So there we have it. It was a press conference that promised very little on the face value. yet delivered a particularly buttock-clenching moment – one might imagine – for Levy & Co., – when it came to the usefulness of two extremely different Tottenham midfielders.
Harry Winks, the home-grown boy that never really amounted to very much for club or country, who after nine meandering seasons at Spurs, is now preferred by the world-renowned coach Antonio Conte, to Daniel Levy’s currently most expensive signing, Tanguy Ndombele.
Today, the Spurs supremo told the press, ‘Winksy is playing well. Winsky showed to be a really able player. For this reason, Winks will stay here. I’m finding out which players are reliable, and I can count on them. Winksy showed me I can count on him.’
By some stark contrast, we had the comments in reply to a question about Tanguy Ndombele. “Then [there are] players that understand very well, and then there are other players that need more time or could [find it] difficult to understand the situation.”
As I have said on numerous occasions before, there were question marks galore surrounding the soundness of Ndombele’s character – well in the public domain – long before Tottenham invested so heavily. For me, the apparent wholesale absence of due diligence has been quite breathtaking.
Winks is mounting a comeback after 9 seasons. Hurrah.
Yup.
Ramos was a ‘blip’? He is the only manager in the whole of Levy’s chairmanship who has won silverware. As a thank you, Levy sold off our best players and Ramos couldn’t rectify these moronic decisions and we slid towards relegation. That just isn’t kicking on, the rest was a fluke and nothing to do with any deliberate effort at board level.
We all have our own options but none of that falls within my definition of ‘kicking-on’. As for AVB, we finished 5th under Jol too about four years before.
Astounding levels of kicking on… 😆
Is that it? That’s the reply?
Well yes, we definitely kicked on after Jol.
Ramos was a blip, albeit one who won a cup, but each of Redknapp’s three full seasons were better than Jol’s – we broke that top four cartel twice. One step back, two forward. Much better football too.
AVB not for me but broke our PL points record with his 5th place.
After Timmy’s little blast we then got Poch, and we kicked on again.
It really isn’t difficult to understand if you aren’t blinkered
👏👏👏
We are regularly overrun in midfield with NBelly. He’s a lazy wasteril
I do hope you’re being sarcastic!
Quiet in the ENIC press office today is it?
If Levy had a season ticket at Spurs then he probably had it part of a corporate thing to entertain clients for ENIC. ENIC may have also had a few so they could have a good look at things before they invested, it’s also good PR to pretend you’re really into it…
We won our only trophy under Ramos and then sacked him about four months later after selling off both Keane and Berbatov, our best players at the time. Levy was forced into bringing in Redknapp as we were heading for relegation as a result .
The fact that Arry unexpectedly got us into the top 4 wasn’t planned at all, then after him we went backwards yet again and pi*sed the Bale money up the wall on dross until Poch sorted that mess out and got us firing eventually.
If you regard all of the above as kicking on after Jol was sacked, then you must work for Levy, or something else weird like that…
What would I rather..? Winks who despite some shortcomings will give 100% and play for 90 mins vs an expensive waste of space who can barely give 45 mins and who might, just might make a pass…
Winks for me.
We won a cup after sacking Jol, then qualified for the CL 2yrs after that. Is that not kicking on?
Do you know how difficult it is to produce academy players to perform at the top end of the best league in world football? We had four start across Christmas, so not doing too badly really.
Winks’ comeback after 9yrs? When he made his PL debut in 2016?
People are too quick to judge Winks – half a season of having Sissoko as a partner, then 2yrs of Portuguese dullards ‘coaching’ the side.
To be fair, Tanguy probably just hasn’t played enough to give him a clear idea!
Skippy has much improved, can control and turn quick then release ,he is always very fit and has pride. All I want in a player ,as you say maybe a older / experienced slightly more creative maybe less industrious.
Pls levy just back him.
Let’s see how this plays out. Listening to Conte today it seemed he’ll be given some new cards to play this window. As for Levy, my understanding is that the alleged businessman was a season ticket holder before ENIC bought the team but I could be mistaken. I do think if Conte fails through no fault of his own then Levy will finally be binned (hopefully not wishful thinking.)
Conte’s Jose moment.
“[Tanguy] is a midfielder. I think… he is a midfielder.
The manner in which Jol was sacked got the alarm bells ringing for me, and from that point Levy has never let me down in letting the club down in football terms. It’s a predictable pattern with every decent manager we have, it’s like he’s thinking “oh, this is all going a bit too well, those mugs in the stands will be expecting us to kick on soon. time to get this guy out the door”.
I agree, but Levy has always made it look like any manager leaving was something that just ‘had’ to happen, for one set of excuses or another. The spin around the way he does things is pure disinformation and an attempt to cover up his real intentions. However you’re right, it’s hard to see it working this time. Whichever way it’s spun…
I hate to be pessimistic but I don’t see Conte being along term thing at Spurs, Conte has already said “I am here to help the team, to help the players” and Paratici has been key to getting him in on that basis.
For me the whole thing is very much ‘lets just suck it and see’ and an ‘amicable’ parting of ways will be sooner than many hope. I’m not saying this is going to happen, but for me there’s just as much chance that he doesn’t begin next season as our manager, as he does…
If financial fair play took into account debt as loss (which is what debt actually is) regarding club infrastructure outside of the playing squad, then we’d be non-league by now…
The plan was to keep the team treading water, just doing enough to get the season ticket sales. Investing to collect silverware probably didn’t stack up on the spreadsheet projections as something compatible with their business model or MO.
We’ve all been sold this endless concept of building for the future, well 23 years on and the future has come and gone countless times with one minor trophy to show for it. He considers the fans mugs, even if it’s a subconscious thing, he couldn’t care less about trophies.
Having put us in world record debt that his investment company can walk away from Scott-free. Disgusting leeches.
Agreed Easty. He’s backed himself into a corner. Conte is class and Levy is a c***. Hopefully class wins out!
At least the fans have now seen him for the fraud he is, pretending to ‘care’ about success on the pitch. Not only that, after 23 years he’s been a certified failure. He’ll say “well at least we didn’t do a Leeds”, that’s because he’s an out of touch pillock…
If Levy can’t retain Conte after less than a year, I’m not in agreement Conte will be the bad guy. Conte demands backing with a track record of achievement and dear little megalomaniac Baldy will be exposed for the lying little toad he is.
In that scenario Conte will be painted as the ‘bad guy’ because he wanted to go to Utd and that it had nothing to do with Levy’s megalomania, as we have seen so many times before. If that happens then I see the managerial ‘musical chairs’ moving so that Poch ends up back at Spurs.
Conte is going to be offered the Utd job at the end of the season if Levy starts reverting to type – just wait and see.
I find Levy’s claim to be a fan the worst thing he has done. An utter charlatan feasting on a loyal fan base.
Levy is such a tool. His ability to snatch utter mediocrity from a position of promise does lead one to believe his objectives weren’t what we thought they would be. Otherwise, wouldn’t Uncle Joe fire him for his abject failure around football operations?
Levy will write two notes on a piece of paper and hand it to Conte:
”Do we have any more home grown players you can use, just look at Winks”
”You can have money, but we must sell first”
And here we go again……..
Now then, now then!
It was interesting in an article on the BBC website,Conte saying that he had formed his opinion about the squad after only two weeks.I doubt it has changed much after two months.
He would also be presenting Levy and Paratici with a list of players he would like and he thought that Hugo would be staying beyond the summer.
levy has to back him in January otherwise he will bring the wrath of the fans down on his head.There is nowhere to hide for him now.
We wouldn’t even get Frankie Howerd!
Yeah sorry, I did…
I agree there’s something refreshingly uncomplicated about his whole approach and it is probably applicable to any level. You don’t put your back into it you’re toast.
You forgot to mention our world class academy that’s just over flowing with top prospects.
Levy has to back Conte in this transfer window, and again in the summer one too. Either that or we end up with another Levy induced manager search because Conte won’t put up with Levy’s bullshine. If that happens Levy might as well resign because he’ll be roundly hated by every Spurs fan on the planet, and no matter how much money he makes that won’t be a nice feeling. Over to you Daniel, the ball is in your Court.
At a minimum no more cheapskate punts for players that are likely to flop on the law of averages. Instead buy quality proven players, they will likely repay you by putting us in the CL league where we fans will be happy and you will also, but for a different reason – because of the money. That’s ll you care about after all. Spurs fan my arse.
I agree, this is where Daniel either adapts quickly or is forever shamed.
I like our position now with Conte at the helm.
I don’t think we can have a better manager. If Levy doesn’t back him then he leaves, all the world can see why and the ENIC outrage may finally amount to something. If he’s backed, then we might actually win something, soon.
Let’s not get bogged down about the likes of Winks and Dele. At best they’re squad players. The more important thing is to make sure that we acquire capable cover for Harry and the other players that Conte wants.
Can’t we have players that have the application/desire AND the talent, or is that only for other clubs to enjoy? Fair play to Winks for getting stuck in and making a few forward passes against 10 men for the last 2 and a bit games, but he has proven time and time again that he is incapable of holding on to possession and making progressive passes under pressure. See him in the first half against Southampton, he looked out of his depth as he has done countless times over the years. Winks is in no way a Mousa Dembele, just as N’dombele is in no way a professional footballer at the required level.
Speaking of holding on to possession and progressing the play, is there a single one of our midfielders that you would rely on for these attributes game in game out? Skippy of late is one I’d suggest has a solid mix of both, lots of headroom for him to grow into aswell, but we need one more, as good if not preferably more experienced than him in January, to give us any hope of a trophy or top 4 this year.
Hojberg does the dirty work but can’t progress play, Winks does very little of anything and is a liability giving away possession under pressure, Lo Celso is Lamela but much, much worse in all respects; and N’dombele should be cleaning the lavs for £5 an hour instead of getting £200k+ a week to sit on the bench.
Let’s hope Hitchen is kept away from proceedings next month and hopefully Paratici can start righting the huge wrong of the Nuno appointment as soon as possible.
It’s as if he is frightened of success. It seems he is uncomfortable if any of the managers become popular with the fans who generally see Levy for what he is. The fact is that because Levy has never backed any manager with the recruitment of their own choice of new players, leads me to the inevitable conclusion that success on the pitch has never been his priority. He wants to remain in his comfort zone of being the well remunerated CEO of a property development company with football success being a sideshow. I can only hope that he has the brains to appreciate that he might have the right manager to drive the club forward but Levy is certainly not that man and he uniquely unqualified to run a football club.
If the likes of Winks can be trusted then its God Help Us, time.
I’ll simplify that for you …Daniel I’m in Charge Levy is just that..like it or lump it…egomaniacal fakwit.
I think that’s what Conte has done well, He made it clear that it’s not about being the most talented, but application and attitude are equally important.
Conte has a real way of getting the team playing where you don’t have to be the best talent to make a formation play well say as a Pep needs. He just needs players who can play his style.
Ha.
“no compwehension…” etc
Quire right, I believe that Levy does this deliberately because he wants to either cash in own our most valuable assets or restructure the squad back down to being made up of lower cost prospects.
He also doesn’t seem to like the fans getting too loved up with the gaffer because that means expectations around the football etc get raised too high. He must be really uncomfortable at the moment with big name coach having an almost instant impact. Not only that, being a very likeable chap with it.
It’s like Conte is already at the point with the fans that Poch was not long before Levy refused to back him and subsequently sacked him. Must be a very stressful time for Daniel!!
“Twied awfuwwy hard”
Levy will use something like the current situation with Winks and Dumb-belly and say “we twied to spend big, but these players are no better than what we have”. Which of course is total garbage, it’s Levy’s insistence that we don’t get into a bidding war for an in demand player that means we get the iffy purchases or the ones that the bigger clubs pass on…
Absolutely agree with your sentiments but Levy has an unenviable track record of not backing our most successful managers at the most critical time. The only reason that I can consider the notion of keeping Winks are his English credentials. Perhaps Barcelona will take N’dombele off our hands as they are looking to rebuild. One for one swap for Frenkie de Jong anyone?
Mr Conte has a remarkable gift for simplifying matters, a very useful strength in the world of football which usually prefers to cloak everything in mystifying mumbo jumbo, all the better to hide what’s really going on.
As each day passes my admiration for Tottenham’s manager grows. I hope our chairman who we are often told is a business genius can see the same.
This coming month of a new year will find Mr Levy in the spotlight. My memo to the chairman is back Mr Conte with substantial investment now or consider another line of work.
Happy New year to all fellow Spurs fans, H H, Eddie, Bruce and other blog contributors.