Consent Preferences Spurs Odyssey - John Ellis reports after Spurs v Leicester, 26.01.25
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February 25, 2025

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John Ellis writes after Spurs lose to Leicester

Thanks to John Ellis for his comments and picture:-

Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Leicester City

Spurs v Leicester, 26.01.25

Spurs fans trudged disconsolately out of one of the finest football stadiums in Europe, having paid one of the highest prices for a match ticket in Europe, and after watching their team lose yet again, this time to a team which had lost their previous seven matches.

They were met on the streets by Leicester City fans baiting them with the song "Tottenham get battered everywhere go" - this from a set of fans of a team which has been getting battered everywhere they go. However, the sad unpalatable truth is the Leicester fans are absolutely right ...Tottenham do get battered everywhere they go. There wasn't a credible response.

The away fans also sang "Your ground's full of tourists" which isn't entirely true. There are still many inside the stadium who care passionately about their team but you can almost physically taste the despair and hopelessness of their spirit being crushed by an ownership which they believe cares more about building financial fortunes than successful football teams.

Tottenham Hotspur football club - not the Tottenham Hotspur entertainments arena - matters hugely to millions of fans across the world. Be it in travelling to the stadium or being awake at silly o'clock the other side of the world, these fans show enormous commitment to their team.

As a match day visible chairman and significant shareholder, Daniel Levy is rightly shouldering the fans anger. But it should also be recognised the "Joe Lewis Trust" is the major but non visible shareholder. This family sit thousands of miles away without any aggravation from fans counting the billions of pounds Daniel Levy's shrewd business brain is generating for them...as well of course for himself as well.

These billions have been built off the back of the Tottenham Hotspur brand which has been developed over the decades by its supporters and previous owners' trophy laden successes.

Sadly under ENIC, we have been here several times before over their 24 years of ownership.

The toxicity towards Daniel Levy was today though louder than it has ever been. In the recent past when the situation seemed dire, Spurs had the world class partnership of Harry Kane and the younger Heung-Min Son to dig them out.

Now Spurs have an injury-stricken squad, a manager who is looking increasingly lost on how to arrest the current slide and seemingly being hung out to dry by an ownership which has let the deficiencies in the playing squad and management team drift through 26 days of the transfer window without a single outfield player being brought in on loan let alone actually bought.

Today, the team summoned up enough energy to take a first half lead through a Richarlison header from an excellent Porro cross. Son hit the woodwork and brought a good diving save from the keeper.

During the half time interval with Spurs leading 1-0 at home against a team which had lost its previous seven matches and had only scored two goals in those seven matches, nobody could have predicted the carnage which transpired in the opening five minutes of the second half.

Spurs came out for the second half in a lackadaisical error strewn manner. Van Nistelrooy identified the defensive frailties down the right hand side of the Spurs defence.

Porro left a large area exposed behind him for the equaliser which led to a cross coming in which Dragusin slid into and missed and in so doing unsighted the keeper and the ball broke for Vardy to equalise.

Within five minutes of the restart, Leicester had completed the turnaround with Porro giving the ball away and El Khannouss being allowed to run forward without a challenge to pick his spot to put Leicester in front.

Postecoglou's reaction was to substitute Richarlison and Sarr which drew howls of derision from the fans which, although not on the same scale, was reminiscent of the response to a substitution made by Nuno in his final match as manager. Spurs huffed and puffed but lacked energy and with a lack of options off the bench did little to change the momentum of a must win match which ended with the team slipping to yet another defeat.

With Son having previously looked uncomfortable as a number nine, it was disappointing not to see Lankshear being given longer than the final three minutes of added time and Bissouma not being brought on at all.

Porro had a deflected shot against the bar. He also shot for goal from an impossibly tight angle when he had two men to aim at in the box. He shows passion and can have a positive impact in a game but these are outweighed by his poor defending and wasting of opportunities in attack.

Given the injury situation, tiredness of players such as Kulusevski and lack of support in terms of incoming transfers from the club's hierarchy, it is easy to have a lot of sympathy for the manager. It is also easy to have a lot of frustration towards his use of the players available.

After defeats against struggling Everton and Leicester, it is genuinely difficult to now look ahead and have positivity as to when the next league win will come. Thankfully most of the teams below Spurs continue to lose and Spurs remain eight points clear of the bottom three.

In only having 24 points though, safety is by no means a given and it is to be hoped the owners recognise the seriousness of the situation and act in the closing days of the transfer window.

These are desperately difficult times which require outstanding inspirational and decisive leadership at all levels on and off the pitch. From where or whether it will come remains to be seen ... the signs currently look ominous tonight thoug...

#Coys

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