The man who drove Tottenham into a wall

Tottenham Hotspur are in crisis after the Newcastle debacle. Club boss Daniel Levy bears great complicity – who recently has not always shown a golden hand.

86 points and second in the table behind Chelsea, who have dominated this season. Tottenham Hotspur played the most successful season in club history in 2016/17 under the direction of Mauricio Pochettino. Club boss Daniel Levy saw himself confirmed in his player and coaching decisions of the years before. The squad had a mix of experience and homegrown talent that fitted perfectly into Spurs’ DNA.

Two years later, the Pochettino era also experienced its international high point when the Spurs fought their way into the final of the Champions League. There, the Londoners ultimately lost to Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool FC, but Levy and Pochettino were still able to look back on the season with great satisfaction.

A few months later, however, the great euphoria should be over. Players like Tanguy Ndombelé or Giovani Lo Celso, for whom Levy digged deep into his pockets in the summer, didn’t work at all and a little later shouldn’t have a future in London either.

Premier League: Datencenter

After just three wins from twelve games and already 20 points behind leaders Liverpool, Levy announced in November 2019 that he was leaving the Argentinian head coach, who took over Spurs in 2014 and led them to the top of the world. A decision that should then fall on the feet of the 61-year-old.

Pochettino was followed by star coach José Mourinho, who made up a few places with the Spurs and finished the season in sixth place. After a mixed season, Mourinho also had to resign prematurely – a few days before the final of the League Cup, which the Spurs had reached under the Portuguese, but ultimately lost 0-1 to Manchester City.

Levy, who has held the post of club boss since 2001 and is currently the longest-serving league president, admitted a month after Mourinho’s sacking that the club had deviated from its core values. The Brit promised Spurs fans to get better and that he would get his club back on track.

Under Mourinho, the Londoners had played the slowest and most unappealing football fans had seen in a long time. Many fans demanded a manager whose style was similar to Pochettino’s. Levy also recognized this desire and spoke in an open letter to the fans of “free-flowing, offensive and entertaining football” that they should look forward to. Nothing should come of it.

Interim coach Ryan Mason only led the Spurs to seventh place and thus into the newly introduced UEFA Conference League. Finally, on June 30, 2021, Levy confirmed Nuno Espirito Santo as the new head coach.

However, Santo’s tenure was also short-lived. His chapter as head coach in London ended after just four months and Antonio Conte was unveiled as the Portuguese’s successor.

Conte – whose signing was viewed critically by some Spurs supporters because his style is more reminiscent of Mourinho than Pochettino – was also unable to deliver the “offensive and entertaining football” promised by Levy and was sacked in March 2023.

At the request of the club boss, his assistant coach Cristian Stellini should end the season on a Champions League spot, but after the horrendous 1: 6 swatter at premier class competitor Newcastle United, this plan of the 61-year-old also failed with a crash. With six games to go before the end of the season, the Spurs have finally said goodbye to the Champions League race and put Stellini on leave early.

Once again it is Ryan Mason who will end the season on an interim basis. “Ryan knows the club and the players well,” emphasized the club boss in an open statement to the fans. Levy now has the next opportunity to fulfill his promise after burning coach after coach in the years following Pochettino.

As can be seen from the English media, the majority of Spurs fans are demanding the return of the Argentine, who is currently without a club after leaving PSG. However, if Levy decides not to make contact and lets the fans see Pochettino signing for city rivals Chelsea, the 61-year-old is likely to have lost his last credit with the supporters.

With Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique, prominent names for the successor to Antonio Conte were recently circulating. It remains to be seen if Levy will finally appoint a manager who fits the profile he set out after Mourinho’s sacking – attacking and entertaining.