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To dare is to do!

Started on 1 March 2021 by Nerazzurri
Latest Reply on 10 June 2021 by deadzpool
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Nerazzurri's avatar Group Nerazzurri
3 yearsEdited
Finally got into a save with Tottenham, but it's not a sugar daddy one, just a normal one. So decided to overwrite this thread.

Eight months ago, Jose Mourinho was brought in to replace the ever popular, Mauricio Pochettino who paid the price for the clubs poor league form that stretched back over a year and even reaching the Champions League Final in flukey circumstances, failed to paper over the cracks.

But with the pandemic coming, and fans not being allowed into the stadium, gave Jose more time than he was probably afforded. The style of football at Tottenham turned the fans off in their droves, but instead of venting their displeasure inside of White Hart Lane, they instead vented on social media.

However with the news that the government have removed all restrictions and are allowing fans back into the stadium as the planet try to get back to normality. Daniel Levy met with Jose and knew that the fans' displeasure would spill over into the stadium and could lose the club millions if they decided not to turn up. So Daniel and Jose came to a mutual agreement to leave his role at Tottenham.

“We thank Jose and his team for their efforts over the past eight months in trying to improve on what Mauricio had achieved. But unfortunately the style of play and results weren’t to our liking. And with the fans coming back into the stadium, hearing what has been said by thousands on social media, we decided this was the best route for everyone to take. We’ve started the undertaking of finding his successor and we’ll do our best to make sure we get the right person in. We want to avoid mistakes of the past.”

Early speculation has put Carlo Ancelotti as the bookies favourite to take over from Jose. The only potential stumbling block is the £20 million compensation needed to release him from his contract with Everton.
After paying out a huge sum of money for Mourinho’s compensation package, meant that a deal for Everton’s Carlo Ancelotti was a non-starter. And with all other top managers currently with a club, meant Levy and Spurs had to look elsewhere. And they looked no further than their own backroom staff.

Appointing current coach and former stalwart, Karl George. Armed with no managerial experience and a measly sum of £13 million to strengthen the squad, meant that George’s back was already against the wall. Many critics questioned if one of the most successful managers of all time couldn’t lift Tottenham out of their slump. How would an inexperienced one manage to do so?

But George’s first order of business was not only to improve the style of play, but also convince star players Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son that they could win the trophies they crave at the club. If not, the vultures waiting in the wing were ready to pounce.
PRESS CONFERENCE
“Karl, obviously being so wet behind the ears in terms of managerial experience, how do you expect the players and supporters to take to your appointment?”

“As a journalist who no doubt trawls through social media, you’ll know only too well has toxic this club has become! The fans demand a certain brand of football, no matter if we win or lose. And as much as I respect Jose and what he’s accomplished, he didn’t fit this club. Never has, never will. But you’ll see i’ll have the backing of the majority of the actual fans of this club. It’ll be the Football Twitter virgins hiding behind their favourite football player, they’ll be the ones still pining for Mourinho and his buses.”

“So what do you intend on changing? Considering according to reports you’ve only got a small budget to work with this summer!”

“Well, i’m not going to stifle the attacking players we’ve got. They’ll have the freedom to express themselves on the pitch. And me and my coaching staff will be working vigorously on the training pitch with the defensive players to make sure they play as one unit. Football is a simple game, if you complicate things you’ll end up with egg on your face.”

“What kind of man management will you be adopting? Mourinho was obviously quite abrupt and stern with his criticism, will you be the same?”

“All the lads in the first team are adults, and i’ll treat them as such. I’m their boss, not their father. If i need to chastise someone, i’ll do so privately. I’ll let them know that i expect better. But in the public domain, i’ll back them to the hilt. Even if it means falling on my sword.”

“There’s been much gossip about the finances of the club, and how they never backed Pochettino and to a degree, Mourinho as well. Do you feel the board will back you during your tenure?”

“I knew the state of the finances when i walked into this job. I knew i’d only have £13 million to play with this summer. And no doubt i’ll get a slap on the wrist for this, but the supporters deserve to know. The future's looking bleak, this club has a £726 million net debt. £30 million to be paid every month towards it, so yes, my back is against the wall. And at this moment in time moving to the beautiful stadium we’ve got, probably wasn’t such a sensible idea. But things will get worse, before they get better.”

“That was certainly enlightening, as the gossip doing the rounds was that Tottenham were over a billion in debt. That must put the futures of Kane and Son up for debate?”

“It’s always up for debate. The general consensus of Sky and other media outlets is to offer out our star players at any given opportunity. Yes they deserve to play at the highest level. Yes they deserve to look back on their careers and feel proud of all the silverware they won. Will they do that here? Who knows. But they’ll only ever go if I feel the deal is too good to turn down.”

“And what kind of fees do you expect that to be?”

“Foolish to show my hand, don’t you think!"
A very interesting and revealing in the majority, interview there. Certainly can't knock the openness of the new manager and with the extent of the financial issues clear to everyone, I wonder how George will cope.
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Good luck with Spuds!
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Interesting that he has been so public with the scenes behind the club. Although, I can imagine the supporters will be pleased to have a glimpse into the chaos.
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With the ever growing unrest in the white half of North London becoming more and more toxic by the day. Protests outside the stadium. Vocal support on social media for #ENICOUT #LEVYOUT, and today the fans come to the realisation that star players Harry Kane and Son Heung Min will be playing in White next season.

But unfortunately for Tottenham fans, it won’t be the Lilywhite. It’ll be that of the Los Blancos. As Tottenham announced late last night that both had joined the mighty Real Madrid in a double deal. Harry Kane moved in a £115 million deal, whilst Son Heung Min moved for £88 million. Madrid officials are hoping the duo will fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo. Eden Hazard has flattered to deceive. And with the talented youngsters in Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo still yet to show they’re true potential. Zidane jumped at the opportunity once Son and Kane were made available.

“I’m standing here today as gutted as any fan of this club. Coaching both during the years, we built up a really good relationship. And I knew both were integral to the future of this club. But they both wanted not only to play Champions League football, but to win trophies. I told both that we would do our utmost to fulfil that need this season, but I couldn't promise them. City, Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool all have better squads than us. Getting those trophies and Champions League football will be an uphill struggle.

And I know this will be a hard pill for the fans to swallow. And their hatred of the club's owners will only increase. But I've been assured the funds will be reinvested into the squad and not the club’s debt. Mauricio always said it would be a painful rebuild, I now understand what he truly meant.”

A clearly hurt and disappointed Karl George spoke to the media after the sales, as the vitriol to the owners went to even greater heights. What will George and the Spurs do to fill the HUGE void left by these two great players.

With his original £13 million budget, George spent wisely and brought in a plethora of young players.


  • Charlie Setford (Ajax) £850k GK
  • Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace) £625k LB
  • Thierry Small (Everton) £600k LB
  • Leon King (Rangers) £650k CB
  • Wilfried Gnonto (FC Zurich) £700k AMC, ST
  • Luis Carbonell (Zaragoza) £1.4m ST
  • Ernest Poku (AZ) £900k AML, ST
  • Gabri Veiga (Vigo) £275k M/AMC
  • Miguel Rodriguez (Vigo) £86k AMR
  • Andrea Papetti (Brescia) £2.5m CB
  • Gavi (Barcelona) £375k M/AMC
  • Nmandi Collins (Dortmund) £750k CB
  • Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Dortmund) £1m AML
  • Karamoko Dembele (Celtic) £2.5m AMR

  • But now with the money banked from the sales of Kane and Son, how will George spend it to try and pacify the Tottenham faithful.
    Big big big big big boots to fill with the two major departures. I like the signings of a few of those, particularly Gnonto and Poku. Hopefully more good news to come in.
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    Filling the boots of two world class players like Harry Kane and Son Heung Min, would never be an easy job. And learning from the mistakes of the Gareth Bale transfer, George knew he needed to spread the money out over the squad, as well as trying to replace what Son and Kane brought to the team.
    In recent years, Spurs have failed to adequately replace the quality they’ve lost. Kyle Walker, Moussa Dembele, Christian Eriksen & Jan Vertonghen all left, leaving a giant hole in the Tottenham squad. Which is even more evident now with the sales of Son and Kane. But being a player, coach and more importantly a fan, George knows that better than most.

    “For me, it’s not just about replacing Harry and Son. We lost Kyle, and didn’t replace him with a good enough player. We lost Moussa, definitely haven’t replaced him. Same with Chris & Jan. Our recruitment has been atrocious in the last few years, and that buck stops with Hitchin and Daniel. Thankfully i’ve managed to get rid of Hitchin and brought in my own recruiting team, and we’re working tirelessly to bring in the right players to take this club on and actually bring some silverware to the table. It just pains me we had to lose Harry and Son to do so.”

    But George and his recruitment team moved fast with the funds from Kane and Son, making a good number of signings as they look to strengthen the squad as did Liverpool after losing Coutinho.

  • Alex Padilla (Bilbao) GK £4.5m
  • Yusuf Demir (Rapid Vienna) AMR/C/ST £25m
  • Thiago Almada (Velez) AML/C £8m
  • Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna) AMR £12.5m
  • Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic) CB £18m
  • Adam Armstrong (Blackburn) AML/ST £12m
  • Kevin Mbabu (Wolfsburg) RB £8.75m (£10.5m)
  • Pablo Maffeo (Stuttgart) RB £12.75m
  • Tomas Vaclik (Sevilla) GK £7.25m



  • But the three major ones, that George and ultimately the fans are hoping that can replicate what Son and Kane brought to the table. George signed Julian Brandt from Dortmund for a sum of £29.5m. George managed to convince Julian to turn down the overtures from Bayern Munich and sign for Spurs in a much coveted transfer. And with him largely playing out on the left, George is hoping he’ll have a similar impact as to what Son had. And with Brandt only just turning 24, it’s a transfer that will benefit for years to come.



    Second one, is a man who isn’t a stranger to these shores. And with his contract up next summer, Spurs had to move quickly to secure his signature. Playing the ALM & ST role, he can provide quality backup to those positions that Spurs have been weakened in. And for a relatively low fee of £27.5m, Memphis Depay could be just what Spurs have been missing. He comes with an ego, but he’s certainly talented and it’s on George and his coaching staff to get the best out of him.



    And onto Kane’s actual replacement. George and his team scoured Europe and the world, before settling on this player. They tried for Diego Costa as a short term solution, but he signed for Valencia instead. And for a whopping £55m fee, Spurs signed English and Everton forward, Dominic Calvert-Lewin. A completely different player to Kane. Calvert-Lewin brings pace and energy to the forward line, as George wants his team to press high up the pitch. He’s certainly not on Kane’s level, nor has he been as clinical as Kane, but he aims to do so.

    “I’m grateful for everything that Everton have done. And playing under Carlo was a great learning curve, but I want to take that next step up. I know some may question why I decided to do so with Spurs, even more so with losing Heung Min Son and Harry. But after speaking with the gaffer, how he wanted to play, my role and how ambitious he was. They all aligned with my goals. I want to reach the levels that Harry Kane has reached. Will i get near the record set by Alan Shearer? Who knows, but i will do my utmost to do so. This is a great club, fantastic facilities and great support. And we’re assembling a great squad now. One that can push us into the Champions League. And that’s where I want to be.”

    But with all these incomings, George made sure that Kane and Son weren’t the only outgoings from the squad. As a few more first teamers were moved on.

  • Erik Lamela (Atalanta) AMR/C £14.5m
  • Lucas Moura (Man Utd) AMR £26m (£40.5m)
  • Joe Rodon (Rennes) CB Loan
  • Serge Aurier (PSG) RB £22m
  • Toby Alderweireld (Real San Sebastian) CB £20m
  • Paulo Gazzaniga (Krasnodar) GK £5m (£6.25m)

  • And several of his youngsters were sent out on loan to get some much needed first team football to aid their developments. But the futures of Moussa Sissoko, Matt Doherty and Harry Winks up in the air after their recent removal from the Europa League squad, has led to them being made available for transfer. And with George looking to strengthen the left side of defence and midfield, could Ben Davies and Steven Bergwijn also be on their way out if Spurs get the players George wants.
    Okay, lots more players out but some very good players in. Depay, Maffeo and Mbabu are the three players I like the most out of those signings. They'll do big things.
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    This is going to be a completely different squad come the start of the season. It's an interesting way of going about it but I look forward to seeing how it plays out. The Calvert-Lewin signing is a big one and he has some massive boots to fill.
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    sounds like a hard job but good luck

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