A brighter tomorrow never seems to come
Spurs embarrassed by transfer inactivity and further delay in new stadium
Promises of a brighter tomorrow are wearing increasingly thin at Tottenham Hotspur.
Mainly because tomorrow seemingly never comes, off the pitch as much as on it nowadays.
Daniel Levy's attempts to blaze a trail have returned to haunt the Lilywhites in the past week; ambitious plans to move into a new purpose-built stadium within the footprint of the old White Hart Lane by next month have dovetailed with a summer devoid of transfer activity.
Supporters yearning for the end of what was supposed to be a 16-month hiatus from their spiritual home now face a very real prospect of their club's current nomadic existence being prolonged by further weeks, and potentially months, due to delays to the scheduled move-in.
From start to finish, the new 61,000-capacity stadium has been an unrelenting nightmare for Spurs as much as it became prime bantering material to their English Premier League rivals.
Misspelled advertisements were rolled out in giddy haste while ones heralding "The only place to watch Uefa Champions League in London", a veiled dig at both Arsenal and Chelsea, have haunted them since being rolled out at the English capital's various underground stations.
In the transfer market, too, they have been embarrassed. Levy's reputation as an astute 11th-hour deal broker failed to come to fruition as Tottenham became the first-ever EPL club to end the window without signing a single player since its introduction in 2003.
Logistical issues could see Pochettino's players call another venue home before their actual one is completed.Richard Buxton
Mauricio Pochettino railed against the early deadline in what proved to be a pre-emptive strike, but his anger was misguided. It should have been internalised at his own boardroom.
Levy's bold ambition has become a difficult balancing act for the north Londoners' primary and will only intensify when a lucrative tie-in to play competitive NFL fixtures takes full effect.
Sooner rather than later, attempting to juggle those priorities will come to a head for Pochettino. He has emulated Bill Nicholson in leading Tottenham to a minimum top-three finish in the previous three campaigns, yet now faces the greatest challenge of his tenure.
A summer of inaction will invariably return to haunt his side with the difficulty of maintaining the current trajectory, both in their EPL and Champions League campaigns, with a squad loaded with players on the comedown from a gruelling summer at the World Cup.
Settling into their new surroundings, whenever that will be, will also have a knock-on effect.
Tottenham had to wait until Oct 14 last season to register their first home win in a season-long tenancy at Wembley, which has since been extended by a further three months.
The novelty of playing at the National Stadium has worn off long before Fulham's planned arrival there for the first London Derby of the campaign.
Logistical issues could see Pochettino's players call another venue home before their actual one is completed.
Tottenham's downfall is not inconceivable; years of progress undertaken by the Argentinian could become unravelled by a potential half-season of upheaval that is beyond his control.
For all its impressive aspects, including a 17,000 single-tier stand akin to Borussia Dortmund's "Yellow Wall" and mod cons such as heated seats with chargeable USB ports and in-house bakery, the new stadium's splendour will not be able to mask an alarming fall from grace.
Levy must soon weigh up whether the end will actually justify the current means.
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