Daniel Levy has left his role as the chair of Tottenham, eased aside after almost 25 years in charge and leaving a legacy that is best described as mixed. The Lewis family, who own the club, have put a new leadership team in place with Peter Charrington, who was brought on to the board in March, stepping into a newly created role of nonexecutive chair.
Vinai Venkatesham, who was named as the chief executive in April, will grow further in influence and one of their principal goals will be to attract fresh investment. It is understood that it is essential for Spurs to drive their varied plans to expand the business, which would help in the ultimate ambition of bringing on-field success.
A source close to the Lewis family said: “Generations of the family support this special football club and they want what the fans want – more wins more often. This is why you have seen recent changes, new leadership and a fresh approach. In Vinai, Thomas [Frank, the new manager] and Peter Charrington, they believe they are backing the right team to deliver on this. This is a new era.”
Levy, who took over from Alan Sugar as the chairman in February 2001, has been a magnet for criticism from the fans. They have accused him of putting profit before glory and staged protests calling for him to quit. They have been frustrated by the lack of silverware on his watch, although the team did win the Europa League last season, adding to the League Cup success of 2008. Levy sacked 13 managers – excluding caretakers – in the pursuit of the winning formula.
Nobody can deny what Levy has built at Spurs, starting with the magnificent new stadium and state-of-the-art training ground. With his sharp commercial acumen, he has established the club among the financial elite. According to Deloitte’s most recent Money League, published for 2023-24, the club were the ninth-richest in world football with an annual turnover of £512m. This was during a season when they did not compete in Europe. And it cannot be overlooked that they have become a much more consistent force in the league, the 17th-placed finish from last season notwithstanding.
Levy led on the decision to sack Ange Postecoglou as manager after the Europa League triumph and replace him with Frank and, around that time, he was looking forward with characteristic passion and enthusiasm to pushing ahead with the club’s non-footballing projects. They include the building of both a hotel and an indoor arena close to the stadium; an expansion of the training ground in Enfield to take in a hub for the women’s team and even a bespoke NFL training facility; and numerous residential developments in the Tottenham area. Levy was consumed by the creation of a legacy in the area that went beyond sporting victories.
George Graham – Oct 1998 to March 2001
Departed within a month of Levy taking over as chairman.
Glenn Hoddle – April 2001 to Sept 2003
Club legend could do no better than a ninth-placed finish in his first full season. A poor start to the 2003-04 campaign proved too much for Levy’s patience.
Jacques Santini – June 2004 to Nov 2004
The Frenchman, appointed after David Pleat’s lengthy caretaker stint, lasted 13 games and left citing personal problems.
Martin Jol – Nov 2004 to Oct 2007
Secured European football in consecutive seasons but just missed out on Champions League qualification. Lost his grip on the job after a disappointing start to the 2007-08 campaign.
Juande Ramos – Oct 2007 to Oct 2008
Pulled Spurs out of their slump, won the Carling Cup – Tottenham’s most recent major trophy until last season’s Europa League win – and secured 11th place. But in late October 2008 the club were rock bottom of the league and change became inevitable.
Harry Redknapp – Oct 2008 to June 2012
Led Tottenham to fourth spot and Champions League qualification in 2009-10. In 2011-12 they finished fourth once more but Chelsea’s Champions League win elbowed them into the Europa League. Redknapp got the push.
André Villas-Boas – July 2012 to Dec 2013
Given a second chance in London after his Chelsea failure but heavy defeats in big matches led to his three-year deal being cut short.
Tim Sherwood – Dec 2013 to May 2014
Sherwood stepped up from the academy and won 50% of games in his short time as manager, but departed at the end of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino – May 2014 to Nov 2019
Appointed over Frank de Boer and it paid off. Oversaw year-on-year progress, culminating in the run to the 2019 Champions League final. But a total of 14 points from the first 12 matches of 2019-20 was not enough.
José Mourinho – Nov 2019 to Apr 2021
Nearly a year on from his sacking at Manchester United, Mourinho was appointed the day after Pochettino’s exit. His confrontational approach and dour football tested the patience of the club and a Europa League last-16 exit at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb proved the final straw.
Nuno Espírito Santo – Jun 2021 to Nov 2021
A long search ended in the arrival of the former Wolves manager. Began with three Premier League wins but, 124 days later, after two hours and 16 minutes without a shot on target in the league, he was gone.
Antonio Conte – Nov 2021 to Mar 2023
Talks in the summer had broken down over the Italian’s transfer budget demands but by late autumn Conte was at the helm on a £15m-a-year contract. Took the club back in to the Champions League but things unravelled in 2022-23 culminating in a furious blast at his players in March. He left with Spurs fourth in the league.
Ange Postecoglou – Jun 2023 to Jun 2025
Postecoglou became the first Australian to manage in the Premier League after signing a four-year deal. Ended Spurs’ 17-year trophy drought with success in the Europa League but that was not enough to save his job after a 17th-place finish in the Premier League.
Thomas Frank – Jun 2025 to …
The 51-year-old Dane joined from Brentford after Spurs triggered his £10m release clause. He has won two of his three Premier League games so far. Guardian sport
The 63-year-old welcomed the appointment of Venkatesham, the former Arsenal chief executive whom he has known for years, as he needed someone to take over the day-to-day running of the business to enable him to give the other projects greater attention. In short, it did not sound as though he was planning to walk away in the early weeks of the new season.
Venkatesham said in a video released by the club in June – in which he gave his thoughts while sitting alongside Levy – that he would take “more of a lead day-to-day on operational matters on the pitch and off the pitch”. In the statement to announce Levy’s departure on Thursday, Spurs noted Venkatesham had been hired “as part of its succession planning”. Charrington has links to Joe Lewis, the Bahamas-based billionaire who, for years, was Spurs’ ultimate benefactor, controlling them through his investment company, Enic.
The club’s ownership structure shifted in October 2022 when Lewis stepped back from his publicly stated position. He ceased to be a part of the Lewis Family Trust which controls Spurs, transferring it to unnamed members of his family.
Lewis subsequently endured a well-documented fall from grace. Charged with insider trading in the US on 26 July 2023, the 88-year-old was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $5m (£4m) on 4 April 2024. The Lewis Family Trust owns 70.12% of Enic, the company that holds 86.91% of the shares in Spurs. Levy and certain members of his family own the other 29.88% of Enic. Lewis has two children, Vivienne and Charles, and the family’s interest at Spurs is being looked after by two trustees.
Charrington, a former chief executive of Citi Private Bank, is a director of Enic. He has also been a senior partner at Nexus Luxury Collection in the Bahamas, an operator of private member clubs and resorts – which was co-founded by Lewis.
The backdrop to the seismic change at Spurs is the search for new investment. The game has been ablaze with takeover rumours involving the club, with agents and financiers claiming at various points this year that there is a buyer waiting in the wings. It is known that Amanda Staveley, the former Newcastle director who brokered the Saudi takeover at St James’ Park four years ago, has become a figure of influence at Spurs. Could the club find it easier to attract the additional money they need without Levy cutting a divisive presence at the top? The Lewis family remain committed to Spurs’ long-term future.
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The club also said in their statement there had been “no changes to the ownership or shareholder structure” in light of the Levy news. Charrington said: “This is a new era of leadership for the club, on and off the pitch. I do recognise there has been a lot of change in recent months as we put in place new foundations for the future.
“We are now fully focused on stability and empowering our talented people across the club, led by Vinai and his executive team.”
