What Veliz and Gil did when Kulusevski scored and Levy speaks on Tottenham future and transfers

[mawspurs]

A perfect ending to an imperfect game, it was absolute bedlam. The fans were going crazy in the stands and on the pitch the Tottenham Hotspur players were swarming from everywhere.

Captain Son Heung-min sprinted off the bench to join in, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario ran the length of the turf to leap into the celebrations and Spurs' young Dutch giant Micky van de Ven picked up Pedro Porro clean off his feet and lifted him into the air before roaring towards the west stand.

Source: Football London

 

[Col_M]

I don’t know if you know but you haven’t said what Veliz and Gil did which was the point of the post wasn’t it?

 

[Oscar22]

Just to save your eyes from the visual aids that is Football London…

“Youngster Alejo Veliz went crazy when the goal went in, screaming and yanking the advertising hoarding back and forth in front of him with Bryan Gil, while teenage defender Ashley Phillips bellowed his delight alongside them.

On the other side of Veliz, Rodrigo Bentancur was equally ecstatic while trying not to spill the drink of maté he had in his hand and beside him Giovani Lo Celso pumped his fists into the air over and over again.”

 

[Col_M]

Just to save your eyes from the visual aids that is Football London…

“Youngster Alejo Veliz went crazy when the goal went in, screaming and yanking the advertising hoarding back and forth in front of him with Bryan Gil, while teenage defender Ashley Phillips bellowed his delight alongside them.

On the other side of Veliz, Rodrigo Bentancur was equally ecstatic while trying not to spill the drink of maté he had in his hand and beside him Giovani Lo Celso pumped his fists into the air over and over again.”

wow! How did this story not overshadow the Russell Brand expose?! MSM hate Spurs don’t they!

 

[FloridaSpur]

Just to save your eyes from the visual aids that is Football London…

“Youngster Alejo Veliz went crazy when the goal went in, screaming and yanking the advertising hoarding back and forth in front of him with Bryan Gil, while teenage defender Ashley Phillips bellowed his delight alongside them.

On the other side of Veliz, Rodrigo Bentancur was equally ecstatic while trying not to spill the drink of maté he had in his hand and beside him Giovani Lo Celso pumped his fists into the air over and over again.”

I have never seen any online publication sports related or not, that feature pop up, after pop up and automatic loaded video's.

I gave up looking at anything Football London years ago.

 

[ginola007]

I have never seen any online publication sports related or not, that feature pop up, after pop up and automatic loaded video's.

I gave up looking at anything Football London years ago.

The Headline at Football London always never matches its content.

 

[ginola007]

I was most impressed by Eric Dier. Fans were afraid he would be a disgruntled member of the squad, having lost his place and the leadership position. Yet he was as jubilant at the final whistle as if he were playing. The squad is truly united.

 

[Jamturk]

Love the passion

I feel we're all going to love Veliz one day.

 

[Woodyy]

I have never seen any online publication sports related or not, that feature pop up, after pop up and automatic loaded video's.

I gave up looking at anything Football London years ago.

It’s shocking as I really like both the journalists that cover spurs from there but the site really is absolutely awful.

 

[Arden]

Reader mode is only bearable way to interact with that website.

 

[Twizzle]

^^^ (and the rest of it)

A double helping of Daniel Levy

After years of very little face-to-face communication with the fans, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will soon have met with them twice in a fortnight.

Some far more cynical than this reporter might point out that it's easier to finally speak to the fanbase when things are going well and where was this last season, but any appearance by the publicity-shy 61-year-old to clarify matters is a bonus.

Levy has come under fire over the decades for the lack of silverware won at the club during his 23-year tenure and a feeling that despite the building up of Tottenham Hotspur off the pitch with the new stadium and training ground, not enough has been done on the pitch with mixed decisions made throughout the seasons and summers in between.

The problem is there's rarely any explanations for how decisions are made, indirectly turning Levy into more of a caricature at times than a chairman for the fanbase.

Now he is answering questions from the supporters and while the responses will not appease everyone, at least he is communicating.

The first meeting took place on September 5 with his appearance, along with a number of other board members, at the two-hour Tottenham Hotspur Fan Advisory Board meeting at Lilywhite House alongside the stadium.

It was first revealed at the meeting that an internal manifesto was created earlier this year for all staff within the club.

It read: "N17. It's more than just a place. It's where we dare. It's where we do. All of us, as one. It's home to our history, our heritage and our past; but it's where we focus on the present and future too. Because today is the day when we build the foundations for tomorrow. Foundations that will change lives. For generations.

"Foundations that create extraordinary experiences. Memories to cherish forever and moments which bond us together. It's where we unleash our creativity and welcome the world to our culture, to our community. Where our rich diversity shines. With pride and purpose. Because we all rise when we lift others. DREAM. DARE. DO. TOGETHER."

Some supporters might quibble over just how much daring and doing has been done together over the years.

The minutes of the meeting then state that Levy outlined the club's key objective "to deliver revenues to fund a sustainable, successful football club consistently competing at the top level".

Fans won't particularly want to hear that the key objective of the club is to make money, even if it's in stating that it is to help Spurs compete at the top.

All it needed was to be flipped around. This was the chance for the Tottenham chairman to come out and simply say the club's key objective is to make the club one of the most successful around and they need to deliver the revenues to fund that desire against some of the game's cash-rich giants.

The minutes of the meeting may have done what Levy said a disservice but they are approved by all parties.

Those minutes then state that he further explained: "Football is at the heart of everything the club does and is the club's key driving focus. The club is self-sustaining, competing in the most competitive league in the world.

"The strategy to date has been to invest in the playing squads, build a new training centre and increased stadium capacity. The focus now is to optimize those investments - both tangible and intangible - and drive revenues that enable the club to reinvest in players and create a winning club."

It went on that specifically that means to "improve on-pitch performances with investment in first teams, scouting and recruitment. The club has previously underlined the need for improved recruitment and has undertaken a review of football operations as part of this.

"Develop new and diverse revenue streams - to further fund investment in football and decrease reliance on football revenues such that we protect the long-term sustainability of the club.

"Upgrade our facilities and operations through continued innovation and lead the way in delivering exceptional player and fan experiences - be digital first and data led to enhance fan engagement, service and interaction.

"Revitalise our neighbourhood, something the club has made significant progress on delivering, homes, schools, jobs."

Again it was all very financially-driven, albeit a realistic indication of how clubs must operate as they compete against the billions of their rivals.

Then came transfer talk as the club's operations and finance director Matthew Collecott claimed that since 2018-19 after opening the stadium, Spurs have spent £847,442,145, with a net spend of £605,811,964.

The accounts presented stated that Spurs spent £195,614,698 last season and recouped £46,993,390, meaning a net spend of £148,621,308.

So far in the 2023/24 campaign, Collecott's figures show £253,776,545 spent with £95,367,224, most of that presumably from the up front part of the Harry Kane fee. The net spend so far this season was stated as £158,409,321.

The minutes suggest Levy explained that " significant investment has been made, building for the future both on and off the pitch. Club revenues were only those that the club operations generated.

"Financial Fair Play needed to be properly enforced to be effective and the focus now was on optimising revenues and ensuring that the club’s funding strategy is long-term and sustainable. The club is doing everything possible to maximise revenue to go back into the first team."

​

In the Q&A section of the meeting, a Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust nominee on the fans' board Rachel Martin asked how the club plans to make existing fans feel valued and keep families attending games, urging the board to reverse the matchday ticket price rise.

The minutes state that Levy "confirmed that the club wanted to minimise the impact of rising costs on fans and explained everything was a balance when operating a business". Executive director Donna Maria-Cullen confirmed that a full ticketing review was in hand and that the FAB would be included in discussions going forward.

That news will not be of much comfort to those fans shelling out for the increased matchday ticket costs this season.

Steve Cavalier, also a Trust-nominated member, asked what success looks like for the club and how it is measured.

Levy explained that "this changes over time, but the most important thing for the club is to be a highly-competitive team that wins and, importantly, entertains fans".

One Hotspur member Hemali Patel asked for an update on the long-awaited stadium naming rights.

Chief Commercial Officer Todd Kline explained that "naming rights deals are complicated and we only have one opportunity to name the stadium. Getting the term, fee and brand partnered with all correct are difficult".

When asked if a deal could be done in the foreseeable future, Levy added that "as well as identifying the right brand, the sector the brand operates in is important. Finding a brand and sector that matches the club’s values is vital. There is a trade off with the club’s own brand; where the value of the exposure of brand 'Tottenham Hotspur Stadium' in different markets draws in other revenue and benefits".

The Spurs chairman also said that it was a logical step that there should be an NFL franchise in London once day but that it was something outside the club's control.

Collecott also explained the ownership structure with the minutes detailing "the two holding family trusts – Lewis Family beneficiaries (70.12%) and Levy Family beneficiaries (29.88%) collectively owning 86.58% of Tottenham Hotspur Limited (TopCo) and 13.42% of remaining shares are held by circa 30,000 individuals".

football.london's report about Scott Munn finally officially beginning work as the club's chief football officer later this month was also confirmed with that same timeframe stated at the meeting. The Australian was a guest in the director's box at Saturday's match.

On Tuesday, Levy will appear again in front of the supporters and answer questions at the club's first fans' forum in years. He will do so alongside Postecoglou and Son as well as representatives from the women's first team in new head coach Robert Vilahamn and captain Bethany England.

With 250 fans set to be attendance at the stadium for the meeting, Levy might choose to polish up the delivery of his answers with more emphasis on the football than the financial, but he also has Postecoglou to turn to in that respect.

The Tottenham fans need to see those which figures are actually leading their club right now.

On Saturday at the game, former managing director of football Fabio Paratici was sat up in a box behind the press area, posing for selfies with fans, and not exactly keeping a discreet distance from a club he still enjoys a consultancy role with after a global ban reduced the extent of what he can do.

Thankfully for Levy all eyes and ears are trained towards Postecoglou and the clash between the two men's oratory styles will be fascinating to witness for those in attendance on Tuesday evening.

Levy must know that Postecoglou is the figurehead Spurs have to build around in the years ahead. The Australian has healed a bruised and battered club within just three months despite losing one of the greatest players it's ever had.

For years many fans feared the departure of Harry Kane and when it might eventually come. Yet the reality is that now it has finally come to pass, Postecoglou's thrilling football and the unity of the Spurs squad he has created has meant, sadly or not, few supporters are lamenting the England captain's exit or even mentioning the name of one of the best players in the world.

It's still early days but that in itself might just be the most surprising achievement the Australian has managed so far and it's something that will have taken plenty of heat off Levy, although the chairman could yet be asked about the club's former striker on Tuesday.

The first north London derby arrives a few days later but for Postecoglou it is all about the long game as he seeks to establish an identity to this team.

"That's everything. That’s what I’m talking about, me as a football manager, that's what I've always been about. You can track back my career as long as you want, my teams have always played in a certain way and I think for every club that has appointed me they've appointed me because that's what they're seeking," he said on Saturday.

"It's everything for me. The way we play, it's not just that I believe it's what gets you success, it does, that's what I believe and it has in my career, but it's also says a lot about you, you as a football club when you play the game that way because it requires a fair bit of bravery, a fair bit of courage, a real relentlessness when you play that way and I think that has to sort of marry with the image of the football club."

To dare is to do has not sounded as fitting a Tottenham motto in a long, long time and they have the man from Down Under to thank for that.

There's a theory among some that suggests that Spurs' most successful football period in recent years came when Levy and the board were otherwise engaged and fully focused on the construction of the magnificent stadium that now sits on the high road, a time when perhaps they mostly left more facets of the running of the football side of the club to others.

Then in 2019, just a couple of months after the work was completed on the stadium and it opened to worldwide acclaim, so the club's fortunes on the pitch began to dip dramatically again after the Champions League final.

The counter to that theory is that Fabio Paratici's arrival in 2021 was meant to place a man steeped in football knowledge into a position of power, only for the Italian's first order of business to be to bring in Nuno Espirito Santo.

Whether the theory holds any weight or not, Munn - when he starts this month - has the brief to take charge of all football departments within the club in an even more powerful position created for him than Paratici held.

In his compatriot, Munn has the man to shape the club around and guide it in the right direction. Spurs deserve praise for eventually settling on Ange Postecoglou because regardless of how they got to him, they've struck gold with the Australian. He not only dares but he does.

 

[taidgh]

I was most impressed by Eric Dier. Fans were afraid he would be a disgruntled member of the squad, having lost his place and the leadership position. Yet he was as jubilant at the final whistle as if he were playing. The squad is truly united.

Say what you want about Dier, his (lack of) pace, his fit in Ange's system, but he's always given his all for the shirt and clearly loves the club. I think some fans forget this all too easily.

 

[Col_M]

@Arden thanks for posting that it was an interesting read.

amazingly that article will hardly have been read due to the psychedelics on that website whereby most readers will have given up after one paragraph. Such a waste of journalistic talent.

 

[Fidget]

The Headline at Football London always never matches its content.

‘Always never’

 

[Dazzazzad]

Speaking of Levy, I've wondered why they never show him after goals. They only ever cut to him in random down time during games. Does he celebrate? Would be very curious how he reacts to a crazy moment like yesterday.

 

[Col_M]

Speaking of Levy, I've wondered why they never show him after goals. They only ever cut to him in random down time during games. Does he celebrate? Would be very curious how he reacts to a crazy moment like yesterday.

That IS him celebrating!

 

[ginola007]

Love the passion

I feel we're all going to love Veliz one day.

 

[ginola007]

‘Always never’

Seldom ever