Well someone certainly is at Spurs. There starting 11 last season cost less than 100 million and was a lot better than Most sides with much more expensive sides. I know they've had some poor buys, but they have spent incredibly well.
He might make as many bad deals, but certainly makes a lot more good ones than most.
Why on earth are people losing their minds over us 'releasing' our fullbacks?
They were all out of contract. Everyone with any passing interest in football knew they were out of contract.
What exactly was the alternative? Offer them all new deals until we bought replacements? What then? About £15,000,000 in wages for an additional year, on top of the wages of any new signings, that's what.
Maybe we could have just asked them all to keep quiet and pretend they still had a contract with us. I'm sure they all wouldn't have minded hanging around the training ground whilst not getting paid.
That's the difference between a top side and a selling club. Failed in Europe and they don't pay wages at a sufficient level to keep their best players.Well someone certainly is at Spurs. There starting 11 last season cost less than 100 million and was a lot better than Most sides with much more expensive sides. I know they've had some poor buys, but they have spent incredibly well.
He might make as many bad deals, but certainly makes a lot more good ones than most.
They buy a lot of cheap players in the 5-15m range and after years of underperforming (Walker, Rose, Dembele), some have started to deliver under a very good manager.
They also had the likes of Lamela (£30m), Janssen (£25m), Son (£25m) and Sissokho (£30m) on the bench. The fact that the starting XI was cheap only highlights how all their big money signings do awfully.
It's not so much about us releasing our fullbacks, but more a case of the fact that we allowed ourselves to get in a position where we needed to replace them all in the same season. It's pretty poor planning when anyone with half a brain could have told you we've been crying out for fullbacks on both sides for at least 2 or 3 years now. The replacements for Zaba and Clichy should really have been bought while they were still here. Buying from a position of strength is always a better idea. Add to that the fact that we basically end up walking a tightrope every season on the homegrown front, meaning that not only does everyone know that we're desperate for fullbacks, but they also know that we have to buy English.
Wonder what their net spend is each year compared to others.Well someone certainly is at Spurs. There starting 11 last season cost less than 100 million and was a lot better than Most sides with much more expensive sides. I know they've had some poor buys, but they have spent incredibly well.
He might make as many bad deals, but certainly makes a lot more good ones than most.
Thing is they are not midtable in fact taken together last two seasons they have been better than anyone which off his budget kind of implies that his dealings have been better than averageFact is he's not a transfer genius. He's a bang average midtable director .
I totally agree that they've had some flops, but they have also had some spectacular success. Apart from the obvious, lloris was a bargain, dembele is a cracking buy, the list is quite long. However, I agree with many posters that with levy at the helm they will continue to sell their prized assets and never build on their potential.They buy a lot of cheap players in the 5-15m range and after years of underperforming (Walker, Rose, Dembele), some have started to deliver under a very good manager.
They also had the likes of Lamela (£30m), Janssen (£25m), Son (£25m) and Sissokho (£30m) on the bench. The fact that the starting XI was cheap only highlights how all their big money signings do awfully.
And yet they have everything in place to propell themselves into the big time. However everyone knows it won't happen with levy in charge.That's the difference between a top side and a selling club. Failed in Europe and they don't pay wages at a sufficient level to keep their best players.
Well someone certainly is at Spurs. There starting 11 last season cost less than 100 million and was a lot better than Most sides with much more expensive sides. I know they've had some poor buys, but they have spent incredibly well.
He might make as many bad deals, but certainly makes a lot more good ones than most.
Its not just about "releasing" our fullbacks mate....its about structuring the contracts of all our senior team fullbacks to end in the same summer! All getting older and all on high wages that no-one would match, so we werent able to sell and make room in the squad for future replacements. We weakened our hand in any FB negotiations this summer and didnt have a long term plan in place. It was the way we structured these contracts and the lack of long term planning for the fullback position thats pushed us into a corner this summer....We made the transition alot harder than it needed to be.
Wonder what their net spend is each year compared to others.
2016/17 - £12 million
2015/16 - £11.7 million (profit)
2014/15 - £6.1 million (profit)
2013/14 - £100,000 (mainly thanks to the Bale money)
It's all well and good pointing at a few of their expensive flops but Levy gets most of that money back selling them on. All this while building a team that finished above us the last two years which cost less than Sterling and Stones cost us. And we can't even get rid of our flops like Bony or Mangala and have to constantly loan them out or pay some of their wages to get them to leave.
2016/17 - £12 million
2015/16 - £11.7 million (profit)
2014/15 - £6.1 million (profit)
2013/14 - £100,000 (mainly thanks to the Bale money)
It's all well and good pointing at a few of their expensive flops but Levy gets most of that money back selling them on. All this while building a team that finished above us the last two years which cost less than Sterling and Stones cost us. And we can't even get rid of our flops like Bony or Mangala and have to constantly loan them out or pay some of their wages to get them to leave.
They may have on average been the best team over the past two seasons. But I'm sure Chelsea and Leicester wouldn't swap their mid table finish and league trophy within the same 2 years.Thing is they are not midtable in fact taken together last two seasons they have been better than anyone which off his budget kind of implies that his dealings have been better than average
That and the fact that the balance on player trading is irrelevant if the club as a whole is making a profit. If you're making massive profits, you can afford to spend more than you make on players. I'm pretty sure that Real Madrid and Barcelona don't have a positive balance on players bought and sold. I'd much rather have a positive balance on the overall books and be able to spend the excess on players to help you win things long term.Levy wouldn't be able to operate like that at City because other clubs know we have more money to play with
I personally agree. Mancini built a great squad and then had the worst summer of buying after we won the title. Pellers I felt added some cracking players that did not pan out Jovetic, Negredo etc. I feel the odd signing and sticks out like a sore thumb is the Sagna one. We already had Zab...why buy a bear like for like (not in ability or style of play) but age and longevity. It was crying out for a young inexperienced potentially English player a Clyne (not his greatest) or better still Walker if you will who we could have moulded and not have this situation.its was always a ageing squad and players coming to the end of the contract that pep took over and maybe its down to mancini left overs and pellegrini cover signings the club never really had a plan other than to get pep on board first and let him build the new manchester city squad for the next 5 years or so we had to stop buying squad players
pep did what every top manager would have done and not panic buy in the first window and sign crap he knew it was a long term plan and 3 to 4 transfer windows before he could get his team he wanted and players to play the style he wants and a youth feel to the starting 11. its taking shape and the front line and the play makers are in place now the 2nd part of the summer is here i will bet pep knows who is coming in and going out to a point that he could name the starting 11 come the first game of the season right now
even i if pushed could name 7 or 8 of the starting 11 if fit that's the easy part if we are talking squad numbers then its all up in the air and a mess 5 or 6 new signings and 2 or 3 will go into the starting 11 the rest are going to be made up from what we have and youth but again pep is looking fine and taking it easy this summer so he must be happy whats going on in the back ground
I'm sure you're right but it wasn't my point . The fact is that off a pretty modest budget they have built a very competitive squad.They may have on average been the best team over the past two seasons. But I'm sure Chelsea and Leicester wouldn't swap their mid table finish and league trophy within the same 2 years.