The ousting of Daniel (COYS)

[For the love of Spurs]

Hope this helps @BENNO

Always wondered if he believes the crap he spouts or if he knows but doesn’t care.

 

[McArchibald]

Always wondered if he believes the crap he spouts or if he knows but doesn’t care.

That'd be his superiority complex. He thinks he's smarter than everybody else and can always outwit whoever is opposite him at the table. And he probably has a very low opinion of the fanbase (as do most executives in football).
He should do well however to remember the words of Abraham Lincoln at some point: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

 

[SirHarryHotspur]

That'd be his superiority complex. He thinks he's smarter than everybody else and can always outwit whoever is opposite him at the table. And he probably has a very low opinion of the fanbase (as do most executives in football).
He should do well however to remember the words of Abraham Lincoln at some point: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

Trouble is Lincoln only managed 4 years as President, think Levy has done 22 years as Chairman and no signs of budging.

 

[BENNO]

Are you happy with how the club b has been run in the past few years?

Well, to answer that will take a while so here goes.

Personally i don't really have a massive problem with how the club is being run as the two things i'd hate most would be 1) Spurs under 'sports washing' ownership 2) Spurs in huge financial difficulties. And i've put them that way round because i'd rather be skint than sell my soul - but maybe that's just me.

I'd also add that i come from a time in football when nobody really questioned the owners of a club unless they were about to bankrupt it (do any Levy outers even remember Irving Scholar?) . My thinking is 'who am i to question someone who's doing a job 99.9% of us wouldn't have a clue how to do' ?

For context, I was a 16yr old at the 1984 UEFA Cup final, then got myself a season ticket from the Gerry Francis days up until Poch (so yes, i basically missed the best bit). In a lot of that time we were shit, like lower half and even relegation fighting shit, but at home we occasionally managed to wind up the top teams enough to get an opponent sent off and we could grab a draw, or once or twice even a narrow win....but most of the time we were completely outclassed by the top sides at our place, and i can well remember sides like West ham and Fulham (under Tigana i think) playing us off the park as well.

Then we eventually got better, and for a few years were in an enjoyable battle to be 'best of the rest' (5th spot) with Villa under O'Neill and Everton under Moyes, and then once we started to win that battle things improved greatly.

So under Levy/Enic i've seen us become a 'big' club again ( and i say again because yes, we once were a big club but then the footballing landscape changed and we were nothing of the sort for a decade or so). I've also had the pleasure of seeing stars like Berbatov, Modric and Bale play for my club. The last two absolute world class superstars (whisper it quietly but all signed under Levy). There would be a whole host of signings like Keane, Defoe, Dembele, Vertonghen, Rafael VdV etc etc etc who i've enjoyed watching and we've been lucky to have.

I've seen us play great in cup finals and fairly shit in a few and still win them. I've seen us play reasonably well and win our last trophy with a lucky 'header' that was a ricochet off Woodgates face. I've seen us play pretty well in several semi finals and finals and not win them. If only a ball had ricocheted off someones face in one of those matches then the 'what have we won recently' question wouldn't exist but obviously i have to acknowledge the fact that we haven't won a trophy for X amount of time under Levy.

I will always argue that we've been in a position to win more than one trophy during that spell though, and the reason we didn't wasn't because of Levy - most of the time we lost to a better team, which is allowed in sport - but also we really didn't get much luck in a few of them and sometimes a bit of luck can be all the difference you need.

We now have a magnificent stadium and have managed to keep hold of both Kane and Son for umpteen years, when most trophy-less clubs wouldn't have been able to, so we've all been able to enjoy watching our latest superstars. That's no mean feat imo, but much overlooked.

I've got far far more patience than most on here and definitely those on Twitter, and i truly believe that the building of the stadium will end up being recognized as the stroke of genius that it undoubtedly is, but it might be another 5 or 10 years before that happens. As touched on in earlier post, i think Covid and more specifically the timing of Covid straight after we moved in, was a massive set back that we've done amazingly well to navigate. Unfortunately we live in an age where patience barely exists anymore.

Last season was absolutely shit, the first time i've ever wanted a season to end and wished for the summer, yet the reality is that in our worst season in recent memory we've been pipped by 1 point by Villa (once our 'best of the rest' rival) and we've not made Europe for the first time in 13 or 14 years. Levy was in charge for those 13 or 14 years so you can bash him for this years failure, but you then have to acknowledge the years of consistent European football.

So while i'm definitely not thrilled with where we are right now and i definitely see we have plenty of hurdles to overcome, especially with the way the squad looks, i am still relatively calm and relatively happy with Levy because i honestly believe the financial clout and 'standing' of our club now is such that we will never again be that shit side i had to endure watching during my early Season Ticket holding days (five 0-0 home draws in a row under G.Graham wasn't it ?) and i honestly believe that we will win things in the not to distant future given a little bit of luck here and there.

I would honestly say my main worry for the next season is the 'Levy out' brigade, because we need the crowd behind a new manger and new players, especially when they are likely to be playing a style of football that'll be fraught with danger and will need nerves of steel, not gasps and boos from the crowd. I hope the crowd are able to make a clear distinction in their right to protest against Levy, and their need to support the team - i'd like to think the match going fans , especially our away fans, tend to get that more right than wrong.

 

[septicsac]

I think the VDV signing went to Levy's noggin, after that he though he was a football genius. However, we have had multiple comments/snippets from people in football referencing how difficult he is to deal with and at this stage it is becoming abundantly clear he is hurting the football side of the club.
Would I be happy for him to step away from the football side and just run the business side, yes of course, can he resist the temptation to interfere, I highly doubt it and only time will tell.

 

[only1waddle]

I think the VDV signing went to Levy's noggin, after that he though he was a football genius. However, we have had multiple comments/snippets from people in football referencing how difficult he is to deal with and at this stage it is becoming abundantly clear he is hurting the football side of the club.
Would I be happy for him to step away from the football side and just run the business side, yes of course, can he resist the temptation to interfere, I highly doubt it and only time will tell.

I suspect Levy is very much like high up management, operations managers I've encountered, If others below them in the company make mistakes it gets highlighted, if they make a mistake it suddenly becomes ok to make a mistake or swept under the carpet.

 

[Keith Morris]

For what it’s worth despite the obvious frustrations with Levy and the breakdown in communications from the executive board to fans, I still would be extremely cautious in swapping him for an American or a Middle Eastern takeover. I think he has sustainably of the Finances of the club high on the agenda and let’s see what happens with some of the bankrolled clubs of late - Leicester is a good example. I want trophies but winning the top trophies is harder than ever right now so a succinct plan with small objectives for example league cup and conference league and then progression in champions league need to be outlined. I think the pack mentality and the fan narrative is too easy at times

 

[Albertbarich]

Well, to answer that will take a while so here goes.

Personally i don't really have a massive problem with how the club is being run as the two things i'd hate most would be 1) Spurs under 'sports washing' ownership 2) Spurs in huge financial difficulties. And i've put them that way round because i'd rather be skint than sell my soul - but maybe that's just me.

I'd also add that i come from a time in football when nobody really questioned the owners of a club unless they were about to bankrupt it (do any Levy outers even remember Irving Scholar?) . My thinking is 'who am i to question someone who's doing a job 99.9% of us wouldn't have a clue how to do' ?

For context, I was a 16yr old at the 1984 UEFA Cup final, then got myself a season ticket from the Gerry Francis days up until Poch (so yes, i basically missed the best bit). In a lot of that time we were shit, like lower half and even relegation fighting shit, but at home we occasionally managed to wind up the top teams enough to get an opponent sent off and we could grab a draw, or once or twice even a narrow win....but most of the time we were completely outclassed by the top sides at our place, and i can well remember sides like West ham and Fulham (under Tigana i think) playing us off the park as well.

Then we eventually got better, and for a few years were in an enjoyable battle to be 'best of the rest' (5th spot) with Villa under O'Neill and Everton under Moyes, and then once we started to win that battle things improved greatly.

So under Levy/Enic i've seen us become a 'big' club again ( and i say again because yes, we once were a big club but then the footballing landscape changed and we were nothing of the sort for a decade or so). I've also had the pleasure of seeing stars like Berbatov, Modric and Bale play for my club. The last two absolute world class superstars (whisper it quietly but all signed under Levy). There would be a whole host of signings like Keane, Defoe, Dembele, Vertonghen, Rafael VdV etc etc etc who i've enjoyed watching and we've been lucky to have.

I've seen us play great in cup finals and fairly shit in a few and still win them. I've seen us play reasonably well and win our last trophy with a lucky 'header' that was a ricochet off Woodgates face. I've seen us play pretty well in several semi finals and finals and not win them. If only a ball had ricocheted off someones face in one of those matches then the 'what have we won recently' question wouldn't exist but obviously i have to acknowledge the fact that we haven't won a trophy for X amount of time under Levy.

I will always argue that we've been in a position to win more than one trophy during that spell though, and the reason we didn't wasn't because of Levy - most of the time we lost to a better team, which is allowed in sport - but also we really didn't get much luck in a few of them and sometimes a bit of luck can be all the difference you need.

We now have a magnificent stadium and have managed to keep hold of both Kane and Son for umpteen years, when most trophy-less clubs wouldn't have been able to, so we've all been able to enjoy watching our latest superstars. That's no mean feat imo, but much overlooked.

I've got far far more patience than most on here and definitely those on Twitter, and i truly believe that the building of the stadium will end up being recognized as the stroke of genius that it undoubtedly is, but it might be another 5 or 10 years before that happens. As touched on in earlier post, i think Covid and more specifically the timing of Covid straight after we moved in, was a massive set back that we've done amazingly well to navigate. Unfortunately we live in an age where patience barely exists anymore.

Last season was absolutely shit, the first time i've ever wanted a season to end and wished for the summer, yet the reality is that in our worst season in recent memory we've been pipped by 1 point by Villa (once our 'best of the rest' rival) and we've not made Europe for the first time in 13 or 14 years. Levy was in charge for those 13 or 14 years so you can bash him for this years failure, but you then have to acknowledge the years of consistent European football.

So while i'm definitely not thrilled with where we are right now and i definitely see we have plenty of hurdles to overcome, especially with the way the squad looks, i am still relatively calm and relatively happy with Levy because i honestly believe the financial clout and 'standing' of our club now is such that we will never again be that shit side i had to endure watching during my early Season Ticket holding days (five 0-0 home draws in a row under G.Graham wasn't it ?) and i honestly believe that we will win things in the not to distant future given a little bit of luck here and there.

I would honestly say my main worry for the next season is the 'Levy out' brigade, because we need the crowd behind a new manger and new players, especially when they are likely to be playing a style of football that'll be fraught with danger and will need nerves of steel, not gasps and boos from the crowd. I hope the crowd are able to make a clear distinction in their right to protest against Levy, and their need to support the team - i'd like to think the match going fans , especially our away fans, tend to get that more right than wrong.

This is a really good post

I don't agree with a lot of it in that I think it paints one side of the picture very well and ignores the other but I appreciate the love and positivity for the club.

To try and summarise where I'm at . Were poorly run from the football side and the ambition shown off field is nowhere near matched on field. Yes we have been spending more but for us to compete that player wage bill needs to increase hugely for example.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Always wondered if he believes the crap he spouts or if he knows but doesn’t care.

So true would be interesting to know which one it is.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Hope this helps @BENNO

This is very true but it’s a bit selective as you could also pick out that Poch got Toby Alderwield and Son and Wanyama, you could pick that Jose got Bale, Reguillon, PEH, Conte got Bentancur, Kulusevski, Richarlison, Perisic, Porro and Bissouma…

I think there is a balance to be had in this argument.

Could and should managers have been backed ‘better’ or ‘more’ in terms of quality and quantity of players? Yes

Have some of the big money signings flopped? Yes (Ndombele, Lo Celso, Gil etc)

Have we increased our spending more as the stadium revenues have started to come in? Yes

The bigger issue imo has been Levy’s supposed ‘involvement’ on the football side both in terms of ins and outs, holding up transfers, pennypinching leading to some deal not happening and generally not having a consistent football strategy so the player recruitment has been scattergun at best.

Im hopeful that now we have Big Ange in on a 4 year deal and Munn as Chief Football Officer that we will give Ange a good level of control and ‘backing’ to add to and reshape what is a bloated but decent squad.

We shall see…

 

[For the love of Spurs]

This is very true but it’s a bit selective as you could also pick out that Poch got Toby Alderwield and Son and Wanyama, you could pick that Jose got Bale, Reguillon, PEH, Conte got Bentancur, Kulusevski, Richarlison, Perisic, Porro and Bissouma…

I think there is a balance to be had in this argument.

Could and should managers have been backed ‘better’ or ‘more’ in terms of quality and quantity of players? Yes

Have some of the big money signings flopped? Yes (Ndombele, Lo Celso, Gil etc)

Have we increased our spending more as the stadium revenues have started to come in? Yes

The bigger issue imo has been Levy’s supposed ‘involvement’ on the football side both in terms of ins and outs, holding up transfers, pennypinching leading to some deal not happening and generally not having a consistent football strategy so the player recruitment has been scattergun at best.

Im hopeful that now we have Big Ange in on a 4 year deal and Munn as Chief Football Officer that we will give Ange a good level of control and ‘backing’ to add to and reshape what is a bloated but decent squad.

We shall see…

the main issue is there is no real plan. We buy random players, Conte didn’t seem to want Spence and Bissouma but we got them anyway. It’s not backing the manager to randomly buy players Levy wants. The club needs to grow up and become adults, we need a plan that says this is what we want to be and build the whole club around that. That hasn’t existed thus far. I am hoping Ange and Scott Munn means something more positive on that front.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

the main issue is there is no real plan. We buy random players, Conte didn’t seem to want Spence and Bissouma but we got them anyway. It’s not backing the manager to randomly buy players Levy wants. The club needs to grow up and become adults, we need a plan that says this is what we want to be and build the whole club around that. That hasn’t existed thus far. I am hoping Ange and Scott Munn means something more positive on that front.

mate.

For example Spence & Bissouma are both decent signings but not if the manager doesn’t want to use them in his plans.

Im glad you and others agree that it’s the lack of a consistent plan that is the main overriding issue.

Hopefully with Big Ange on a 4 year deal that shouldn’t be the case now.

 

[BENNO]

This is a really good post

I don't agree with a lot of it in that I think it paints one side of the picture very well and ignores the other but I appreciate the love and positivity for the club.

To try and summarise where I'm at . Were poorly run from the football side and the ambition shown off field is nowhere near matched on field. Yes we have been spending more but for us to compete that player wage bill needs to increase hugely for example.

Thank you, i appreciate your comments, even if we disagree on things. I totally agree on the wage bill btw, although i do think we might see Kane get offered a £350k per week type deal in the near future, which will inevitably then drive the rest of the wages up.

I hope some of the things that are being implemented right now point to Levy trying to change the things that haven't been working well and him distancing himself further from the football side. Munn and Ange seem positive steps, let's hope we get a DoF in fairly soon and see where we go from there. At the end of the day, i'm pretty sure all of us just want to see our club doing well and feel really connected to it again.

 

[Hoopspur]

mate.

For example Spence & Bissouma are both decent signings but not if the manager doesn’t want to use them in his plans.

Im glad you and others agree that it’s the lack of a consistent plan that is the main overriding issue.

Hopefully with Big Ange on a 4 year deal that shouldn’t be the case now.

I can totally understand the Spence purchase if it is to follow the Walker/Naughton route. Kyle went to Villa Park for a season after all.

 

[For the love of Spurs]

I can totally understand the Spence purchase if it is to follow the Walker/Naughton route. Kyle went to Villa Park for a season after all.

yes but if it comes at the expense of doing the main deals the manager wants. We have had multiple defenders including Kim, Skrinair, Bastoni and Ruben Dias that either Jose or Conte wanted and ended up with Rodon and such. This club is to poor or at least behaves to poor to be running speculatory side projects that hurt the main one.

 

[sundanceyid10]

This is the sad thing. We should all be excited about the new coach but so many are tempering that excitement with the reality of Levy and his inabilty to leave things alone.

Because history tells how things go with Levy. I want to be excited but it’s pointless pretending reality doesn’t exist and you don’t solve problems by pretending they don’t exist. I wish the new manager well but he is entertaining a very difficult project.

 

[sundanceyid10]

I wish people would stop banging on about how much money we spend, especially over the last few years. It's a red herring and makes it easy for Levy and his valiant defenders to counter justified criticism.

The issue isn't how much we spend, it's the fact that we spend it without any coherent strategy in place, we often look for 'value' (ie bargains) at the expense of what we actually need and we hang on to players for far too long in a vain and unrealistic attempt to recoup money that is never going to get recouped.

So we inevitably end up with a lot of false economies and a very unbalanced squad. All of this (lack of) strategy is overseen by Levy and the fact that he doesn't seem able to recognise (or at least acknowledge) this is a pretty big fucking problem and until he does nothing is going to change in any kind of meaningful way.

We are definitely spending money at the moment on all the managers Levy has hired then fired. Almost as if he is making it up as he goes along….

 

[sundanceyid10]

Trouble is Lincoln only managed 4 years as President, think Levy has done 22 years as Chairman and no signs of budging.

No signs of any trophies either.

 

[Hoopspur]

No signs of any trophies either.

Think his achievements were worth more than a few trophies though. He led the Union in the Civil War; abolished Slavery and created the Constitution for modern day U.S. All in the 4 years before he was assassinated. A reasonable record tbh. Although granted he didn’t create a 62k super stadium I guess.

 

[carmeldevil]

Trouble is Lincoln only managed 4 years as President, think Levy has done 22 years as Chairman and no signs of budging.

Levy has managed to avoid Ford Theater