No two ways about it, his summer’s transfer window has been an unprecedented success. Sure, we’ve still got Danny Rose clinging on by his fingertips which was always to be expected, in truth, but José Mourinho has sparked life into the transfer machinations of Tottenham. This was no mean feat, against a backdrop of both debt, and disease, not to mention the erstwhile despotic nature of ENIC when it came to player acquisition.
A source close to the club assures me that Gedson Fernandes is a player that José was particularly keen to move on, alas Steve Hitchen was unable to find anyone remotely keen to involve themselves with the boy. Yes, he’s young and all that jazz, but unlike Mourinho’s bery happy predecessor, under José the sole focus is now upon ensuring the squad is composed of his boys, boys he can completely rely upon.
Do not expect too much of the Benfica boy, or berate him for it. This isn’t the right fit for him. that’s all.
Perhaps he wants the right project? What we know is from his time with us and Saints beforehand is that he likes to work with younger hungry players that will 100% take on his methods. Unless he gets guarantees that he’ll be able to work that way I’m not sue he’d take it. What would be the point when you know it wouldn’t work?
I don’t think he’s desperate, if he goes to Utd it will be with an agreement to shape the squad a certain way…
To me he just couldn’t cope with the pace of the game and the physicality of it. He wasn’t a wimp just too ingrained in the Spanish football culture.
If he’d have come over at 20 and developed in England he might have been great here too.
Soldaldo was a genuine AVB pick along with Paulinho. Well intentioned signing because his goals record in Spain was more than respectable. The problem was that AVB didn’t understand the league well enough, if he did Bobby would never have been put through all that! 😂
A good striker and we might have sneaked top four. Levy licking his wounds over that one… which is why his supposedly “very talented players” needed five extra first team players to come in this summer. The guy makes it up as he goes along, only spending when all options to be a tight wad have dried up! 😂
You say we needed him, but even when Kane and Sonny were out he generally got 20min cameos in the second half. If he even started a League game I’ll be surprised. Not his fault but I guess it was to create a bit of backup and an option so other players further forward with no striker available… shoulda got a striker?!
Who’s really in for him?I suspect the Utd. interest is press speculation.
Don’t get me wrong i like the guy,but it is unusual for a young manager like him to have been out of work for so long.There have been a number of high profile jobs that have bypassed him.
Looked lightweight when he arrived and he’ll look it when he goes. Clinton N’Jie the 2nd
Who said anything about that loser poch? Your hero.
Is it any wonder that the guy who brokered the deal to do the show with them is shown in a sympathetic light?
The Amazon thing was a joke. Unedifying and embarrassing on so many levels. Levy is also an abysmal actor…
As with all ‘reality tv’ anyone who doesn’t think that all of the scenes were edited to bits, overdubbed and set up in most cases needs a bit of help. Does anyone believe the stuff that goes on in Towie? It’s the same sh*t…
Levy treated Pochettino and his staff abysmally, as he did with all his managers at different times, generally at the end. Pulls the backing then points the finger at them and firesthe trigger. Hoddle, Jol, Ramos (just after winning Levy’s only trophy). Several deserved better and time to rebuild, none more so than Poch and his staff…
Nobody wants him? I doubt it…
How was it a “bizarre addition ” levy getting what Jose wanted is what I said. Fk all to do with the striker bit you’re adding. And why couldn’t you comprehend what I first said? It Was quite simple. I’ll spell it out. Why the fk you blaming levy for gedson? Simple enough?
Southgate was never a good manager. He relegated Middlesbrough with a snivel and a whimper in his first season there. Which they never recovered from. Then he goes to coach Englands kids.. Our national team could do with a proper manager right now with all our young talent coming through. We won’t be winning much or developing the best we can with Gary in the hotseat. Another yes man is why he’s there. But he’s like Roy Hodgson with less credentials.
I think you’re being harsh on Soldado. I watch him regularly for a couple of years when La Liga was on Sky and kept saying that he would be a great signing for us and was overjoyed when we got him. For some reason, the magic never happened and he was never the same after he left. Such as shame as he really was a class player in his pomp.
It’s not complicated, we desperately needed a 2nd striker and he got a winger/utility player that couldn’t play as striker. What don’t you comprehend about that?
Yet another signing that is questionable from what I’ve seen so far.
We don’t really know who or what picks the players but hopefully Mourinho has decided to to move away from the Gedson and Clark type of signing.
Don’t bother, but you can’t blame this one on Poch. Solely down to Levy and Mourinho.
You don’t get the bigger picture of the signing. Can’t be bothered to explain
I thought it a strange transfer at the time. He was a signing that we didn’t need . There were other positions that we needed to strengthen and I am not even sure which is his best position. The option to buy him at £43 mill for a player of his ability is absurd. Dud signing by whomsoever was responsible.
Yep that’s right. José went for the best he could get (available and versatile) from his homeland. Geezer above blaming levy for it calling it a “bizarre addition” god!
I thought that Fernandes was a Mourinho pick, particularly given the Benfica link.
Well he’s already had a year without it and it looks more than likely that it will be some time before he is in useful employment again.
I think there’s some truth in this. If it did happen like this, I’m just pleased that Levy was able to see the error of his ways and make the moves that he did.
I think you make an excellent point regrarding the negotiation. If there’s one thing we know for sure about Levy its that he hates being held over a barrel. In fact it’s not that he hates it so much as he would never put himself in that position in the first place. January is a poor time to get any sort of value – unless the selling club really need to do business (which is why we got Bergwijn).
I thik Jose genuinely thought he could probably get us back into the top 4 too. After a few wekks he probably identified the big issue we had and realised it was probably not going to happen.
Levy was painted in a very sympathetic light on the Amazon series.
I had absolutely no appreciation for their showing Pochettino saying, “I think it is normal.” with no context whatsoever, save for their narrative that Poch had no answers. That was a really cowardly thing to do.
Gedson has shown some hard work and industry in the few opportunities he has been given.
But he has not ever been defined in a consistent position. A bit of AM, a bit of DM, a bit of wing, and even a pretty decent showing at RB vs Ipswich.
Agree with the article. No reason to slate him – there just is not really a place for him at present.
I am not sure what could have been done to make him go away, considering he is at Spurs on an 18 month loan.
Hopefully he is a good professional and a great squad player until he returns to Benfica.
Cheers
Nighty night DD…
I reckon Poch could do a great job as England manager but as he’s into the coaching side so much he’d miss the day to day of club footy.
I never understood the signing to be honest, I still don’t fully understand the Bergwijn deal either although he’s more fully formed. I reckon a striker in January wasn’t something Levy was prepared to do as he wouldn’t have had the upper hand in a negotiation with everyone knowing Kane was out. So the idea was to get a couple of bodies in so Sonny, Moura or whoever else could be shuffled about in Kane’s absence.
My second theory is that Levy was genuinely shocked that Jose couldn’t get top four after giving him a 2m bonus on top of his 15m a season contract for doing it… Levy never truly understood that the team needed properly freshening up, Poch had got top 4 four seasons running with that squad and it could just continue. No players needed, just freshen up by changing the manager and put it all down to Poch being in some kind of deep depression after us losing in the final.
At the time that Jose came in Levy said “we have a very talented group of players, they just need to start winning again”. These aren’t the words of someone who nine months later would see fit to ship in no less than FIVE first team players plus a goalie. That’s half the flipping team!
Two things have happened here, Levy has learned that the squad was no longer able to play at the required level week in week out because they had become stale. Poch tried to tell him, but the combination of and the reality of missing out on Champions League football plus Jose educating him about what was needed, prompted him into action.
Deals that we fans had “no compwehension” of how difficult they were to do suddenly become somewhat miraculously easier to do… It’s as if Levy has had to miss out on top four and hear it from someone else other than Poch that the team needed refurbishing.
What a plonker…
Bonne Nuit
Adios amigos
Bizarre very bizarre. Soldado, Vincent Jannsen. Painful memories!
with Grealish dictating tempo under Arry none of this play 3 at the back and clueless in midfield!
Then we shall see the resumption of some sexy swagger football!
Give it to our Harry Redknapp. Hang on a sec….
Never like gloating as I recall we were once spanked 5-3 by Man United at the Lane after leading 3-0 at HT!!
He makes some strange decisions and I’m beginning to think he’s out of his league. Under 21’s manager only for me. Perhaps Poch could light up the England team?
The whole Man U team has lost it’s mojo. Could be something to do withy that spanking we handed them!
Having exceeded expectations at the World Cup
nice guy Southgate is, his position is looking a little shaky at this stage.
We should rename him N’Gedson. Another one of Levy’s bizarre additions to our squad that we didn’t need. Thank goodness for a manager who has some influence over him, because Levy’s knowledge of football is barely adequate to play football manager on novice difficulty. I just hope we can keep Mou for a long time so he can monitor Levy’s transfer window dealings.
Rashford has lost his mojo
Agreed both Grealish, Mings and Ings should have been selected from the start
I don’t rate a manager who leaves out Grealish yet picks the turkey of the week in McGuire – doesn’t Southgate watch any football?
Chris Sutton Radio 5 Live ‘Odd that Grealish didn’t get on’?
Mate he should have been selected from the start. It’s a no brainer!
It’s generally acknowledged that we got the wrong Fernandes!
IMO one of our talented academy players would have performed better than Gedson me thinks!
Yep. I think we needed an extra body at the time – at low cost. Now we don’t need him.
Not sure what we expected but he has done absolutely nought!
Gedson will find it difficult to get game time now with the squad we have. He’ll go back to Benfica at the end of the season.
*plot
For a manger who should be building the England team around omitted Grealish it begs the question has Southgate already lost the pot??