Daniel Levy - Chairman

[Sheikh Ma Nuggets]

It's not like we own the land to build it on... or that we have planning permission.. or any of those sorts of things..


right? right?


Building a new stadium in not a thing to be rushed. It is a hugely important step and should be carefully planned as not to financially cripple us when it does end up being built. I'm glad he has not rushed into this headfirst without any long-term strategies in place.

Oh wow, so we own the land. Big fudging deal

You do realise, that Levy could just as easy bin the plans and sell the land off to another developer? What's to stop him from doing that? Absolutely nothing. Sugar had "planning permission" to redevelop the stadium further beyond that which he did, but that never materialised either. So, that isn't progress at all I'm afraid.

Who's rushing it? Levy ain't, that's for sure. He's been tinkling around on the issue for donkies years; first prevaricating with a dubious 'site search', then switching tact on the Olympic Stadium before u-turning on WHL. And as for 'long-term strategy' - oh yeah, hows about making your fudging mind up, Daniel? Not such of a strategy, if you keep bouncing around from one idea to another; that's weak and flaky.

It's "hugely important" because, without any progress, we are actually already 'financially crippled'. We can't pitch our wage offers in the same bracket as our contemporaries as we're bound by the financial straightjacket which a 36k stadium places on you. Therein, the more he tinkles around 'not rushing', the more we slip further and further behind.

As I write this reply - in truth - neither one of us have any firm commitment from the club that they'll even build the stadium. Yeah we have plans, yeah we have land - but what we don't have, is a firm statement of commitment that a decision has been taken to progress this crucial issue which is constraining the club. Do you seriously think that good enough, from a Chairman who's been in the position for as long as Daniel Levy has? Before answering that, I'd ask that you appreciate that - on completing the take over - he actually stated it as being his primary priority. Personally, I think he's massively underachieved on this performance objective and I think it's reflective of his personal risk averse personality that we haven't seen enough significant progress in all the time he's been here.

 

[Raziel]

As I write this reply - in truth - neither one of us have any firm commitment from the club that they'll even build the stadium. Yeah we have plans, yeah we have land - but what we don't have, is a firm statement of commitment that a decision has been taken to progress this crucial issue which is constraining the club. Do you seriously think that good enough, from a Chairman who's been in the position for as long as Daniel Levy has? Before answering that, I'd ask that you appreciate that - on completing the take over - he actually stated it as being his primary priority. Personally, I think he's massively underachieved on this performance objective and I think it's reflective of his personal risk averse personality that we haven't seen enough significant progress in all the time he's been here.

So Sheikh, I think you are choosing to pick the facts that you want

- We didn't get final ownership (and I believe that went to court order) for all the land required for the stadium until either late last year or this year.
- We have had well documented issues with transport links and local goverment support, that again has only been resolved this year (after Levy basically threaten to fudge off out of Tottenham)
- Similar to the above, they were delays, challenges with approval for the stadium plans, not as familiar with dates/timelines on that.
- Between 2009 -2011, and even now, financing a 400M project is a lot more difficult and potentially not on the terms you want to have, due to global economic issues.


To pretend we have owned the land, had approved plans, local goverment support, approved funding for the last 5 years and Levy has just been dingdonging around is a disservice to him and pretty much a cheap shot.

My understanding is the current plan is for the stadium to start at the end of the next season, perhaps if that doesn't materialize you have some grounds for the above points.

 

[milo]

I can name a few actually.

1) Sacking George Graham on the eve of a massive semi final
2) Sacking Glenn Hoddle, a Spurs legend, over the telephone
3) His treatment of Darren Anderton, who had been a long term servant of the cub
4) Hiring Arnesen and then ignoring his advice over a new Manager and bringing in Santini
5) His sacking of Jol and even worse than the decision itself, the manner in which it played out in the media
6) The Stratford debacle

Those are his six biggest blunders. There are other blunders that I guess remain down to personal preference of whether they are actually fudge ups or not. Putting faith in Pleat over Hoddle was a massive **** up in my opinion, and through that the subsequent treatment of Sheringham and Freund. Going down the whole director of football route was a mistake. His golden boy Arnesen fudged us over and walked out. His manager of choice, Santini, walked out. Hiring Comolli as Arnesen's replacement was a huge clusterfudge, as was listening to Comolli and getting rid of Jol for Ramos.

But credit to Levy in the fact he recognised (a few seasons too late in my opinion, but better late than never) what was going wrong and ditched the system. I just hope that after Redknapp goes we don't revert to it again.

The rumour is that Pleat has got his ear again.

 

[jimmyb]

Levy has been a brilliant chairman.

Has he made mistakes? Certainly. Some whoppers among them.

But during his 11 years at the helm, have Spurs made fantastic progress, both on and off the pitch, from the decade (and more) of what appeared to be irreversible stagnation and decline that preceded him? Emphatically so.

And that's all that matters.

As others have said, best chairman in the league.

 

[braineclipse]

I think he's doing a very average job.

Who or what are you comparing him to? Are there other chairmen you compare him to or do you only think he is average when compared with some ideal theoretical chairman who doesn't exist in reality?

If he is only average it should be fairly easy to list several chairmen that are better than him. Who would they be?

(These questions to anyone here who thinks he's only doing an average or alright job).

 

[Wriggly]

I really cant believe there is a thread questioning Levy. I mean really ?

I wish the mods would turn a blind eye for 5 mins so I can really say what i think about these kind of threads and the people that start them.

 

[africanspurs]

Good chairman

but this from an armchair perspective. i dont know nearly as much as most of you in this thread with regards to the intricacies (sp?) of his work

 

[a spur from swansea]

Redknapp......good or bad.......now its Levy.......not getting........not getting .......not getting involved....no im not........ok then.......loosen the purse strings a little plus less of the 10 mins before transfer deadline close down and tarting bids around like an apprentice contestant........other than that doing ok....

 

[parklane1]

Levy has been a brilliant chairman.

Has he made mistakes? Certainly. Some whoppers among them.

But during his 11 years at the helm, have Spurs made fantastic progress, both on and off the pitch, from the decade (and more) of what appeared to be irreversible stagnation and decline that preceded him? Emphatically so.

And that's all that matters.

As others have said, best chairman in the league.

Amen.

 

[Spursalot]

Redknapp......good or bad.......now its Levy.......not getting........not getting .......not getting involved....no im not........ok then.......loosen the purse strings a little plus less of the 10 mins before transfer deadline close down and tarting bids around like an apprentice contestant........other than that doing ok....

So take a well run club and spend too much money?

 

[Wriggly]

Good chairman

but this from an armchair perspective. i dont know nearly as much as most of you in this thread with regards to the intricacies (sp?) of his work

Become a share holder, you get all you need to know in a lovely little brochure with a nice dividends check.

 

[Papercut]

Not many chairman would have got money for a player they didn't sign (Begovic) that was a masterstroke!

 

[metalgear]

definitely a good job. on the pitch we're 4th! and we've lingered on the thresholds without losing players, and developing a couple.

his best job was done off the pitch. all the necessary permissions were done, and he wrangled a lot (given the circumstances) from public funds. i know it feels long since we've announced plans to build the stadium, however i suspect that he has been buying time given the poor state of the financial markets.

i.e. he learnt a thing or two from arsenal - poor sponsorship deal, poor housing sales due to the depressed market, little/no credit facilities especially to risky businesses like a football club where relegation is a possibility every season.

take a look at the clubs trying to build a new stadium AFTER the financial crisis:
- liverpool has more or less scrapped their plans
- west ham - they were trying to go for a free stadium ... and still have nothing (partly because of levy)

but he's not great... we really squandered the opportunity to close out our CL position this season but failed to invest. but a large part of the on-field performance has got to be harry's responsibilities.

 

[braineclipse]

definitely a good job. on the pitch we're 4th! and we've lingered on the thresholds without losing players, and developing a couple.

his best job was done off the pitch. all the necessary permissions were done, and he wrangled a lot (given the circumstances) from public funds. i know it feels long since we've announced plans to build the stadium, however i suspect that he has been buying time given the poor state of the financial markets.

i.e. he learnt a thing or two from arsenal - poor sponsorship deal, poor housing sales due to the depressed market, little/no credit facilities especially to risky businesses like a football club where relegation is a possibility every season.

take a look at the clubs trying to build a new stadium AFTER the financial crisis:
- liverpool has more or less scrapped their plans
- west ham - they were trying to go for a free stadium ... and still have nothing (partly because of levy)

but he's not great... we really squandered the opportunity to close out our CL position this season but failed to invest. but a large part of the on-field performance has got to be harry's responsibilities.

There are more stadium examples to support our claim. Everton have also struggled, looking to Europe Valencia have a half built stadium they can't afford to finish because of their financial problems, despite selling their 3 best players in the last 2 seasons.

In fact, from what I can see it's rather rare that big (let's say 50k+ capacity) stadiums get built unless there is a World Cup, European Championship, other sporting event or need for a national stadium supporting the building process so the club doesn't have to do it on their own. Not surprising really considering it's often a ?ú200-300+ million pound investment for companies that often don't have yearly turnovers much higher than ?ú100m.

Putting my previous question to you as well. If he's "not great", who or what are you comparing him to?

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

I really cant believe there is a thread questioning Levy. I mean really ?

I wish the mods would turn a blind eye for 5 mins so I can really say what i think about these kind of threads and the people that start them.

pfft

 

[Wriggly]

pfft

Seriously though, how on earth can you even begin to question Levy ? He might have his quirks but we are extremely lucky to have him. He is a genius. Not only are we ran properly financially and I'm proud of it, but we are a rich club with only having played CL once. We were the richest club in the world never to have played CL. Man Utd stole our Marketing guy years ago as we were making so much bloody money, yet we continue to have a massive following with very little CL exposure. He spends within our means, and has an uncanny ability to get some great money from our outgoings. Not only is he a businessman but he loves Spurs, he will not spend willy nilly. He seems calulated and is pushing towards a brand new 55-60k stadium for us, all on our current budget with no lottery ticket winnings. Think yourself lucky.

 

[Rebrenx]

=D>

 

[Harry_Perkins]

I can name a few actually.

1) Sacking George Graham on the eve of a massive semi final
2) Sacking Glenn Hoddle, a Spurs legend, over the telephone
3) His treatment of Darren Anderton, who had been a long term servant of the cub
4) Hiring Arnesen and then ignoring his advice over a new Manager and bringing in Santini
5) His sacking of Jol and even worse than the decision itself, the manner in which it played out in the media
6) The Stratford debacle

1) Yes, with hindsight, not a good decision, but the correct long term decision as Graham was going nowhere with us fast. It is was highly, highly unlikely we would have won the Cup that season. A minor error IMO.

2) Yes but not much of a footballing question here. I would more question the total lack of plan for what to do after this. It was hilarious at the time, all the posters on here hailing this strategy of taking 7 months to chose the next manager. It was fudging absurd. No serious club has ever taken this approach and you could see why after what happened to us. And then you're going to have a caretaker for 7 months, don't make it a plankton like David Pleat. Cricky and some people think Dalglish was past it. This geezer ended up conceding more goals than Hoddle by taking our best defender and playing him in midfield. A medium error given we would have been in a better position for Uefa qualification the following season under Jol. On the plus side, he clearly learnt from this disaster by having people lined up when he sacked Jol and then Ramos.

3) Can't remember this and not bothered, quite frankly. Anderton got plenty from the club.

4) Agree with this. Again, we narrowly missed out on Uefa qualification and this largely contributed to that.

5) How it played out in the media, yeah. The decision? Really? We won our first trophy in 8 years the same season and the season after next were in the CL. Good decision.

6) Agreed.

I think you can add to this that he has made life difficult for nearly every manager or coach at the club because of his antics in the market. Jol probably got the best of it, actually, because of Arnesen's work in the market and the rest of time, he wasn't left majorly short. The worst case being Kanoute sold only to be replaced with Rasiak (the same summer Arnesen went and before Comolli arrived). But then he had 3 other decent forwards too. Hoddle got a raw deal in his last winter window when we challenging for top 6 and never really recovered. And Ramos got left starting the season with only Darren Bent up front. By the time Pav and Frazier Campbell (!) arrived, the rot had already set in. He might not have been able to ride the storm of player unrest with him anyway but Levy didn't help.

So on that basis, I'm not really having the general thrust on Comolli or Ramos. The former largely put in place the squad that finished 4 - except if we could have kept Keane and Berbatov, it would have been a frontline of Berbatov, Keane, Defoe and Pav under Redknapp. Which might well have meant an even higher finish than 4th. They had to go when they did but the chairman contributed to the situation becoming untenable. The same with Hoddle but I think there was more prospect of the latter achieving something in the long run.

And I don't see how Arnesen was a bad appointment just because he was poached. I think, like Jol, he is somewhat overrated but he was the stronger of the partnership IMO.

 

[chicken_badge]

MK:

1) Sacking George Graham on the eve of a massive semi final Poor timing, perhaps? But Graham was a bad choice of manager for Spurs in the first place. Not the biggest scandal at the club, by any means

2) Sacking Glenn Hoddle, a Spurs legend, over the telephone manner yes, but Hod was hardly known for man-management skills himself. Spurs legend as a player, forgettable as a manager

3) His treatment of Darren Anderton, who had been a long term servant of the cub Misleading to describe him as a long term servant.... half the time was spent in the sick room, and he only gave us two or three truly quality seasons over a twelve year period. It was coming, Anderton should have gone with more grace.

4) Hiring Arnesen and then ignoring his advice over a new Manager and bringing in Santini Perhaps, but Santini was out of the way soon after. Indeed, maybe you have to credit Levy with taking swift action when needed. I'd say Levy has acted at the right time in replacing managers - Jol went on to almost bag us UEFA Cup football (back when we cared); Ramos did win us a cup and we actually looked OK come the end of the season; Redknapp took us from 2 points in 8 games......

5) His sacking of Jol and even worse than the decision itself, the manner in which it played out in the media Agreed, exceptionally poor and the tapping up of Ramos made this even worse

6) The Stratford debacle Very much a matter of opinion, I don't think we will know the true story for years whether it was brinksmanship with Harringey. Personally I see it as win-win.... Stratford would have been a good move in some ways , but kicking up a stink with a bid that would not ever get off the ground was possibly, possibly genius. "Olympic Legacy requires a running track? So all we do is put a bid in with one and we won't get the stadium. Oh, and nail one down for Karen Brady for the next 200 years. What's that Boris? You want us to stay in Tottenham? Where did that extra ?ú10m come from all of a sudden?". Sure, maybe it is a coincidence that this has all come together for us, CPOs, planning permission, in the months straight after the bidding process. Maybe we will never know. But I cannot see what harm the Stratford bid did to Tottenham Hotspur, and so I do not know how it can be described as a 'debacle'.

To be fair mate, they are all valid points but apart from Jol I don't think any are mega blunders, and he recovered from the bad fallout each time. Yes, there may be question marks over his man management, whether he deals with people face to face, whether he is honest with them. But these are complex situations, and I'd bet there is more to the Hoddle, Anderton, Graham situations than meets the eye.

Having said that, maybe Luka's "gentleman's agreement" shows the chink in Levy's armour..... or maybe he just is a hardnosed git.

Seriously though, how on earth can you even begin to question Levy ? He might have his quirks but we are extremely lucky to have him. He is a genius. Not only are we ran properly financially and I'm proud of it, but we are a rich club with only having played CL once. We were the richest club in the world never to have played CL. Man Utd stole our Marketing guy years ago as we were making so much bloody money, yet we continue to have a massive following with very little CL exposure. He spends within our means, and has an uncanny ability to get some great money from our outgoings. Not only is he a businessman but he loves Spurs, he will not spend willy nilly. He seems calulated and is pushing towards a brand new 55-60k stadium for us, all on our current budget with no lottery ticket winnings. Think yourself lucky.

Well said.... and it's why our failure to secure a CL position this year feels so harsh. We don't have the zillions of pounds made from burying the right Russians/Arab, or writing off 100+ years worth of history with a club debt, we don't have the match day sales you can generate from a 55,000 all seater library. Yet still we manage to compete at the top level.

Spurs are ripe for a buy-out, and once the first bricks start getting laid for Northumberland Park, it is only a matter of time before we get sold to an big money investor(like it or not). If they have any sense at all, they will try to keep Levy on as Chief Exec.

 

[Harry_Perkins]

You do realise, that Levy could just as easy bin the plans and sell the land off to another developer? What's to stop him from doing that? Absolutely nothing. Sugar had "planning permission" to redevelop the stadium further beyond that which he did, but that never materialised either. So, that isn't progress at all I'm afraid.

It didn't because he left. He got it in 2001. It was valid for 5 years. Levy said he did nothing on those plans for the East Stand because he didn't want to do anything piecemeal*. Which was a fair point..... in 2003! We could have gone with those plans and got up to 44k by circa 2003. This would have left a similar redevelopment of the West, leaving us with something like a 55k-57k capacity today. That could have been done by about 2005. The cost of this would be nearly all paid off by now. Not many clubs have this advantage of being able to build on what they have rather than build a new stadium. It has helped a club like Manchester United tremendously that they have not *had* to move, whereas Arsenal had no choice in the matter. They were penned in. Really, we could have redeveloped where we were by now, up circa 55k or 44k minimum very easily and would be all paid off. We could then be still considering the current project, whilst our coffers would have grown considerably.

* Arguably the real truth here is that is nothing to do with it being piecemeal but that redeveloping just the East and West stands doesn't give any extra scope for corporate boxes and so forth. Which in turns makes us less of prospect for being sold on.