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So what does finishing 5th mean for the future?

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
From what one reads here, finishing outside the top 4 is either an indictment of the club ownership for lack of ambition, or it's an inevitable product of economic determinism (sugar daddy syndrome - our lack of one), or it's the result of not having broken the bank to sign a new striker back in January. I don't agree with any of those diagnoses, but I'd rather focus for a minute on the prognosis and what it means for the league, not just for Spurs.

I'd like to propose a way of looking at this which involves stepping outside Spurs World for a minute. For over a decade, four clubs collectively monopolised the Champions League places, which essentially relegated everyone else to economic inferiority and progressive decline. We'll ignore Everton's brief moment in the sun for this purpose, because, crucially, it didn't actually exclude anyone, it just added two matches to Everton's following-season schedule.

What we did in 2009/10 was to break the quadropoly, despite our economic inferiority. Just as importantly, Man City have exploited their economic superiority to do it again in 2010/11. It would have been nice for us to do it again, but in the wider picture, what's important is that someone did it, because what this season and last season have achieved is that no club can now rely on being in the CL every season, because there's no big gap between the top 4 and everyone else. That will affect the business plans of the other 5 clubs with realistic aspirations to be in the CL. They can't bank on it anymore.

We all know how Man City have done it. What's less clear, especially if you read the relentless whining here, is how we did it and how we came close to doing it again, had it not been for a period of bad form and bad fortune at a bad time.

Somehow, ENIC (not Harry Redknapp) have managed to assemble, steadily over a period of seven years, by methodical stages and starting from a position where the footballing side of the club was entirely moribund and fossilised, a squad that is almost as good as the best in the league and can do itself proud in the Champions League. And they've done it with a minuscule stadium, paying relatively modest wages and without incurring barmy levels of debt.

Had it not been for an unfortunately-timed lending crisis, they'd also be well on the way to building both a top-notch training ground and a modern, larger stadium.

If I step outside my personal hunger for Spurs success on the pitch and just look at it, that's a really good business plan - the evidence is plain, the moment one compares our resources with what we have achieved in the past five years and then compares the rest of the "top 6" clubs' resources with that they've achieved. By contrast, what Abramovich and Mansour have done isn't really a business plan at all, it's an expensive hobby. If you want us to be a plutocrat's hobby, then I can't really argue with you, except to intone "Financial Fair Play Regulations" several times in the course of the discussion.

Outside of the constant-subsidy-by-a-disgustingly-rich-bastard option, ENIC seem to have found the best (only?) option. It won't turn us into a club that qualifies for the CL every year and wins consecutive league titles - that's not realistic - but it's well on the way, if they don't fuck it up by sacking the manager when we hit a patch of bad form or by selling key players, to delivering a team that competes for the CL every year, qualifying for it sometimes, and is part of a new order in the Premiership: a league with 6-8 clubs that have a realistic chance of finishing in the top 4 every season.

With a fair wind, it might even win us one league title before our key players get too old.
 

BillyWhizz

SC Supporter
Nov 16, 2006
1,179
888
Nice to hear from you David, and what a much more pleasant site this has become to read again recently.

Can't argue with what you say I often use some of what you've said when defending the amounts we've spent over the last 5 or so years. Yes it's a lot but considering all the above also quite remarkable being able to maintain that spending and not get into the shit.

I remember reading an article (in the Times I think could be wrong) on Premireship teams a few years ago that concluded that Spurs had the best financal model. The fact that we are also in or around the top 10 richest clubs in Europe backs this up. Since Levy has been here we've moved up that Deloitte thing about 10 places.

Levy should be manager too :up:
 

bigspurs

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2005
3,193
2,419
Some good points here. There is no doubt that Levy has made a massive impact at the club, in a good way. I don't blame him for not signing a striker in January at all. He would have tried his best.

I don't think that the failure to finish 4th is based on bad luck though. We had the quality of players, despite injuries etc. For some reason we just had a blind spot for the crap sides and didn't score enough goals! God knows how high up the table we should (not could) have finished. That's why there have been so many 'whinging' fans this season. It's just utter disbelief that we fecked up finishing in the top four again. We all know we were good for it.

It's all about next season COYS!!!
 

ethanedwards

Snowflake incarnate.
Nov 24, 2006
3,377
2,498
Good post David.
With regards to the Financial Fair Play regulations, it will be interesting to observe if they can be effectively policed.
No doubt the sharp suits will be scanning the grey areas, for any leverage.
 

mawspurs

Staff
Jun 29, 2003
35,069
17,740
A nice piece David. I think most sensible fans can see what you written is true.

Hunger for success and having a small taste of it has driven some fans to be come hyper-critical when things don't go our way but what we have achieved is amazing. It wasn't Citeh that broke the quadropoly it was the mighty Spurs.
 

Sweetsman

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2011
6,673
6,588
Excellent analysis and a timely one. Progress is measured over a period of time longer than two seasons. ENIC and Levy's stewardship has been very good, except for the disgraceful treatment of Jol. In fact, the Director of Football model is probably the best option, unless you are prepared to trust in a manager for a long period of time. We are Spurs and there is an ethos at the club spelt out by Danny Blanchflower. This ethos means that we will tend not to win league titles all the time. Maybe one could argue that the ethos has held us back in the past, but even though once upon a time Liverpool were all-conquering they were boring to watch. I support Spurs because we do things in style and I'd rather enjoy that than dwell on stuff like what might have been had we bought a striker in January; on that point, perhaps people might wish to think about whether an expensive signing at that time may have upset the balance of the squad and ended up with us not as high as fifth.
It's great to have you back, DM.
 

Lenn0n

Well-Known Member
Jan 9, 2011
244
342
Good piece David.
I hope Spurs sensible wages policy and financial prudence allows them to develop an ongoing business model - different from the distorting sugar-daddy approach of some of the clubs we compete with. I listened to Garath Bale tonight on Talk Sports - said he was happy at Spurs. Have heard Modric say similar things. Players who are professional and not too grasping! It all seems healthy - and I suspect that the tone that Levy sets has much to do with it.
I think we need patience and not get too upset if we do not make an extravagant striker purchase decision, a player on high wages...that would simply upset what I see emerging...some great players with their feet firmly rooted on the ground. In this we have the chance to build a great team rather than a collection of prima donna's
 

spursbhoy67

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2006
1,316
1,475
What last year showed and what this year threatened to show is that a top four finish is possible without a blank checkbook. I am proud of the fact that Spurs have got in the Champions League and close to repeating the effort without an oligarch to fund our efforts.

I know ENIC, Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy have run the club in a sensible manner and despite what some in the media think we will not be following the same path as Leeds United or Man City themselves when they tumbled down to the third division.

I am not frustrated with the business model in place for the future growth and development of the club. I did not want the club to shell out 30 million pounds on a wing and a prayer for a forward like Andy Carroll despite what he may achieve at Liverpool.

I do recognise what Harry Redknapp has accomplished at the club. And yet, our failure to qualify for next year's CL had nothing to do with money, wealth, wages, or our own increased expectations. It had everything to do with dropping points at home to Wigan, West Ham, Blackpool, etc.

On paper we should not have won our CL group, nor beaten Inter, nor eliminated Milan, nor be in the hunt for the top four until the final week of the season. We did because we had the players to compete to do so. I am happy at how far we have progressed and what we have accomplished in restoring the club's reputation at home and abroad, but there is still a nagging feeling of what might have been.
 

spursLA

Raising the 4th generation
Feb 3, 2005
417
122
My, incomplete, understanding of Financial Fair Play suggests that stadium revenue is going to be an increasingly important component of the club's ability to compete going forward. With the Olympic Stadium ruled out and the White Hart Lane project dead in the water in its current form, how are ENIC going to be able to continue the momentum?
 

Meds

Active Member
Jul 21, 2006
81
154
Nice to read an extended post from you DM. I've been on the site less regularly and haven't posted in ages - to be honest I've been avoiding the polarised, argumentative cul-de-sac which it has become of late. But it looks like some actual debate is on the way back.

I think most people - Spurs fans or not - will agree that any breaking of the Top 4 trend is a healthy thing. We've deserved our run out in the CL this year, impressed a lot of people, and I'm confident we'll be back again soon. The fact we've missed out this year is a disappointment for us of course, all the more so since the reasons for our demise (inconsistency and a lack of goals) seem so obvious. But I hope we'll look back and see this as part of the learning curve - all the established CL teams have had to learn to juggle domestic and European engagements, and in the early days they often struggle with the balance. We'll have a different approach to the Europa League next year and be challenging again for the top 4 come May 2012.

Whilst we all get frustrated at missed opportunities, and I'm sure are all guilty of instant over-reactions after a bad result, we do need to try and retain some perspective. The trend is definitely upwards, and the finances are clearly sound. In recent years at certain times we've looked on and worried as other teams around us seemed set to pull away - Aston Villa, Everton etc. - but look at the relative position now. We're on a par with teams that used to be well ahead, and are closing the gap on the top. A bit more composure in key matches this season, and some of the 18 points back we dropped in home draws, and who knows where we'd be?
 

ethanedwards

Snowflake incarnate.
Nov 24, 2006
3,377
2,498
Nice to read an extended post from you DM. I've been on the site less regularly and haven't posted in ages - to be honest I've been avoiding the polarised, argumentative cul-de-sac which it has become of late. But it looks like some actual debate is on the way back.

I think most people - Spurs fans or not - will agree that any breaking of the Top 4 trend is a healthy thing. We've deserved our run out in the CL this year, impressed a lot of people, and I'm confident we'll be back again soon. The fact we've missed out this year is a disappointment for us of course, all the more so since the reasons for our demise (inconsistency and a lack of goals) seem so obvious. But I hope we'll look back and see this as part of the learning curve - all the established CL teams have had to learn to juggle domestic and European engagements, and in the early days they often struggle with the balance. We'll have a different approach to the Europa League next year and be challenging again for the top 4 come May 2012.

Whilst we all get frustrated at missed opportunities, and I'm sure are all guilty of instant over-reactions after a bad result, we do need to try and retain some perspective. The trend is definitely upwards, and the finances are clearly sound. In recent years at certain times we've looked on and worried as other teams around us seemed set to pull away - Aston Villa, Everton etc. - but look at the relative position now. We're on a par with teams that used to be well ahead, and are closing the gap on the top. A bit more composure in key matches this season, and some of the 18 points back we dropped in home draws, and who knows where we'd be?
I think there is a real lack of quality teams across Europe now, and as this season showed we are not far away.
All that is missing is that winning mentality, so well displayed by ManU, sometimes it's not about signing the fantasy player but a grafter who will give that little bit extra.
Someone in the mould of Kevin Davies would be a good addition to the squad, might not be for the purists, we need different options.
 

JoeT

Well-Known Member
Jun 7, 2005
3,813
935
Good article D.M... Showed how the THFC steady-as-she-goes 'Business Model' has built the club into a force today to be rekoned with..and is capable of being close to competing with the today's top teams in the P.L.
The question I have is: Will that same Business Model suffice today; not only to see the club steadily improve it's present position, but to even maintain our present postion? The other option - you suggested - was to be glad we didn't go the route of buying an expensive striker last January. To me, that was maybe a signal that you feel the spending of a considerable sum this summer on improving our strike force to be an incorrect decision. (And while we are talking of the January transfer fiasco,you were indeed correct in saying that was the wrong time to buy...but I wouldn't read into this an incorrect policy, but that it was more due to a failure to act last summer, when maybe the old paradigm of 'can we get by with what we currently have' was still management thinking.)
If that was simply warning against a change in policy, may I say I don't agree. I'm not suggesting for a minute that the club 'do a Leeds', but it is possible that now we are indeed very close to really breaking into the top P.L. elite, a new economic thinking paradigm might be neccessary....and I think the apparent current club action plan - that of pruning some of the squad 'dead wood' for funds, plus if neccessary additional monies to seriously aquire a top strike force and strengthen other specific areas - i.m.o.has to be the way to the future.
So rather than start suggesting we go after present P.L. strikers from mid-league teams, (although Kevin Davies is not a bad shout...for starters 'ethan.....') also go after someone better....a real goal scorer and build Spurs' future around him..... a financial risk? Yes, but "To Dare is to Do"is the club motto; let's DO!
 
Jun 4, 2007
97
52
A thought provoking and insightful piece David.

Martin Jol's Spurs team, which was not as good as the current side/squad and playing against a much stronger sky 4 (lacking man city) near as dammit did it, too.

There is no doubt that money has a huge imapct on final league placings etc, however, I feel for too long clubs like ours have been too happy to use this as an excuse for not achieving. This is why I have been pretty cross with Harry's outburst last week.

I think in England, more than than any of the other major European leagues, it has been the consistency (nea rmonopoly) with which the sky 4 have qualified for the CL that has skewed finances and beaten other English clubs into near submission.

However, there have been enough pockets of "resistance" to show that Everton, Spurs, Newcastle under Bobby Robson could have taken on theSsky4 to a greater extent beforehand.

Nonetheless, I agree with the writer of the piece, ENIC's approach can be said to have been an intelligent and successful one, and one to admire, aside from the undermining and then firing Jol fiasco.

5th is a fine effort and the EL qualification is good, but to deny or whitewash the fact that the end of the seasopn was a rank poor effort and Spurs, for me, should have been good enough to make 4th is not helpful either.
 

striebs

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2004
4,504
667
For sure Enic have done a good job , very good even , but not an exceptional one - yet .

It only looks exceptional when you put it in the context of what went before - 3 decades of decline interupted by the odd very good team (Burkinshaws , Shreeves , Pleat first time around) .

I must read Irving Scholar's book to get his account of where it all went wrong but he left the clubs finances in a parluous state where it would have gone under had it not been rescued by Alan Sugar .

Enic have got Spurs achieving what they should have been achieving for all those years before , nothing more , nothing less .

There are no clubs outside the old Sky 4 and Man City who have the resources to challenge us . Everton and Newcastle come closest but we've got the London location .

If we can consistently compete with the Sky 4 and City then Enic will be able to say they are doing an exceptional job .

If Fifa and Eufa are serious about implementing financial fair play (and it's hard to believe that it is anything more that posturing) then Enic will be due credit for foreseeing this and chosing to operate the club in this way .
 

StockSpur

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2004
4,945
1,537
good post, probably what we are all thinking or would agree were we not so upset at the run of poor form which cost us maybe 3rd place, I hasten to add we will all look back on this season with affection in a season or two.

oh for 1 or 2 goals in certain games but luck wasnt with us on those occassions!

and i remember thinking how badly we had played when we beat blackburn.
 

llamafarmer

Well-Known Member
May 4, 2004
10,775
1,055
Somehow, ENIC (not Harry Redknapp) have managed to assemble, steadily over a period of seven years, by methodical stages and starting from a position where the footballing side of the club was entirely moribund and fossilised, a squad that is almost as good as the best in the league and can do itself proud in the Champions League. And they've done it with a minuscule stadium, paying relatively modest wages and without incurring barmy levels of debt.

A great point and something worth remembering. My one big concern, and I've expressed it before, is that the policy of buying exciting young talent for 2 or 3 seasons down the line seems to have lost a bit of impetus in the Redknapp era. It's a policy that's served us very well and I hope we haven't let it fade away!
 

doom

Well-Known Member
Dec 13, 2003
2,368
1,338
Great post, our success stems from enics transfer policy and in particular buying young players with great potential. To do this they appointed a director of football or rather they adapted Pleat into this role and then bought in Arnesen with his fantastic reputation of sourcing young talent. Selling players who didn't quite make it on for a profit. More senior signings were young and experienced so if they failed they could be sold on without loss. We kept our wages down and brought in decent medical staff.
 

Gilzeanking

Well-Known Member
May 7, 2005
6,093
5,019
Jo . due to a failure to act last summer said:
can we get by with what we currently have'[/B] was still management thinking.)

There is a widespread misconception here that last summer the management decided the strikers that had got us CL would be good enough for this season.

WRONG...the management decided that a DEPLETED strike force would be good enough for this season .

Everyone has forgotten that Eidur Gudjonsen was at our club and scoring goals that helped us get CL .
He is truly a forgotten man and him not being replaced was not such a good idea in retrospect .
 
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