I honestly don’t think people have realised the magnitude of that shocking statement by Levy. They focus on the first bit… but it’s the last bit which is what is most wrong.
Levy makes a big deal about “all profit going back into the club” to excuse his management of the club. However that statement makes it VERY clear that he sees the income streams as completely separate.
Beyoncé, F1, music gigs, etc have all been sold to fans as “profit to make this football club great again”. Which is how it should work - raise commercial revenues to build up the football team. Whereas in fact he makes it VERY clear here, in that statement, that he doesn’t see it that way.
He feels the football side should be self-sustaining on its own (not “the club” but the football team) and that he’s done the team (and fans) a favour by letting the commercial revenues “prop up” the football side temporarily instead of using that cash for estate growth (which he’d clearly prefer). He’s basically saying we should be thankful that he’s lent the football side some cash from the commercial side because they have underperformed. So admitting that the plan for all the commercial money ISN’T to put it back into the FOOTBALL side, in normal circumstances.
Absolutely shocking statement and the magnitude of which seems to have been lost on most with the headline grabbing “we can’t spend what we don’t have” statement.
It’s an admission that he’s used fan’s money (through deceit and lies) to build himself/ENIC an events stadium for himself and not the fans or the football club, and that in real terms nothing actually changes on the football side. We’re operating the same as we did prior Tottenham the stadium build, and the net spend figures look healthy but are a simple consequence of football inflation that would have happened anyway.
And the net spend figures aren’t even that healthy anyway. Postecoglou has had £46m per window net spent on average and across the 4 windows the wage bill has reduced by more than £20m/pa (£100m+ across a 5yr contract).
Hardly “going for it”, or “game-changing”, is it?!
Just something I came across on Twitter (X), and thought it was a pretty solid clarification of the situation.