Spurs must set satnav for right manager rather than guess at every turn

T ottenham stand at a crossroads. But then they always do. They have been standing at a crossroads for at least 50 years. And while some roads lead through cup finals and hopeful vistas and others through gloom and Tim Sherwood this, perhaps, is the true history of the Tottenham: life as a series of crossroads that lead always, eventually, back to another crossroads somewhere in the Valley of Not-Quite-There.

Often Tottenham seem to take the right road. In the final week of 2009-10, for instance, they went to Manchester City needing to win to take fourth from Sheikh Mansour’s rising side and claim their place in the Champions League. This felt critical, a chance for the victors to take a decisive step, to claim the financial rewards of Champions League football and use that to consolidate their advantage. Peter Crouch headed the winner for Spurs eight minutes from time.

Tottenham enjoyed their European run – Gareth Bale destroying Maicon, Crouch’s winner against Milan, Joe Jordan squaring up to Gennaro Gattuso; since then City have won the Premier League six times.

The reputation for Spursiness, their capacity to falter at key moments, is not unearned, but Tottenham do win quite a lot of these decisive games. They did it last season against Arsenal, but it is Arsenal who are challenging for the title.

Sunday’s match at St James’ Park is another crossroads. Despite everything, victory would lift Spurs level with Newcastle, albeit having played a game more. Nobody expects them to win and the sense must be that even if they do, even if they can qualify for the Champions League with all the advantages that entails for squad-building, in terms of revenue and attracting talent, it may ultimately be as meaningless as that win