Questions surround Levy as Americans Hover

Article by Douglas Bence

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If football leagues were people, then the Premier would be the high priest of knee-jerk reaction. Just listen to the callers on Radio 5 Live’s 606. An hour after their side has rolled over for a tame defeat, the calls come faster than a Sky commercial break: sack the manager, lynch the chairman, sell the under performing journeymen, buy big. Mostly vacuous nonsense.

While the apparently unlimited resources of Chelsea and Manchester City justifiably attract criticism, those teams that buy big are greatly envied by the also-rans in a league where success is invariably bought by those with the most cash.

Much the same view applies, but to a lesser extent, to Liverpool and inevitably Manchester United, who under Sir Alex Ferguson relentlessly pursued the emerging stars they wanted and usually got them simply because they were both prepared and able to pay.

Money, lots of it, has in the last week reared its head at Spurs whose ENIC owners, in the shape of chairman Daniel Levy and controlling shareholder Joe Lewis, have been scrambling round the Temples of Mammon attempting to raise up to £450 million for a new, 56,000 capacity stadium.

It seemed that an American investment company called Cain Hoy might advance some funds. But quicker than a Sepp Blatter denial, this potential investor suddenly became a possible predator, a fact that immediately coalesced opinion at Three Point Lane.

There are those that say all ENIC has achieved since it acquired Alan ‘Your Fired’ Sugar’s shares in 2001 is one miserly piece of silver in the shape of the League Cup in 2008. Over the years since ENIC’s arrival, managers have come and gone with monotonous regularity and the long-suffering fans have reluctantly become used to supporting a side that is forever in transition.

However, under ENIC the club has been financially well managed and, although it banked £6 million after the closure of the last transfer window, it has spent freely on players. Unfortunately, these frequently didn’t perform in ways that reflected the club’s traditions of attractive, free-flowing football. Some of those that did have regrettably been sold. So there are those that say ENIC should take the money and run - a cool billion has been mooted.

Cain Hoy is a private investment company, formed earlier this year with backing from Guggenheim Capital, that focuses on property, media and entertainment. Spelled backwards this could well be a Premier League club. The boss is US-based Henry Silverman who is described as a self-made, multi millionaire specialising in hotels and car rentals. The European arm is headed by London-born Jonathan Goldstein. Names don’t mean much, but both these are more likely to be Jewish than not which may or may not be a factor for Spurs who have long had connections in that quarter.

But welcoming a takeover is not the only argument, neither is it the one in the ascendancy. A long-standing Spurs fan and a close friend of mine urges caution and has a six-word warning: ‘Be careful what you wish for’. While a takeover may be the answer to impatient fans’ dreams, the potential nightmares are too horrendous to contemplate. A new owner, particularly from the United States, might not understand the game (most Yanks don’t) and they may not care.

Spurs could easily become a commodity where every business decision is based on the bottom line, market forces or short-term gain. All the grand plans for a new stadium might be put on hold, the best players sold to the highest bidder and a new owner’s strategy could be to move in and out of the Premiership in order to line their pockets with parachute payments. Such a scenario would have the average loyal supporter screaming in outrage. Heed those wise words: be careful what you wish for.

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