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Tottenham Hotspur fans turned out in numbers to protest against chairman Daniel Levy and the club’s ownership before Sunday’s home fixture with Manchester United.
Frustration amongst supporters has increased throughout a difficult winter period and last week saw Ange Postecoglou’s injury-hit team crash out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup in the space of 72 hours.
Fan group Change for Tottenham had already arranged a protest for the visit of United and a crowd of at least two thousand made their way down the High Road before they congregated outside the stadium where various chants for Levy to leave the club followed.
A number of banners were held up as fans gathered outside the West Stand.
The largest – aimed at majority owners ENIC – read: ‘24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy – Time for change’.
Another banner said: ‘Our Game Is About Glory, Levy’s Game is About Greed’.
Earlier this week Change for Tottenham member Christina Zandes told the PA news agency: “Even if we do get a win on Sunday, it doesn’t matter – we still want change to happen.
“This cycle is on repeat and we can’t keep going on with this. We’re tired.
“A lot of the fans are disconnected completely from the club and it’s a horrible feeling to see how bad we’re struggling right now and it should not be happening.”
Frustration has often centred on Tottenham’s lengthy trophy drought, with the 2008 League Cup their last silverware.
Data released by financial experts Deloitte last month has also been used against chairman Levy and ENIC.
Spurs placed ninth in Deloitte’s list of the world’s richest clubs with revenue of £520m from the 2023-24 season, but the club’s spend of 42 per cent of its revenue on wages was the lowest of any team in the top 10. It was also lower than all eight Premier League clubs in Deloitte’s top 20 with West Ham, Newcastle and Aston Villa spending more of their revenue on wages.
While Spurs signed Dominic Solanke for £65m from Bournemouth last summer alongside a number of highly-rated teenage prospects, it has failed to translate into consistent results with Postecoglou’s squad unable to cope with the demand of extra cup fixtures.
Tottenham went on to claim a 1-0 victory against Manchester United thanks to James Maddison’s 13th-minute goal, but a small crowd of around 200 fans stayed behind at full-time to hold up banners and continue calls for Levy to leave the club in the South Stand.
When Postecoglou was quizzed on the protest, the 59-year-old highlighted the strong backing of the supporters during a vital win.
“Well, I mean, obviously I wasn’t outside so I can’t comment on that, but I thought the fans were great today in the stadium,” Postecoglou said.
“I thought they got behind the team and it was important. Like I said it was an important game for us.
“All the the fans contributed to us getting the result we needed.”
