{"id":180784,"date":"2026-03-06T14:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T14:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/180784\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T14:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T14:15:13","slug":"are-tottenham-set-for-all-time-shock-relegation-plus-messi-inter-miami-meet-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/180784\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Tottenham set for all-time shock relegation? Plus: Messi, Inter Miami meet Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic FC \u26bd is The Athletic\u2019s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hello! Tottenham Hotspur fans: break glass and pull the emergency handle. Your team are in meltdown territory.<\/p>\n

Coming up:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude2c Woeful Spurs in crisis<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfe0 Messi at the White House<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd16 AI\u2019s World Cup takeover<\/a><\/p>\n

\u267b\ufe0f EFL promotion revamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Fright night: Will Spurs loss lead to most stunning relegation in EPL history?\"\"<\/p>\n

The reaction to our coverage of Arsenal yesterday<\/a> got me thinking about the notion of winning with style. Cut it any way you like, but those who complain about teams not winning with style are usually those who aren\u2019t winning enough. For a club looking down from the top of the league, it\u2019s all white noise.<\/p>\n

Across north London at Tottenham Hotspur, they\u2019re way beyond worrying about the nature of their victories. Winning some games any which way would be a good start, and if they don\u2019t rediscover the knack for doing so soon, we\u2019ll be looking at arguably the most indefensible relegation in the history of the Premier League.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d call the prospect unbelievable, but it isn\u2019t, because Spurs have been circling the drain for longer than is healthy. Forget them lifting the Europa League trophy last season<\/a> (that was like their fortnightly trip to the rehab centre). They\u2019re in a rut of appointing coaches who don\u2019t stick, of signing players who can\u2019t cut it, and of taking incremental steps backwards, to the level where they\u2019ve pushed their luck too far.<\/p>\n

They dithered and let last summer\u2019s arrival Thomas Frank take a thousand cuts before sacking him last month<\/a>. They made an out-there move by choosing Igor Tudor as their interim saviour<\/a> for the games they have left. Tudor, in fairness, had a track record of making mid-season improvements at teams he took charge of in Italy, but he was not what you\u2019d call a classic Premier League firefighter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And so it\u2019s proving. Defeat to Crystal Palace last night<\/a> was his third in three games. The contest itself was a classic of the genre of teams on the road to relegation: an opening goal for Tottenham apparently settling them down, only for the \u2018Oh boy, here we go again\u2019 cycle to kick in. Micky van de Ven was sent off, Palace scored three times in rapid succession \u2014 including the second, above, after Spurs gifted them the ball \u2014 and it was goodnight Vienna.<\/p>\n

I saw relegation first-hand when covering Leeds United<\/a> a few years back, and this is what it smells like. Flashes of promise are a mirage. The lack of punch resistance is scarily real. Spurs are a point above the league\u2019s bottom three and all Tudor could offer post-match last night was blind hope<\/a>. \u201cI believe more after this game than I believed before,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw something.\u201d I\u2019m pleased he did.<\/p>\n

Downward spiral<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

On the basis of finances alone, Spurs should be nowhere near the danger zone<\/a>. Their turnover this season will be in the region of \u00a3600million ($801.3m) \u2014 for context, Leeds\u2019 revenue of \u00a3190m in 2023 is the highest of any relegated Premier League side to date \u2014 and they have the finest stadium in England, bar none. A 17th-placed finish last May should have been a call to action.<\/p>\n

But Tottenham have routinely been criticised for running a budget that limits their competitive levels. They look now like an entity who took their eye off the ball, badly. The 15 home league games so far have brought them 10 points, which is utterly dire, and they lost their fanbase a while ago.<\/p>\n

Spurs might get out of the mire yet, but yesterday\u2019s 3-1 home loss had all the hallmarks of impending doom: thousand-yard stares across the ground, seats emptying, intermittent booing, the match ending to the mocking sound of opposition \u2018Ol\u00e9s\u2019 and, when the TV cameras panned to them, numerous Tottenham supporters laughing bleakly because if you don\u2019t laugh, you\u2019ll cry.<\/p>\n

One thing I remember about Leeds going down three years ago was the periods of beaten silence when all seemed lost. It must have been like that on the deck of the Titanic at 2am with the lifeboats gone.<\/p>\n

Nothing in life is too big to fail, and no Premier League side should be arrogant in thinking relegation is beneath them. But Spurs would be a victim like no other \u2014 downed by hubris and their delusions of grandeur.<\/p>\n

White House, pink ball: Messi and Inter Miami follow Ronaldo to meet Trump\"Lionel<\/p>\n

\n Lionel Messi hands U.S. President Donald Trump a signed pink ball (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

For many years, an invitation to the White House was something sports teams accepted without thinking twice. These days, athletes are less and less sure about how closely they wish to associate themselves with anything resembling a political endorsement.<\/p>\n

Juventus spent an uncomfortable afternoon<\/a> in the Oval Office with U.S. President Donald Trump before the Club World Cup last summer. Cristiano Ronaldo visited the White House last November<\/a>, although he looked happier in those surroundings. Yesterday, it was the turn of Lionel Messi\u2019s Inter Miami:\u00a0invited to Washington, D.C.<\/a> to mark their inaugural MLS title last season.<\/p>\n

The question beforehand was whether Messi would turn up. The Argentina captain prefers to stay at arm\u2019s length from politics, and he\u2019d skipped an opportunity to meet Trump\u2019s predecessor, Joe Biden, in 2025. But when Trump entered the room, he had Messi to his left and the Florida club\u2019s co-owner Jorge Mas to his right (there was, notably, no sign of fellow co-owner David Beckham).<\/p>\n

Trump kicked off proceedings by talking about Iran. He moved on to the subject of Cuba\u2019s volatile history before getting to the point of Miami\u2019s appearance, asking Messi if he was better than Pele and accepting a stack of gifts, including a sparkling pink ball. It was surreal, it was random, and if you want the full picture, Paul Tenorio had the joy of following the White House audience<\/a> from start to finish. Lucky boy.<\/p>\n

News round-up
\nThe crisis in the Middle East forced the postponement<\/a> of a Saudi Premier League match yesterday, despite the SPL saying its fixture list would continue as planned. Elsewhere, Spain are worried about a Women\u2019s World Cup qualifier, which is due to take place in Turkey.
\nThe 2026 Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations has been rescheduled for July and August, just two weeks before it was supposed to kick off<\/a>. The Confederation of African Football says this is due to \u201cunforeseen circumstances\u201d.
\nA big development in England\u2019s second-tier Championship: from next season, the number of promotion play-off places is increasing to six from the traditional four. That\u2019s a real game-changer<\/a>.
\nEdu as Nottingham Forest\u2019s global head of football has never felt like the right fit. His position is now in major doubt and due to be reviewed at the end of the season<\/a>, which probably means he\u2019ll be off.
\nSean Dyche, one of three head coaches sacked by Forest this season, took a pop at the role of \u201ckeyboard warriors\u201d in his dismissal. \u201cOn factual data and analysis, I can\u2019t understand the decisions that were made,\u201d he says in a punchy podcast interview<\/a>.
\nAnd to stick with the Forest theme, one of the other two coaches given the heave-ho since the games began in August \u2014 Nuno Espirito Santo \u2014 is in an acrimonious legal dispute with the club<\/a>. Never dull.
\nWorld Cup tech: Body scans, ref cams and football AI \u2013 what you\u2019ll see at the tournament<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that the 2026 World Cup will be the most technologically advanced to date. The robots are taking over and I\u2019ll watch with interest to see if they\u2019re any good at keeping the peace.<\/p>\n

A recent planning meeting in Atlanta laid out the key changes FIFA intends to implement. Among them is software that will individually scan the body shape of every single player at the tournament, allowing (in theory) for more reliable offside decisions. At present, avatars used by VAR are generic, and therefore marginally less accurate.<\/p>\n

FIFA has also announced that ref cams will be worn by on-field officials during all 104 matches. Some of the ref-cam footage that came out of the Club World Cup last summer was pretty cool. Far less sexy, if entirely on trend, is the governing body\u2019s plan to ask an AI system, Football AI Pro, to provide game-by-game analysis of team and player performances. Humans beware.<\/p>\n

Felipe Cardenas cut through the headlines to<\/a> establish how the tech will function in practice, and whether it is likely to make a positive difference. Imagine a World Cup with no refereeing controversy. What would we all fight about then?<\/p>\n

Catch a match<\/p>\n

(Selected games, times ET\/UK)<\/p>\n

Friday FA Cup fifth round: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool, 3pm\/8pm \u2014 ESPN\/BBC One, TNT Sports; La Liga: Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid, 3pm\/8pm \u2014 ESPN, Fubo<\/a>\/Premier Sports; Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs Borussia Monchengladbach, 2.30pm\/7.30pm \u2014 ESPN\/BBC.<\/p>\n

Saturday FA Cup fifth round: Mansfield Town vs Arsenal, 7.15am\/12.15pm \u2014 ESPN, Fubo<\/a>\/TNT Sports; Wrexham vs Chelsea, 12.45pm\/5.45pm \u2014 ESPN\/BBC One, TNT Sports; Newcastle United vs Manchester City, 3pm\/8pm \u2014\u00a0ESPN\/TNT Sports; SheBelieves Cup: United States vs Colombia, 3.30pm\/8.30pm \u2014 TNT, Peacock Premium (U.S. only); La Liga: Athletic Club vs Barcelona, 3pm\/8pm \u2014 ESPN, Fubo<\/a>\/Disney+; MLS: DC United vs Inter Miami, 3.30pm\/9.30pm; LAFC vs FC Dallas, 10.30pm\/3.30am \u2014 Apple TV in both regions.<\/p>\n

Sunday FA Cup fifth round: Leeds United vs Norwich City, 12.30pm\/4.30pm \u2014 ESPN\/TNT Sports; Scottish Cup quarter-final: Rangers vs Celtic, 9am\/1pm \u2014 ESPN\/Premier Sports; Serie A: Milan vs Inter, 3.45pm\/7.45pm \u2014 Paramount+, DAZN\/TNT Sports, DAZN; MLS: New York Red Bulls vs CF Montreal, 4.30pm\/8.30pm \u2014 Apple TV in both regions.<\/p>\n

And finally\u2026\"\"<\/p>\n

Minute 98 of Hamburg versus Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga on Wednesday, and Luka Vuskovic has not one but two chances to steal a point for Hamburg. Both get away from him; the second \u2014 headed over from point-blank range (above) \u2014 a real sitter.<\/p>\n

The misses didn\u2019t amuse me so much as his reaction: a full-blooded attempt to kick Leverkusen\u2019s goalframe to pieces. Cheer up, son. You\u2019re at Hamburg on loan from Spurs and in a parallel universe, you\u2019d be caught up in that mess back in north London\u2026<\/p>\n