And so the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – this great temple of sport, whose supporters came all in white on Sunday and made it look like a sanctuary for 50,000 nervous angels – will not play host to Lincoln City, Bolton Wanderers or Wrexham next season.
Roberto de Zerbi, one of the finest coaches of the new generation, will not be taking charge of a side in the second tier of the English league. Nor will his players have to confront the reality that most of them are not nearly as gifted as they think they are.
And the executives who brought this fine club to this sorry state where they came within two points of being relegated from the Premier League will escape the reckoning that their wastefulness and their indecision and their naivety so richly deserved.
There was an unmistakeable feeling of deliverance when the final whistle went after nine minutes of added time and confirmed that Spurs had survived by the skin of their teeth, despite the fact that West Ham had beaten Leeds 3-0 at the London Stadium.
But when the relief dissipates, it will be replaced by anger. Anger that a club as big as Tottenham, a club that plays in one of the best stadiums in the country, a club awash with revenue, should have indulged in this kind of brinksmanship and tested the emotions of the fans so far.
It is an indictment of the way this club has been run that safety was not confirmed until the last day of the season. It is Spurs’ good fortune that, in West Ham, they found a relegation rival that was just as badly run as they are. This is a great club but it has been a shambles with precious few redeeming features for the past nine months.
Robert de Zerbi led Tottenham to Premier League survival – confirmed on the final day
There isa feeling of relief among Spurs fans – but that will soon turn to anger once again
They have cycled through three managers. They have built a dressing room that looks awash with poison and personal agendas. They have fallen far, far behind clubs they should be competing with. Arsenal’s title victory and the way the champions have grown and grown under Mikel Arteta and the ownership of the Kroenkes puts Spurs travails in sharp relief.
Even in the final seconds here, Spurs fans were still sweating on survival. Even in the final seconds, they rose as one to applaud a fantastic save from Antonin Kinsky that preserved Spurs’ slender lead, courtesy of a first half goal from Joao Palhinha, and avoided the torture of a last minute clinging on for dear life.
When the final whistle went, Pedro Porro and a host of others collapsed to the turf, overcome by emotion. But this was not triumph. This was an escape from shame. When Micky van de Ven walked towards the steepling South Stand, his arms aloft, it felt discordant.
They are not pariahs and there is comfort in that. But they are not heroes, either. They are certainly not that. ‘Glory, glory, Tottenham Hotspur,’ rang out around the stadium at the end but there was no glory here. The Spurs players owe their fans a huge debt for their support. They also owe them a season where they do not fail them quite as miserably as this.
Maybe they ought to have been grateful that their injured captain, Cristian Romero actually made it back for the game from Argentina. There had been suggestions he wasn’t going to bother but there he was on the sidelines before the game in a white shirt and slacks. Looking casual. Which is a look he’s perfected all season. That, and gazing up at a red card being brandished in his face.
They got it done in the end. Just. The first chance of the game fell to Spurs. Jordan Pickford came to claim a high ball and Michael Keane leapt for it, too. They got in each other’s way and the loose ball fell to Conor Gallagher. Gallagher made space for a shot but hammered it into the side-netting.
De Zerbi and David Moyes began to bicker even in the first quarter of an hour. The spark was a yellow card shown to Jake O’Brien for holding Mathys Tel. Moyes protested. De Zerbi gave his opinion. Some of the Everton bench had been prevented from confronting De Zerbi further.
Spurs were fortunate that, in West Ham, they found a relegation rival as badly run as them
Spurs dominated the opening stages. Tel and Destiny Udogie caused problem after problem as they targeted the right-hand side of the Everton defence. Everton could not hold on to possession. The stadium was a cauldron. But the confidence felt fragile. It almost always feels fragile here.
Spurs continued to dominate possession but could not find a breakthrough. Everton made some progress. Ten minutes before the interval, Iliman Ndiaye set off on a dazzling dribble through the Spurs defence on the edge of their area. He beat three men but his shot was blocked and Spurs breathed again.
They breathed even more deeply two minutes before half-time. This time, it was a different kind of relief filling their lungs. Everton failed to defend a corner and Joao Palhinha rose at the back post to guide a header against the post.
The ball rebounded straight to him and he sidefooted back towards goal. Pickford tried to stop it with his right foot but it deflected off it. Thierno Barry made a last-ditch attempt to prevent it going over the line but Spurs knew it was enough. As Palhinha wheeled away, referee Michael Oliver pointed to the watch on his wrist to signify it had signalled the ball had crossed the line.
Spurs nearly doubled their lead straight after half-time. Djed Spence, a shock inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad, fired in an awkward low shot from the edge of the area that bounced just in front of Pickford. Pickford dived on it but it squirmed through him and went just wide of the post.
Everton generally played the role of ideal opponents for Spurs on such a critical day. They barely mustered a shot. There were still nervous moments: Tyrique George was through on Antonin Kinsky but chose to try to pass to an opponent rather than dink the ball over him. The danger was cleared.
