Staring over the edge

The cliffs at the end of the world, near Sagres, Portugal.

Tottenham 0 – 3 Nottingham Forest

I moved to Cheshunt, Herts, in England in 1978, just six weeks after the English football season ended. Under the guidance of Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest won the First Division that season, setting them up for an epic couple of years in which they were the dominant force in European football. Tottenham on the other hand had been dire. They were relegated to the second division in 1976-77, and won promotion the following year on the strength of goal difference alone. When I arrived on the scene, Tottenham was back, a top flight local team stacked with fresh talent like Glen Hoddle and World Cup winners Ricardo Villa and Ozzie Ardilles. That team grew in stature and swagger, winning the FA Cup in 1981 and 1982 and then the UEFA Cup in 1984.

So I never knew the pain of relegation for Spurs, nor could have I ever imagined that Nottingham Forest would not be the best team in the world. And yet here we are, Tottenham coming off our first European trophy since that UEFA Cup, and Forest FINALLY pulling themselves clear of 23 years outside of the top flight.

This morning, a six point game beckoned. Forest, who have struggled this season travelled to north London to play Tottenham. Six points were on the line here. It was Nottingham’s chance to leap frog Spurs towards 16th place and some modicum of safety. Tottenham, West Ham and Forest are trying hard to NOT finish in 18th place. We had to win.

And we didn’t. We outplayed Forest for much of the game, sending corner after corner harmlessly into the box. We hit a couple of posts and crossbars and exacted a couple of key saves. But in the end? It was dire, terrible, uninspired, without shape or identity or any kind of idea. Forest found three goals from think chances, and on a normal day you might say that the scoreline flattered them but not today. Today our undoing was the collective shrug we played with. Archie Grey, the 20 year old midfielder was the only one who see to show any kind of creativity. Mattias Tel, cutting in from the left wing provided a handful to deal with, but there isn’t much point winning corners if they serve no further purpose.

I can’t help think that we are going down. Two home wins in the premier league all season. No wins in 2026, and it’s almost April. The only good news today was Arsenal bottling the League Cup Final, but even a lost trophy to our biggest rivals is no salve for the wounds. Spurs are bleeding.