Hi all, I have another article for you from Don Scully, this time, he looks at Tottenham since Levy’s been in charge and compares our trophy haul (one trophy) with the other top five clubs. In some parts said tongue-firmly-in-cheek, in other parts, he makes some serious points. Agree, disagree, but what do you think?
This article appears on the website spursnetwork.com, its Facebook page and other Facebook pages. Best Regards, Glenn
To have Trophies or not to have Trophies Mr Levy? That is the Question.
By Don Scully
Full credit to Daniel Levy for building a magnificent stadium for us Supporters. It is a sight to behold—one of the most incredible stadiums in this country, if not the world. As some have said, it is a cash cow. It will bring in the dosh, but for who?
Now we’ve got the stadium, it is time to concentrate on players. Obviously, we need to build and build quickly before we start falling behind the other top five teams. Building means having the right manager in place, the right backers (who want to see trophies galore) and the money that equals the other top five clubs. To cheat on any of these will mean we slip further away from the elite five.
When Levy took over the club, he promised us “Glorys”, and seven years later, we got our first minor trophy, the League Cup, in 2008. Since then, nothing. Granted, we got to the League Cup and European Champions League Finals, but that was it (we didn’t win them, the bridesmaid, never the bride). Managers came, and managers went, 14 in all, but nothing, other than that one inconsequential trophy. What didn’t help things was that all those managers had to work on a shoestring budget (including selling), while the top six clubs were given enormous war-chests. Their owners/ directors objectives were to win trophies and as many as possible. The League and European Champions League being a priority. Levy’s focus is to win trophies that are within – he hopes – the team’s capabilities (FA & League Cups). This doesn’t mean that Levy doesn’t keep his fingers crossed and hope that luck might come – even though fleetingly – like it did for the likes of Leicester City, Derby City and Ipswich Town when they won the League title. Yes, they won the League Title, but they were mainly a blip rather than a common occurrence for these clubs. These instances are rare and decades apart.
Since we last won a trophy – 2008 – the other top clubs have raced ahead of us in Trophy terms. They’ve shown their top-five credentials.
Since we last won a single trophy, Liverpool – who have been dormant for most of that time have won 5 trophies. Including the League title and European Champions League. Our old enemies, the scum of our lives, those who sneaked into North London In the dead of night to claim squatting rights have won eight trophies (yes, “8”). Then there is third from the top that once spend most of their history hibernating from the big boys and comes from West London, but now owe their success anexistence to the Russian-Soviet leadership, they have won 12 trophies. The two Manchester clubs have won 29 trophies between them (15 to United, 14 to City).
We are classified as a top-six, but other clubs below that mark have won more trophies than us, including a league title. So, why are we ranked a top-six club? Because of our financial pulling power (the only things we don’t pull is trophies). This is not good enough; on top of that, we are in the dictionary because a word has been created to denote our failures, the word being “spursy”. And what does that word mean? “A Spursy performance is to have success in reach but to ultimately chuck it away. This word is associated with Tottenham Hotspur FC, you will find numerous examples of this on Twitter, from supporters of most if not all top-flight teams.” No other club has been honoured in such a way (or abused).
Having a great club with Levy in charge is like the Captain of the Titanic (or it could be) at the helm, and you know what happened to him? It was a great, fantastic ship of its time that ended up hitting an iceberg and coming a cropper. Daniel Levy is the Captain of the stadium-Titanic. Like the Titanic captain, Levy doesn’t realise that his ship will sink unless it makes necessary manoeuvres and gets to know his surroundings (the fans). Also, any sponsors that fork out millions would want their name associated with success, not be a laughing stock.
Of course, now we’ve got Covid-19 Levy has an excuse for not investing. But doesn’t that also apply to the other Top five clubs? They realise that by splashing out, they can reach certain heights and certain heights mean that the money will flow-in. Where Levy only sees less money flowing into his pocket, and it is a gamble. But to accumulate, one needs to speculate.
This season it will take a miracle for us to get into the top four; even achieving Europa League place could be difficult. If we win the League Cup, Levy will think that pressure will be taken off him. But the league cup is only a tiny trophy (status wise). It is a competition that the top clubs usually use to send out their youngsters to get a feel of the big time.
The other top-five clubs look down at us, have a good giggle, and then dismiss us as “Spursy.” And it will stay that way until Levy and the board eventually learn that having the title “Top-six” comes with a price, either being a laughing stock or a trophy success.
On another note, but to do with Spurs financial position: Spurs make Forbes top ten most valuable football teams – Over £2 billion
Forbes have revealed that our club are currently one of the top ten most valuable football clubs on the planet. Not surprising really seeing as Levy & Lewis don’t spend their profits on the team. The report values us at around £2.3 billion, with a 2020 revenue of £494 million and an operating income of £134.2 million. Forbes claim that this is a 42% rise over the past two years and add that Spurs have a current debt value of 39%.
This debt and added value come as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened its doors for the first time in 2019. The New stadium transformed both the capacity for fans and sales at the ground.
Barcelona top the list with a value of around £4.76 billion. At the same time, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Man United, Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and PSG are the others in the top ten. This means that we are more valuable than the Italian giants Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Everton, AC Milan, Roma, West Ham, Leicester and Ajax who make up the rest of the top 20. I don’t suppose the Spurs team will see much of that, if any? Just a matter of interest, as you will have noticed, we have leapfrogged Leicester City and West Ham in the money stakes (what we are worth), but both teams are above us in the league. Something is wrong somewhere, don’t you agree?
Maybe you think I am wrong and that Levy has his eye on the ball and his heart is for success on the field, and that is his main objective.
By Don Scully
I have been following Spurs since the sixties and work in London. My current job is as a professional writer (working in the media), and I have work connections to the club and had previously worked for them. Including working at the old White Hart Lane stadium.
I also have my own blog and have written for the SpursWeb app & its website.