The Spectator

How the mighty have fallen. Tottenham Hotspur, the fifth richest club in England, the ninth richest in the world, current Europa League Champions and a mere five years ago Super League aspirants, are now facing relegation to the not-so-super league, the Championship. After yet another dismal defeat last night (1-3 to Crystal Palace), our (full disclosure: I’m a fan) fifth loss in a row, Spurs sit 16th in the league, just a point ahead of West Ham and Nottingham Forest. As the commentator on TNT said, ‘the unthinkable has now become possible’.

The scenes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night somewhat recalled Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election night party after it became clear she had lost; a vista of blank, dumfounded faces, a few tears. Some had left before half-time even, but of those that saw it through to the bitterest of endings, many hung around, seemingly paralysed by the pre-grief of our looming demotion, a concept so remote from our hopes and expectations as to be virtually impossible to process. But process it we may soon have to, as may the Premier League and the wider football world.

For Spurs, the consequences have been described as ‘catastrophic’ with relegation from the top flight potentially costing the club as much as £260 million. The current £76 average price for a ticket would no longer be sustainable in the Championship, and lucrative hospitality packages would be unlikely to attract much interest if Preston or Swansea are the visitors. Broadcasting receipts would plummet, and sponsorship revenue (one major sponsor has already left) would evaporate. There would likely be a ‘fire-sale’ of players (some of the most marketable may already be looking around), and attracting first-class replacements would be difficult. Nor would an instant rebound be guaranteed; the Championship is a very tough league, and Spurs would be scrapping it out with a likely much reduced squad and greatly reduced budget.

As for the Premier League, it is fair to say that it was not designed with the idea of elite clubs being demoted in mind. The loss of one of the gilt-edged ‘big six’ clubs, especially one with a global fanbase, would be disturbing and likely provoke debate about the viability of the dreaded drop. The Premier League and Championship are separate entities, and promotion and relegation between the two take place only as long as the elite division’s executives permit it to. The fragile link between the two top tiers could be severed easily if deemed to have outlived its usefulness.

It has already happened in rugby union. Last week, Premiership rugby announced it was scrapping relegation for good from next season and turning its elite division into effectively a closed shop, thus ending 37 years of merit-based ascendancy. Henceforth, gaining access to the top tier will be extremely difficult and permitted according to non-sporting criteria, such as – you guessed it – financial stability. Premier League execs will be watching that situation closely. Last year, it was reported that some of the American owners (of whom there are 11) were unhappy with the concept of relegation, which is alien to US sports. “Nothing is off limits,” was the quote attributed to one US owner.

This is in line with the way elite football has been going for a long time, safeguarding future revenues by tweaking formats to ensure the top clubs are close to guaranteed slots in the most prestigious tournaments. The Champions’ League stopped being a league of champions in 1992 as a result of the irritating habit of the richest clubs in Europe often failing to qualify. Many want to go further; the concept of ‘legacy-based admission’, allowing super clubs who have had a poor year to qualify based on former glories, has been batted away for now but looks inevitable in some form.

If the Premier League executives are wise, they will go no further down this road. Even as a Spurs fan, I would have to admit that the jeopardy my club faces is one of the most compelling stories in the league in years. Our predicament is exceptional, but the relegation battle is usually far more entertaining than the often rather predictable business at the top of the table. Without relegation, it is hard to think of much reason for watching the last nine games of the domestic season. As it is, I and many others will be riveted.

It would provide a healthy reality check too. Many would question the word ‘mighty’ to describe Spurs that opened this article, preferring ‘high and mighty’ perhaps. Classic underachievers, we haven’t won the league in over 60 years for the simple reason that we haven’t deserved to. We have the most expensive stadium in Europe, but our feeble, panic-stricken team makes a mockery of it. Our attempt to join the European super league a few years back now looks like hubris on steroids. We thought we were too good for the Premier League, and the humiliating truth may be that, at least at the moment, the Premier League is too good for us.

A spell in the second tier might do us, and football, good. It might remind us who we are and encourage les autres at the same time. It might wean us, and hopefully others, off the ridiculous, cruel, and ruinously expensive habit of dismissing managers after every lean spell. We might remember the example of one of our most successful bosses, Keith Burkinshaw, who won more trophies than anyone apart from Bill Nicholson and was inducted into the Spurs Hall of Fame in 2004.

Keith Burkinshaw became manager in 1976, and in his first season, Spurs were relegated to the then quaintly but accurately named Second Division, where we spent one year. It did us, and football, good.

Two of world football’s biggest but worst performing clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur face off in Bilbao on Wednesday in the Europa League final. There is quite a lot at stake, not only Europe’s second most important club title but the substantial bonus of a place in next year’s Champion’s League (worth an estimated £60 million) and with it the kudos to attract top players. It’s been called back door entry to UEFA’s elite tournament, but it feels more like a magic portal transporting the currently humdrum aspirant super clubs into another dimension, and not one where they necessarily belong. If football is all about stories, this is a very odd one.

Both Man Utd and Spurs have had atrocious seasons and would be dicing with the ultimate indignity of relegation were it not for the even more pitiful form of Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton (now that would have been a good story).

‘They tried to stop us and look what it did. The thing I love most is being a yid.’ So chanted the Tottenham Hotspur fans 44 seconds into their side’s 4-0 thrashing of Everton last weekend. That often-repeated song refers to previous, unsuccessful, attempts to try and stop Spurs fans using the ‘Y-word’.

Ask any Spurs fan singing that and similar tunes why they do so, and they will likely say that it started as a response to antisemitism from opposing fans because of Tottenham’s connection to the Jewish community. Chanters would undoubtedly insist that there is no malice or antisemitism involved. This is generally my view too.

It is not like the antisemitism directed at Spurs or Jewish players is a thing of the past, rendering that defence redundant. Israeli footballer Manor Solomon departed north London this week for a season on loan at Leeds. The bile underneath the social media posts announcing the deal was as depressing as it was predictable. I fear there will be more in real life when the winger takes to the pitch for his temporary side.

At Spurs, being called a ‘yiddo’ is a sign of affection. For years, the words ‘Jermain Defoe, he’s a yiddo,’ rang around the ground whenever the former England forward scored. On Saturday, a pacy dribble from Wilson Odobert was greeted with cries of ‘Yiddo’, as fans let the new signing know that they approve of him.

But as the 2024/25 seasons gets into full swing, it is worth asking whether what is, in general usage, a deeply unpleasant word needs to be shouted at football matches. For one thing, lots of Jewish Spurs fans do not share my view and, quite understandably, feel uncomfortable with the continued use of the Y-word.

As a Jewish child first attending games at White Hart Lane around 30 years ago, I remember being distinctly uncomfortable about the Y-word chants, knowing that it was a bad word being shouted. As time has gone on and I have gained a better understanding of the context, I have found humour and comfort in its use.

Yet even now I would not accept it being used in any other context, so why is it OK in a small part of N17? It is not like there is a comparison with some black communities reclaiming the N-word. The reality is that most of those chanting it at Tottenham games are not Jewish.

In 2022, the club itself asked fans to ‘move on’ from using the Y-word following a review in which 94 per cent of the 23,000 respondents to a survey said that its use could be considered racist. Jewish fans of other clubs do not like it either. I’m sure I wouldn’t if I supported that mob from Woolwich the other end of the Seven Sisters Road.

David Baddiel has been imploring Tottenham fans to stop the Yid Army chants for years. He said he was spurred into action after hearing antisemitism whilst supporting his team, Chelsea. I’ll be honest David, that sounds like a Chelsea problem, not a Spurs one.

In September 2013, the comedian and author wrote in the Guardian: ‘The fact is that whatever its origins, their continuing use of the Y-word legitimises and sustains the racist abuse aimed at Spurs by other fans.’ Talk about victim blaming.

One thing is for certain, if you want to stop the use of the Y-word at Tottenham, a lecture from a fan of a hated rival is not the way to make it happen.

The same day as Baddiel’s article was published, the Community Security Trust, who provide security for British Jews and fight antisemitism, commented on the situation in a very sensible manner. They said:

‘Although the way that Spurs fans usually use the Y-word does not justify prosecution, it remains an offensive word that can upset many Jews both inside and outside the football context. Ultimately, ridding football of antisemitism needs to involve Spurs fans voluntarily dropping the Y-word from their songbook.’

But the Tottenham crowd has not ‘voluntarily [dropped] the Y-word from their songbook.’ It was used repeatedly on Saturday and will be by the away fans heading to Newcastle this weekend.

Following the atrocities of October 7, there is an added dimension to the Y-world debate. Lots of Jewish Spurs fans were unhappy with the pathetically generic response to the Hamas attacks put out by the club. The Yid Army chants seemed to have added fervour in the aftermath of such anti-Jewish terror. Somewhat bizarrely, they brought a much-needed sense of solidarity in what remains a dark time.

And so, the chants will continue, and the debate will continue. I’d have no issue with the Y-word organically disappearing from the Tottenham lexicon. I suspect over time it will. But until then, I’ll still be part of the Yid Army.

Tottenham Hotspurs, the football club, has scrapped its discount for pensioners buying a season ticket. What gives?