Roy Keane has said that he does not understand why Daniel Levy gets all the blame for Tottenham’s failure to win big trophies, with the pundit pointing out that the club have struggled to compete for silverware for the last four decades.
Levy is undoubtedly a divisive figure among the Spurs fan base and going by the general sentiment on social media, it does seem like the Tottenham chairman has far more detractors than he has supporters.
The work he has done to elevate Spurs off the pitch is unquestionable as he has helped establish the Lilywhites as one of the biggest and richest clubs in Europe, thanks to some meticulous planning and prudent decisions.
However, Tottenham have not got their hands on any silverware since 2008 and many point their finger at Levy for that failure, accusing him of not backing the team sufficiently at the right moments.
Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand defend Daniel Levy
That was the debate that Keane had with Ian Wright and Les Ferdinand in the Stick to Football podcast, with the Man Utd legend coming to Levy’s defence.
When Ferdinand was asked why the Tottenham chairman does not spend at crucial moments, he said: “I have got no idea.
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“I think he has this reputation of being a wheeler, dealer that he is and he has done some fantastic deals in terms of players going out at Spurs, when they are ready to leave and I think he just enjoys that part of it, he enjoys being involved in it and making that decision.
“He’s not alone in directors and chairman being involved in parts of the football club that they should leave well alone.
“I think he has done some great deals and he has brought in a fella called Scott Munn now, who is set to take over the day-to-day running of the football club. That’s yet to be seen. He is so heavily involved in it that people still go to him and I don’t see him putting that mantle down any time soon.”
Ian Wright remarked: “That’s a shame. I’m sure the fans want an unbelievable stadium but they want to win things Tottenham fans.”
However, Keane disagreed with the sentiment, stating: “Yeah, but they have not won for the last 30 or 40 years. Why are they just putting it on Levy in the last 10 or 15 years regarding the new stadium, as if that is all he’s obsessed with? Spurs have been like that for a long time.”
Wright then responded: “But they get to a place and it just plateaus. That’s up to Levy to make the decision. What more does Pochettino have to do, to say listen we’ve finished second, got to the Champions League, we just need a little bit more. Someone has to take the leap.”
Spurs Web Opinion
There is no doubt that Levy deserves criticism for many of the wrong decisions he has made, particularly during the last five years.
However, the ‘Levy-out’ brigade behave like a cult and are devoid of any reason, refusing to give the Spurs chairman any credit at all while blaming him for everything that ever goes wrong.
Tottenham were considerably worse both on and off the pitch in the 1990s and the early 2000s than they have been over the last decade and a half. We have had some amazing squads since 2010 and it makes no sense to solely blame Levy for our inability to win semifinals and finals time and again.
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