Newcastle United showered Hugo Lloris’ goal with five outstanding goals inside of a dismal twenty minutes for Tottenham Hotspur yesterday afternoon. The club that exists in eternal purgatory between Champions League places and trophy less campaign after campaign, seemed to plummet to a low not seen since the 1990’s this weekend. The sacking of interim manager Cristian Sterling this evening has highlighted the depth of chaos at the club. They appear at a crossroads, but Spurs have been at a crossroads for season after season under the tenure of ENIC and the elusive Daniel Levy. The demolition job in the North East yesterday poses the question, where lies the solution to Spurs’ woes and troubles? We look at the areas the club are in dire need of improving.
Tottenham faced a similar mauling away at the Toon back in 2016, losing 5-1 during the final game of the season. The fact remnants of that squad remain, is a startling indication of the lack of investment that has befallen the club. Eric Dier, Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies, and a clutch of other familiar faces are still on the Spurs payroll seven years down the line. Daniel Levy has always been a shrewd investor off the field, however a number of flops in recent seasons have begged the question if Spurs’ transfer dealings are of the highest calibre. Flops like Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguagy N’dombele and Davinson Sanchez have amounted to hundreds of millions in wasted money the past few years. It isn’t a question of if Spurs invest, but where they invest. The money spent on the squad has been misdirected, and now there is a danger the club won’t have the financial resources from European football to plug the holes that exist in the team next season.
There is an assessment amongst the Spurs faithful that it is impossible for Jose Mourinho, Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, and the avalanche of previous managers under ENIC to all be bad coaches. The club jump from short term trophy hunters to long term ‘project’ managers with ease, and it begs the question what the vision for the club is. Going back to the beginning of the ENIC tenure in 2001, there is a sense of the club hunting for the dream coach to build a dynasty at White Hart Lane. However, managers are swiftly removed before getting their feet under the table under Levy and co. Harry Redknapp, Andre Villas-Boas and Martin Jol faced the boot at Spurs when the club were midway through a project focused on long term success. Pochettino seemed to be Daniel Levy’s answer to Arsene Wenger. A long-term manager with the heart of the club sewn onto his sleeves. Yet, disgruntled noises from the Argentine and a poor run of form led to his dismissal four years ago. There is a sense since that day that Spurs have been aimlessly barking from tree to tree with little success of formula for a managerial solution.
There can be no qualms about the quality of Spurs’ infrastructure. Levy and ENIC have built the greatest stadium in the world, and the training facilities to match. The costs, and the untimely incident of the pandemic, have delayed the progress on the field due to the debt caused by the club’s new home facilities. There is no doubt Spurs’ destiny may have been different without COVID hitting the bank balance hard. The ownership cannot be at fault for that. There still remains a lingering question that if Spurs had remained on an upward trajectory at the old White Hart Lane, then things may have been extremely different in terms of silverware. Bad timing has certainly affected Spurs more than many state-run clubs, who don’t have to account for keeping their books in the black and playing by the rules of FFP.
With the team currently on course to miss out on European football altogether, there is a growing worry amongst Spurs fans that Kane could be on his way out of the club. The living legend and all-time top goal scorer at Spurs, is approaching the twilight of his career, and the murmurings of interest from rivals at home and abroad are growing louder by the day. Kane has always insisted he can be successful at Spurs. Yet, as Dimitar Berbatov, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, and Teddy Sheringham all discovered, it is a short career in football and success often lies away from N17.
So where do Spurs go from here? There is a growing discontent amongst the fans at the ownership and the manner in which they run the club. The hunt for another new manager, whilst ex coach Pochettino is odds on favourite to be Chelsea boss anytime soon, is disheartening for Spurs fans. The club appear to be as lost as ever under the current ownership, and it seems it really is now or never for Spurs. They either need to find a solution to kick on as one of Europe’s premier clubs, or continue on drifting in existence, peering up at their rivals at home and abroad.
George Sydney Soper
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