Excellent summary, but clearly not to the liking of some.It's basically a general interview with Jon Smith that happens to be mainly about Tottenham, because he takes an interest in the unusual way we deal with transfers and salaries.
It's worth a close read, because Smith, who is an agent and seems to know a lot of detail, basically contradicts virtually every cliché that the transfer-season moaners post here, every week:
- No, players are not just interested in the bottom line, they like a club with a dream or a mission.
- Spurs can still attract top players without paying huge salaries.
- Playing for a London club is influential in players' transfer decisions.
- We do not pay substantially less than other clubs, we just have a system that is heavily-weighted toward performance bonuses.
- Levy is "a good guy to deal with" who "does everything with a smile".
- Now is not the right time for Tottenham to break its wage structure - that, from an agent.
Are there any other bits of clichéd moaning fan bullshit left for him to skewer? I think he's got the full house there.
And then agent Sky Andrew joins in:
"Spurs do not need to spend big this summer. ... It's phenomenal what Spurs have done ... similar to what Manchester United did in the Beckham and Neville era. Transforming young players into great players."
Agents. These are agents talking. They stand to benefit directly if we start splattering money around. But they think it would be a bad idea. Unnecessary.
It's basically a general interview with Jon Smith that happens to be mainly about Tottenham, because he takes an interest in the unusual way we deal with transfers and salaries.
It's worth a close read, because Smith, who is an agent and seems to know a lot of detail, basically contradicts virtually every cliché that the transfer-season moaners post here, every week:
- No, players are not just interested in the bottom line, they like a club with a dream or a mission.
- Spurs can still attract top players without paying huge salaries.
- Playing for a London club is influential in players' transfer decisions.
- We do not pay substantially less than other clubs, we just have a system that is heavily-weighted toward performance bonuses.
- Levy is "a good guy to deal with" who "does everything with a smile".
- Now is not the right time for Tottenham to break its wage structure - that, from an agent.
Are there any other bits of clichéd moaning fan bullshit left for him to skewer? I think he's got the full house there.
And then agent Sky Andrew joins in:
"Spurs do not need to spend big this summer. ... It's phenomenal what Spurs have done ... similar to what Manchester United did in the Beckham and Neville era. Transforming young players into great players."
Agents. These are agents talking. They stand to benefit directly if we start splattering money around. But they think it would be a bad idea. Unnecessary.
I would image that global recognition is a lot easier now due to social media, internet etc, certainly it can happen much quicker than when the Prem began. We've already made great advances globally, especially since we've had such high profile players/transfers. (Bale, Kane, Alli etc etc). We're already much more recognized in the US.We are in a difficult situation. There is competition for all the good players and the fact that we do not pay the higher wages always places us at a disadvantage. We have the new stadium to pay for but even when that is sorted things will still be hard. The other clubs have a worldwide presence that they got when the Premier League took off. Unfortunately when that happened we we still hampered by the financial problems caused by Irving Scholar and his mates. This has led to a financial gap we will probably only be able to bridge with a sugar daddy (like City have).
It was one of the best posts ever until he quoted Sky Andrew.Might be the first time, I agree with everything you've said.
It's basically a general interview with Jon Smith that happens to be mainly about Tottenham, because he takes an interest in the unusual way we deal with transfers and salaries.
It's worth a close read, because Smith, who is an agent and seems to know a lot of detail, basically contradicts virtually every cliché that the transfer-season moaners post here, every week:
- No, players are not just interested in the bottom line, they like a club with a dream or a mission.
- Spurs can still attract top players without paying huge salaries.
- Playing for a London club is influential in players' transfer decisions.
- We do not pay substantially less than other clubs, we just have a system that is heavily-weighted toward performance bonuses.
- Levy is "a good guy to deal with" who "does everything with a smile".
- Now is not the right time for Tottenham to break its wage structure - that, from an agent.
Are there any other bits of clichéd moaning fan bullshit left for him to skewer? I think he's got the full house there.
And then agent Sky Andrew joins in:
"Spurs do not need to spend big this summer. ... It's phenomenal what Spurs have done ... similar to what Manchester United did in the Beckham and Neville era. Transforming young players into great players."
Agents. These are agents talking. They stand to benefit directly if we start splattering money around. But they think it would be a bad idea. Unnecessary.
I really like your summary. The article and your comment makes a lot of sense IMHO.
BUT: there´s one crucial point you missed that is "moaned" about quite often: The timing of the signing/arrival of new players, i.e. before pre-season training, or after PL kickoff/at the very end of the window.
...
The point is: get them in early, and make them an integral part of the squad.
Perhaps I'm misinterpreting your point, but doesn't this support the idea that we should be bringing in our targets early in the window? If the majority of our best signings have been made in June/July then fans have every right to be concerned at the lack of incomings given that we're about to enter August, when our business, I assume, is generally less successful historically.Also, a notable number of our important/key/star players were signed early in a summer transfer window: Berbatov, Modric, Bale, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Dier & Wanyama being obvious examples. I think there is a widespread mis-perception, born of impatience, at work here.
Perhaps I'm misinterpreting your point, but doesn't this support the idea that we should be bringing in our targets early in the window? If the majority of our best signings have been made in June/July then fans have every right to be concerned at the lack of incomings given that we're about to enter August, when our business, I assume, is generally less successful historically.