First came a glorious vision of the new Tottenham and then arrived the jolting realisation that their past might not be buried as deeply as Mauricio Pochettino would wish
What happened against Wolves on Saturday was an old-fashioned collapse, made all the more notable because Tottenham seem stronger, firmer these days
Once upon a time in their recent history, yes — Spursy and all that. But now, after four and a half seasons in Pochettino's furnace? It was not supposed to play out like this, a game in which Tottenham led 1-0 through Harry Kane before they coughed up goals to Willy Boly, Raul Jimenez and Helder Costa in the final 18 minutes
It was the first time Wolves have scored three in a game all season. For it to happen at Tottenham is impressive from the Wolves point of view and no analysis should overlook what Nuno Espirito Santo is doing there — draws with Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal, wins over Chelsea and Tottenham
Marvellous, a promoted club that could feasibly retain their current spot in the top seven
But if you see it from the perspective of Spurs, a team that had only just entered title contention, this was careless
As Harry Winks put it: 'We said before the game that it was must-win, so to come away with a defeat
everyone is fuming.' Shortly afterwards, the Spursy word was brought up. Winks responded: 'I have to be careful about this
We are doing really well. We have had one defeat since Arsenal away. 'We have had some fantastic results in the Champions League and the Premier League and it is important we don't get carried away with a defeat
Listen, when people say that on social media, that is their own opinion, but inside the club we know how far we can go
We have belief. 'To be considered title contenders and to be sitting here disappointed that we aren't closer to the top than we'd expect, it just shows us how well we are doing
We have high expectations and if we don't come away with a win against Wolves we get frustrated
' The question is whether the jibes it inspired about Spurs and their alleged flakiness are fair or not, Tottenham having delivered their best first half to a Premier League season
It could still prove to be a one-off, a rogue wave at a busy time of the season and soon forgotten
The inclination is to go along with that because Pochettino and his players have earned the right to such belief
What they have done on balanced books in a rented home simply would not have been possible if a thread of mental fragility was running through the squad
Their revival in the Champions League group stage should tell us that much on its own
But it is also an inconvenient head-scratcher that this result happened just as expectations peaked
It was pointed out with some amusement on social media that their title challenge lasted approximately three days, from Boxing Day, when they climbed past Manchester City until Saturday, when they fell apart against a team ranked 11th before kick-off
The easy narrative is that this defeat fits a mould: the failed FA Cup semi-finals of the past two seasons, the 2015-16 title race, the 2015 League Cup final
Spurs got close on each of those occasions without crossing the line. It is hard to discount the pattern
And likewise it is hard to fully buy into the idea that Pochettino is uniquely burdened in his selection choices because of the club's transfer strategy — only two of his players have made 16 league starts or more this season, compared to seven at Chelsea, four at Manchester City and seven at Liverpool
But all of that doesn't make them chokers or bottlers or, worse, Spursy. At this stage, all it really means is they have lost one game against a very good side with previous for making big clubs look silly
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