Open Letter Response

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR SUPPORTERS’ TRUST

RESPONSE TO OPEN LETTER FROM MATT JARVIS via @TOTTENHAMLATEST

12^th JANUARY 2014

Dear Matt,

Thank you for your open letter, posted via the @TottenhamLatest twitter account yesterday, which we appreciate was not intended to cause any offence.

Whilst we are grateful that you recognise that THST have a difficult job to do, it’s clear to us that the lack of communication you speak of may have occurred due to the fact neither yourself or @TottenhamLatest appear to actually follow our @THSTOfficial account on twitter, or be members of the Trust.

We appreciate that at this current time, there is a great deal of frustration and disengagement between the Club and its’ fans.

Please believe us when we say we feel exactly the same.

However, we don’t feel that this is due to the level of communication between the Club and the THST Board but rather the lack of two way dialogue between the Club and its’ supporters in general.

One of the many ways THST gauges the current sentiment of its’ members and the Clubs’ greater fanbase is by reading twitter, Facebook and various message boards.

In terms of your comments as to why we made a statement regarding the departure of Andre Villas-Boas, the overwhelming sentiment, a result of that lack of communication, was one of a high level of bewilderment as to where the Club would turn next.

As one of over 140 supporters’ trusts, THST is somewhat guided by Friends & Industrial Provident Society rules, meaning that when the Club doesn’t have a manager, it’s only right for us to speak as that is a matter of football governance. Once a manager has been appointed, this is no longer the case.

At that stage, if the Chairman of the football club is deemed to have made an incorrect decision, any movement that grows from that is consequently a pressure group. Something THST can never become itself.

Moving onto your questions:

1)    The appointment of AVB and the ‘new direction’ mentioned at the time

We can only believe that after the tenure of Harry Redknapp, the Club board wanted to move back towards a two-tiered level of management and one which was tactics-driven rather than motivational.

It is worth noting that only one of the current THST Board was in position at that time.

Regarding AVB’s departure, whilst the Club will not communicate to us the full reasoning for this decision, we can only assume that it was a combination of reasons, probably consisting of the style of play and the mismanagement of certain key players.

After our statement of 19^th December, calling for clarification from Mr Levy, we were advised on the 21^st December that a statement would be made on the 23^rd, which was the appointment of Tim Sherwood into the managerial role.

2)    Real Madrid/ THFC Partnership

THST was approached in late August 2013 by @e_spurs to deliver an e-petition they had organised to the Club calling for an end to the strategic partnership between Real Madrid and THFC.

Clearly, this was not our campaign. We were merely facilitating another fans group to gain access to the THFC hierarchy.

The e-petition was presented to the Club on the 7^th September and we have repeatedly asked the Club for a response. To date, we have been stonewalled and THFC are not prepared to make any comment on the partnership.

We can only suggest that fans draw their own conclusions as to whether or not this was a real partnership or merely spin used in Summer 2012 to make the sale of Luka Modric seem more palatable.

We would add that we would be amazed were THFC to now play Real Madrid in Ledley King’s testimonial match, scheduled for Summer 2014.

3)     Long/ short term ambitions and the new stadium

As Daniel Levy has repeatedly told THST over the last 13 years, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is always available for sale. It should be remembered what the ‘I’ in ENIC stands for.

Quite clearly, much work has been done to clear the site for the intended new stadium and the Sainsbury’s superstore and new technical college were erected very quickly. However, it is our view that no actual work has started in respect of beginning the build for the new stadium. As yet, the Club have not successfully secured a naming rights deal, which is absolutely fundamental to financing the stadium, although we do understand that the Club hosted several potential sponsors at the recent Liverpool home match on 15^th December.

Again, we are as frustrated as everybody that there doesn’t appear to be any light at the end of this tunnel as we feel the new stadium is paramount in addressing many of the problems with atmosphere and fan enjoyment that we are currently witnessing.

We hope these answers have helped your understanding of the current situation.

To help you gain a higher understanding of the work THST undertakes, please feel free to follow us on twitter (@THSTOfficial), Facebook (THST Official), LinkedIn (Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust) and read our Updates on our website: www.THSTOfficial.com.

As an aside, we will be opening up nominations to the THST Board this coming Friday (17^th January) ahead of our Annual General Meeting on February 26^th.

All paid members are eligible to stand for election and we urge those who feel passionately to get involved.

Thank you.

THST Board.