Deja vu for Tottenham supporters as another manager pulls out

Tottenham’s current manager hunt is quick — or excruciatingly slowly, depending on how you look at it — turning into a repeat of the fiasco of 2021 when it took the club 72 days to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo.

It’s now Day 60 in Tottenham’s latest manager pursuit, and just when the situation looked slightly promising, with negotiations between the club and Arne Slot reportedly ongoing, supporters have once again received a customary dose of reality.

Slot has pledged his allegiance to Feyenoord and will not be taking the helm at Tottenham. He was a frontrunner for the Tottenham job before the announcement mere hours ago.

Some say Slot, like several managers previously, used Tottenham as leverage in his negotiations with the Dutch club.

Others simply believe there were too many hurdles for Slot to overcome, namely that Tottenham won’t be in the Champions League next season. If things go as expected on Sunday, Tottenham probably won’t be in Europe at all.

Slot has Europe’s elite club competition to plan for at Feyenoord, which was more than enough to see him continue his impressive journey in Holland.

It’s more of the same for Tottenham, a club in disrepair. Two years ago, Tottenham broke the European record for the longest time without a permanent manager. Handfuls of managers repelled Tottenham’s advances during that unforgettable summer.

If anything, Tottenham are in an even worse position now.

Fabio Paratici eventually joined Spurs and signed Santo, who had about as much credibility as Ronald McDonald when he walked onto the training pitch at Hotspur Way.

With no director of football, Daniel Levy, as he did for much of the aforementioned extended manager hunt, is in charge of finding Tottenham’s next manager.

We all know how that went after Levy impetuously sacked Jose Mourinho just six days before the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City.

A few desirable and available managers remain on Spurs’ candidates’ list, including Celtic’s Ange Postecoglou and former Spain coach Luis Enrique. But the list is once again whittling down to the bare bones, a foreboding thought for Spurs supporters.

Don’t expect Spurs to hire a new manager before they break the previous 72-day record they set in the summer of 2021. Sounds like a Bryan Adams song without any of the joy.