The architects of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium regretfully informed Daniel Levy there was no way he could have the glass roof he wanted. Not doable. Can’t happen. Got to be plastic.
Looking chuffed with himself, the Spurs chairman told Gary Neville how he wasn’t having it. How he had too much respect for Mother Earth to do that to her environment. How plastic goes yellow after five years, don’tcha know. How he refused to take no for an answer.
And so the impossible was made possible, because that is the legend of Levy, who has long been renowned for his ruthlessness in the shadows.
But then the construction of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – magnificent as it is – was not why supporters tuned in to hear from the elusive chap in the dark green polo sitting next to Gary Neville in Harry Kane’s old box.
They did not want to watch 35 minutes of backslapping fit for the Architectural Digest YouTube channel as Neville asked whether the floor they recycled from their old White Hart Lane site was concrete or resin, or what transfer beams were used, or how he navigated those roof negotiations.
They wanted word on that other glass ceiling of theirs, and we got to the good stuff eventually, after wading through the football regulator chat between Levy and Neville. It is an important issue, as is the ongoing impasse over a deal between the Premier League and EFL.
But then that dry topic would hardly have been the talk of The Bricklayers Arms over a Monday afternoon tipple. It would have been on their own club’s ambitions, on why Ange Postecoglou was sacked after winning the Europa League, on the selection of Thomas Frank as head coach to take them forward, on whether they are willing to spend as big as their counterparts.
They wanted to know whether Levy was ready to break through that barrier, 25 years into his time with Tottenham. Instead what they found was a man speaking with more passion about the buildings than the football.
Indeed when it suited, Levy seemed to distance himself from the footballing side entirely.
The club executive who started the interview by saying he never gets a summer because he is too busy with the transfer window insisted he has no clue why they have not been more successful.
He insisted he is not the one who ‘motivates the team’ or ‘picks the players’, with that responsibility falling on the manager he hires. He added they will support Frank ‘to the best of our ability’, but that they need some ‘luck’ if they are to take this team to the very top.
He insisted the fans’ pain is his pain and that he had to ignore the emotions of their Europa League triumph when sacking Postecoglou and study the ‘data points’ instead. That may not make it into a chant. ‘Data points, you’ll never sing that,’ does not have much of a ring to it.
What may rankle most with supporters, however, is being told that they will appreciate his work when he is no longer in charge. There was little attempt from Levy at winning over his critics in the here and now. Rather it was they won’t realise what they have got ’til it’s gone, as if Levy had been listening to Counting Crows on his way in for this cosy tour.
Look, Neville is no Paxman. He was never going to give Levy the grilling that he could have had.
He has spoken positively about the Tottenham chairman in the past, even bringing up in this interview how he once described him as the ‘best operator in football’ on Sky Sports. It was a great get by The Overlap in association with Sky Bet but somewhat sycophantic, with Levy presumably aware of the topics that would crop up.
My colleague, Riath Al-Samarrai, wrote an excellent column on Levy and Spurs in January, noting how only once in the last five seasons have Tottenham committed upwards of 47 per cent of their revenue on wages and that it is someway short of their Premier League counterparts. Levy was not challenged on that nearly enough for Spurs supporters’ liking.
The interview was believed to have been filmed back in June, given we could see that the stadium was being set up for the 50 Cent gig on July 3. The reason for the delay between the filming and release is unknown, but that will explain why there was no tribute to Heung-min Son after the club captain announced he will be leaving Tottenham.
Finishing with them staring at the Europa League trophy, Levy spoke of wanting to take Tottenham to the next level. Talk is cheap, and you suspect this interview will not stop Spurs supporters from maintaining that Levy is too.
