Tottenham is a club consumed by angst and identity confusion, writes IAN LADYMAN - and why Daniel Levy is at the heart of it all
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Ten minutes before the end of their team’s last Premier League home game against Chelsea, two Tottenham fans scuffled at the back of the South Stand. The disagreement was not over manager Ange Postecoglou or a player or a member of the opposition. No, they were fighting about the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy.
![[Spurs have, however, thrilled at times this season and are now in the Carabao Cup semi-finals]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/23/93370807-14215405-image-a-151_1734735977426.jpg)
Football supporters don’t normally fight about this stuff. But it’s different at Tottenham. Spurs — for all their steps forward off the field — remain a club and fanbase consumed by angst and identity confusion. Are Tottenham a big club? Spurs’ revenue now exceeds half a billion pounds a year, making them the eighth-richest club in the world. Their superb new stadium brings in more than £6million per game, second in England only to Manchester United. But they haven’t won a trophy since the 2008 League Cup and have not won the English title for more than 60 years.
![[Chairman Daniel Levy has come under fire from supporters amid Tottenham's mixed form]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/22/93370191-14215405-image-a-149_1734735568832.jpg)
This season, Postecoglou’s endlessly entertaining side have beaten both Manchester teams twice. They have also lost to Ipswich, Bournemouth, Brighton and Crystal Palace. Ahead of Sunday's game at home to Liverpool, Spurs are only in the top half on goal difference. Yet that goal difference — plus 17 — is only one fewer than the leaders from Anfield. They have scored 20 goals at home — the second-highest in the league — but lost three of those matches. This is Tottenham in 2024 but to some degree it has always been Tottenham and, as it goes on, the need to find someone to blame endures.
![[Postecoglou’s football is thrilling but has holes in it, which had earned criticism from pundits]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/20/23/93370193-14215405-image-a-169_1734738176080.jpg)
