ENIC...

[Cream]

Despite the source this is a very well written piece

LevyWorld: Where Shambition Meets Unammusement

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article for this site talking about the horrific, dystopian unamusement park that is Levyworld – a place where all your dreams come to be crushed beneath the tight-fitting oxfords of a tight-fisted, penny-pinching peddler of mediocrity and shambition. I spoke...

theboyhotspur.com

 

[McArchibald]

At least there is almost no need for me or other Levy critics to keep denouncing his duplicity and shambolic management in this thread - week upon week he builds the case against himself more effectively than anyone else ever could.

 

[yankspurs]

I think the only way out for Levy/Spurs in this situation would have been to drop £150m on a couple of strikers and hold onto Kane, until next summer.

Statement of intent, we don't get bullied, plus we'll need the strikers anyway...and if we sign the right ones they should be assets that retain their value.

And it forces Kane to work hard, thus increasing his value when we finally sell him.

You need deep pockets to operate at the highest levels of elite football; that's just the reality of it.

Kane will never work hard or play for this team again. He plays for himself. He doesnt give a shit about anything else. He needs to be sent to the reserves & either sold in January or the summer. If only City were fucking serious this summer. But I suppose they saw it as “sign kane when we dont really necessarily need to but potentially regain a competitor in a few years or dont sign him, lose a competitor for 10 years & sign Haaland next summer” choice. And thats the easiest choice to make. We would have made the same one too in there situation.

 

[ginola99]

Despite the source this is a very well written piece

LevyWorld: Where Shambition Meets Unammusement

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article for this site talking about the horrific, dystopian unamusement park that is Levyworld – a place where all your dreams come to be crushed beneath the tight-fitting oxfords of a tight-fisted, penny-pinching peddler of mediocrity and shambition. I spoke...

theboyhotspur.com

'I had thought of starting to refer to the place as White Shart Lane, but it’s actually a bit harsh on sharts. At least they follow through.'

Ouch.

Used to hate this guy and avoid his stuff like the plague. But, everything he says is true and one interesting point he made - we sold Bale, Lamela and Vinicious (30 goals between them) before replacing them with one attacking player, Gill.

Considering we sold Mousa Dembele and didn't replace him, can we be surprised?

 

[Delboy75]

It really depends what your ENIC out is based on. If it’s total football mismanagement since CL final then fine. If it’s pure spending tbh they’ve spent in last 3 years just about where we are 5/6th club. The point is if your argument is based on spending then you need A Mansour or Abramovich to replace them to justify it. Because those are the only 2 examples of owners spending wise that could take us forward. FSG model is much like ours they just did well to get klopp. United is a revenue juggernaut. The reality is unfortunately how many Mansour or Abramovich out there. Be utterly pointless to get them out for a like for like spending operation.

 

[deppman007]

I'm as fed up as everyone else here. It's a joke - we as fans are being taken for a ride. My view is, in game protests don't work - it won't change the ownership: look at Newcastle. We can't just stop going to the games because tourists will buy up most of the tickets anyway and a lot of us have season tickets but we could boycot a game - a big one - still turn up to the ground but don't go in, and protest outside the stadium.

 

[JCRD]

We’re fans. We show up, support the team on the day. But as for the beers, food, club shop, merchandise, gigs, skywalks, tours, museum, boxing and all that other shite grabbing for our wallets, it can fuck off. The club is just a cash cow, a base in which to stick a multi-purpose venue in a poor part of London with the regular income from saps like us to keep it busy in between. I don’t want a fucking global brand. I want to enjoy watching my team. But they’ve been swallowed up and spat out by N17’s version of the O2. Football is not the priority at the club and that is appalling.

We are a franchise or becoming as such. It is all very American.

I agree though but its not feasible, I guess we all are suckers and suckers when at games with the beers, merch, food etc etc etc

I dont mind a global brand if its married up with success and ambition. But on its own, its soulless and empty. We are supposed to be a football club first but like others have said, thats secondary.

 

[rez9000]

We can fo something. And it's fuck all. Literally fuck all. Don't go to the stadium. Don't buy any products.

Do fuck all.

Its that simple.

I know where you're coming from, Cream but, unfortunately, non-attendance won't be effective.

If ST holders don't go to games, they've still sold those tickets. That won't affect the bottom line. If non-ST Spurs fans stop buying tickets, you'd need to rely on the entire fanbase to not buy them and even then there's the possibility of selling them to non Spurs fans.

I agree on the not buying of products, but even then, for that to have an effect, it would require both your dyed-in-the-wool fan and your casual fan to stop doing it for it to have an effect. Not singling them out for their nationality, but have you seen the number of people who appear to be from East Asia in and around the Spurs store, drawn by the South Korean hero we have in our ranks?

Outside of those who are genuinely dyed-in-the-wool Spurs fans, they don't care if Daniel Levy isn't looking after the footballing side of things at Spurs. They want to come and bask in the reflected glory of Sonny by buying a Spurs shirt with his name on it, plus a couple of hundred quids' worth of other sundry souvenirs. And that's before you take to consideration all the others who might visit the stadium who have nothing to do with Korea or Sonny.

What's needed is publicity that will make commentators say something. A less-than-packed stadium draws no comment - have we ever heard them say word one about the Etihad and its enormous patches of empty seating? No.

What's needed is, sad to say, publicity-stuntesque things. If a large section of the crowd get up and walk off the terraces at, say, the 61st minute of a game - that draws comment. "Why are they leaving? What's happened? We sent Jeff Shreeves (or whichever ill-educated non-entity Sky employ these days) to find out."; or "Breaking BBC sports news: Spurs fans hold mass walkout in protest at Daniel Levy's stewardship of the club."

That's how you get their attention - put them under the glare of a spotlight. They don't like publicity - neither Levy nor Lewis. How many interviews has Levy done in the last twenty years? How many has Lewis?

Ultimately, we can't hit them in the pocket hard enough to have an effect. But there's a slight possibility we can hit them somewhere sensitive - their burning desire to remain reclusive.

 

[Dougal]

We are a franchise or becoming as such. It is all very American.

I agree though but its not feasible, I guess we all are suckers and suckers when at games with the beers, merch, food etc etc etc

I dont mind a global brand if its married up with success and ambition. But on its own, its soulless and empty. We are supposed to be a football club first but like others have said, thats secondary.

Spend money in the area, not the club. People will say you should be putting the money into the club but for what? What do we get from it? Give it to local small businesses, pubs, takeaways, etc.

 

[yankspurs]

You just know Levy is behind this

 

[southlondonyiddo]

You just know Levy is behind this

haha ffs

Yeah the Premier League definitely needs more international exposure. Only 1.5 billion people watch it every week

another nail for the coffin…

 

[YB123]

Like groundhog day talking about ENIC isnt it....

 

[taricco]

The problem to me is that Levy has lost his bollocks, as well as any vision. It's funny people moan that he won't listen, won't learn etc when to me a big part of it is that he has become much more sensitive to criticism and what people are saying about him.

Beforehand he seemed absolutely focused and unruffled by any criticism and you could be fairly sure that for good or bad he was doing what he thought was right operationally and they had a plan long term of where they wanted to get to and would stick by it even when things got difficult.

Now though he bends with the wind and makes short term fixes to avert public opinion.

"Where's ya trophies?" - appoints Mourinho.

"The football's shit" - promises to make this right with the next manager and change direction once more.

"step aside from football matters" - Appoints a DOF, clearly rushed this and just appointed the first person he saw with a reasonable CV. Unfortunately they see football differently, and because he rushed was then left in a pickle choosing between his attacking DNA promise vs. giving up the football decisions to someone else.....

The transfer policy has collapsed, caught between our successful buy/sell model of younger players and unconvincingly trying to set our sights bigger. Etc etc etc.

The best thing he can do ASAP is to decide policy for how the club is run and team operates, make key and consistent decisions to reflect this, and then stick to it. Stop lurching about and focus man.

the word ‘focus’ is an interesting one. The way that Levy runs the business seems to be almost like a small private family business than a multi billion pound corporation. It’s all a bit small time. I wonder if, with the opening of the stadium, the property deals etc, it’s just a bit much for them? Too many distractions and a business not completely focused.

 

[sidford]

Looks like MNF will be doing a piece on yesterdays shambles, let's hope Carra and Neville go beyond just picking apart from happened on the pitch and raise questions most of us are rising about what is happening behind the scenes and the shit show of a club we continue to be.

 

[sidford]

Unhappy staff, eye-catching exits and dire football - how Tottenham lost their way

Spurs' 18-month identity crisis goes well beyond Nuno Espirito Santo's tactics or an unhappy Harry Kane

www.telegraph.co.uk

Unhappy staff, a toxic boardroom and dire football - how Tottenham lost their way
Spurs' 18-month identity crisis goes well beyond Nuno Espirito Santo's tactics or an unhappy Harry Kane


For many of Tottenham Hotspur’s long-standing staff, the final straw came in March last year when, just 30 minutes before a public announcement, an email dropped into their inboxes informing them of the intention to implement 20 per cent pay cuts and furloughing.

The decision was eventually reversed, but the reputational damage was done and employees who grew up and worked with Spurs in their blood no longer recognised a club who are suffering an identity crisis which has taken its toll on and off the pitch.

Nuno Espirito Santo accepted the blame for Tottenham’s third successive Premier League defeat, against Arsenal on Sunday, but a fish rots from the head and only so much responsibility can be put at the door of the club’s latest head coach – however bewildering his team selection and formation had been.

Rather than asking Tottenham’s billionaire owner, Joe Lewis, to help the club through the coronavirus pandemic from his personal fortune, Spurs were prepared to take government money and ask their employees to make a financial sacrifice at a time of great personal uncertainty during a global pandemic.


A week after the first email, a second email landed telling furloughed staff they must no longer check their company email or answer any Tottenham-related telephone calls. Those who were to continue to work were asked to sign a document stating they agreed to the wage cut and the temporary changes to their contracts with no mention of what might happen if they refused.

Chairman Daniel Levy had also given consideration to putting some of the club’s staff who had not been furloughed to work at his Hertfordshire estate, which caused astonishment rather than outrage.

Another week passed before, under intense pressure, Tottenham reversed their decision and only board members took pay cuts, but it was too late to change the ill feeling that continues to resonate through the club. Anybody who thinks star striker Harry Kane is the only unhappy Spurs employee is seriously underestimating the situation.

Kane can probably count on the fact that if he has to stay, he will at least be offered a new contract and another pay rise. But non-playing members of staff were told in the summer that money remained tight and that pay rises and bonuses were unlikely, despite seeing club executives pull up at the training ground in top-of-the-range cars and Serge Aurier paid off to make room in the squad for new signing Emerson Royal.

The talent drain and staff turnover since Tottenham’s Champions League final appearance two years ago has been remarkable and unparalleled in the club’s recent history.

The departures of Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff may have been the most eye-catching exits, along with players such as Christian Eriksen and Kieran Trippier, who have both won league titles since leaving Spurs.

But there have been a number of other non-football changes that have been felt just as keenly inside Tottenham. One of the most unpopular decisions was not to renew the contract of commercial chief Simon Bamber, who sadly died in May.

Bamber was said to be a hugely popular figure who was adored by his team and could be relied upon to give open and honest opinions, despite being present alongside Levy and other board members at key meetings.

Head of marketing Emma Taylor and head of retail Victoria Hawksley left Tottenham, while Selwyn Tash, who worked as a legal consultant for Spurs for well over a decade, is no longer providing his expertise.

Change is necessary inside all big businesses, particularly those who have undertaken such a seismic shift as Tottenham with the move into their £1 billion stadium, but the fabric of the club has undoubtedly been altered.

Over the past two years, Spurs have lost three key members of their communications team, including Simon Felstein, who had been at the club for 15 years. Two talented replacements have been appointed, but Tottenham’s media team remains a person down and smaller than clubs they would count as rivals.

Tottenham now have a situation where the undercurrent of bad feeling over the treatment of certain employees means some staff would prefer not to have to speak to each other and the players are not so cut off that they do not pick up on the bad feeling.

There was genuine shock at the secret plot to form a breakaway European Super League that Spurs were part of. He may not have been one of the drivers of the plan, but, as the only English chairman involved, there was a strong feeling that Levy should have better judged the reaction of the club’s fans.

Tottenham’s Supporters’ Trust called for the immediate resignation of Levy and the club’s executive board, and the lengthy process that eventually resulted in the appointment of Nuno again highlighted the disconnect between the club and the fans.
Fabio Paratici was drafted in as chief football officer midway through the process, even though Spurs already had director of technical performance Steve Hitchen, who had been speaking to candidates with the brief of hiring somebody to deliver attacking and entertaining football.

The brief under Paratici changed and after the Italian had a change of heart over Paulo Fonseca, Gennaro Gattuso was briefly considered. It seems incredible that it took angry fan reaction to alert Spurs to the fact that the appointment of Gattuso would be highly controversial, given some of the statements previously attributed to him.

That plan was quickly ditched and, after being told Brighton coach Graham Potter had no interest in risking his flourishing reputation under Levy, Paratici turned to Nuno – a manager who had previously been discounted for the style of football his Wolverhampton Wanderers team played.


It seemed a remarkable coincidence that as soon as Paratici took charge of the process each and every Tottenham move was documented in the Italian media, and that point was not lost on those who pride themselves on discretion.

As he admitted himself after the Arsenal defeat, Nuno has not entirely helped himself. The statistics behind Tottenham’s results point to a negative approach and his understated style can come across as dour.

But Nuno is also having to try to navigate his way through a mess that has been a long time in the making. Kane’s displeasure and decision to return late for training dates back to last summer, when he first informed Levy that he wanted to leave.

Kane has been forced to stay and Nuno is having to cope, just as he has been trying to coax the best form back out of Dele Alli, who was largely discarded last season.

Alli could have spent last season on loan at Paris St-Germain, where he might have recovered his form and confidence, but Levy would not sanction the move and it is no great surprise that he now looks like a player who has spent longer in the stands than on a football pitch over the past 12 months.

Nuno substituted Alli at half-time at the Emirates, so what now for the 25-year-old? Does he get discarded again or will he be given another chance? Levy is unlikely to want to sell him in January, given Spurs would struggle to get much more than £20 million in the current market.

Tottenham spent money this summer, but none of the new signings have experience of the Premier League, which made it unlikely that they would be able to hit the ground running.

The one player Nuno really wanted, Adama Traore, stayed at Wolves, even though his contract is running down, and Kane is the only senior out-and-out striker at the club because of the failure to sign a partner or a deputy. Spurs could have gazumped Aston Villa’s move for Danny Ings, but decided not to because of the combined cost of his fee and wages.

Nuno still has enough talent at his disposal to steer Tottenham out of their slump, but performances and results must improve quickly. It will, however, take far more than a couple of victories to solve the Spurs identity crisis and stop the rot.

 

[jurgen]

Ouch.

 

[Albertbarich]

Unhappy staff, eye-catching exits and dire football - how Tottenham lost their way

Spurs' 18-month identity crisis goes well beyond Nuno Espirito Santo's tactics or an unhappy Harry Kane

www.telegraph.co.uk

Unhappy staff, a toxic boardroom and dire football - how Tottenham lost their way
Spurs' 18-month identity crisis goes well beyond Nuno Espirito Santo's tactics or an unhappy Harry Kane


For many of Tottenham Hotspur’s long-standing staff, the final straw came in March last year when, just 30 minutes before a public announcement, an email dropped into their inboxes informing them of the intention to implement 20 per cent pay cuts and furloughing.

The decision was eventually reversed, but the reputational damage was done and employees who grew up and worked with Spurs in their blood no longer recognised a club who are suffering an identity crisis which has taken its toll on and off the pitch.

Nuno Espirito Santo accepted the blame for Tottenham’s third successive Premier League defeat, against Arsenal on Sunday, but a fish rots from the head and only so much responsibility can be put at the door of the club’s latest head coach – however bewildering his team selection and formation had been.

Rather than asking Tottenham’s billionaire owner, Joe Lewis, to help the club through the coronavirus pandemic from his personal fortune, Spurs were prepared to take government money and ask their employees to make a financial sacrifice at a time of great personal uncertainty during a global pandemic.


A week after the first email, a second email landed telling furloughed staff they must no longer check their company email or answer any Tottenham-related telephone calls. Those who were to continue to work were asked to sign a document stating they agreed to the wage cut and the temporary changes to their contracts with no mention of what might happen if they refused.

Chairman Daniel Levy had also given consideration to putting some of the club’s staff who had not been furloughed to work at his Hertfordshire estate, which caused astonishment rather than outrage.

Another week passed before, under intense pressure, Tottenham reversed their decision and only board members took pay cuts, but it was too late to change the ill feeling that continues to resonate through the club. Anybody who thinks star striker Harry Kane is the only unhappy Spurs employee is seriously underestimating the situation.

Kane can probably count on the fact that if he has to stay, he will at least be offered a new contract and another pay rise. But non-playing members of staff were told in the summer that money remained tight and that pay rises and bonuses were unlikely, despite seeing club executives pull up at the training ground in top-of-the-range cars and Serge Aurier paid off to make room in the squad for new signing Emerson Royal.

The talent drain and staff turnover since Tottenham’s Champions League final appearance two years ago has been remarkable and unparalleled in the club’s recent history.

The departures of Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff may have been the most eye-catching exits, along with players such as Christian Eriksen and Kieran Trippier, who have both won league titles since leaving Spurs.

But there have been a number of other non-football changes that have been felt just as keenly inside Tottenham. One of the most unpopular decisions was not to renew the contract of commercial chief Simon Bamber, who sadly died in May.

Bamber was said to be a hugely popular figure who was adored by his team and could be relied upon to give open and honest opinions, despite being present alongside Levy and other board members at key meetings.

Head of marketing Emma Taylor and head of retail Victoria Hawksley left Tottenham, while Selwyn Tash, who worked as a legal consultant for Spurs for well over a decade, is no longer providing his expertise.

Change is necessary inside all big businesses, particularly those who have undertaken such a seismic shift as Tottenham with the move into their £1 billion stadium, but the fabric of the club has undoubtedly been altered.

Over the past two years, Spurs have lost three key members of their communications team, including Simon Felstein, who had been at the club for 15 years. Two talented replacements have been appointed, but Tottenham’s media team remains a person down and smaller than clubs they would count as rivals.

Tottenham now have a situation where the undercurrent of bad feeling over the treatment of certain employees means some staff would prefer not to have to speak to each other and the players are not so cut off that they do not pick up on the bad feeling.

There was genuine shock at the secret plot to form a breakaway European Super League that Spurs were part of. He may not have been one of the drivers of the plan, but, as the only English chairman involved, there was a strong feeling that Levy should have better judged the reaction of the club’s fans.

Tottenham’s Supporters’ Trust called for the immediate resignation of Levy and the club’s executive board, and the lengthy process that eventually resulted in the appointment of Nuno again highlighted the disconnect between the club and the fans.
Fabio Paratici was drafted in as chief football officer midway through the process, even though Spurs already had director of technical performance Steve Hitchen, who had been speaking to candidates with the brief of hiring somebody to deliver attacking and entertaining football.

The brief under Paratici changed and after the Italian had a change of heart over Paulo Fonseca, Gennaro Gattuso was briefly considered. It seems incredible that it took angry fan reaction to alert Spurs to the fact that the appointment of Gattuso would be highly controversial, given some of the statements previously attributed to him.

That plan was quickly ditched and, after being told Brighton coach Graham Potter had no interest in risking his flourishing reputation under Levy, Paratici turned to Nuno – a manager who had previously been discounted for the style of football his Wolverhampton Wanderers team played.


It seemed a remarkable coincidence that as soon as Paratici took charge of the process each and every Tottenham move was documented in the Italian media, and that point was not lost on those who pride themselves on discretion.

As he admitted himself after the Arsenal defeat, Nuno has not entirely helped himself. The statistics behind Tottenham’s results point to a negative approach and his understated style can come across as dour.

But Nuno is also having to try to navigate his way through a mess that has been a long time in the making. Kane’s displeasure and decision to return late for training dates back to last summer, when he first informed Levy that he wanted to leave.

Kane has been forced to stay and Nuno is having to cope, just as he has been trying to coax the best form back out of Dele Alli, who was largely discarded last season.

Alli could have spent last season on loan at Paris St-Germain, where he might have recovered his form and confidence, but Levy would not sanction the move and it is no great surprise that he now looks like a player who has spent longer in the stands than on a football pitch over the past 12 months.

Nuno substituted Alli at half-time at the Emirates, so what now for the 25-year-old? Does he get discarded again or will he be given another chance? Levy is unlikely to want to sell him in January, given Spurs would struggle to get much more than £20 million in the current market.

Tottenham spent money this summer, but none of the new signings have experience of the Premier League, which made it unlikely that they would be able to hit the ground running.

The one player Nuno really wanted, Adama Traore, stayed at Wolves, even though his contract is running down, and Kane is the only senior out-and-out striker at the club because of the failure to sign a partner or a deputy. Spurs could have gazumped Aston Villa’s move for Danny Ings, but decided not to because of the combined cost of his fee and wages.

Nuno still has enough talent at his disposal to steer Tottenham out of their slump, but performances and results must improve quickly. It will, however, take far more than a couple of victories to solve the Spurs identity crisis and stop the rot.

That's a totally damning article isn't it

Indefensible.

 

[southlondonyiddo]

It’s nothing personal it’s just business

Remember when BMJ was sacked via text message during a game. The crowd knew he’d gone even before he did. Didn’t deserve that, he’d been fantastic for the football club. Absolute breath of fresh air…

This goes way way way back. Poch truly did an incredible job keeping that club together during the move to Wembley and the extra season when the new ground overran

Could Levy see it? Could he fuck!! Really has fucked everything up again and we are as far away from challenging as ever before in ENIC's time here

All we’ve got to show for it is a lovely ground and training facility

 

[wrd]

Unhappy staff, eye-catching exits and dire football - how Tottenham lost their way

Spurs' 18-month identity crisis goes well beyond Nuno Espirito Santo's tactics or an unhappy Harry Kane

www.telegraph.co.uk

Unhappy staff, a toxic boardroom and dire football - how Tottenham lost their way
Spurs' 18-month identity crisis goes well beyond Nuno Espirito Santo's tactics or an unhappy Harry Kane


For many of Tottenham Hotspur’s long-standing staff, the final straw came in March last year when, just 30 minutes before a public announcement, an email dropped into their inboxes informing them of the intention to implement 20 per cent pay cuts and furloughing.

The decision was eventually reversed, but the reputational damage was done and employees who grew up and worked with Spurs in their blood no longer recognised a club who are suffering an identity crisis which has taken its toll on and off the pitch.

Nuno Espirito Santo accepted the blame for Tottenham’s third successive Premier League defeat, against Arsenal on Sunday, but a fish rots from the head and only so much responsibility can be put at the door of the club’s latest head coach – however bewildering his team selection and formation had been.

Rather than asking Tottenham’s billionaire owner, Joe Lewis, to help the club through the coronavirus pandemic from his personal fortune, Spurs were prepared to take government money and ask their employees to make a financial sacrifice at a time of great personal uncertainty during a global pandemic.


A week after the first email, a second email landed telling furloughed staff they must no longer check their company email or answer any Tottenham-related telephone calls. Those who were to continue to work were asked to sign a document stating they agreed to the wage cut and the temporary changes to their contracts with no mention of what might happen if they refused.

Chairman Daniel Levy had also given consideration to putting some of the club’s staff who had not been furloughed to work at his Hertfordshire estate, which caused astonishment rather than outrage.

Another week passed before, under intense pressure, Tottenham reversed their decision and only board members took pay cuts, but it was too late to change the ill feeling that continues to resonate through the club. Anybody who thinks star striker Harry Kane is the only unhappy Spurs employee is seriously underestimating the situation.

Kane can probably count on the fact that if he has to stay, he will at least be offered a new contract and another pay rise. But non-playing members of staff were told in the summer that money remained tight and that pay rises and bonuses were unlikely, despite seeing club executives pull up at the training ground in top-of-the-range cars and Serge Aurier paid off to make room in the squad for new signing Emerson Royal.

The talent drain and staff turnover since Tottenham’s Champions League final appearance two years ago has been remarkable and unparalleled in the club’s recent history.

The departures of Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff may have been the most eye-catching exits, along with players such as Christian Eriksen and Kieran Trippier, who have both won league titles since leaving Spurs.

But there have been a number of other non-football changes that have been felt just as keenly inside Tottenham. One of the most unpopular decisions was not to renew the contract of commercial chief Simon Bamber, who sadly died in May.

Bamber was said to be a hugely popular figure who was adored by his team and could be relied upon to give open and honest opinions, despite being present alongside Levy and other board members at key meetings.

Head of marketing Emma Taylor and head of retail Victoria Hawksley left Tottenham, while Selwyn Tash, who worked as a legal consultant for Spurs for well over a decade, is no longer providing his expertise.

Change is necessary inside all big businesses, particularly those who have undertaken such a seismic shift as Tottenham with the move into their £1 billion stadium, but the fabric of the club has undoubtedly been altered.

Over the past two years, Spurs have lost three key members of their communications team, including Simon Felstein, who had been at the club for 15 years. Two talented replacements have been appointed, but Tottenham’s media team remains a person down and smaller than clubs they would count as rivals.

Tottenham now have a situation where the undercurrent of bad feeling over the treatment of certain employees means some staff would prefer not to have to speak to each other and the players are not so cut off that they do not pick up on the bad feeling.

There was genuine shock at the secret plot to form a breakaway European Super League that Spurs were part of. He may not have been one of the drivers of the plan, but, as the only English chairman involved, there was a strong feeling that Levy should have better judged the reaction of the club’s fans.

Tottenham’s Supporters’ Trust called for the immediate resignation of Levy and the club’s executive board, and the lengthy process that eventually resulted in the appointment of Nuno again highlighted the disconnect between the club and the fans.
Fabio Paratici was drafted in as chief football officer midway through the process, even though Spurs already had director of technical performance Steve Hitchen, who had been speaking to candidates with the brief of hiring somebody to deliver attacking and entertaining football.

The brief under Paratici changed and after the Italian had a change of heart over Paulo Fonseca, Gennaro Gattuso was briefly considered. It seems incredible that it took angry fan reaction to alert Spurs to the fact that the appointment of Gattuso would be highly controversial, given some of the statements previously attributed to him.

That plan was quickly ditched and, after being told Brighton coach Graham Potter had no interest in risking his flourishing reputation under Levy, Paratici turned to Nuno – a manager who had previously been discounted for the style of football his Wolverhampton Wanderers team played.


It seemed a remarkable coincidence that as soon as Paratici took charge of the process each and every Tottenham move was documented in the Italian media, and that point was not lost on those who pride themselves on discretion.

As he admitted himself after the Arsenal defeat, Nuno has not entirely helped himself. The statistics behind Tottenham’s results point to a negative approach and his understated style can come across as dour.

But Nuno is also having to try to navigate his way through a mess that has been a long time in the making. Kane’s displeasure and decision to return late for training dates back to last summer, when he first informed Levy that he wanted to leave.

Kane has been forced to stay and Nuno is having to cope, just as he has been trying to coax the best form back out of Dele Alli, who was largely discarded last season.

Alli could have spent last season on loan at Paris St-Germain, where he might have recovered his form and confidence, but Levy would not sanction the move and it is no great surprise that he now looks like a player who has spent longer in the stands than on a football pitch over the past 12 months.

Nuno substituted Alli at half-time at the Emirates, so what now for the 25-year-old? Does he get discarded again or will he be given another chance? Levy is unlikely to want to sell him in January, given Spurs would struggle to get much more than £20 million in the current market.

Tottenham spent money this summer, but none of the new signings have experience of the Premier League, which made it unlikely that they would be able to hit the ground running.

The one player Nuno really wanted, Adama Traore, stayed at Wolves, even though his contract is running down, and Kane is the only senior out-and-out striker at the club because of the failure to sign a partner or a deputy. Spurs could have gazumped Aston Villa’s move for Danny Ings, but decided not to because of the combined cost of his fee and wages.

Nuno still has enough talent at his disposal to steer Tottenham out of their slump, but performances and results must improve quickly. It will, however, take far more than a couple of victories to solve the Spurs identity crisis and stop the rot.

Well that is an atrocious article to read

 

[Saoirse]

"I'm not sure any of those (Gallardo, Gerrard, Howe, Potter) except Eddie Howe would actually take the job. Even Potter will be thinking that if he can sign one decent striker in the summer they could actually finish above us next season..."

Back on the 1st of May, that post attracted me 7 Funnies, 2 WTFs, 2 Dohs and a Spam. Now it becomes very apparent that Potter did indeed turn us down, and lo and behold we're below Brighton in the league and playing much worse football. It's amazing how much Levy has managed to harm his position with the fans so much even just since the Mourinho sacking.