What ENIC and Daniel Levy have taken from Tottenham supporters

Just as hope started to return to N17, Daniel Levy and ENIC snatched it away faster than Nuno’s tenure at Tottenham has unravelled. 

It was just two years ago when Tottenham ascended to uncharted heights, coming within 90 minutes of lifting Europe’s most prestigious trophy. The 2-0 Champions League loss to Liverpool on June 1, 2019 marked the end of a few comparatively glorious years for Tottenham Hotspur.

Of course it was obvious, even before the great comeback in Amsterdam, not all was right behind the scenes at the club. Mauricio Pochettino made clear to the ownership group his need for unwavering support. The Argentinian required, and rightly so, full autonomy and a bag of cash to inject the squad with new blood and bonafide talent.

Daniel Levy’s first in a long line of catastrophic blunders

Daniel Levy, too interested in putting all his eggs in the new-stadium basket, refused his then-manager’s request for funds and real decision-making power. That was Levy and ENIC’s first and most egregious error in a long line of catastrophic, unforgivable blunders.

Pochettino could do no more with a squad that had reached their full potential. Just shy of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League within a span of a few years, Pochettino did what no other manager has come close to achieving at the club.

So instead of doing the logical thing and backing the club’s once-in-a-generation manager, a man who genuinely cared about supporters and players, Levy senselessly sacked Pochettino. Less than 24 hours later, Jose Mourinho was appointed.

Pochettino barely had time to pack his bags before the self-proclaimed Special One, with all his pomp and bravado, barged in. To no fault of Mourinho’s, Levy showed a complete lack of respect and gratitude for Pochettino and his lofty accomplishments.

Sure, Pochettino didn’t win a trophy, but if you don’t rate highly the accomplishment of making the Champions League final with the squad he had, you’re as clueless as Levy himself. Mourinho, with all his winning pedigree, was precisely the opposite of what Spurs needed to propel the club forward.

Another egregious mistake from ENIC and Levy

Signing a manger renowned for dogmatic, defence-first tactics belied everything Pochettino had built. It was only a matter of time before Mourinho’s negative, safe style of play alienated supporters. Count that as catastrophic mistake number two from the top brass.

Sandwiched in between you also have more non-sensical missteps, including the way Christian Eriksen’s departure has handled, the continual over reliance of Harry Kane, the infamous summer devoid of any transfer activity and the way in which Levy furloughed 550 non-playing staff during the onset of the pandemic. 

Those are just a sample of Levy’s atrocities in recent years. Combine that with the latest farce of a managerial hunt, the way Kane has been managed and the eventual selection of Nuno Espirito Santo and you’re left with a club in a shambolic state of disrepair.

Tottenham supporters completely drained of belief and hope

All the hope and belief Spurs supporters gained during Pochettino’s tenure has since evaporated. Animosity, frustration, disillusionment and sorrow is all supporters have left in the destructive wake of Levy’s tsunami.

If this isn’t rock bottom, I shudder to think what is.

2019 now feels like a lifetime ago, as the joy and desire supporters once felt for their beloved club has temporarily, and palpably, faded.

Firing Nuno will be yet another half measure in a facade of an attempt to appease supporters. The head of the snake needs to be removed to restore hope and belief to the club we all adore. And for that to happen, nothing but ENIC’s wholesale departure from north London will suffice.