Pundit compared Tottenham and Leeds United.
Leeds United were the nearly men of the early 2000s. Their brief dalliance with success came at a severe price.
Their reckless spending imploded and they were relegated to the Championship in 2005.
It has taken 15 years for them to recover to the point where they are finally close to returning to the Premier League. What waits for them when they get there is anybody’s guess.
Last night on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Gary Neville compared Tottenham Hotspur to Leeds.
He said: “I think Tottenham are the modern equivalent of that Leeds team.”
Like Leeds, Tottenham enjoyed a strong Champions League run, going one step further and reaching the final last season.
Again like Leeds, Tottenham ended up trophyless and the manager who led it all, Mauricio Pochettino, left the club.
But that’s where the similarities end.
Tottenham are properly run from a financial point of view.
Their squad has been built smartly, and Spurs are under no pressure to sell their homegrown talent.
Even in a worst case scenario there will be no relegation, Daniel Levy has seen to that.
Unlike Leeds who replaced O’Leary with Terry Venables and then Peter Reid, Tottenham have installed a true winner in Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho has had a tricky start due to injuries, but he is a safe option who will keep Spurs in and around the top clubs in the league.
His track record of winning silverware at every club he has been at in his career may also end the Leeds comparisons for good.
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