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Football London

Sport

Rob Guest

Daniel Levy facing brutal reality check that could cost faltering Tottenham millions

Tottenham Daniel Levy Aston Villa Brighton (Organization) Newcastle (Organization) Antonio Conte Europe Football Manchester United Cristian Stellini

Going on an incredible run of results 12 months ago to clinch a top-four finish under Antonio Conte, Tottenham are heading in the opposite direction this time around with their Champions League ambitions up in smoke. Travelling to St James' Park on Sunday afternoon to face Newcastle United in a pivotal game in the top-four race, three points was all that was between the sides going into the contest.

After 21 minutes on the clock, it looked more like three divisions separated both as Eddie Howe's side raced into an extraordinary five-goal lead. It was a truly dire display from Tottenham and they were lucky it didn't get much worse, with the hosts only netting one more goal through Callum Wilson midway through the second half.

On a day where Newcastle put themselves in a brilliant position to secure a place in Europe's premier competition well ahead of schedule, Tottenham's dreams came crashing down to earth in some style. Not only has their capitulation seemingly ended their ambitions of securing another top-four berth, it has raised the real possibility of no European football at all in 2023/24 if their current malaise continues.

The end of the campaign really cannot come soon enough for Tottenham. Starting such a huge week for the club with a 6-1 humbling on Tyneside, there's the real possibility it could get a whole lot worse, with Manchester United and Liverpool on the agenda over the coming days.

In fifth place as things stand after 32 games, Spurs could quite easily be sitting in eighth following their match at Anfield on Sunday evening if results go against them. Aston Villa, Liverpool and Brighton will be licking their lips at Tottenham's woes and are all waiting to pounce in what remains of the season.

If indeed Spurs fall behind their rivals and finish the campaign in eighth, which is a very real prospect with Liverpool and Brighton having one and three games in hand over them, respectively, there will be no European football on the cards for the team next term. That in turn would hit Daniel Levy and the club financially.

Competing at Europe's top table is where the Lilywhites want to be year after year, both in terms of going head-to-head with the best clubs for Europe's biggest club prize and then also financially. Clubs that qualified for the Champions League group stage this season each received a base payment of €15.6million (£13.7m), with those who qualified for the Europa League group stage banking €3.6million (£3.2m) and the Europa Conference League group stage €2.9million (£2.6m).

The aforementioned fees are then boosted by group stage performance bonuses, coefficient shares and broadcasting money, with those in the Champions League earning significantly more than the other two European competitions. Factor in the matchday revenue that the club would also miss out on as a result of not qualifying for Europe, no European football would severely hurt Tottenham financially.

North London rivals Arsenal themselves went without European football last season after finishing the 2020/21 campaign in eighth. Back in December, the Gunners revealed in a statement regarding their financial results for 2021/22 that they had recorded a post-tax loss of £45m for the year ending May 31, 2022.

The first time in 25 years they had not qualified for European competition, the club said that "the loss of the revenue associated with UEFA football was the principal contributory factor in terms of the overall result for the year".

They also said that, "as a minimum, qualification for UEFA competition needed to be regained, as a pre-requisite to re-establishing a self-sufficient financial base". Still in a good position to seal a place in Europe for next season, it is all going to come down to how Tottenham fare in their final six games.

A reaction is a must after the Newcastle United humiliation and hopefully the fans inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening will get one. If not, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Brighton will be looking to take advantage and ensure that Spurs' end to the season goes from bad to worse.

Here is who Tottenham, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Brighton play in the run-in: