The infrastructure of a giant, the culture of a pretender: the agony of being a Tottenham fan
disappointed Spurs fans, (photo credit: unknown, X)
Outside the Tottenham Hostpur Stadium, Sep, 2023
The top three ‘biggest clubs’ in England in terms of history, fanbase, trophies, and legacy are usually considered to be Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal (hate to say it as a Spurs fan but it is true). So where do Tottenham Hotspur fit in the top tier of English clubs? As a Tottenham (Spurs) fan since the mid-late 80s, the legacy of more successful times in the 60s, 70s, and 80s often comes up as the standard we should be competing for. For Spurs fans, the premier league years from the 90s until the late 2000s were mediocre, yet the expectation levels from the fans and supporters was always there. In reality though, the competition, culture of the club, and largely unsuccessful recruitment strategies over the years have meant those ambitions could not be realized. But why is it so agonizing to be a Spurs fan?
A cup team & England greats: raised profile & expectations
Spurs had won trophies with the year ending in ‘1’ in six out of the ten decades of the 20th century with them mostly being FA cups (1901, 1921, 1961, 1981, 1991) with two league titles (51, 61) and a league cup (1971). There were also other cups and European ‘glory nights’ in the club’s history with the club being 7th in trophy count overall for English clubs. Tottenham have also provided the most players to have represented England at international level at various times in the club’s history with greats such as Alf Ramsey, Jimmy Greaves, Martin Chivers, Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne, and Harry Kane all having made big impressions for club & country. The legends and prestige that came with these trophies & England stars raised the club’s profile, particularly from the 60s to the 90s. This was all in spite of only having won two league titles in their history.
Tottenham fans have always enjoyed watching attacking players with flair such as Bale, Greaves, Hoddle, and Gascoigne (photocredit: Skysports.com)
90s: Arsenal & Chelsea start to truly overtake and the real pain begins
In football, if your team is not performing but your rivals are, it can be very hard to take. For Spurs fans, watching Arsenal and Chelsea consistently win trophies throughout the 90s and beyond while we win hardly anything in comparison, is probably the hardest part of being a Spurs fan. This started when George Graham built the famous Arsenal back-four that was an integral part of their success from the late 80s right up until the early 2000s. With the arrival of Arsene Wenger in 1996, the combination of this back-four and Wenger’s shrewd business in bringing Anelka, Viera, and Henry among others, meant Arsenal steamed ahead of Spurs from the 90s onwards. Even between 2016-2022, when Spurs were mostly finishing above Arsenal in the league, Arsenal still won two FA Cups with zero silverware for Spurs.
Arsenal went on to win five titles between 1989 and 2004 while Spurs fans could only watch (photo credit: the Football Rewind)
Compounding this agony for Spurs fans, Chelsea, who had gone for broke under Ken Bates in the 90s, started winning trophies on a near-regular basis from 1997 onwards. Then, with Abramovich coming in 2003, they went even further and outperformed even Arsenal from 2005 to this day, in terms of league titles and Champions leagues. This new era for Chelsea plus Tottenham’s monumentally bad record against them (even to this day) made the 90s and 2000s probably the most painful time to be a Spurs fan in my memory.
Chelsea emerged as a consisent, trophy-winning team from the late 90s with huge investment from Ken Bates and then Roman Abramovich, which took them way above Tottenham (photo credit: Chelsea Blue Army Facebook)
Challenging yet ‘Spursy’: Redknapp & Pochettino
The term ‘Spursy’ at times feels a bit cruel as a Spurs fan but at the same time, it cannot be denied when thinking of our recent history. It has even made the Collins dictionary where it is paraphrased as being close to victory but falling short in the end. In Tottenham’s defence, we won the Europa league last year which ended a 17-year trophy drought keeping Ange Postecoglou’s legendary promise earlier that season. But nevertheless, the club has not been able to follow-up on that success this season which has made the ‘Spursy’ tag more visible once again in the media.
Firing Postecoglou due to finishing 17th in spite of the wonderful celebrations, was not such a surprise but still seemed cruel given the end result of Tottenham’s season (a trophy & Champions League qualification). The catastrophic results under his replacement Thomas Frank (particularly home form) have coincided with an injury-list from any club’s worst nightmare. As a result, Frank has been let go with Igor Tudor coming in to hopefully steer the club clear of relegation.
Ange won the Europa League Cup, but was still let go due to poor performances in the league (photo credit: BBC)
In previous years under Harry Redknapp and Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs did enjoy excellent league performances while qualifying for the Champions League on a number of occasions from 2010 to 2019. But alas, no trophy came for Spurs with the pain of losing four finals from 2009 – 2021. This continued under Antonio Conte despite the great start he made in 2022. Firing Jose Mourinho a week before the 2021 league cup final was as much bizarre as it was ‘Spursy’.
Jose Mourinho was fired less than a week before the 2021 League Cup final despite his record of winning trophies (photo credit: London Evening Standard)
Both Harry Redknapp and Mauricio Pochettino led Spurs to strong finishes in the league and gained qualification to the Champions League on numerous occasions, but no trophies (photo credit: BBC)
But to be fair to Tottenham, in the other finals (2009 league cup v Man U, 2015 league cup v Chelsea, 2019 Champions League v Liverpool), we were the underdogs which does not really warrant any ‘Spursy’ tags.
New Stadium & Training ground: good intentions but results matter
The new stadium and training ground get mentioned in virtually every conversation about Tottenham when discussing their ranking as one of the big clubs in England. There is no doubt that they are both very impressive, but if the players on the pitch aren’t winning, it is as meaningful as having a state-of-the-art tank with an inept crew to drive it. The team’s home form has been particularly awful with the atmosphere coming under a lot of criticism from all over. We have the infrastructure, but why can’t the club get it right on the pitch consistently?
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is considered to be ‘state-of-the-art (photo credit: Skysports)
Recruitment and the myth of Levy not spending
In spite of what many Spurs fans say, the club under Daniel Levy has spent significantly on transfers over the years. The wage structure does not match that of the likes of Liverpool, City, United, Chelsea, and Arsenal however, which was highlighted in a recent interview with former manager Ange Postecoglou. This limitation, plus a lot of youth investment as opposed to buying the best current players, are among multiple factors that have led to Spurs not being able to recruit efficiently to compete with the big clubs. A real kick in the teeth for Spurs fans was the Eze transfer which was all but done until Arsenal snatched him at the last hour. This ‘Spursy’ moment was made even more humiliating when Eze himself scored a hat-trick for Arsenal against Tottenham in a 4-1 win at the Emirates earlier this season
Conclusion: infrastructure for the big time, but have to break the cultural barrier first…
As mentioned previously, the infrastructure and facilities are there at Tottenham. But as previous managers, coaches, and other figures have said in the past, there is a cultural issue at Tottenham. The ‘audere est facere’ (‘to dare is to do’) motto of the club has been mocked in recent times and what the club actually want to achieve has come into question. From Mourinho’s comments about his sacking, Conte’s outburst, to Postecoglou’s criticism, Spurs have an issue with getting to the next level which ideally, is winning the title. Alan Sugar, Daniel Levy, and the new directors at Tottenham have all come in for heavy criticism when it comes to getting Spurs to the top.
Antonio Conte’s outburst in 2023 was another new level of embarrassment for Tottenham (photo credit: BBC)
The ‘Spursy’ tag is fashionable if not always justified. Everton, Aston Villa, Leeds, and Newcastle have enjoyed even less glory since the start of the premier league yet these are also big clubs with history and big fan-bases. But, until Spurs can find that winning formula of shrewd recruitment, good leadership at board-level, having a strong football management team, and getting hungry players that really want to play for Tottenham, the dream of winning titles and beyond will likely remain out of reach. Leicester City proved in 2016 however, that even for one season, if this winning formula can be found combined with good-old fortuitous luck, anything is possible.
