Opinion: A crazy 24 hours for Spurs – My message to Daniel Levy

I wanted to sleep on the news about the European Super League before writing an opinion piece. Little did I know when I sat down at my desk this morning that Jose Mourinho would be out of a job within the hour.

It has been, without a doubt, the craziest 24 hours in the life of a Spurs fan for quite some time. The sad thing is that all of this mayhem has come without a ball being kicked.

Any Spurs fan wants the team to be creating mind-blowing headlines on the pitch, yet we consistently seem to make considerably more waves away from it, and certainly far away from success.

I think the one thing I have always held onto is that Tottenham do it the right way.

Yes, the likes of Chelsea and Man City have waltzed in and thrown money at the Premier League, guaranteeing them success year after year. That has brought trophies but that has never been something I wanted.

Call me old fashioned but I would rather win one Premier League title than buy ten.

From Martin Jol to Harry Redknapp to Mauricio Pochettino – it has always felt as if Tottenham were looking to go on a journey and the fans were always invited.

The aim of the club was to grow, to develop and to improve as a group project without drowning the magic of the football in endless supplies of cash. The club had direction and it was fun to be a part of.

We all know how it felt to watch Spurs push for a title under Pochettino, as well as reaching the Champions League final. It was the culmination of the efforts from a decade’s worth of players, managers, staff members and fans. We were all in it together.

I have never felt closer to my club than those few prime years under Pochettino. The idea of the 12th man had never felt more literal. It really seemed as if the fans mattered to the manager, the players and the club. They were doing it for us and, most importantly, with us.

No matter the twists and turns, I have always been a confident supporter of Daniel Levy for these reasons. The man always seemed as though he cared about Tottenham and had dedicated so many years of his life to improve the club.

People often complain about the lack of investment but it must be remembered that one, Levy does not own the club and two, the club is a business.

If you want a team who can throw money at success, there are plenty to choose from. Levy had a clear plan to develop young talent, use the academy, invest in a new training ground and stadium and clear a path for future success earned rather than purchased.

No matter the bumps along the road, that was an idea that I could buy into.

Unfortunately, I have never felt further away from my club. I never thought it would reach the point where I would be in two minds about renewing my season ticket, something my dad and I had waited so long for.

But then came the announcement of the European Super League. It may be dressed up as a pursuit to provide top quality entertainment while filtering more money down the European football pyramid, but many of us saw through that instantly.

Instead, it is an attempt for 12 greedy clubs and their owners to wrestle the power, control and money from all others in Europe. They want to turn a competition into a dictatorship.

A ‘Super’ League where the founding members cannot be relegated. A ‘competition’ where qualification is guaranteed. A league where the clubs are rewarded with hundreds of millions of Euros regardless of performance.

That is not sport. That is a scripted event. That is contracted ‘success’. That is boxing with weighted gloves. That is glorifying cheating. That is not football.

The magic of the Champions League is something we look forward to every year. Teams from all over Europe come together to battle for the greatest honour. Smaller countries and clubs get to make history by fighting the giants of the sport.

Football has always been and should always be all-inclusive. Part of the magic is that anyone can beat anyone in a one-off game. Look at this season – Spurs were knocked out of the Europa League by Dynamo Zagreb!

But now we say teams such as these are not worthy to play against us?

It is as much the fake statement as it is the method behind the Super League. They dress it up to be a good move for every club across Europe, hiding the fact that only 12-15 clubs stand to gain anything.

Not only will this destroy the European football scene, but it will also have a knock-on effect with regards to the domestic leagues that we treasure so much.

What happens to the Premier League when only the top six have access to the necessary funds to compete?

The thing that has always attracted people to the Prem is the fact that anyone can beat anyone. Sheffield United could beat Man City and it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise, just another exciting upset.

The strength and depth of English football makes it a competitive race from start to finish. Not only do you have to graft your socks off to win the title, but you have to play out of your skin to even get into the top four.

Yet there is no top-four race without the Champions League. There is no dream for mid-table clubs to make the Europa League. There is no hope for smaller teams to compete with £300m-per-year spending.

These 12 clubs have decided to rewrite the beautiful game into a sadistic drama and are willing to leave everyone else behind in pursuit of big-money ratings.

It has always been said that there is no football without fans, and that is completely true. Unfortunately, the clubs seem to no longer care about the people who built them.

They are now nothing more than commercial brands looking for their next big-money deal. As long as they have success with crowds across the globe, they don’t care about the Average Joes who sunk thousands of pounds into supporting them and watching them.

Loyalty is a two-way street and, now more than ever, I do not feel as though my football club are loyal to me.

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