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Rsonist

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Tottenham's Daniel Levy is one of football's fiercest negotiators... here's how his extraordinary bargaining has infuriated rival teams

 

By Neil Ashton for MailOnline

 

Published: 15:06, 6 February 2015 | Updated: 15:07, 6 February 2015

 

Around an hour before kick-off in the north London derby, Daniel Levy will welcome a delegation of Arsenal officials into his spacious boardroom at White Hart Lane.

 

The conversation with Arsenal’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis will be polite and cordial, barely scratching the surface before Levy sits down for pre-match brunch with a table full of Tottenham executives.

 

Later this month, when David Sullivan, David Gold and Karren Brady walk up the stairs of the West Stand on February 22, the atmosphere will be a little bit more chilly.

 

West Ham are tired of Levy, irritated by his negotiating tactics on transfer deadline day after he refused to allow Emmanuel Adebayor to move to Upton Park. They are in no rush to deal with him again.

 

Levy has an extraordinary reputation within the game and he is always willing to come to the table in the transfer window, so long as the terms are in Tottenham’s favour.

 

As one owner of a Barclays Premier League club told Sportsmail in the aftermath of deadline day: ‘Daniel likes to squeeze your balls until your eyes start to water’.

 

Levy comes alive in the window, spending hours on the phone to a network of agents.

 

Leon Angel, plus Gareth Bale’s representative Jonathan Barnett and his assistant David Manessah are all on speed dial as he plots Tottenham’s next move.

 

Levy was anointed by Tottenham’s principal owner Joe Lewis, who is also his godfather, when his investment vehicle ENIC bought the club from Sir Alan Sugar in 2001. All three are ruthless businessmen.

 

He is at the training ground most days, arriving anywhere between 8-8.30am to begin work. Much of his time recently has been spent focused on the new stadium development.

 

Levy rises early, responding to text and WhatsApp messages long before he leaves the family home in Totteridge, north London, for the journey to the training centre.

 

It is there, at their magnificent new hub on the outskirts of Enfield, that Levy spent the day setting up deals by telephone and email last Monday.

 

He appointed Franco Baldini as technical director in 2013, partly to detach himself from the frenzied atmosphere at the club on deadline day. Two years on, he cannot resist.

 

‘Daniel never raises his voice or shouts, even when transfers or deals are at their most delicate stage,’ revealed the club’s former director of football Damien Comolli.

 

‘That is why he always wins, because others lose their temper or start shouting. He is a calculated guy and he is prepared to wait and wait.

 

‘Most people get nervous or anxious, but he enjoys the challenge. He is an excellent negotiator.’

 

When Robbie Keane went on loan to West Ham in January 2011, an argument over removal cost amounting to £5,000 nearly scuppered the deal. Levy squeezes the pips on everything.

 

He spends hours in his vault on the first floor during the transfer window, pacing up and down a spartanly furnished office hypothesising over potential transfers on a notepad on his desk.

 

Last Monday, when Levy swept into Tottenham’s training centre, he was ready for business. Deals were there to be done.

 

Delle Alli, who has earned comparisons to Frank Lampard in the scouting reports filed for the club’s new head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, was already on his way for a medical.

 

By then his football-mad son Josh, who works in the City for an investment bank, was asking people he has come across in the game whether Alli was good for the money. The day was starting to take shape.

 

West Ham and West Brom had both made enquiries for midfielder Etienne Capoue. Roma wanted to get something going for central defender Vlad Chiriches.

 

The pace picked up again when that nuisance Emmanuel Adebayor cropped up again in conversation.

 

There was an air of anticipation because Levy somehow had to convince the £100,000-a-week forward to swap a Capital One Cup final against Chelsea on March 1 for a relegation battle with QPR.

 

Rangers were desperate, calling up and offering to pay £75,000 towards Adebayor’s salary for the rest of the season.

 

Predictably he didn’t fancy it.

 

Later that afternoon, around 3pm, Adebayor’s agent Darren Dein, the son of former Arsenal vice-chairman David, believed he had devised a plan to suit all parties. West Ham would take him.

 

It is at this moment, against the advice of practically everybody involved in the decision-making progress at White Hart Lane, when Levy refused to cede any ground.

 

In the past, during negotiations to move to Olympic Park for a year or to tenant Upton Park during the rebuilding of a new super-stadium at White Hart Lane, Brady felt he has attempted to push her around.

 

Anyone who has ever come across West Ham’s chief executive will tell you that Brady is a formidable lady. She can look after herself.

West Ham were offering to pay 50 per cent of Adebayor’s wages, £50,000-a-week, but Levy was well within his rights to point out the offer on the table from QPR. West Ham needed to up the ante.

 

With the clock ticking on deadline day, Levy also made it clear to that he did not want to sell to a perceived rival for fourth place in the Barclays Premier League, or to leave his squad weaker than when the window closed.

 

Others felt differently, concerned that Adebayor’s dreadful attitude will affect the team’s rhythm in the run up to the Capital One Cup final at Wembley. Levy re-iterated that he calls the shots.

 

His behaviour, along with his bargaining position, infuriated West Ham and it prompted some stinging criticism from Gold via social media when the window closed at 11pm. There are no winners here.

 

There have been times when Levy has used reverse psychology, working a situation to his advantage to get the best possible deal for Tottenham.

 

In the summer of 2013, Real Madrid offered £55m up front for Bale. Levy told Tottenham’s board that he would not sell the forward, but Bale’s heart was already set on a move to the Bernabeu.

 

What followed was unusual for Levy, but he played the role of the junior partner in negotiations with Real’s president Florentino Perez in spectacular fashion.

 

Levy played him like a fiddle, deferring to Perez when he agreed to fly out to Madrid on a private jet on two separate occasions to negotiate the terms over Bale’s transfer from Spurs.

When he emerged from dinner on the second occasion, Perez had agreed to pay a world record fee of £86m to sign Bale from White Hart Lane.

 

The dispute between the two clubs over the precise figures is because the transfer fee will be substanially less if Real can pay quicker than the five-year schedule agreed by Levy and Perez.

 

Occasionally Levy’s staff see a softer side and they were surprised when he agreed to take the ice-bucket challenge after he was nominated by Andre Villas-Boas last year.

 

Levy responded by nominating Perez, citing the departures of Luka Modric and Bale to Real Madrid over the past few years as the reasons behind his decision.

 

He can be generous too and he once delivered a Porsche 911 Carrera 2 (but not a 4S, which is more expensive) to Martin Jol’s home as a gesture of goodwill when Spurs were performing well under their Dutch coach.

Mostly, though, he is working on the serious business of making Spurs competitive and he has an almost pathological desire to reassert themselves in the top four.

 

With the rapid progress of Harry Kane and Ryan Mason, he wants John McDermott, academy manager and head of coaching, to bring more young players into the first team.

 

The decision to sign Alli from MK Dons is another sign that Tottenham are once again investing in raw talent.

 

In a few months’ time the transfer window will be on his radar and he can start to prepare for a serious turnover of playing staff before next season.

 

As ever, Levy will walk away with the feeling that he has the upper hand. 

 

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anelka
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I don't think we bottled it as we were never in the race really, we were there because of circumstance, we were always going for 4th You & Leicester played your way into those positions, your

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Posted

Great stat - Tottenham's team against Arsenal on Saturday had youngest average age (23.6) of any Premier League starting XI this season.

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The Infamous Newbie

The Infamous

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JDK said:

I just really don't like Brendan Rodgers.

I hate that man JDK - I had no idea that I could hate a human being that much, but I was so wrong. My body and the fluids within it don't understand what's going on - they keep defaulting to "oh, he's alright' but he's not. I'm ashamed to say that if he died in a car crash tomorrow, I'd laugh. That's pretty fucked up isn't it?

Went on a spurs forum. Why do you have such a cuntish fan base?

Disgusting post

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Someone pass lahi a tissue

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Tottenham Hotspur stadium order unlawful, firm claims

 

_81068737_81066575.jpg
Spurs has planning permission for the new stadium and it hopes to open for the 2018-19 season
 

A business standing in the way of Spurs' £400m stadium redevelopment has claimed that an invalid compulsory purchase order (CPO) is being used to force it out, the High Court has heard.

 

Archway Sheet Metal Works, in Paxton Road, Tottenham, has asked a judge to quash the order.

If it is quashed, it could delay the new 56,000 capacity stadium.

In November, a fire gutted the premises, which is yards from the White Hart Lane ground in north London.

'Bomb threats'

 

Mr Justice Dove has been told by Archway lawyers the police are currently "investigating the cause of arson".

The owners said they had received "bomb threats".

Josif Josif, 46, who runs the family business, said at the time of the fire: "People were calling us and threatening us and we were receiving bomb threats and that started a few months ago, but we don't know if that's got anything to do with it."

The firm, which produces metal items for the catering and hospitality industry, has been in dispute with Spurs for the last decade over its redevelopment plans.

The London Borough of Haringey made the purchase order in March 2012, which was confirmed by the communities secretary in July 2014 following a public inquiry.

 

_79257352_archwayssheetmetalfireimg_8369
Firefighters were called to the blaze at Archway Sheet Metal Works on 25 November 2014

 

Archway is challenging the legality of the order and also claims new changes to the Spurs project have come to light which are so substantial they "alter the viability case made at the inquiry" and further undermine the order.

 

Christopher Lockhart-Mummery QC, appearing for Archway, has written a submission to the judge, saying an application for disclosure of documents held by Tottenham Hotspur Ltd had revealed the extent of the changes.

The Tottenham documents revealed discussions had taken place involving an updated design of the Spurs stadium increasing its capacity by 5,000, as well as a potential increase in the residential development and commercial development space to include a medical centre, gym and fitness centre.

 

_81068738_81056227.jpg
Lawyers for Archway said the development is on "a substantially different scale" which raises issues about its viability
 

Mr Lockhart-Mummery said discussions about the changes had taken place between Haringey Council and Tottenham Hotspur Ltd and representatives "at high levels of Government", including UK Trade and Investment and HM Treasury, as well as the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.

 

He said: "There is clear evidence of an intention to implement these changes."

Stephen Whale, acting for the communities secretary, submitted there were no grounds for ruling the purchase order invalid or unlawful, adding the minister had acted "on unchallenged findings" that the stadium project would benefit the borough.

The club has planning permission for the new stadium and it hopes to open for the 2018-19 season.

 

A Spurs spokesman said: "We have already successfully and amicably relocated more than 70 businesses in the area to the satisfaction of all parties concerned and a number of these organisations continue to reside in the borough.

 

"Whilst we were able to accommodate all these other businesses' requests, in the instance of Archway, we have been unable to reach agreement over the period of the last seven years."

The hearing continues.

 

 

So we have naming rights already lined up and new plans are for a 61000 stadium. We are in court today for our defence.

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Posted

Hope it doesnt have the shitty curved roof tho.

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Fresh Newbie

Fresh

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Stadium looks nice still

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Rsonist Newbie

Rsonist

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unlux archway

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LS Newbie

LS

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Looks like we can finally start the new stadium,

 

Only 5 years left to go

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Thizz Newbie

Thizz

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You lot looking forward to it?

 

Looks a bit souless to me.

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Lenny Newbie

Lenny

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The best thing about the lane is how close the fans are to the pitch.

You lot are gonna lose that intimidation factor when you move

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Thizz Newbie

Thizz

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Same with any new stadium they're all shit.

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User Newbie

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The best thing about the lane is how close the fans are to the pitch.

You lot are gonna lose that intimidation factor when you move

 

Stadium spec is to have fans as close to the pitch as possible with steep stands, a one tier kop and acoustic tuning. Not sure how much the original plans have changed tho because 5000 more seats have been added and a new architect has been contracted.

 

• The new stadium will be a world class venue with a capacity of 56,250, using flowing lines of external cladding, a gracefully undulating roof and the Club colours to create a unique and visually striking building.

• The key priority has been to maximise stadium atmosphere. Spectators will have a great view of the action and will find themselves closer to the pitch than at any other comparable size stadium in the UK.

• The bowl design will help keep crowd noise inside the stadium and the inclusion of a single tier ‘home end’ stand will help generate an intimidating ‘wall of sound’.

• The stadium design will incorporate comfortable modern seating with more leg-room and easier access than at the current ground.

• The stadium also includes enhanced concourse, concession and toilet facilities for general spectators, and better access and range of viewing positions for wheelchair users and their companions/families.

 

 

internal-bowl.jpg

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Lenny Newbie

Lenny

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Looks deep tbh

Hopefully it turns out shit

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Rsonist Newbie

Rsonist

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Hopefully it dont turn out like that Death Star down the road, awful

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Earz Newbie

Earz

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If they keep the kop-like stand then I'll be happy. If its another triple tier bowl then I will cancel my season ticket. 

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Badman Newbie

Badman

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Hopefully they learn not to accidentally build a library like they did with us smh

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Rsonist Newbie

Rsonist

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not exactly like your previous stadium was a cauldron...

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M.Dot Newbie

M.Dot

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Hopefully they learn not to accidentally build a library like they did with us smh

 

Can't blame the stadium(s).

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http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/29/premier-league-finances-club-by-club

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Accounts for the year to 30 June 2014

Ownership Enic International Limited, registered in the Bahamas (tax haven), owns 85% of Spurs. Joe Lewis, resident in the Bahamas, has the controlling 70.6% ownership of Enic; trusts of which chairman Daniel Levy and family are the beneficiaries own the other 29.4%.

Turnover 6th highest, £181m (up from £147m in 2013)

Match receipts£35m

TV and media£90m

All commercial activities£56m

Wage bill 6th highest, £100m (up from £96m in 2012)

Wages as proportion of turnover 55%

Profit before tax £80m (up from £4m in 2013)

Net debt Nil;£3m in bank

Interest payable £7m

Highest-paid director £2.17m paid to Daniel Levy

State they’re in

Spurs’ finances speak of a club making ready to build the long-planned new stadium and two figures leap out. The first is the £80m profit, the largest ever made by an English football club. Spurs’ TV income was up £32m, they held the wage increase to only £4m, and put £35m in the bank. Such riches rather undermine Spurs’ plea they could not afford £16m agreed for public infrastructure works, which Haringey council waived.

The second remarkable figure is chairman Daniel Levy’s salary£2.17m – presumably for all of the above.

 

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Mame Biram Diouf Newbie

Mame Biram Diouf

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Will Pritchard be getting a chance next season?

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