Ask anyone "What do you think of Tottenham?" right now and you’ll get two very different answers depending on if they’re looking at the trophy cabinet or the Premier League table. It is January 2026. The North London air is cold, the mood at the stadium is, frankly, weird, and the club is basically a walking contradiction.
Last May, things were incredible. Tottenham finally broke the 17-year curse. They beat Manchester United 1–0 in Bilbao to lift the UEFA Europa League trophy. It was supposed to be the start of a new era. Instead, it feels like the peak before a very strange slide.
The Post-Ange Era and the Thomas Frank Gamble
Life comes at you fast in football. One minute you're celebrating a European trophy with Ange Postecoglou, and the next, he's gone. Sacked. It sounds insane to fire the guy who actually won something, but finishing 17th in the league—just barely avoiding a total disaster—was too much for Daniel Levy to stomach.
Now, we have Thomas Frank.
Honestly, the transition has been rocky. Frank was brought in from Brentford to be "the pragmatic one." People were tired of the "Angeball" chaos that saw Spurs concede goals for fun, even if it was entertaining. But under Frank, the entertainment has kinda vanished. As of mid-January 2026, Tottenham are sitting 14th in the Premier League.
It’s not where anyone thought they’d be after spending over £50 million on Xavi Simons and bringing in Mohammed Kudus from West Ham. The football is less "all-out-attack" and more "wait-and-see," which hasn't sat well with a fanbase that grew used to the high-wire act of the previous two years.
Why the 2025/26 Season Feels Like a Fever Dream
If you look at the stats, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher. Tottenham have been better away from home than at their own billion-pound stadium. They actually went to the Etihad and beat Manchester City 2–0 back in August. Then they lost at home to Bournemouth a week later.
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Typical Spurs? Maybe.
The squad is objectively talented, though. You’ve still got Micky van de Ven’s recovery pace—which is basically a cheat code—and Cristian Romero’s aggression. But the vibe is off. Romero even took a swipe at the board recently, basically hinting that the players feel left out in the cold while the club struggles.
The Midfield Shuffle: Enter Conor Gallagher
The big talk this January transfer window is Conor Gallagher. Spurs finally got him. After years of flirting with the idea, they paid Atlético Madrid £35 million to bring him back to London.
It’s a "Thomas Frank" signing through and through.
- Energy: He doesn't stop running.
- Pedigree: He knows the Premier League inside out.
- Steel: He adds a layer of protection that James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall just don't provide.
But does he fix the fact that Richarlison is the top scorer with only 8 goals across all competitions? Probably not. The club let Son Heung-min go to Los Angeles FC last summer, and you can really feel that vacuum. Mathys Tel is a great prospect, but he's young. He’s not Sonny.
The Financial Goliath vs. The On-Pitch David
Let’s talk about that stadium for a second. It is a money-printing machine. Between the F1 karting track under the South Stand and the NFL London games, the club is richer than it’s ever been. Turnover has cleared the half-billion mark.
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But you can’t help but feel the fans are getting a bit cynical. You walk into the "Home of the NFL in the UK" and see 14th place on the big screens. It hurts. The 180-room hotel project is moving ahead, the karts are buzzing, but the 4–1 loss to Arsenal in November still stings like a fresh wound.
Is the "Spursy" Label Finally Dead?
People used to say Tottenham were "Spursy" because they never won anything. Well, they won the Europa League in 2025. They have a major European trophy in the cabinet from less than a year ago. That should have killed the meme.
But somehow, the club found a way to make winning a trophy feel like a crisis.
Winning the Europa League got them into the Champions League this season. They’re actually doing okay there—sitting 11th in the league phase. They even thrashed Copenhagen 4–0 in November. It’s this weird Jekyll and Hyde act where they look like European heavyweights on a Tuesday night and then lose to Nottingham Forest on a Sunday afternoon.
What's Next for the Lilywhites?
If you're wondering what to think of Tottenham right now, the answer is: "Wait ten minutes."
The club is in the middle of a massive identity crisis. They want to be a data-driven, operationally slick powerhouse under the new structure led by Carlos Raphael Moersen and Scott Lewindon. They want the high performance, the medical science, and the sustainable academy-to-first-team pipeline.
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But football isn't played in a lab.
Thomas Frank is under massive pressure. There are already whispers that the club made a mistake letting Ange go. Some fans are even calling for a "reunion," though that feels like a pipe dream.
What you should watch for in the coming weeks:
- The West Ham Derby: This Saturday’s match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is huge. If they lose to a struggling West Ham, the "Frank Out" posters will be everywhere.
- Conor Gallagher's Debut: Will he start immediately? Most likely. Frank needs that work rate to stabilize a midfield that has been bypassed too easily lately.
- The Champions League Knockouts: If Spurs can make a deep run in Europe again, it might save the season.
At the end of the day, Tottenham is a club that finally learned how to win, but then forgot how to play. The next few months will decide if the 2025 trophy was a turning point or just a very expensive fluke.
Actionable Insights for Spurs Fans:
Keep a close eye on the minutes given to Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall; their development is the only thing that justifies the current "transition" phase. If you're betting on the West Ham game, look at the away form—Spurs have been oddly more comfortable playing on the counter-attack than trying to break teams down at home. Use the official Spurs app to track the "F1 Drive-London" events if you're heading to the stadium, as match-day traffic has become significantly worse with the new hotel construction.