David Pleat has left his scouting and consultancy post after 10 years in the role at the club. However, Pleat’s time at Tottenham stretches back much further than that, with this week marking the end of an almost 40-year association with the club.
In an official club statement, Daniel Levy described Pleat as having an “encyclopedic knowledge of the game and its players”.
High praise indeed, yet many may not be familiar with the man or aware of his impact at Tottenham, which has stretched over several spells and a variety of roles.
Pleat has been heralded for having a fine sense for young talent, able to pick up on the, often untapped, raw gems within the English football pyramid.
Of course, when Pleat first began his time with Spurs in 1986, the level of data scrutiny seen in modern football today just didn’t exist. The eye test, gut feeling and instinct once led football instead of the data science that characterises the modern game, and it is a great testament to Pleat that he remained so closely linked to top-level football as it evolved.
So what is the story?
Pleat's maiden spell as Tottenham manager
Pleat’s story with Tottenham began in 1986 as manager, after a successful spell at Luton Town. In his only ever full season managing the club, he guided the team to a third place finish in the league, and a League Cup semi-final. Pleat narrowly missed out on winning the FA Cup, as Spurs fell to a 3-2 defeat to Coventry City in the 1987 final - a match widely considered to be one of the greatest cup finals of all time.
But his real success of that season was the style and personnel. Pleat’s football was known to be free-flowing, attacking and direct. He would load the midfield with five, opting against the classic 4-4-2 formation in favour of having just one striker.
The results spoke for themselves: striker Clive Allen had his best-ever scoring season, netting 49 goals across al competitions and taking home the PFA Player of the Year in front of a stacked midfield including the likes of Chris Waddle, Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles.
The captain for Spurs in the 1987 final was Scottish defender Richard Gough. That year Pleat had pinpointed the centre-back as his top target, citing his athleticism and leadership as the reason why Spurs should part ways with £750,000.
Although Gough was homesick and left after just one year, the signing was an early example of Pleat’s eye for talent and Tottenham doubled their money by selling him to Rangers the following summer.
Pleat left Tottenham after one season due to uncomfirmed allegations surrounding his personal life.
It wasn’t long until Pleat returned to management, having spells at Leicester, Sheffield Wednesday and briefly back at Luton Town. But none of them proved as fruitful as his one season at Tottenham, and by 1998 he was back at White Hart Lane - but this time as director of football.
Pleat climbs to the top of the Tottenham hierarchy
In 1998, then Tottenham chairman Alan Sugar recognised Pleat’s sixth sense for talent and appointed him as Director of Football.
Pleat held the position until 2004, orchestrating deals for a host of exciting talents. Notable names include Paul Robinson, Robbie Keane and Jermaine Defoe, who all went on to have stellar careers at Tottenham and were part of the last Tottenham squad to win a major trophy - the League Cup against Chelsea in 2008.
Pleat’s understanding of the game as well as his understanding of the EFL were invaluable to Tottenham during this time. He signed Matthew Ethrington and Simon Davies from the lower leagues, both of whom went on to make indents on the first team and both of whom Spurs sold on for good profits.
His period as director of football overlapped with ENIC’s acquisition of the club in 2001. Pleat offered stability during the transition, as well as presenting the new ownership with deals that pushed the club forward financially.
On the other side of this coin though, is the fact that he had become one of the most senior and authoritative figures at the club - and not everyone liked that.
Pleat had a reputation for being hard headed - to put it mildly. Most notoriously accused by Glenn Hoddle, who was now managing Tottenham by 2001, for being obstructive towards his managerial methods and dismissive towards his transfer suggestions.
After Hoddle left Spurs a second time, Pleat assumed the role of caretaker manager, and a rather public spat folded out. Hoddle claimed that Pleat had an “agenda”, and that the club would be better off, “letting him [Pleat] do both jobs [DOF and manager] without his disruptive interventions”.
This was one of three occasions that Pleat stepped into the role of caretaker, as he proved the ever reliable man to prop Tottenham up in hours of need. He guided them to mid table finishes in his briefer spells at White Hart Lane, always able to keep the team out of any real danger of going down.
Pleat left Tottenham again in 2004, enjoying advisory roles at West Brom, Portsmouth and Nottingham Forest. But once again it wasn’t too long until he returned, this time as an advisory scout in 2010.
Pleat's scouting success
Pleat returned to a Tottenham in a far different position to the one he had departed in 2004. Tottenham had stumbled to 14th place in 2004, but by 2010 they had finally reached the heights of the Champions League under Harry Redknapp and had a great chance to continue their momentum.
Pleat was reportedly involved in the signings of Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies. Both players were integral pieces to a much improved Spurs side in the modern era - and Ben Davies is still a reliable squad player for Ange Postecoglou.
Since Pleat’s return, he has helped build a squad that has reached the Champions League in five different seasons, marking one of the most successful periods for the club in recent times.
But the signing we all remember is Dele Alli. Pleat was instrumental in Alli’s move to Tottenham, convincing Daniel Levy to part ways with £5 million for a relatively unknown League One player, winning the battle against Liverpool to get his signature.
Alli’s time at Totttenham is deservedly waxed lyrical about - it was a rollercoaster for the fans and the team. That signing is the jewel in Pleat’s crown and it proves the importance of not neglecting the world class talent that can be found in the lower leagues.
Perhaps some of his greater recent triumphs were the nearly-ones. Pleat is rumoured to have suggested Eberechi Eze, Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen and James Maddison to Tottenham, all whilst they were in the lower leagues.
All have gone on to have impressive Premier League careers, with Maddison eventually finding his way to Tottenham for £40 million in June 2023, and Eze rumoured to be of interest this summer.
On leaving, Pleat commented that “football is my life and continues to be. Spurs has been a huge part of that.” He added that “the game and its methods have changed” and he felt it was the right time to step down at 79 years of age.
What is certain is that Tottenham, and football, have lost a great professor of the game. His departure is symbolic of the way modern football continues to evolve, but his love for the game and appetite for style is what all fans want to have at their teams, and something that should live on at Tottenham.