How many times is this team going to collapse in a single season? In the wake of the 6-1 drubbing of Tottenham by Newcastle, Spurs have now fired interim manager Cristian Stellini, reimbursed all the traveling fan’s tickets, issued worthless apologies, and have appointed their third manager of the season in Ryan Mason.
The rotten dominos at Tottenham are in complete freefall.
Spurs really are the most embarrassing team in all of England, let alone the Premier League, as they not only have just got beat 6-1 by Newcastle, a team they’re in direct competition with to “earn” (as if this Spurs side deserves a Champions League place) a Top-4 spot, but have also now fired their second manager (Christian Stellini) of the season and appointed a guy (Ryan Mason) who already failed as the interim previously.
Now, some of you might be thinking that Chelsea are the most embarrassing team in England this season given their similar circumstances, but I’d actually give it to Tottenham for one plain and simple reason: Spurs and their hierarchy actually takes themselves seriously.
Yeah, I’m sure Todd Boehly and his cronies over at Chelsea don’t consider themselves the court jesters of the Premier League (which they are), but how can you do and say the stuff Boehly has done and not be viewed as a buffoon.
Whether it’s Boehly saying dumb things like the Premier League needed all-star games, Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah came out of the Chelsea youth academy, Chelsea would go into the Bernadeau and beat Madrid 3-0, or his managerial hiring and firing process, there hasn’t been a reason to not call Boehly a sports jester that doesn’t know the slightest thing about football.
Daniel Levy and Spurs are supposed to be the exact opposite.
Say what you will about Boehly (which I just have), but he has a perfectly valid excuse as to why he’s so bad at managing a football club due to the fact he’s only been in charge of Chelsea for 9 or so months. Levy, on the other hand, has been the chairman of Tottenham Hotspur since 2001 and is the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League today.
As the elder statesman of the Premier League hierarchy, you’d think he’d would have been able to exact a strong, guided plan for the on-field development of Spurs and win the club a few trophies in his 22-year reign. Right?
Well, we obviously know that couldn’t be further from the case as he’s not only won just one trophy in 22 years (the 2007 EFL Cup), but he’s also had 16 different managers (and 17 unique managerial appointments) in the time he’s been at the club. Do you need any more evidence that the guy has absolutely no idea what he’s doing when it comes to appointing managers and the on-field development of the football club?
In case you do, Spurs under Levy have only had two managers last 4+ years (Harry Redknapp: 2008-2012; Mauricio Pochettino: 2014-19), the club has a winning percentage of just 45% (380 Premier League win so far/836 Premier League games so far), Spurs have an average league position of 6th, and Tottenham has had some of the greatest bottle-job moments (ex: 2015 title race loss vs. Leicester City, 2-2 draw in 2004 at White Hart Lane that secured the title for Arsenal, 4-3 defeat to Juve in 2018 in the CL, 2-0 loss to Liverpool in 2019 in the CL Final, 1-0 loss to City in the EFL Cup Final after firing Jose Mourinho etc.) in its history.
Now, to be fair to Levy, I will give him a pass on the winning percentage and the average league position as his record is mired by the sorry state Spurs were in (avg. league position from 1991-2001: 11th) when he was appointed as the chairman in 2001.
But, even though Spurs were a mess in the league standings, they won the 1991 FA Cup, the 1999 EFL Cup, and the 1991 FA Community Shield in that 10-year span, so there’s no excuse for this trophy drought.
Nevertheless, this 6-1 loss and the subsequent fallout really shouldn’t surprise anyone as we’ve all seen this song and dance from Tottenham before. First, the club issues a groveling apology, they either fire the manager or “give him a stern warning”, and/or they reimbursee the traveling fans, who pay some of the highest tickets prices in the world, and pray they don’t bring out the “Levy Out” banners.
Meanwhile, the players follow their own “How to React After Every Humiliating Defeat” playbook as a bunch of players say how sorry they are, how frustrating it is to get destroyed, and how they’re “trying so hard” to make things right for the fans. It’d be hilarious if real people (aka: the fans) weren’t getting hurt after these terrible losses.
Unlike the players and the hierarchy, the fans actually and deeply care about the well-being of Tottenham Hotspur and are willing to hand over their hard-earned money through ticket purchases, merchandise sales, charity events, etc. to see the team grow and develop.
Sadly, that doesn’t seem to bother these pampered brats playing for and managing Tottenham Hotspur F.C, and it’s why the players and managers have to go for this club to actually succeed.
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