Christian Romero left the field in tears with 20 minutes remaining at Sunderland
The sight of new Tottenham Hotspur head coach Roberto de Zerbi watching in anguish as captain Cristian Romero walked past him in tears may yet become the lasting image of a season slowly sliding towards the Championship.
De Zerbi's hopes of a fast start after succeeding Igor Tudor, the madcap experiment of the Croatian's appointment lasting only 44 days, ended brutally as Spurs failed to show any significant response to the Italian's arrival.
Amid another flatlining display, the tearful departure of De Zerbi's leader on the field with Spurs 1-0 down with 25 minutes left and on the way to deserved defeat at Sunderland was yet another harrowing chapter in this sorry tale of the fall of a giant club.
The question of whether Spurs are too good to go down was consigned to the dustbin long ago. A team without a win in 14 Premier League games stretching back to 28 December at Crystal Palace answers that.
