We all thought that Mr Levy runs a hard bargain, at times it can frustrate us all to tears, for example the ongoing striker situation in January it seemed obvious that for us to keep our pace for fourth we would need some extra support up top.
However I’m sure a few would agree if you put your passionate football spirit to one side and try look at it from a business perspective more than often the decisions Mr Levy and co make are for the greater good, you only have to look at clubs such as Portsmouth and possibly QPR to see how things can easily spiral out of control.
Levy has long hailed until recent times his wage cap of £70,000-a-week and I for one respected him a lot for this, it gave a clear message to players and their agents when negotiating contracts the limit of their demands, it meant the top players at the club were more or less on a level playing field and now with the financial fair play rules coming into effect we go into this new era with a steady ship unlike a few of the financial giant clubs who have paid over the odds for too long and are now being forced to off load their biggest earners and play around with the balance sheets to get their finances in order. Don’t worry, that’s enough Levy love for one day, you will be happy to hear there is a very big ‘However’ to my above points.
The last two seasons we have been taught very cruelly of the fine margins of success, Chelski tripping and falling on the champions league title denying us CL qualification, this to be followed by losing out on the last day of the season to our a biggest rivals for 4th and CL yet again, what makes things worse is looking ahead to the next season things are only going to get tougher.
The competition for the top four spaces is getting more crowded than it has ever been in premier league history, gone are the days when you could pretty much predict the top half of the table, the top four would be sewn up by Christmas and we got our kicks out of the drop battle. Up to now with the resources and policy’s we have at the Lane we have managed to place ourselves in a reasonably good position we are no longer a cemented mid table team but a odds on contender for the top four, but if we want to push on and show how ambitious we really want to be then the time has come for Levy to loosen the purse strings.
The squads around us are making the types of transfers which if we are not careful can have us left behind, Wenger is looking like he will finally start spending and there are a few moves knocking about which cant help even the hardened Spurs fan to be a tad worried. Now I’m not suggesting we spend beyond our means, we have a strong squad and i believe we only need two or three players to make it stronger, I go back to my earlier point we need ensure we remain sound as a business or face the consequences, however i believe the time has come to re-negotiate our wage cap and policies to keep up with the teams around us and attract the right type of players, it is unfortunate as i for one feel that players wages are becoming ridiculous but our hand has been forced.
Over the summer there are a few factors which can have a big effect on next season, none bigger than the main man Gareth Bale, if we keep Bale and are not tempted by the massive price tag we will send a huge message of our ambitions and with the right players around him we can certainly compete with whatever is thrown at us. Bale is clearly a grounded lad and a role model to any young man in this sport/industry, but now he is such a prospect you can only imagine the type of devious people whispering in his ear trying to make a quick pound out of the young man’s talent. If it is only for another season we keep GB then Levy will have to offer him a realistic wage to keep his agent at bay until at least next summer, if we want to keep him any longer then Levy will have to provide some reassurances along with keeping AVB and back the team by investing in top quality players and competitive contracts.
I believe we can find a balance with finance and keeping our ‘values’ as a great club going forward, the financial fair play will help a club such as ourselves keep within arm’s length of the richer clubs, in conclusion I’m not saying let’s spend, spend, spend I’m just suggesting we re-evaluate and adjust to the current financial climate of the ever exciting Premiere league and push the mighty Yids to the holy grail ( Champions League) consistently, this will bring higher calibre of players to the club and further our quest to future success and silverware.
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