[Senator Clay Davis]

I feel like some of this is driven by the desperation to get an annual CL spot, and that you become more committed to chasing fourth/fifth place every year over trying to truly build something, even if it means spending a few years in midtable territory. For instance, for winning Europa League last year I think Spurs got about €40 million, but this year in CL, just by finishing where they did in the group stage, they've already earned more than that and could end up with more than double the revenue in the end. So it puts pressure on a club like Spurs to essentially try and "Keep up with the Joneses" because a few years without that money can make them feel even more left behind.

Arsenal are the only recent club I can think of who had a multi-year rebuild where they stuck it out with the same manager, even with a slow build and a few moments of frustration (like missing out on CL to Spurs in 2022). Even more than identity you need a vision and a plan and the willingness to stick to it. Arsenal did and it paid off with a consistently top team for years. We can mock them for not winning anything yet, but at least they've given themselves an extended window of being competitive.