Spend or lose Poch?

Would you believe me if I told you that Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth have a higher spend that Tottenham over the past five years? No? Well it’s true. The Cherries have a net spend of £156m compared to our paltry £60.27m (Transfermarkt).

More bizarrely, Burnley … yes, Burnley have a net spend of £60.12m also over the past five years including this current season.

Here’s where it really gets interesting – of all the teams mentioned so far, only one of these sides were in the top 10 of the Football Money League (Deloitte) with a recorded revenue of €428.3m, guess who? So why do we continuously spend so little in comparison to the struggling sides in the Premier League let alone their top 6 rivals?

One key fact springs to when we talk about Spurs and money – STADIUM. This word has been an almost ever-present over the past few years and has been prioritised significantly higher than the actual personnel that turn out on the pitch, week in week out. Over the years, we have watched on as player spend has shrunk whilst costs to build our state of the art stadium soared month after month to a grand total of £850m (Talksport). Add the unwanted record of being the only club in Premier League history not to spend during a summer transfer window back in 2018 and it makes you question whether this stadium was worth the hassle after all.

Mauricio Pochettino himself has cut a frustrating figure recently and angrily suggested: “the club need to change his title and description” further adding that his “job now is to coach the team” in response to a question about his influence in our transfers.

Worrying words from a man who took our club to a Champions League final without spending a penny last season and yet, you can’t help but sympathise with him. He can’t surely be expected to continue working miracles with his hands tied behind his back. He’s earned the right for heavy investment into this team yet with nine days to go, Spurs have a net spend of only £36m and two players acquired (one of which being a 19-year-old that has been loaned out for the duration of the season ahead).

This simply will not do. Ndombele was a power move and statement. We must continue with this aggression in the window. We were told the stadium wouldn’t affect transfers and the finances back up this claim. Matchday revenue has been estimated at £100m per season which is half of what we’d actually pay back each year.

We earned over £88m thanks to the club’s Champions League campaign alone last year Talksport). Add that to the Premier League money, sponsorships and 18 months without spending and we have the perfect opportunity to break the mould. It’s a crucial 9 days left for Daniel Levy to walk the walk to “continue wherever he came to improve the team” after a new 8-year £320m shirt deal with AIA was struck.

An £80 – £100m net spend this summer should be the bare minimum with no major outgoings and it may just appease our beloved manager … for now. Over to you Levy.

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