Daniel Levy Awaits Recognition After Leaving Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has expressed his confidence that, once he leaves the club, he will receive recognition from the fans who have criticized his management.
Levy has been the subject of criticism from fans, who point out the lack of titles under his leadership, as well as the failure to consolidate challenges for the Premier League title in 2016 and 2017, and the team’s arrival in the Champions League final in 2019.
Last season, Tottenham finished in seventeenth position, their worst record in the Premier League era. However, victory in the Europa League final, which was the club’s first trophy since 2008, partially mitigated this disappointment.
Former coach Ange Postecoglou, who was fired a few days after the victory over Manchester United in Bilbao, dodged much of the fans’ anger, who directed their criticism towards the president for the club’s apparent setback.
I think it’s one of those situations where, when I’m no longer here, I’m sure I’ll receive the recognition.
Daniel Levy
Levy, who has been Tottenham’s chairman since 2001, also highlighted the modernity of the club’s stadium. “When you come here and see this wonderful stadium, and the fact that other clubs are now trying to copy what we are doing, that should be a sign that perhaps we did something bold and something right.”
Tottenham moved to its 60,000-seat stadium, built on the site of White Hart Lane, in 2019, and quickly gained a reputation as one of the best sports venues in Europe, regularly hosting NFL games, as well as musical and various other events.
However, frustration persists due to the team’s inability to compete for the Premier League and the Champions League, although Levy admitted he couldn’t explain the lack of success.
“Nothing has changed in terms of our ambition,” Levy said. “Having won the Europa League, thanks to Ange, you get a taste for it, but it’s not enough. It’s never been enough.”
“We’ve been in 16 or 17 semi-finals, seven finals, and we haven’t won enough. We need to use that as a springboard to keep winning. We’ve won two trophies in the last 20 years. We’ve been so close, so many times.”
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“I really can’t answer (why), because I’m not the one who chooses the team, who motivates the team.”
Brentford’s former coach, Thomas Frank, who was appointed to replace Postecoglou in June, will manage his first official match when Tottenham starts the new season at home against Burnley on August 16.
It will do so without star striker Son Heung-Min, who has announced he will leave the club this summer and received an emotional farewell in Sunday’s friendly against Newcastle in his native South Korea.
After last season’s disastrous league campaign, Levy encouraged fans not to place too many expectations on their new coach.
“He understands the style of football we want to play,” he said. “He understands that Rome wasn’t built in a day. We haven’t set him, ‘You have to win the league this year.’ We just want to compete at the highest level.”
“We will support him as best we can. If you look at the transfers, we have been among the top four spenders since the stadium opened, we have spent around 700 million pounds (930 million dollars) net on new players.”
