Are we on the road to greater things now?

The question on Spurs spending big/ competing financially.

We finished 3^rd in the league this season. We were below City & United, but above Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.

The top British wealthiest clubs are, in order: United, followed by City, followed by Arsenal, followed by Chelsea, Liverpool and in the sixth position is Tottenham Hotspur FC.

If you compare our financial situation with how we finished, it will show you that we have been punching above our weight for a number of years. In fact, the last couple of seasons (three in all) we have done exceptionally well. The test will come when all the clubs in the top-six are at full throttle. Of course, it isn’t as simple as that. For a club to challenge for the title, they need the right manager at the helm. Both Chelsea and Arsenal are in turmoil over their managers (which might explain their positions) and have sung down into the dead zone, because of it.

Will our position change? Yes, and Daniel Levy and the board have set the wheels in motion by building a bigger stadium, not only that but the grounds around the stadium are also owned by Spurs. In the future, this will mean more revenue from the rents of those grounds. Possibly making us one of the elite/ richest clubs in the world.

But Daniel Levy is in a precarious position, he has to pay off the club within five years, therefore transfers and players wages are limited, but he needs the money from the Champions League, plus a high position in the Premier league to accumulate more capital. Over the next couple of years, Levy & Co will be walking a very tight rope. Success or failure will depend on how he deals with all those situations. He also needs to keep the players and manager to build upon our current success.

Some have suggested that Joe Lewis – one of the wealthiest men in the world – should dip into his own pocket and add some of his wealth to the transfer market/ players wages. But why should he and does he have disposable income if he should do so? It is ok saying he is worth £4.5 billion but we don’t know what that is tied up in or the overheads he has. And if he did contribute one year then the next he will also be expected to do the same in ad Infinitum. No, a club must be self-sufficient otherwise one would be just chucking their good money after bad. That is why his and Levy’s long-term goal is to make Tottenham Hotspur FC self-reliant.

But even if Joe Lewis or Levy just threw money at it, then what? It certainly wouldn’t mean League titles or other silverware. Just look at Liverpool and Arsenal of recent years (both richer). United haven’t won the league since 2013 so money wasn’t the deciding factor there. Competing financially does not guarantee anything. To me, the most critical factor is the manager and the right set-up. Since Sugar, and then Levy, rescued us from near bankruptcy we’ve been floating around the sixth position/ mid-table mark. I accept that not winning a trophy in all that time (ok, the League Cup) isn’t good enough. But is that down to money alone or the managerial setup? Levy picked the best manager he believed was the right one at the time. No matter who you are your Chairmanship doesn’t mean you are going to make the right decisions every time… When Ferguson left United they struggled with managers. The same with Liverpool. And being one of the wealthiest clubs in the UK doesn’t mean you will automatically win the FA Cup or League Cup either. In the last 10 years both Wigan and Portsmouth had won the FA Cup. With clubs like Palace, Villa, Hull, Stoke and Cardiff getting to the final. It is not just about money when winning one of the trophies. Luck has a great deal to play in those competitions. Just look at Championship League Club Wigan knocking out eventual Premier League winners City.

Up and until Redknapp took over and taking us into the top four, we’ve been served poorly by some managers. With Pochettino now at the wheel, we’ve gone from fifth to three years of Champions League football, all within budget and the financial restraints of a new stadium. This is a testament to his ability and Spurs Academy. Now we must keep him and allow him to continue building.

With a new stadium, building on the ground around the stadium and other financial assets we are going in the right direction. It is not a case of “if” but “when” we start winning trophies and even making a great sustainable challenge for the Premier League title.

As somebody might quickly point out, and as I said, is not just about money – even though that helps – but luck and the misfortunes of others can propel teams to great heights. Just look at Leicester City winning the Premier League (on that note; Leicester City are just below Spurs in 7^th position as one of the British wealthiest clubs).

Those that have criticised Levy & Lewis don’t really have any grasp of the complexities of Businesses and Millionaires/ Billionaires financial situation/ output. People take over a business to make them – hopefully – stand on their own two-feet, not continuously propping them up with their own money, that is financial suicide. I wouldn’t do it and I wouldn’t expect those Spurs supporters who moan, to do it, and I doubt very much they would. It is ok talking a good fight, but once you are in the ring, then that is a different matter.

There is an old Yiddish saying; “Be careful what you wish for as it might come true”. The idea is that you may not have thought through the consequences of having your wish come true, which might not be so good as you thought. Daniel Levy is a Spurs supporter and actually stood on the shelf when he was a young boy and supported them ever since. We could get somebody who only sees our club as a cash cow. Americans I don’t trust, as they don’t generally like football/ soccer and just see a club, such as United, as a money machine.

Building such a club/ stadium was always going to be a long-term project. Levy has always said that he wants to bring back the Glory days. Some reports have said that he would do that within a 5 year period, but that never was realistic. Whatever way we look at it we should cut Levy and Lewis some slack and back the club and see how his vision pans out. I am just as much a Spurs fan/ supporter and season ticket holder as you, the supporters’. And my voice, and others like me, will be raised if we thought that the club was going in the wrong direction or it was being abused. But if that happened, the new stadium will soon look like a ghost town and be on the road to decline and probably struggling to survive in the Premier League. But that won’t happen.

On another point: some have criticised and compared our position from last season (2016/17. Last season we finished second, this season third. Some have said it isn’t good enough and noted our decline. Get real! Moving from WHL to Wembley, the critics didn’t give us a chance and certainly not getting into the top four. Even the Champions League was regarded as a league of fire or death. We played all our games away from our home. So to finish third in the league and only suffering two defeats in our home League matches was a bloody miracle. And as for Champions league, nobody expected us to do well and get the scalps of Real Madrid and Dortmund on the way. Even holding Juventus to a draw on their own ground was much talked about. As for the FA Cup, yes we should have done better and beaten United, but we did get to the Semi-Finals (poor consolation, I know). All that talk of jinx’s and not doing well, we showed what possibilities our team could achieve if we hadn’t had so many obstacles put in our path. We have a nucleus of a great team, a team that will challenge for trophies. I see the future bright and those Glory, Glory days/nights just around the corner.

Instead of moaning, as some supporters like doing, it would be great to get behind the team and show your support, including what Levy and co have done for us and the future. There is always a time to stand up and get angry, but that time hasn’t arrived yet. We are Spurs, follow the team and stop moaning. The future is bright, the future can be ours. COYS!

Yours truly, Don Scully