When Anthony Taylor blew his whistle for the final time on Tuesday night to a harmonious chorus of boos, Tottenham Hotspur were just three points above the relegation zone.
It was another bleak outing for Thomas Frank's side, who allowed Newcastle United to win for just the third time away from home in the Premier League this season. A 2-1 defeat extended their winless league run to eight games, and fears of relegation are suddenly genuine. This is no longer a dreadful, implausible fantasy.
There were doubtless a few sighs of relief when Benjamin Šeško cutely equalised for Manchester United at the London Stadium, improving Spurs' buffer over West Ham United to five points with 12 games remaining.
Sure, the injuries have told, but Spurs are currently performing without a semblance of belief or courage. It was never this bad under Ange Postecoglou, right? Of course, Europe was our saving grace last season, and while we've performed well at the start of our Champions League campaign, no sane supporter truly believes this team can do any damage in the latter stages of the competition.
We're sleepwalking towards the dogfight; currently performing without the cohesion or unity of our relegation rivals. But hey, at least this inept board have done the courteous thing and parted ways with the poorest-performing 'Big Six' manager in Premier League history.
Opta's supercomputer projects Tottenham's relegation chances
Position | Club | Expected Points | Relegation Chances (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
15. | Leeds | 44.73 | 4.82 |
16. | Tottenham | 44.50 | 3.95 |
17. | Nottingham Forest | 41.59 | 15.15 |
18. | West Ham | 36.12 | 74.57 |
Despite this wretched run of form and current depletion, the number crunchers at Opta still rate our chances of succumbing to the second tier as slim. In the tens of thousands of simulations run by their supercomputer, Spurs were relegated just 3.95% of the time.
West Ham remain the odds-on favourites to join Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the second tier, although I certainly wouldn't regard them as shoo-ins. The Hammers look more and more like Nuno Espírito Santo's Nottingham Forest from last season, performing with a clear identity.
Nottingham Forest, who were woeful at Leeds United last Friday but welcome Wolves to the City Ground on Wednesday night, have a 15.15% chance of going down. Spurs' odds are also slightly better than Leeds' (4.82%). However, like West Ham, Daniel Farke's team are performing with clarity.
You'd like to think that Spurs, once they get a few players back, will simply have enough quality to ease them beyond the scrap. Moreover, there's always a chance that the arrival of a fresh face in the dugout (even if it'ss just Ryan Mason again) ignites an upsurge in form.
Nevertheless, Tottenham's top-flight status, preserved since 1978, is under serious threat for the first time since our woeful start to the 2008/09 campaign, which Harry Redknapp salvaged. Fancy one last run out in the dugout, 'Arry?