Tottenham fans named English football’s most long-suffering — and it isn’t even close

There are clubs that know pain.

There are clubs that have made peace with pain.

And then there’s Tottenham.

Research from Midnite’s Built Different Index asked football fans which supporters have suffered the most — and Spurs absolutely walked it.

Nearly one in five fans surveyed, 19.7%, picked Tottenham.

That’s almost three times as many as Sheffield Wednesday in second place on 6.7%, with Manchester United third on 6.2%. Everton followed on 5.3%, before West Ham rounded out the top five with 3.2%.

And before Spurs fans accuse the rest of English football of enjoying themselves a little too much, the result wasn’t confined to one group.

Among Premier League supporters, Tottenham’s share actually rose to 28.4%.

Championship fans agreed too, with 13.2% naming Spurs as the most long-suffering support in English football.

A very Tottenham kind of suffering

What makes Spurs such a natural answer?

Probably the combination.

The expectations are high enough for every disappointment to hurt. The club is big enough to get reminded about it constantly. And every fresh start arrives carrying just enough hope to make whatever comes next sting properly.

Football supporters have long memories, too. One near miss can become folklore. A trophy drought becomes a punchline. A bad result in a derby becomes material for the next decade.

Tottenham somehow manage to collect the full set.

The result becomes even more interesting when you look specifically at North London.

Among Arsenal supporters surveyed, 45.5% said Tottenham fans suffer the most.

So if Spurs supporters were hoping for sympathy from across the road, bad news.

They’ve noticed.

They just seem to be enjoying it.

Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester United complete the podium

Second place goes to Sheffield Wednesday.

Their 6.7% share is a long way behind Spurs, but it still puts the Owls ahead of every other club in the country apart from Tottenham.

Manchester United sitting third is arguably the more surprising inclusion.

“Suffering” is obviously relative in football, and older United fans have watched their club win just about everything there is to win.

But football doesn’t care much for historical perspective when Saturday afternoon arrives.

A generation raised on titles, Champions League nights and relentless winning has now had to recalibrate its expectations considerably.

Fans surveyed clearly think that adjustment has been painful enough to count.

Football pain is never objective

None of this means Tottenham supporters have objectively suffered more than anyone else.

Try explaining that concept in a pub full of Sunderland, Everton or Sheffield Wednesday fans and see how far you get.

This is about perception.

And perception is half the fun.

The Built Different fan survey asked 5,979 football fans, combining 1,977 Midnite customers with a 4,002-person market sample, for their views on English football clubs, supporters and rivalries.

On this one, though, the verdict was unusually clear.

When English football thinks of suffering, it thinks of Spurs.

Some trophies would probably help.