Spurs have forgotten who they are

Spurs boss Antonio Conte flies back to England on Sunday. There’s a very decent argument that he might as well not bother.

There’s been a Bill Nicholson quote going round my head this week. Not that one. Another one, just as good and if anything more relevant to Spurs’ current predictable predicament.

“We must always consider our supporters, for without them there would be no professional football. It would be better to have more fans watching football the way they like it played, rather than have a few fans watching football the way we would like it played.”

He was usually right, was Bill, and even his more famous “the game is about glory” maxim perhaps doesn’t hit quite as hard as this one right now. Because it’s this one that best sums up precisely where and how Spurs have lost their way.

What Spurs have done in attempting to punch through and join bigger clubs at the top table is admirable in many ways. It’s always worth remembering that there shouldn’t really ever have been a Big Six. Spurs lack the traditional power of Liverpool or Manchester United, the financial heft of Chelsea or Manchester City, or the timing of Arsenal. They shouldn’t be here, but they are. Just about clinging on.

At what cost, though? Right now, it’s surely too high. Spurs have in essence sacrificed everything else for relentless pursuit of top-four finishes. Nothing else matters. Whatever words to the contrary may be uttered, it is demonstrably the top-down policy of the club and has been under a series of managers – and yes, that’s a series that includes Mauricio Pochettino, whose return feels ever more certain yet would offer few guarantees beyond a lift of the mood that envelopes the club right now and an instant improvement if the style of play if not the outcome. Spurs fans know and understand this, but are increasingly coming round to the idea (some never needed to) that it’s nevertheless a goer.

Spurs no longer bother with either domestic cup. They are unlikely to mount a title challenge. They will surely never again enjoy a run to the Champions League final like the 2019 absurdity. It raises questions about what, precisely, the point of this club is. As a business, it makes sense. As a football club, not so much. It’s the conflict at the heart of every big football club now, but nowhere is that more apparent than Spurs.

It is almost impossible to see how the trophy drought ends. A hugely presentable chance in this season’s FA…