Controversial opinion

[Stamford]

For a good few years i've had an opinion on Joe Lewis and Levy, based on a conversation i had with someone who is part of a wealthy dynasty in this country (friends with the old Queen, titled, multi billion family portfolio, owns half of a county etc etc).

Despite them being mostly Arsenal fans, they were saying that when very rich men get old, history shows that making even more money is not their focus any more, they become philanthropic and they also want to leave a legacy behind - hence you used to see lots of libraries or hosptial wings named after people who'd donated the money to build them.

I believe the whole regeneration of Tottenham is that legacy for Lewis and Levy (more so Lewis given his age), having ENIC responsible for changing the shape of the whole area, giving so many kids a better education (the Spurs foundation does some amazing work when you look into it, lots of students going off to Oxford and Cambridge for example), bringing more businesses and jobs into he area - that's their legacy.

The stadium is the most iconic part of it, which will help drive the rejuvenation, and while the football team is important, it's of secondary importance when you consider the bigger picture.

And as much as i love the football club and want Spurs to win things for my own personal happiness, if you compare Spurs winning trophies to the life altering work that rejuvenating the whole area brings, then you have to be pretty selfish not to think you'd rather they just focused on the club.

*Of course i could be talking complete bollocks.

This is such a bad take. Yes they have invested in the club and that will have a knock on affect in the area but I'm not really seeing how they are affecting huge change in the local area at all

For a good few years i've had an opinion on Joe Lewis and Levy, based on a conversation i had with someone who is part of a wealthy dynasty in this country (friends with the old Queen, titled, multi billion family portfolio, owns half of a county etc etc).

Despite them being mostly Arsenal fans, they were saying that when very rich men get old, history shows that making even more money is not their focus any more, they become philanthropic and they also want to leave a legacy behind - hence you used to see lots of libraries or hosptial wings named after people who'd donated the money to build them.

I believe the whole regeneration of Tottenham is that legacy for Lewis and Levy (more so Lewis given his age), having ENIC responsible for changing the shape of the whole area, giving so many kids a better education (the Spurs foundation does some amazing work when you look into it, lots of students going off to Oxford and Cambridge for example), bringing more businesses and jobs into he area - that's their legacy.

The stadium is the most iconic part of it, which will help drive the rejuvenation, and while the football team is important, it's of secondary importance when you consider the bigger picture.

And as much as i love the football club and want Spurs to win things for my own personal happiness, if you compare Spurs winning trophies to the life altering work that rejuvenating the whole area brings, then you have to be pretty selfish not to think you'd rather they just focused on the club.

*Of course i could be talking complete bollocks.

as someone who lives in the area and whose family are from the area this I think is quite a bad take.

they're in it for their investment and nothing more. I don't expect anymore but this pr around the club and levy that they drive change locally and this is all part of some larger scheme to change Tottenham is utter nonsense.

 

[Trent Crimm]

I know he works tirelessly for the club. He attends just about every match.

That’s part of his job.

 

[BENNO]

This is such a bad take. Yes they have invested in the club and that will have a knock on affect in the area but I'm not really seeing how they are affecting huge change in the local area at all

as someone who lives in the area and whose family are from the area this I think is quite a bad take.

they're in it for their investment and nothing more. I don't expect anymore but this pr around the club and levy that they drive change locally and this is all part of some larger scheme to change Tottenham is utter nonsense.

The thread is literally titled controversial opinions so it's no surprise if people disagree. However, i have provided a viewpoint from a wealthy family with a portfolio not dissimilar to Lewis, with a head of the family at a similar age. Then there are the countless libraries and hospital wings etc i mention that are named after old rich people, so that part is very much real.

According to their website, up until recently Spurs have created 3,000 new jobs in the area, there are also multiple reports about the awards the foundation has won for it's charity work, especially working with kids (the E18hteen project with Jermain Defoe for example) and older students have gone on to get placements at Oxford and Cambridge in record numbers since the foundation started - there is/was a video of it knocking around on one of the clubs platforms.

However i am not from the area, so you should have a better idea than me, although again i would point out i have pulled facts from the clubs websites - for example a quick google search gives this quote from Footy.com

''Spurs have a reputation for being stingy when it comes to the transfer market, but their figures for charity spend tell a completely different story. They are one of the most generous teams across England, and one of the highlights of their foundation work has been the number of jobs the club have helped to provide for local people.

The new stadium alone delivered 3,500 new jobs, whilst almost 2,800 jobs across the retail, education, construction, hospitality, IT and security industries were arranged through the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. Supporting skills programmes, apprenticeships and one-to-one employment support further emphasis Spurs’ commitment to helping their community in one of the most significant ways''.

 

[Gilzeanking]

It's weird watching a Spurs match on tv and there being no discussion on SC.

 

[Albertbarich]

It's weird watching a Spurs match on tv and there being no discussion on SC.

Check the pre season thread my friend.

 

[Neon_Knight_]

I really really really don't want this to be the case, but:

Maybe we've already signed Kane's replacement(s*). Perhaps Levy signed off on £60m for Richarlison last year in the knowledge that Kane was very unlikely to sign a new contract. If Kane leaves, we have Brazil's starting no.9 waiting in the wings, without the issue of CF prices having been driven up by selling clubs who know we have the "Kane money". If Kane stays, we have an expensive but useful back-up and Levy can take credit for having finally signed a proper back-up for Kane.

*Richarlison (£60m) + Maddison (£40m) = Kane money (£100m).
The two signings combined replace Kane's ability to simultaneously operate as both a no.9 and a no.10, with an underperforming CB making way in the starting line-up (due to the change of system), which theoretically results in no significant net change to goals / assists as a team.

 

[CantSmileWithoutYou]

I really really really don't want this to be the case, but:

Maybe we've already signed Kane's replacement(s*). Perhaps Levy signed off on £60m for Richarlison last year in the knowledge that Kane was very unlikely to sign a new contract. If Kane leaves, we have Brazil's starting no.9 waiting in the wings, without the issue of CF prices having been driven up by selling clubs who know we have the "Kane money". If Kane stays, we have an expensive but useful back-up and Levy can take credit for having finally signed a proper back-up for Kane.

*Richarlison (£60m) + Maddison (£40m) = Kane money (£100m).
The two signings combined replace Kane's ability to simultaneously operate as both a no.9 and a no.10, with an underperforming CB making way in the starting line-up (due to the change of system), which theoretically results in no significant net change to goals / assists as a team.

Do you know what...I'm not sure I care anymore.

Today's Kane ITK and the ridiculous Saudi shit that's going on at the moment, I think top tier football is eating itself and I don't think I longer give a shit.

I wish I hadn't renewed my 35 year old season ticket.

I think I'm done with football.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Do you know what...I'm not sure I care anymore.

Today's Kane ITK and the ridiculous Saudi shit that's going on at the moment, I think top tier football is eating itself and I don't think I longer give a shit.

I wish I hadn't renewed my 35 year old season ticket.

I think I'm done with football.

Follow a lower division club. You'll get that bug back quickly.

 

[tevezito]

I really really really don't want this to be the case, but:

Maybe we've already signed Kane's replacement(s*). Perhaps Levy signed off on £60m for Richarlison last year in the knowledge that Kane was very unlikely to sign a new contract. If Kane leaves, we have Brazil's starting no.9 waiting in the wings, without the issue of CF prices having been driven up by selling clubs who know we have the "Kane money". If Kane stays, we have an expensive but useful back-up and Levy can take credit for having finally signed a proper back-up for Kane.

*Richarlison (£60m) + Maddison (£40m) = Kane money (£100m).
The two signings combined replace Kane's ability to simultaneously operate as both a no.9 and a no.10, with an underperforming CB making way in the starting line-up (due to the change of system), which theoretically results in no significant net change to goals / assists as a team.

Why wouldn't you want this to be the case? The club get so much grief for not forward planning, and yet if they did...

 

[Neon_Knight_]

Why wouldn't you want this to be the case? The club get so much grief for not forward planning, and yet if they did...

I would have no objections to a quality CF + Maddison having being signed pre-emptively, but Richarlison is simply not an adequate replacement. I was ok with us signing Richarlison as a back-up for Kane who could also provide cover / a different option on the wing. Last summer, I felt £60m was too much to be spent on a squad player, when CB was the glaring weakness in our starting XI and we failed to address that.

 

[Barmby Army]

There is no adequate replacement for Kane that we could realistically sign. There's no point in trying to directly replace what he brings to the side, so sticking with Richarlison (or Son) as the main striker and then investing any remaining money in the rest of the squad is the way to go IMO. I'm not saying there are no better options than Richarlison available to us, but he's an established Premier League goalscorer who just had a tough season last year, and is probably more suited to the new system. I don't see which strikers we could realistically sign that would be a significant improvement.

If the sale of Kane brought £90m or so in, I think we'd be in a much better position if we stuck with Richarlison/Son as the main striker and spent the money on the best centre back we're capable of signing, rather than adding another good-but-not-great striker to the squad and still having clear deficiencies at the back. The difference in quality between an elite centre back and Dier/Davies will be much bigger than the difference in quality between any striker we could sign and Richarlison.

 

[JacoZA]

Yeah I'm beyond getting actually angry about anything transfer related (and largely Spurs related tbh). Been worn down over the years and try to be philosophical about it instead. I'm actually really excited about watching some attacking football this season and am trying to look on the bright side and assume we'll get the CB situation sorted in an adequate way, even if it's slow.

It's more just...weird. Am curious about why we're doing things this way and can't seem to pin down a signing for such an obvious weakness in the squad. Not sure what on earth Levy and the brain trust are thinking.

I thought this was a really great comment and worth discussing further, but didn’t want to derail the player thread. I thought this thread made most sense as I suspect the following might be slightly controversial.

I think football is a lot more enjoyable if you don’t take it too seriously.

 

[Timberwolf]

I thought this was a really great comment and worth discussing further, but didn’t want to derail the player thread. I thought this thread made most sense as I suspect the following might be slightly controversial.

I think football is a lot more enjoyable if you don’t take it too seriously.

Thanks. Yeah I do think that having a degree of emotional distance does help, even if it means the highs aren't quite as high. It means you can still appreciate the good times and enjoy the wins, but when things are bad you remember it's a fairly absurd sport that's awash with filthy lucre and inherently imbalanced to begin with.

Ultimately none of us can control what happens at Spurs on or off the pitch and if your emotions are directly tied to something external that you can't influence (and especially something as volatile as a team like Spurs) you're going to end up dragged all over the place.

I can't remember the last time I actually got angry about football. I'm disappointed fairly regularly, but I don't actually let it affect my mood or get pissed off when we lose or don't sign a player.

 

[bigfrooj]

We have a squad of 37 senior players and I don't think we'll add anyone to it until at least seven of those have been moved on. Probably more.

Be prepared for it because losing your shit over it makes no sense in real life terms

 

[Japhet]

Thanks. Yeah I do think that having a degree of emotional distance does help, even if it means the highs aren't quite as high. It means you can still appreciate the good times and enjoy the wins, but when things are bad you remember it's a fairly absurd sport that's awash with filthy lucre and inherently imbalanced to begin with.

Ultimately none of us can control what happens at Spurs on or off the pitch and if your emotions are directly tied to something external that you can't influence (and especially something as volatile as a team like Spurs) you're going to end up dragged all over the place.

I can't remember the last time I actually got angry about football. I'm disappointed fairly regularly, but I don't actually let it affect my mood or get pissed off when we lose or don't sign a player.

The only things that really annoy me about football are the greed, ludicrous salaries and the sportswashing and the fans who would happily accept all of it if it was our club doing it. We live in a fucked up world I guess and it doesn't fit at all well with me.

 

[Timberwolf]

The only things that really annoy me about football are the greed, ludicrous salaries and the sportswashing and the fans who would happily accept all of it if it was our club doing it. We live in a fucked up world I guess and it doesn't fit at all well with me.

Well that's something worth getting genuinely angry about at least.

 

[Gassin's finest]

As positive as things are looking in terms of how we're going to play this season, I think we're going to get turned over a lot in the first 2 or 3 months.

 

[Timberwolf]

As positive as things are looking in terms of how we're going to play this season, I think we're going to get turned over a lot in the first 2 or 3 months.

Yeah I think regardless of the CB and Kane situations we're pretty likely to lose our first 2 games. Brentford away is a nightmare opening fixture as they're physical, pragmatic and very good at home, while United are full of pacey players who can hurt us on the break.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if after 10 games we're on similar points or worse than the Nuno season. But the football will be much better and the results will come with time.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Yeah I think regardless of the CB and Kane situations we're pretty likely to lose our first 2 games. Brentford away is a nightmare opening fixture as they're physical, pragmatic and very good at home, while United are full of pacey players who can hurt us on the break.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if after 10 games we're on similar points or worse than the Nuno season. But the football will be promising and the results will come with time.

I mean... I'm not concerned about those results per se, I'm very aware that we're starting a season or two of transition and rebuild. But it's going to be a rough start and the biggest challenges are likely to be the patience of the fans and the shenanigans of ENIC. Otherwise I'm happy for Postecoglu to crack on.

 

[Timberwolf]

I mean... I'm not concerned about those results per se, I'm very aware that we're starting a season or two of transition and rebuild. But it's going to be a rough start and the biggest challenges are likely to be the patience of the fans and the shenanigans of ENIC. Otherwise I'm happy for Postecoglu to crack on.

Considering Ange openly has a reputation for having dodgy results at the start of his spell at every club hopefully the fans are a little bit prepared and are willing to be patient. I'm also not too fussed about the results initially provided we're actually fun to watch again and aren't in the relegation zone after 10 games.

Fully expecting the "Why has Levy hired this Aussie with no top level experience at MY club" comments to start emerging from the more reactionary fans if we do have a bad start, though.