Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.

After three wins and three clean sheets, it appeared that spurs had drawn a line under a turbulent start to the new year.

As ever, it was short lived. Saturday’s awful defeat at Leicester reopened long-term wounds that the club have failed to fix.

Where to start?

Tensions amongst the fanbase and the board reignited as soon as the transfer window reopened.

The prolonged pursuit of Pedro Porro from Sporting was finally secured on deadline day. However, that doesn’t tell half the story.

Porro was our number one target for right wing back. A position so important in Antonio Conte’s system.

Sporting were reluctant to sell one of their best players. Despite the various changes in the deal, the £44m agreed deal wasn’t unreasonable considering it was near the price that was set at the beginning of negotiations.

Arnaut Danjuma arrived on loan from Villarreal and made an immediate impact in our FA Cup win over Preston. Time will tell if hijacking him from Everton was worth it.

Another attacking player was certainly welcome after loaning Bryan Gil to Sevilla and terminating Matt Doherty’s contract.

Back on the pitch, Tottenham’s centre backs were the biggest issue that was exposed by Leicester. Without Christian Romero, spurs are lost.

Eric Dier, impressive against the win against City, returned to the norm by being at fault for at least two of the Foxes’ goals.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s goal was particularly depressing. Strolling from the halfway line, he made Dier look like he had future on Strictly before slotting past Fraser Forster.

Perhaps I’m being harsh. However, the reality is that our failure to improve a defence that have cost us on a regular basis is grinding.

Whatever happens this season, centre backs must be a priority this summer. This of course is complicated by the future of Fabio Paratici.

Having been implicated and banned in another Juventus scandal in Italy, Spurs are faced with losing a sporting director that was brought in to relieve Daniel Levy’s involvement in transfers.

Paratici’s impact has been positive. Rodrigo Bentacur and Dejan Kulusevski were inspired signings last January. I still believe Richarlison will be, given time.

In a season that has been decimated by injuries, it is unfortunate that we have lost all three at various stages.

The most heartbreaking moment of the Leicester defeat came when Bentacur ruptured his ACL - An injury that will keep him out between 6-9 months.

In some ways losing Bentacur was worse than losing to Leicester. Having been an integral part of the team since his arrival, you might have wondered who can keep us competitive in the midfield for the rest of the season.

With Yves Bissouma also out for two months, it will fall upon Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr. Spurs will pray that the youngsters can continue to embrace opportunities like they did against Milan.

Despite another defeat, they were Tottenham’s best performers. They enjoyed the cauldron of the San Siro rather than shrinking under pressure.

If Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg can rediscover his consistency, then it may not be all doom and gloom.

Amid the drama, we have the ongoing saga of Conte’s future. Conte not being himself can be forgiven considering he is recovering from surgery and having lost three close friends in the last year.

However, with more results and performances like Leicester and Milan, you must wonder how sustainable this is.

Does Daniel Levy muddle through to the summer and hope Conte rediscovers his passion despite such personal loss?

Nobody wants Conte to walk away, of course. However, it is starting to feel that dealing with his personal issues while managing this club will be too much in the end.

With Conte taking more time to recover in Italy, the responsibility of first team duties again falls to Christian Stellini.

Stellini has been exemplary as caretaker. Not only is there an improvement in performances, but he seems to lift the mood of the club from the players to the handling of the media.

You must wonder whether Stellini is beginning to feel the itch of stepping up as manager. Perhaps - out of respect for his friend – Stellini will also leave if Conte does.

However, I wouldn’t be disappointed if Stellini does take the reins if the seemingly inevitable happens.

Mauricio Pochettino could also reunite the club. However, I will still hate the circus and upheaval that another managerial change will cause.

Coaches have failed at this club because of poor decisions and neglect at board level. Yes, the football is bland now, but I’m not sure hiring another poor soul to fix historic problems won’t resemble anything other than putting a plaster on a gaping wound.

If Conte does leave, the blame will be laid squarely at ENIC’s door. Fans have been crying out for direction from the club’s board. If Conte’s time at Spurs achieves anything, it is his ability to expose where ENIC have gone wrong.

Unfortunately, the club’s recent financial statement and response to The Supporters Trust’s request for communication was largely tone deaf.

The club being in a decent financial position is a good thing. ENIC have done well in dragging us from mid-table mediocrity to what the club is today.

It is also admirable that Levy wants to grow the club organically and wait for proposed financial fair play rules that come into force in 2025.

In the meantime, what happens if Manchester City avoid punishment? What is the plan if Chelsea continues to find loopholes to gamble spending vast sums of money?

As mentioned on several Spurs podcasts this week, the reality is that ENIC are either unwilling or unable (depending on which side of the debate you’re on) to fund a sustained push to challenge the clubs above us.

The financial outlay to challenge the sovereign and state-owned clubs on a regular basis will be substantial.

While transfer spending has risen in recent times, expensive flops have cost the club dearly. There is also a gulf in spending on wages between Spurs and the rest of the ‘big six.’

Regardless of regular Champions League football or not, the fact is that true world class players available on the market will always choose to be paid handsomely by the financial powerhouses than join Spurs.

Clubs can be clever with good recruitment. Brighton have built a very good team by picking gems out of markets that most seem to ignore.

You would have read reports that Paratici is in the process of developing a scouting network. The problem is that the board keep hiring big name managers who have little interest in developing young talent.

The stadium and the training ground were labelled as game changers. Maybe they will be in time.

However, you still sense that as soon as any manager get Spurs to the edge of glory, the board won’t reward them with the tools to finally get over the line.

Despite all the good ENIC have done since the 90s, there is a sense that they have taken the club as far as they can.  

Recent reports that investment from the Qataris and Jahm Najafi have been welcoming to many. Granted, any potential bids will have to be properly analysed and will likely throw up ethical issues amongst the media and the fanbase.

ENIC have since briefed the press that they have no intention of selling the club at this time. Whether this is to get potential suitors to raise their price is up for debate. With any hope it is the starting point for what is likely to be a drawn-out process.

On a more positive note, Harry Kane scored his 267th goal against Manchester City to overtake the great Jimmy Greaves and become the club’s all time goal scorer.

Much debate has been amongst pundits on television and online about how much of an achievement this really is.

Sure, he’s failed to win a trophy, but the reality is that only three players in Premier League history have scored more than 200 goals.

More importantly to Spurs fans, he is living out most of our dreams. A local lad playing for the team he supports. Has he stayed here too long? Maybe.

But if he signs a new contract, he should get a statue and the right to herd sheep down the high street in Tottenham and Chingford regardless of what anyone else thinks.

So, what’s next for Spurs? Well, they say a week in football is a long time. Consider how we felt about the win against City to how we feel now.

Two huge London derbies against West Ham and Chelsea at home await. Those of you who suffer with anxiety know that despite their own troubles this season, they generally turn into prime Barca when they play Tottenham.

However, winning these games will lift the mood. It wouldn’t feel like this season is destined for failure like it was after being thrashed by Leicester.

After that, we have two big cup ties against Sheffield United and Milan. The FA Cup 5th round will be tricky but this is a competition that is winnable with so many Premier League clubs eliminated so early.

Milan at home will be a showpiece event. They are not the team of old and with the away goals rule being abolished, there’s no excuse not to utilise our attacking talent and get at Milan under the lights at White Hart Lane.

A good run of results can hopefully keep the focus on things on the pitch, regardless of the future of Daniel Levy and Antonio Conte. For now, we just need to ride the waves of this shark-infested water and pray we aren’t devoured.