The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust (THST) has accused the club of selectively omitting key points from the minutes of their latest meeting.
THST met with four representatives of the club, including chief executive Vinai Venkatesham and chief communications officer Kate Miller, on February 3 — eight days before head coach Thomas Frank was sacked.
THST claimed that “a number of specific points raised during the meeting” were not included in the final, publicly-available minutes — including fans’ concerns “at the risk of relegation” and the club’s “lack of ambition”.
“As a democratic supporters’ organisation elected to represent fans’ views, we believe it is vital that supporters can see what issues are being raised with the club, how those issues are being discussed and what responses are being given,” THST said in a statement, accompanying the publication of the minutes.
“Publishing a full record of the points raised helps ensure accountability and allows members, and the wider fan base, to understand how the Trust is fulfilling its role on their behalf. Transparency is integral to our role and in our dealings with the club.”
Among the sections that THST said it had asked to be included but were not accepted by the club was a paragraph in which the Trust relayed supporters’ fears over Spurs’ “current position and direction”.
It read: “The team is not winning, and change is not visible. Having watched just four home league wins in a year, this anxiety and pessimism is not surprising. Fans are genuinely concerned at the risk of relegation. The belief generated by the Europa League win has now been lost. Fans are concerned at a perceived lack of ambition and at results, performances and the failure to strengthen the team despite injuries to key first team players.”
THST claimed seven other sections which it had asked to be included were also left out by the club, including the Trust’s concerns about the use of young players and supporters’ desire for “a style of play that transcended as a ‘golden thread’ from the youth system right through to the men’s first team”.
Tottenham declined to comment, but sources close to the club, not authorised to speak publicly, indicated that they were asked for a narrative account of the meeting but chose to stick to a more procedural version of the minutes.
A THST source disputed this version of events, and said the Trust only agreed to publication of the minutes in the club’s preferred format on the basis that it would also publish the amendments which were omitted.
Venkatesham has been given overall responsibility for matters on and off the pitch since executive chairman Daniel Levy was sacked by the majority shareholding Lewis family in September.
THST and the club have an agreement to meet twice a year to discuss supporter experiences and concerns.
Frank was dismissed as Spurs head coach on February 11 and has been succeed by Igor Tudor on an interim basis until the end of the season.
Spurs are 16th in the table, five points above the bottom three, ahead of their next fixture against league leaders Arsenal on Sunday.