Trust top brass to tarnish feel-good factor at Tottenham

The buzz, excitement, and anticipation that pervaded Tottenham Hotspur after Ange Postecoglou was appointed has since disappeared, replaced by anxiety, trepidation, and disillusionment. 

While it wasn’t love at first sight for most, it didn’t take the lion’s share of Tottenham supporters long to fully appreciate who Ange is and what he can bring to the club.

Soon after his appointment, you’d have to search tirelessly to find a negative comment about the new gaffer.

Spurs supporters united behind their new manager, elated about the prospect of finally seeing an enterprising, attacking brand of football.

It wasn’t just Ange’s philosophy and love for offensive football that endeared him to the Tottenham faithful.

He conducts himself professionally, with admirable sincerity. He was the man destined to return Tottenham to its glory days.

Supporters finally reached a consensus. Everyone was onboard the Ange train.

Next stop: Glory.

Daniel Levy does quintessential Levy things

That was until the chairman stepped in and started doing quintessential Daniel Levy things.

And now, just two weeks before the 2023-24 season commences, that exciting buzz has shifted to apprehension, even sheer dread in some circles.

No centre-back reinforcements to speak of, even though the prospective Micky van de Ven transfer, not more than a month ago, was said to be on the verge of completion.

Despite the club reiterating that Edmond Tapsoba was their primary target, no official bid has been submitted. Even if a bid were to be made, it wouldn’t come close to Bayer Leverkusen’s £50 million minimum.

Ashley Phillips is still a Blackburn player, although that’s more down to the Rovers’ top brass increasing their asking price than Tottenham’s ineptitude.

Clement Lenglet is still a Barcelona player, with Spurs refusing to pay the £9 million asking price.

Given the club’s lack of depth at the centre-back position, he would look good in a Spurs shirt right about now.

All that hype and electricity surrounding the club evaporated completely just six weeks removed from Ange’s hiring.

I won’t even go into the Joe Lewis debacle. You can read about my frustrations on that humiliating topic here. Although he doesn’t own the club anymore, right?

Yeah right.

And then there’s the Harry Kane situation, still unresolved and weighing on everyone’s mind like a guilty conscience after committing a heinous crime.

Will he go, or does he stay put?

It would have been nice to know the answer to that question weeks, even months ago.

If Kane leaves to learn more about bratwurst making, Tottenham will have less than two weeks to find a suitable replacement, which, as all of us know, won’t happen.

Imagine heading into the new campaign with no centre-back reinforcements and no Kane to lead the line.

It looks increasingly like we might not have to imagine it.

If Levy always intended on using the Kane proceeds to buy a centre-back or two, he has toyed with supporters, players, and, most frustratingly, Ange.

Levy has left it incredibly late, even if Kane’s prospective sale garners £100 million, to purchase a centre-back, inarguably the club’s most pressing transfer priority.

Most believe the van de Ven deal is dead.

So that leaves Tapsoba, who will cost at least £50 million. If the remarkable does occur and Spurs purchase Tapsoba, he’ll arrive, in the best-case scenario, a week before the season starts.

That doesn’t exactly provide much time to adapt to his new environment in the world’s most demanding league.

Thanks for that, Levy.

And that’s the best-case scenario where Tapsoba is concerned. I shudder to think of the worst-case scenario.

As if it isn’t obvious, that worst-case scenario would see Tottenham start the season without a new centre-back and devoid of Kane’s guaranteed 30-goal output, leaving us with Richarlison’s single Premier League goal to rely on.

Alternatively, we might purchase some players out of pure desperation. We all how that turned out after spending the Gareth Bale proceeds on a seven players, six of whom misfits.

Christian Eriksen was the outlier in that unforgivable debacle.

While an uptick in Richarlison’s play is inevitable, it’s hard to imagine him bulging the old onion bag at a rate comparable to Kane.

Thanks to Levy, Spurs went from hero to zero in less than six weeks. Levy already has the unenviable record for the longest time without a coach, 72 days twice.

Spurs were coach-less for 72 days before hiring Nuno Espírito Santo, a record the club matched prior to hiring Ange in early June.

It seems Levy isn’t satisfied with those two ignominious records as he does his utmost to drain every last drop of positivity and optimism from a club that had an abundance of both less than two months ago.