If fans had power, football would be a very different game to the one it is.
But it’s relative though right? I think I’m just arguing that fans have more power than you think they do, not that fans are all powerful.
I think they are an important stakeholder group to consider when decisions are made, and will be heard if they come together and use their voice in smart ways. I’m not disagreeing that owners, politicians, media companies, regulators, banks, agents etc etc all have power in this game too. They all influence it. I’m just arguing that fans definitely can too.
There’s definitely a flavour of collective ‘uprising’ (trying to think of a better word, but couldn’t) happening in the world right now. We’ve had a good few years of Reagan, Thatcher, Blair, Cameron kind of consensus where I think the middle classes felt largely happy and the working classes felt less engaged. I think that is changing generally when you look at where Boris’ mandate comes from, even the rise of Corbyn, AOC, Trump. All over the world, people are rising up, fighting back, new social media are allowing groups of people to organise and be heard, and the traditional gatekeepers of old media don’t shape the narratives in quite the same ways anymore.
So I think the world is changing, and football is changing along with it. I think there’s some really interesting tension in that there is a global opportunity out there in emerging markets that clubs will want to exploit if they continue to grow, and new technologies will enable that too. But there is also a more engaged, organised and empowered fan base, who probably didn’t feel heard or like the had the power before, but now their voices are being listened to by the top people in the game. And I think it’s because of that tension, that there are opportunities for owners to pull the game in another direction, that people are going to be motivated to fight back.
And that’s about the ESL and the game overall. But for Spurs specifically I think the same things. I don’t think Levy is a clam or evil, I actually think he’s a good man who because he owns the club has the right to do whatever the hell he wants with it. And he’s done a lot of good. But in a complex and changing world I think it’s important that people feel confident and empowered enough to have their say, and hold him to account. There might be other decisions that can be made that are just as good. There might be other ways of doing things. There might be a better settlement for fans. Maybe we can charge less than £60 and the club will still probably be 5th or 6th for example?
All I’m saying that the world is changing, the game is changing, and fans opportunity to be heard and apply pressure is changing with it. And given we can’t just go and support other clubs, I think we have every right to try and be heard and influence things as much as we can. Given Levy is feeling the need to do some PR puff pieces, I think it’s good for us that he is feeling the pressure.