Vinai Venkatesham told to 'take the blame' as Tottenham 'politics' inspire sack twist

Tottenham Hotspur chief executive Vinai Venkatesham showed a lack of leadership in his latest statement following the end of the Premier League season.

That is according to former Everton CEO Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that the Spurs chief should have "taken part of the blame" for the way their season unfolded.

Venkatesham suggested in his statement that the Lilywhites needed a "complete reset" at the start of the campaign, but fans have been frustrated with the lack of responsibility that he took for the failed managerial appointments.

Wyness made it clear that he felt the boardroom man should have been prepared to own some of the club's recent decisions, but also feels that he is not about to lose his job, despite being under serious pressure.

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Venkatesham needed to show "honesty and transparency" to the supporters after the end of the campaign.

He made it clear that, as the man responsible for making many of the "tough" decisions throughout 2025-26, Venkatesham owed it to the fans to take ownership of those calls a little more.

Could Vinai Venkatesham lose his job?

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider's Inside Track podcast, Wyness suggested that there are a lot of "politics" in play behind the scenes at Spurs right now, but added that Venkatesham is not under any threat of losing his job.

"I think he (Venkatesham) would have been well-advised to have come out and taken part of the blame for this. I think you've got to, if you're going to be the one who makes those tough decisions," he said.

"Despite the fact that there have been well-documented ownership changes, Vinai has got to admit that he would have been part of those sorts of changes. 

"The one thing that the fans need to hear is honesty and transparency. And they'll get behind you if you're honest and tell the truth. I think he might have been better served doing that.

"The ground is moving under him pretty quickly, but the fact is, I don't think there's going to be any sackings or anything like that. But I think it's a lot of politics going on right now at Spurs, given what happened last season."

Wyness takes aim at Lewis family ownership at Tottenham

Wyness previously told Football Insider that it was "very disappointing" to not see the Lewis family play a bigger role in Tottenham's end-of-season messaging.

This came after non-executive chairman Peter Charrington wrote a letter to the supporters, something which Wyness felt should really have come from the very top of the club.

He suggested that the ownwership has to show "clear, direct control" in North London in order to steady the ship in the coming months, a department in which he feels they have left a lot to be desired in recent months.

He demanded clear messaging from the top of the club to help Tottenham turn a corner, and insisted that they have the right manager in place in Roberto De Zerbi.