Daniel Levy's Tottenham exit - Why it happened, who will replace him and will Spurs be sold

Former Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy alongside Tavistock Group senior managing director Vivienne Lewis with Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham behind them at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Daniel Levy is no longer Tottenham Hotspur chairman after almost a quarter of century at the helm but what does that mean for the Premier League club?

A dramatic summer in N17 has seen Ange Postecoglou sacked as head coach with Thomas Frank selected to replace him, and at board level Vinai Venkatesham came in as the club's chief executive officer with Scott Munn placed on gardening leave from his role as chief football officer.

It was also announced in June that Levy's long-time advisor Donna-Maria Cullen would be leaving after almost three decades at the club, which happened this week after a handover period, and now the chairman himself has departed his position just days later.

Let's look at all the information surrounding the biggest change to have taken place at Tottenham in decades as the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League has departed.

Why has Daniel Levy left?

In our report on it all last night , we wrote that Levy's exit was the final part of a jigsaw of plans put into place across this huge summer of change to bring fresh blood to the leadership of the north London club which the Lewis family believe will push it to greater heights going forward.

Those at the very top at Spurs have a belief that success on the pitch has not been consistent enough over the years under the former chairman and this is part of the reason behind Levy's exit.

After instigating a thorough review of the organisation through an independent consultant with senior figures and staff inside the club interviewed, the results caused the Lewis family to push through plans to alter the structure at Tottenham to become a more modern one with a CEO at the helm of a larger board.

While Levy was seen by many as a part-owner running the club, the new direction of a modern structure is more one of the owners looking to back it rather than run it.

Levy's departure has been in the works for a little while but has been kept quiet out of respect for everything he has done inside the club over the decades, ending with the second trophy of his tenure as Tottenham won the Europa League in May to end 17 years without silverware.

Who are the owners at the top?

Essentially the Lewis family through a couple of different generations. The most noticeable publicly is Vivienne Lewis, who is a regular presence at matches, known around the club as "Viv" and was spotted last month alongside Levy in the opening day Premier League victory against Burnley.

Her father Joe was the long-time owner of the club but the 88-year-old stepped away from that role some years back and is not understood to have had any real involvement in these events. Vivienne is senior managing director of Tavistock Group, which owns ENIC, as is her brother Charles, and the two children of Joe as well as his grandchildren, as Spurs fans, are understood to have taken on a more active role in backing the club in the past year.

What have the owners said?

What has Levy said?

"I am incredibly proud of the work I have done together with the executive team and all our employees," said the exiting chairman. "We have built this club into a global heavyweight competing at the highest level. More than that, we have built a community. I was lucky enough to work with some of the greatest people in this sport, from the team at Lilywhite House and Hotspur Way to all the players and managers over the years.

"I wish to thank all the fans that have supported me over the years. It hasn’t always been an easy journey but significant progress has been made. I will continue to support this club passionately."

Has he left completely?

Levy has left his role as executive chairman with immediate effect, but he will remain part of the club as a shareholder only without direct influence over the running of the organisation.

ENIC own an 86.91% share and of that, a trust of which the Lewis family are beneficiaries of owns 70.12% while Levy and his family are potential beneficiaries of discretionary trusts which own 29.88% of that share capital.

Who will replace him?

That the plans were already being put into place are now clear in the summer addition of one of the game's most sought after CEOs in Venkatesham to lead the day to day running of Tottenham.

Stepping up from the board after joining in March, is new non-executive chairman Peter Charrington, who is not expected to be involved in the football side of things on a daily basis in his latest role, instead overseeing the big picture stuff following Levy's departure from his more hands-on role.

What has Charrington said?

"I am very honoured to become Non-Executive Chairman of this extraordinary club and, on behalf of the board, I would like to thank Daniel and his family for their commitment and loyalty to the club over so many years," said Charrington, a director at ENIC.

"This is a new era of leadership for the club, on and off the pitch. I do recognise there has been a lot of change in recent months as we put in place new foundations for the future. We are now fully focused on stability and empowering our talented people across the club, led by Vinai and his executive team."

What does it mean for the future?

With this huge change at the top and a determination to push on by the owners to be something bigger, that cash injection could certainly be something to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Ultimately as Tottenham have to make the Frank era work after sacking Postecoglou, so the club will have to make the post-Levy era work and to compete with the big clubs in the Premier League and Champions League so Spurs will have to become more powerful.

Will Tottenham be sold?

What will Levy's legacy be?

Levy has arguably been the most divisive figure in Tottenham's recent history. While players, managers and high-ranking members of staff have all come and gone with alarming frequency over the years, the 63-year-old has remained the one constant and that meant that whenever things went wrong so all eyes turned to him.

Levy's stability has come amid the club's instability. Spurs rarely enjoyed calm waters, for everything would be ripped up and started again every 18 months to two years. The most stable time at Tottenham was during Mauricio Pochettino's era when Spurs looked like a big club again, even if the Argentine could not bring the silverware to marry up with the high league finishes and title challenges.

Even he could not be saved from the Levy axe which swung just months after Pochettino took Spurs to their first ever Champions League final. Postecoglou won a European trophy in May and still wasn't spared from the sack. Decisions were constantly made at the top with only those below being accountable until now.

The Australian was just the latest manager to walk into the north London club thinking he could change it, only to quickly realise that he could not. Some things were just too deeply embedded within the organisation and perhaps that came from the only constant - Levy.

The supporters called for the chairman's exit most seasons towards the end and thousands marched in protest last season against the running of the club. Some of the abuse Levy received stepped far over the line and was horrendous, including death threats throughout his tenure and during the recent transfer window.

Yet Levy did spearhead some remarkable things off the pitch at Spurs, not least leading the construction of the best stadium in world football, micromanaging that project to such a degree that it's very much his building. That stadium and the revenue it drives is the envy of many rival clubs even if it is their trophy cabinets that Tottenham fans envy.

Levy also helped bring about the state-of-the-art Hotspur Way training complex that is so good that international teams like England and Brazil train there as do NFL sides when they come to town to play at the stadium Levy built.

The former chairman's work in helping rejuvenate the Tottenham community should not go unnoticed either, including the London Academy of Excellence at Lilywhite House, and the club Levy will leave is certainly a bigger, stronger more financially stable organisation than the one he took over and one that has played European football in 18 of the past 20 seasons.

In a recent interview Levy said he would be appreciated after he left the club. It will certainly take time for many.

On the final day of last season amid the team's walk around with Postecoglou and the Europa League trophy on the pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the camera briefly flickered up to the chairman in his seat and amid the celebrations, came boos and a downcast look from Levy when he glanced up to see himself on the big screen in his home.

Ultimately, having the same leadership for 24 years is not particularly healthy for any organisation and now a new era begins at Spurs. It will be fascinating to see how things change within the building and also how other clubs deal with Tottenham, with some having described dealing with Levy as a "painful" experience.

His legacy will be that shiny landmark on the Tottenham High Road but now Spurs want to be known for what happens inside it and for the club's supporters that's the football rather than Beyoncé.