The Daily Telegraph - 27.08.2019

F

ootball clubs, rather

like the stock

market, do not like

uncertainty. But

some traders and, it

seems, some football

chairmen do. They thrive on it,

which is something that Daniel

Levy will be well aware of given

he spent a large part of his time

as a student at Sidney Sussex

College, Cambridge, using the

phone outside his room to trade

shares on the Stock Exchange

and that, since 2001, he has been

chairman of Tottenham Hotspur.

Levy knows that some traders

can exploit the markets better

than others, which is an

attitude he has taken into

football, especially when it

comes to transfers. He is

one of the few chairmen

who will still pick up

the phone and call

another club to try to

negotiate a deal.

By any measure,

Levy’s stewardship of

Spurs has been a resounding

success. There is so much to

admire in the way he has

grown the club organically

at a time when nation

states, petrodollars and

Russian billionaires have

come in to the Premier

League, along with

Levy’s gambles in

transfer market

unsettling Spurs

investment from the United States,

while Manchester United remain

the ultimate cash cow.

New training ground, new

stadium, consistent qualification

for the Champions League – and

reaching last season’s final – with a

highly coveted manager and

squad, Spurs are in remarkably

good shape, which is testimony to

his stewardship.

But there is an aspect that

continues to grate and means the

biter in Levy – with that reputation

as a tough, almost impossible to

deal with negotiator – can get bit.

It is no coincidence that Spurs

make slow starts, as they are often

the club with the most volatility

around their transfer dealings.

They can prosper, as happened

this summer when they took the

£25 million signing of Ryan

Sessegnon down to the

wire, to Fulham’s

frustration, to get the

deal Levy sought. That

was despite the fact it

had been known for

more than 18 months

that the teenager

wanted to join Spurs.

And they can suffer, as

appears to be happening

now with the uncertainty

over Christian Eriksen

(left) and other players,

such as Jan Vertonghen and

Danny Rose. It may be that Levy

again exacts the price he wants for

Eriksen, should Real Madrid

become desperate, but at what

price to Spurs and, also, manager

Mauricio Pochettino, who does not

attempt to conceal his frustration?

Managers will always complain

and it was interesting that

Pochettino – like Liverpool’s

Jurgen Klopp – has moaned about

the injustice of closing the Premier

League transfer window on Aug 8

while the rest of Europe trades for

another three weeks. Neither

manager mentioned, however, that

their clubs were not among the five

who voted against the measure in

September 2017 (they were

Manchester United, Manchester

City, Watford, Crystal Palace and

Swansea City with Burnley

abstaining). If both had done so, it

would not have gone through.

But that is by the by and it may

be that Pochettino simply does not

have the leverage with Levy to

persuade his chairman to vote

otherwise. More relevant is what is

happening behind the scenes at

Spurs, which Pochettino alluded to

again following Sunday’s home

defeat by Newcastle United.

“The group is still unsettled,” he

said. “We need to find solutions.

We have one week more to wait

and see what happens in the last

days [of the transfer window].

I think this is my sixth season and

the most unsettled group we are

working with. That is why we are

relaxed and calm. Some situations

we cannot fix. Nothing to say about

that, situations that are going on in

the squad.”

Unsettled is not a good word to

use and Pochettino used it twice.

Mind the gap: Spurs chairman Daniel Levy (right) with Mauricio Pochettino

CARDIFF CITY FC

I

n 2003, Roman Abramovich

did not buy Chelsea because

he was desperate to own an

English football club. Likewise

when Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed

Al Nahyan acquired Manchester

City in 2008 it was not for a love of

Manchester and when Mike Ashley

took over Newcastle United the

same year he later admitted that he

had not performed sufficient due

diligence. While Abramovich and

Sheikh Mansour are far more

popular and successful owners

than Ashley, the fact remains that it

is far too easy to buy football clubs

in this country. The process is

often shrouded in secrecy as a

private transaction until it goes

through with fans left in the dark.

Clubs and owners even boast about

it. It is all too easy with the rules

surrounding the owners and

directors’ test – and it is not a test

• including such stringent provisos
  as having not let “spectators watch
  a football match at unlicensed
  premises”. The simple fact is that in
  countries such as Germany and
  Spain, football clubs are more

cherished by the authorities as

institutions. In England they can

change hands quickly, which is

all the more relevant given the

plight of Bolton Wanderers and

Bury. The rules have to change.

The Football Association, Premier

League and English Football

League have to recognise clubs

are not just private businesses.

Ownership rules must change to

cherish our clubs as institutions

CHIEF FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT

JASON BURT

The biter – with that

reputation as a tough,

almost impossible

negotiator – can get bit

He also said he was relaxed and

calm while sounding neither.

Although Spurs will no doubt

point to the fact that they can

only sell Eriksen – with less than

a year left on his contract, like

Vertonghen and Toby

Alderweireld, who have also

shown no inclination to sign new

deals – if an offer is made, they

have known for months that he

wants out and could have

attempted to create a market and

force the issue.

It is compounded by the fact

that Eriksen is such an important

player. He gives Spurs something

they do not have in the rest of

their squad and it is inexplicable

that he has not started two of

their first three league games.

There is no suggestion he has

caused any problems or trained

badly.

Maybe Giovani Lo Celso will

provide that playmaking guile,

but while his signing from Real

Betis was regarded as a coup, it

again followed a tortuous

negotiation in which Levy

exacted the terms he wanted,

initially a loan before paying

£55 million. So the Argentine

arrived on deadline day along

with Sessegnon.

It seems that reaching the

Champions League final has

unsettled some Spurs players.

Others are asking which direction

the club are taking, having moved

to the new stadium and finally

invested in the transfer market

after failing to trade for two

windows.

There is no crisis. Spurs are

well managed and heading in the

right direction, even if the

frustrations are clear, among fans

even more than for Pochettino,

because they need to be closing

the gap between themselves and

the top two. And that process

should start right now.

Vanarama National League
AFC Fylde (0) 0 Harrogate Town (0) 0
1,317

Aldershot (0) 1 Sutton Utd (0) 1
J Berkeley-Agyepong 90 Collins 83 pen 1,662

Barnet (0) 2 Torquay (2) 2
Mason-Clark 49 Koue Niate 5
J Taylor 89 Little 30 1,621

Barrow (1) 1 FC Halifax (0) 2
Hardcastle 2 Nolan 50
McAlinden 64 pen
1,451

Boreham Wood (0) 1 Ebbsfleet Utd (2) 2
Marsh 76 Ball 13
Ugwu 16 533

Dag & Red (0) 3 Yeovil (0) 2
Quigley 64 90 Murphy 46
Onariase 81 Worthington 82 1,453
Dover (1) 1 Woking (1) 2
Modeste 31 Hyde 42
Edser 88 1,358

Hartlepool (1) 4 Wrexham (1) 2
Toure 43 60 Wright 38
Noble 48 pen 52 Grant 56 pen 3,462

Maidenhead Utd (0) 1 Bromley (0) 2
Smile 65 Hackett-Fairchild 77 89
1,511

Notts Cnty (1) 5 Chorley (1) 1

Tyson 30 Baines 9

Boldewijn 49

Dennis 53

Thomas 65 71 5,082

Solihull Moors (0) 1 Eastleigh (1) 2

Hancox 69 Hollands 18 50

1,779

Stockport Co (0) 2 Chesterfield (0) 0

Osborne 46

Bell 79 5,578

HOME AWAY

P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts

Woking 7 2 0 1 3 1 4 0 0 10 3 9 18

Bromley 7 2 1 0 7 4 3 1 0 6 3 6 17

FC Halifax 7 3 0 0 7 1 2 1 1 7 4 9 16

Solihull Moors 7 3 0 1 8 4 1 1 1 8 5 7 13

Maidenhead 7 1 1 2 6 5 3 0 0 5 1 5 13

Dover 7 1 0 3 5 7 3 0 0 5 2 1 12

Stockport Co 7 3 0 1 7 3 0 2 1 3 4 3 11

Torquay 7 2 0 1 4 3 1 2 1 7 9 -1 11

Sutton Utd 7 0 2 1 4 5 2 2 0 6 3 2 10

Barnet 7 1 2 1 5 5 1 2 0 4 3 1 10

Dag & Red 7 2 0 2 7 9 1 1 1 3 3 -2 10

Notts County 7 1 2 1 8 5 1 1 1 4 3 4 9

Wrexham 7 2 1 0 4 2 0 2 2 6 9 -1 9

AFC Fylde 7 1 2 1 2 4 1 1 1 5 7 -4 9

Harrogate 7 1 1 1 4 5 1 1 2 5 5 -1 8

Hartlepool 7 1 1 2 9 10 1 1 1 1 2 -2 8

Eastleigh 7 1 2 0 3 2 1 0 3 2 6 -3 8

Yeovil 7 1 1 1 3 3 1 0 3 5 6 -1 7

Barrow 7 2 0 2 4 5 0 1 2 5 7 -3 7

Boreham W 7 0 2 2 5 7 1 0 2 4 3 -1 5

Aldershot 7 0 2 2 3 5 1 0 2 2 4 -4 5

Chesterfield 7 0 1 2 4 6 0 3 1 5 7 -4 4

Ebbsfleet Utd 7 0 1 2 4 9 1 0 3 4 7 -8 4

Chorley 7 0 2 1 1 6 0 2 2 4 11 -12 4

North: Telford 1 Leamington 3-Alfreton Town 2

Southport 0-Blyth Spartans 1 Guiseley 4-Boston

Utd 5 Altrincham 0-Brackley 3 Gloucester

0-Chester 4 Hereford 1-Curzon Ashton 1

Spennymoor Town 1-Darlington 0 Bradford P A

1-Farsley Celtic 1 King’s Lynn Town 2-Kettering 3

Kidderminster 5-York 1 Gateshead 1.

South: Bath City 1 Oxford City 2-Braintree Town

3 Dorking Wanderers 2-Dulwich 2 Slough

3-Hampton & Richmond 1 Chippenham 0-Havant

and W 0 Eastbourne 0-Hemel Hempstead 3

Billericay 0-Hungerford 2 Dartford 2-Maidstone 4

Chelmsford 1-St Albans 2 Concord R 1-Welling 4

Tonbridge 2-Weymouth 3 Wealdstone 4.

BETVICTOR PREM: Brightlingsea Regent 1 AFC

Hornchurch 0-Carshalton Ath 1 Leatherhead

0-Cheshunt 1 Corinthian Casuals 1-East Thurrock

3 Bowers & Pitsea 1-Enfield Town 2 Potters Bar

Town 2-Folkestone Invicta 3 Merstham

1-Kingstonian 0 Bishop’s Stortford 3-Lewes 0

Horsham 2-Wingate & Finchley 1 Haringey

Borough 0-Worthing 3 Bognor Regis Town 0.

BETVICTOR NORTHERN PREMIER.-Prem:

Ashton Utd 0 Stalybridge 2-Grantham 1 Basford

Utd 0-Hyde United 3 Buxton 1-Lancaster City 1

Atherton Collieries 0-Matlock Town 2

Gainsborough 1-Mickleover Sports 1 Stafford

Rangers 0-Nantwich Town 3 Witton Albion

0-Radcliffe 1 FC United of Manchester

1-Scarborough Athletic 0 South Shields

0-Warrington Town 3 Bamber Bridge 1-Whitby 2

Morpeth Town 1.

BETVICTOR SOUTHERN.-Prem central: AFC

Rushden & Diamonds 1 St Ives Town 0-Alvechurch

0 Redditch 2-Banbury Utd 2 Barwell

1-Biggleswade Town 0 Peterborough Sports

3-Coalville Town 5 Nuneaton Borough 3-Kings

Langley P Hitchin Town P (Postponed -due to

unplayable pitch)-Lowestoft Town 0 Royston Town

1-Needham Market 3 Leiston 0-Rushall Olympic 4

Stratford Town 1-Stourbridge 2 Bromsgrove

Sporting 1-Tamworth 0 Hednesford Town 1.

Prem south: Beaconsfield Town 1 Met Police

2-Blackfield & Langley 2 Dorchester Town

1-Hartley Wintney 0 Gosport Borough 0-Hayes &

Yeading Utd 2 Farnborough 0-Hendon 3 Chesham

Utd 1-Merthyr Town 3 Swindon Supermarine

1-Poole Town 3 Wimborne Town 1-Salisbury FC 3

Yate Town 2-Taunton Town 3 Tiverton Town

1-Truro City 0 Weston-S-Mare 2-Walton Casuals 1

Harrow Borough 2.

EMIRATES FA CUP.-Preliminary rd replay:

Halesowen Town 3 Bedworth Utd 1.

JD WELSH PREMIER LEAGUE: Aberystwyth 1

New Saints 10-Barry Town 2 Bala Town

2-Caernarfon 1 Cefn Druids 1-Cardiff Met Uni 1

Airbus UK Broughton 0-Connah’s Quay Nomads 1

Carmarthen 1-Newtown 1 Penybont 1.

SSE AIRTRICITY LGE.-Prem: Dundalk 3 UCD 0.

ITALY: Inter Milan 4 Lecce 0.

Fixtures 7.45 unless stated

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

PLAY-OFFS 2ND LEG

Krasnodar (0) v Olympiakos (4) (8)

Red Star Belgrade (2) v Young Boys (2) (8)

Rosenborg (0) v Dinamo Zagreb (2) (8)

CARABAO CUP 2ND RD

Bristol Rovers v Brighton

Burton v Morecambe

Cardiff v Luton

Crawley v Norwich

Crewe v Aston Villa

Crystal Palace v Colchester

Fulham v Southampton

Grimsby v Macclesfield

Leeds v Stoke

Newport Co v West Ham

Nottingham Forest v Derby

Oxford Utd v Millwall

Plymouth v Reading

Preston North End v Hull

Rochdale v Carlisle

Sheffield Utd v Blackburn

Southend v Milton Keynes Dons

Watford v Coventry

LEASING.COM TROPHY

NORTHERN GROUP E

Mansfield v Everton

SOUTHERN GROUP H

Northampton v Arsenal (7.30)

SSE AIRTRICITY LGE.-Prem: Shamrock Rovers v

Waterford (8).

N IRELAND LEAGUE CUP.-2nd rd: Ballymena v

Newington YC, Bangor v Carrick, Coleraine v

Annagh Utd, Crusaders v Lurgan Celtic, Dundela v

Tobermore Utd, Dungannon v Dergview, Glenavon

v Portstewart, Glentoran v Ballyclare, Larne v

Lisburn Distillery, Limavady v Ards, Loughgall v

Newry, Moyola Park v Cliftonville, Portadown v

Dollingstown, Warrenpoint Tn v H & W Welders.

GEOSONIC LOWLAND LEAGUE: East Kilbride v

Civil Service Strollers, Edinburgh Univ v Berwick,

Kelty Hearts v Spartans.

Results and fixtures

12 *** Tuesday 27 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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