Majority of Tottenham fans are unconvinced by the ownership's long-term strategy

By SABC Sport
9th August 2023

According to a recent survey, by the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust, three quarters of the fanbase have doubts about the ownership's long-term plans.

The annual survey was completed by 5,016 supporters between June 12 and June 22, not long after the appointment of Ange Postecoglou, but none of the questions were on Spurs' new head coach and instead focused on the club's performance on and off the pitch in the 2022-23 season.

After Tottenham finished eighth and saw Antonio Conte leave in March, with his assistant Cristian Stellini then dismissed in April following a short interim spell, 98 of fans were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the team's performance during the past campaign.

Frustration was aired over another season without a trophy with Spurs exiting the Carabao Cup to Nottingham Forest in November and losing in the last-16 of both the Champions League and FA Cup.

Defeat to Sheffield United in the FA Cup occurred after Harry Kane was among a number of players rested and 86 per cent of fans insist it is not acceptable for the club to deprioritise domestic cups in order to concentrate on qualifying for the Champions League.

The ownership part of the survey resulted in further criticism for ENIC, which has been the custodian of Tottenham since 2001, with Daniel Levy acting as chairman since that time.

Three quarters of those surveyed said they were "not so or not at all" confident in the owners' long-term strategy, with only seven per cent "extremely or very confident".

It was also revealed 67 per cent of fans felt ENIC's stewardship of the club declined last season and 48 per cent agree with the statement that ENIC does a good job on the business side, but would like it to be more focused on the football side of matters.

With Kane's future up in the air, 80 per cent of the fans surveyed expressed they were dissatisfied with Tottenham's transfer policy, although this was completed before the signings of Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, Manor Solomon and more recently Ash Phillips, Micky van de Ven and Alejo Veliz.

Speculation continues to swirl around Kane, who was one of several players left back in England for Tuesday's friendly defeat to Barcelona.

Bayern Munich are reportedly preparing a fourth offer for the England captain after Friday's latest bid was turned down by Spurs earlier this week.

Kane has entered the final 12 months of his contract at boyhood club Tottenham but has been offered a new deal to extend his terms in N17.

The 30-year-old scored four times in last weekend's pre-season fixture with Shakhtar Donetsk and has regularly had his professionalism praised by Postecoglou and his team-mates.

With Hugo Lloris still expected to depart the club this summer, an announcement on Spurs' new captain should be made this week and Kane has regularly worn the armband during pre-season.