'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwb/2gAIAQEAAAAAmm//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAF/9oACAECEAAAACP/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAdEAADAAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBQAREiEy/9oACAEBAAE/ANhDVanGGCdLg2miWktHQPQHy+uyOQztAsJrTQ4juFAZjFfZ5//EABgRAQEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAAME/9oACAECAQE/AOnbcIS5/8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAES/9oACAEDAQE/AKZ//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It takes something special to hold on to your roots, particularly at this point of time when football has entered the so-called "modern" era, bringing along with it drastic changes- most notably in the transfer market.
Player prices have inflated over the past couple of years and the curious thing is that clubs have not refrained from paying exorbitant amounts to acquire fresh talent.
Tottenham Hotspur is a prime example of a club that has resisted getting dragged into this whirlpool of big-money signings to a great extent. They have also promoted many players from their own academy who currently play for their first-team.
While it is something that needs to be given immense credit for, it is also inadvertently affecting them in their quest to become one of the top European clubs.
While Spurs have enough quality within their squad to achieve great things, here are 5 reasons why they are some distance away from being categorised as a "big club".
#5 Disappointment in Europe
You look at clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and even a couple of English clubs, these are teams that are earmarked as favourites to win the Champions League year after year.
It is Europe's biggest club trophy and you need to be in serious contention for it every year. Spurs have been a disappointment in Europe, to say the least.
Their last triumph in Europe was in 1984 when they beat Anderlecht in penalties to win the UEFA Cup. It has been a downward spiral since, and since the turn of the century, Spurs have reached only as far as the Quarter-Finals in Europe and that too, only thrice.
Despite beating Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the group stages of the Champions League this term, they were beaten by Juventus, regardless of having an advantage after the first leg, in the first knockout round.
Spurs really need to step up their game in Europe and progress to the latter stages in the coming years to give them a facelift.
#4 Trophy drought
A case can be accounted for clubs like PSG who have been a disappointment in Europe but are still considered a big club. The stark contrast is that they have been winning domestic accolades for fun, of late. For Spurs though, domestic success also seems hard to come by.
The last time they won a trophy was in 2008 when they beat Chelsea in the Carling Cup final. Since then, the closest they have come to winning a domestic cup was in 2009 and 2015 when they finished second best to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively in the Carling Cup.
They have also reached only till the semi-finals of the FA Cup on four occasions since 2000. After the 1989-90 season, they finished in the top-three in the league in 2016 and came second last year.
They have nothing to show, despite all the beautiful football they produce regularly. They are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup this season and will be motivated to win the competition and end their ten-year trophy drought.
#3 Inability to attract world-class players
Everyone loves an academy player who graduates from the youth system and works his way up the ladder. This is a process that takes a lot of time and patience, which the modern day football has no time for. In a bid to quickly add quality to their team clubs pay huge amounts of money for ready-made superstars or for players categorised as the "next-big-things".
The world transfer record has been broken twice in the last two years and Spurs had to break theirs too in 2017, when they signed Davinson Sanchez from Ajax for €40 million. And the decision to do so was done after much contemplation, only towards the end of the transfer window.
This does not bode well with the fact that all of their other rivals are spending lavishly and this approach often causes players to re-think their move to the club. Add to this their trophy drought and inconsistent performances in Europe, Spurs are finding it really hard to rope in big names.
#2 Crumbling under Pressure
An expectation we all have from any big club is to accept the responsibility and thrive under the pressure football comes with. That is the hallmark of potential champions in many people's eyes and Spurs, sadly, have been doing quite the opposite in the recent past.
They came very close to winning the league in 2016, but only 2 wins in their last 7 games saw them drop to third place. They had to be content with second place last season as well, as they fell short by 7 points.
Since 2000, they were thrice knocked out in the quarter-finals in Europe. Twice in the Europa League by Sevilla and Basel and once in the Champions League by Real Madrid.
In this year's edition, they faced Juventus in the Round-of-16 and drew the first leg 2-2 in Italy. On a night when a 0-0 draw would suffice, the return leg saw them score the opening goal to make it 3-2 on aggregate but two goals in quick succession from the Italian side sent them crashing out of the competition.
Spurs really need more characters in the team and need to learn to live up to the expectations and stop crumbling under pressure if they realistically need to compete with Europe's elite for trophies.
#1 Lads, it's Tottenham
For many many years, Arsenal was the most dominant team in London. They have always had the edge over Spurs or Chelsea when it came to bragging rights over footballing matters. The "Invincible" season in 2003-04 put that question beyond doubt.
That's until Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea and changed their fortunes around. Arsenal has not won the league since, but Chelsea have went on to win it five times. Still, we find Arsenal contesting and winning domestic cups despite other failures. But, where does that leave Tottenham?
Despite the recent resurgence, Spurs have shown no signs of being a club capable of contesting for trophies on multiple fronts. They are still stuck in a vicious cycle of expectation and under-achievement leading to disappointment.
Perhaps it's expected of clubs that hold on to their roots and are not easily gullible to making rash decisions. But football has changed and Spurs need to too if they want to become one among Europe's elite.
They have enough quality among their ranks as many players they have are unquestionably talented. They are under a manager who is slowly becoming one of the best and is being touted to manage some of the bigger clubs. But the fact that they have nothing to show for their exploits on the pitch is not a crime or purely down to luck, but a result of their own flaws.
