Why silverware may elude stingy Tottenham

It’s hard to understand how Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy feels that his club will thrive if he doesn’t invest in the squad. The reason behind Spurs manager Antonio Conte’s angst after their 3-3 distressing draw against Southampton was club’s mediocre mentality, which has led to substandard results at the club over the years.

The root cause of the problems are the owners of the club – ENIC group. They were the ninth highest earning club in the world with an annual revenue of?￡390.9m in 2020. Profits have been made but the club has suffered on the pitch. And the fans have stayed unhappy for years now. Levy’s only target has been to generate profits.

A look at the net spend of the club shows they have the least net spend (￡234.7m)?in the last decade among top six in the transfer market, with Manchester City’s being the highest (￡881.4m), hence their on-field success. Levy has invested in stadium and infrastructure through which he is generating additional profits in the form of concerts and gigs, but he is shy when it comes to spending on players.

The won the EPL Cup, 15 years back in 2008, before which they won another EFL Cup in 1999. The hunger to win big trophies is missing at this club. European glory is out of the picture, they haven’t attained triumph in the domestic scene; despite being a top six club.

There’s a lack of ambition at the club. For too long, the average players have persisted at the club, despite delivering below par performances. Dele Alli was sustained for a while, then he was shown the mirror by former manager Jose Mourinho and the midfielder eventually left the club.

Despite playing five men at defence currently, they struggle to keep clean sheets. The players at the back, do not carry the stature of winners, Argentina’s Christian Romero being an exception. Only only player isn’t enough, they would need numerous big names to turn the picture.

When the transfer market arrives, Levy hesitates to spend big to sign huge personalities. Since Conte has arrived, no world class player has joined the club. Players like Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentacur and Richarlison might have improved the situation of the club a bit. But they are not players of high calibre like Casemiro, or Erling Haaland.

“They can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change,” Conte declared in a critique of the club’s culture, and by extension, the owners Enic and the chairman Daniel Levy.

All the managers that have managed the club have similar opinions about them. ‘I am not a magician,’ and ‘club needs an overhaul’ are some of the statements by recent managers, Conte and Mauricio Pochettino.

Levy is the root cause of the problem. If he would have provided Pochettino the funds to revitalize the squad after losing the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League final then the situation could have been different.

The Argentine manager could have made a huge difference in the last three to four seasons. He had a set group of players, and with one or two big signings, the state of affairs could have been completely different.

The club has just won one title since Levy took over in 2001. And selling the North London club to an owner, who can take care of club’s profits as well as on-field success, would be the right thing to do.