On one side stands Mauricio Pochettino, the hottest prospect in club management and a frustrated leader starting to cast covetous glances at his moneyed competitors.
The intractable Daniel Levy is on the other side. A chairman famed for his parsimony who has permitted a £40.3m (Dh200m) net spend in four seasons by the Argentine and has a new stadium to pay for, of which escalating costs put the reported total outlay at £1 billion (Dh5bn).
It is not by accident that rumours of Chelsea’s interest caught fire on Tuesday.
These followed Sunday’s confirmation of a third-successive top-three Premier League finish on a shoestring budget and subsequent exclamations from Pochettino that Levy must be “brave” and “take risks”.
The scene is set for a battle of wills that could define the club’s short-term future. Certainly before the new revenue streams start flowing and the debt becomes manageable at the White Hart Lane redevelopment – which judging by Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium could be more than half a decade away.
A solution appears obvious. Purse strings clasped tight must be belatedly loosened.
Yet, this narrative betrays the truth. Levy is not the party still with much to prove.
He’s shown Spurs’ reclusive billionaire owner Joe Lewis that he can deliver profits of £41.2m (Dh204.4m) on 2016/17’s club-record revenue of £306.3m (Dh1.5bn) that is the lowest in the Premier League’s top six, while safeguarding the riches earned from Champions League qualification. Some juggling act.
In an era when the Manchester sides are regularly spending more than £150m (Dh744.3m) every summer and even neighbours Arsenal have broken their club record twice in the last year, Pochettino’s development is laudable. Not since 1959-63 has the top three been breached so often by Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur’s chairman Daniel Levy (r).
A disclaimer remains, however, that Levy cannot ignore. It is now exactly a decade since Spurs lifted the 2007/08 League Cup.
Since Pochettino’s arrival in May 2014 from Southampton, he’s finished third in 2015/16’s two-horse race for Premier League glory with Leicester.
The 46-year-old lost the 2014/15 League Cup showpiece to Chelsea and made the semi-finals of the last two FA Cups.
During this time, Arsene Wenger has effectively been chased out of Arsenal after he won two FA Cups.
Manchester United lifted the 2015/16 FA Cup as Louis van Gaal’s reign disintegrated. They have subsequently claimed the League Cup and Europa League despite the ongoing disquiet about manager Jose Mourinho’s methods – with the promise of Saturday’s FA Cup showdown to come.
A dismissive narrative has emerged from Pochettino about these competitions.
“We need a big trophy,” he said last August. “A big trophy is Premier League or Champions League.”
A glorious morning at #SpursNewStadium ☀️ 🏟 pic.twitter.com/MABWXfqfMB
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 15, 2018
Rich words, oft repeated, when a nine-year managerial career has delivered zero silverware. No matter the laudable style or startling progress seen in the likes of England pair Harry Kane and Dele Alli, plus Denmark’s exceptional playmaker Christian Eriksen.
Levy is an astute operator. Such disdainful statements will not be missed.
For all Pochettino’s promise, it is yet to be delivered upon.
Mourinho secured 22 of the game’s prizes, big or small, before he joined United for 2016/17. But he understands the catalysing value of success – no matter where it is found.
In times of excessive investment on infrastructure, Pochettino cannot point to anything truly tangible when he enters negotiations about both an improved contract and budget.
The ex-Argentina defender is unable to produce incontrovertible proof that another gamble from Levy with Tottenham’s finances would deliver elusive silverware. It would just be a punt.
Levy never gets his sums wrong. Pochettino, in contrast, has miscalculated.
