Tottenham Q&A: Was Levy pushed? Who’s in charge now? Will Spurs spend more?

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It was the news that came out of nowhere. After lots of talk about Daniel Levy’s running of Tottenham Hotspur, the chairman has stepped down.

The north London club announced on Thursday that Levy has stepped down from his role after nearly 25 years in the position.

Spurs fans had protested against the running of the club amid just two trophies being won in the Levy era. This is despite the club reaching the Champions League final in 2019 and having world-class options across the board.

Sky Sports News’ chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol analyses why Levy left and what happens now…

Why has Levy left now?

Tottenham’s effective owners Joe Lewis and his family feel that the time is right for a change.

They will be hugely grateful for the relentless hard work Daniel Levy has done to turn Tottenham into one of the richest and best-run clubs in the world, but they want more sustained success on the pitch.

A return of only two trophies in almost 25 years is simply not good enough for a club as big as Tottenham. Chelsea, for example, have won 20 major trophies during the same period of time.

Of course, Chelsea’s success owed a lot to the financial backing of Roman Abramovich, and Tottenham have operated under a different ownership model but at the end of the day fans want glory, they want trophies and exciting football and many simply do not care about balance sheets and the bottom line.

This has turned into a year of big changes at Tottenham on and off the pitch. Since management consultants were brought in, executive director Donna-Maria Cullen and Levy have left and Vinai Venkatesham has been appointed chief executive and Peter Charrington has become the new non-executive chairman.

When it comes to corporate governance, best practice is to have a separate chairman and chief executive. Levy fulfilled both roles until Venkatesham, who previously worked at Arsenal, was appointed in April this year.

Whose decision was Levy exit?

Tottenham’s owners want to move in a new direction so it makes sense for them to put in a new leadership team.

Levy has been so closely involved with the day-to-day running of the club that it has always been assumed that he would not leave unless the club was sold.

With hindsight, perhaps the writing was on the wall, when it was announced that Cullen – who worked extremely closely with Levy – was leaving and Venkatesham was becoming CEO.

Tottenham’s official statement last night – understandably given everything he has done for the club – said Levy had “stepped down”.

Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say he had been asked to step down but that would have been disrespectful to a man who has dedicated so much of his working life to the club.

Will Spurs spend more now Levy has gone?

It’s often overlooked that Tottenham actually have a squad packed with elite talent. At the same time it is fair to say that they have been far more cautious than many of their rivals in the transfer and their wages-to-turnover ratio of 42% is the lowest in the Premier League.

If Tottenham are serious about winning the title again for the first time in 64 years, then it is certainly true that they will need to be more decisive when it comes to signings. They will also have to increase their wages-to-turnover ratio if they want to compete consistently at the highest levels.

Tottenham simply do not offer the kind of wages top players can earn at other clubs. Perhaps there is a third way – Chelsea’s new owners now only offer new signings highly incentivised contracts with low base wages.

Many football managers and executives have stories to tell about difficult Levy was to deal with during transfer negotiations. At the same time it is true to say that all executives at every level of the game drive a hard bargain to protect the interests of their club.

There have been some well-publicised misses in the window, such as this summer’s failure to complete a deal for Eberechi Eze.

Tottenham may be more decisive in their transfer dealings going forward, but Venkatesham will be no soft touch.

What does this mean for the future of Spurs?

Venkatesham has written to Tottenham’s staff to tell them it is going to be business as usual. However, it is also clear that there is going to be more emphasis than ever on delivering success on the pitch.

Tottenham’s owners want “more wins more often” and see this as “a new era for the club”. The pressure is now on Venkatesham to deliver.

Tottenham’s statement made clear how grateful they are to Levy for everything he has done, while at the same time emphasising that the transition to a new leadership team would be seamless due to their succession planning.

It will be music to the ears of Tottenham fans that the club will be set up to deliver long-term sporting success. However, that is easier said than done.

Will the ownership change?

The message coming from Tottenham loud and clear is that there will be no change to the ownership structure. The official statement last night is unequivocal: “There are no changes to the ownership or shareholder structure of the club”.

Having said that, it is an open secret in the city that Tottenham have been in talks with potential new investors. Those talks have not led to any new equity injection so far, but it may now be easier to attract outside investment with a new management structure in place.

Tottenham are one of the few big clubs in England that have not been bought or sold in the past 25 years. When Levy took charge, Tottenham were worth about £80m. Today they would be valued at up to £4bn – if they were for sale.

How will he be remembered?

Levy has been one of English football’s key power brokers this century. He has not only transformed the fortunes of his club, but also helped transform the fortunes of the top level of English football.

His legacy will undoubtedly be Tottenham’s magnificent stadium. He was intimately involved with almost every feature and detail of what is now regarded as arguably the best football stadium in the world. Of course, it is much more than just a football stadium and that has been a source of frustration for fans – and revenue for the club.

Despite all the off-field success, it is undeniable that a club the size of Tottenham should have won more trophies during the past 25 years. Two trophies and 15 managers is simply not an acceptable return, even though under Levy, Tottenham, without the kind of financial backing some of their rivals have received, have been one of the best-run clubs in the world.

And what’s next for Levy?

Levy is still only 63 so you would think he still has plenty to offer the game. He still owns a significant stake in Tottenham but he will not be short of offers if he wants to continue working in the game.

This news was originally published on this post .

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