Tim Sherwood has launched a passionate defence of Daniel Levy, insisting that the Tottenham chairman is not the one to blame for the club’s lack of silverware over the last 17 years.
A lot of Spurs fans are of the belief that the club’s owners have put profit before glory. Thousands of Tottenham supporters protested against Levy and ENIC in February.
Another big Spurs protest has been announced by the fan group, Change for Tottenham, on April 6, as the supporters look to ratchet up the pressure on the owners and get them out of the club.
Those fans would not like to hear what Sherwood has to say about Levy’s impact, with the pundit urging the Tottenham chairman not to cede to the fans’ demands.
Tim Sherwood comes to Daniel Levy’s defence
The former Tottenham midfielder rejected the idea that the time has come for Levy to move on, insisting that the 62-year-old has backed the managers he has hired.
He pointed to Spurs’ net spend as evidence that Levy loosened his purse strings and suggested that the criticism the Tottenham supremo gets is unfair.
Sherwood told Foot Italia: “I don’t think he needs to move on. Daniel Levy’s job is to secure a solid infrastructure at the club and give funds to the manager to buy the players based on what the recruitment team are telling them.
“Spurs have spent the money, and the recruitment hasn’t gone to plan, but that’s not Levy’s fault. Perhaps the wages could be distributed differently to help attract better-quality players, but he’s a businessman. I can understand the fans’ frustrations, but I think they’re emotional given the club’s situation and performance this season.
“I know Levy is the common denominator; he’s been at the club throughout the whole process, so it’s easy to point the finger at him. But I think the criticism is unfair and I don’t blame him.”
Have Tottenham been less successful under Levy?
The issue of how much responsibility falls on Levy’s shoulders for Tottenham’s lack of trophies is one that divides opinion, and it is unlikely that people are going to change their minds on the issue.
Some fans will insist that trophies are the only things that count, which is understandable, but even there, Tottenham have reached many more semifinals and finals over the last decade and a half than they did in the first 15 years of the Premier League.
The club have thus been closer to winning the biggest trophies under the current owners than they have been before but have somehow conspired to always fail at the final hurdle.
It is perhaps a bit unfair to entirely blame Levy for Tottenham bottling semifinals and finals consistently.
Their record shows that the Tottenham hierarchy have managed to put together extremely competitive squads that reach the latter stages of competitions, but there is no doubt that Levy will be desperate for the club to get over the line and end their trophy drought.
