Tag Archives: DANIEL LEVY

Premier League Game of the Week: Tottenham 4-0 Burnley

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Of course before a ball was kicked at the weekend Tottenham were the odds on favourites to win this game, but it hadn’t been a kind few weeks for a club who first slipped out of the title race and then seemed to slip out of a top 4 place.

Reports of behind the scenes shenanigans including manager Jose Mourinho happy to publically criticise players and then not play the £220,000 a week salaried Gareth Bale felt like club owner Daniel Levy and Mourinho could come to blows.

Mourinho was told by ex football players that all Bale needs was a friendly reminder of how good he is and a talk. So, when Mourinho announced before this game that he had done just that and would start Bale, like he had in the Europa League games, there was even more of a positive feeling surrounding this one. Add to the fact that Tottenham destroyed Sean Dyche’s team here last season 5-0, and surely we were looking at three points for the Londoners. We wouldn’t be wrong.

Bale took all of 120 seconds to score the opening goal swiftly shooting from a pass by Heung- Min Son. That was Bale’s 3rd goal for the club this season, despite missing a lot of game time and Son’s 8th assist.

This game felt over 12 minutes later when an energetic and rampant Tottenham side had made it 2-0 through none other than Harry Kane scoring his 14th goal of the season, sure there was a slight deflection one could say but it was all Kane’s. The misery of the first half was not over for Burnley and soon it was 3-0 this time Lucas Moura from an acute angle.

The first half wasn’t all Tottenham and to be fair Burnley had a couple of good chances too but then again the home side had 9 shots at goal and were 3-0 up and Mourinho would have been delighted in the dressing room.

In the second half the threat of more goals followed because Bale had scored his brace for the day just before the hour mark to make it 4-0. Son again assisted and Bale in the area shot low into the bottom left hand corner.

There would be chances for Son and Kane to add to the score but the game stayed at 4-0 and it didn’t matter because Tottenham had put in a superb and commanding display.

The club now have 39 points and are in 8th place and have a game in hand over 4th place West Ham. So there is still all to play for in the race for that final Champions League position.

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Tottenham will be Jose Mourinho’s biggest risk as a manager

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Jose Mourinho has more or less always managed one of the biggest teams in the world. Real Madrid of course comes to mind and then there was Manchester United. Chelsea was another at the time when Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich pumped a bottomless pit into the club. And so Mourinho going to Tottenham asks lots of questions and one of those is that he is about to take on his biggest risk but most exciting one of his career.

The Tottenham job reminds one of when the Portuguese joined Inter Milan over a decade ago. In that Inter are a big name in Italian football much like Tottenham remain a big name in English football. Though Mourinho went to Inter and completely changed their history by winning the Champions League and other titles the biggest difference is that he arrived at a club who were already champions. Tottenham have not lifted the league title since 1961.

This is what makes Mourinho being in the dug out at Tottenham so special. He is at a club that perhaps he wouldn’t have dreamed of managing say five years ago- and that of course is credit to Mauricio Pochettino.

Mourinho’s task for the rest of the season will simply be a top half finish. The first objective is not to be 14th come the end of the weekend. The second will be to move up to the top half of the season and the third will be European qualification. One can sense that owner Daniel Levy would just be happy at this stage for the club to finish in a Europa League position.

So how might Mourinho fare at Tottenham? Well the omens look good and bad. Firstly Mourinho has proven time and again that he is a serial winner. Everywhere he goes his clubs win trophies. Though Manchester United became the first club where he was unable to bring a league title and that seems very unlikely that he will do that at Tottenham. Liverpool and Manchester City simply seem to strong and Mourinho doesn’t stay at clubs too long. The contract that he has signed at Tottenham is to 2023.

But progress in the league and beating the big teams together with cup runs and wins is going to be the long term objective. At the end of the day for all the good football that came out of Pochettino’s side he won nothing with the club, the hope will be that Mourinho will bring countless trophies with him.

For now Daniel Levy is more than happy to have Mourinho as manager and likewise. They can be both ruthless, but at the same time when we look at the history of Mourinho’s spending and that Tottenham under Levy haven’t always spent the tens of millions that Mourinho will require there could well be friction between the two men.

For football fans though Mourinho joining Tottenham is massive news and fascinating at the same time, roll on Saturday afternoon when he will manage his first game away to West Ham who have their own problems.

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Mauricio Pochettino is sacked as Tottenham manager- is it the right decision?

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Tottenham have sacked Mauricio Pochettino after a nightmare start to the season has seen the club down in 14th place.

Fans have been left gutted by the decision even though it was clear that frustrations were growing with the Argentine coach. But this is still the same man that changed the clubs fortunes around where they finally stood out of rivals Arsenal shadow and became a proper top 4 side. It was a time where the club found consistency and had found a natural flow to their game. Finally they were not doing things in a ‘spursy’ way but in a way which frightened their opponents and it was clear that the club were playing their best football in a generation.

This all came to ahead when Tottenham made the Champions League final and for many fans they couldn’t have imagined this would happen in their wildest dreams and there was dreamlike Roy of the Rovers style matches to get them to the final. Who can forget the epic 2nd leg matches against Manchester City and Ajax were Spurs looked dead and buried but somehow came back?

The utter joy and glory of seeing Pochettino on the pitch in Amsterdam with club owner Daniel Levy will remain in the memory as Tottenham confirmed their participation in the final. At that point it was about reaching their own personal Everest. The problem was that there were many problems behind the scenes.

It is clear that Levy and Pochettino did not get along and other stories are bound to come out in the next few weeks and months, it’s quite possible that Pochettino had also fallen out with some players by this point. He also had the body language over the last few weeks that suggested his future lay elsewhere.

It didn’t help when on the eve of the Champions League final Pochettino spoke about leaving the club if they were to win the trophy. In truth this would have made Levy livid given that who leaves a club on £8.5m a year? And in sacking Pochettino with 3 years left on his contract Levy will be paying him out just over £25m.

Ex-Tottenham players such as Gary Lineker have spoken out about the decision and condemned it saying that the club will not find anyone better- and he could be right. Though at the end of the day for all of their good wins and wonderful football Spurs did not win a trophy and surely at the end of the day for progression you need a trophy.

Trophies is the reason that Jose Mourinho has been installed as the favourite to take over the club. Mourinho always brings silverware but as we’ve seen in the past few years he can also bring a very negative effect to players and coaching staff. His burn outs at both Chelsea and Manchester United have sadly become the stuff of legend. One can already see a relationship of friction between Mourinho the chequebook and Levy. Still before it went wrong for Mourinho at those clubs he had won the league for Chelsea and the Europa League for United- he has a winning mentality and maybe that is what Tottenham need in this moment.

As for Pochettino in all honesty he needs some time away from the game to readjust and get his hunger back.He is a good manager but seemed a little burnt out and maybe this decision will make sense in the long term. In solely footballing terms Pochettino seems to have done very little wrong and the decision to sack him in that case is bizarre if we look at his whole record for the club. But apart from the amazing run in the Champions League Tottenham have not had a good 2019, indeed they have not won away from home since January- a top 4 side cannot have such a record.

The next few weeks will be fascinating to see how it turns out for the club and the world will be watching.

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After Tottenham’s nightmare start to the Premier League season what do they need to do to get better?

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In May Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was being hailed as a genius, by October his own fans wanted him out. What has gone wrong and how does Pochettino fix it?

Some will blame club owner Daniel Levy, after all he has been tight with his money in the past 18 months. Yes Tanguy Ndombele came for around £60m, and that was a big spend but Tottenham spent just over £70m net this summer. That sum just isn’t going to cut it when you have reached another level that Tottenham have excelled to. Champions League finalists last season and at the beginning of this one the club could be regarded as one of the favourites to win the league and yet they are languishing in the bottom half of the table. The least you expected of the club coming into November was to be 4th.

After a nightmare start where we have only witnessed very small examples of what made Tottenham such a force last season the temptation would be to sack Pochettino, but is this the right move? It would only be if he had lost the dressing room or simply lost the passion and desire with the club. He has in the past hinted to Levy to open up more funds, and it is unclear just how bad the friction is between them. But perhaps this could just be seen as a bad moment for the club, why should for example a manager be sacked for three bad months?

Tottenham already have enough quality to be a top 4 team but they may have to settle for less this season. The truth is that some players like Dele Alli might have to move on, he clearly needs a new challenge. Then there is Christian Eriksen who thought a big deal would come through but it never did- is his head with the club? It seems unlikely it is.

The club clearly need to spend and that means over £100m and it has to be wisely, that’s why Pochettino should stay. He knows the club inside out and just needs some more encouragement to go forward. No matter who the club bring in next it will be starting from the beginning again. The problem of course is that modern football doesn’t work like that, if you don’t win, you’re out. Only a handful of exceptions exist. Arsene Wenger before at Arsenal and Diego Simeone currently at Atletico Madrid.

Pochettino in the current football climate looks like he is on borrowed time, but Levy and co would do well to ride this stormy wave and come out the other end, time will tell.

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Pochettino is right, the Premier League summer transfer window is a farce

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Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham manager came out with a suggestion that the transfer window should stay open as long as in the rest of Europe and he is absolutely right.

The window closed on August 8th in England just a couple of days before the Premier League season kicked off. In theory this makes perfect sense. Close the window and start the league, that way no players can feel unsettled- however this is only the case in England. In the major top European leagues their windows do not close until September 2nd, and that means that the likes of Real Madrid can pursue for example Christen Eriksen from Tottenham and Tottenham won’t be able to replace him.

It makes no sense at all that the windows are closing on different dates. One solution could be that foreign clubs cannot buy any players from the Premier League once the window closes in England, but with big money involved you can see clubs going to court about that.

In England the window used to close around September 2nd in line with all other top European leagues and it was only decided a few seasons ago to stop this. The idea being that players feel unsettled starting the season with one club and ending the month at another. But closing the window before the beginning of the season doesn’t make any sense unless all other major European leagues do the same. If not surely England has to revert back to the end of the month?

From a fans perspective what has been good about the window closing early is that we can close the book on  any silly rumours flying about- except with European clubs able to take your clubs best players for an additional 3 weeks, you can’t.

In essence closing the window early in England has to go down as one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the Premier League, and this season it could come back and haunt some of the clubs, namely Tottenham and that is why Pochettino is obviously so concerned. But other clubs should be too- it might not be this season that your club is affected, but it could be the next.

Pochettino has voiced his concerns and said that he hopes the Premier League will change their stance. Of course it will be interesting to understand how fans feel about this, but the current situation does seem incredibly wrong.

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Ndombele the great risk for Tottenham or a potential great?

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If relief had a sound then you could hear it amongst Tottenham fans as the club have agreed with Lyon to finally purchase Tanguy Ndombele for a reported £65m. The midfielder is understood to be signing this week for the club after having to pass a medical. The question is just who have Tottenham bought?

One has to remember that Ndombele was plying his trade with Amiens the season before and Lyon bought him last summer for just £7m- they have won nothing this season, and never looked like doing so- and his value has risen by almost £60m. That would suggest he is Lyon’s outstanding player? Not so.

Looking at how Ndombele performed statistically in the European Fantasy League rankings we can see that Ndombele wasn’t even Lyon’s best midfielder let alone being their best player.

In Ligue 1 midfielders alone Ndombele finished in 27th position. His ranking by position for all midfielders in major leagues was 177th with his overall ranking as a player at 449th. While it is true that stats can only get us so far, paying £65m for a player of Ndombele’s standing seems wrong, inflated and grotesque.

His achievements thus far have been zero, still he is young and at 22 Tottenham are hoping that is where his value lies. There has been talk that Tottenham are about to buy the next Michael Essien, perhaps they are and in an ideal world he will stay for six seasons, win trophies and become a club legend before being sold to Real Madrid for £200m. It could happen, and it could not.

Lyon’s value of the player is simply a joke, he has not improved by £60m over one season, but at the same time he has made the French squad four times albeit in friendlies. One has to wonder what Lyon’s valuation would be for Nebil Fekir, who did have a better season than Ndombele and is regarded as a huge player for Lyon even though he wasn’t deemed good enough to start for France at last summer’s World Cup.

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping that Ndombele’s arrival will be the first of many, but does club owner Daniel Levy think that way? The good news is that the club are about to splash the cash after being linked too Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis with a reported £60m deal on the cards, of course these figures fluctuate depending on who you believe. But that deal seems to have stalled. Then there was Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Club in Portugal but they could have a fight on their hands with Manchester United for his signature.

The club are at an important moment in their history, right dead bang on centre to moving on from the pretenders of yesteryear when an odd cup was good enough. There is a sense within the club that they can start winning important trophies and build a legacy on it. And it is all going to start this summer, that’s if Pochettino can get his players and Levy to open up his chequebook again.

Transfer News: Are Tottenham finally ready to spend money and buy Lo Celso?

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The transfer window in the Premier League opened up on May 16th and so far it hasn’t seen many players coming in but has seen quite a few leaving. There is a lot of work at Manchester United to be done and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer realises this and has acted accordingly. Two players have already been released in Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia and we should expect more in the coming weeks.

West Ham have been very active in juggling up their squad and have released 8 players which includes Andy Carroll and Samir Nasri. They have also got Roberto the goalkeeper from Espanyol on a free as a back up.

A couple of legends of the Premier League will play no more in England in Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany who will become player/manager of his boyhood club Anderlecht. Petr Cech’s last game was in the Europa League final for Arsenal and he will hang up his gloves and join Chelsea’s goalkeeping coaching team.

The big news this week regarded Tottenham and their reported pursuit of Giovani Lo Celso. The North Londoners have reportedly bid £53m for the midfielder who was on the books of PSG but was then loaned out at Spanish club Real Betis, who bought the player only in April.

With Tottenham buying no new players in the last two transfer windows this would signal the clubs first purchase in over a year. However whether Tottenham will get their man is up for debate given that Betis have him under a release clause for £88m. It is understood that the club would listen to offers though in the region  of £75m but that is still over £20m what Tottenham have bid. And to further make things complicated for the club other Premier League sides have shown an interest in the 23 year old.

The connection could be a good one though for Tottenham fans hoping that their manager Mauricio Pochettino stays at the club next season given that Lo Celso is Argentinian. But this could end up being a war of words between Pochettino and club chairman Daniel Levy. If we remember a few weeks ago Pochettino hinted that he needed assurances from the club in order to stay with them, and surely one will be to bring in quality players this summer in the form of Lo Celso.

For Real Betis they would be looking at massive profits. They purchased Lo Celso only in April for about £20m, and if they did accept Tottenham’s bid they would have made a massive £33m profit in one month. Though it looks likely they will hold out for more and Tottenham will need to make a bigger improved bid.

The good news even if Tottenham fail with Lo Celso is that the club have revealed their purchasing power and that they will be buying players this summer, which must come as a relief for any Tottenham fan.

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Tottenham are one match away from greatness so why is Mauricio Pochettino talking about leaving?

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Timing is everything from comedy to football, get it wrong and everything including all of the hard work you’ve done can fall apart. So It has been odd to say the least that a few weeks before Tottenham play in their first ever Champions League final the manager Mauricio Pochettino has hinted that he may leave the club.

Now there are different sides and takes to this story and we must explore them all. The first is that Pochettino actually said that if Tottenham were to win the Champions League he could leave. His reasoning one believes would be that he has taken the club as far as he can take them, and that the season after would only be a come down. He has a point and the fact that Tottenham have never won the Champions League if they were to do so would be much more important in terms of football history than if Liverpool were to capture their 6th title.

It would be an incredible feat for Pochettino that there is no doubt and he would go down as a club legend. There is another story that Pochettino wants even more for Tottenham, he wants them to be the biggest club in England and in Europe and that he feels that club chairman Daniel Levy and himself are simply not on the same page, so he will leave.

But what about staying at the club even if they do win the competition? Wouldn’t building that legacy make much more sense? Tottenham have been the almost rans and pretenders to football’s elite for too long, and let’s face it they have been the best side in the Premier League for the last 2 seasons if we take their achievements for pound for pound.

Under Pochettino Spurs have risen, first past their neighbours the most successful Arsenal and then qualifying regularly for the Champions League and now they are in the final. That unlucky tagline or the most Neanderthal saying- ‘spursy’ simply seems redundant under Pochettino. He has made the right purchases, yes, but he has also proven his leadership qualities by getting his side to the Champions League final despite the club not buying anyone this season. It is a massive achievement.

On the other side if Levy will not or does not see Pochettino’s vision for the club then the manager would have a point about leaving, all of that remains hearsay though, until we know the truth.

One truth could be that Pochettino will leave the club to go to Barcelona. The Argentinian connection with Lionel Messi cannot be lost on anyone, and Ernesto Valverde’s time at Barcelona could well be up even if they do win the Copa del Rey at the weekend.

To summarise it would be unfortunate if Tottenham win or lose the final did lose Pochettino after he has taken the club so far.

How Tottenham are fighting for Champions League glory & top 4 position even without a transfer policy

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This weeks club ownership focuses on Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur who have had quite a successful season when one thinks that the London club have brought in no new players.

When some clubs are spending staggering amounts of money in the summer window, somehow the days, weeks and months rolled on with Tottenham not dipping into the transfer market. Chairman Daniel Levy knew that the clubs new stadium was going to cost much more than anticipated and purse strings had to be tightened.

The predictions were already in for the season that Tottenham would do poorly in the Champions League and that they had no chance of winning the Premier League and that they wouldn’t even be able to challenge for a top 4 position.

What compounded everything for the club was the news that they would have to play their home games at Wembley Stadium with the redevelopment and in the end brand new stadium on the site of their old stadium. Delays were fraught with frustration and when it seemed that the club would be moving into their new stadium by the end of the year that was delayed once more.

But still the players like Harry Kane and Dele Alli and the terrific Son Heung-Min stepped up, the whole team did and in doing so have done manager Mauricio Pochettino proud. Tottenham may not win any trophies this season but they have done themselves proud.

At the time of writing the club have one foot in the semi-finals of the Champions League after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the 1st leg quarter final tie. The match is far from over but the club have given themselves a chance.

In the league Tottenham have been 3rd for most of the season and competitive at that. They have slipped up in recent weeks but despite injuries to Kane and Alli they continued to win games, and they have continued to upset teams who have spent much more than them.

Levy and Pochettino had a plan, true it was risky but they both realised that they had the squad to cope with this season. Of course having a no transfer budget plan is football suicide in the long run, but instead of spending £100m upwards this season the club have held back in order to go into a fresh season in their new stadium and have one would hope a good budget and deals for next season.

It should be an interesting summer at Tottenham and if the club can hold onto their best players and buy 3-4 ones that they really need then next season could be the one where Pochettino breaks his duck for the club. Of course let’s not forget that they are still in the Champions League and if they get past City they could face either Juventus or Ajax in the semi’s for a mind dazzling final. Now that would be something.

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A new era for Tottenham Hotspur has begun as stadium finally opens

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Finally it has happened, Tottenham’s new ground has opened and it has been met by a sense of wonder and amazement.

The Tottenham youth side tested out at the ground at the weekend and a legends line up will face a legends line up of Inter Milan next weekend. These matches are needed in order for the stadium to be granted a safety certificate.

There is no doubt that a new era has begun for Tottenham and you could see the relief on manager Mauricio Pochettino’s face and also of course on Daniel Levy, the Tottenham owner. Here was a stadium that was supposed to be ready by the beginning of the season and delays have meant that the club have had to play games at Wembley Stadium. Whilst it is true that Tottenham responded well at their temporary home, there is no place quite like home.

And that is what makes this new stadium so special, forget what Arsenal did with the Emirates. This new stadium is on the same site as the very original which makes it extra special and will warm fans hearts. It looks spectacular and holds 62,000 fans, and it is of course state of the art. Comfort for fans is a priority and special refreshment bars mean that thousands of pints of beer can be dispensed within minutes, nothing has been left to chance!

But the real beauty in presenting the new stadium is a new era of hope for the club. Pochettino has shown the fans the potential of this current team and while they are yet to win a trophy under the Argentinian they have pulled off some terrific results and surely as a club are playing the best football Tottenham fans have seen in a generation.

The key for the club will be transfer budgets and keeping their best players. One believes that the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli will be going nowhere soon given the big move into the stadium and wanting to be a part of the new era. But the club who somehow went through the season buying no players will need to dip into the transfer market if they want to stay competitive and indeed move up to the next level.

Tottenham should take note that rivals Arsenal did struggle after moving into their new stadium at least in terms of finding cash to buy players. In the first two seasons at their new ground the Gunners spent just £40m, and there is the fear that Tottenham’s budget could be crippled somewhat by stadium costs. But Levy has commented in the past that this will not be an issue, we wait and see.

Tottenham’s first scheduled match at their new stadium will be against Crystal Palace on April 3rd which is a Wednesday evening game. The week after that they will play Manchester City in a mouth watering Champions League first leg. Could the fact the club have moved into this fantastic stadium make all the difference? Watch this space. What is sure is that exciting times lie ahead for this famous London club.