Musical chairs
So Federico Fazio is joining WBA for £5M whilst we wait to see if this triggers Saido Berahino's arrival at the Lane. Our famed transfer policy is smacking its head against the wall again.
Although we remain perpetually in the dark as to the exact details of what a director / technical director of football is doing day to day, the main crux of the role is meant to support continuity within the club. So for example, the DoF is supposedly the one with the power of definition that seeks to implement an ethos/template/blueprint based on the coaching appointment made and then facilitate it by purchasing players that fit in (thus supporting the coach) and if said coach is sacked, the next one in can simply carry on from where he left off. Confused? You will be.
The DoF has in the past been influential in procuring the talents of a manager (the dizzying Ramos for example) but the hellmouth that harbours the relationships between coach, chairman and DoF have always appeared strained and disassociated. Add to it the fact that if you set out to support an ethos or support the coach it doesn't necessarily guarantee continuity because the next coaching team is inheriting a broken side which will always need overhauling. It's simply not that easy to decide on an ethos and then sign players that any given 'decent' manager can work with, even though arguably, if you sign players that assemble into a spine of a team then any decent manager should really be able to work with them. If there's quality and it's balanced, then it works, right? It's been a holy grail for us.
On paper, there is pragmatism to the logic but in reality - like most football clubs - you just buy the player(s) you believe you need for the present and just hope it works out. Add to it the fact our chairman loves a profit on young players that can be sold on in the future and the entire concept of the DoF falls apart.
Franco Baldini signed individuals and the blame game between him, Andre Villas-Boas and Daniel Levy remains libellous. The players signed were not a unit that could slot into the squad that already existed. Most of his signings have now gone. Baldini isn't far off from leaving either.
We're left with Eriksen, Chadli and Lamela. The likes of Benji Stambouli and Federico Fazio always seemed like back up plans and neither had any true opportunity to embrace momentum in the first team. It's messy stuff. Fazio wasn't the right fit so you have to wonder why he was signed in the first place? Sure, if our number one target is unattainable then look for an alternative rather than a stop-gap. It's here where you wonder if the DoF makes the decision to support the coach even if the coach isn't fully on-board or is simply accepting of 'a player'...any player.
So what does it mean?
Not a lot in terms of understanding who had the final say (in the past) but presently you can at least admit that Spurs are going about their business in fixing the errors that were made. For we appear to be signing (and selling) the players that Poch wants in and out. So you can applaud the ruthlessness to get the squad streamlined (considering the dismantlement and reworks, if you are the patient type, you'll accept this may take another season).
So what does this truly mean?
It means the club can not sack Pochettino. Unless our form is borderline catastrophic, if we're going to go about our rebuild with a more scientific edge to our transfers and ridding the errs of the £100M (give or take £20M) wasted then it deserves time. I know fans hate that word, but what is the point in reinventing how we deal with player acquisitions if we're not going to see it out? Not that there's any suggestion of Poch being sacked. It's just that history tells us that it always ends up happening.
Of course, perhaps the reason for the streamlining and Paul Mitchell is because the club just want to work on net spend margins and we don't have money to spend wildly (do we ever?). Either way, I'm hoping the long term is considered rather than all the short termisms that have seen us lose our momentum, damage careers and regress.
