DANIEL LEVY - THE LAUGHING ASSASSIN

Tottenham chairman sticks the knife in yet again

SIGNING ON - Daniel Levy welcomes Juande Ramos to Spurs just a year ago

By ANDY DUNN, Chief Sports Writer, 26/10/2008

THERE have been a thousand internet jokes doing the rounds about Spurs over the last couple of days.

But none were funnier than the one cracked late last night.

Barely 12 hours before one of their most crucial League games in recent history, they show the coaching staff the door en masse. That is some gag.

Only a few days ago, chairman Daniel Levy was reported to be standing fully and squarely behind Juande Ramos.

And we all know what happens when Levy stands fully and squarely behind you - the cold steel is heading between your shoulder blades.

Just ask Martin Jol.

It is only a year ago that the Dutchman was booted out of White Hart Lane a matter of weeks after Levy had appeared on the club's television station - relaxed and casual in an open-neck shirt - to give Jol his 100 per cent backing.

SIGNING OFF - Daniel Levy says farewell to Martin Jol

And that came only a few days after a couple of Levy's cronies were caught playing footsie with Ramos under a tapas table in Spain.

Levy's unequivocal backing for Jol soon turned into unequivocal termination.

And Ramos should have seen the warning signs flashing over his plate of Spanish omelette.

Levy - who will be revealed as being a major earner when the Spurs accounts are published this week - surely must soon held to his own account.

Whether or not you think Harry Redknapp is the man who can finally bring some stability and success to Spurs, the manner of his appointment is pretty odious.

SIGN OF THE TIMES - Daniel Levy with the man he's just sacked as director of football Damien Comolli

And while Levy comes across quite naturally as a comicbook villain, we should not overlook the role of genial Harry in all this.

It was only a few months ago when Harry decided to stay at Portsmouth despite being given the chance to manage what he would describe as one of the big clubs - Newcastle.

At the time, it was perceived that Redknapp was rewarding Portsmouth for the way they had treated him and for the values that they hold as a football club.

Golden

In fact, the mutual love-in between himself and the Fratton Park hierarchy was almost nauseating.

Good old Harry could never leave good old Pompey.

Salt of the earth both and a match that would now wander towards a golden retirement together.

But it is now clear that Redknapp always hankered after one of the glamour jobs - especially if it paid a reported three-year £3million a year deal.

There is no problem with Redknapp accepting the challenge of restoring the lustre to a once proud club but there is a problem when he prattles on the lack of loyalty in the game.

Freakish

These latest rather grubby shenanigans show that principles and respect are alien concepts in the Premier League.

Ramos can hardly complain about losing his job and collecting a handsome compensation cheque so relatively quickly after his appointment.

A relatively freakish Carling Cup success was the only fleeting glimpse of promise in an otherwise miserable reign.

And by all accounts, he accepted the news of his departure - and a P45 with several noughts attached - with a certain degree of happy resignation.

The employment and Ramos and Gus Poyet was pretty much a miserable experiment however, that does not excuse the manner of his dismissal - in the same way that Jol's handsome compensation cheque did not dismiss the manner of the Ramos appointment.

The common denominator in both farcical scenarios is the man who will still not take responsibility for the comedy that has become Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

And that man responsible is Daniel Levy.

Your comments

This article has 17 comments

Levy has made mistakes, followed the hype as he lacks any real football knowledge, anyone could have told him that a completely foreign management staff was doomed, and that the continental idea of a director of football wouldn’t work, but he was trying to be progressive, to insure the financial safety of Spurs. His latest move comes as no surprise, he has trimmed the deadwood and brought in a proven people motivator who would refuse to allow other to make his transfers, Levy gets it now... we need a leader... not on the pitch but in the dressing room, that leader will inspire others to lead on the pitch, something Ramos (and to a lesser extent Jol) could never do! Levy has exposed himself at the top of the tree after his culling of all the deadwood below him and placed his trust in a proven manager who is desperate for one last shot at the big time... in my opinion Levy should be praised for what he has done for this club not dragged over the coal’s for making mistakes and being decisive in his correcting of his errors.... that’s all I got to say

By lodvic.. Posted October 26 2008 at 11:59 PM.

There too many factors that have led to the current situations Spurs find themselve in.
From the manager, players, DOF and Levy all have contributed to this. Levy may of made some mistake, is every other chairman perfrect, no..!
Levy has done far more good to keep the club financially where it is for the good of the club, as stated in his letter.
His letter, I think says enough for most Spurs fan to understand the difficultys there is in running a club, players wanting to leave, other clubs and agents playing their part. It is a thankless job unless your No.1.
But I think most Spurs fans give respect to Levy for what he has acheived and tried to do for the club.
It just typical of the press and others to do their best to slate Levy and the club, but why not read what is being said by the Club instead of just writing and slating for the sake of it, but you would be doing yor jobs if you didn't
Other fans, we all want the best for our clubs we support, remember it could be any club next time, so don't gloat too much.

By RO.. Posted October 26 2008 at 11:34 PM.

You gotta feel sorry for Ramos, best of luck for the future Ramos and Gus, you done well, thanks for the Carling Cup!

By Michael Kenneth Hodgson.. Posted October 26 2008 at 9:04 PM.

An anagram of 'Levy' is evyL and as far as Sours are concerned he has certainly lived up to the anagram.

By Beach_Bum.. Posted October 26 2008 at 2:34 PM.

I am pleased with the movements of the last 24 hours.I just could not see any way that Ramos could halt Spurs freefall.Whatever is commented on Daniel Levy, he is a lifelong Spurs Fan...I think we sometimes forget that fact, so does not make choices lightly.And rightly or wrongly, as Chairman, the decisions rest on his shoulders. I think it is very easy to critisize and voice opinions when we are not involved in the decision making processes at Football clubs ourselves, and surely would not want to be either.I was never overkeen on the Ramos appointment as I was always an admirer of BMJ, and truly believed that he could have realistically turned our season around, Unfortuately he was never given that time or backing by the board and the rest is history.Ramos was undoubtedly a talented coach in Spain, but his record here proved that the EPL is a different animal completely. I like Harry Redknapp and I know White Hart Lane will love him.He may not have won UEFA Cups, but he know the English game inside out and worked miracles without funds at Pompey.I think we should see what he can do to salvage our plight and back him 100%.When I awoke this morning the clocks had gone back an hour but I really do feel that with the new man in place minus DOF Commoli and the rest of his clowns Spurs can and will move forward.
COYS

By Kenny Johnson.. Posted October 26 2008 at 2:17 PM.

D. Levy needs to learn from this, he and us the fans got too carried away with our top 5/6 finishes with martin jol. We need to establish ourselves as top 6 year after year, then set out to break the top 4, we all got too impatient demanding success with a top 4 finish when we havent, finished top 6 consistently, lets learn to walk before we try to run.
For me I was gutted by the way Ramos let the team drift after the cup success last season when we should have been pushing for a strong finish in the league, that raised some serious questions over the mans ability to motivate . Besides Berbatov and Keane going Ramos should never have allowed STeeeeed to leave that was a huge mistake , unforgiveable, that man gave 110% for spurs every time he played, Ramos had to go and I have now got some hope that the team can get out of this mess, it will still be touch and go but at least we have a motivator now. Time to re-light the FIRE, COME ON YOU SPURS , COME ON YOU SPURS.

By Tottenham Tone.. Posted October 26 2008 at 2:03 PM.

Another placebo for a terminal illness is Rednap. Those biggin up Levy should be ashamed of themselves. I have followed Spurs for over 40 years and if relegation is the only way that we are rid of Daniel Pariah Levy, then I would rather go down than continue to support a mickey mouse club.

By Camel with the Hump.. Posted October 26 2008 at 11:08 AM.

Ramos is a proven quality manager in the Spanish league but could not adapt to the premiership and due to his unproficiency in English was not able to communicate to the players in the manner which was needed even with the help of interpreter Poyet. His motivational qualities were seen to be lacking and unfortunately he compounded this by his misguided tactical approach and team selection. What works in Spain and with predominately Spanish players thus no language problem does not mean that it's going to be sucessful here too. Levy is absolutely right to take this action now and if any manager can save us from Relegation then it's Harry Redknapp. It's now make or break for us guys. COYS!!!!

By Dutchspur.. Posted October 26 2008 at 11:37 AM.

Please,

stop this comedy at the Lane!
Can someone buy out the ENIC clowns?

By Jan.. Posted October 26 2008 at 11:19 AM.

what else could the chairman do , 3 wins since the end of feb says it all ,
where i believe levy got it wrong was in getting rid of graham for the "fans" choice , hoddle , look where that got us.
i'd wager that bentley is chuffed with harry coming in, how can that lad go from being so good to so bad , levy must be wondering the same .

By colin ansell.. Posted October 26 2008 at 10:23 AM.

This is a joke. When did English football try to become the new Italian or Spanish? Sacking managers so early into the season! Well never mind spurs fans, there's always next season. hmmm.. where have I heard that before? Sorry to say it but you're going down with the Geordies.

By Gary Hilton.. Posted October 26 2008 at 9:45 AM.

Not surprised he has that false smile and that smug look on his face which only a mother could like,cant stand the man,reminds me of Robert Maxwell.

By michael campbell.. Posted October 26 2008 at 9:20 AM.

Please please please....somebody buy out the Enic clowns from our great club. RedKnapp is a decent enough bloke and let's hope he can keep us up but long term I'm not sure he can deliver us Champions League football. The man they should have gone after is Mourhinho.

By Paulie.. Posted October 26 2008 at 8:47 AM.

If beating The Arsenal young stars should count then Spurs shouldn`t have sacked Ramos. On the ther hand, it is sad that Chairmen can not sack themselves. Levy should have been the one to go first.

Football has gone to the dogs now. Owners have more powers than before. Look at the mess Newcastle are in! As a Gooner I am lovin` this from Spurs! Long may it continue. may be it will shut their fans. After all the talk of breaking in the top four!

By Nania.. Posted October 26 2008 at 4:52 AM.

if you make a mistake in life should you not try to put it right, Yes levy made a mistake with ramos and commoli, they were both the wrong choice, on the other hand jol had lost the dressing room, and had to go, your article blames levy, but as the MD at tottenham his job is to do right by the club, so why hang on to the people whom are not up to the job. Today he has righted a wrong, good leaders learn from and act on their mistakes, I believe harry will help tottenham avoid relagation, where we go from there and if he is the man to take us, to where every supporter of every club wants to go, only time will tell, but at present the goal must be to aviod relagation. As harry knows only too well, its horses for courses, good luck harry, good luck daniel.

By thfc rich.. Posted October 26 2008 at 3:33 AM.

I don't think Mr Dunn, you have a clue as to the way a PLC has to work.
You are critical of the manner in which Juande Ramos was sacked Why?. Whether you like the way Daniel Levy does business or not. Mr. Ramos had forced Tottenham PLC into taking drastic steps.. Levy had to make the ultimate decision

By Lightning Smith.. Posted October 26 2008 at 1:33 AM.

Our club is in a mess. When we had Martin Jol we was one game away from getting in the champions league ! Now we have just got rid of yet another quality manager In Ramos! Who will be next when harry dont reach the heights expected. To be blunt, if a manager that won the uefa cup two years running (ramos) and also done excellent in his domestic league, cant win one match from 8 games, then you have to ask yourself if the problem really lies with him. The club has gone backwards and we can only hope that Harry takes our club back to where Martin Jol had it and hes gonna need at least two seasons to attempt it, anything else would be a bonus. We let too many proven and experienced premiership players go and Ramos isnt to blame for the farcical that is Tottenham Hotspur. He got given players, it ridiculous. The board Got rid of our top premiership players like Berb, Keane, Defoe, Chimbonda, Malbrainque, Robinson etc and replaced them with unproven players who cant get down with the husltle of the prem. Harry will give us the lift just like Ramos did last season when he came in. Lets not forget Ramos was the first Spurs manager to beat Arsenal in 9 years, and also the first to win the league cup in as many years, but yet he gets sacked?? As we're having a clear-out we might as well get rid of Levy, because he has been the one who has ultimately made the mistakes.

By TopSpur.. Posted October 26 2008 at 1:34 AM.

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