Reported Sale of Tottenham Hotspur Is Bad News for Premier League Club

According to the Mirror, Tottenham Hotspur are for sale. The English Premier League club have been under the ownership of investment group ENIC since a 2001 acquisition from Alan Sugar. 

If reports are to be believed, owner (chairman of ENIC's parent company Tavistock Group) Joe Lewis is demanding the staggering sum of £1 billion. According to NBC Sports, such a deal would be five times the amount paid by Shahid Khan to Mohamed Al Fayed for Fulham in 2013. 

The significant investments recently made in the state-of-the-art training ground in Enfield and the Northumberland Development Project as well as the significant difference in the size of the two clubs could justify such an enormous asking price.

In the 13 years since taking control at White Hart Lane, ENIC have overseen a gradual resurgence in fortunes following two decades of relative obscurity. Only twice finishing outside the top half in England since 2001, Spurs are now regular competitors in European football. 

The value of the club as an asset has surged. They are currently estimated to be the 13th most-valuable football team in the world, according to Forbes. 

Spurs fans should not forget that ENIC bought the club in order to turn a profit. If they see this as the opportune moment to exit English football, they are unlikely to allow sentiment to stop them. 

Were Lewis and chairman Daniel Levy to accept a bid for the club, what would the implications be for Spurs and their fans?

Football owners come in two forms. Spenders and spendthrifts. 

A wealthy new owner is the dream of many Spurs fans. They would seek to emulate the success of Manchester City and Chelsea. Even if a fabulously wealthy new owner could be found, Spurs would have to sacrifice part of their character in exchange for renewed success. 

Any such dreams must also be tempered by the experiences of Malaga and Monaco. Both enjoyed a single season of glory before reality set in. Malaga fell away and Monaco have shed several of the star players they attracted with their newfound wealth. 

Blackburn's acquisition by the Venky's Group seemed doomed from the beginning and they are now languishing in the Championship. 

Perhaps Spurs would be better off with a buyer that would see the club in the same way as ENIC. Of course, Newcastle's Mike Ashley also represents a warning. Ashley's conduct as owner has hardly endeared himself to the Newcastle fans. An owner that sees the club only as an avenue to profit is unlikely to push the club to progress. 

AEG Entertainment Group, the owners of the Los Angeles Galaxy MLS club denied a reported takeover bid for Tottenham in 2012. They fit the bill as seemingly responsible investors with a long-term interest in the club as an asset. Involved with numerous teams across the American sporting landscape, AEG could emulate Fenway Sports Group's successful takeover of Liverpool. 

Rather than Chelsea, Manchester City or even Manchester United, it is Liverpool's ownership transition that Spurs should seek to emulate if Levy and Lewis are intent on moving on. 

Many Spurs fans believe that ENIC's ownership has run its course. Still others believe that they have been a net negative influence on the club. 

While the latter is an evidently ludicrous assertion, the former may have some merit. Spurs have been the best of the rest for several seasons. Breaking into the Champions League once, they have routinely fallen  short of returning to Europe's top competition. 

It is fair to say that Tottenham would benefit from a more aggressive ownership but there is no denying the steady progress that has been made under the guidance of Daniel Levy and ENIC. In Alan Sugar's final season, Spurs finished 10th behind West Ham and Leicester City. Such a result would now be unthinkable. The depth and quality of Spurs' squad is also now far beyond what it was at any point during the previous regime. 

It seems unlikely that ENIC would sell their prize asset before the completion of the new stadium. The value of the club will surge and the increased revenue from the far-greater capacity will fuel further growth. 

If Spurs are to be sold, it is not good news. 

Responsible, ambitious owners are rare in modern football. There are few benevolent billionaires that could acquire Spurs as a plaything like Roman Abramovich with Chelsea. The seemingly more stable alternatives like AEG or another investment group is no guarantee of success. 

ENIC have failed to make Spurs the strongest team in England or even regular Champions League participants but they have overseen a significant rehabilitation of the club. Tottenham are now closer to a return to their glory years than they have been for 20 years. The construction of the new stadium glints like a beacon guiding Tottenham back to greatness. 

For that, the fans should be grateful and they should remember that no new owner is a certain route to success. For many clubs, their hopes are dashed when their supposed saviour is revealed as a charlatan.

Spurs have little to gain from the potential sale of the club and far more to lose.