{"id":24606,"date":"2026-03-02T12:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T12:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/why-tottenham-hotspur-winning-the-uefa-champions-league-would-be-an-embarrassment-for-european-football-farrah-williams-column\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T12:18:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T12:18:30","slug":"why-tottenham-hotspur-winning-the-uefa-champions-league-would-be-an-embarrassment-for-european-football-farrah-williams-column","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/why-tottenham-hotspur-winning-the-uefa-champions-league-would-be-an-embarrassment-for-european-football-farrah-williams-column\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Tottenham Hotspur winning the UEFA Champions League would be an ’embarrassment’ for European football – Farrah Williams Column"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former England international Farrah Williams will provide exclusive insight and analysis to TNT Sports ahead of the 2025\/26 season. In her latest column, she details why it would not be good for European football if Tottenham Hotspur won the UEFA Champions League this season while battling relegation from the Premier League. Williams also praised former England goalkeeper Mary Earps’ recent comments surrounding the backlash against her book. Watch the Women’s and Men’s FA Cup, Premier League and UEFA Champions League live on TNT Sports and Discovery+.<\/div>\n
‘It would be embarrassing’ if Spurs, who are in danger of being relegated, win the Champions League<\/h2>\n
Things aren’t looking great for Spurs at the moment, following defeats to Arsenal and Fulham in the recent London derby. They brought in Igor Tudor, who has a great track record of saving teams, getting players to work hard, and showing them the fight.<\/div>\n
Are Tottenham too good to lose? In fact, they are fighting for relegation. I had the opportunity to visit the training ground the other week and it is simply unacceptable that a big club with such great facilities will be playing in the Championship next season.<\/div>\n
Looking at the content of the league matches until the end of the season, the matches will be very tough. I’m worried about Spurs because their main relegation rivals are starting to find their form, with Nottingham Forest looking a bit younger under Vitor Pereira, while West Ham have more points than before.<\/p>\n
Are Spurs players ready for a relegation battle? They finished one place above the bottom three last season, so their position is by no means wrong.<\/p>\n
I’m not too surprised by their league form, as there wasn’t much transfer business to improve the team over the summer, and they were also unlucky with long-term injuries to the likes of James Madison and Dejan Kulusevski.<\/p>\n
Spurs have sacked a number of managers this season, including Thomas Frank, and some of these players will need to be held accountable for their performances and perhaps their attitude towards the various managers they have had responsibility for at the club.<\/div>\n
There’s no way Spurs would be in this position if you look at the quality of players in the team.<\/p>\n
Individually, some of the players are good enough to play in the Premier League, but as a whole they don’t seem put together and sometimes don’t seem to have the right mentality.<\/p>\n
They need a big turnaround and know they face a tough Champions League last-16 battle with Atletico Madrid, but their focus should be on surviving in the Premier League.<\/div>\n
Although they managed to flip the switch in the Europa League last season to end their trophy drought, let’s be clear: Spurs are not good enough to win the Champions League.<\/p>\n
The Europa League is different from the Champions League, and this time too it will not be possible to avoid all the big teams on the way to the final.<\/p>\n
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Unfiltered UEL: Tottenham end 17-year trophy drought in Bilbao, Postecoglou keeps promise<\/p>\n
Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
If you ask me which would be a bigger shock, Spurs being relegated or Spurs winning the Champions League, I would say the latter. <\/p>\n
There are far better teams in this competition than Spurs, so if Spurs somehow manage to win the Champions League this season, I would say it would be an embarrassment to the other teams in Europe.<\/p>\n
They need to start showing more consistent performances until the end of the season and if they can avoid relegation from the Premier League, they can start rethinking everything in the summer.<\/p>\n
It was great to read Mary Earp reflecting on the impact of her book last year.<\/div>\n
After excerpts from her autobiography were published, I wrote that despite her claims in the book, her legacy did not deserve to be tarnished.<\/div>\n
I know Mary, I’ve played with her in my career, and I know that she’s not some kind of malicious person who would directly try to hurt people in the way she’s portrayed in the book. <\/p>\n
She was a very introspective person and was similar as a player. I know that when we were playing together, she was very critical of herself as a player. She emphasized the negatives more than the positives in her play. <\/p>\n
When I was with her, she was an absolute perfectionist and always held herself accountable.<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is not surprising that she has kept quiet about this issue, and on reflection feels that the right thing to do is to come out publicly, speak to the parties mentioned in this book, more or less apologize and make it clear that she has taken responsibility.<\/p>\n
Mary is great for doing something like this. Some people say it out loud and that’s it, and they don’t reflect on it.<\/p>\n
I don’t think what Mary wrote in the book was mean at all, but as a player, it’s probably something I’d like to keep to myself. It’s almost an unspoken rule that you shouldn’t expose people’s personalities in a way that might be received in the book, and perhaps Mary didn’t want it to be interpreted a certain way.<\/p>\n
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Highlights: Spurs win on penalties after chaotic clash<\/p>\n
Video credit: TNT Sports<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Let’s remember that this book is Mary’s truth and that’s how she felt. Who am I to say she’s wrong to tell the truth? <\/p>\n
People advise that every book you’re preparing for release should have a story. People are looking for that one topic, no matter how many other great topics there are. That’s what happened with Mary. <\/p>\n
In this book, she opened up about several different topics, but the world couldn’t help but put a bigger spotlight on it and celebrate her courage to express herself so honestly. <\/p>\n
I think the success of Lioness also played a big role in the huge exposure of her book. If Lioness hadn’t been so successful, perhaps this comment wouldn’t have been such a big deal and it wouldn’t have worked in her favor.<\/p>\n
It takes a great person to accomplish what she did, to have face-to-face conversations with people who may be offended after the release of this book. It was an act of courage and I think it’s a credit to her.<\/p>\n
If you’re a player who plans to write a book in the future, that’s fine, as long as it’s your truth. I’ve always thought that it’s okay to write about how you felt during that period, but I also think it’s good for other people to express their opinions about it. <\/p>\n
I know from experience that I have expressed my truth and views on things, but some people will not like it, some will agree with it, that is the reality.<\/p>\n
Stream the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cups, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and Discovery+.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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