Levy did many good things but there was always chaos and confusion summed up by a major trophy and the lowest league position in 17 years in the same season
Jeremy joined the Daily Star in 2010 as Manchester football correspondent and for more than a decade has served as our Chief Sports Writer. He provides expert coverage on Manchester United and Manchester City, the Premier League as a whole, and the England football team. Jeremy has covered football, rugby and cricket World Cups, as well as Wimbledon, the golf majors and the Olympics.
Some will call it the end of an era. And some will view it as the end of an error.
Daniel Levy, the longest serving chairman in the Premier League, has brought the curtain down on a performance few will demand an encore from. Quitting at the top is one of the hardest things to do in sport.
And Levy has decided to end his reign just months after his personal nirvana – Tottenham’s Europa League triumph over Manchester United in Bilbao. All good things come to those who wait.
But the fact Levy had to do this for 17 years before Spurs won their first silverware since the last one – back in 2008 – speaks volumes for how failing his tenure was. Not to mention how thick-skinned he’d become.
Levy, who took charge in 2001, hired and fired more managers than supporters will care to recall. He also turned Tottenham into a business, and in turn a selling club who put profit before prizes.
Harry Kane cost them nothing and gave them everything. But he went for £100m. Gareth Bale, Kyle Walker, Dimitar Berbatov and Luka Modric were also sacrificed in return for serious cash.
The end result was Levy becoming the master of mediocrity in north London and beyond. It’s true Levy masterminded the construction of the best stadium in the UK.
It’s just a shame he couldn’t also oversee providing long-suffering supporters with a team befitting of such sumptuous surroundings.
Tottenham have been mired in chaos and confusion during Levy’s reign. And nothing supports this claim more than when he decided to sack Ange Postecoglou as manager – 16 days after one of the club’s greatest moments.
“We have built this club into a global heavyweight, competing at the highest level,” said Levy.
For the record. Tottenham finished 17th in the table last season. Their lowest finish in almost half a century. They only find themselves in the Champions League because of Postecoglou – not Levy.
Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and, whisper it, Arsenal, remain light years ahead of Tottenham when it comes to competing at the ‘highest level’.
It’s telling that most Tottenham fans are now celebrating his departure rather than mourning it. They took to social media to write the bloke’s epitaph.
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