In Cantonese the word for “Yes” is Hai – straightforward: but “No” is M’Hai, which in essence means “Not Yes” – far less straightforward.
This is Levy’s strategy, he won’t say, “No”, but he will remove all the paths that would lead to a “Yes” outcome. It’s financial, a bad deal, the price for buying/selling is too expensive/cheap, we couldn’t get the deal done before deadline (how many times and we heard that one). It all boils down to not paying the going rate to be a top 4 club.
I can’t see that re-arranging deck chairs will change any time soon, unless of course Uncle Joe turns up his toes, and then things may become more “interesting”, also in the Chinese meaning of that word.
So what do make of it all? Well, Everton is two points behind with two games in hand; we play them in what is a six-pointer and frankly, on form, we’ll likely lose. If the Goons get up in their next game we’re only two points off Totteringhams Day and a solid mid-table. Losing the Carabao, and we might be lucky to make Europe at all.
The ENIC/Levy problem will not change but something has to; Levy is shrewd and tends to sail close to the wind but seldom capsizes, suggesting we’ll be busy this summer. We are potentially off to mid-table land and there has to be a bad smell around the club. Jose will have made his feeling known to some players and will be doing his brinkmanship dance to get rid of deadwood and reinforcing the need to get some decent A-grade new players in.
Will Levy fire Jose? I think not: Levy must know that the fiddle will not play a tune without replacing some of the strings and I think (unless we really implode) Levy will hold firm with Jose and provide him with some of what he wants whilst stringing him along with M’Hai’s. Then again if Jose publicly puts Levy in a corner he’ll go the same way as Poch and for the same thing.