Arsenal
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy says he expects followers to understand his legacy solely as soon as he’s stepped away from the membership.
Levy has held the reins at Spurs since 2001 and has continuously been a divisive determine amongst supporters.
Whereas the membership has seen main infrastructure developments throughout his tenure – most notably the development of the £1 billion state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – followers have voiced frustration over the shortage of trophies and the shortcoming to capitalise on sturdy seasons comparable to their Premier League title pushes in 2016 and 2017, or the memorable run to the 2019 Champions League ultimate.
Final season encapsulated a lot of that rigidity. Regardless of a disappointing Seventeenth-place league end – the membership’s lowest within the Premier League period – Spurs managed to finish their lengthy silverware drought by defeating Manchester United within the Europa League ultimate.
Nevertheless, that success wasn’t sufficient to quell criticism. Then-manager Ange Postecoglou, who was dismissed simply days after lifting the trophy in Bilbao, averted a lot of the blame for Spurs’ home collapse.
As an alternative, followers directed their anger at Levy, holding him accountable for the membership’s perceived stagnation.
Chatting with Gary Neville on The Overlap, Levy addressed that criticism.
“I believe it’s a kind of conditions [in which] after I’m not right here I’m positive I’ll get the credit score,” he mentioned.
“Once you come right here and take a look at this excellent [stadium]and the truth that different golf equipment at the moment are making an attempt to repeat what we’re doing, that needs to be an indication that possibly we did do one thing daring, and one thing proper.”
Opened in 2019 on the positioning of the outdated White Hart Lane, the 60,000-seater venue has shortly established itself as one in all Europe’s premier stadiums.
It hosts NFL video games, main live shows, and different occasions, serving to elevate Tottenham’s world profile.
Nonetheless, that off-pitch progress has not been mirrored by constant on-field achievement.
“Nothing has modified when it comes to our ambition,” Levy insisted. “Having received the Europa League – thanks to Ange – you get a style of it, but it surely’s not sufficient. It’s by no means been sufficient.
“We’ve been in 16 or 17 semi-finals, seven finals, and we haven’t received sufficient.
“We all know we have to use that as a springboard to maintain profitable. We’ve received two trophies within the final 20-plus years. We’ve been so shut, so many occasions.”
Pressed on why Spurs have struggled to translate potential into constant success, Levy provided a candid admission.
“I can’t actually reply [why]as a result of I’m not the one which picks the crew, motivates the crew.”
One other New Period
Trying forward, Levy is putting his religion in new head coach Thomas Frank, who joined from Brentford following Postecoglou’s departure.
Frank will lead Spurs into the 2025-26 Premier League marketing campaign together with his first aggressive match set for August 16 at dwelling to Burnley.
He’ll accomplish that with out membership icon Heung-Min Soh, who’s leaving after a decade of service. The South Korean ahead acquired a heartfelt farewell in Sunday’s pre-season match towards Newcastle in Seoul.
As Spurs enter a brand new chapter, Levy referred to as for persistence and life like expectations.
“He will get the fashion of soccer we need to play,” Levy mentioned of Frank. “He understands that Rome wasn’t in-built a day. We haven’t set him, ‘You’ve bought to win the league this 12 months.’ We simply need to compete on the highest degree.
“We are going to help him to one of the best of our capability. Should you take a look at switch charges, we’ve been within the high 4 spenders because the stadium opened, we’ve spent near £700 million web on new gamers.”
