Henri Lansbury says it’s ‘crazy’ that Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has decided to bring in Johan Lange from Aston Villa.
In November, Daniel Levy made a shake-up to Tottenham’s boardroom by appointing Johan Lange as the club’s new Technical Director – he is already hard at work.
The 44-year-old spent three years at Aston Villa, including helping them on their progression back to Europe last season.
During Johan Lange’s time at Villa Park, he had the task of dealing with the now-retired, Henri Lansbury, who can’t believe he has managed to get a gig at Spurs, as he told Filthy Fellas.
The former Arsenal academy graduate, who left Aston Villa in 2021, shared that the Midlands club wanted to part ways with him towards the last 12 months of his contract and it is something he understood because of his constant injuries.
But he didn’t like the idea of being separated from the first team and having to train with the U23s and how ‘there was this one guy, apparently he was calling the shots’.
Of course, Henri Lansbury was making reference to Johan Lange, as he expressed his surprise that Spurs have since decided to snap him up.
Henri Lansbury on Johan Lange
“I went to Villa after I done well (at Forest),” said Lansbury. “Then, probably my last year, they said ‘we aren’t putting you in the squad’, because I kept getting injured, So, I was like ‘fair enough’. It is what is.
“But when they start to say ‘you can’t be in the first-team changing room’. You can’t train with the first team. Go with U21s or U23s. You are like ‘I ain’t a d____head to the team’. I try to lift it if anything.
“When they were doing that, so they were like ‘we are trying to buy you out of your contract’. They offer you a certain amount. I am like ‘if you want me to go, there is my contract, pay my money and I will bounce’. 20% or 22%.
“Then every day I am going in. Training with the U23s. You can’t get me down. I am saying ‘good morning, how are you? How is the family? All staff. I will say hello to everyone. But there was this one guy, apparently, he was calling the shots.
Lansbury is then told ‘apparently, he is at Tottenham now, Johan Lange?!” To which he responded:
“Yeah, crazy how they have taken him, in my personal opinion. Good luck to Tottenham.”
Johan Lange at Spurs
Villa had their own shake-up in their own boardroom, including the exit of chief executive, Christian Purslow.
This wasn’t a case of these individuals doing bad jobs, but doing well, progressing the team and now the club moving forward, with Unai Emery having a big say.
You would say that if Lange can have a similar impact at Spurs, compared to the one at Villa, then he would have done a good job.
There is nothing wrong with the way he treated Lansbury, it’s the tough and ruthless nature of football and business.
You can’t please everyone, nor are you there to please everyone.
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