Andre Villas-Boas or Daniel Levy.Who Decides on Tottenham’s Transfers?

Who will have the final say on who is welcomed to Tottenham in the January transfer window? [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]Is it the manager, Andre Villas-Boas or is it the Chairman, Daniel Levy? That’s a question which Tottenham supporters consider frequently during January and over the summer months when the transfer windowis open. Who decides on the Tottenham transfer targets and which players to sign?

From The Fans’ Perspective.

At the beginning of January there was a general consensus among Spurs fans that:

• the club was currently in a strong position and had coped well with the loss of players through injury but the team needed to be strengthened to ensure Champions League qualification was achieved this year.
• the club needed to sign a creative midfield player to replace Luka Modric
• and a striker. There was concern that Jermain Defoe would once again be the only experienced striker available during the time Emmanuel Adebayor would be with Togo at The Africa Cup of Nations.
• Daniel Levy should show support for Andre Villas-Boas in the transfer market.

In the survey carried out for HotspurHQ on Spurs’ fans’ views of Villas-Boas many expressed the view that he needed to be given support in the transfer market by Chairman, Daniel Levy. One of  a number of similar comments received was from mancSpur,

"“But the key is not how good AVB could be, it’s whether the club will back him and obtain the players he feels can move the ‘project’ up to the next level. If Levy does, then we’ll see – if not, and he does the usual and comes back from the shop with someone entirely different to what the manager wants because it represents a bargain/profit then it will be a case of running to a standstill. The spotlight needs to be on Levy, not AVB in my view.”"

Many names have appeared in the media, on Twitter and on Spurs’ message-boards as possible players in whom Tottenham have an interest. Who decides on the targets – the manager or the Chairman?

From the Manager’s Perspective

Every manager knows that they are judged by results and if the team doesn’t perform, then their job could be on the line. The manager, therefore wants to sign the best players available to strengthen his team. Andre Villas-Boas will have views of which players would be best suited, in his opinion, to fit into the style in which he wants his team to play. He will also have aspects of the team where he has identified weaknesses and would hope to address those problems. On top of that there is the need to have a Spurs team playing to the “Tottenham way” of flowing, graceful and stylish winning football.

To attend to all of those issues, the club would face a substantial financial outlay. The manager would therefore have to prioritise and reach agreement with the Chairman.

From the Chairman’s Perspective

Daniel Levy has responsibility for overseeing all financial matters surrounding the club, including transfer fees, salaries, day to day running costs as well as future development at the club which in the case of Tottenham includes the financing of the building of a new stadium. Daniel Levy holds the purse strings, and while fans want him to strengthen the team, no-one would want to see the club fall back into the financial difficulties it experienced in the early 1990s.

The Chairman has shown himself to be a very astute negotiator who drives a hard bargain, refusing to be drawn into a bidding war over any player. He is also very proactive where clubs are in financial difficulties and may need to sell a player. He appears to thrive on the manic activity of completing deals on the last day of the August and January, in search of a bargain.

Who Should Have the Final Say?

While the manager has his wish-list, he must also be aware of the financial constraints within which the Chairman is working. In that situation the manager would have to decide whether to spend the money on one top player or spread it wider to address a number of issues within the squad. Having made that decision and identified suitable players, the Chairman should then endeavour to support the manager by completing those deals. It is only the manager who knows how he wants his team to play and there’s no point in buying players who do not meet the manager’s requirements.

For me, the manager should have the final say within the limitations of the budget made available by the Chairman. The Chairman should then do everything in his power to bring negotiations for that particular player/players to a successful conclusion.

Tottenham fan Alf Love tweeted his thoughts on where he thought the responsibility for transfers lay,

Over to You!

Who do you think should have the final say on the January transfer targets and deals?

Let us know your views.