Former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness has spoken about Tottenham’s transition from the Daniel Levy era into a more decentralised leadership structure.
Levy was in charge of Tottenham for 24 years, and in that time, he oversaw an impressive off-pitch transformation at the club, but had trouble translating that to on-pitch success, particularly since 2019.
The Lewis family have said that they want to usher in a new era of on-pitch success at Tottenham, expressing their commitment to get the club challenging for the biggest trophies in the game.
Some experts have said that Levy’s exit leaves a big vacuum at Spurs, and the Lilywhites have been warned about how to go about replacing their old leadership structure.
Keith Wyness issues a warning to Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham
Wyness certainly knows a thing or two about running Premier League clubs, and he believes that Spurs’ decision to move to a more decentralised leadership approach with more voices at the top is the right one.
However, he warned that from his experience, any leadership group that is too large is bound to fail at clubs of Tottenham’s size.
When quizzed about suggestions that Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham has assembled a six-man leadership team to take the club forward, the former Everton chief told Football Insider: “Provided everybody’s got their own area of expertise, I think six is about the maximum number you want on your senior leadership team.
“It’s probably about the most I’ve had, although I tried to keep it lower than that if possible. Matthew Collecott, who’s been around Spurs for ages, will be involved. I remember working with Matthew on their training ground, a good guy who knows the club inside out.
“Vinai (Venkatesham) is a good operator. He will be on top of the details, but he does work very closely with his senior leadership guys. I think he’s a very good leader. He’s a very, very knowledgeable guy as well. Well-liked, treats people well, but has a clear vision and can also drive things. He is across the detail and has a presence based on football knowledge.
So I think six is going to be okay, and I think people will understand their roles, their directions, and there’ll be no crossing of power and nobody trying to confuse things. I think they’ll be okay, and that’s probably one of the best things they could’ve done, that move within Spurs away from the Daniel Levy-only leadership model.”
Tottenham have faced challenges in the post-Daniel Levy era
It was reported by The Athletic a couple of weeks ago that Levy created a particular personal culture at Tottenham as he had ultimate power.
As a result, Spurs have faced challenges in finding a new way of working and organising the club after Levy’s departure.
The publication explained that the Lilywhites are trying to transition from their old model of an all-powerful executive chairman to one where the executive team is empowered.
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