Written by Shreyas Gosh
The mention of the name of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club often brings to mind many visuals. For many, it is a harbinger of weekly rollercoasters of turbulent joy and sorrow, and for others a lovely introduction into the global extravaganza that is London. For the last twenty years, however, Spurs have stood forth as a bastion of the European National Investment Company (ENIC) under the watchful eyes of Daniel Phillip Levy. In 2001, when the club was taken over by ENIC, Mr. Levy stood forth as the chairman of the football club. At that point, it seemed like it was a fresh breath of baby-breath-infused air. Baron Sugar had run the club into the ground for the last 9 years, and there was only so much harm that could be done to a fringe member of the top 5 that had failed to finish in the top 6 in the last decade.
Enter Daniel Levy; and what followed could only be laid down in the laurels of history. Many feared the worst at first, as Levy was at heart an accountant and seemingly would repeat Baron Sugar’s misdemeanors at the helm of the club. However, thanks to him, Tottenham Hotspur have only evolved forward since. Infusing fresh blood into the club, he did so through signing world-class talent such as David Ginola while reinstating the old guard through Jurgen Klinsmann and Ted Sheringham. This brought through a generation of starlets led by Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, and finally culminated in Tottenham lifting the 2008 League Cup. Unfortunately, turbulent times followed and Levy fluctuated between one manager to the next. He finally settled on one man: Mauricio Pochettino. What followed was history, but unfortunately for Daniel, he wasn’t always on the right side. Despite Poch becoming a daredevil at the heart of the Tottenham faithful, pushing the club into memorable runs for the 2015 Premier League title, League Cup, and the Champions League final, he failed to convert any into a trophy. This was the result of untimely injuries, key players departing, but ultimately due to Daniel Levy underspending and undercutting transfers.
Finances began to grow for the club, and so did dissatisfaction. The need of the time meant that he was forced to invest into new training facilities at Enfield and the mighty Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at N17. Greed seemingly began to blind Levy as well, as he increasingly viewed the club as a financial asset rather than a footballing unit, which culminated in the infamous 2018 window wherein Spurs failed to splurge on even a single player. He also hiked his salary to $6 million, becoming the longest-serving and best paid chairman of any club in the league.
All in all, enough about football history – where does Levy’s heritage rank amidst Premier League stalwarts and faithfuls? For many fans, his recent misadventures have left sour tastes in their mouths, and the vast majority of the fanbase will be more than happy to see him gone. Yet, for others, he will remain a fresher to their memory of an old-school chairman, running his tight puppeteering strings over the operations of the entire team. History, surely, would be much kinder to Levy.
