ETHAN DOYLE
The beautiful game:
Created by the poor; stolen by the rich.
Photos by Ethan Doyle
Greed over
Glory
Since 2001, Daniel Levy has brought nothing but failure during his tenure as chairman, minimal investment, transfer blunders and disastrous managerial appointments have all brewed and culminated a culture of failure and acceptance for the clubs lacklustre performances. The club currently sits in 16th and is on course to record one of its worst league finishes since the inception of the premier league. From champions league finals to relegation scraps. Whats gone wrong for Levys Tottenham? Naïve tactics mixed with poor signings may point towards the failures this league season, however looking deeper
it’s much more the just that, whilst the club itself is one of the richest clubs in the world the ownership has only put in £120m of their own money of which includes a £97.5 million share issues with the majority of transfers being funded by freed up wages and cash made by selling players, whilst their rivals pull away with clubs like Aston villa (whose owners have put in £600 million), Newcastle and Arsenal pushing for silverware; Spurs now more than ever only seem interested in monetary gain, with the stadium being branded as a multipurpose entertainment venue.
Exclusive with Change For Tottenham (CFT)
In an exclusive conversation with Change For Tottenham I was able to ask the impacts they felt they were having why they started CFT, the ticketing system and the groups vision.
“The growing wave of protests we have planned and organised is already having an impact; it’s reminding the club that supporters are not just a revenue stream, we’re its foundation. Change is coming, and we’re here to make sure it's driven by the fans, for the fans. “
CFT on ticketing policies “We believe ticketing should prioritise access not profit. Recent protests and fan-led actions are already making waves, forcing the club and the wider football world to listen. This is more than a movement, its a message: football belongs to the fans and we're not going anywhere.”
Levynomics
How many times would Daniel Levy of sacked himself had he of been first team coach? The club has had 11 managers over the last 20 years, with elite names like Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte unable to bring success to the club , managers who have been successful wherever they’ve been winning European silverware, domestic cups and league titles why has it that Tottenham is the only blemish on their CV? False promises of backing with elite talent, and poor performances has led to these serial winners ultimately leaving the club with a flurry of furious comments with conte quoting “ Tottenham’s story is this: 20 years there is this owner and they never won anything. Why? “Conte soon left by mutual consent.
Photos by Ethan Doyle
Financial breakdown
Photos by Ethan Doyle
Effect on fans
Over the course of the 24/25 season Tottenham have amassed a net spend of £120 million ranking 6th in overall expenditure and 4th in net spend , whilst this may seem like a large amount it is important to note Tottenham have massively reduced their wage bill over the last 2 years with the likes of Club captain Hugo Lloris leaving as well as record goal scorer Harry Kane , Tanguy Ndombele , Ivan Perisic , Pierre Emile Hojberg and Eric Dier, with most of these players being on bumper contracts its meant spurs have been able to spread their costs across multiple players in the hopes that one of them could be a star as opposed to signing ready-made elite footballers. With reports already circulating Tottenham will need to sell before they buy, fans are understandably unhappy after what has been a disappointing league season and this notion the club has to sell before they buy is nothing but lies with Tottenham ranked as the 8th richest club in the world with a valuation of $3.2 billion according to Forbes.
Tottenham fans currently and prior to the opening of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have had to pay a premium for Season tickets and normal tickets and within the current economic landscape being a season ticket holder has incurred an astronomical cost with spurs cheapest season ticket being £856 ranking them as the second most expensive season ticket behind north London rivals Arsenal many fans feel the spending or lack of spending on signings and lack of success doesn’t warrant such a high costing season ticket especially when looking at Manchester city, who are arguably the most successful team in England over recent years, their fans only incur a £425 hit for the cheapest season ticket thus ranking them as the 16th most expensive season ticket in the league. It is clear for most to see Daniel Levy is
Photos by Ethan Doyle
pricing fans out of supporting Tottenham and with senior concessions being scraped citing the financing model would become unsustainable as a result of this it has led to the movement ‘save our seniors‘ aimed at restoring senior concessions and working in partnership with Change For Tottenham (CFT). Many fans as a result of increased ticket costs feel the ground on a matchday is more of a tourist attraction, with fans wearing half and half scarves within the south stand supposedly to be a wall of sound, many fans have decided to either not renew their season tickets or sell them on the ticket exchange often bought by less ‘loud ‘ fans and instilling the feeling of the ground being a tourist attraction. In a recent conversation between myself and CFT they commented on the ticketing policies citing them as “a growing disconnect between the club and its community“ the current ticket costs are driving away local fans and members of one of the poorest areas in London“ we believe tickets should prioritise access not profit “