Tottenham on the brink of a historic disaster.

For the first time in almost half a century, Tottenham have fallen below the relegation zone in the English Premier League. With only five rounds remaining, if Tottenham fail to climb out of the relegation zone, it would be the biggest surprise in the history of this highly anticipated league.

THE STRANGE COLLAPSE

Since the Premier League era began, only a few teams have consistently featured in the competition: Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea, and Tottenham. Even Newcastle, one of the richest clubs in the world , Manchester City, great for the past decade or so, or former European Cup winners like Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, have not had that honor.

Even so, it's not enough to say that Tottenham's relegation would be the biggest surprise in Premier League history. This season, Tottenham is still considered a big team. They consistently finished in the top four for the first seven rounds and easily progressed through the Champions League group stage in fourth place – ahead of a host of super clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Man City, PSG… Even in the opening round of the Premier League, nominations for the season's award were already being made: Richarlison (Tottenham) was named the author of the best goal of the season. And in the following round, Tottenham beat Man City 2-0, forcing observers to discuss Tottenham's chances of winning the championship.

The image of Xavi Simons' helplessness (right) reflects the sad reality of Tottenham.

Photo: AFP

Fast forward to the present, and hardly any observers are discussing Tottenham's chances of avoiding relegation anymore. The main topic over the past few weeks has been the magnitude of the consequences if Tottenham are relegated. One of the world's most beautiful stadiums would be used in the second division. The team's income for the entire season (almost £11 million) would only be enough to pay the annual salary of a single player, like Xavi Simons or Cristian Romero. When a big club is relegated, people immediately think of the risk of further crisis, even bankruptcy, because the income/expenditure difference is not like that of a normal team.

From second place in the table, Tottenham has gradually fallen, now sitting in 18th position. In 2026 alone, Tottenham hasn't won a single Premier League match, only managing 6 points out of a total of 45. At one point, 70% of Tottenham's first-team squad was unavailable due to injuries or suspensions. Mathys Tel is the only player who hasn't been injured this season (unfortunately, the 20-year-old striker isn't a key player). This is the biggest reason, alongside factors like form, morale, and tactics… In short, can Tottenham escape this crisis?

Things are looking up, but is it still possible?

Following Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, Roberto De Zerbi has become Tottenham's third head coach this season. De Zerbi is a formidable figure, both in terms of reputation and actual ability. The only drawback is his late arrival, having taken charge on April 12th.

In manager De Zerbi's debut match, Tottenham lost 0-1 away to Sunderland, dropping to 18th place in the league table, just below the relegation zone (the first time since 1977 that Tottenham have been this low in the English league standings). In the most recent round, Tottenham remained stagnant, drawing 2-2 with Brighton.

While Tottenham only managed a draw at home, their rivals above them, West Ham, drew away at Crystal Palace. This allowed West Ham to maintain their lead as the relegation battle progressed one more round closer to the finish line. The other two relegation rivals, Nottingham Forest and Leeds, both won their matches last weekend, effectively securing their safety. The situation became clear: Tottenham and West Ham would be fighting for the final relegation spot, each with five games remaining. Tottenham currently trail by two points. Opta reports a 57.17% probability of Tottenham being relegated.

One positive detail is that it's been a long time since Tottenham showed such promise as they did in their draw against Brighton last weekend. They took the lead twice, but were pegged back to 2-2 in the fifth minute of added time. There's only been one other game this season where Tottenham took the lead twice, and that was when they were still in the top half of the table. It seems that manager De Zerbi has managed to turn Tottenham around for the better, but is it too late with only five rounds of matches remaining?

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tottenham-truc-tham-hoa-lich-su-185260421171923714.htm