Is this what the end looks like? A sigh, a shrug, a trudge home and the resignation that your instincts were right all along. Tottenham Hotspur are out of the Champions League. Antonio Conte has likely just taken charge of his final European fixture at Spurs. Yet both of these truths will be met with the briefest of nods of indifference, as everyone knows by now that we’ve been heading this way for some time. Like Cristian Romero’s self-destructive second yellow card, it was inevitable.
This is what supporting Tottenham has been like in recent weeks and if there is the slimmest of positives to take from this pathetic exit to AC Milan, it is that this muddled spell could finally now be over. The illusion that Conte could have been convinced into staying beyond this season has been shattered by the general understanding that he will leave at the end of his contract. Now, after how meekly Spurs surrendered their last chance of winning a trophy under the Italian, it may be better for all parties to part ways as soon as possible.
