A revolution over evolution is always risky business. It’s significantly riskier when your job performance is reviewed on a weekly basis as it is in the English Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson was given four years without silverware to implement his own philosophies. Likewise, Arsene Wenger has been allowed to offer consistent UEFA Champions League qualification as an alternative to trophies for the better part of a decade. Brendan Rodgers is being given more breathing room than is customary at Anfield to build a team in his own image and Liverpool are the unlikely league leaders at Christmas. Notably prospering from a settled squad and structure that convinced Suarez, of all players, to exhibit some loyalty.
Andre Villas-Boas was not afforded the same kind of latitude. A sadly predictable consequence of spending over the entire Gareth Bale money in the transfer window without immediate success. Even at first blush the rush to judgment seems unfair. Bale practically single-handedly brought Spurs to the brink of Champions League qualification but in reality was papering over some significant cracks. The Welshman was not world class gloss on an otherwise competitive team, more the moment of game-changing brilliance that would enable any mid-table team to punch above its weight. Bale wasn’t just a prolific goal scorer for Spurs, he was the epitome of a clutch player that could be relied upon to make a difference when it mattered.
On some level Tottenham knew it. With the war chest available courtesy of the cash from Real Madrid, Spurs did not reinforce their squad with a carefully selected replacement for Bale but instead went about obliterating the budget on seven new players in a massive squad overhaul. The summer spending at White Hart Lane raised eyebrows and expectations.
By contrast, Arsene Wenger has been replacing marquee players for quite some time. In what was a frustrating transfer window for the Gunners, Arsenal waited until the last possible moment to secure the services of Mesut Ozil to augment the frugal captures of Yaya Sonogo and Mathieu Flamini. Both Ozil and Flamini have performed admirably so far this season but neither player is exactly carrying the team, rather complementing an established core group of players. Pre-Ozil, Arsenal had already collected more league points in 2013 than any other team in the top flight, are currently second to Liverpool on goal difference and successfully navigated a brutal Champions League group. A scalpel in contrast to the Spurs sledgehammer.
You doubt anyone in the Tottenham boardroom was myopic enough to believe that converting an expensively assembled collection of individuals into a team was going to happen overnight. Yet after the maulings at the hands of Manchester City and Liverpool, the post-mortems pointed to a lack of leadership and collectiveness. A buck that inevitably stops at the manager’s door. Villas-Boas was also responsible for the persistent use of inverted wingers that starved Soldado of service and for deploying players like Vertoneghan and Llama out of position and headlong into poor patches of form.
Interestingly, nothing has surfaced since his dismissal to suggest that Villas-Boas had lost the dressing room. Nor, with Tim Sherwood being appointed the interim manager, can it be said that Spurs had their eye on an immediate replacement more likely to reverse the club’s fortunes. The debate continues to rage. Should the manager have been given more time to prove his mettle and find his best starting eleven?
Time might be better spent analyzing where the root of Spurs’ problems really lies. Having performed miracles at Southampton, Mauricio Pochettino was swiftly linked to the vacant position and just as quick to distance himself from the job:
“As a manager what’s really important is that the sporting aspect is under my control, in terms of signings,” Pochettino said. “Without my agreement no signings go through, and those two basic things are very important for any manager.”
More than suggesting that it is the chairman, Daniel Levy, who really controls the checkbook and squad building at Tottenham. With all due respect, the reticence of a manager to leave The St. Mary’s for White Hart Lane is not the only concern lingering at boardroom level.
While Manchester City and Chelsea are able to spend like drunken sailors thanks to billionaire benefactors, few other teams operate on a trust fund basis. Spurs do not have even close to the same financial clout. The Gareth Bale money clearly accounted for the majority of Spurs’ summer spending spree. While the initial out-of-pocket expense was mitigated, replacing one high wage earner with seven others will have a significant impact on the bottom line. Retaining and luring the services of elite players in the absence of Champions League football may cost even more.
Gallingly for any Spurs fan, the obvious blueprint to follow might reside on the red side of North London. With a degree in economics, Arsene Wenger clearly understands the business side of football. In order to compete with the richest clubs in Europe, Arsenal had to move to a bigger stadium and maximize match day income. Wenger oversaw the transition to the Emirates on the back of title winning teams, all the while maintaining a Champions League presence on a limited budget. As a consequence, the commercial viability and prudent fiscal housekeeping instilled by Wenger and his board has provided Arsenal with a sound platform for success well into the future. But it took time and patience.
It’s hard not to look at Villas-Boas’ demise as a consequence of panic. Levy, a consummate businessman, will be well aware that in the absence of an oligarch it will be imperative for Spurs to leverage every cent of potential revenue to keep up with the cash rich teams around them. Funding the obligatory new stadium will be all the harder without a domestically successful side competing in the top tier of European football.
The Bale windfall presented a tempting window of opportunity but may also represent an incredible gamble. Spending the entire money at once, a la Manchester City, and absorbing an inflated wage bill immediately made a top four finish a minimum requirement. For Spurs, it may have left little room for error or even time for a manager to build for the future. Spurs were hardly relegation fodder when Villas-Boas was fired and had actually given a good account of themselves in the Europa League. In the already unforgiving world of Premier League management, Daniel Levy may have made the manager’s job at Spurs the most unforgiving of all.