You’ve got to hand it to Tottenham Hotspur fans, who have always had the accusation of delusions of grandeur thrown their way, and right now is no different.
It wasn’t too long ago that Spurs fans celebrated in advance at the start of the season after they signed Mohammed Kudus from West Ham for somewhere between £55–60 million. The Londoners had started the season brightly enough under then-manager Thomas Frank and appeared to be on the cusp of signing Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest.
At the time, Tottenham fans were practically cock-a-hoop and took to social media to proclaim that they were back after winning the Europa League at the end of the previous season. Unfortunately for Frank and the Spurs faithful, it didn’t quite turn out like that. A quick rescue attempt to cover the loss of Gibbs-White with Eberechi Eze fell flat when he signed for North London rivals Arsenal.
Optimism refuses to fade in North London
Fast forward to now, and they sit just one point above West Ham in the relegation zone. You would think that all remnants of positivity would have drained from the old enemy.
But from what I can gather, the winds of optimism are stirring again—not only because Spurs fans expect Igor Tudor to be ushered out of the back door, but also because former Hammer Kudus looks set to return to fitness and is being heralded as the saviour of their season.
It would be fair to say the Ghanaian has been something of a flop at the new version of White Hart Lane—or whatever they’re calling it these days.
However, that hasn’t dented the Lilywhites’ optimism that Kudus will lead them to salvation, despite recent links with a move to Atletico Madrid. You have to hand it to them, because even in the face of relegation, they are able to find something to be positive about.
Only last week they were knocked out of the Champions League, but their second-leg performance had many proclaiming a turning point had been reached.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. But if Kudus does turn out to be the architect of West Ham’s downfall, it will feel like the cruellest of scripts when viewed from East London.