In news that will send shockwaves through the entirety of Spurs, Daniel Levy has stepped down as Executive Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur after serving in the role for nearly 25 years, which made him the longest serving chairman in the Premier League.
In a statement on the Tottenham Hotspur website, Levy said “I am incredibly proud of the work I have done together with the executive team and all our employees. We have built this club into a global heavyweight competing at the highest level.”
“More than that, we have built a community. I was lucky enough to work with some of the greatest people in this sport, from the team at Lilywhite House and Hotspur Way to all the players and managers over the years.”
“I wish to thank all the fans that have supported me over the years. It hasn’t always been an easy journey, but significant progress has been made. I will continue to support this club passionately.”
Changes
The statement also said “As part of its succession planning, the club has made a number of senior appointments in recent months … This is all part of the Club’s ambition to ensure that it is set up to deliver long-term sporting success.”
This was called back in July by Spurs insider Paul O’Keefe on X as he said that Spurs would “see a management reshuffle as well as new roles. Likely Levy stays but potentially in a different/reduced and perhaps even non-football related role – Vinai’s appointment and the departure of Cullen were the first part of a broad realignment of the club.”
Levy didn’t end up staying and his departure has been the most high-profile of these changes. Peter Charrington steps into the newly created role of non-executive chairman, presumably taking up some of Levy’s duties.
Charrington said of his appointment, “This is a new era of leadership for the club, on and off the pitch. I do recognise there has been a lot of change in recent months as we put in place new foundations for the future. We are now fully focused on stability and empowering our talented people across the Club led by Vinai and his executive team.”
Vinai Venkatesham was appointed as CEO over the summer to work alongside Levy to run the footballing operations of the club but will now take a more hands on approach with the day-to-day running of the club following Levy’s departure.
It should be noted that Levy’s departure has nothing to do with the ownership structure of the club as, according to reliable Spurs journalist Alasdair Gold on X “Levy and his family still own (or are beneficiaries of) 29.88% of ENIC’s share of the club.” Spurs confirmed as much in their statement on the website.
Other changes included the return of Fabio Paratici in a consultancy role before reassuming his old job of Managing Director by the 1st of October following the conclusion of his 30-month worldwide footballing ban.
The aforementioned Donna-Maria Cullen, someone who was on the board of Spurs for over 20 years and was considered one of Daniel Levy’s most faithful allies, also departed earlier in the summer.
On the pitch, club legend and former captain Heung-min Son left to join LAFC and in the dugout was yet another change as Europa League winning boss Ange Postecoglou was sacked. This paved the way for ex-Brentford boss Thomas Frank to take over as men’s first team coach. Spurs Women manager Robert Vilahamn was also sacked and replaced with Martin Ho.
Protests
Levy’s departure comes off the back of some of the most visceral and passionate protests against Levy and ENIC’s ownership since the European Super League proposals. At one such protest, thousands turned out to march and show their unified discontent at ENIC’s ownership and a perceived lack of ambition.
Chants echoing around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium included “We want Levy out, say we want Levy out.” A more creative one included Spurs’ Swedish attacker Dejan Kulusevski. “I don’t care about Levy, Levy don’t care about me. All I care about, is Kulusevski.”
For some Spurs fans, Levy’s departure will feel like Christmas come early, such was the discontent and malevolence felt towards him by some sections of the fanbase. In their eyes, Spurs were treated like a business, not like a football club. They became content with top 4 finishes, prioritising Champions League revenue over trophies.
They didn’t maximise the potential that the early promise under ENIC had shown. With the lowest wage to turnover ratio of any club in the Premier League, Spurs are amongst the most financially healthy clubs in the world, but with a trophy cabinet unbefitting of that status.
They didn’t back managers when they needed it, most pertinently the “painful rebuild” Mauricio Pochettino demanded, only to be sacked a few months after making those comments. He would later come to be proven right, angering those same sections of the fanbase that would later come to protest him.
For others, Levy’s departure will feel bittersweet. After all, Levy and ENIC turned Spurs into a global footballing powerhouse (trophies aside), with one of, if not the, best stadium in the world and facilitated the infrastructure that bred the teams of Redknapp, Pochettino and Ange’s Europa League winners.
Whichever way you look at it, this summer has looked like the beginning of a new era for Spurs, more so than any other “new era” since Pochettino’s departure and the new management team will have to ensure success is delivered under their watch to avoid another 17 year wait for a major honour to come to N17.
- Mikey Kouwiloyan
