Tottenham Takeover Talk

[Westmorlandspur]

Stuff like this really fucks me off.

they just can't help themselves.

We objected to the £30 max for away fans in the premier league. It’s who we are mate!

 

[Westmorlandspur]

Yes although we are firmly in the financial elite now our turnover has surpassed 500m. With the 30 non football events now allowed that will only keep rising. But the amount of that money we're allocating to our playing staff is being reduced, even though we already had the 'best' wages to turnover ratio in the league. Curious

It doesn’t matter how much we make, our owners will always want more. Pure businessmen. Might be no bad thing if they sell it.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Minute 12.18 onwards, doesn’t seem like Ange is unhappy with our approach to the transfer window and he’s said signing young players is part of his idea to build a team over a 3,4,5 year cycle which can improve and grow.

One of the worst decisions ENIC have made on their watch, let’s sabotage the team just before a cup final.
I still think Jose was on a massive bonus to win a trophy and DL decided to save a few quid.
Either that or in some weird sort of perverse way DL decided that he liked the idea of bringing Jose’s record to an end

yep basically took our chances from maybe a 30% for a win to about 1% , I’m not sure it was about Jose’s cup win bonus it was more that he wasn’t working out with us and if he won us that trophy he’d be very hard to remove from then on.

 

[muppetman]

Also the wage bill is dropping round everyone’s realise 300 grand a week is a huge problem when you need to get rid of a player.

I do wonder if this could be a factor. Clubs in Europe are pretty much all pleading poverty (legitimately or otherwise), which means you can only sell the big wage earners to other PL clubs.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

We will know the clubs full and unequivocal intentions over the next couple of windows. We have put together a young squad with plenty of potential(but also high potential sell on values). Lets see if we now look to fill in the gaps with high quality players, as Liverpool and Arsenal did, or we continue to buy very young players with a high ceiling. I've referenced Pool and Arsenal because everyone defending our current plight is using them as examples of why we should be patient as this is how they built.

I am happyish with what we did over the Summer, but only if we look to build on that. If the plan is to keep cycling more 18-19 year olds with potential, I will be fully out very quickly. I've said I will wait until January before I start forming a lynch mob, and I haven't changed my mind on that. If however in January we pick up 2 more unknown 18 year olds and no senior players I'll sanction unlimited overtime on pitchfork production.

I am still very concerned that we are soooooo open to ANY counter attack, but I do acknowledge we have clearly been working very hard on set pieces. Something Ange said repeatedly wasn't a concern, and now it shows that was obviously a lie and that he clearly was concerned. This shows two things, firstly what he says and what he thinks are not always the same(despite some SC posters posting exerts from interviews and press conferences like it's gospel fact), and secondly he is willing to change things when they aren't working.

All so spot on apart from the January window thing, clubs rarely seriously strengthen in January, if we sign one half decent 1st team player I think that’s fine (last 2 Jans we signed Dragusin and Porro) more then happy with another Jan like that, but next summer is the one, if we don’t build on this consolidated squad with some real quality and I’m talking minimum 2 ideally 3-4 top players of minimum Solanke ability, then if it’s just 1 + more 18-19yr olds we will know full well the clubs MO is what it has always been under Levy/ENIC… PROFIT OVER GLORY.

FWIW I think a lot on here are going well over the top based on a few tweets from Paul O’Keefe.

From the outside I see interviews from Ange and Lange and I see a club who cleared the decks with older players on high wages who aren’t in the managers and a club which has signed some exciting youngsters most of whom are not far off 1st team level.

As @Trix has said, it’s what we do NEXT that will speak volumes.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

the only logic for a partial takeover I can see is people cashing in on their investment. I can’t say having any value to the club.

everyone thinks rally heading in a good direction which needs some time with undervalued how clever our transfer has been because we want ready Mate showing new toys. Also the wage bill is dropping round everyone’s realise 300 grand a week is a huge problem when you need to get rid of a player.

Also the transfer budget is often a combination of wage and transfer fees. Ange himself might be saying he’s happy with signing youngsters and lowering the wage if it means he can increase the transfer fee budget by say £20-40million each window.

None of us really know and I really don’t think POK knows everything.

 

[newbie]

Also the transfer budget is often a combination of wage and transfer fees. Ange himself might be saying he’s happy with signing youngsters and lowering the wage if it means he can increase the transfer fee budget by say £20-40million each window.

None of us really know and I really don’t think POK knows everything.

you can’t shift players now on high wages, I think we realise this, then forgot this. (Nd and Los)

We’ve clearly realised we have target the best 17-19-year-olds, at 21 everyone’s after them.

clubs are avoiding anyone with bad attitude or injuries, or high wages

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

you can’t shift players now on high wages, I think we realise this, then forgot this.

We’ve clearly realised we have the 17-19-year-olds at 21 everyone’s after them.

clubs are avoiding anyone with bad attitude or injuries, or high wages

Yep it seems more like lessons learned and a change in approach to support this longer term project under Ange rather than moves purely based on gearing up to sell imo.

The Q will be next summer can we add say 2x ‘Solanke’ in key positions to drive the project to the next level, I’m optimistic we will do that tbh signing just more youngsters wouldn’t even fit with the current squad setup tbh.

ENIC are not perfect and I’d like them to push the boat out a bit more but I think there is a lot of panic about nothing much right now in this thread tbh.

 

[Jaddas]

This might be unpopular, but I really do hope there is a takeover soon because every year feels like the same since ENIC took over.

Off the field projects to complete, always left short on the field, manager not being backed, decreasing our wages, key targets too expensive, ticket price increases and so on. All whilst our chairman earns the highest salary in the league, and our match day fans pay the highest prices.

Thanks ENIC for the stadium and low wages to turnover ratio, but think it's time for someone else to have a go.

 

[newbie]

Yep it seems more like lessons learned and a change in approach to support this longer term project under Ange rather than moves purely based on gearing up to sell imo.

The Q will be next summer can we add say 2x ‘Solanke’ in key positions to drive the project to the next level, I’m optimistic we will do that tbh signing just more youngsters wouldn’t even fit with the current squad setup tbh.

ENIC are not perfect and I’d like them to push the boat out a bit more but I think there is a lot of panic about nothing much right now in this thread tbh.

I think the problem also is the positions all the top clubs need to fill are striker, 6, left back, 1v1 wingers.

Due to the football Academy system and a changes in football, strikers are not being produced and nor are left backs because before wingers will drop back to left back now all wingers are inverted there will be a left back shortage. Strikers used to be the big lump who scored goals and was more specialist now everyone expects total football so they’re being produced in the top European academies, as we’re playing technical game. Strikers are coming from Eastern Europe rather than the top European Academy

if you look a lot of the Premier League strikers, Watkins, toney, vardy Solanke they’ve all come up from lower leagues at some point. Or clubs have gambled on a young player from much lesser league like Rasmus and Isaac.

So I think next season, we might still have the same problems, depending on how well Wilson and Moore progress and how well solenke and lanks do this season. Ofc if we can have a couple of players in these positions will make our transfers a lot easier.

I think it’s easy to beat Levy at the moment but I think the club is very well run atm, we are just going to have to wait and give it time. Seems to have a very good recruitment set up. For thinking and planning.. we still fixing errors of the past hopefully we’re over that hump now and the next few windows will see improvements. Sadly, we are not good at spending big money. However, we are good at signing talent and making superstars. Over the years we have produced phenomenal amount of stars discovered before they were famous. I think doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got we never gonna be Real Madrid or a huge name not without winning consistently for a long time so we’re gonna have to be different to the clubs. We’re gonna have to be a better version of Brighton with more money.

Chelsea hoovered up all the sixes and paid through the nose, inflating the 6 price around the world struggle to fill position. hence why I think archie was such a great signing.

 

[TC18]

Yep it seems more like lessons learned and a change in approach to support this longer term project under Ange rather than moves purely based on gearing up to sell imo.

The Q will be next summer can we add say 2x ‘Solanke’ in key positions to drive the project to the next level, I’m optimistic we will do that tbh signing just more youngsters wouldn’t even fit with the current squad setup tbh.

ENIC are not perfect and I’d like them to push the boat out a bit more but I think there is a lot of panic about nothing much right now in this thread tbh.

I just can’t see ENIC will be willing to add the required profile of player. World class players cost money. They might well spend £65m giving the perception that they want to compete, but it’s the profile of player we should be looking at.

For example, Solanke, decent PL player, if anything ENIC Probably overspent to get him, on the surface they are showing ambition. Spent £65m on a a PL player who had a decent return last season. With all due respect, Solanke isn’t world class, he won’t be able to command high wages, he’s fees will be modest.

Compare this to a World Class game changing player, fee might well be similar, but you are then talking about £200-£300k wages, fees are high… the risks are high, Ndombele.. you might buy 1 of these players and it’s still not enough to win you a trophy, so ideally you need a splattering of them around the pitch.

No doubt we can afford it. But does ENIC want to? Competing for trophies is expensive and risky, give a perception that you are willing to compete and it’s cheaper.

On the pitch, ENIC are not in the slightest bit bothered if we win a trophy under them, winning the odd trophy will not increase the value of their asset, and as I’ve explained, competing for trophies is too risky and expensive. What does increase the value is regular European qualification, and a high league finish, if they can get both of those things for as cheap as possible they are happy. Hence why they will prioritise the league over any cup competition we enter.

I’ve no doubt that we will stick around the 6th place mark, dropping down to mid table will affect the value too much, as does fan unrest (see Newcastle).

 

[blodge99]

Good article from Gab Marcotti here...after some of the knicker wetting in here over the past few days it may be worth taking a few mins to read

Why was Premier League transfer spending way down this summer?

Some big moves did get done, like Manuel Ugarte to Man United, but one thing was evident from the 2024 summer transfer window: the Premier League is spending way less than usual.

www.espn.com

 

[sundanceyid10]

This might be unpopular, but I really do hope there is a takeover soon because every year feels like the same since ENIC took over.

Off the field projects to complete, always left short on the field, manager not being backed, decreasing our wages, key targets too expensive, ticket price increases and so on. All whilst our chairman earns the highest salary in the league, and our match day fans pay the highest prices.

Thanks ENIC for the stadium and low wages to turnover ratio, but think it's time for someone else to have a go.

When we had prime Kane and the rarity of an utterly elite striker capable of getting 30 goals a season, that I thought was our chance. We had the hardest piece of the puzzle to find. The fact he was surrounded by sub standard players and mismanagement, I realised (regrettably) that it’s not going to happen under the current ownership. We have some good young players, I like the current manager, but that’s miles away from actual success and consistency winning things. I don’t see that happening. Under the current ownership there has been a soft side to us that has shown little evidence of disappearing. Put us under pressure in big games and we have crumbled repeatedly.

 

[goughie1966]

Good article from Gab Marcotti here...after some of the knicker wetting in here over the past few days it may be worth taking a few mins to read

Why was Premier League transfer spending way down this summer?

Some big moves did get done, like Manuel Ugarte to Man United, but one thing was evident from the 2024 summer transfer window: the Premier League is spending way less than usual.

www.espn.com

Excellent article - unfortunately unlikely to be read by many on here.

 

[chas vs dave]

Its like clockwork. International break = takeover thread in overdrive

 

[RELISYS]

POK was saying the same pretty much last night. Was suggesting the goal was to significantly lower the wage bill to maximise the value of the club for a potential take over. He may well just be angered by our business, he certainly tweeted quite a few negative responses about it, but he certainly seemed of a similar mind set.

View attachment 144888 View attachment 144890

I don't really believe this, ENIC/LEVY know what they value the club at and a lower wage bill isn't going to change that or increase the value a great deal. If I where an investor and a business I was interesting in started cutting costs to attract investments, I would think they where having financial issues.

The wage to revenue ratio is another meaningless stat just like NET spend.

In 2022, it was 47 Percent.
In 2023, It was 45 Percent due to Champions League revenue.

And this is an estimate, when the next set of account are published I think it's going to be about 56 Percent, since wages increased by 20 Percent in 2023 and with the loss of Champions League and no other European football, revenue obviously was reduced.

We should be looking at the actual figures, not wages as a percentage, as it can be misleading and think investment isn't being made, our wage bill in 2023 was £251 Million in 2018 it was £147 Million, an increase of 70 Percent in the last 5 Years, that's hardly a sign on not willing to invest.

We have been crying out for years for Levy to get rid of the deadwood, even if it means we take a financial loss on the players we have bought, which is what he has finally done and as a consequence the wage bill will obviously be lower, but instead of using this as something positive, something that clears out the decks and giving us more scope to increase the wages of our young squad in future, to reward players that are actually performing for us on the pitch rather then some mercenaries who have done nothing for us people are using the new wage to revenue ratio as the new stick to beat the Club with.

 

[RELISYS]

Im usually quite pragmatic, however I dont think there is justification for all of these ticket price increases, whilst the club cuts the wage bill.

You can't cut costs then ramp up prices and not expect a negative reaction.

There is only one reason this is happening IMO, and we are in the right thread for it.........

Fattening us up for a sale.

I've been in 3 companies that have gone through aquisition. Its always the same. Maximise the income and drive expenditure to the bare minimum.

This actually happens when businesses are in financial difficulty, Increase/Maintain sales while implementing cost cutting measure before sale/investments. It's a massive red flag if we are actually doing it for that reason, If you also take into account the loses The Club have posted in the accounts over the last few years and the cash injection from ENIC, lots of evidence that actually points to us being in trouble, any serious investor would have noticed these things and they will be using them to drive the price down.

I still don't believe that to be the case though, since wages have increased by 70 Percent over the last 5 Years, the wages to revenue ratio can be misleading, wages can still increase while the ratio reduces, it's nothing to be concerned about, look at the actual figures over the last few years.

Staff Costs
251,121 = 2023
209,180 - 2022
204,875 - 2021
181,280 - 2020
178,602 - 2019
147,606 - 2018

The ratio was actually less in 2023 at 45 Percent then in 2022 when the ratio was at 47 Percent. Even though wages increase by 20 Percent. I believe we are actually just clearing the decks for future squad growth.

 

[SpursSince1980]

Its like clockwork. International break = takeover thread in overdrive

Always. Add to it a disappointing draw to start the season and a disappointing loss against Newcastle and general ‘meh’ over our transfer window, this thread has become the, “ENIC is fattening the goose to be bought by lowering wages”, and as such our ambition will always be limited by the self imposed financial restraints that seems to be Danny’s strategy… meaning we are impeding our ability to complete at the top. And some arent feeling too keen on Ange at the moment.

I hope it all works out well. But life has been awful for a while now. So, perspective and all that. I can’t go full chicken little!!! Too much other shit to deal with. Life.

And @ukdy … for fuck sake, stop being such a little brat with all the “OT” neg reps. SeriousLu, dude. Lighten up.

 

[thePessimist]

Excellent article - unfortunately unlikely to be read by many on here.

puts a bit of context to it all. thanks for posting

 

[alfie103]

Excellent article - unfortunately unlikely to be read by many on here.

I don't think much of that applies to us. We are supposedly in a very good position when it comes to PSR and our wage to turnover ratio is 46% (I think this might have even since decreased due to player outgoings).