- Daniel Levy (businessman)
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Daniel Levy Born Daniel Levy
8 February 1962
Essex, EnglandNationality British Occupation Businessman Known for Tottenham Hotspur Daniel Levy (born 8 February 1962 in Essex) is the current chairman of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur since 2001.
Contents
Career
He is managing director of ENIC International Ltd, an investment company, sports, entertainment and media group, and replaced Sir Alan Sugar as chairman of Tottenham in February 2001 after ENIC bought a controlling stake in the club. ENIC is controlled by Joseph Lewis. Levy was formerly a director of the Scottish football club Rangers, in which ENIC held a significant stake. ENIC has also in the past held stakes in other European football clubs including AEK Athens, Slavia Prague and Vicenza as well as non-football companies such as Warner Bros and Autonomy.
Tottenham Hotspur
His reign has seen a succession of managers (George Graham, Glenn Hoddle, David Pleat and Jacques Santini). With Martin Jol as manager, Spurs finished fifth in the Premier League, (their highest position until the fourth place finish in the 2009-10 campaign) and the club qualified for the UEFA Cup. A feat they repeated again the following season. However Levy's decision to sack Martin Jol after a poor start to the 2007/2008 season, when many of the players appeared to be unfit, was widely regarded[who?]{{By Whom|date=October 2011]] as a rash move.
The appointment of a new management team, including the highly regarded Juande Ramos as head coach resulted in some short-lived optimism amongst the fans[who?]. On the 24th February 2008, Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley in the 2008 Football League Cup Final to win their first trophy in nine years, and their first under Levy's reign, and gain automatic qualification for the UEFA cup. However following this victory Spurs's league form took a disastrous turn which culminated in their worst ever start to a season in 2008/09.
In the late hours of 25 October 2008, Daniel Levy took the decision to sack Sporting Director Damien Comolli, Head Coach Juande Ramos, first team coaches, Marcos Álvarez and Gus Poyet.[1] Levy then installed Harry Redknapp as the new Head Coach of Tottenham.[2]
The move proved hugely successful, as a dramatic upturn in Tottenham's form on the pitch saw them steadily climb out of relegation zone to eventually finish in eighth position. Further progress was made in the 2009/2010 season, with Spurs finishing in the top four and winning entry into the qualification round of the UEFA Champions League for the first time. 2010-11 saw another excellent season for Tottenham, finishing top of their Champions League group, beating holders Inter Milan along the way, and then despatching AC Milan in the knock-out stages. Their exciting Champions' League run ended at the hands of Real Madrid. Tottenham finished fifth in the Premier League 2010-11 season, missing out on Champions' League qualification but securing a place in the Europa League after overtaking Liverpool with victory at Anfield in the penultimate game of the season.
The summer of 2011 was a tough time at Tottenham, with Chelsea trying to sign star player Luka Modrid, however Levy boldly stood firm and refused to sell. Since then, Spurs have started the season well and at the end of October, have won 6 of their last 7 games.
Daniel Levy, as of 7th November 2011, has been reported to say that he has every intention to sell Jermaine Defoe for £30million, with Barcelona and Chelsea amongst those keen to sign the England International striker.
New Stadium Plans
In October 2008, Levy presented plans for a new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur. The intention was to build it adjacent to the current stadium, White Hart Lane, and for it to hold 56,264 spectators.[3] The new stadium complex would also include leisure areas, public spaces, a museum, restaurants, a supermarket and shops, a hotel and apartments. The development was called the Northumberland Development Project (NDP) and work could start on the project soon after it received planning permission by Haringey Council, probably at the end of September 2010.
However, Levy had also made a back-up bid in conjunction with venue giants AEG to move the club away from the Tottenham area to the upcoming 2012 Olympic Stadium in Stratford, London despite West Ham United expressing an interest in keeping an 'olympic legacy' after the games as desired by Lord Sebastian Coe.
It was widely suggested that interest in the Olympic site was simply to scare Haringey Council into granting planning permission for the NDP in Tottenham. However, over a period of weeks, it was reported that Levy had become more serious about moving to Stratford should Tottenham Hotspur be preferred over West Ham as successors to the site. If Spurs were to come out on top in the bid, the club's plan was practically to demolish the stadium to its foundations and build another one to ensure crowd intimacy and atmosphere (ie by moving "ringside seats" closer to the touchlines than could be achieved with a retained athletics running track).
This proposal met with angry opposition from a large proportion of both Spurs fans and Haringey Council[citation needed] as well as bidding opponents West Ham United. Some Spurs fans fear that the club will lose historical significance in comparison with Arsenal and their struggle for dominance of the North London area[citation needed]. Haringey is one of the most deprived areas in the country and has relied heavily on the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation's charitable work. The NDP was seen as a major boost to redevelop the surrounding area as well as the stadium itself and in turn bring more money into the area.
On 11 February 2011, the OLPC announced that West Ham were winners in the bid to use the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 games. Levy and Tottenham are now focused on the NDP again, trying to secure much-needed funding from the public sector to make the project viable.
Personal life
Levy is married and has four children - Joshua, Oliver, Chloe and Gabriella. He has a First Class Honours degree from Cambridge University in Land Economy.
References
- ^ "Club Announcement". tottenhamhotspur.com. 25 October 2008. http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/clubannouncement251008.html.
- ^ "Redknapp agrees Spurs deal". Sky Sports. 26 October 2008. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4393516,00.html. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ^ Spurs aim for new stadium by 2012
External links
Business positions Preceded by
Sir Alan SugarTottenham Hotspur F.C. chairman
2001–presentIncumbent Categories:- Living people
- 1962 births
- English Jews
- English businesspeople
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C. directors and chairmen
- Rangers F.C. non-playing staff
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