Just when Tottenham Hotspur appear to have reached the lowest of low ebbs, another preposterous Daniel Levy decision befalls the North London club, to the perpetual amusement of rivals fans up and down the country.
On Monday evening, Levy - rarely one to front up and address the Tottenham faithful - announced that the club had parted company with interim head coach Cristian Stellini, who oversaw a mere four games during his doomed short-lived reign.
Keeping Antonio Conte's former assistant on the books - let alone promoting him to the top job - was a peculiar decision in itself, but Stellini had somewhat proven himself by stepping in for wins over Manchester City, Chelsea, Marseille and West Ham United during Conte's various absences.
However, such a decision has backfired horribly on the already unpopular Levy, who paid the price for taking a punt on a man whose only previous managerial gig came with third-tier Italian side Alessandria - even then he only won three of his 16 games at the helm.
It quickly became clear that Stellini was well out of his depth, although one cannot help but feel sympathetic for a man who was thrown to the lions and took a lot of the flack for another botched Levy call.
Here, Sports Mole provides a timeline of Stellini's disastrous 29 days in charge of Tottenham.
March 18 - Conte blows up
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Strangely enough, Arsenal and Tottenham fans can now empathise when it comes to drawing 3-3 with Southampton, but the Gunners' six-goal stalemate did not end with one of the most explosive post-game press conferences in recent memory.
After watching his Tottenham side throw away a two-goal lead at St Mary's, Conte - whose team had also crashed out of the FA Cup and Champions League earlier in the month - pulled absolutely no punches, labelling his players "selfish" and pointing out the club's 15-year trophyless streak under the current ownership.
Those who believed that Conte's marriage with Tottenham was bound to end in a bitter divorce could afford a few wry smiles, but the Italian was courteous enough to save his outburst until just before the international break.
Only a handful of players publicly responded to Conte's incendiary rant - the ones that did held their tongue much better than the manager did - and the Premier League and Serie A title-winner would never take charge of another Tottenham game again.
March 26 - Conte walks
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Nine days after stunning the media and fans alike on the South Coast, Conte's forgettable era at Spurs came to an acrimonious end as his departure by mutual consent was announced on March 27.
It was clear how badly the 53-year-old had burned his bridges with Levy, who refused to acknowledge him in his customary sacking statement, but the Spurs chairman was happy to give Conte's coaching team another go.
Only Conte's brother left the English capital with him, as his ex-lieutenant Stellini was swiftly promoted to the top job, despite possessing very little experience of trudging up and down the touchline.
Spurs players were apparently surprised at Levy's decision to retain Stellini's services, but they were won over in a positive meeting with the 48-year-old - it would not be a sign of things to come, though.
April 3 - Slow start
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Given barely a week to get to grips with his squad and prepare them for a taxing trip to Goodison Park, Stellini's time as acting head coach got off to a less-than-spectacular start against the 10 men of Everton, as "Conte 2.0" began doing the rounds.
Seemingly given a golden ticket to victory after Abdoulaye Doucoure's red card for putting his hand in the face of Harry Kane - who proceeded to open the scoring from the spot - the playing field was soon evened as Lucas Moura's cameo off the bench ended in an early bath too.
The Brazilian was penalised for a challenge on Michael Keane, who quickly shook off any lingering effects to fire home a stunning equaliser in front of the Goodison faithful and extinguish any hopes of a new manager bounce for the Lilywhites.
With gilt-edged chances at a premium for Tottenham, criticism of Levy's decision to hand Stellini the reins was already rife, with the 48-year-old doing little to rid the team of their previous Conte principles.
April 8 - Seagulls seething
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Having apparently irked Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi with his pre-match comments before welcoming the Seagulls to North London, the kettle was already boiling for Stellini, who was given a piece of his counterpart's mind prior to the first whistle.
Thanks to Son Heung-min's stunner and Kane's deflected effort either side of a Lewis Dunk header, Spurs scraped a crucial 2-1 win over the Seagulls, who were aggrieved at seeing two goals ruled out for handball while being denied a penalty that the PGMOL has since apologised for.
Tempers flared as much on the touchline as they did on the field as the two dugouts came to blows, leading to red cards for both De Zerbi and a dumbstruck Stellini, who tried to take no notice of the fracas going on behind him.
However, Stellini was left elated with his side's "aggressiveness" and high press as he watched on from the naughty step, although few agreed with his claim that his side deserved to win on the day.
April 15 - Bournemouth heartache
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For the second time in the space of a few weeks, Bournemouth were involved in a five-goal North London thriller with a spectacular last minute winner, but Tottenham could not emulate Arsenal's feats in an embarrassing defeat.
From Davinson Sanchez being booed by his own supporters to Dango Ouattara stealing all three points for the Cherries right at the death, the atmosphere around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could have hardly been more toxic.
In what proved to be his second and final home game in charge of Tottenham, Stellini oversaw a result that left the disgruntled Spurs faithful emptier than before, and happenings off the field would also serve to distract Tottenham from their on-field endeavours.
April 21 - Fabio Paratici resigns
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Tottenham continued to back Fabio Paratici after he was slapped with an initial suspension from Italian footballing activities, having been caught up in the scandal relating to Juventus' financial mismanagement while serving as the Bianconeri's sporting director.
Even when his ban was extended to a worldwide one, Paratici retained full control of his position and was merely allowed to step back while lodging an appeal, which was ultimately thrown out by the Italian Olympic Committee.
Barely hours later, Paratici decided to bite the bullet and resign from his post - receiving a warmer exit message from Levy than Conte did - as the Tottenham Hotspur circus became even more ridiculous.
Stellini insisted that Paratici's departure would not affect Spurs' preparations on the training ground, but that was incredibly wishful thinking from the 48-year-old, especially if the first nine minutes of Sunday's game were anything to go by.
April 23 - Newcastle United destruction
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Making the long journey to St James' Park with the chance to move level on points with Newcastle and reignite their Champions League charge, Tottenham lined up in an unfamiliar four-man defence, with Clement Lenglet not 100% fit and Sanchez being benched out of sympathy.
Sacrificing a centre-back for a midfielder would prove to be the final fatal mistake that Stellini would make, as they repaid their fans' taxing and costly journeys to Tyneside with an utterly nauseating display.
Conceding three goals by the 10-minute mark and falling 5-0 down with 21 minutes on the clock - only Watford have ever conceded a quintet of goals quicker in a Premier League game - Spurs only had the look of a cohesive football team when Pape Sarr's trial cameo was brought to a swift end in favour of Sanchez; one can only wonder what that will do for the 20-year-old's morale.
An aghast Stellini claimed that he could not remember witnessing a worse 25 minutes on a football pitch, and several would have paid a pretty penny for Levy's thoughts as his beloved Tottenham - who he claimed were "the greatest club in the world" during a recent Q&A session with Cambridge University students - were torn to shreds.
April 24 - Sacked
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Whether Stellini had the backing of players behind the scenes is another question entirely, but once the dust had settled from the weekend, the view from the stands was clear - his position was untenable.
Only a few hours after Tottenham reportedly began to consider his future, Spurs confirmed that Stellini and his coaching team were gone. Not quite 28 Days Later for the 29-day Italian, although comparisons can arguably be drawn between his reign and Danny Boyle's post-apocalyptic horror.
Levy at least acknowledged the extremely challenging situation that Stellini had been thrust into, but history has now repeated itself, as the 48-year-old's assistant Ryan Mason is top dog once again.
However, with experience of guiding Tottenham in the post-Jose Mourinho era of 2021 and a strong relationship with the players, Mason can feel quietly confident of enjoying better fortunes with this disjointed Spurs squad than Stellini, who may be better off leaving this section of his resume blank.
Ben Knapton
