Post by QPR Report on Oct 31, 2008 7:42:12 GMT
Views of Spurs Chairman although, seem to have heard similiar views elswhere 
It's why need to divide discussion of Briatore's system: If he wants to have a First Team Coach rather than manager, as they do often abroad. Fine. It's the Hands-on re team selection is a very different matter.
The Guardian - David Hytner , Friday October 31 2008
I do the money, coaches do football says unrepentant Levy
Wrong people, not wrong structures are to blame for Spurs woe claims Chairman
Ultimate responsibility is a concept that sits uncomfortably with Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, when it is mentioned in relation to his club's transfer policy or, indeed, any other footballing aspect of the business.
"It depends what you mean by that," he said yesterday, reflecting on his role in the club's turmoil this season that has seen the sackings of the manager Juande Ramos and director of football, Damien Comolli. "It depends on the football side of the club telling me who they think is the right player for the squad. Ultimately, I have to make sure that at the end of the financial year, the club is in a stable financial position."
Levy's belief, not entirely unreasonable given his fields of expertise, is that he looks after the money and his technical staff concern themselves with players, goals and Premier League points. The problem, however, is that for a man in Levy's position, it is difficult to separate the two. Chairmen are not generally remembered for producing solid financial results. (The ones he announced yesterday, for the year ended June 30, were encouraging, with turnover up 11% to £114.8m and net debts manageable at £14.6m). Levy admitted that you cannot have financial health without success on the field. But as he continues to yearn for the latter, and the pipedream of establishing Tottenham as a top-four force, he wriggles when failure is attributed to him, the man who hires, fires and watches over his football employees. "That's a hard one; obviously it has to be a factor," he said. "But, as we know, it is not the sole factor in terms of winning a game. Often it is luck, injuries ... all these factors have an impact. It is a very fine line between success and failure."
The subtext was that he was doing his bit in his area but the men he hired have let him down. He has backed his previous managers with cash and will do so with his seventh in seven years, Harry Redknapp, whom he appointed on Saturday, although he did warn supporters not to expect "major changes" to the squad in January.
"Money doesn't necessarily buy you success," Levy said. "If you look at the amount we spent compared to Arsenal over three, five or 10 years, we have spent considerably more. We have achieved a lot over the years, getting into Europe three years running, but when you look at the money we have spent, I would have to say we have underachieved."
One of the most startling aspects to Redknapp's appointment was that in Levy's judgment it rendered the position of sporting director at the club surplus to requirement. "With Harry," Levy said, "we don't need a sporting director because clearly he knows his way around the transfer market."
Levy had banged the drum loudly for his two-tier management structure, with a sporting director working in tandem with the first-team coach, for at least four years and longer if David Pleat's role above the former coach Glenn Hoddle is included. Now, in the blink of an eye, it is gone.
"It wasn't about scrapping the structure," Levy said when asked if the U-turn has damaged his credibility. "It was about finding the right individual. It's nothing to do with the structure, it's about the people. If we had brought in a different type of manager, a foreign coach for instance, maybe the structure would have stayed. It might yet return. The irony is that, if we had called the sporting director by a different name, chief scout or chief executive, we would not have had the negativity about it."
Levy said that there had never been any conflict between his various sporting directors and coaches. "You write about [former manager] Martin Jol not wanting [the defender] Younes Kaboul, for instance, but I can tell you that, when Martin went to Hamburg, he wanted Kaboul. With every player that has been signed or sold, the coach has approved the transfer.
"In the case of Dimitar Berbatov, it was the coach [Ramos] who decided to let him go even though we didn't have a replacement striker. It is ultimately the coach's decision. I was prepared to keep Berbatov [but] Juande managed the team and his advice was that he didn't want a player that didn't want to be in his squad. I backed his advice. It is always a football decision first and a money decision second."
Jol took some stick. "You guys mention [the approach to Ramos, which appeared to undermine Jol] but you don't say anything about the fact that Martin went for a job interview at Newcastle while he was employed by us." Levy also expressed the wish that he had landed Redknapp sooner, having sounded him out in February of last year, when Jol was still in charge.
Comolli, who was sacked as sporting director on Saturday night, together with Ramos, also came in for criticism. "When you get to a situation where you have a number of signings that haven't quite worked out and when you spend a lot of money, you have to begin to question the advice you have been given," said Levy.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, the Tottenham chairman said on more than one occasion yesterday, and he was determined to look to the future. He needs Redknapp to succeed for so many reasons.
It's why need to divide discussion of Briatore's system: If he wants to have a First Team Coach rather than manager, as they do often abroad. Fine. It's the Hands-on re team selection is a very different matter.
The Guardian - David Hytner , Friday October 31 2008
I do the money, coaches do football says unrepentant Levy
Wrong people, not wrong structures are to blame for Spurs woe claims Chairman
Ultimate responsibility is a concept that sits uncomfortably with Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, when it is mentioned in relation to his club's transfer policy or, indeed, any other footballing aspect of the business.
"It depends what you mean by that," he said yesterday, reflecting on his role in the club's turmoil this season that has seen the sackings of the manager Juande Ramos and director of football, Damien Comolli. "It depends on the football side of the club telling me who they think is the right player for the squad. Ultimately, I have to make sure that at the end of the financial year, the club is in a stable financial position."
Levy's belief, not entirely unreasonable given his fields of expertise, is that he looks after the money and his technical staff concern themselves with players, goals and Premier League points. The problem, however, is that for a man in Levy's position, it is difficult to separate the two. Chairmen are not generally remembered for producing solid financial results. (The ones he announced yesterday, for the year ended June 30, were encouraging, with turnover up 11% to £114.8m and net debts manageable at £14.6m). Levy admitted that you cannot have financial health without success on the field. But as he continues to yearn for the latter, and the pipedream of establishing Tottenham as a top-four force, he wriggles when failure is attributed to him, the man who hires, fires and watches over his football employees. "That's a hard one; obviously it has to be a factor," he said. "But, as we know, it is not the sole factor in terms of winning a game. Often it is luck, injuries ... all these factors have an impact. It is a very fine line between success and failure."
The subtext was that he was doing his bit in his area but the men he hired have let him down. He has backed his previous managers with cash and will do so with his seventh in seven years, Harry Redknapp, whom he appointed on Saturday, although he did warn supporters not to expect "major changes" to the squad in January.
"Money doesn't necessarily buy you success," Levy said. "If you look at the amount we spent compared to Arsenal over three, five or 10 years, we have spent considerably more. We have achieved a lot over the years, getting into Europe three years running, but when you look at the money we have spent, I would have to say we have underachieved."
One of the most startling aspects to Redknapp's appointment was that in Levy's judgment it rendered the position of sporting director at the club surplus to requirement. "With Harry," Levy said, "we don't need a sporting director because clearly he knows his way around the transfer market."
Levy had banged the drum loudly for his two-tier management structure, with a sporting director working in tandem with the first-team coach, for at least four years and longer if David Pleat's role above the former coach Glenn Hoddle is included. Now, in the blink of an eye, it is gone.
"It wasn't about scrapping the structure," Levy said when asked if the U-turn has damaged his credibility. "It was about finding the right individual. It's nothing to do with the structure, it's about the people. If we had brought in a different type of manager, a foreign coach for instance, maybe the structure would have stayed. It might yet return. The irony is that, if we had called the sporting director by a different name, chief scout or chief executive, we would not have had the negativity about it."
Levy said that there had never been any conflict between his various sporting directors and coaches. "You write about [former manager] Martin Jol not wanting [the defender] Younes Kaboul, for instance, but I can tell you that, when Martin went to Hamburg, he wanted Kaboul. With every player that has been signed or sold, the coach has approved the transfer.
"In the case of Dimitar Berbatov, it was the coach [Ramos] who decided to let him go even though we didn't have a replacement striker. It is ultimately the coach's decision. I was prepared to keep Berbatov [but] Juande managed the team and his advice was that he didn't want a player that didn't want to be in his squad. I backed his advice. It is always a football decision first and a money decision second."
Jol took some stick. "You guys mention [the approach to Ramos, which appeared to undermine Jol] but you don't say anything about the fact that Martin went for a job interview at Newcastle while he was employed by us." Levy also expressed the wish that he had landed Redknapp sooner, having sounded him out in February of last year, when Jol was still in charge.
Comolli, who was sacked as sporting director on Saturday night, together with Ramos, also came in for criticism. "When you get to a situation where you have a number of signings that haven't quite worked out and when you spend a lot of money, you have to begin to question the advice you have been given," said Levy.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, the Tottenham chairman said on more than one occasion yesterday, and he was determined to look to the future. He needs Redknapp to succeed for so many reasons.
