Tottenham hires Trevor Birch as director of football operations in restructure of football management

Tottenham Hotspur announced a restructuring of football operations at the club, including the creation of a four person football board and the hiring of Trevor Birch as director of football operations. Birch will be on the board with chairman Daniel Levy, director of football administration and governance Rebecca Caplehorn, and technical performance director Steve Hitchen. Caplehorn and Hitchen were promoted from previous roles at the club.

Birch joins Tottenham after more than a year as the chairman of Swansea, and with an interesting résumé in British football as someone who has overseen multiple ownership takeovers. He was the chief executive at Chelsea for a brief period in 2002 and led the club’s takeover by Roman Abramovich. He then joined Leeds United and oversaw its 2004 takeover by a consortium led by Gerald Krasner, and then had roles at Everton, Derby County, and Sheffield United. He was the administrator at Portsmouth in 2011 when it was sold to Pompey Supporters’ Trust, and at Heart of Midlothian in 2013 before its takeover by the Bidco 1874 consortium. He was an advisor at Bolton for a few months in 2015 and 2016, leaving after the club was bought by a consortium led by Dean Holdsworth. Birch previously worked as an accountant at Ernst & Young, and did accounting work in between football roles.

Caplehorn, meanwhile, is in a new role created by the club, where she will “lead, drive and embed football governance processes, contractual matters and best practice across the club,” Tottenham said. She will also be the club’s representative with the European Club Association and the FA.

Hitchen’s new role is seemingly the one most closely tied to on-field product, as he is responsible for scouting, performance, and infrastructure for the senior and youth teams.