Paul Mitchell’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur was certainly greeted on this blog with a warm welcome, Pochettino was the up and coming Saints manager and Daniel Levy had pulled off an exceptionally shrewd double down, by then also securing the man who had a knack for sourcing the right players.
The idea of a director of recruitment just might have worked at Spurs – the strategy of having a calculating and objective pair of eyes running rule over the transfer market would save Levy from a mire of work and simultaneously prevent stem a tide of random suggestions from whoever was in the role of team coach.
Alas, the whole thing was doomed and Mitchell quit just two years into his contract, Pochettino distanced himself from the situation at the time, but Mitchell maintains that the two were close at the time and still are today.
Levy responded to the resignation by simultaneously lauding “Mitch” for helping to create a well staffed department – and invoking a 16-month notice period.
The Athletic (£) interviewed Mitchell this week and the now RB Leipzig man pointed the finger firmly at Levy for undermining Mauricio Pochettino’s chances.
The failure to balance the commitment to the two aspects of the business created a legacy that few would have wished for. Poch was popular, personable, but painfully under resourced.
It’s not unreasonable to suggest that it was the brave new world of stellar facilities that ended Mauricio. The neglect meant no churn of personnel, and so the squad festered. As Jack Pitt-Brooke who interviewed Mitchell put it, although we reached the Champions League final, the seeds were already sown for this season’s collapse.
On Wednesday night, the former director of recruitment at Spurs will welcome the remnants of the side he began to shape, as they face the side he’s currently shaping.
If Spurs fail to provide a good account of themselves against the Germans, José is unlikely to face much of a grilling from Levy, after all, it was he who brought us here.
Spot on, which is why Poch knew the Champions League final was his and the team’s last shot at something big. He was always going to leave after Mitchell left, he was never going to be able to work the way he needed to.
If we got new owners I’d want them to go all out to get Poch/Mitchell back in and back them…
Levy clearly doesn’t like football people telling him what he needs to do. They are motivated by success with the players and team, Levy only seems to care about doing the bare minimum to keep bums on seats.
For a club our size to be spending half what Southampton are a year on players is bloody disgraceful…
The thought of losing CL money is what forced Levy to buy Bergwijn incidentally for more than he would have cost when Poch wanted him. Paying a manager a £2 million bonus when he is on £15 shows the financial desperation of Levy. And we still have the sell high mentality of Levy with Dier the latest to do a Dane.
Mitchell certainly has a clue, great job with RBL so far.
Imagine the frustration of detailed scouting the players you feel will fit and are needed to go to the next level, get rebuffed by Levy until you can’t even get a Grealish for 6 mill. And then the full realisation that your job is pissing into the wind.
The Grealish thing is particularly embarrassing and it shows that this idea that Levy is some kind of whizz in the transfer market is built on pure myth and fabrication. He hasn’t got a clue…
Can’t use that press officer bloke with Mitchell. Whistle blowers have an important role…
The Poch/Mitchell combination was too dynamic, assertive and vibrant for Levy. Besides, Levy won’t allow anyone else any kind of control which makes it impossible to use the skills they have effectively anyway.
Levy’s all about the balance sheets, the football comes a very distant second…
Jose won’t be at Spurs this time next year…
Yep, Levy can only spin things his own way for so long. Gagging orders eventually expire and the truth comes out.
Even before you read Mitchell’s quotes, if you’ve actually been paying attention to the net spend, wages and lack of transfer activity then you knew this already. Good to get it from the horses mouth though.
Levy is a micro managing megalomaniac who thinks he knows better than the people he hires.
Interestingly, Jose has now just said in an interview that even if he doesn’t win anything with Spurs that he hopes his time with the club can help the ‘future’ of the project.
So there you have it folks, ‘the project’ continues. In the same fashion that it has for two decades, really looking forward to that next League Cup 2028… 😂
When you have a chairman and part owner who has to micro manage every aspect of the business things tend to only go one way ……. Downhill.
I was starting to worry that this blog was in the process of becoming sympathetic to Levy. Let’s be sure of one thing, Levy let Poch down and we should have also retained Paul Mitchell’s services. We desperately needed a director of player recruitment instead of Levy’s random “buy cheap and flog later philosophy”. The reports in today’s Press that we could have bought Grealish for £6 mill (now valued at between £60 and 80 mill) . Levy tried to play cute and offered £4 mill and the rest is history. When will the scales fall from all the supporters eyes so that they will understand Levy’s sheer neglect and incompetence in the transfer market. Mitchell is quite right that you always need to refresh the squad but Levy knew better. Perhaps if he hadn’t overspent on the new stadium, there would have been more funds available for player recruitment, but would it have made any difference?
It appears that Poch might have the choice of Utd or City. It will be interesting to see how he does when he is backed properly in the transfer market. I seem to remember that HH thought it most unlikely that he would receive a job offer from a top side. Perhaps the Poch doubters will be have cause to reflect what might have been if he had received the right backing.
I wonder if he’s saving his: “I told you so” T shirt, until after the two matches?
Levy won’t like to hear these words of truth.Presumably Mitchell’s imposed period of silence has expired and fans can see more of the charlatan that is Daniel Levy.