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The Emperor’s New Signings

By The Boy -
Box Office from
Paul Beasley

As I half-heartedly peruse the endless ITK reports of players linked to Spurs by respected journalists, bloggers and this bloke Kev who works down the Dog & Duck and honest knows the assistant kit-man’s goddaughter not-even-lying bruh, I’m increasingly baffled by the reaction of the average (and somehow simultaneously below average) fan of Tottenham Hotspur FC.

The reaction to which I refer isn’t a wholly new phenomenon – it’s been prevalent for years to a greater or lesser degree – but it certainly seems to have become noticeably more prominent this summer, and specifically since the arrival of Fabio Paratici.

Presumably, as some kind of shielding psychological response to the mental scarring resulting from years of deprivation and water-boarding, Spurs fans have always had a uniquely excitable temperament when it comes to players being linked with the club.

For my own part, I won’t be disabused of the belief that Rivaldo’s charming letter was irrefutable proof he would absolutely have signed for us if he could have, and I also cannot wait to see Leandro Damiao finally make his debut in a Lilywhite shirt.

This kind of mostly-harmless self-delusion is nothing new.

What does seem to be unnervingly on the rise, however, is the prevalence of people giving massive amounts of credit to our newly-appointed Managing Director of Football simply for being linked with players by the press and social media. It’s almost surreal.

With the management debacle at least temporarily consigned to the comedy section of the history books, all attention has turned to the playing squad, and to prospective changes to that squad. It has been a little under two months since the EPL season finished, and in the last week or so those players not involved in international tournaments have returned for pre-season training. The new season kicks off on the 13th August.

To date, Tottenham Hotspur have signed precisely zero players. Of the widely-reported bunch of dead wood players in the squad that are ripe for pruning, most are still gainlessly employed by the club. Dier, Sissoko, Aurier, Winks, Sanchez and Lamela have all been linked with exits but remain steadfastly attached to the playing staff like limpets to the hull of a sinking ship. Other than Juan Foyth, a versatile and decent enough player who’s managed to snag himself a European trophy on loan while Tottenham was neck-deep in effluence, the only other players who have departed are a bunch of kids and two players who fell out the end of their contracts, so their exits this summer are also a direct function of the club’s permanent state of inertia.

Gazzaniga was a perfectly serviceable third-choice keeper but probably deserves the chance to go and be first choice somewhere else, while Rose, for many years a good servant, should have been paid off ages ago when his toxicity and press leaks became more significant than his on-pitch contribution.

Nevertheless, despite the flatline on the club’s ECG of Doing Anything Whatsoever, we continue to be linked with just about everybody in Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and the Primeira Liga. Granted, it’s largely a different list of players this year, mainly because the press and social media have noted that someone with an actual track record of recruitment in Europe (though this was at a genuine Big Club, rather than a pretender with delusions of adequacy) might potentially have a better grasp of the European transfer market than someone who, by his own admission, hates the transfer window.

But nothing has actually occurred.
Nobody’s arrived. Nobody of significance has departed. Nothing. Niente. Nada. Nichts. Rien. Err… Nada… again. Portuguese is very similar to Spanish. Sue me.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has been strongly linked, and there are even reports we’ve agreed personal terms, but please let’s not jump the gun. That’s all a bit academic if we don’t stump up the transfer fee. I’m sure a Bugatti Chiron would be perfectly willing to let me drive it, but the dealer would be somewhat less accommodating if I turn up with 50p and a bag of grapes.

It’s not like we don’t have considerable form in that department. It’s like that scene in Austin Powers when Dr. Evil (which incidentally rearranged, becomes Levi – coincidence? I think not!) proudly exclaims “One million
dollars!”, only for the rest of the chairmen criminals to laugh
uproariously.

Similar is the situation with rumoured target Jules Kounde, but in his case it’s actually worse. Not only are we not getting into the ballpark of Sevilla’s valuation, but it’s reported that he’s not exactly enthralled by the prospect of joining the Tottenham Neverlution. He thinks we’re a second-tier club. His teammate Youssef En-Nesyri is apparently of the same mind. Even Danny Ings doesn’t think we’re a big enough step up from Southampton. Insigne’s been told we’re a bit of a mess.

They’re all spot on, if not actually being a bit generous. We’re a running joke. A banter club. Reality bites, and the opportunity to ply your trade in Europe’s third-tier competition under the bright lights of White Elephant Lane and working with the twelfth choice head coach in a failing squad isn’t quite the golden egg some people still delude themselves it is. Other things than golden eggs come out of a goose’s arse.

So if you filter out the links that are purely journalistic speculation with no basis in truth, and then shortlist the ones for whom Daniel will actually sanction an acceptable offer, and then hone in on the ones that are legitimately attracted by the opportunity to join Spurs, what you’re ultimately left with is a shelf full of jars of Levy’s fictional future jam.

Paratici may well deliver some absolute blinders. I really hope he does. I wish him and Nuno nothing but the best. You’ll forgive me if my powder remains as dry as the Namib Desert for now, though…? After all, we’ve all been here before. For twenty years. Daniel has quite the sparkling track record of failing to back managers and directors of football. Ask Jol, Redknapp, Pochettino and Mourinho. Ask Arnesen, Comolli and Mitchell. This may come down to Nuno against No-No. Paratici against Parasitey.

However, as much as we might hope our Director of Football actually comes through this nigh-impossible challenge, until he does so, please can we stop giving him ridiculous credit just for being linked, whether he’s actually done anything? Every time some bored blogger realizes they’ve got nothing else of value to say so they whip up a rumour out of nothing that… oh, I dunno… that Paratici’s been bending Lukaku’s ear or something, please remember it’s essentially just fan-fiction and stop with the mindless “OMDDDSSS!!! Paratici doing bits!!!” tweets. Likewise, if someone else contradicts that first writer, stop the “YESSS!!! Eccleshare leaving Pitt-Brooke IN THE MUD!!” crap. You’re making yourselves look like morons, adding nothing to the discussion, and only setting yourself up for disappointment. You’re certainly not making it more likely by sheer force of will.

Nothing has happened until it’s happened, which most of these rumours won’t do. Nothing is done until it’s done. And it certainly isn’t done just because you read it at Football London, Football Insider or the Athletic. This is all just educated guesswork, and some of it isn’t even that educated.

Feel free to celebrate when a fee and personal terms have agreed, but remember that, even then, things can still all go a bit Willian. Until that time, we can all keep reading the ITK with interest, but taking it all with a pinch of salt and more than a soupçon of cynicism born of experience.

Chances are the real course of events will see Paratici scrambling around in the last days of the window desperately trying to see if we can persuade some Ligue 2 no-mark to play second fiddle to Troy Parrott up-front, while Nuno’s having the same experience as every other manager under ENIC and realized his entire pre-season has been utterly pointless.

It’s Levyworld, after all. Long-term interests and all that.



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Stephen LABROOY
Stephen LABROOY
2 years ago

Well said Mr Beasley. I agree entirely with you. As for whats happening in our club it reminds me of The Who’s famous line: “Meet the new boss- same as the old boss.” I do not beleive Levy is going to change his thinking- no matter how much he tries to gloss it over.

Legoverlass
Legoverlass
2 years ago

Great post from Mr Beasley. As I said in an earlier diatribe this club has more links than a chain mail vest. The killer strap line that sends me close to the edge is “Paratici means business”. Unfortunately no matter how many layers Levy builds between himself and the ever increasing hostility of the client reference numbers all roads lead back to his office. That is why the optimism around the “world class facilities” at Hotspur Way this pre-season mirrors the feelings of watching England take penalties and the reaction of potential players to the links with this third tier club is more akin to the expression on Grealish’s face at the end of England’s always the bridesmaid never the bride performance against Italy.

Last edited 2 years ago by Legoverlass
kevin hays
kevin hays
2 years ago

🗡👂🩸Grealish 👍

kevin hays
kevin hays
2 years ago

😔😔sadly spot on mate

Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier
2 years ago

I will still tune in to Ali Gold and listen in awe as he tells us we may or may not sign “Tomi” or get rid of Winks (or not) and that Nuno was 1st choice after all.
Only if I have 54 minutes 32 seconds of my life to waste that is.

Cabspur
Cabspur
2 years ago

Excellent read mate.
God I’m depressed …

MrChickenhead
MrChickenhead
2 years ago

Brilliant read and not a word of a lie.

Finn
Finn
2 years ago

Excellent piece Mr Beasley; very readable and pretty much spot on.

Pete
Pete
2 years ago

https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2021/strasbourg-accept-e1-1m-offer-from-getafe-for-stefan-mitrovic/

Stefan Mitrovic transfers from Ligue 1 club to mid table La Liga club for 1.1 million Euros. Another opportunity missed by Levy.

Last edited 2 years ago by Pete
at large
at large
2 years ago

Bravo! Spot on analysis of the state of affairs. We all know Paratici was hired to source Serie B google lookups from cash poor Italian outfits.

East Stand
East Stand
2 years ago

Personally I feel that transfer speculation generally doesn’t get the fans going in the way it once did. This is threefold if you follow a club that didn’t sign anyone in over a calendar year.

ENIC’s methodology is so predictable and pedestrian that nobody in their right mind would get ‘excited’ about any transfer speculation or indeed any actual transfer activity. The club has now been made officially boring by Levy and his mates, after 22 years of ‘jam tomorrow’ everyone is bored sh*tless…

Glory Costs Too Much
Glory Costs Too Much
2 years ago

I don’t bother with “Spurs news now anymore”, it’s all twaddle and clickbait. 99.9% is pure speculation based on rumours and lazy journalism with reporters adding 2 and 2 and getting 5. The only one I bother to listen to these days is Alistair Gold. The same goes for here tbh when it comes to purely transfer news. We all know that Levy is as tight as can be so any transfer rumour of more than £25m can be pretty much automatically discounted. It’s unbelievable some of the players that get linked to us by the press – we all know that Levy would rather cut off his own ear than pay some of the fees reported!
I enjoy this site because it is grounded and not infested with hoorah fanboys, rather realistic people who know the true shocking situation with our club. We can all console each other!

Limerick AL
Limerick AL
2 years ago

It’s funny because it’s true. I have given up listening to the Bullcrap.

Glory Costs Too Much
Glory Costs Too Much
2 years ago
Reply to  Freddie

Too true, what really annoys me are the headlines “Levy Masterclass”, though haven’t seen that one for a little while. Amazing how gullible some fans are.

Lilywhitesmurf
Lilywhitesmurf
2 years ago

Great article steeped in reality unfortunately

Last edited 2 years ago by Lilywhitesmurf
Freddie
Freddie
2 years ago

Awesome article. only spurs related site that I truly love to visit. It seems the others I receive from NewsNow are living in a Dreamland. Truly amazing how many players we are supposed to be after and what makes it worse is the comments from fans…Omg I’m so excited… Wow he would be great for spurs…levy is a genius…etc

East Stand
East Stand
2 years ago
Reply to  East Stand

ESL sorry.

East Stand
East Stand
2 years ago

Great read.

More “pwudence” will deliver the square root of naff all.

Even if the stadium had been open rather than closed due to the pandemic, does anyone genuinely believe that match day revenues alone will help us bridge the gap (no chasm) between us and our rivals for the top 6 positions in the Premiership? If you do, then you need to do your sums…

Dr Evil was banking on the USL and will hang about like a bad smell until that ship has fully sailed. That will take time to conclude itself, watch that space. Another 20 years? Don’t bet against it…

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