Why Cautious Optimism Is Required By Tottenham Fans

To quote our illustrious new head coach, Roberto De Zerbi; “The stupid people forget the past. The smart people… keep it in their mind and improve from our mistakes.” Tottenham fans throughout the land are hoping that this message is finally trickling down from the boardroom.

I have taken issue with ENIC on so many issues throughout their tenure as owners. Their relentless, never-ending empty promises of ‘jam tomorrow’ have worn me down further and further over the years. For so many supporters, Sunday’s emotional near-brush with the Championship trapdoor wasn’t a surprise; it was inevitable. Replacing Harry Kane with Brennan Johnson has consequences. Not replacing Heung Min Son with anyone has consequences. This can be described quite simply as asset stripping.

Levy oversaw all the club’s operations first-hand, whilst meddling in footballing matters that were best left to the experts he employed, before overruling them with his ‘mother knows best’ authoritarianism.

In April 2024, Levy stated we were “in discussions with prospective investors” about selling a stake in the club. A move he had hoped to manipulate to personally financially benefit from. When he was dismissed last summer, the Lewis family were caught like rabbits in the headlights. The captain of the ship, all be it a rather self-serving one, had been thrown overboard, and an all-encompassing vessel was heading straight towards the iceberg.

Replacement Vinai Venkatesham was thrown in at the deep end and was clearly completely out of his depth. Roll forward 10 or so months, and the Lewis family have conducted and completed a full review of the club. As this channel quite rightly asks once again, can a leopard change its spots? Or are we now witnessing an offspring baby leopard that is still developing its distinguishing features? The list of tasks ahead of the powers that be is lengthy to say the least.

Serious surgery is required both on and off the pitch. Another season has passed us by where we have been besieged by long-term injury casualties. Forget building a hotel, how about sticking up an infirmary instead!? How can a medical department make so many mistakes? Surely medical professionals deal in cold hard facts with tried and tested medical procedures and cast-iron methodologies to follow. So many players seem to be on the cusp of a return before they are suddenly out again for another few weeks.

Who’s in charge of this department, Dr Crippen!? Without doubt, however, recruitment has been by far our biggest ailment. A lack of due diligence is its ultimate undoing. We have frittered away a fortune on players like Richarlison and Tanguy Ndombele, as well as self-serving *****hawks like Cuti Romero, whose antics at the weekend came as no surprise from a player who has consistently prioritised country over club time and time again. He’s been indulged for far too long, and I think that he probably declared himself fit to play vs Everton but was overruled by De Zerbi, threw a paddy and used it as an excuse to go and watch his beloved Belgrano instead.

The return of our so-called captain would’ve been prompted by his agent, who knew it wouldn’t be a good look to any high-end prospective suitors. I’d take 1 Danso over 10 Romero’s any day of the week. Shut the door on your way out, Cristian!

If news online is to be believed, we are revisiting the Savinho transfer.. Forum ‘experts’ tell us he was brilliant playing on the left for Girona 2 or 3 years ago, despite one of the greatest managers in the history of the game being unconvinced at a trophy-laden Manchester City. Sack Johan Lange now and start signing players ready-made for the roles you are trying to fill, please! How about putting the money up for Anthony Gordon?

Another request I’d make is to see the club being referred to as Tottenham in the media again. What kind of marketing department decides to encourage the use of Spurs rather than our actual name, just one letter short of our derogatory tag? West Ham weren’t officially referred to as Hammers were they!? Spurs is a nickname for Christ’s sake! Tottenham is our home and therefore, should be represented in the media as such. Spurs is out of touch; Tottenham definitely isn’t. Just drop the Hotspur if you want to shorten it. Since our Premier League status was officially confirmed, we have seen 3 official letters from Peter Charrington, Vinai Venkatesham & the Lewis family. Venkatesham reflects, “I don’t think that there was what I would call a relentless obsession with football success.”

This is what comes about when ENIC declared the football club as its ‘anchor tenant’ all those years ago. Their eyes have quite literally been taken off the ball, and gradual erosion has subsequently followed. They did buy a football club after all. I’m sure the ringing of the tills has served as a noteworthy distraction from all that football business.

If the Lewis family are handing out apologies, I’d welcome one which tackles the ‘anchor tenant’ remark all those years ago. How about the return of concessions ticket pricing for the real faithful senior members, too? Don’t hold your breath.

Venkatesham continues, “Our training centre is amazing, one of the best, if not the best in the world. But when you look around, it looks more like a five-star hotel than it does a performance environment. That will change over the summer.”

This sentiment is definitely something I can get behind. Daniel Levy built a spa facility for footballers good enough to earn decent money, but perhaps not driven enough to really compete at the highest level. Those with real ambition favouring moves to Bournemouth, Brighton or Brentford to develop further before climbing the next rung of the ladder to a real footballing powerhouse.

I think it is worth comparing the last two ‘Chairman’s messages’ from the last 2 seasons

“This is one trophy – our clear ambition as a Club has always been long-term, sustained success, competing for top honours every year. We have now tasted success, and we are determined to use this as a springboard for more.”

Daniel Levy, May 2:

“Our commitments to you are clear:  We will build a squad, led by Roberto as Head Coach, with the right blend of experience, youth and leadership to compete at the highest levels of Premier League and European football.
We will invest across multiple transfer windows to rebuild, balance and strengthen, with this summer representing an important first step in that work.


We will continue to modernise our football operation, with a significant focus on raising standards across medical and performance.
• We will increase investment in the Academy to ensure that the pathway from youth football to the first team is one of the strongest in the country.
 We will build on a strong season for Spurs Women by continuing to invest in a world-class women’s team, led by Martin Ho.”

Peter Charrington, May 2026 

I like the accountability of these bullet points. Levy’s foggy end of season declarations of nothingness were tiresome. There’s nowhere left to hide now, is there? I think some good has come from our flirtations with the dreaded dotted line. The atmosphere in the stadium on Sunday was the best I’ve experienced since we moved in.

Those season ticket holders who had previously ignored each other when shuffling in and out of the gangways have started taking to each other, rather than just settling down into their seats, teeth chattering and onto their smartphones, pints of lager and sausage rolls at half-time. Shared experiences, being around people who value this great club, triumph in the face of adversity.

That’s what supporting a football club is all about anyway isn’t it!? The feeling wasn’t one of celebration, but instead of sheer relief. I wasn’t crying tears of joy, it was the results of weeks of sleepless nights, endlessly perusing the league table, counting up those possible points and goal differences, the never ending sports media ‘drama’ narratives, and realising the horrors of having everything in our own ultimately, unreliable hands.

So will this second near fatal car crash with relegation finally be the scare that ENIC so desperately needed? Do our owners know how to properly back a potentially terrific head coach in De Zerbi, or the state we’d now be in if it wasn’t for 3 huge saves from a born again Antonin Kinsky against Wolves, Leeds and Everton? The Lewis family ended their letter to fans with this;

“We know that actions speak louder than words.” We’re about to find out if they’re true to theirs. If they are, perhaps we can start experiencing joy rather than relief once again.

Cautious optimism is perhaps what’s required.

Tom Cory

…for The Boy Hotspur’s Substack.