Are we on the road to greater things now?

  

The Tottenham trust are calling for the board to resign (wrong, Levy OUT!).

By Don Scully

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust has urged the club's board to resign after their involvement in an attempt to form a European Super League. I disagree, the problem just doesn’t lie with the board, but Levy & Lewis. Sacking them is like moving the deckchairs around on the Titanic in the hope it won’t sink. I understand why they've gone for the board and not Levy & Lewis, as they believe that they are untouchable (they own the club). But it is Levy that pulls the strings; the board are just puppets with Levy as their puppet master.

I give credit to Levy for building a magnificent stadium, however, he is not prepared to invest in the team as the other top five elite clubs do; this will always make us second rate. Bill Nicholson said it was all about Glory, but to Levy & Lewis, it is all about profits and paying themselves well. Levy is one of the top paid directors of a football club globally, if not the highest-paid.

Our club were one of six Premier League clubs who were set to join the controversial 12-team competition until it backfired in their faces, and they were all humiliated. Just a matter of interest, I noticed that the Liverpool owner, along with United, City, the Gooners and the Russians, all made public apologies, but not Levy or Lewis. Granted, the club made a statement on the website, but that was it. I think that tells you all you want to know about the arrogant way they run our club.

The Tottenham Trust vote

In a vote on Friday evening, 90% of the Trust's membership said the board had to resign immediately. The Trust said in a statement: "The consequences of their decision to attempt to launch this breakaway league could now lead to substantial penalties against Spurs - points deductions, suspension from competition, financial penalties, other sanctions. They signed up to this plan knowing they risked all that and knowing they risked their players being banned from international competition. The responsibility of the club's board is to always act in the best interests of THFC. The current board clearly has not acted in the best interests of the football club. In fact, its action could still lead to outcomes that are in the worst interests of THFC. We think their relationship with us is irreparably broken. And we think their continued presence risks punitive action being taken against the club."

After we pulled out of the European Super League, Daniel Levy said he regretted (?) the "anxiety and upset" caused by the controversial proposal. Did he? He made that statement because he was forced into it (to save face). Those are supposed to be well-educated, clever businessmen, so where were their collective intelligence in this giant cock-up? Greed above the football ethics was their priority, certainly not the sport or even the fans… it was the gold that glittered before them that they all curtsied to.

The Trust have said that they now wanted to see that action is taken that would see supporters more involved in the running of the club. Don't make me laugh; Levy & Lewis will never agree to that. The only reason the Tottenham Trust were allowed to get as close as they have done is that Levy & Lewis believed in the old adage, "It is better to be inside the tent pissing out, than outside of the tent pissing in." Granted, they got a few tokens, but beyond that, Levy was in the driving seat. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying they shouldn't have been there, as something is better than nothing… but don't be fooled into thinking that they have any influential say.

Levy & Lewis are businessmen, not football connoisseurs. They see profit before results. The rumour has it that one of the reasons (among many) Mourinho was sacked was that he wanted a strong squad for the Cup final, where Levy wanted a strong team for the League, as it made more money (a top-four spot). Levy has reputed to have said, "I don't care about the Cup final". Most fans believe that it is the attitude of Lewis & Levy, whatever he said or didn’t say.

However, and saying that, the owners of Liverpool, Chelski, United, City and the Gooners are also businessmen and want to make a profit; yet, they also want to see their clubs winning trophies and therefore are prepared to give their managers the resources and cash to do so. Levy has said that the current purchase of expensive players isn't "sustainable," but that hasn't stopped the other chairman from building a team with the best players in the world, whatever it takes. We get the left-overs (the dregs).

In twenty years of running the club – and don't forget we are regarded as a top-six club – Daniel Levy has only managed one trophy in his time and one of the most miner trophies in the English League, to boot!  And if we should win tomorrow, that would be two insignificant trophies in twenty years. Hurrah! We are in the Big League now… two trophies… I need to rest, I am starting to feel giddy. No wonder the other top five clubs, including their fans, laugh at our expense. Chelski fans call us "Three Points Lane". We've also got a word in the dictionary dedicated to us: Spursy, which means “consistently failing to live up to expectations, drop points in crucial games that should have been won, and miss stunningly simple chances right in front of goal.” This is Levy’s legacy on the team side, while on the business side, a clever businessman who is building a money empire. Not with the team he isn’t.

Levy’s priorities – now the stadium has been built –  should be to building a team that competes with the best in the world, not just getting into the top four where it will make him even more money. Until Levy leaves, Spurs will be just Spursy and trophyless nomads (irrespective of whether we win another minor trophy tomorrow (Sunday) or not under his iron control).

Agree or disagree?

By Don Scully