Some Spurs news for you; a Director resigns, Bale (staying or going) and UEFA punish Spurs

Some Spurs news for you; a Director resigns, Bale (staying or going) and UEFA punish Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur punished, along with eight other clubs.

Nine of the original European Super League clubs, including the Premier League’s ‘big six’, have been given a financial punishment by Uefa. The nine clubs are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and us, plus AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid – have also committed to the European governing body and its competitions. Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Juventus will face “appropriate action” under Uefa’s disciplinary process; this is because the three clubs have refused to renounce the breakaway league.

The ESL was announced on 18 April, but within 48 hours, the plans had fallen apart, with the English clubs withdrawing after protests and UK government pressure.

Tottenham and the other eight clubs have agreed to make a combined 15m euros (£13.4m) goodwill contribution to benefit children’s and grassroots football across Europe. They will also have 5% of Uefa competition revenues withheld for one season, starting in 2023-24, and this money will be redistributed, including in the UK.

Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer will pay his club’s portion of the goodwill contribution and the competition revenue, which will not come out of club funds. Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (who own the Gooners) are committed to meeting all costs incurred by the ESL. At the same time, a Tottenham statement said: “Any fines will be the responsibility of the owners.”

Future punishment if such breakaways are tried again.

Tottenham and the other eight clubs face fines of 100m euros (£86.9m) each if they seek to join an unauthorised competition in the future, and a penalty of half that if they breach any other terms of the declaration, Uefa said in a statement. They will also rejoin the influential lobbying group, the European Club Association.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin said: “I said at the Uefa Congress two weeks ago that it takes a strong organisation to admit making a mistake, especially in these days of trial by social media. These clubs have done just that. In accepting their commitments and willingness to repair the disruption they caused, Uefa wants to put this chapter behind it and move forward in a positive spirit. These clubs recognised their mistakes quickly and have taken action to demonstrate their contrition and future commitment to European football. The same cannot be said for the clubs that remain involved in the so-called Super League, and Uefa will deal with those clubs subsequently.”

My thoughts

So, knuckles wrapped, but they got off lightly. This is understandable as any severe punishment could have backfired and resulted in years of legal challenges. And might have precipitated an actual breakaway. 

Bale: Should he stay, or should he go?

I can just imagine Bale singing that Clash’s song: 

#Darling (Levy), you got to let me know

#Should I stay or should I go?

If you say that you are mine

I’ll be here ’till the end of time

So you got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go?#

Will Bale be back for another season?

According to Gareth Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, Bale was forced to overcome an unnecessary ‘tough ride’ throughout his season-long loan spell at Spurs. Granted, he struggled at the start of the season, however, over the last few months, he has demonstrated that he is still an incredibly potent attacking threat when he is fit and firing.

Bale returned to the starting eleven against the Blades on Sunday, and he netted a hat-trick to help Spurs to a 4-0 win. Those goals took Bale’s goal tally for the season to 14 in all competitions. That is pretty good for somebody who had question marks hanging over him when joining the club at the beginning of the season.

It has been rumoured that Daniel Levy will offer the next manager the chance to re-sign Bale for next season, but Barnett remained sheepish about his client’s plans. When asked if Bale would extend his stay at the club, he told Sky Sports: “Nothing has been discussed at the moment. He had a tough ride, and I don’t think that should have been necessary. He came as one of the best players in the world. Sure, he had a few injuries and a few fitness problems, but once they were over, all he needed was to be played in the right position and to be played constantly to get back into the rhythm. He has been given that opportunity, and you can see how he plays. I think with Gareth, like a lot of players, he has to enjoy his life and then you do well.” Barnett went on to say: “Given the opportunity, given the right way to play him, you may have found that he was always at his best. He just didn’t have the opportunity to prove it or the way to prove it.”

The way I read this, is he is hinting that Mourinho did not really give Bale the freedom to play the way he prefers playing. Bale himself seemed to suggest something similar following our win over the Blades on Thursday when he talked about the difference between Mourinho’s and Mason’s approach (a subtle hint). Whatever, it is a waiting game, and we will have to wait until the new manager has got his feet under the table before we know. But saying that, any manager worth his salt would already know what is what, where Bale is concerned.

Ron Robson

He’s gone, gone I say… but not Levy (but another Spurs director).

Even though many quarters have called for Lewis and Levy to go, it isn’t them but Ron Robson. The 58-year-old Scot was appointed as a non-executive director in 2014 but resigned from his position on the board at Spurs last Thursday.

Ron Robson has been a Managing Director in the Tavistock Group, the investment company owned by billionaire Joe Lewis for the past 12 years. For the same period, deputy chairman of Mitchells & Butlers, one of the UK’s largest owners of managed pubs and restaurants. The accountant has held several senior finance roles in both public and private companies with particular experience in the leisure, real estate and logistics sectors.

After seven years at the club, his departure comes in the wake of plenty of media attention on Levy & Lewis thanks to their involvement in the controversial Super League plans. It is understood that Robson is stepping down from the club’s board is not linked to recent humiliations but instead because of the range of other commitments taking up his time.

On top of all that, the Supporters’ Trust has been calling for all the club’s executive board to resign immediately. The Trust, in a statement,  said that they want Spurs to “create a new club board that includes independent directors whose sole purpose is to protect and promote the interests of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club as a football club, not its shareholders or owners”.

 

The Trust represents more than 22,000 Tottenham fans, has also stated that they have turned down a request to meet with chairman Daniel Levy and the board and instead wish to meet with the club’s owners.

Levy and co are supposed to be disappointed that invitations to meet with Levy, a part-owner of the club, and the board were rejected.

I am sure more will follow on this (the Trust & the Board).

All the best, Glenn

COYS!