LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 30: Micky van de Ven of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images)

CameraSport via Getty Images

‘Spursy’ is defined in the online version of the Collins Dictionary as a performance where a team has “success in reach” but “ultimately chuck[’s]

it away.”

The resource adds that: “this word is associated to Tottenham Hotspur FC, you will find numerous examples of this on twitter, from supporters of most if not all top flight teams.”

To some degree, every single soccer fan feels their team is ‘Spursy.’ Supporters remember the painful defeats grasped from the jaws of victory more than easy wins. Probably because shame is the most powerful feeling, or as legendary psychiatrist Carl Jung said, “a soul-eating emotion.”

But, as the name suggests, few clubs have an association with this phenomenon more than Tottenham Hotspur.

As Anna Howells, content creator for Spurs XY, told the BBC after a painfully unpredictable run last season, the term ‘Spursy’ was “not a fun word but an accurate one. We have been incredibly inconsistent. Somehow both really good and really bad.”

And so it was that after a convincing 0-2 win against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium Tottenham Hotspur found themselves losing at home to Bournemouth after 5 minutes and looking thoroughly unconvincing.

As the players left the field at half-time, boos cascaded down from the stands at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The negative reception failed to stir the players and the game was lost.

“I prefer them not to boo, but I understand,” said coach Thomas Frank after the game.

“It was not a good performance today and they have high expectations, which is absolutely fair. I think let’s say if we perform even better and still lose the football match today, I don’t think we hit the level we should.

“I think the players gave everything and then that’s the foundation and put their hearts out there, but football-wise wise we didn’t hit our top level today.”

Bournemouth, it should be said, are no pushover; they showed time and again last season that the team is more than capable of punching above their weight.

Frank acknowledged this in his postgame remarks.

“We played against a very good Bournemouth team that we know can make it difficult for any team in the league. They played to their strengths. They did that very well and we didn’t handle it well.

“We knew exactly what they came with and we trained for it. We just didn’t handle it well enough in terms of the balls in behind, the second balls, duels in the middle of the park.

“That’s the defensive side and on the offensive side we struggled to find good enough solutions to get through phase one and two so we could get up there and put a bit of pressure on them.

“We only did that in the last 15 where we put on good pressure and could have equalised. I think over the game it was fair that Bournemouth won.”

It’s been well-documented that this has been a transfer window when Tottenham Hotspur has failed to add targets that would boost the squad’s creativity.

Moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze have collapsed in embarrassing fashion, much to the annoyance of the Spurs faithful, although the recent addition of Netherlands international Xavi Simons will help.

Having failed to score against Bournemouth, Frank admitted that a lack of creativity was an issue.

“That’s why we signed Simons to have an extra offensive player but I also think on the day with all due respect to our offensive players, none of them hit a high level and that happens sometimes. I’m very aware. I don’t want to say it’s okay, but it’s natural,” he said.

Frank was also at pains to point out that the poor result that followed a statement win wasn’t necessarily a ‘Spursy’ failure but a reflection of the different challenges the team faces.

He said: “It’s also for us to not manage, but play different games. There’s one game against City, one kind of football, different kind of football against Burnley. Bournemouth completely different third kind of football and all kinds of football you need to be able to perform against, and we struggled with it.”

Transfers and money are often the focus when a team falters, but the truth is that it’s not new signings that make a difference long-term.

Tottenham’s problem is that, in the past decade, they have regressed from a side with realistic title ambitions to one where Champions League qualification is the most they can hope for.

But, really, there is no reason the club shouldn’t challenge for the Premier League, at the core of the team are players of a quality to match Arsenal or Liverpool.

The problem really has to do with mentality, the fact that even after securing its first trophy in over a decade, the idea of being challengers, the Spursy curse still rears its head.

If Frank is to truly be successful in North London, it will not be because of what happens in the transfer market but by dismantling the idea that the club is inherently inconsistent.