Daniel Levy appears to have aimed a subtle dig of former managers in Tottenham

Daniel Levy appears to have delivered a transfer jibe towards Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte following criticisms about their stints in north London with the recruitment of Ange Postecoglou.

In the first meeting with Tottenham’s new Fan Advisory Board (FAB), Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy appeared to have made a veiled dig at past managers Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. Along with the initiative’s basic goal of improving fan interaction and thereby allowing representatives from the broadest parts of the fanbase to have their voice, ongoing situations at the club will be discussed.

Given Ange Postecoglou’s recent appointment and the upcoming summer transfer window, those two items were also highlighted. During the conference call, Levy discussed the club’s recent transfer decisions, including a little dig at Mourinho and Conte.

“The notion that Tottenham haven’t backed certain managers is incorrect,” he was quoted as saying by the club. “We’re currently paying the price, perhaps, for some acquisitions that did not turn out as well as we had hoped.”

Conte and Mourinho were each given £100 million to spend on fresh acquisitions during their respective tenures at the club, but no major signing has yet to really take off.

Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, and Cristian Romero have all shown glimpses of their talent, but have yet to do so for an extended period of time, owing to injuries to all three former Juventus players.

Postecoglou will be hoping to get the most out of the trio, and it’s easy to see why Levy chose the attack-minded Australian when explaining the thought-process behind the appointment in what could be seen as another slight dig at Conte and Mourinho, who have both been chastised for their styles of play both before joining and while in charge at Tottenham.

“We made a conscious decision that we wanted a coach who understood what we really wanted as a club, which was to play attacking football, to enable everyone to enjoy coming to a match and being entertained, and also someone who understood the importance of the academy,” Levy added.

Postecoglou offered his first words to Spurs fans on Friday, following the confirmation of his appointment as manager for the 2023/24 season. “Hi everyone, it’s fantastic to finally get started as manager of this great football club,” he said in a video message posted to the club’s social media accounts.

“I’m really looking forward to our upcoming task.” I believe it is an amazing chance for us to now go on a new path, play football, and create an environment that embodies the values and traditions of this magnificent football club.

“Hopefully, this is a team that you can all be proud of and, more importantly, excited about.” I can guarantee you that throughout pre-season, we will leave no stone unturned – myself, the staff, and the players – to ensure that when the league begins, you will all be as thrilled about the season ahead as I am.

“So I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone at the stadium, particularly at our first home game, and to the journey ahead.”