Wednesday 12 November 2014 06:28, UK
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust will sit down with the club's board at a scheduled meeting next week to discuss unrest among fans.
Spurs supporters are growing increasingly dismayed with the team’s results on the pitch, with loud boos evident during and after Sunday’s home defeat to Stoke – their fourth in six home Premier League games this season.
Striker Emmanuel Adebayor reacted to those jeers, stating the team is deeply affected and would rather play away to avoid them – something THST’s secretary Kat Law regards as yet another in a “long list of excuses”.
“Fans have every right to express their opinion. We are stakeholders, we pay an awful lot of money to go to games and we’re being served at sub-standard fare to be perfectly honest,” Law told Sky Sports.
It feels like the fans have been added to a long list of excuses for why the team is underperforming and why things are clearly not right from top to bottom at the club.
“We understand where Adebayor is coming from and pleased he referenced that he gets why we’re frustrated. But it would have been better if nothing was said at all.
“It feels like the fans have been added to a long list of excuses for why the team is underperforming and why things are clearly not right from top to bottom at the club.
“There’s a huge disconnect between our fanbase and the club right now and an awful lot of unrest. There has been a growing movement amongst fans who’ve had enough and feel it’s time for a change at the top. Whatever the movements are, ‘Levy out’ or’ Enic out’ – they are mobilising.
“From a Trust point of view, however, we’re not reactive and we’re very wary of calling for regime change when you don’t know what the alternative is. We have a dialogue with this board, we’re meeting with them next Thursday and we’ll ask the questions that need to be asked on behalf of our fanbase.”
Fans are divided on who is to blame for the problems at Tottenham, with a section of supporters claiming chairman Daniel Levy and the club's transfer policy are at fault, others pointing their fingers at the players, while new boss Mauricio Pochettino’s methods are also being questioned.
But Law, who has been secretary of THST since March 2013, insists the majority of supporters simply want an increased amount of transparency from the club.
“Fan engagement is a term banded around a lot and Tottenham aren’t very good at it,” she said.
"Transparency is key here. We’d like them to include fans in key decisions. For instance, what is the situation with the stadium? Where are we likely to play if we have to spend a season elsewhere? How do they see it going on the field?
"We’d like articulation as to what their player recruitment strategy is; their transfer policy. These are all key questions fans want answered.
“I think Spurs fans are incredibly loyal. We’re not always painted out that way but we put up with a lot, so I don’t think you can really question the support.
"The spark comes from what’s happening on field. Providing they look like they’re trying – that there's some heart – then we’ll get behind them.”
