Good Spurs Article

[Electric ~soul~]

from squarefootball.net again. Excellent website.

 

 

Frank Arnesen is clearly the brains behind the revolution at Tottenham Hotspur. After ten years as a Dutch football administrator at PSV Eindhoven, as well as a very successful career as a player, he is one of the few men astute enough to know how football works and how the business of football works – from the inside.

 

Arnesen’s three year plan was to restore Spurs to being a top six team, and with it the annual trips into Europe. Obviously this plan then feeds on itself as the European qualification brings in extra revenue and also the better class of player that demands European football. Which in its turn helps achieve top six finishes.

 

Why a team that was recently confirmed as the fourteenth richest in Europe should struggle to get into the top six domestically is more interesting. The study by Deloitte found that eight English clubs were amongst the top 20 in Europe – and that Spurs were England’s sixth richest club.

 

The critics of English football believe that it is less technically good than the Spanish or Italian leagues, but even the critics agree it is often more entertaining. This entertainment means that English football attracts more financial sponsorship and therefore generates more money.

 

So fourteenth in Europe, still means that Chelsea (4th), Arsenal (6th) and Manchester United (1st) are a long way ahead. Spurs (14th) have to compete with Liverpool (10th), Newcastle United (11th), Manchester City (16th) and Aston Villa (20th) – who are all on a similar financial footing.

 

This then is the reality. The eight English clubs with the most money should really compete for the European places if they have a half decent manager and appropriate board level backing. To move into the regular European spots Spurs need to move past the relatively mediocre talents of Manchester City and Aston Villa to secure sixth place most seasons.

 

Most seasons there will be teams that overachieve compared to their financial weight – but only exceptional managers can make overachievers anything more than one-season wonders. This year Spurs’ task may be blocked by teams like Everton and Bolton Wanderers overachieving, but given a reasonable season next year Spurs will begin a series of European trips.

 

Many Spurs fans have, in the past, been critical of the financial backing from the Spurs owners. But their prudence has laid a platform, and that platform is allowing Spurs to climb towards the top half of the rich list. Since the purse strings were opened after the rights issues of a year ago, Spurs have also been building a squad for the immediate future. The signs are there that the squad is now capable of finishing in the top six regularly – before the push to the next obvious step of a title challenge.

 

Frank Arnesen’s plan is clearly very conservative – and very achievable. He knows that growing the financial base of the club will enable the club to sign better players and the easiest way to grow the revenue is to qualify for European competitions each year.

 

All things being equal Spurs will miss out on Europe this year but finish in the top six next term – and for the conceivable future – and will move into the top half of the rich list after a couple of seasons in Europe. Once Spurs are established as one of the richest teams in Europe a title challenge will be inevitable and should be mounted in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the 1961 double season.

[Eastside Urchin]

NO COMMENT