Credit: Imago

Daniel Davis

Tue 14 April 2026 19:10, UK

If the fish really does rot from the head down, why does nothing appear to have changed at Tottenham Hotspur since Daniel Levy’s departure?

Is it because Vinai Venkatesham and Johan Lange are no better? Perhaps.

The only difference now is that it’s slightly harder to pin down an accurate target to bear the brunt of Spurs’ misery this season. However, there can be no doubt that the duo are primarily to blame if they go down. Under their watch, this listing club has continued to drift aimlessly.

Where is the purpose and the vision? There remains nothing for supporters to grab onto, nothing to believe in. Instead, there are only meaningless words that might as well be vapour in the wind. They have talked the talk, but they’re not walking; they’re stumbling.

Lange badly let Tottenham down during the winter transfer window, and he should be the first to pay the price if Spurs do drop into the Championship.

Johan Lange’s Tottenham role no longer tenable

Really, Lange should be thanking his lucky stars that he’s still in a job. He joined Spurs back in 2023 as technical director before his role was changed to joint sporting director last October. Since Fabio Paratici’s return to Italy, the Dane has been the one calling the shots.

It is just a shame that he has focused on all the wrong targets.

Tottenham thrashed about like a fish out of water in January before settling on one panic buy and a youngster hardly expected to make an immediate impact. Those decisions could well be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Making matters worse, Lange and Venkatesham resembled the Chuckle Brothers after lumping Spurs’ fate on Igor Tudor, having belatedly pulled the trigger on Thomas Frank. Never was the Croat a good fit for the hot seat, as shown by his dismal seven-game stint.

The two figures have colluded, albeit inadvertently, to steer Tottenham into treacherous waters, and unless they can get them out, they will likely be thrown overboard.

The bulk of Spurs’ worries can be traced back to a dismal winter window. Conor Gallagher was their only addition of note, and look how that has seemingly turned out.

Roberto De Zerbi is a brave man indeed to have stepped into the breach. Where are the players he can put his trust in? Where is the inspiration in the dressing room? The squad badly needed an injection of hope in January, but instead, they were hung out to dry.

Souza is undoubtedly a talent, but a deputy for Destiny Udogie was hardly priority No 1. Strengthening in midfield was, but Lange botched that one, too.

A mere glance at Gallagher’s statistics in North London proves it.

According to FotMob, he has completed 236 passes in the Premier League this season, putting him in the bottom 14 per cent of top-flight midfielders. His pass accuracy of 81.4 per cent also lands him in the bottom 20 per cent.

When he has played, Spurs have been a far worse team. They have been too easily penetrated, as demonstrated by the 26-year-old winning 35 duels, which places him in the bottom 15th percentile. Gallagher has also taken only 412 touches.

As for Souza, he has been made to be patient since joining for £13million. The 19-year-old has made four appearances and started just twice in the Premier League this term, but has fallen victim to Spurs’ wider defensive shakiness in a serious baptism of fire.

Indeed, the three goals Tottenham have conceded with him on the pitch have consigned him to the 91st percentile, while he has also been dribbled past three times.

Joe Lewis is said to have had in excess of £100m to spend in January, but judging from the current mess, every penny should have been invested in alternative targets.

Spurs players right to hit back

Cristian Romero has been justified in his criticism of Spurs’ hierarchy ten times over. After the lack of winter spending, the captain branded the shortage of available players as “disgraceful” on social media, a post which was, tellingly, liked by nine of his team-mates.

Frank and Tudor bore the brunt of anger from the stands during their respective spells in charge, and rightly so. But now, the focus is shifting. Venkatesham and Lange in particular have nowhere to hide, and if Spurs are relegated, it will be a damning epitaph.

With Levy gone, they have been exposed. They can no longer hide behind the supremo.

While they will claim that the squad is good enough, the bottom line is that they have made matters much worse with poor choices – or a lack of any decisions at all. It smacks of downright incompetence, and it cannot be allowed to fester any longer.