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Dr Tottenham in dire need of financial medicine

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Levy has built Tottering Spurs as an asset to sell not succeed.

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“24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy. Time for Change.”

The banner said it all. It’s referring to Spurs, aka “Dr Tottenham”, but in particular, the Scrooge-like regime of Daniel Levy.

Held aloft at the last home game – a humbling defeat to relegation- threatened Leicester City – the banner’s appearance was timely.

Significantly, it was aimed at the chairman, not the manager.

Ange Postecoglou is the 16th occupant of the dugout – some would say “fall guy” – since Levy took charge after the ENIC investment company assumed control in 2001.

One and a half seasons in, the amiable Aussie has reached the average life expectancy of a modern Spurs manager.

But it is at Levy whom the fans are directing most of their anger.

As a club, Spurs have now gone from Big Six to Bottom Six.

They have lost six of the last seven games and, with four of the five clubs below them beginning to stir…

They couldn’t, could they?

Not since 1977 have the Lilywhites been relegated.

Recent form suggests it’s possible, but unlikely. To even mention it brings shame on the club that considers itself a member of the elite.

As does the nickname “Doctor Tottenham” after recent performances revived ailing opponents.

Such a run would normally get a manager sacked, and after losing last weekend, Postecoglou admitted: “This is probably as low as
we’ve been.”

But there are mitigating circumstances: an injury crisis that had it been on a battlefield, the white flag would have hoisted.

Right through the team from keeper – both keepers – to Son Heung Min, players have missed vital chunks of the season.

The entire defence has been decimated. Ditto the midfield and now it’s the strikers.

And just as the wounded return, another falls. When both keepers were out, Levy himself flew to Prague to sign a 20-year-old emergency replacement.

The absences that have really hurt are those of Guglielmo Vicario in goal, Micky Van der Ven, the lightning-quick Dutch centreback, and whoever seems to play in midfield and up front.

Not helping has been Postecoglou’s stubborn refusal to rein in his attacking instincts.

In more critical sections, this has earned the erstwhile popular 59- year-old the monicker “Imposter-coglou”.

Still, they are so far unscathed in three cup competitions – the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup and the Europa Conference.

In the FA Cup, they were a toe poke away from the greatest shock in the tournament’s history at seventh-tier, Tamworth.

Somehow they hung on to eke out an inglorious win as the part- timers ran out of ammunition in extra time.

But in the Carabao Cup, they are one step away from a Wembley final as they take a 1-0 lead over Liverpool to Anfield in the semi-final second leg.

In the Conference, at home to Elfsborg overnight, they have done enough already to ensure a place in the knockout stage.

And Ange, as he’s universally known, who reckons to win a trophy in his second season, still hopes to turn 2025 into a success.

A glint of silverware might be enough to save him, but can anything save Levy from the wrath of Spurs fans?

They can’t remove him – only the ENIC board can and he’s on it. He has also made the members extremely wealthy.

The longest-serving chairman in the EPL, he has transformed the club and built one of the world’s great stadiums.

From an initial 27% stake of £22 million, Spurs are now valued at £4 billion, the ninth biggest in the world.

But he has only one League Cup to show for it.

This is because he’s trying to do everything on the cheap, claim the fans.

And the UK’s Sunday Times wrote last week that he had “grown Spurs as a business, but shrunk them as a team.”

Spurs’ spending on both transfers and wages is always among the lowest of the so-called big boys.

He’s also a famously tough negotiator.

Alex Ferguson once quipped: “My hip operation gave me less pain than dealing with Daniel Levy.”

For more than two decades, Spurs fans have been suffering under his stewardship.

Nearly men, under-achievers, flattering to deceive and, worst of all, a new adjective that has been added to the football lexicon: “Spursy”.

It means flaky, guaranteed to fold or fall short when the going gets tough or the prize is within sight.

Levy’s reign has seen the eternal joust between football and business encapsulated in one corner of north London.

If he’s not bought the best players, he’s not been shy of hiring top managers.

Glenn Hoddle was his first and other notables include Harry Redknapp, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino.

The thinking being that if the manager delivers, it’s only one top salary and not 20.

The trouble is… none delivered the silverware Spurs fans had come to expect.

They used to win cups on a regular basis but not since 1961 have they lifted the League title – the year before Levy was born.

In his lifetime, they’ve won the FA Cup and League Cup four times apiece; the UEFA Cup and Cup-Winners’ Cup once each.

Under his 25-year chairmanship, they’ve won a solitary League Cup.

Older fans still recall the immortal Double-winning side but Spurs have never come near to those lofty heights.

Buying ‘B’ grade players and youngsters whose value will increase, Levy has not built Spurs to succeed, but as an asset to sell.

In the past decade, their net spend is £588m compared to football’s biggest spenders, Manchester United, at £1.05 billion.

Levy will retire a rich man but – and he’s a lifelong fan – he will not be remembered fondly in football.

He runs Spurs with the handbrake on and this is not enough for fans brought up on stories of the Double-winning side.

They were as good as anything British football has ever produced and played with a swagger.

Just mention a few names – Jimmy Greaves, John White, Dave Mackay – and even neutrals of a certain age get goose bumps.

As then skipper Danny Blanchflower put it: “The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.”

Nor is it about making a massive profit.

 

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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