Really? of course you can make that connection
If Luton finished in top 6 for next 15 years, built a new stadium, new training facilities and regularly had WC players in their squad while staying within spending rules under the same chairman, you don't think that chairman would have a case for best chairman in the league? regardless of if they never got past a cup QF?
Clearly an OTT example, but it is context that matters
Lets judge Levy on results
Off-field, this isn't even a fight, and what's interesting here is he's done better than clubs that got free stadiums (West Ham & City) or even clubs with cheat mode on
- Improvements to infrastructure under his time -> #1 in league, likely #1 or 2 globally (Madrid's new place? arguably influenced by ours)
- Commercial position of club -> #1 in Europe (do we need to argue this one?), match day revenue, most profitable, improvements in top 10 global club position, etc.
On-field (and here context matters)
- PL results, only been outside top 6 twice in last 16 years, been in CL 5 of last 8, 2nd +two 3rd place finishes in a league with cheat mode City & Chelsea. Context -> best run of consistent finishes in the clubs history (never been better), could/should we have won at least 1? yes but in context Spurs has won 2 league titles in 141 years, so Levy has another 50 years to win one to keep up with average.
- We have firmly established ourselves in top 6 (probably invented the top 6 idea), actually finished above every team in the league at least once, 6+ times over clubs like United, Pool, Arsenal, put ourselves out of the league of clubs we were competing with in 2001 (Everton, West Ham, Villa, etc.)
- Cups/Trophies, 1 Trophy, 5 runner ups, 6 SF's, 10 QF's, so on average we get to at least a QF each year, and again re context, we have won less than 20 trophies in 141 years, so Levy is about 2 short/behind the average club output
Peer comparison (someone has to the best against?)
- United & Arsenal have squandered their dominance of league/trophies position from the 00's decade, yes, still won more than us, but both clubs are worse off (declined), Chelsea almost went bust, had the RA era and now who knows? Liverpool is probably the success story of the last decade but hard to say that was a 20 year plan, lucked out on not carrying the debt of previous owners, City is a nation state funding, hopefully we don't need to have this conversation
- Nobody outside the top 6 is even in the equation, the outlier short frame success (e.g. Leicester) actually highlights the difficulty/risks in breaking into top level
- The interesting part is I'm trying to find a club that has had the same owners for the last 20+ years, that in itself says something.
I get Levy isn't perfect, they have been mistakes, there have been things all of us have disagreed with but if he isn't the best chairman in the league over the last 20+ years, who is (and what data shows that?)