Ah, the blessed relief of not watching Tottenham play football. Not a sentiment I ever thought I would write. The club has been integral and essential to my life, my identity, since the late sixties, but I have easily been able to do without it for the past couple of weeks.
I’ve not watched any football at all since the Forest defeat. Not intentional. I feel so disenchanted that it felt natural to ignore it. Listening to BBC 5Live while I got on with the household chores felt like muscle memory – I was doing the same things I usually do but unconsciously, without feeling anything. Then, I watched the Liverpool PSG game this past Wednesday. It was somehow otherworldly, certainly not football as I have come to know it at the Lane this season.
Apologies for the gap in TOMM posts. I was busy with life, then I found no motivation to write anything, anything coherent anyway, or anything significantly different from various pieces I’ve written over a decade or more as well as this season, warning about the dire consequences of the club’s negligent disorganisation. And here we are. The club’s hierarchy, then with Levy, now with Lange, Lewis and Venkatesham, have much to answer for and should be held to account however this season turns out, but let’s leave that for now.
All I feel like writing is – this is so awful. Awful. Painfully terrible. Over and over again, like writing lines at school. Punishment for being a Spurs fan. I’ve got nothing any more. I’ve passed through the stage of anger to reach resignation and bitter, lasting resentment that it should come to this.
People know I’m a Spurs supporter, so they ask me what’s going on. All I can do is shake my head and intone, ‘this is so awful’. Friends and acquaintances have mostly been kind. You won’t go down, they say. We’re doing our best, I reply. You don’t watch them every week like I do.
Fans often kvetch about the media’s poor treatment of Spurs. I’m never sure that’s entirely true. I strongly suspect all fans say the same about their teams. This season, the media have been relatively kind to us, not that we deserve it. People saying to me that we won’t go down reflects the coverage of the club, which is that we’re not good but can turn it around.
In the past few weeks, that has changed. There is a different narrative as the media gleefully latch on to what we fans have long perceived, that Spurs’ problems have long festered and now have come to a head. A fortune spent on transfers to produce an unbalanced squad with serious flaws in midfield and out wide. Two decades of under-investment in players and opportunities missed. Managers come and go, all they have in common is their unsuitability for the task they face. A club culture shaped from the top that encourages under-achievement and complacency, that has created a club amongst the ten most wealthy in the world only to waste it, over and over again.
Breaking news: we were shocking against Forest. Tottenham On My Mind as up to date as ever. I haven’t got over it. Big game, let’s get up for it. Thousands of fans outside the ground to welcome the team, and massive kudos to people from Tottenham Flags and Return of the Shelf, amongst others, who organised this. Waves of noise from the South Stand. But we are Tottenham, and we cave. Tudor’s ludicrous team selection. Let’s wang the ball up the pitch. That should do the trick.
Bad defeats are always at their worst not when the winning goal goes in but in the remaining period when all you have left is time to contemplate how hideous it feels, until the sweet mercy of the final whistle. In those last ten minutes or so, I can’t recall feeling worse, comparable with the final minutes in Madrid in 2019.
Previously, I ranked the Pleat caretaker season of 2003-4 as one where I felt similarly despondent, where we toiled with an aged midfield of Redknapp, Poyet and Anderton, or there’s always 97-98 where we felt safe only in May, beating Wimbledon away 6-2. Both seasons shared that same avoidable hopelessness, the outcome of bad planning and poorly directed investment. Curiously the season we were actually relegated, 76-77, did not feel as bad. Maybe it was because I was younger. Certainly, relegation did not seem as significant as it does now.
The shiny clean lines of our state of the art stadium can’t hide the stench of decay and hubris that pervades the club. Among the legion of avoidable errors Spurs have made this season, on and off the pitch, I will forever be incredulous at a board that looked at our league position and injury list in January and said, we’ll keep the manager who got us here, buy a box to box midfielder, sell our top goalscorer and not replace him. A reminder that in late February, the club spoke to the media about their plans to raise our self-imposed salary cap in order to attract better quality players.
So anyway a couple of things on my mind.
De Zerbi arrives with a reputation for motivating and organising players. The deficiencies of individuals have been obvious as the season has progressed and the pressure has mounted, to the point where passing the ball between two Spurs players is apparently a virtually insurmountable problem. In the short time he has available, he needs to start with the basics of playing players in their right positions and staying with four at the back. Without excusing them, players these days expect to be coached into using their skills within a defined pattern and shape. I’ve lost count of how many formations we’ve attempted this season, so settle on this. It’s all we’ve got.
That said, I don’t think DeZerbi should have arrived at all. He is on record as excusing Mason Greenwood, who allegedly sexually and physically assaulted his former girlfriend, adding that Greenwood “paid a heavy price for what happened.” This is a shameful and shameless comment. Greenwood is a young, fit and rich young man who went unpunished and is able to continue his well-remunerated job. There is not a moment’s thought here for the victim.
By appointing De Zerbi, Tottenham are condoning his disgraceful attitude. He said he is sorry if he offended anyone. This is the worst kind of apology because it’s not an apology at all. He’s not addressing his comments, he’s instead putting this back to the reaction of others. He could have accepted his mistake, spoken about how he now understands he was wrong, that he has learned from this. He could enter into discussions with groups who work with victims. He chose to do none of these things, because he thinks he’s right.
The club are also sending a message that Spurs accept violence against women, that the experiences of women, girls and their safety are insignificant. Spurs have a sound record in working closely alongside organisations such as the Proud Lilywhites and Reach. These representative bodies plus Women of the Lane have all spoken out against the proposed appointment, yet they have been ignored.
I am a member of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust. Their report earlier this year noted that the club board agree with their Five Principles, which include ‘lead with integrity’ and ‘fans first’. They went on to praise the club’s commitment to ‘equality, disability and inclusion’. Not, it seems, when the expediency of appointing a manager takes precedence. There is a broader message here, that the club only work alongside supporter groups when it suits them and that their declarations of intent are worthless.
I am intensely proud of the club’s heritage and defend this vigorously. The club frequently make pronouncements about the club’s history and DNA. Yet I fail to see how the club’s actions contribute anything positive to our culture. Also, our CEO was in a similarly senior position at AFC when they decided to regularly play a player on bail after a sexual assault allegation, to the point where he was allegedly offered a new contract. Is this the image we wish to project to the world – Tottenham Hotspur, the club that condones sexual assault provided that it suits us? Because that’s how it looks.
Also on my mind is the increasing volume of noise in the media that the fans are to blame for our plight. This focuses on fan protests this season plus the booing of individuals and the team that is undeniably a feature of several home games this season. Now, I make it a rule that I don’t drawn into social media monetised concocted sensationalism or phone-in gobshites, but this has become part of the narrative surrounding Spurs. One example is an article in the Observer by political journalist and Spurs fan David Aronovitch where he attributes our problems to injuries, fair enough, and “the boo-boys”. Other writers have given fans’ assumed sense of entitlement as the reason behind the booing.
I don’t boo, opting instead for demented muttering that bothers only the very nice fans who I sit beside. I’ve berated some fans this season who have booed individuals, not that it did any good, because it doesn’t help them or the team. My own research revealed that many supporters complain bitterly that the club define them in a depersonalised manner as consumers, yet as Aronovitch insightfully points out, some appear to be adopting that role and complaining as disgruntled customers would to Trip Advisor.
The problem I have with this analysis of entitled fans as a cause of our demise is what it obfuscates. Fans didn’t appoint a series of managers ill-suited to the club. Fans don’t allocate the transfer budget. Fans don’t create a club culture which a recent report highlighted as a major problem that needs to change. Fans don’t buy players who are not up to it. Fans don’t decide the salary budget that fails to attract top class players. Fans don’t decide seat prices that are among the highest in Europe.
Booing does not help, but what else do supporters have if they wish to be heard? Levy’s regime was largely contemptuous of supporter representation if they wished to change anything of greater significance than the quality of the sausage rolls. Spurs fans are loyal to the core. Despite all the above and more, until recently the ground was always full. Away tickets are gold-dust, because we go all over the country and Europe in numbers. We do not bring a sense of entitlement because until last season, an entire generation of supporters had only a League Cup win to celebrate. There are no glory hunters at Spurs because there’s no glory.
Such loyalty deserves praise. Booing is an expression of frustration, the causes of which could be addressed by the club. Fans have pointed out all of the problems above, but have been ignored. Also, the club could reduce the disconnect between themselves and fans if, for example, they reduced ticket prices, had better, cheaper deals for European games and worked more closely alongside supporter representatives. Or treated us with respect.
My worst failing as a fan is that 5 minutes before kick-off, whatever I have said beforehand, whatever the club’s situation, I always feel hopeful. It’s irrational, given that I am nothing if not a cautious, rational man, but when was being a fan ever logical. I can’t help it. Seven games. I believed we were dead and buried. It’s up to the players to find something they have kept hidden from us for the whole season. I leave you with the wise words of one of the nation’s finest philosophers, Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, who reminds us that it’s not the hope that kills you, it’s knowing it’s the hope that kills you, that kills you.
TOTTENHAM ON MY MIND 
The analogy of Hercules and the Augean stables is not too far-fetched. Hercules was tasked with the job of cleansing the accumulated filth, ordure and deposits of thousands of cattle over the past 30 years. He achieved the task but I’m not sure de Zerbi is our modern day Hercules! But give the man credit for accepting the job and let’s give him a chance. Wouldn’t it be typically Tottenham to hound out of N17 our last two managers and then damn their replacement before his first match…
Eaststander.
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Very well articulated as usual. I agree with everything you say. The point about criticising fan reaction is important. I’m not a booer. I just never have been but I’ve come close on a number of occasions this season. We all have a sense of powerlessness in this situation and pre-game demonstrations of support and post-game demonstrations of dissatisfaction are the only levers we have. During games there’s only so much the crowd can do to lift the team. They give us so little to get excited about.
Like you, I am old enough to remember 76/77 and, like you, this feels a lot worse. The consequences would undoubtedly be worse and longer lasting.
For now the painful post mortem on how we ended up here will have to take second place to the focus on survival but all the failings you laid out have been present and familiar for many years.
I just want to get some fun and joy from watching my team. I’ve forgotten what that feels like.
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The very fact that I agree with what you said about the relief of any impending games in the last 3 weeks being a relief shows what I believe is a collective desperation we are all suffering. Obviously from the consistent non performances in the Prem games, apart from a brief resurgence against a misfiring Liverpool side. The previous desperate moments you mentioned are etched in my memory also as is the 76-77 season when we had the emerging rampant genius of Glenn Hoddle to sustain us and give us hope that we’d come straight back up following our relegation. But I also recall the lame period in 2008 after we won the League Cup and Ramos’s team limped for the rest of that season and then started the 08-09 season looking like we would never win again. That side included the legendary Ledley, Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon and others who matched those we have today. But those same players suddenly rallied once Harry Redknapp arrived and made an immediate about turn. So part of me hopes the same will happen again right now. But I don’t dare to believe too much, which must come from being in my late 60’s and not wanting to invest in caring too much (although I still do) because it might just be too awful to experience if this terrible run continues! Any Spurs fan of the last 35 years has seen an awful lot of false dawns and near disaster moments, interspersed with the near glory years of Poch’s side. Were used to failure and it’s become commonplace in the Prem games of the last 2 seasons. Now it’s shit or bust time and the players need to invest in the tactics of the new manager and perform for the shirt and the fans. The club is in disarray, but that makes survival all the more important because if we go down the rebuilding process will take all the longer to achieve.
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Thanks for taking the time to write through your despondency. Think most of us are joining you in the disbelieving muttering! Agree with your sentiments. For me it’s not so much the typical Spurs’ rollercoaster as the fact that the new managerial appointment is yet another questionable move.
De Zerbi’s comments about Greenwood were completely unacceptable. Anyone who’s seen and heard the material against Greenwood knows what he is, and his trial collapsed for reasons that are transparent. Sadly it frequently happens in rape and physical abuse cases where one party has money and influence. The United fanbase was clear on its attitude towards Greenwood. As was the club, ultimately. Shameful that De Zerbi wasn’t. His apology to Spurs’ fans, only after being called to account by some of our supporter groups, was just weak PR piss. This is the man we’re supposed to get behind? An apologist for a footballer so reviled and publicly disgraced that he was forced to slink away from English football? Call me old fashioned but isn’t a manager supposed to set the tone for the players? New manager bounce? Not for me.
I like nothing about the character of our club at the moment. But it’s odds on that De Zerbi will be gone soon enough when his volatility and obstinacy kicks in. A five year contract on eye-watering money makes as much sense as most Spurs’ decisions, given his track record. I’d love to know how much we’ve paid out to our illustrious line of sacked managers when they get the boot, over the years. Probably enough to buy a decent goalkeeper.
Anyway, here’s hoping we stay up. Gray, Bergvall and Vuskovic are still reasons to be cheerful, one, two, three.
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I wanted Poch, but given the situation a permanent appointment was needed and De Zerbi is an excellent choice. I read about Clyde Best being exposed to monkey chants at Spurs, so excuse me if I don’t think the fan base is in a position to judge anyone for their failings. Let’s face the fact that Greenwood was allowed to play his trade in Ligue 1, and it was from there that he was brought to Marseilles. What would you have said about the player if you were his coach and the club had bought him?
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ply, not playing, his trade: bloody auto-text!
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I’d have kept my mouth shut, if I were De Zerbi, rather than going on public record supporting Greenwood’s character.
Judged for failings. Seriously? Our fanbase was absolutely right to call De Zerbi out. Some things are far more important than football.
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It’s impossible to imagine how anyone could sum up the horrible mess we are in better than this.
Please don’t stop posting what’s on your mind Alan
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Pity they didn’t appoint Jackson Lamb. He manages a bunch of no hopers with aplomb.
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If Spurs had brought the player (Greenwood) to the Club, all the angry comments might have had some substance.
As it is, we brought a Head Coach to Spurs who made an ambiguous (in my opinion) comment about the player.
Time to get over it (in my opinion).
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Great article, Al!
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Thanks Alan, I been convinced that we would get relegated in May. Then the dispicable joined, as manager or is it coach. And I thought we might stay up and then felt guilt that seemed ok! After the game last night im back to being sure of relegation.
However neither staying here or going into the championship changes the smell of decay around the club or its moral standing,
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Let’s hope it ends tomorrow, as Col Kurtz in Apocalypse Now quite rightly pointed out about war: “The horror. The horror!”
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I prefer Galaxy Quest…’Never Give Up! Never Surrender!’
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I have followed your blog through thick and thin for many years. You and I had dinner together in W1 in about 2017/28. I agree with so much of what you say. I did 6 years in the Tunnel Club from 2019 and now 2 out of 3 years in west stand premium. I have many Spurs friends and contacts. I have been a fan since 1961, a shareholder since 1983, THFC supporters trust since 2012, and fund 2 premium seats plus 2 south stand season tickets since the new stadium opened.
The mood is ugly. No doubt. If we survive relegation or not is to an extent irrelevant. Perhaps we actually need the jolt of relegation to reboot the culture? I can see management and owners being even more relieved than fans and players if we survive.
What am I saying? There are many supporters like me. Dad (me), missus, our 3 adult children, all Spurs fans, plus nephews and nieces in Los Angeles who caught the virus too. Sadly I am glad my (ridiculously expensive) commitment has just one more season to run. I am almost 70 and I’m exhausted by the cons outweighing the pros, the lows outweighing thd highs of paying a fortune to be served hot dogs in a football palace.
So … owners, Vinai, Johan, whoever, in the unlikely event you’re reading TOMM and these comments, change your entire mindset. Think “fan first”. Be like Ryan and Rob at my 2nd team Wrexham. Think community. Think long term. Sure, be business savvy, but it’s really not that hard to marry the finances with the ultimate goal.
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Don’t know about anyone one else but I’m drained, mentally, absolutely exhausted and I will be relieved in one way or another once it’s over, wether we stay up or not.
My heart tells me we can stay up, we can win enough games, or more than our rivals to stay up, but my head tells me we are going down so get used to it and my head is normally right. I just cannot see us doing it and do not look forward to the berating from other fans, as well as it plastered all over Sky Sports News etc all week. I just hope if it’s the latter we can come back up, as the EFL is tough, if not tougher as big clubs have struggled and then became normal championship clubs for few years, like Sunderland, Leeds and even Coventry.
But it’s all about the board at this stage, if we go down we know lots will leave, those that stay are the ones committed but can we get decent players to join to bounce back up? Will ticket prices lower to EFL standard or will we be most expensive ever for EFL matches? Are any of our loanees good enough to play? Will De Zerbi leave? Would Poch ply his trade in EFL? If we stay up will the board realise that it’s not the amount of money you spend on players but the quality they possess. Our recruitment has been abysmal past few years, our best players Son, Lloris, Dembele, Ali, Alderwerald, cost very little in compared to today while Kane was nowt.
I do know one thing, if we are in the EFL, we will be upset, annoyed and angry for the summer, but when that first game comes mid August we will be right behind the team cheering them on. I just hope my heart is right while my head is wrong for once. But then, it’s the hope that gets you, no wonder I’m exhausted….
COYS
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Before gettingon to Spurs just a word about Greenwood. Not only has he never been convicted of anything, he’s never even been charged. But clearly you have utter contempt for the rule of law, innocent until found guilty.
As far as Spurs go I do wonder if relegation might not be the shock the club needs. I can remember the last time we went down, we came back much stronger. This time it would require more of a culture shift, an acceptance that just hiring and firing managers solves nothing and the whole way the club is run needs to change. The fans have bought into the “fire the manager” philosophy over and over again. Its time they recognised other people need to answer for their actions. They also need to look at reality, in terms of size and income we are similar to Arsenal, but they have won 13 league titles, we’ve won 2. That’s an unacceptable lack of ambition, bleating on about the “Tottenham Way” doesn’t cover it.
What would be interesting would be what happens financially. We are told that essentially Spurs finances would fall off a cliff, no actual numbers of course. The biggest loss would be TV income, but parachute payements would initially cover some of the shortfall. It would depend on how quickly we could get back up. Even with lower ticket prices if the crowds kept coming, particularly with Spurs catering income, then revenue would still be respectable. It makes no difference to the NFL or those holding concerts at the stadium what division Spurs are in, that income is ring fenced. What I’m saying is that compared to other clubs trying to get out of the championship Spurs would be in a healthy position.
We would lose some players of course but is that necessarily a bad thing ? Personally I would be delighted to see Romero leave, there are others I wouldn’t lose sleep over. What the club needs are fighters, players whose heads don’t drop, who give it all for the team. For too long fans have obsessed over skill levels, as if that was all that mattered. Using the time in the championship to remodel the squad, turning it into a disciplined unit that actually cares might reap long term benefits. Burkenshaw showed after getting promotion that its always possible to add quality later.
No one has a right to premier league football, you have to earn it. Over the past few years we haven’t, maybe this is when we pay the price. Looking at Chelsea they may be on the same journey. But they say you either win or learn. The question is will we learn ?
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