Tottenham Hotspur‘s owners have a lot to answer for if they get relegated, with predictions of a historic revenue drop-off predicted.
Spurs headed into the March international break just one point and one place ahead of the Premier League’s relegation zone after a bruising 3-0 loss to lowly Nottingham Forest.
Speculation is rife that Tottenham may make their third managerial change of the season and fourth within a year if Igor Tudor is sacked.
This comes in the same 12 months as Tottenham lifted the Europa League trophy and stormed into the last 16 of the Champions League with a commanding league phase campaign.
Tottenham have been predicted to suffer a financial loss of around £250million if they drop into the Championship, despite all of former executive chairman Daniel Levy’s efforts to make them profitable.
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So, it begs the question: What do ENIC and the Lewis family have to say about this?
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Financial expert lays out bleak picture for Tottenham
According to football finance expert Stefan Borson, Tottenham won’t lose as much as £300-350m if they get relegated, as some have claimed.
But missing out on all that Premier League, broadcast, and UEFA revenue will be huge.
Borson said on talkSPORT on Thursday: “I wouldn’t go as high as that, but I think you could be confident at £200-250m.
“It’s obviously going to be the largest one-year dip in revenue of any football club ever, anywhere in the world.
“It is not a normal situation for a club of Tottenham’s size to lose Premier League status and to go from the Champions League to zero overnight, which is what would happen if they were relegated.”
Borson also pointed out that matchday and broadcast revenue will take a significant hit, as ticket prices and attendances are likely to drop, and they will be in a weaker position when negotiating front-of-shirt sponsors.
Levy did an excellent job of generating additional revenue as Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted musical concerts, NFL games, and more.
While that will help, along with parachute payments, they can only do so much.
How have Tottenham got into this mess?
While Tottenham ended their 17-year wait for a trophy last season, the warning signs were there in the Premier League.
Ange Postecoglou ultimately lost his job at Spurs after guiding the team to a 17th-placed finish, a position they sit in right now.
For so long, Tottenham fans blamed Levy for not flexing the club’s financial muscle enough and refusing to compete with the division’s top sides when it came to wages.
Now that he is gone, Tottenham supporters are pointing the finger at ENIC, sporting director Johan Lange for his questionable signings, and CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who was previously Arsenal’s CEO.
It seems Tottenham figureheads have been asleep behind the wheel, with their recruitment in recent years simply not being good enough.
However, it would be remiss of me not to discuss their injury issues. For most of the past two seasons, the club has had a horrendous injury list, sometimes hitting double figures.
Is that down to their intense training and style of play? A below-par medical department? Players not being fit and durable enough? It seems Tottenham’s foundations were not very secure, and this perfect storm has caught them out badly.
There are a myriad of issues at Spurs, and if they go down, heads should roll.