I feel like I could have written this the day after Pochettino was sacked… or even maybe a few times before but I think looking back then I was still unsure as to what the problem was at Tottenham Hotspur but after over two decades of Levy and ENIC it is safe to say we can all see the problem and it comes direct from the very top of the club.
As a Spurs fan I have never been “Levy In” or “Levy Out” really; I have always maintained a balanced thinking to things where I can recognise the massive amount of good done off the pitch by Levy and co however I have still been critical of what I have felt is a massive under investment in the playing squad. Both points are valid but anyone who is pro Levy always points to those massive leaps forward we as a club have made under him … so for the purpose of today I would like to focus purely on the football aspect of the club, you know, the part we all support!
This past week financial figures for all football clubs across Europe for the 2023/24 season have been released by Deloitte who compile the ‘football money league’ data and some interesting things have come to light. Like are you aware that the directors (Levy, Cullen etc) are the highest paid in the Premier League and in turn highest paid of the top five European leagues?
Remember this is the same board who decided to increase prices for match going fans and removed concessions for seniors; something they did while being the highest paid directors in football and also paying themselves bonuses – which are not included in the figures above.
The cutting of concessions is believed to be saving the club circa £2m per season and at the same time that was announced the accounts showed Daniel Levy paid himself a £3m bonus. Now.. bad timing, bad optics… but what makes it worse is the directors released a statement with the new pricing declaring that to continue to compete we must make these changes as without them it would impact the club badly financially.
So, what they are saying they is essential expenditure for this football club is director salaries and bonuses… which the fans are paying for from increased prices and cutting concessions.. hmmm no, in their statement they eluded to us needing to keep the revenue high to sign players, to compete, after all we are a football club and us as fans have seen other clubs fall foul of the financial fair play rules so things must be closer than we thought in terms of our income to expenditure… right? No.
The figures show here that in the 2023/24 season we had the lowest wage to income percentage of any team in the Premier League. The club has since then cut many senior players and wages so estimates from financial analysts is that this has dropped further for the 2024/25 season likely to around 42%- 44% but it is difficult to say as although we can see the player departures and drop in salaries we do not know what the increase in revenue is, as year on year, the club has seen a massive increase.
Now an argument could be that we are in a strong position financially and that is good however as we all know regardless of the industry you work in for the best people you pay the wages and football is no different and once again we are in a position where our wage structure is causing us issues in recruitment.
Multiple journalists across Europe in this window have stated, following conversations with agents, that Tottenham are (quote from one agent) “They are looking to buy elite sports cars but with the budget only for a second hand family car..”
This brings us to this window, January 2025 and the situation we find ourselves in at the club.
For weeks in every press conference, no, months, Ange Postecoglou has stated that the injury crisis is the worst he has ever known in his career both as a player and then as a coach and manager and the “players need help” and by that he means additions to the squad as simply there are not enough senior players to play in four competitions.
Last season we played in three, no Europe and we started that season with more players than we started this one. Is that on Ange? No… that is on Levy, Munn and Lange our recruitment and executives who have handed him that squad.
I know we have many fans who are Ange out and that is fine, that is your opinion and we all have them. However surely we can all agree he should be judged on results when he has a squad of players available? I know many think last season results went badly and some even blame him for the injuries which again I find mad when even players have come out and said ‘how can they say our training is extreme and causing problems when all we have time for is recovery and light work before the next game’.
He is not the first manager to struggle at Spurs with injuries either… during the infamous Amazon doc who remembers Jose reacting to the latest injury news with “we’re fu**ed!” but lucky for Spurs (not so much for the world) we went into lockdown buying time for players to return.
Pochettino had an injury crisis, there were articles written then that his training methods were causing the issue but here is a new theory.. maybe we just do not ever have the squad depth to compete in four competitions? Perhaps the club have left every coach and manager short for years and what we are seeing this season is a culmination of this miss management.
Just to remove any and all doubt of our financial position here we are compared to the other clubs across Europe considered to be the top flight of the money league. It is also worth noting that the value of our club, based on assets (stadium etc), cash at bank and brand value we are among the top five sporting brands in the world.. not just football, we are up their with NFL franchises and baseball etc.
As I write this it is the 28th of January and we sit 15th in the league, in a relegation battle and the squad is dead on its feet. We have so many injuries its impossible to rotate so those left standing are barely standing and more injuries are likely with seemingly one or two dropping each week.
The board have sat on their hands. A transfer window is not about the circa 30 days, you can plan and even get deals lined up before as it happens all the time and yet the only strong rumours and links right now are free transfers for next summer – nothing for now.
Via journalists the club have stated they are hoping to get one in before the window closes. Lets call it what it is, pathetic. With the financial power the club has to fail to bring people in is embarrassing and negligent.
This board have over 20 years built a business at the expense of a football club and now are yielding the results of their miss management. This board deserves to see their shiny stadium relegated but we the fans do NOT deserve that. We need change and we need it now!
It does not matter if they sack Ange, it does not matter who they appoint… you can have the best chef in the world but if you give him an old tin of spam and Aldi baked beans the meal he prepares will not be his best.
-Admin SJ
