Pure speculation (on my part, anyway), but that's what came to my mind. He (Levy) has negotiated the club through the potentially perilous stadium process, and it's only now (or somewhere close to now) that incoming revenue streams have been secured to the point that they (Levy's successors) can more confidently control the outgoing. Obviously, that's just a guess. It could be more down to the kids wresting control from dad (or of Joe, at 88, just stepping back). Maybe they've wanted to do this for a long time now - who knows? As has been implied, boardroom intrigue can be downright Byzantine in its complexity, and there's no reason to presume that anyone in the public realm has a real grasp on what's played out. The one thing that seems fair to assume is that he (Levy) was at least nudged - if not shoved - out the door. It's really hard to envision him simply saying 'my work's done' and leaving it all to someone(s) else.
It's a bit more nuanced. Joe Lewis, just like Levy, was never interested in the football side. But he hasn't been the majority owner since 2022 - the majority owner is now the Lewis Family Trust, of which Joe Lewis is not a beneficiary. So as you said, his children have taken a more active interest in the club, and I think this is why we are seeing these changes.
Has anyone gone back and (re-)listened to Levy's interview with Gary Neville for hints or clues as to what was coming? The (paraphrasing) "I probably won't be appreciated until I'm gone" bit pops into mind, but I really don't have any context to put it into. I wonder if there's anything in there that suggests he knew what was coming. I can't imagine he was oblivious. I've meant to go back and have a listen, but just haven't had the time.
I'm of the impression there was a nudging to get him away from the day to day footballing business decisions. Like we said regarding Son leaving, he's gone on a high in many respects. The club is the 9th most profitable (or 9th highest revenue generating) sporting entity in the world, and he's gone after Spurs finally won a major trophy. Levy and Sugar are the 2 most important figures in recent Spurs history. Levy built the club into a modern behemoth, and just prior to that Alan Sugar saved the club from oblivion. I'm reminded of the saying 'What got you here won't get you there' when it comes to Levy. He got us to this level, but maybe wouldn't be able to get us to the next.
I think they had enough money long ago, but how much is "enough?" So Ange got us the trifecta - major trophy, UCL football, new chairman. A season to remember.
Daniel Levy’s Tottenham exit ‘in the pipeline since Christmas’ amid Thomas Frank concerns Evan Shaw Mon 8 September 2025 7:40, UK Daniel Levy’s decision to step down at Tottenham may not be quite as sudden as it seems. The Lilywhites chief announced his decision to quit his role as executive chairman with immediate effect last Thursday, after over 25 years at the helm of the North Londoners. Levy’s departure from Spurs has prompted speculation over a possible takeover, but the Lewis family have no intention to sell up at this moment in time. Thomas Frank has been watching all of this unfold during the international break, and he has now already seen a seismic change at the club within months of his arrival." So why wait until 3 matches into the new season to go?
He didn't decide to go, he was forced out. There is no way Herr Levy would have walked away from his 6 million pound a year stipend plus bonuses.
Martin Jol on Daniel Levy: "Daniel is an honest guy, believe me. He is very well educated and will never do you any harm, which is why he needed a small group of people around him. I told Daniel, 'Why don’t you give me a phone call?' I had Toby Alderweireld, Eriksen made his debut for me, and I had Luis Suarez as well. I asked him, 'Why didn't you buy Suarez?' Levy responded, 'Because my people said he is almost the same type of player as Rafael van der Vaart.' Huh? Suarez is a striker... a legend. It was 25million, but Daniel didn’t listen. Daniel has one thing that he excels at: business. That's 100% the truth. He is commercially unbelievable. However, he is not a communicator and doesn’t know much about football, 80% of the time, his recruitment staff were terrible. People often criticize him for not spending money, but I think they have spent around £700 million over the last four or five years."
What?! We could have had Suarez and Defoe in the same team? We'd've bitten every defender in the league!
Recognizing that he was not a good judge of players, he hired experts. But he was not a good judge of experts, either. Sigh.
Personally, in my opinion, we recruited some great players in that time. 80% is unfair. Recruitment appears to be a numbers game, and when called upon the players need to hit the ground running. Sign 8 players, 1 will be great, 4 pretty good, 3 a bit pants
The guy did sign some fantastic players, but he also signed too many duds, and he had a penchant for missing out on the quality players who could have made a difference.
The full interview with Jol regarding his time at Spurs with Levy. Jol's insider comments will have Golera feeling vindicated; https://www-football-london.cdn.amp...inside-daniel-levys-tottenham-tenure-32430501
Good interview, but I disagree with him about Deki being a better player than Kudus. Martin probably took a few too many leather footballs off his head during his playing days to say something like that.
Agree. We had Kane and Son, both in their prime, Lloris, Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Dembele, Eriksen, Dele, Wanyama - and somehow didn't manage to win anything with this group.
I remember during the Comolli years, we signed some gems, and we made some good money when selling them on. But we never - ever - had a balanced squad. We wouldn't buy for what we needed, we'd just buy for value. When he and Ramos got the sack, the first thing Harry did in his first window was to bring in Wilson Palacios from Wigan. We became tougher to play against overnight. You just couldn't see Levy/Comolli going in for someone like that, despite everyone and his brother knowing we were desperate for someone who'd actually tackle an opponent.
Comolli told Levy not to worry about losing Carrick to Man U - he said he had an even better player lined up to replace him and much cheaper. And that player was the great Didier Zokora.
Players Bought Under Commolli; Luka Modrić Dimitar Berbatov Gareth Bale Benoît Assou-Ekotto Heurelho Gomes David Bentley Vedran Ćorluka Roman Pavlyuchenko Alan Hutton Kevin-Prince Boateng Adel Taarabt Dag Alexander Olsen Additional Notable Signings Gilberto Giovani dos Santos Didier Zokora Younes Kaboul Ricardo Rocha Hossam Ghaly Dorian Dervite Mounir El Hamdaoui
Players Sold Under Commolli Frédéric Kanouté Michael Carrick Mido Robbie Keane Dimitar Berbatov Paul Stalteri Anthony Gardner Lee Young-Pyo Stephen Kelly Timothee Atouba Goran Bunjevčević Additional Notable Departures Reto Ziegler Emil Hallfreðsson Mark Yeates
Some notable regrets on both sides of the coin, and quite a lot of 'meh'. His buying is mostly hits, imo, and there are only a few regrets in the 'Sold' column (Berbs, Keane and Carrick, although all 3 pushed hard to leave), and what's the point of keeping players who want to go? Given the circumstances he was working under, I think he did a decent job and definitely improved the squad overall.
What a trip down memory lane. People point to big name players being sold and say it was Levy only interested in money but the truth of the matter is, at that time, Spurs were simply not the sort of club where a big talent would want to spend most of their career. Now we are getting to that level - Romero deciding to stay, for example.
Players like Carrick, Bale, Modric, and Berbatov were world-class players who were always going to move on, always destined to play for the top sides. Romero, while good, is not in that class. Otherwise, the big fish would have been in for him - not the likes of Atletico Madrid, who were trying to get him on the cheap. Tottenham under Levy were a footballing purgatory (ah it's so nice to speak of him in the past tense) - better than most clubs, but not quite at the top table. So for the vast majority of our squad, Spurs is about as good as it's going to get, so this is why many of them are happy to sign extensions (see Ben Davies). Spurs supporters tend to overhype the squad because we have had (and still have) so many poor players come through the club, compared to the gems. If you don't believe me, go through our current squad and tell me which of our players gets into last season's top 4. Maybe Kudus and Simons.