Expectation levels at Tottenham Hotspur may be out of kilter with the financial realties at the club. The fiscal firepower available at White Hart Lane does not match that of the four English clubs that have qualified for the Champions League knockout phase. Indeed, it is closer to clubs like Aston Villa, Everton, Fulham, Newcastle United and Sunderland.
Expectation levels at Tottenham Hotspur may be out of kilter with the financial realties at the club. The fiscal firepower available at White Hart Lane does not match that of the four English clubs that have qualified for the Champions League knockout phase. Indeed, it is closer to clubs like Aston Villa, Everton, Fulham, Newcastle United and Sunderland. Even Liverpool have £25m more available to spend on players each season.
This may help to explain the lack of patience shown to managers at Spurs. This is the eighth season in the past 20 where they have parted company with their manager by this stage of the campaign (six have been sacked, one resigned over poor results and one stood down over internal disagreements).
There are positives at the club. The new training ground near Enfield is one of the most impressive in Europe. However, a lot depends on the plans for a new 56,250 seater stadium, the so-called Northumberland Development Project.
The original plan launched in 2007 envisaged moving in by the 2012-13 season. However, there have been numerous planning difficulties and a puzzling distraction in terms of a bid to move to the Olympic Stadium at Stratford. The period has coincided with the global recession and there have been all sorts of financing difficulties. Attempts have been made to offset the spiralling costs through various property development proposals, but some of these have encountered local opposition.
As with so many things at Spurs, it seems to be case of so near, yet so far.