What football thinks of Tottenham's tailspin: 'Incompetence of the highest order'

London — For months the rest of the game has watched Tottenham Hotspur’s spiral with the same horrified fascination reserved for a multi-car pile-up. With eight Premier League fixtures remaining the club sit one place above the relegation zone, winless in the league since New Year’s Day and, in the blunt verdict of one Champions League club executive, guilty of “incompetence of the highest order”.

The Athletic canvassed more than a dozen figures — sporting directors, chairmen, analysts, agents and coaches across England and Germany — to discover how the sport views Spurs’ predicament. Every respondent was granted anonymity to speak candidly; several conversations took place before Wednesday’s 3-2 second-leg victory over Atlético Madrid, a result that merely trimmed an ultimately fatal 7-5 aggregate Champions League exit.

Inside Bundesliga boardrooms the scenario feels ominously familiar. “We saw this with big German clubs — wrong decisions stacked up for years,” said one director. “Hamburg assumed promotion would be automatic. They spent seven seasons in the second division.”

The search for a single scapegoat ends empty-handed. Igor Tudor, appointed in February after the dismissal of Thomas Frank, has found no public defenders inside the game. “They hired the only coach in Europe willing to risk relegating a Super League side,” an English club executive said. “He’s never worked in England, never stayed anywhere longer than a year, and fans looked at the CV and said, ‘What the hell?’”

Yet managerial churn is viewed as symptomatic, not causal. Since 2016 Spurs’ revenues have rocketed 152 per cent to a record £528.4 million, turbo-charged by a state-of-the-art stadium hosting NFL fixtures, concerts and boxing. The training ground, opened in 2012, remains the envy of the country. “They built the perfect platform,” said a Premier League sporting director, “then forgot the team.”

Recruitment is painted as directionless. “They don’t know what they are,” a rival chairman concluded. “They can’t replicate Brighton’s model, can’t outspend Arsenal or Chelsea, and end up with a Frankenstein squad stitched together by different coaches with different philosophies.”

January’s panic signing of Conor Gallagher on wages that instantly eclipsed those of senior pros has further unsettled the dressing room. “If Gallagher is suddenly the top earner, Van de Ven and Romero are saying, ‘Hold on…’” an agent noted. “Daniel Levy would not have done that deal.”

Levy’s removal last September after 24 years as chairman divides opinion among fans but not among industry peers. “He was never the problem,” one executive said. Another agent added: “If Daniel was there, no chance they’d be in this mess. The seismic boardroom change has left them looking inexperienced.”

On the pitch the identity has evaporated. Analysts see neither the defensive rigour of Antonio Conte’s tenure nor the front-foot pressing of Ange Postecoglou. “They’re trying to combine both and achieving neither,” said a data specialist. The nadir arrived in Madrid: 4-0 down after 21 minutes, rookie goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky substituted in the 17th minute, eventually eliminated 7-5 on aggregate.

Still, the consensus says Spurs will scrape clear. “Whatever happens, they face years of surgery: moving on average players, rebuilding the squad, finding people who understand football, not just revenue streams,” warned one board member.

Sunday’s home fixture against Nottingham Forest, one spot below them in 17th, shapes as a season-defining six-pointer. Spurs have not won a league match at their own stadium since 6 December. The football world will be rubbernecking once again.