If anyone is in any doubt about the way Daniel Levy has wreaked havoc through the transfer dealings of the club and the consequences of his actions, it’s vividly portrayed in this saga.
On the one hand, we have Paratici/Conte getting players in time for pre-season training and the tour, with a view that we will field our best side come season kick-off, on the other we have Levy faffing around with a player who has not done the same high-level training, has not integrated with the squad on tour and not been coached in the playing style Conte wants and how he’ll fit into it.
How many times have we started the season with the squad barely introduced to new players (when we actually got anyone over the line)? It’s just as well they have names on the shirts, really.
Additionally, this kid Spence is being built up to be something really special; “unbelievable” is the term being bandied about. He may be a damned good prospect, but how damaging is it to him to be built up the way he has been, largely due to the protracted negotiations that have elevated him to such a level of expectation?
We may well buy this kid but have already screwed him over by creating a scenario where he is behind his teammates in terms of fitness, knowledge of tactics/strategy, familiarity with the players around him and how they play, and an albatross called “unbelievable” around his neck. Remember, he’s a kid who is stepping up from a much lower standard to what is pretty much the pinnacle of professional football.
By the time this gets done, IF it gets done, Bissouma, Richarlison, etc., will be integrated into the squad, he’ll be an outsider, but Danny boy will have saved Three Pounds and Seventy Two Pence (amortized over a five-year contract).
If all we have to moan about is that our essential transfer business has only been concluded a full three weeks before the season starts, then we can count ourselves very lucky.
Not one club has done this much good business this early. Not a single one.
It does seem like moaning for moaning’s sake.
Frank Spencer at this rate…in other news I see Traore is available for 10 million.. tbh I think hes worth that
Well said.
Once again Sky Sports are saying this deal is really close now.Yaaaawn.
The main reason he couldn’t nail down a place in the Boro side was the emergence of Jones as RB/RWB.From what I gather he had a very good season,so perhaps he’s the one we should have gone after.Although that wouldn’t have precluded these protracted negotiations.
One thing though, the club needs to be sustainable as a business. Players are expensive in terms of fees & salaries, so Levy’s business building is absolutely essential to the future of the club. Agree that previous seasons have been frustrating but hopefully, the stadium brings enough income to service loans and continue to strengthen Spurs as a football club. Hopefully he can continue to trust the experts he has employed to do the job of running the football team.
It seems to me Conte drew up his list of players he wanted that will play from the jump. Paratici got a lot of these guys and found viable substitutes like Lenglet when the first choice guys weren’t available at a reasonable level.
Levy being Levy came up with a list of punts that could develop, Conte picked a few and said sure, bring these guys in and I’ll see if we can use them somewhere down the road. Spence isn’t starting anytime soon. So it doesn’t matter if Levy does the haggling bit and he misses the trip to Korea. Levy needs to feel useful and spend much of the 150m injection for financial reasons as I’ve explained many times.
It certainly has been an improvement so far.
Just to be clear (for those who score less than a D+ for comprehension), I am not commenting on Spence or the result of this window so far; indeed it is undoubtably the best window we’ve had in for some considerable time.
My comment was to highlight what many of us have suspected for a long time and that is that the difficulties we’ve had in securing players is as a result of the manner in which we have conducted our business.
We have on the one hand Paratici/Conte just going out and strutting their stuff and getting tangible results, on the other we have Levy doing what Levy does and we have yet again an extended logjam of nickel and diming with no tangible result (yet).
This situation demonstrates the need to move Levy out of the way of running the football side of the business……. Spence is part of the situation that is highlighting this: but as an example – it could be anyone and frequently has been.
Indignation is neither frothed up nor idle – its a valid comment on a situation that vindicates and substantiates the view of many posters on this blog – just not the snide ones….
Some have said that Levy and transfers is akin to having a tooth pulled, but having a tooth out is far quicker and much less painful…
Conte’s sides don’t generally have loads of craft. All about the system – defenders who can play and good forwards the key.
James Maddison being linked now though so we could have that creative 8/10 as an option
Old Testament..
I’m aware there is another thread re: Spence. I’ve said it before. He’s a Levy punt. He couldn’t get in an average Boro side and had a good season with Forest. Those stats aren’t enough when looking to dine at footballs top table.
Levy is looking at potential sell on value not value to the team. And that’s been the problem from day 1 of his tenure.
Net spend is about £30m so far so I reckon that means Levy can splash the reported 75m on Skriniar without a second thought. After all, he brought up the 150m. We need that defender now, Dier is nowhere near good enough to play against the Messi’s, Salah’s and Ronaldo’s of the game
Get you ..
And somewhere I dont know exactly where an Argentinian ex manager will be crying into his Mate
“why he no back me like thees I no bery ‘appy”
Is this a serious question requiring an answer?
Let’s hope he’s also good at free kicks. A Djed ball specialist.
Malevolent little clown is still holding out for a voucher for two packets of crisps at the Riverside be thrown into the deal, in the unlikely event we face ‘Boro away in the FA Cup. Good thing nepotism exists, this numpty couldn’t get hired as a shoe shine boy on merit.
ha ha .
That Romano chap who has come out of nowhere but knows all transfers details has said medical has been done now .
to be fair he rarely gets it wrong but we shall see.
Emerson is our 3rd option 🙂
Knowing Levy’s tendency for cheaper alternatives, we could just as likely end up with Louis Spence.
Less suspense more Jed Spence …I’ll get my goat..
The protracted and repeated “close to a deal” series of reports has all the hallmarks of the old Damiao epic.
Such is the steadfast way in the Book of Levy.
Reading 19 mil elsewhere..perhaps both Chmn need a victory.
We are going to become a much more physically imposing side and one imagines, much harder to beat. My concern is that all great footballing sides also need imagination and skill. Brute force will not suffice alone.
Absolutely Marbs. I wonder has Conté wacked the wee man round the napper with a training cone, as he’s not at all acting like himself.
But… but… but… what will we watch on deadline day? Best prepare to put the feet up with a good book. Netflix movie night maybe?
Doherty is our third option.
The most striking this about the eight signings made since Conte joined is the sheer size of them – the shortest is 6’1, and the keeper is a monster. We are going to be such a physically imposing side next season.
Add to the the set-piece expert we have appointed. Very interesting
At a reported 12.5M downpayment after weeks of haggling this figure seems rather cheap as an agreement by Boro.If the alleged requested total was 20M does that mean there is a list of stage payment/performance related add-ons drawn up by Levy that are almost unachievable?If so then Gibson has been done up like a kipper.
Let Levy have his one protracted transfer negotiation. He needs it, it’s his drug.
Imagine having the summer we’ve had and still finding stuff to complain about regarding our 3rd option at right-back.
I feel this transfer has as much to do with our home grown quota as anything else. Lenglet hasn’t trained with the squad yet either, Levy’s fault as well I suppose?
Daniel Levy wears a belt and braces, Steve Gibson is not pulling his pants down!
Daniel must have forgot to pack them when in talks with Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas for Ndombele!
You’ve gone overboard with this one…
As you correctly say, Spence is not an
immediate upgrade, so early integration
into the squad is not important.
It’s a non issue
A rather desperate attempt to froth up some idle indignation? Maybe if a few million are saved here they’ll be just what’s needed to tip a much larger transfer in Tottenham’s favour?
And/or maybe it’s really important in the transfer world to keep up a reputation for steely negotiating, lest you get taken for a ride every time (see eg MUFC passim).
How to tell?
I am hardly an apologist for Levy but this window has certainly been an improvement from most of the ones in the last twenty three years. Business has been concluded before the pre-season tour and the team/squad appears to be immeasurably stronger. If we move on some more deadwood after Bergwijn and CCV, I hope this will free up some more funding as I believe that we still need another CB, and I hope this means selling Sanchez. We still need an attacking MF as Lo Celso and N’Dombele are not the answer. Despite Levy’s unhelpful interference in the Spence signing, so far this window gives some cause for optimism.
To be fair on this one, I am not unduly perturbed, as we already have Doherty and Emerson fighting for the position and it’s doubtful that Spence will be an immediate upgrade.
It also takes two to tango! So whether it’s Levy’s intransigence, or Steve Gibson’s, is open to debate. Either way, the deal is now reported as done and for an up front figure of only 12.5 million, so Levy has, on the face of it, negotiated an excellent deal.
The boy will still have 3 weeks of pre-season with Conte and will surely be up to speed by the start of the campaign. So on this occasion I think we should give our beloved ‘Gruppenführer’ the benefit of the doubt!
As a boro fan I completely agree, since he returned to the club he’s been kept away from the first team, left at home while we’re in Portugal, to train with the youngsters or by himself, had no game time in either of the 2 friendlies we’ve played. But from a Middlesbrough perspective it’s also messed our transfer window up, relying on this sale to fund a couple of new strikers that hopefully know where the net is. Check the @boro page on twitter every tweet has comments wanting new signings and it’s so obvious now that we’re having to wait for this deal to conclude.
Signing number 6 in the club 3wks before the season starts (and about 6/7wks before the window shuts) is not bad going. I’d wager we have the bulk of our signings made before any other PL side. Our rivals are still looking for players.
It would have been nice to have him for the tour, but it doesn’t always work out well – Lenglet had permit issues and missed it, and Bissouma and Forster got Covid and had to isolate in Korea.
Conte will have a good three weeks with the full squad, plenty of time to crack on