Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has been blown away by the job that Tottenham counterpart Daniel Levy and owner Joe Lewis has done in transforming the club from cup hopefuls to top four contenders.
The Lilywhites might not have won a piece of silverware for over a decade but have been battling confidently for a Champions League place for the last couple of years, making their way to the final of the most prestigious club competition in Europe this campaign.
Singling out Spurs as an example that all fans would love to see at their club, Parish was left heralding Levy and Lewis for their savvy business approach which has led to a leading side among world football.
He wrote in his column for the Times: “We all know the narrative that haunted Spurs for years: decent players, soft team, never really challenged for the league but might win a cup. That changed when Daniel Levy took over.
“With hard work and acumen and the sensible backing of Joe Lewis, the club has been transformed to one with arguably the smartest transfer policy in football (do not spend any money at all; just make what you have better), the best youth system, probably the best training ground and now the world’s best stadium.
“It is the stuff every fan dreams of happening to their club. From Barcelona to Bournemouth, we are all part of one meritocracy — a pyramid of domestic leagues featuring thousands of clubs, each one representing a community and the dream of local people that, no matter how remote the possibility, their club might one day rise up and reach the apex — European competition.”
Opinion
For a long time, Tottenham were the forgotten men of London football. In the shadow of north London rivals Arsenal, who were winning Premier League titles and writing themselves into the history books with the likes of the Invincibles side, they have emerged as a forward thinking, progressive club who have the right plans in place to seal success. The way they have managed to break into the top four has been an outstanding achievement when you consider the amount of money their rivals have been picking up from regular European football. Leicester showed that even beating them all to the Premier League title is a, albeit unlikely, possibility but whether Spurs can reach those lofty heights remains to be seen. The likes of Manchester City and Liverpool were so far ahead this season that it will take a gargantuan effort to catch them. Still, a potential Champions League trophy awaits and considering who they have had to overcome on the way to the final, that would be a massive achievement.