Daniel Levy was unnerved into sacking Nuno Espirito Santo by 60,000 fuming Spurs fans

It was hoped Adele would sing at the opening of Tottenham’s stadium. Instead, they got an X Factor contestant and that bloke from the Go Compare ads.

It’s been pretty much the same ever since. Promises, promises. It was supposed to be home to Mauricio Pochettino’s cavaliers but he was gone after little more than six months and in came roundheads Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo.

As for the stadium itself, Covid left it empty for more than a year but now it is full again the occupants are in revolt. That is the problem with these vast new arenas. The anticipation is of 60,000 getting behind the team, the reality is that, without success and with expectations through the fancy roof, that swiftly becomes 60,000 cursing the players and anyone associated with them.

Nuno Espirito Santo was booed by Tottenham fans and then sacked after Saturday's defeat

Nuno Espirito Santo was booed by Tottenham fans and then sacked after Saturday’s defeat

Daniel Levy (bottom right) was unnerved by the reaction of 60,000 fans inside the ground

Daniel Levy (bottom right) was unnerved by the reaction of 60,000 fans inside the ground

Not that the old White Hart Lane lacked atmosphere, or would have been any less frustrated losing 3-0 at home to Manchester United, but there is definitely a sense that events in the 54th minute on Saturday did for Nuno.

United were leading at the time, but only by one goal, when the manager decided to replace Lucas Moura with Steven Bergwijn. The loudly adverse reaction to that unspectacular decision may have unnerved chairman Daniel Levy as much as any aspect of the defeat.

It would have been the opposite of what he envisaged when moving home. It often is. Arsenal have never won the league since leaving Highbury and it has taken West Ham over five years to feel any warmth at the London Stadium.

Moves that were supposed to be the making of clubs have created new problems. Sacking three managers inside two years with the stadium in uproar would never have crossed Levy’s mind on the night he welcomed fans to their new home.

Sometimes it doesn’t go to plan. Robin Williams, the late comedian, had a bit about a surprise treat for his son.

‘You try to do special things for your kid. I thought, “I’ll take him to Disneyland. That’ll be fun”. Mickey Mouse for a three-year-old, great! Mickey Mouse for a three-year-old, that’ll be fantastic! (Pause) Mickey Mouse to a three-year-old is a six-foot f****** rat. (Does Mickey Mouse voice) Hi, little buddy! (As a three-year-old) Aaaaaaaahhhhh!’

Director of football Fabio Paratici (centre) failed to hide his frustration on the sidelines

Director of football Fabio Paratici (centre) failed to hide his frustration on the sidelines

Moura wasn’t even playing that well against United. He just looked busier than most. Bergwijn, his replacement, didn’t stand a chance once booed on to the field and was anonymous. And no doubt Levy, from his perch, could see this scenario unfolding game after game, building intolerable pressure if the team tanked. It’s the unexplored, unanticipated downside of the big stadium move. The noise of an angry large capacity ground can send any team into a tailspin.

Particularly when it is uncharted territory. One of the obstacles faced by well-supported clubs who fall out of the Premier League is the adjustment that needs to be made in the competitions below. Sheffield Wednesday, for instance, have on occasions ended up in tier three, recruiting tier three players.

Yet the first time it happened, in 2003-04, they were still attracting crowds of more than 22,000, by some distance the highest in the division. So a player arrives from a club getting a quarter of Wednesday’s gate, makes a mistake, and hears a chorus of disapproval louder than he ever anticipated. It’s a similar story at Sunderland, and even Ipswich, Charlton or Bolton.

The crowd that should afford an advantage becomes a source of anxiety. In that 2003-04 campaign, Wednesday finished 16th. Now back in League One, they average nearly 23,000 again and lie an ordinary eighth. Sunderland are fifth while drawing over 30,000. It is not easy balancing reduced status with a stadium built to expect more.

The move to a 60,000 arena did for Arsene Wenger in the end, too. It was the polarisation of the Emirates Stadium into feuding camps that made his position ultimately untenable.

He still hasn’t returned there more than three years after his departure and his happiest memories were no doubt of Highbury. Arsenal, like Tottenham, made the move thinking it would make the club bigger, better and, long term, wealthier. And, financially, that may be true. Yet Arsenal are not better for the Emirates, any more than Tottenham have thrived while possessing the most envied stadium in the land.

Harry Kane and Co have been badly underperforming and Nuno paid the price this week

Harry Kane and Co have been badly underperforming and Nuno paid the price this week

On the night it opened, paperweights were given out as mementoes with a ghostly floating image of the new ground, the Tottenham crest and the logos of the Premier League and NFL. That was the future, a multi-purpose, state-of-the-art venue, housing a world-class team and globally-renowned guests.

The upshot on Saturday was one sub-par player replaced by another, as 60,000 loudly fumed and Levy wondered what next. He reacted with a bold solution, but it was also costly and panicked. And it comes with scant guarantee. Of course, as a football club grows it will seek a monument to that achievement.

It is not quite as simple as packing them in and waiting for the applause, though. Sometimes they boo. And, when they do, in a ground the size of Tottenham’s, the noise will be deafening.

BRUCE BASKS IN SUN AS TOON TOIL

Newcastle were deadly dull on Saturday. The only danger for his players, said Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, was falling asleep. The first shot from the home team came after 84 minutes, already three goals down, and they completed 205 passes to Chelsea’s 784. Yet those who hounded Steve Bruce out of St James’ Park still attempted to put a shine on the display, as if there is improvement.

Graeme Jones scored cheap points off his old boss by announcing he was scrapping midweek rest days — after accusations Bruce did not work the squad hard enough. Jones also insisted Newcastle had good players which, again, implies Bruce wasn’t getting the best out of a talented bunch. 

It’s a bit different when your name is above the door, even temporarily, and this appears a rather overplayed hand. Meanwhile, Bruce looks very happy on holiday in Dubai. It will still feel raw now but, in time, he’ll come to miss that place as one might an ingrowing toenail.

Graeme Jones (left) presided over a deadly dull Newcastle defeat by Chelsea on Saturday

Graeme Jones (left) presided over a deadly dull Newcastle defeat by Chelsea on Saturday

TEST ANTI-NEWCASTLE CARVE-UP IN COURT 

A conspiracy to thwart Newcastle’s Saudi owners continues, with Premier League shareholders meeting next on November 11. The temporary ban on related-party agreements is likely to be made permanent, due to the belief state-controlled clubs have artificially inflated sponsorship arrangements.

Paris Saint-Germain’s £85million deal with the Qatar Tourism Authority is one deal cited, but who is to say what that should be worth? PSG are now one of the biggest and most consistently successful clubs in the world, with three of the most famous players, having previously won two domestic titles in 42 years.

New Newcastle owners Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi were on the receiving end of a temporary ban from related-party sponsorship agreements

New Newcastle owners Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi were on the receiving end of a temporary ban from related-party sponsorship agreements 

The idea that a price can be fixed based on the past is ridiculous. Qatar’s investment was in what PSG are now and what they might become, not what they once were. Equally, given the projections for Newcastle — the club and the region — under Saudi ownership, how is their existing £6.5m deal with Fun88 more of a marker than sponsorships for clubs such as Manchester United or Manchester City?

Cazoo, an online car retailer, currently sponsor Aston Villa and Everton. Clearly, they want to get their name out, as breakdown company Green Flag did when sponsoring the England team in 1994. A business may pay above the going rate to secure such a partnership, because the exposure is vital to them. Should that be illegal, too?

What is happening to Newcastle is just another entitled carve-up, clothed in the disguise of financial fair play. It should be challenged in court if necessary.

Perhaps because Mercedes have had it their own way for so long, Lewis Hamilton’s battle with Max Verstappen this season is being played up as one of sport’s great duels. Like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, or Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. You hear those comparisons a lot. Except Senna-Prost and Messi-Ronaldo were genuine equals, with similar track records and achievements.

Prost won four drivers’ championships, Senna three; Messi has 10 domestic titles and four Champions League wins, Ronaldo seven domestic, five Champions League. Hamilton-Verstappen? It’s 7-0. And if Verstappen cannot reasonably be hostage to his youth, then wind the clock back to 2013 when Red Bull’s Christian Horner was last team principal to a winning constructor; the same year Manchester United last won the title under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Verstappen’s quick promotion is another factor in this but he hasn’t won a championship since he was in a go-kart at the age of 15.

He’s a brilliant driver, without doubt, and that barren run may change this year, but it isn’t Messi-Ronaldo.

Messi-Erling Haaland or Ronaldo-Marcus Rashford, maybe.

Playing for Al Rayyan in Qatar on Saturday, James Rodriguez had to be restrained by team-mates, while attempting a physical confrontation with a referee. Rodriguez was fouled by Al-Arabi’s Aaron Boupendza, and was booked for protesting about the incident too forcefully. 

This enraged him further and he made an attempt to get at the official, who issued a second yellow card. By this point, Rodriguez was shirtless and appeared to have lost his mind; or maybe that was us, when we thought he was ever what they needed at Everton. There is a reason a player of his talent ends up in Qatar.

James Rodriguez had to be held back by his team-mates as he tried to get to the referee

James Rodriguez had to be held back by his team-mates as he tried to get to the referee 

Neither side emerged well from Quinton de Kock’s impasse with Cricket South Africa over taking the knee. Of course, the individual should be able to choose his stance rather than be governed by edicts from on high. 

De Kock, however, should have read the room, the history and understood how his actions would be perceived. It’s a team sport and he should have put his team first.

Expect a rule or format change of some description when the next T20 World Cup is played in Australia a year from now. That is what usually happens to international cricket tournaments if India get knocked out early. 

On the back of an 86th-minute winner against Zenit St Petersburg on October 20, Leonardo Bonucci said Juventus were more of a team without Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Beaten 2-1 at Verona on Saturday, Juventus slumped to ninth place, a point above Sassuolo, who are 12th. And maybe they are more of a team in spirit. It doesn’t mean they are a better one. 

Perhaps Leonardo Bonucci regrets his comments following Cristiano Ronaldo's exit

Perhaps Leonardo Bonucci regrets his comments following Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit

Writers of the brilliant 30 Rock invented a spoof game show called Homonym, in which contestants attempted to define words that had two meanings but the same pronunciation.

‘Your next word is meat…’

‘Oh boy — like when two people run into each other…’

‘No, it’s the other one.’

And that was the gag. It was always the other one. Stair/stare, racket/racquet. To the contestants’ growing fury, no one could ever get a question right. Worse, the quizmaster taunted them, laughing in their faces. Watching the Match of the Day highlights of Liverpool versus Brighton felt a bit like that. 

Liverpool have scored a third. No, it’s been deleted by VAR. Brighton have taken the lead, it’s the most astonishing comeback. No, VAR has intervened again. In real time, we have to put up with this, but in the edit? Whoever is making the cut is just tormenting us.

Liverpool had Sadio Mane's goal ruled out and then were pegged back by Brighton

Liverpool had Sadio Mane’s goal ruled out and then were pegged back by Brighton 

Dean Smith is right. It wasn’t a sending-off when Aston Villa played West Ham on Sunday — it was actually two. Without doubt, Ezri Konsa deserved his red for denying Jarrod Bowen a goalscoring opportunity, but Kortney Hause should also have gone for a deliberate forearm smash on Pablo Fornals seconds earlier. 

As ever, officials are lenient on head trauma. Chris Kavanagh, the referee, may have missed it in real time but Stuart Attwell, the VAR, had ample opportunity to ensure justice was done. Maybe he was anxious at recommending two red cards to one team across the same passage of play although, if so, he shouldn’t be there. 

There should have been two Aston Villa players sent off rather than just Ezri Konsa

There should have been two Aston Villa players sent off rather than just Ezri Konsa

Watching Paddy McGuinness struggling to replace Sue Barker, and shedding viewers in the millions on Question of Sport, brings home how hard it will be for Sky to find a successor to Jeff Stelling on Soccer Saturday. 

Barker was easy viewing, but Stelling is a broadcasting genius. Sky undervalued the rapport he enjoyed with his old team, and the show suffered once that was lost. He is right to look elsewhere. Whoever made that decision didn’t appreciate what they had. 

The Last Post movingly rendered, the remembrance silence impeccably observed, Stuart Attwell blew his whistle and Tottenham’s stadium erupted in a guttural chant. ‘Yids!’ Later, many of the same people would tell Nuno Espirito Santo that he didn’t know what he was doing. Ironic, yeah. 

source: dailymail.co.uk