Gary Neville accuses Daniel Levy of running Tottenham ‘oppressively’ and claims Spurs chairman is ‘playing Football Manager’ after protests
Gary Neville has accused Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy of being ‘oppressive’ in his running of the club.
The Manchester United legend gave a balanced review of Levy’s reign, praising his business acumen and financial responsibility, but claiming he interferes too much on the footballing side.
It comes after thousands of Spurs fans protested against his reign in the streets ahead of their 1-0 win over Manchester United, with chants of ‘Levy Out’ before James Maddison’s 13th-minute goal.
They held grievances against ENIC and Levy’s leadership as well as ticket prices and the club’s plan to end concessions for seniors.
Levy is often accused of having a tighter purse than other club leaders. In 2024 Spurs spent 42 per cent of their revenue on wages, a figure dwarfed by their rivals, but their net spend of -£466.07million in the last five seasons is the league’s third-highest.
‘The rumour mill around is that Tottenham are looking potentially for people to buy this club. It’ll be a big price, but it would probably be the right time in some ways,’ Neville told Sky Sports.
Gary Neville has branded Daniel Levy an ‘oppressive’ steward of Tottenham’s football affairs
Spurs fans protested vehemently against the incumbent chairman before the Man United game
Levy is seen as a fiscally responsible leader but some feel he doesn’t take enough risks, or hasn’t always made the right decisions
‘I think what he’s done here in terms of the stadium, getting the training ground right. The problem is, he’s not been able to detach the football side from himself so that ultimately, he just runs the business side
‘He’s obviously very good at that. He runs a pretty tight ship. That’s what you want at a football club – it’s easy at a football club to get people who say yes, who get emotional about spending money.
‘He’s got to look after Tottenham and their long-term future, but he’s also got to bring in experts in the football department and he always seems to interfere and that and be oppressive in the way he deals in that side of it.
‘That’s the big problem because a football club is a football club and it’s all about first-team performance.
‘The stadium is great, the training ground is great, that’s what he can do, he can do, he can bring commercial revenue, make sure the NFL and Beyonce are here, there’s loads of money coming into the club, he’s protected the long-term future of the club i terms of revenue and things like that which are really important.
‘But, he can’t let go. It’s a little bit like United when David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson left, the guys who were running the commercial side, who were doing a great job, came into the football side, and think they can play Football Manager. And they can’t, it’s a completely different skill set.’
The win over Manchester United lifts Tottenham to 12th in the table but will do little to balm the long-term discontentment of supporters.
The anger at Levy is longstanding with Tottenham trophy-less for 17 years and without a top-three finish in the league since 2018.
James Maddison’s early goal was enough to seal a 1-0 victory against Manchester United
Frustration towards Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has vastly intensified in recent weeks
At least 2,000 supporters made their way to the demonstration against the club’s hierarchy
This is despite the club posting a revenue of £615m last season and charging the second-most expensive adult season ticket in Europe at £856.
Fulfilling their vow to do so from earlier this week, thousands of supporters turned up for a demonstration, having grown fed up with the club’s decline on the pitch during Levy’s tenure.
A crowd of at least 2,000 made their way down the High Road before they congregated outside the stadium where various chants for Levy to leave the club were heard.
A number of large banners were then held up outside of the West Stand, with one of the largest – aimed at majority owners ENIC – reading: ’24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy – Time for change.’
Fans have targeted the ownership’s lack of ambition, with another banner reading: ‘To dare is too dear, ENIC out.’
Disapproval has often stemmed from Tottenham’s lengthy trophy drought, having not won a piece of silverware since the 2008 League Cup.
There was a glimmer of hope that this wretched period could come to an end this season, as Spurs took a 1-0 lead into their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Liverpool.
But despite being so close to a trip to Wembley, Tottenham looked helpless against the Reds in the deciding leg of the tie, succumbing to a 4-0 defeat following a performance that lacked any real cohesion or belief.
