Right. I hate Tottenham as much as you, reader. I hate Tottenham because they are Tottenham. I do not hate the supporters because it is irrational to hate someone you have never met because of what they believe in (that is a slippery slope). I do not hate the staff who work their (anyone under Daniel Levy, but not including, that is) as they are just folks doing a job – they could work anywhere and I do not think all staff who work for Tottenham actually support the club.
I hate the idea of the club and its owners. For so long the club has been a “hanger-on”, believing itself to be one of the “Top 6” but never having the credibility to justify itself. It is the equivalent of a group of six friends who consider one of their number to be a “sixth wheel”. It’s embarrassing as Tottenham really do not have the sporting success, history or renown to carry the role. Arsenal may have slipped into mid-table, but no one can argue with our history, contribution to football (an architect of the Premier League and other aspects of football following Arsene Wenger’s tenure) and we will always be regarded as a European Giant.
Granted, it is easy to put the boot in when Arsenal are doing well and Tottenham are not. Football is strange as fortunes can change in a matter of weeks, so it’s always advised to watch what you say our write unless you are served a big slice of humble pie. But then sometimes you need to take your shots when given an opportunity to do so…..
Firstly, what do you think of Tottenham?
The Owners
Tottenham are majority owned by British businessman Joe Lewis, via ENIC Group. Lewis owns approx. 71% of ENIC while Daniel Levy owns the other 29% (which explains why he has not been sacked for gross incompetence yet). Despite being owned by Billionaires, this has not translated into major investment and meteoric rises up the Premier League table (like Manchester City and Chelsea etc). I have defended the Kroenke’s before insofar as they provide Arsenal with financial stability and would never gamble huge sums on marquee signings. However, at least they have recently added financial firepower to our transfer activity, focussing on investment in youth, which is reaping dividends. Levy/Lewis (called “Levis” from now on) haven’t even done that. Levis pride themselves on being “hard-nosed” and expert negotiators…..which is probably what Mr D.B.Trotter thinks of himself too.
However, consider this: Manchester City approach Tottenham for Harry Kane and offer a bug wedge of cash for him. Levis play “hard-ball” and hold out for a bigger price. Manchester City quietly does a deal for Jack Grealish, taking or leaving Harry Kane. They ultimately do the latter. While Manchester City didn’t get their man, they have certainly taken his desire and willingness to perform – for free!! So if you cannot neuter your Premier League rival by buying their star striker, you may as well turn him against his club.
Levis might sit back and toast their duplicity (promising to let Kane leave after 12 months in 2020 and then breaking it for selfish reasons – albeit Kane signed the contract so it’s equally his fault) in not allowing their Captain to leave for less than a King’s Ransom – but in so doing they have spoiled their prized asset. As widely predicted, he is no longer firing and anyone with even a passing interest in football could have told them this. Kane, after all, is an Arsenal fan, so maybe this adds a bit of spice to his otherwise “f*ck you” stance towards Levis and the club on the pitch.
Levis are a joke and have run the club into the ground. They are what many Arsenal supporters accused the Kroenke’s of doing/being – however, at least the Kroenke’s have showed they do actually care (after all) and are putting their money where their mouths are. The Kroenke’s aren’t perfect, clearly and obviously, but they aren’t stupid either.
Before I forget, what do you think of your answer to the above question?
Stadium
Tottenham recently moved to The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (clearly spent a lot of time workshopping that name) in 2019, albeit, when I say moved I mean moved out and then back in again as the stadium was built on the same ground as White Hart Lane. To be fair, this was an impressive logistical achievement given the difficulty of building in Central London, albeit not without its own delays and problems. Capacity is 62.9k attendees (The Emirates is about 60.7k). The Emirates Stadium cost approx. £390m while The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium cost £1,000m.
For Tottenham fans looking to boast about having the, marginally, bigger ground, the club paid (in broad terms) £16k per seat while Arsenal paid £6.5k per seat, I would not say that is value for money. Alternatively, put it another way, the difference is 2.2k seats between both grounds…the difference in cost between the stadiums is £610m…so a very expensive pissing contest indeed. Tottenham have however planned for the future by making the new stadium available for many non-football related events, which is clever. However, as events (indoor and outdoor) were hugely impacted from covid-19, this has set the club back 1-2 years in even beginning to recoup the costs of the build. They will achieve it but one wonders if a bit more intelligent planning, not driven by a desire to keep up with the neighbours and look like the big club they aren’t, could have saved some money somewhere along the line.
However, I cannot let a comment about Tottenham’s stadium slide without mentioning the elephant in the room. The stadium looks like a toilet. A literal toilet bowl. How did the designers, architects, builders, and even Levis not notice this? It beggars believe this has been constructed without someone mentioning its passing resemblance to a public convenience. Never mind. Clearly, the Architect was an Arsenal supporter (they must have been, right?).
Thank you – in response to your answer above.
Managers
I Will keep this brief. Arsene Wenger is, even being objective and balanced, one of the greatest managers in world football and of all time. Tottenham have never had a manager who could stand in Wenger’s shadow. Nuno has literally no idea what he is doing and has paid the price. Managing Tottenham is the truly impossible of task polishing such a turd, as is the current Tottenham squad that, that no one will ever succeed (maybe not, but at the moment not even Pepe would do a job there). As much as I hate the Holy Trinity that is Jose Mourinho (the man, the ego and the chip on his shoulder), even he could not get a tune out of them (so hilariously documented in “Nothing or Nothing” docu-comedy on Amazon Prime).
Can I just pause here to say that Ryan Mason is credited as Tottenham’s second most successful manager in their history (!?). He has not even won a trophy. Don’t believe me? Go to Wikipedia….
Tottenham have now had approximately 19 managers since Arsene Wenger joined in 1996. They have won the Football League Cup twice. What a return on investment, a serious investment too; they paid Mourinho £15m to walk away, before the League Cup Final, which he could have won as a last throw of the dice. They spent £12.5m sacking Pochettino. These serious figures could have been spent on players.
Or, as is likely, Levis played hard-ball over Kane as they wanted to recoup funds they wasted on the massive mistake that was sacking Pochettino and the next massive mistake that was hiring Mourinho.
Whom do they go for now Nuno has got his gardening leave? Who cares…
North London Rivals
To be honest, a big part of any football season is the NLD. We might collectively hate Tottenham, but having a Derby game to look forward to is always enjoyable. If we did not have that, we would miss it. That’s not to say I think Tottenham will be relegated (which would be funny) but it would be a genuine shame if, under Levis, the club continued to deteriorate into mid/lower half of the table non-entities. Smashing them at every NLD would be great, but (maybe I am in a minority here) doing so when they are reasonably good makes the victory sweeter. Having some jeopardy in the Derby games gives it the edge we enjoy.
However, by no measure are Tottenham our rivals. They are not rivals for the Premier League. They are not for any cup competition. Not for a European place. To be a rival, in my book, you need to have had some equivalent success. The Manchester Clubs, Liverpool, and Chelsea are genuine rivals. Tottenham have no right to consider themselves our rivals any more than any other club. Being within a certain geography does not warrant such a distinction.
Arsenal have won a total of 46 domestic trophies, Tottenham have won 21. Across all domestic competitions, only the League Cup is where Tottenham have won more respective trophies; 4 to Arsenal’s 2. Tottenham have won more European honours however, 3 to Arsenal’s 1, winning in 1963, 1972 and 1984. Arsenal lifted their only honour in 1994. So, with regards the former, there is really no comparison or rivalry there. The latter, Tottenham have been more successful in Europe, albeit in an era when European football resembled what the Europa Conference League looks like today. Needless to say, it would take a considerable amount of time for Tottenham to surpass Arsenal in terms of trophy haul.
Finally, over the years, there have been players who have “crossed the divide” from one club to another. Looking at the more contemporary moves, since 2000, Sol Campbell moved from Tottenham to Arsenal while David Bentley, William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor went the opposite direction. Now, I really might sound biased here, but this really is a case of quality over quantity. Campbell went on to become a powerhouse centre back for Arsenal and England, not to mention an Invincible. The three who went to Tottenham had an indifferent spell but largely disappeared. I would take that swap all day long and twice on Sunday. I think Tottenham fans have a right to feel cheated here.
They have some distant way to go before they could consider themselves our true rivals. The nonsense that if they win a NLD that North London is “white” or they have “won” North London (whatever that means) is silly. If it makes them feel good and Levis can sell a few DVDs as a result, then good luck to them.
Conclusion
Tottenham are not a good club. Not well run. Incompetent at player transfers or contract negotiations. Woeful at finding (and keeping) managers. Have a crap slogan (To Dare Is To Do?). Play in a toilet bowl. Are laughed at by the football world (the only club to have a term for self-implosion named after them: “Spursy”) and are not seriously considered anything resembling a serious football club.
What is happening to them is good entertainment for us Gooners. However, I think it would be genuinely sad if they continue this rot into oblivion. We need them some semblance of “good” so we can (paradoxically) continue to actively demonstrate how mediocre they are. Although they do a good enough job at doing that themselves…….