Tottenham have become so associated with snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in recent years, it has given rise to a term. Spursy.
When a team fails to fulfil their potential for one reason or another it is viewed as ‘Spursy’ behaviour. Naturally it follows that when Tottenham do this it is considered very ‘Spursy’ indeed.
Examples of this supposed phenomenon are numerous but to highlight just one, in the early spring of 2019, the North London giants went to Stamford Bridge and succumbed to a 2-0 loss, their second defeat in a matter of days.
Finding themselves now nine points behind league leaders Liverpool, and suddenly outsiders in the Premier League title odds, the home fans delighted in evoking their rival’s late collapse in 2015/16 that led to Leicester’s fairy tale success.
“It’s happened again,” they noisily crowed as one. “Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again.”
Of course we cannot expect a chant from the terraces to include a full context of any given situation so let’s put that right.
In Mauricio Pochettino’s final season with the club, he guided them to a top four finish and all while reaching a Champions League final. With a squad that cost substantially more, Chelsea eventually pipped Spurs to third place by a single, solitary point.
Chelsea didn’t reach a Champions League final that year. They weren’t even in the competition.
Add in a deep run in the League Cup and unquestionably it amounted to a decent, successful campaign for Spurs, especially when their back-story is acknowledged.
For the large part of 2018/19, Tottenham played their home games at Wembley, due to their new stadium being completed and the exorbitant cost of that venture additionally impacted on Pochettino’s recruitment, or lack of.
That summer, Spurs were the only club across Europe’s big five leagues not to make a single transfer.
For the record, Chelsea bolstered their squad that season to the tune of £182m, bringing in Kepa Arrizabalaga, the then most expensive keeper in the world, and furnishing their midfield with Jorginho, Kovocic and the US superstar Christian Pulisic.
A single, solitary point.
Talking of points, it should be quite clear by now what kind of one is being made here, and to extend on it let’s recount that ‘collapse’ in 2016 and the failure it was widely believed to be.
Cesc Fabregas on the title race between Leicester & Tottenham. pic.twitter.com/j3Kg2qYmpH
— Sky Sports Retro (@SkySportsRetro) September 17, 2022
Trailing Leicester for the entirety of the season, Spurs managed to get close enough to make a title race out of proceedings only to win just two of their last seven games. How very Spursy, right?
But where were Manchester City during this period? Or Liverpool, or Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United? Miles off, that’s where. Hopelessly adrift and never in the running.
In the five years leading up to that campaign, Tottenham spent a full third less than Liverpool and a quarter of a billion less than Chelsea, City or United, this despite being in receipt of a £80m windfall from selling Gareth Bale.
Yet it was down to them to chase Leicester down, and by putting themselves in the spotlight for doing so, only them who got flak for falling short. In terms or perception, and reputation, Spurs sure got a raw deal in 2016.
Furthermore, it can be argued that Tottenham’s reputation as a whole, for being persistent under-achievers, is unjust and ill-founded.
Since reviving themselves from a period of mid-table obscurity under Harry Redknapp around 2010, a club that for an awfully long time were known as a ‘cup team’ have only once failed to finish outside of the top six.
That’s the same as Chelsea and Manchester United. Arsenal have done so twice.
Moreover, their average league placing in those 13 years is 4.4. In the 18 years prior to that, stretching back to the Premier League’s forming, it was 10.1.
When compared to both their peers and their former selves therefore, the modern-day Tottenham can more than hold their heads up high with a sustained consistency that genuinely impresses.
Indeed, Manchester City aside, every other big club have endured an annus horribilis in the past decade, a season where everything unravels and they plummet out of contention. But Spurs haven’t.
Not even when they veer into crisis; not even when their flailing boss is favourite in the next Premier League manager to be sacked odds and the squad is nearly at the point of mutiny. They remain competitive and in contention.
There is a lot to be said for that.
📅 Manchester City 4-3 Tottenham, #OTD in 2019:
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 17, 2021
⏰⚽️0⃣4⃣ Sterling
⏰⚽️0⃣7⃣ Son
⏰⚽️1⃣0⃣ Son
⏰⚽️1⃣1⃣ Bernardo Silva
⏰⚽️2⃣1⃣ Sterling
⏰⚽️5⃣9⃣ Agüero
⏰⚽️7⃣3⃣ Llorente #UCL pic.twitter.com/YbetYcjqk7
It almost goes without saying that an absence of silverware is the elephant in this particular room. Tottenham last won the league in 1961 and last won any honour in 2008.
But anyone who claims Spurs are under-achievers, who make cheap jibes about their ‘Spursy’ ways, have it all wrong. This is a club that has been punching its weight for some considerable time.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
