Managing Director Football: Fabio Paratici

[spursfan77]

I dont thin it would. We are in no worse position than Liverpool were when Klopp took over and since then they have only signed 19 players in 4 years (including players for the youth team e.g van den Berg).

I think people underestimate the effect a few of the right players would have on the squad, a new DM, RB, a skillful AM and a decent striker to challenge Kane could have us competing again.

I caught between that, which I agree with, but then also look at a lot of the players being either with us a while and seem tired or just aren’t good enough. Firstly improve the areas you suggest as a minimum in the next transfer window and then go from there.

Do I trust us to do that, no, I don’t unfortunately.

 

[SpringHeeledJim]

I dont thin it would. We are in no worse position than Liverpool were when Klopp took over and since then they have only signed 19 players in 4 years (including players for the youth team e.g van den Berg).

I think people underestimate the effect a few of the right players would have on the squad, a new DM, RB, a skillful AM and a decent striker to challenge Kane could have us competing again.

'Only' 19 players? We have quite a way to go

 

[HedgieSpur]

Is that what we are/should be looking for though? Is that what Mourinho would want us to bring in?

Campos is awesome at what he does, but our strategy isn't to buy cheap players and sell them for a profit anymore, it's to sign players that will improve our team to take us to the next level and win something (we are just not very good at it).

Campos made some amazing signings for Monaco (Fabinho, Mpabbe, Silva and Martial for example) and even balanced it out with the level of players that would fit our current strategy (Rodriguez and Moutinho) but he bought 32 players in the 3 years at Monaco and has bought 30 players in 3 years for Lille and I just dont think that strategy would work for us.

Comolli is talked about as a failure by Spurs fans yet he signed Bale, Berbatov and Modric but he also averaged around 10 signings a season, most of which were failures.

I haver to disagree with this. I think with the stadium debt and the general footballing economy, we will need to buy cheap players and sell them on. Campos is perfect for this and we'd be crazy not to get him if we can.

 

[spurs9]

'Only' 19 players? We have quite a way to go

Did you miss the part where I said over 4 years? In comparison Tottenham "we never sign anyone" Horspur have signed 16 players over the same time period and within that time, we hold the PL (possible English) record of number of months without signing a player.

 

[spurs9]

I caught between that, which I agree with, but then also look at a lot of the players being either with us a while and seem tired or just aren’t good enough. Firstly improve the areas you suggest as a minimum in the next transfer window and then go from there.

Do I trust us to do that, no, I don’t unfortunately.

I don't either, just the last window we were crying out for a DM and brought in a box to box CM, that we just don't need.

Not saying we don't need a Sporting Director or even that Campos wouldn't be the right one, just that he would have to change his strategy from the one he has used at both Lille and Monaco.

 

[spurs9]

I haver to disagree with this. I think with the stadium debt and the general footballing economy, we will need to buy cheap players and sell them on. Campos is perfect for this and we'd be crazy not to get him if we can.

Valid point about the economy, with Covid, who knows what will happen. I'm sure not qualifying for the CL will have an large impact too, but, I don't think it will change to so much that we will be in a position that warrants a buy to sell for a profit model.

 

[JayB]

I don't either, just the last window we were crying out for a DM and brought in a box to box CM, that we just don't need.

Not saying we don't need a Sporting Director or even that Campos wouldn't be the right one, just that he would have to change his strategy from the one he has used at both Lille and Monaco.

I don't think that's necessarily true. So at Monaco and Lille they (1) bought affordable young talents who turned out to be brilliant value signings and (2) sold them on at huge profit. We desperately need a lot more of function (1), completely independently of whether we follow it up with step (2).

Campos has proven time and again that he has an excellent eye for both talent and for bargains, which is exactly what we need at this moment in time. It doesn't matter whether we then sell the players, we need to get the right ones in the door at the right prices in the first place. That's been woefully lacking in recent years.

 

[SecretLemonadeDrinker]

Totally agree with you, Jay, but that's probably because we're both, quite rightly, viewing this situation as fans. The appointment of Campos makes perfect sense IF you believe that Levy's priority is to build a championship winning football team. But as soon as you consider the notion that his primary goal is, and always has been, the development of a multi-event arena where the football team exists among a number of "tenants" (NFL, rugby, boxing, music events) then perhaps, in Levy's eyes, that mitigates against the need for a top, top football team, and, unfortunately for us, renders someone like Campos less of an imperative. As you said mate, Campos just makes so much sense for any owners genuinely and utterly committed to the success of their football team. That Levy & Co remain disinterested in his appointment, or in even contemplating restructuring the recruitiment structure, probably tells us all we need to know about their priorities. But, hey, at least Levy has prioritised appointing a new Technology Expert, mate! Perhaps he'll be great at googling - Danny Rose style - this summer's cheap transfer targets. Every cloud eh!

Sorry, John, I have to disagree with you on this.

Firstly, I don't believe that Levy really sees Spurs as merely one of many tenants of the new stadium. The club is still very much the thing. The stadium is just the tool to make it a much better thing. In a sport ruled by money but policed by FFP, income generation is key. And even with the best will in the world, Spurs will never be able to compete with the likes of Liverpool, Utd and even Chelsea and Manchester City when it comes to generating commercial income. The only way in which we can make up the shortfall is by exploiting an incredible stadium that is currently far beyond pretty much any other in Europe in terms of its ability to generate income.

Secondly, I don't buy the idea that Levy is set against revisiting the DoF model at Spurs. I'd be surprised if he wasn't still open to it. I'd be even more surprised if he especially wasn't open to the idea of hiring Luis Campos - a DoF who seems to be right up Levy's street in terms of both footballing and financial philosophy. I could hardly imagine a better fit, in fact!

I know that JJ seemed to rule it out but, if I recall correctly, the actual question put to him by that guy on twitter was along the lines of "is Luis Campos Levy's ideal option for DoF"? To which JJ replied, "No". Which could mean one of two things. It could mean, "no, Levy isn't interested in Campos at all". Or it could mean, "no, there is someone else who is Levy's ideal option but Campos is next on the list". As far as I'm aware, JJ never elaborated on that simple no. Besides which, even JJ gets it wrong occasionally. Not to mention that his answers are often deliberately enigmatic. So we can't take his word as gospel whatever his "no" meant!

I haven't given up on Campos or a.n.other DoF yet! We desperately need one.

 

[danielneeds]

I don't think that's necessarily true. So at Monaco and Lille they (1) bought affordable young talents who turned out to be brilliant value signings and (2) sold them on at huge profit. We desperately need a lot more of function (1), completely independently of whether we follow it up with step (2).

Campos has proven time and again that he has an excellent eye for both talent and for bargains, which is exactly what we need at this moment in time. It doesn't matter whether we then sell the players, we need to get the right ones in the door at the right prices in the first place. That's been woefully lacking in recent years.

The problem is that the kind of players Campos spots sometimes need time to develop and that's why the French league is perfect to ferment those kinds of players. Maybe one reason Campos isn't sure about the PL is it's so much harder to give young signings the time to flourish here. We've seen with Ndombele that the step up in intensity can be shocking.

 

[[email protected]]

Sorry, John, I have to disagree with you on this.

Firstly, I don't believe that Levy really sees Spurs as merely one of many tenants of the new stadium. The club is still very much the thing. The stadium is just the tool to make it a much better thing. In a sport ruled by money but policed by FFP, income generation is key. And even with the best will in the world, Spurs will never be able to compete with the likes of Liverpool, Utd and even Chelsea and Manchester City when it comes to generating commercial income. The only way in which we can make up the shortfall is by exploiting an incredible stadium that is currently far beyond pretty much any other in Europe in terms of its ability to generate income.

Secondly, I don't buy the idea that Levy is set against revisiting the DoF model at Spurs. I'd be surprised if he wasn't still open to it. I'd be even more surprised if he especially wasn't open to the idea of hiring Luis Campos - a DoF who seems to be right up Levy's street in terms of both footballing and financial philosophy. I could hardly imagine a better fit, in fact!

I know that JJ seemed to rule it out but, if I recall correctly, the actual question put to him by that guy on twitter was along the lines of "is Luis Campos Levy's ideal option for DoF"? To which JJ replied, "No". Which could mean one of two things. It could mean, "no, Levy isn't interested in Campos at all". Or it could mean, "no, there is someone else who is Levy's ideal option but Campos is next on the list". As far as I'm aware, JJ never elaborated on that simple no. Besides which, even JJ gets it wrong occasionally. Not to mention that his answers are often deliberately enigmatic. So we can't take his word as gospel whatever his "no" meant!

I haven't given up on Campos or a.n.other DoF yet! We desperately need one.

I so hope you're right, mate. I couldn't agree more. Campos or someone similar makes so much sense it's unreal. It's the one appointment that would genuinely give me some hope and optimism for the future. I guess we just have to hope that Levy sees it that way. As you say we're desperate for someone who could come in and positively influence our transfer policy. Fingers crossed eh mate!

 

[JayB]

The problem is that the kind of players Campos spots sometimes need time to develop and that's why the French league is perfect to ferment those kinds of players. Maybe one reason Campos isn't sure about the PL is it's so much harder to give young signings the time to flourish here. We've seen with Ndombele that the step up in intensity can be shocking.

That’s fair. But when you look at the list of players he’s identified, many of them have become genuinely world class.

It’s a good point though, we’d need to have a total commitment as a club to having the patience to develop young players as a club if we were to go down that route. It’s fair to question whether Mourinho, the senior players, or even the supporters would have the stomach for it.

I think given where we are, there would be a willingness at least within the support to get behind a rebuild. Whether Jose, Kane and Son would feel the same way I don’t know.

 

[HedgieSpur]

Sorry, John, I have to disagree with you on this.

Firstly, I don't believe that Levy really sees Spurs as merely one of many tenants of the new stadium. The club is still very much the thing. The stadium is just the tool to make it a much better thing. In a sport ruled by money but policed by FFP, income generation is key. And even with the best will in the world, Spurs will never be able to compete with the likes of Liverpool, Utd and even Chelsea and Manchester City when it comes to generating commercial income. The only way in which we can make up the shortfall is by exploiting an incredible stadium that is currently far beyond pretty much any other in Europe in terms of its ability to generate income.

Secondly, I don't buy the idea that Levy is set against revisiting the DoF model at Spurs. I'd be surprised if he wasn't still open to it. I'd be even more surprised if he especially wasn't open to the idea of hiring Luis Campos - a DoF who seems to be right up Levy's street in terms of both footballing and financial philosophy. I could hardly imagine a better fit, in fact!

I know that JJ seemed to rule it out but, if I recall correctly, the actual question put to him by that guy on twitter was along the lines of "is Luis Campos Levy's ideal option for DoF"? To which JJ replied, "No". Which could mean one of two things. It could mean, "no, Levy isn't interested in Campos at all". Or it could mean, "no, there is someone else who is Levy's ideal option but Campos is next on the list". As far as I'm aware, JJ never elaborated on that simple no. Besides which, even JJ gets it wrong occasionally. Not to mention that his answers are often deliberately enigmatic. So we can't take his word as gospel whatever his "no" meant!

I haven't given up on Campos or a.n.other DoF yet! We desperately need one.

You're clearly very finance savvy and hence, Im sure you will agree that the margins on concerts and shows combined with the NFL revenue (not counting the potential for the much vaunted London NFL franchise in the future) are significant. as such, with the high fixed costs in football, my view is that the other sports and entertainment revenue streams will continue to garner more importance.

Its for this reason that I believe ENIC will focus more on turning us into a multi sports and entertainment group and maintain THFC as a high profile football club, where silverware is not necessarily integral to commercial success.

 

[spurs9]

I don't think that's necessarily true. So at Monaco and Lille they (1) bought affordable young talents who turned out to be brilliant value signings and (2) sold them on at huge profit. We desperately need a lot more of function (1), completely independently of whether we follow it up with step (2).

Campos has proven time and again that he has an excellent eye for both talent and for bargains, which is exactly what we need at this moment in time. It doesn't matter whether we then sell the players, we need to get the right ones in the door at the right prices in the first place. That's been woefully lacking in recent years.

At both clubs, he has as many GKN & Njie signings as successes.

Also, the environment in Ligue 1 is a lot more forgiving than the PL, so a lot of the signings wouldn't work for a team aiming to get into the CL in this league (especially with Jose as manager), even the signings that turned out great may not have had the opportunity to develop here. I doubt an 18 year old Martial would have got the game time here under Jose to become the player he is. Would Jose have played a 20 year old Fabinho enough to become the player he has (I realise he game him his debut at Real but it was 14 mins in a game they were already winning 5-2)?

He even signed a player that they lost money on in Monaco (didn't have the opportunity to develop, as Monaco were competing for the league) yet, he signed for Lille and they almost tripled their money on him. That would be x10 here.

Another factor is what effect Brexit will have in recruiting. Will all European players be subject to the same rules as non EU players are now? If so, we won't be able to sign anyone overseas under 18 and players would require to have played 30% to 75% (depending on ranking of Int team) of his countries matches for the last 2 years if over 21 and 1 year if under. That will be a huge restriction on what Campos could do. It might actually be the reason we haven't employed him yet, as we could be waiting to see what the new rules will be.

 

[JayB]

At both clubs, he has as many GKN & Njie signings as successes.

Also, the environment in Ligue 1 is a lot more forgiving than the PL, so a lot of the signings wouldn't work for a team aiming to get into the CL in this league (especially with Jose as manager), even the signings that turned out great may not have had the opportunity to develop here. I doubt an 18 year old Martial would have got the game time here under Jose to become the player he is. Would Jose have played a 20 year old Fabinho enough to become the player he has (I realise he game him his debut at Real but it was 14 mins in a game they were already winning 5-2)?

He even signed a player that they lost money on in Monaco (didn't have the opportunity to develop, as Monaco were competing for the league) yet, he signed for Lille and they almost tripled their money on him. That would be x10 here.

Another factor is what effect Brexit will have in recruiting. Will all European players be subject to the same rules as non EU players are now? If so, we won't be able to sign anyone overseas under 18 and players would require to have played 30% to 75% (depending on ranking of Int team) of his countries matches for the last 2 years if over 21 and 1 year if under. That will be a huge restriction on what Campos could do. It might actually be the reason we haven't employed him yet, as we could be waiting to see what the new rules will be.

All very fair points. It may well be the case that the day has passed where an English club could implement that approach, both because of Brexit and because of the new limitations on loaning out players that are coming into play. In years past someone like Campos could have implemented Chelsea’s model, hovering up young talents and loaning them out to see which of them will make the grade. I’m not sure that’s possible anymore.

Regardless, we still need a DOF to provide a coherent strategy to approaching the market. Levy has taken a scattershot approach with no discernible underlying principles guiding how we go about recruitment. To make matters worse he has terrible relationships with clubs all over thanks to his negotiating tactics. A DOF is very much needed, IMO.

 

[yiddo]

I 100% concur with the belief that we need a DoF.

I honestly believe that the main reason our recruitment has been inadequate for so long is because Levy sets criteria that makes it far too difficult to recruit effectively.
There are obviously some exceptions but generally every deal we make Levy expects the below criteria to be met;

- The price tag has to be under market value
- Price tag must be able to be paid in instalments over a few years at least
- The player's salary has to be under market value
- The player has to be under 26
- Any agent involved must not be asking for a large commission fee (most "super agents" ruled out)

Of course we would like every deal to meet all these things but its just not realistic. I have lost count on the number of top quality players we could/should/would have signed if we had ignored just one of the above items.
It seems to me that its more important to Levy to agree a good deal for a player than it is to sign the right player.

 

[philip]

Agree we need a DoF, but I wish we would go back to the Pleat-led model (albeit mostly signed by Arnesen working off Pleats list) of getting young British talent that kick-started our rise from mediocrity.

It was under Jol that that rise started and it was built upon a squad that included as key players

Robinson
Dawson
King
Gardner
Jenas
Carrick
Reid
Huddlestone
Lennon
Keane
Defoe

 

[Albertbarich]

Buying players with sell on value isn't about us looking to sell them.

Its to minimise the risk. If you buy a 31 year old for 10 million you know that no matter what happens you're not making your money back.

If you buy a 21 year old for 10 million you know that if he isn't good enough you will still more than likely make that back as just us taking a risk on him will hold that value more than likely. If he is a success then his value doubles or trebles etc..

Its not full proof of course but its a sensible strategy to have if you dont run on a budget like man City.

 

[HedgieSpur]

Agree we need a DoF, but I wish we would go back to the Pleat-led model (albeit mostly signed by Arnesen working off Pleats list) of getting young British talent that kick-started our rise from mediocrity.

It was under Jol that that rise started and it was built upon a squad that included as key players

Robinson
Dawson
King
Gardner
Jenas
Carrick
Reid
Huddlestone
Lennon
Keane
Defoe

I think in the global marketplace that is football, we'd be crazy to limit ourselves to getting talent only from the UK (even ignoring the premium these players attract). I want us to get young, hungry players with attributes that align with our footballing strategy (top to bottom). If they are British, then all well and good.

 

[spursfan77]

Buying players with sell on value isn't about us looking to sell them.

Its to minimise the risk. If you buy a 31 year old for 10 million you know that no matter what happens you're not making your money back.

If you buy a 21 year old for 10 million you know that if he isn't good enough you will still more than likely make that back as just us taking a risk on him will hold that value more than likely. If he is a success then his value doubles or trebles etc..

Its not full proof of course but its a sensible strategy to have if you dont run on a budget like man City.

It’s pretty much how we built up the playing squad to get to where it was under Poch. Trouble is it can take a long time and also players that were £10 million then are £20/25 million now more or less.

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

Maybe Levy is a bit Trumpish, thinking when you have me why need Campos.

This is were we need the THST to do their job.

It needs to be made clear that Levy should have no involvement in selecting players.

All we here time and time again is 'Levy wants this player, Levy agrees to that player'. Bergwijn being the latest that wasnt the Managers choice.