Nizaar Kinsella – BBC Sport football news reporter
A banner displayed by fans in Tottenham’s South Stand during the first half put it simply, saying: “24 years, 16 managers, one trophy – time for change”.
There’s a sense that changing the manager now would not solve Spurs’s problems – as they have repeatedly tried since Mauricio Pochettino’s longer five-year spell – with Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
Chairman and owner Levy is the most powerful person at Spurs and, rightly or wrongly, it is him rather than manager Ange Postecoglou who is the target of anger.
The criticism largely centres on a perceived inability to re-invest the riches earned from growing the club, including the building of a world class stadium in North London, into helping to build a winning team.
Spurs also have one of the best, if not the best, training grounds in the country, but the criticism is that the development of infrastructure is not matched on the pitch.
Yes, Levy might argue that Spurs have given Postecoglou £214m to spend in the transfer market but £100m of that came from the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
Reports that Spurs can’t compete on wages with their London rivals Arsenal for January signings have also put Levy’s project under scrutiny.
This comes amid Postecoglou’s repeated calls for “help” in the form of new signings amid a 10-player injury crisis, which has derailed the season.
A protest movement against the ownership began ramping up in mid-December but has been taken to the next level and is now more mainstream in January.
Speaking to the media on Sunday, Postecoglou said he had not been able to “unify” the club.
“Certainly, something I wanted to try and do when I took on this role was to try to unify the club and create an environment here where we are all focused on the one thing. Obviously it hasn’t worked out that way,” he said.
“It’s understandable, like you said, the fans are not happy with our current situation. It is a difficult one to navigate because we need them right now, especially at home to create an atmosphere.”
Ben Kauffman, from YouTube channel Tottenham On Tour, in December 2024
“We have been very vocally ‘Levy out’ for many years. We just want to see Tottenham win something, we want to see us give it a go – and I know we are not the biggest club like a Liverpool or Manchester United, but we want to see a club that cares about the fanbase.
“It’s time for a fundamental change of the football club.
“Daniel Levy is the target because we have had many mangers, many directors of football and many board members, and the one constant is Daniel Levy. We see the same actions from the club every year. This isn’t a surprise – I predicted we wouldn’t back a manager.”
