In The Money: Daniel Levy deserves credit as ‘biggest earners’ prediction is mooted at Tottenham
It is fair to say that Daniel Levy has not always been the most popular figure among supporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Levy is arguably the most famous and spoken-about chairman in the Premier League and someone who always seems to divide opinion and evoke strong emotion from Spurs’ fanbase.
‘ENIC out’ and ‘Levy out’ were plastered all over Tottenham’s social media channels by fans last season as they endured yet another miserable campaign, although the protests toward the club’s board have gone quiet so far this season thanks to the fantastic start Ange Postecoglou has made to life in the Premier League.
Nonetheless, it feels like a ‘Levy out’ campaign is never far around the corner in north London, although recent comments made by Kieran Maguire on The Price of Football podcast via Spotify (11 December) would suggest that Levy deserves some praise from Spurs’ supporters following his involvement in the development of their brand-new ground.
“If we go back to 2016, one of the final years that Spurs were playing at the old White Hart Lane, they were making £140million less than Arsenal and £120million less than Chelsea,” Maguire said.
“If we fast forward to 2022, that £140million deficit behind Arsenal has now been reversed and they are now making £70million more, so that has made them more competitive.
“The £120million deficit behind Chelsea has been reduced to £37million, so there is no doubt that the strategy has been very successful in terms of bringing more money in and benchmarking Spurs against other London clubs, I think we could be in a situation, especially in a year if Spurs are competing in Europe and Chelsea aren’t then Spurs could become the biggest earners in London.
“Without the move to the new stadium and the strategy of Levy, I think Spurs would have been significantly behind those clubs. They are as competitive as they are on the back of Levy’s strategy, is that enough to make them trophy winners? It helps.”
There is no doubt that the club’s financial fortunes have developed positively since the new ground was built, and while Levy does of course deserve his recognition for this, fans are more interested in what is happening on the pitch and will now want to see that money put to good use.
While the £70million boost on Arsenal makes for nice reading, it doesn’t change the fact that the Gunners went out and spent money on a big-name signing in the form of Declan Rice this past summer while on the other side of north London, Tottenham sold their big-name player, Harry Kane.
This revelation of the club’s increased financial power will only pile the pressure on Levy to spend some of those millions in the coming years, and with the January transfer window just around the corner, fans will expect now more than other for their chairman to back a manager who has so far proven beyond any reasonable doubt that he is worthy of that backing.
The title of biggest earners in London will surely be a welcome one, but it is Premier League and Champions League titles that fans want to see going forward.
In other Tottenham news, one zero per cent Spurs player has left Postecoglou with a decision to make ahead of the clash with Nottingham Forest.