The atmosphere surrounding the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has shifted from frustration to a state of absolute alarm following the latest North London derby. It is one thing for a team to lose to their fiercest rivals; it is quite another to be dismantled with such ease that former players begin to question the very integrity and professional pride of the squad.
In a weekend that was supposed to be defined by a “new manager bounce” under Igor Tudor, Spurs fans were instead treated to a harrowing 4-1 defeat that left the club teetering just four points above the relegation zone. The aftermath has been explosive, led by a scathing public assessment from former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara, who has labeled the current group of players “absolute charlatans.”
O’Hara’s rant, delivered with the raw emotion of someone who once wore the shirt, reflects a growing consensus that this is not just a poor run of form, but a historical collapse.
For a club of Tottenham’s stature boasting one of the most expensive stadiums in the world and a regular presence in European competition to be winless in the calendar year of 2026 is almost impossible to fathom.
Yet, that is the reality. With only eleven games remaining in the season, the prospect of the Championship is no longer a dark joke told by rivals; it is a looming mathematical probability. O’Hara didn’t hold back, describing the current roster as the worst Tottenham team to ever grace the Premier League.
The specific criticisms leveled at the squad go beyond tactical errors or a lack of quality. The most damning part of the critique is the perceived lack of “fight.” In a relegation scrap, the minimum requirement is effort—the willingness to track back, to tackle hard, and to protect the goal at all costs.
According to O’Hara, these basic tenets of professional football have vanished from the Tottenham locker room. He pointed to a total lack of direction, creativity, and, perhaps most importantly, a will to win. Watching the derby, he remarked, felt like watching a youth team struggle against a group of seasoned men. The gap in intensity was so wide that it felt as though the two sides were essentially playing different sports.
The comparison to Arsenal only made the medicine more bitter. While the Gunners sit at the top of the table chasing a title, Spurs are “in freefall.” During a particularly painful moment in his on-air analysis, O’Hara admitted that the two clubs are currently in “different leagues” in terms of quality.
This admission was immediately met with a stinging retort from co-host Jason Cundy, who pointed out that by next season, they literally will be in different divisions. It is a reality that is becoming harder to argue against. While teams around them, like West Ham and Nottingham Forest, are showing signs of life and a gritty determination to survive, Tottenham appears to be a club in total disarray, waiting for the inevitable to happen rather than fighting to prevent it.
The finger of blame is being pointed in every direction. Recruitment has been slammed as “terrible,” with expensive signings failing to provide the leadership or the output required to steer a team through a crisis. The appointment of Igor Tudor was meant to be a circuit breaker, a way to reset the culture and find a way to scrap for points. Instead, his first game in charge highlighted the same defensive frailties and mental fragility that led to the sacking of Thomas Frank.
When a team stops doing the basics—such as tracking runners or staying compact—it suggests a deeper rot within the squad’s psychology. O’Hara’s use of the word “charlatans” suggests a belief that these players are masquerading as top-level professionals while failing to provide the work rate required of the badge.
For the fans, the embarrassment is reaching a breaking point. Many are finding it difficult to even watch the team play, as the pride associated with the club is being eroded week by week. The statistics back up the misery: two wins in eighteen matches is the kind of form usually reserved for teams that finish dead last.
The fact that this form belongs to a “Big Six” club is a staggering indictment of the current leadership and playing staff. The fear of going down has moved from the back of people’s minds to the very front. There is a genuine concern that the club is sleepwalking into a catastrophe that will take years to fix.
As Tottenham looks ahead to their final fixtures, the question remains: do they have the stomach for the fight? Relegation battles are rarely won by the most talented teams; they are won by the teams that can endure the most pressure and work the hardest when things go wrong.
Right now, Spurs look like a team that folds the moment they face adversity. If O’Hara’s assessment is correct and this is indeed the worst team in the club’s Premier League history, then the final two months of the season will be a painful journey toward a historic humiliation.
The time for talking about potential and recruitment is over; the only thing that matters now is finding a way to track a runner and keep the ball out of the net.
