However you wish to frame the dismissal of Harry Redknapp from White Hart Lane, it is fair to say that the decision to oust a man who bestowed a higher win ratio than Bill Nicholson, polarized supporters.
And the man who ultimately squeezed the trigger on the now former Spurs boss, is hardly something of a shrinking violet himself. Daniel Levy is a man who holds Tottenham Hotspur as close to his heart as any supporter. But his tenure as head honcho at White Hart Lane has not gone without moments of misjudgment and untimely error.
Yet it feels like the tongues of some sections of the Tottenham faithful have adopted a different tone this time around. An element of the critique aimed at Levy has been doused in toxicity. Some seem to be looking beyond the removal of Harry Redknapp as what they perceive to be a boardroom nightmare. Some, it would appear, are using it as a motif of Levy and the ENIC group’s failure to take the club forward- a representation of how they are stagnating the club’s direction with their static ambition. Every fan is entitled to an opinion. But those hiding behind the façade of Redknapp’s dismissal to lampoon the chairman have lost sight of the bigger picture.
The sticking point for some has been what sort of message the club is embodying by getting rid of Redknapp, with the buzzword ‘ambition’, cropping up more than a few times on message boards. Whispers of a rumored reign in on transfer funds have dismayed some. There is a certain school of thought that entertains the prospect that Levy is looking for a younger manager, willing to harness the resources of youth at Tottenham, whilst the club batons down the hatches for the Northumberland Development Project in the recent future. This has been greeted by more than a couple of grumbles of discontent.
Of course, we are basing an argument solely on rumored hypothesis, which is always a danger in football. No one can really be sure what sort of transfer war chest is available in N17. But the club is very shrewdly run and usually makes a net gain in the transfer market – the recent sale of Niko Kranjcar is a good vindication of Levy’s hardline stance on transfer policy.. There will be money to spend, as the nearly completed capture of Jan Vertonghen demonstrates and the sale of deadwood will raise more funds. Plus, despite how much of a blow it would be to loose the Croatian, a possible transfer fee in excess of £30million for Luka Modric, would represent a fantastic chance to invest in the squad.
But for some, this isn’t enough. The time, it is thought, is now. With all other clubs diving into their pockets, there have been calls for Spurs to go for broke, of sorts. Bring in someone like Frank Rijkaard on a lucrative contract. Trump his $16million contract to match Saudi Arabia, why not. Whilst we’re there, give him £60 million to spend, raise the wage-bracket slightly to make sure Modric and Bale stay and plough on for a third placed-finish next season. We were title challengers at one point weren’t we; we can’t be that far off surely?
Except Tottenham are a long way off. In fact, they’re light-years behind Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and even Arsenal.
Those who can’t understand why Levy didn’t splurge Tottenham’s bloated revenue from their Champions League run are the same people who are currently sniping at Levy for his lack of ambition.
Daniel Levy won’t go for broke this summer to get Champions League football next season, because he isn’t Peter Ridsdale. Investing that heavily in the squad is unsustainable. If you ignore the fact the club would be stretching just by paying the transfer fees, the wages on lucrative, multi-year contracts are ticking financial time bombs.
Arsenal can take a few more punts in the transfer market and pay the £100k plus contracts knowing that even if they finish fifth next season, or the season after, they can survive. Chelsea, City and United can clearly do this with far more ease. Tottenham Hotspur, on the other hand, would be in big trouble. There is no match-day cash cow like the Emirates down the High Road last time I checked. There is a distinct absence of petromillions, too. Until they behold a new stadium, Tottenham cannot compete with their rivals in the financial sense.
Some seem to be questioning why Levy and ENIC are receiving plaudits for a stadium that hasn’t been built yet. One article on the Internet the other day even satirized the involvement of a well-known Supermarket chain in the NDP. And this is the problem.
Whilst investing in the first-team, prioritizing that Spurs are competitive in the league and looking to challenge for European football, Levy and his partners have spent (an estimated) £90million on acquiring land and submitting planning applications. The involvement of the Supermarket is another masterstroke set to pay for a large bulk of this. These are the real decisions that are moving the club forward, however slow that movement may seem. We are in a far, far better place now, than when Levy and ENIC took over – both on and off the pitch.
No one can sit down and criticize supporters for weary hearts and minds when looking into the Premier League crystal ball. We watch football and support Tottenham Hotspur for what is going on, on the pitch, not off of it. But supporting a football club is a journey that lasts a hell of a lot longer than a couple of seasons. If Levy really is shoring money up to ensure the NDP gets off the ground, then we should all be backing the chairman to the hilt- because the brutal reality is that the club can never ascertain any form of prolonged success without a new stadium.
The fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur have changed immeasurably over the last decade. And with changing fortunes come changing ambitions. But we need to look to the past to gain perspective. This time ten years ago, Spurs were welcoming Milenko Acimovic and Jonathan Blondel to the Lane. Hopefully in five years time, Spurs will have a new, 60,000-seater stadium and the financial springboard to mount for real honors. The journey is still continuing, but make no mistake, Daniel Levy is continuing to take this club forward- however you feel about Harry Redknapp.
In Levy we trust? Faith in the future? Or dismay at the present? Let me know where you stand on it all, for all things Spurs, follow @samuel_antrobus on Twitter.
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