Historically, Spurs are known for fighting for league titles and Champions League spots. This season, they find themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum, facing relegation to the 2nd tier of English football.
Note: In soccer, leagues operate with a promotion-relegation system, where the bottom 3-4 teams are relegated, and the top 3-4 are promoted. This is different than a lot of other sports.
The idea of Spurs going down was nothing more than a joke amongst football fans, because despite being bad, everyone figured they would find themselves mid-table by the end of the season, purely based on the talent of their big-money players. But now, we are in April with 6 games left to be played, and Tottenham are actually in the relegation zone; in other words, if the season were to end today, Spurs would be going down.
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A nightmare season for the cockerels
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Heading into the 25-26 season, Tottenham had made some big transitional moves for the future. They began the summer window by firing head coach Ange Postecoglou, which was somewhat controversial, given they had just won a European trophy a week prior. They then appointed ex-Brentford boss Thomas Frank as Postecoglou’s successor. They immediately engaged in talks with some big-name players on the market: Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simmons, and Mathys Tel. In total, Spurs spent 210 million in the summer window. After such a decisive and convincing transfer window, the talk around Spurs was that they had enough quality to compete for a top-8 finish in the league (which earns you a spot in a European competition). At the time, Frank was a hot new commodity who helped Brentford overachieve in the league. They were signing popular players who were either in their prime, or about to hit it, what was not to like?
Tottenham lived up to the hype in August and September. They started by winning 3 of their first 4 games, including a 2-0 win against Man City. After 7 games, they sat at the top of the league – 4 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws. This would be the end of their hot streak, and the nosedive began. Since those first 7 games, the Spurs have won 3 more, and their last win was in December 2025.
Here’s the kicker: They are on their third head coach this season – third.
What’s gone wrong?
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It’s hard to trace the falloff we have never seen before to a single cause, but it is likely a combination of several factors. The first one is that Frank never truly got his playstyle and system to resonate with the players. Still, they were able to start hot due to a football phenomenon called a “new manager bounce,” which is when players give everything they have to try and impress the new coach. Another factor that has likely played into this total disaster class is that Tottenham’s scouting department either did a poor job of recognizing or accounting for players’ personalities. Of course, as onlookers, we do not get to see the players’ personalities behind the scenes, but it is plausible to believe that they signed players who play for themselves rather than the team.
Will they survive?
At this point, anything can happen. The fanbase is embarrassed and can’t get behind the team; the players are embarrassed, while some may be downing tools and angling for a move away from the club if they go down. The club is spiraling, and being relegated would have major impacts on its financial outlook, and it would lose many of its players to other clubs. Despite staring down the barrel of a historical downfall, they have a chance to stay up thanks to the sheer technical quality of their players compared to other relegation clubs. They are 2 points from safety, and 7 points from a possible 18 in their remaining fixtures would likely be enough to keep them up. It is not going to be easy, but I believe that talent will be just enough.