Franco Baldini will face an inquest after Tottenham's terrible start to the season

Technical director under increasing scrutiny with Spurs in 12th

Franco Baldini (GETTY IMAGES)

Franco Baldini faces an internal inquest as questions are asked about his role at crisis-club Tottenham.

The 54-year-old technical director is under increasing scrutiny following Spurs’ shambolic start to the season and the humiliating 2-1 defeat at home to Stoke on Sunday.

Many angry fans are blaming chairman Daniel Levy for the disastrous run of results, while others are pointing a finger at new boss Mauricio Pochettino.

But inside White Hart Lane, questions are being asked about Baldini and, even though Levy has the final say on transfers, the players that have been brought in under his stewardship have simply not delivered.

Mauricio Pochettino's team are struggling in 12th place in the Premier League (Getty Images)

Since selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record £85million last summer, Baldini has overseen a Tottenham spending spree that totalled £107.6 million —most of them flops — and then a further £31.7m during the ­summer.

The net result has been calamitous: Spurs are 12th in the Premier League following their fourth home defeat in six games on Sunday. This time last season, they were six points better off and five places higher up the league table — but when push came to shove, manager Andre Villas-Boas was gone by mid-December following a 5-0 thrashing by Liverpool at White Hart Lane.

There is no question of Levy stepping down and although Pochettino could be vulnerable if the slump continues, he remains under no immediate threat, having only just signed a five-year ­contract.

That leaves Baldini in the firing line and the Italian could be made the scapegoat for Tottenham’s disastrous start to the ­season. He is seen by many now as a common denominator who presided over the reigns of Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood.