks to run in this window, but Spurs play Newcastle United in a matter of days and the squad is insufficient even allowing for injuries.
Poch feels that the preseason has been a rather blunt tool to achieve fitness levels, and that he is staring at the same very limited options.
Mauricio has become wearisome with the ever lingering question marks over Lamela and Sissoko. These are two colossal starting XI commitments that he is either unable to think of in the first instance or only able to awkwardly deploy in the latter’s case.
There is also the issue of N’Jie and Nkoudou. Neither of these acquisitions served any purpose in strengthening the squad. Levy is fixated buying cheap and selling high, however there appears to be a significant gulf between the plan and the execution. The absence of tangible benefit to the squad as a whole has become draining.
There is very definitely a case of history repeating here. Yet again we have a Spurs manager who suggests targets and is then offered the Hobson’s Choice of knock-off versions or nothing at all in their stead.
Add what Levy has provided – to what he is seemingly incapable of providing – and you have our best coach since Burkinshaw pulling his bloody hair out.
