Poch; Players will be sold...

[Spursex]

Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham must be prepared to sell ageing stars in pursuit of trophies



Tottenham must be prepared to sell more of the players who have been central to their recent success if they want to start winning trophies, according to Mauricio Pochettino.


As the club approaches the end of another transfer window without a signing, Pochettino also said he would not hold to ransom his chairman Daniel Levy over spending.


The Spurs manager was open to reshaping his squad by offloading Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembele and Danny Rose — plus several fringe players — at the end of last season but they finished the summer without buying or selling anyone.


Spurs finally sold Dembele, a regular under Pochettino, to Chinese club Guangzhou R&F this month and the Argentine warned that more fan favourites would need to follow, as he aims to inject youth into his squad.


“To be successful or win titles, you always need to improve,” Pochettino said ahead of Wednesday’s match against Watford. “You can’t keep doing the same, and in every transfer window, you need to say, ‘Okay, how can I improve the team?’



“Sometimes it’s about improving your structure, your facilities and sometimes it’s a moment to invest in the team.


“But sometimes — and it’s so painful — you need to say, ‘OK, I love this player, he helped us arrive at this level but now, if we are going to achieve another level, we need to improve and we need to bring in another player.


“The only way we can reach the next level, and win titles, is by improving, improving, improving.


“We’re all getting older. The players can get more mature but at some point, they need another challenge, another experience, another goal, as always happens in life, and we need to be open to improve.”


Alderweireld, who turns 30 in March and is out of contract in 2020, is expected to leave next summer, while 35-year-old Michel Vorm and Victor Wanyama will also be available for transfer.


Spurs may also have to listen to offers for Christian Eriksen, who is stalling on signing a new contract.

Photo: Getty Images

Pochettino said yesterday he is “not optimistic” about adding to his squad before tomorrow’s 11pm transfer deadline, although the club remains open to signing a replacement for Dembele.


Pochettino’s predecessors, Harry Redknapp and Andre Villas-Boas, clashed with Levy over spending and eventually grew frustrated with the chairman’s financial model.


Five midfielders who could replace Mousa Dembele at Spurs

Pochettino, however, refused to point the finger at Levy over the club’s lack of dealings.


“It’s easy to blame someone else but I’m not going to,” Pochettino said. “I’m going to take responsibility. When we are going to sign [players] and when we are going to sell players, it’s a decision for all areas of the club. And when we have money to invest or we don’t have money to invest, that is a club decision, too.


Transfer news and rumours, Wednesday January 30

“From day one, I worked in a clear way, always sharing [decisions] with the club. Because they asked me and I agreed to work in that way when the company offered me the contract.


“I was so excited to accept the challenge to come to Tottenham when Daniel first called me. He said: ‘I expect this and this’. And now, after four-and-a-half years, he cannot be my worst enemy because the circumstances changed.


“Now I’m not going to blame him because I feel the power. No — I am in the same position: I respect the club, respect what they told me, respect the reality of the club. The job for us is to try to win.


“Of course, we are Tottenham and we have some limits that we can’t cross but we need to be creative, have more faith, belief, work more on the pitch. But that is my job and I am more than happy to deliver for the club.”


Moussa Sissoko and Heung-Min Son are available to face Watford at Wembley tonight but Harry Kane (ankle), Dele Alli (hamstring) and Ben Davies (groin) all remain sidelined

 

[Removed at own request]

Toby isn’t old for a CB and Rose has been our best full back by an absolute mile this season.

 

[Harry-Kari]

I don’t see how selling Toby and playing Foyth and Sanchez instead is going to improve us.....maybe after 3 or 4 years I suppose...another visionary thing...in the meantime?

I guess if he buys someone like de Ligt then it may work.

 

[xvausch]

The problem with Toby, es Toby.

When a player refuses to sign a contract offer that's in line with his requests, because he now decides it should be more, is not the manager or Chairman's fault.

If I were manager of Spurs, I would prefer players that are committed to the club, and the project, as well.

.

 

[Real Deal]

The problem with Toby, es Toby.

When a player refuses to sign a contract offer that's in line with his requests, because he now decides it should be more, is not the manager or Chairman's fault.

If I were manager of Spurs, I would prefer players that are committed to the club, and the project, as well.

.

The project that results in never winning trophies and never signing players. Sounds a great project.

 

[Greavswasthegreatest]

Is the stadium also on the never never ....heh heh

 

[Removed at own request]

The problem with Toby, es Toby.

When a player refuses to sign a contract offer that's in line with his requests, because he now decides it should be more, is not the manager or Chairman's fault.

If I were manager of Spurs, I would prefer

players that are committed to the club, and the project, as well.

.

Players don’t really care about projects.

Money and trophies.

 

[Spursex]

Players don’t really care about projects.

Money and trophies.

99% of them only care about the money. Sad, but true. I've dealt with enough of them to know.

 

[Spursex]

The project that results in never winning trophies and never signing players. Sounds a great project.

So what you have us do? Break our wages ceiling as so many have done before only to then see it destroy the club from within like a cancer.

Force the manager to make signings he doesn't want to make?

Or build the infrastructure, the assets that can produce revenue growth and that then affords you a certain degree of freedom of action.

Short termism, or long term strategy - what matters most?

 

[Real Deal]

So what you have us do? Break our wages ceiling as so many have done before only to then see it destroy the club from within like a cancer.

Force the manager to make signings he doesn't want to make?

Or build the infrastructure, the assets that can produce revenue growth and that then affords you a certain degree of freedom of action.

Short termism, or long term strategy - what matters most?

I wouldn't have us spending silly money. Not all. Never once have I said this.

Over the last 4 transfer windows we have had opportunities to sell players like Jansen and N'Kou. But we can't as we are asking for too much money. Why do you think they can only get loans? Just sell them for peanuts accept they were shit buys and move on. That would free up squad places and wages.

I wouldn't have 3 over seas keepers on the books wasting wages. Giving Vorm a new deal was idiotic.

I wouldn't have 3 RB's at the club either. Again dumb management.

If the manager can't find players that will improve the squad within our budget then sorry he isn't good enough for us. Jog on Poch. This isn't about egos this is about the club.

This window all most of us wanted was the dead wood shifted and players lined up for the summer. Nobody was expecting any signings this transfer window.

So stop going on like we are asking for the moon.

 

[Removed at own request]

So what you have us do? Break our wages ceiling as so many have done before only to then see it destroy the club from within like a cancer.

Force the manager to make signings he doesn't want to make?

Or build the infrastructure, the assets that can produce revenue growth and that then affords you a certain degree of freedom of action.

Short termism, or long term strategy - what matters most?

I don’t believe anyone is asking for something unrealistic for a top 6 club.

Deadwood shifted/Deals lined up for summer as our current approach isn’t working/a loan if possible.

 

[Harry-Kari]

So what you have us do? Break our wages ceiling as so many have done before only to then see it destroy the club from within like a cancer.

Force the manager to make signings he doesn't want to make?

Or build the infrastructure, the assets that can produce revenue growth and that then affords you a certain degree of freedom of action.

Short termism, or long term strategy - what matters most?

Just looking at the revenue streams from 2008/9 to 2016/17, in general the more successful the team have been, the bigger the major income streams of broadcasting and commercial activities have been.

To me this signifies that the long term plan has always been cart before the horse ie: build a very successful team first and the revenues will increase to pay for more investment in the team. I think it is fair to say that relatively little in the way of real, net investment in the playing staff in terms of player purchases, Levy operating a sell before buying strategy that has had obvious limitations. However, increases in salary levels have been made during this period.

Given that you have told us that the stadium build is fully funded and does not affect transfer policy (that statement is obviously true if the transfer policy remains sell before you buy) the question for all the previous years has to be where did the operating profits go, bearing in mind that it was not spent on transfers.

I think the reason for the discontent is that the long term plan was always skewed towards acquiring land to build housing with the end point being both the new stadium and the gentrification of the whole area while the football side of things was only maintained at the minimum level necessary to keep the fans interested.

Yes the new training facilities and hotel facilities, plus the new stadium lays the ground work for a successful future, but in spite of all the wonderful projections surrounding the ability of this new stadium to generate money, the fact remains that the broadcasting income plus other commercial sponsorship activities will dwarf the stadium income, and those revenue streams are the most sensitive to the on field success of the football team.

I know it doesn’t matter one iota what the fans think, the die has been cast for THFC ever since ENIC took over, and questioning why we don’t buy players when other clubs manage it, why our scouting networks don’t produce the gems that other clubs find, why Poch keeps picking certain players and not others, is all just a waste of time really....it changes nothing...no one is listening or could care less even if they were.

To paraphrase Tommy Cooper...shiny new stadium...great football team.....great football team...shiny new stadium...it’s the same trick behind how the West was won.

So, cheer the lads on and recognise they are giving their all for the cause without any support from management...they can only do 2hat they can do.

 

[Departed]

Just looking at the revenue streams from 2008/9 to 2016/17, in general the more successful the team have been, the bigger the major income streams of broadcasting and commercial activities have been.

To me this signifies that the long term plan has always been cart before the horse ie: build a very successful team first and the revenues will increase to pay for more investment in the team. I think it is fair to say that relatively little in the way of real, net investment in the playing staff in terms of player purchases, Levy operating a sell before buying strategy that has had obvious limitations. However, increases in salary levels have been made during this period.

Given that you have told us that the stadium build is fully funded and does not affect transfer policy (that statement is obviously true if the transfer policy remains sell before you buy) the question for all the previous years has to be where did the operating profits go, bearing in mind that it was not spent on transfers.

I think the reason for the discontent is that the long term plan was always skewed towards acquiring land to build housing with the end point being both the new stadium and the gentrification of the whole area while the football side of things was only maintained at the minimum level necessary to keep the fans interested.

Yes the new training facilities and hotel facilities, plus the new stadium lays the ground work for a successful future, but in spite of all the wonderful projections surrounding the ability of this new stadium to generate money, the fact remains that the broadcasting income plus other commercial sponsorship activities will dwarf the stadium income, and those revenue streams are the most sensitive to the on field success of the football team.

I know it doesn’t matter one iota what the fans think, the die has been cast for THFC ever since ENIC took over, and questioning why we don’t buy players when other clubs manage it, why our scouting networks don’t produce the gems that other clubs find, why Poch keeps picking certain players and not others, is all just a waste of time really....it changes nothing...no one is listening or could care less even if they were.

To paraphrase Tommy Cooper...shiny new stadium...great football team.....great football team...shiny new stadium...it’s the same trick behind how the West was won.

So, cheer the lads on and recognise they are giving their all for the cause without any support from management...they can only do 2hat they can do.

Profit is what matters in terms of tracking excess cash. Not gross revenue. Capital expenditure is where you might want to look.

 

[Spursex]

Just looking at the revenue streams from 2008/9 to 2016/17, in general the more successful the team have been, the bigger the major income streams of broadcasting and commercial activities have been.

To me this signifies that the long term plan has always been cart before the horse ie: build a very successful team first and the revenues will increase to pay for more investment in the team. I think it is fair to say that relatively little in the way of real, net investment in the playing staff in terms of player purchases, Levy operating a sell before buying strategy that has had obvious limitations. However, increases in salary levels have been made during this period.

Given that you have told us that the stadium build is fully funded and does not affect transfer policy (that statement is obviously true if the transfer policy remains sell before you buy) the question for all the previous years has to be where did the operating profits go, bearing in mind that it was not spent on transfers.

I think the reason for the discontent is that the long term plan was always skewed towards acquiring land to build housing with the end point being both the new stadium and the gentrification of the whole area while the football side of things was only maintained at the minimum level necessary to keep the fans interested.

Yes the new training facilities and hotel facilities, plus the new stadium lays the ground work for a successful future, but in spite of all the wonderful projections surrounding the ability of this new stadium to generate money, the fact remains that the broadcasting income plus other commercial sponsorship activities will dwarf the stadium income, and those revenue streams are the most sensitive to the on field success of the football team.

I know it doesn’t matter one iota what the fans think, the die has been cast for THFC ever since ENIC took over, and questioning why we don’t buy players when other clubs manage it, why our scouting networks don’t produce the gems that other clubs find, why Poch keeps picking certain players and not others, is all just a waste of time really....it changes nothing...no one is listening or could care less even if they were.

To paraphrase Tommy Cooper...shiny new stadium...great football team.....great football team...shiny new stadium...it’s the same trick behind how the West was won.

So, cheer the lads on and recognise they are giving their all for the cause without any support from management...they can only do 2hat they can do.

You can twist it or see it from any angle that suits a narrative; it's the perenial 'chicken and the egg' debate.

But in the most simple terms possible; you cannot build a 'sustainable' success (and sustainable has always been the ENIC mantra) with the occasional unrepeatable one off success 'simply' because the revenues cannot be grown fast enough off the back of Cup success (as an exercise research what happened to on-top 6 silverware winners over the last 21 years).

You can only sustain a top level challenge by paying and competing with top level wages and you cannot build revenues fast enough off of a few cup wins - that simply and basically is the one fact that needs to be grasped.

As I have said and as the historical accounts show; the net operating profits have (by and large) ALL been re-invested in the club (our balance sheet confirms this).

When running a business, you need to maximise all revenue streams - at least the ones under your control as the growth in media rev's has always been projected to hit a plateau and as such are therefore inadequate to close the financial gap with the top level clubs.

As for the rest, if you don't accept the need for the long term strategy, you'll always revert to short termism, which is and has always been unsustainable as a driver for success in the era of financial competition.

A trick?

Seriously?

 

[Spursex]

I wouldn't have us spending silly money. Not all. Never once have I said this.

Over the last 4 transfer windows we have had opportunities to sell players like Jansen and N'Kou. But we can't as we are asking for too much money. Why do you think they can only get loans? Just sell them for peanuts accept they were shit buys and move on. That would free up squad places and wages.

I wouldn't have 3 over seas keepers on the books wasting wages. Giving Vorm a new deal was idiotic.

I wouldn't have 3 RB's at the club either. Again dumb management.

If the manager can't find players that will improve the squad within our budget then sorry he isn't good enough for us. Jog on Poch. This isn't about egos this is about the club.

This window all most of us wanted was the dead wood shifted and players lined up for the summer. Nobody was expecting any signings this transfer window.

So stop going on like we are asking for the moon.

Jannsen was injured, there were two deals lined up for him, and both collapsed because of it. One deal collapsed because Turkish football and their top 4 clubs are all financially imploding.

Players and their agents have the right to say where they will and will not go - did you ever consider that he / they have done this in spades?

Contracts are a two way street, if a player insists on not wanting to go, to effectively bank the money, you cannot force him to go, at best all you can do is get him training and playing with the kids.

But I guess it looks simple from the outside.

I wouldn't have had 3 overseas players either, but perhaps the club felt that keeping top class cover whilst they developed our future no.1 might be seen as having foresight and wisdom - especially when top class keepers are now demanding fees in the stratosphere - but I guess that really doesn't matter when you're dripping in money....

As for the manager making the decisons - a few people need to get their facts right as it flies in the face of Levy being the one that calls ALL the transfer shots (something that I have repeatedly said is an absolute fallacy)!!!

If the manager believes he has the squad to hit his primary target i.e. A top 4 finish - he'll live or die by his actions, us pre-judging what he does or doesn't do is utterly meaningless.

That said, I think the standards he's laid down make it extremely tough for the club to achieve when you have 100% (or more) transfer inflation.

But that decision is where it should be; with the manager and on one else.

He has lifted us into a top 4 regular contender and whilst his decisions often baffle me and his utterances winds me up, I'd still support his right to do so.

The bucks starts and stops with him and moreoften than not he's got far more right than the armchair fans and the likes of me and you.

It's not about asking for the moon it's about trying to understand why he and the club are now acting the way they are and whether they are right or wrong.

And only our performance and finish this season will tell us that for certain.

 

[Real Deal]

I did consider where he would like to go. That was my point about negotiating a deal with him over a two year period. He hasn't been injured for the entire time.

Agree that Poch should get the final say on players coming in. The problem is none of our scouts or him can find anyone that they think will help improve us that will work within our budget.

This part bothers me. It's a big ass world out there and some of the talent getting snapped up from smaller teams at good prices proves they are out there.

I was worried early on with Poch when he said Berahino was the only striker in the world that he wanted that would improve us.

 

[Removed at own request]

Jannsen was injured, there were two deals lined up for him, and both collapsed because of it. One deal collapsed because Turkish football and their top 4 clubs are all financially imploding.

Players and their agents have the right to say where they will and will not go - did you ever consider that he / they have done this in spades?

Contracts are a two way street, if a player insists on not wanting to go, to effectively bank the money, you cannot force him to go, at best all you can do is get him training and playing with the kids.

But I guess it looks simple from the outside.

I wouldn't have had 3 overseas players either, but perhaps the club felt that keeping top class cover whilst they developed our future no.1 might be seen as having foresight and wisdom - especially when top class keepers are now demanding fees in the stratosphere - but I guess that really doesn't matter when you're dripping in money....

As for the manager making the decisons - a few people need to get their facts right as it flies in the face of Levy being the one that calls ALL the transfer shots (something that I have repeatedly said is an absolute fallacy)!!!

If the manager believes he has the squad to hit his primary target i.e. A top 4 finish - he'll live or die by his actions, us pre-judging what he does or doesn't do is utterly meaningless.

That said, I think the standards he's laid down make it extremely tough for the club to achieve when you have 100% (or more) transfer inflation.

But that decision is where it should be; with the manager and on one else.

He has lifted us into a top 4 regular contender and whilst his decisions often baffle me and his utterances winds me up, I'd still support his right to do so.

The bucks starts and stops with him and moreoften than not he's got far more right than the armchair fans and the likes of me and you.

It's not about asking for the moon it's about trying to understand why he and the club are now acting the way they are and whether they are right or wrong.

And only our performance and finish this season will tell us that for certain.

He seems to be blaming others?

I am so happy to try to help the project of the club," Pochettino told a news conference before the visit of Newcastle. "But, of course, my ideas are not always the same as the club's ideas, or the chairman's ideas.

"I wanted to strengthen the squad but, if we cannot sign anyone, I need to stick with the pressure of the club.

"I am disappointed because we are in a very good position and maybe, with a little more help, we could not have an excuse not to be a real contender. But we are in a very good position and we will fight until the end to be as high as we can."

 

[xvausch]

Blaming or explaining?

.