Every mistake Tottenham & Daniel Levy have made since 2019
For much of Daniel Levy's tenure as Tottenham chairman, he oversaw a lot of undeniable and tangible progress.
Spurs were mid-table fodder when ENIC took control of the club in 2001. Since then, they've elevated the club to consistent European contenders (despite a lack of silverware) and have invested in state-of-the-art facilities.
But when they viewed the time had come to turn from nearly-men to winners, they took the club backwards again. And again. And again.
Here are Levy and the Spurs board's greatest blunders since their peak of reaching the 2019 UEFA Champions League final.
1. Too little, too late in the transfer market
This one's a bit of a prelude to this whole debacle, but it still runs true.
From 2018 to 2019, Tottenham went nearly 18 months without making a signing. Not one. Zilch. Nada. The board bemoaned that conducting transfer activity was hard.
Spurs spent the 2018/19 season running on fumes. Mauricio Pochettino's magic saw the club reach their first ever Champions League final in dramatic fashion, but a rebuild was clearly needed.
Tottenham signed two new star players in Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso - both proved to be hugely underwhelming - while the additions of youngsters Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke did little to help the immediate cause.
2. Replacing Mauricio Pochettino with Jose Mourinho
Sacking Pochettino was totally understandable. Results were poor - not awful, but poor nonetheless. The squad looked depleted and out of ideas.
What was not understandable was Levy - on record in the club's Amazon Prime documentary - claiming that 2019 Jose Mourinho was 'one of the two best managers in the world'.
The chairman clearly thought the squad was closer to challenging for major honours than was actually the case.
3. Furloughing club staff during lockdown
A Football club that would be sold for billions if it were put on the market furloughing the everyman club staff during an unprecedented global pandemic was a horrendous look. It was only saved and minimised in hindsight by a swift reversal, but this would not be the only tone-deaf action undertaken by Levy and co.
4. The Super League debacle
A lot of people claim that Levy didn't back Mourinho, but Spurs' summer 2020 window was considered pretty good at the time - they were even named our winners of the transfer window.
Tottenham were top in December, though rapidly fell off a cliff throughout the rest of the winter. Levy can't take too much blame for that.
But while Spurs were in decline, they sneakily signed up for the European Super League. Fan protests saw them withdraw from it a couple of days later.
5. Sacking Jose Mourinho a week before a cup final
Levy really dropped the ball with his timing and ruthlessness of his managerial changes. He used to be renowned for pulling the trigger too quickly, but has since dilly-dallied when needing to be cut-throat.
His decision to sack Mourinho would have gone down a bit better if it occurred in February or March, but not a week before facing Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final.
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6. Entrusting in Fabio Paratici
The good news for Spurs was that Levy was realising the error of his ways and wanted to hand control of Football operations over to an experienced professional.
The bad news was that Fabio Paratici was given the keys to the club after leaving Juventus under a cloud of moral and legal uncertainty.
Still, what's the worst that could happen?
7. Having to walk back on Gennaro Gattuso...
Levy stated in May 2021 that the club had lost sight of key priorities and their next manager needed to encourage a style with 'Spurs DNA'.
This was an immediate mismatch with Paratici who sought a more defensive-minded coach. He wanted to appoint the hideously unqualified Gennaro Gattuso, only for fans to protest against such a move due to previous racist, sexist and homophobic comments.
The club called off negotiations.
8. ...and settling on Nuno Espirito Santo
The ultra-conservative Nuno left Wolves at the end of the 2020/21 season and was heavily linked to the jobs at Everton and Crystal Palace, only to be overlooked.
He somehow landed on his feet at Tottenham. Two plus two equals five.
9. Entrusting in Fabio Paratici 2: Electric Boogaloo
The fears of the Tottenham board were realised when it was confirmed in November 2022 that Paratici would be charged as part of an investigation against Juventus and their financial mismanagement in recent years.
Juve's entire board resigned, but Spurs kept their head in the sand hoping the problem would simply disappear, bafflingly keeping Paratici on until the bitter end.
He finally left his post towards the end of April when his worldwide Football ban was upheld. Considering Spurs still leant on his judgement over a new manager until his resignation, this proved a costly call.
10. Not acting sooner with Antonio Conte
Tottenham should have moved on from Conte when all signs were trending down and it became obvious over the winter that he would not commit his future.
They would have had ample time to find and interview suitable replacements, but instead found themselves in a strange situation that culminated with the Italian losing his rag and lashing out at the players and owners in a press conference.
11. WHY IS CRISTIAN STELLINI IN CHARGE??
What's the best way to get rid of the lingering stench that Conte left behind?
Promote his loyal, long-term assistant. Genius!
12. The tone-deaf Cambridge Union talk
With Tottenham stumbling from one disaster to another, Levy needed to prove his doubters wrong and show that he had a plan to fix the club's various messes.
Speaking at the Cambridge Union for nearly an hour in a slightly self-indulgent manner was not the way to go.
13. Sacking the interim manager for another interim manager
Sunday's 6-1 implosion at Newcastle was the result of four years of negligence at board level.
Stellini was not qualified to be a head coach, and his association to the unpopular Conte left an uNBAlanced dressing room short of desire and energy.
It was a failure at every level.
To their (very, very, VERY) minimal credit, a refund was issued to match-going supporters by the first team. Only for a computing error to strip those fans of loyalty points in the process, which is a simple bug but is horrendous for the optics.
14. Allowing Mauricio Pochettino to join Chelsea
Should Pochettino have been a standout candidate to replace Conte? Not necessarily, but he should have at least been in the running. He wasn't, in part due to Paratici's oversight.
90min has long reported that the Argentine would have been interested in a return to north London, and even late into talks with Chelsea recently would have answered any call from Spurs. That ship has sailed.
Fans shouldn't be able to dictate who the manager is willy-nilly but the chants for Pochettino at recent home Games painted a clear message - the board should have admitted the error of their ways. And now the greatest Tottenham coach in a generation has a clear path to join their rivals.
15. Neither the men's team or women's team have a manager - what the hell is happening?
Neither senior team has a manager.
The men's side are finally and deservedly tumbling down the Premier League table.
The women's side remain in danger of relegation, with the Daily Mail reporting that Levy wants to make the WSL a closed shop.
It seems impossible for matters to get worse, but can you trust the club to not make such an endeavour?
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