Doesn’t Levy learn from past mistakes?
By Don Scully
Every manager we’ve had under Levy has been a failure and came to the club, not as a big name, but as a novice (at least some of them, others had gone past their sell-by date). Even the fans favourite Pochettino couldn’t win us a trophy, though he got us to a few finals (including the big one, Champions League). Oh, and we once challenged for the Premier League title under him (which was also once for Levy), but we ended up finishing third. And even he got the sack because Pochettino wanted to strengthen his squad, but Levy wouldn’t pay out unless they were on the cheap. The only exception was Mourinho, who came to us with a good record. But Mourinho didn’t count on Levy’s hand in the background trying to hinder him. Now he has gone, and one would have thought that Levy would have learnt lessons from his past mistakes. But… no, he has gone for another inept manager. His name is Paulo Fonseca (yes, who?); he, who could only manage 7th in league with Roma before getting the sack. Oh, and Mourinho went to Roma to replace… guess who? Yes, you guessed it, Paulo Fonseca. Is Levy nuts?
He replaced Claudio Ranieri at Roma after three years with Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine. He also coached Porto and Braga in his homeland. He won three successive doubles in charge of Shakhtar between 2016 and 2019, a Portuguese Cup with Braga in 2016 and a Portuguese Super Cup with Porto in 2013.
If you stand back for a second, you will see what a muddle this has all become. Infighting, desperation, mystery… none of this is good for Levy and the board’s reputation and competence, at least seen from the fans and media’s perspective. But you get what you pay for. Who was it who said, “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys?” Or, as Kurt Vonnegut put it, “In this world, you get what you pay for.”
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.